Still sniffling slightly, Tanya lowered herself onto the brush. "Bit bumpy," she said, and moved a branch from under her back. "But it'll do fine, I guess."
"And you? Are you okay now?"
"Yes, I'll be fine, too, Paul. I'm sorry I lost it back there." She looked around, still confused. "It seems like one of those horror movies, where the killer just won't die, and keeps on coming back, no matter what happens to him. Sometimes I feel as if I want to end this mess in any way I can."
Paul nodded and sat on the brush beside her. "That's understandable. You've been through more than hell so far, and we're not out of the woods yet." With that, he waved his arms over his head and around them. "Nope, not out of the woods at all."
Tanya sighed. "What are our chances, Paul? I mean, really. Can we get out of Brazil alive?"
"Always a chance, to coin a cliché. To weigh the positive against the negative, I'd say, on the positive side, the airport staff is aware of the situation. Also, Charles can't do anything until dawn, and he can't come up on us without my being aware. On the negative…" Paul pondered. "Charles could corrupt the airport staff, but they don't know where we are, either."
"Any more positives?"
"Yes, the biggest one of all: if Malcolm doesn't hear from us that we're in the air before three in the morning, a military plane will be dispatched. It will arrive here before seven o'clock. Our dangerous period will be from six, when the sun rises, to seven, when the plane should arrive. Charles will probably be hunting for us during that time." Paul was silent for a moment, the darkness a velvet cover over them. The sky was alive with sparkling pin pricks of light, though the moon still hadn't risen. "Once it's daylight, I'll show you how to use this," he said, and placed a small gun in her hand. "It's pretty simple. If you see Charles and he's within thirty feet of you, take aim and shoot."
Tanya looked at the gun, cradling it in her hands. She shivered. She cautiously placed it very close to her bed of brush. She then lay down and closed her eyes.
A very faint glimmer of light showed the beginnings of dawn. Tanya yawned, then jerked awake, confused. She sat up and looked around her. Gradually, she remembered the happenings of the past few days. Her eyes began to search for Paul.