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I am if you don't know exactly where you're going. The problem is, ten thousand is peanuts. You won't be able to hire anyone who knows his stuff for that amount. You're talking about two, maybe three months in hell. My price is two thousand a week, and you pay for all the supplies and extra help. I'll cost you roughly twenty, twenty-five thousand, and the rest of it will come to about another ten. So, are you still so all-fired set on this 'archaeological expedition'?"
    The two exchanged looks. They hadn't caught his faint emphasis on the last two words. "No problem," Kates said smoothly.
    Ben was now past curious, he was flat-out intrigued. Kates hadn't even blinked an eye, which meant that whatever was up there was worth so much money that thirty-five thousand dollars was a drop in the bucket in comparison, and Kates sure as hell wasn't involved out of a burning desire to be written up in any archaeological papers. Scavenge the site was more like it, assuming there really was an archaeological site up there, which Ben thought was doubtful. The jungle destroyed evidence of man almost as fast as man could leave it. Still, until he had a better idea of what was going on, he was going to assume there was a site up there, because there sure as hell wasn't anything else in that area. But what could be so valuable that it would lure someone like Kates into going for it? The jungle abounded with tales of lost treasure and fantastic myths, but as far as Ben knew, none of them were true. People were always looking for lost treasure; except for the odd shipwreck, none of those treasures were ever found. It was a fact that people believed whatever they wanted, regardless of the evidence. Ben certainly wasn't going to risk his profits on finding a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
    "Payable in advance," Ben said.
    "What the hell? Forget it," Sherwood blustered.
    Significantly, Kates didn't say anything, though he was frowning. Ben tilted the bottle up for another sip. "I don't skip out on my clients," he said. "If I did, I wouldn't get any more. The same isn't true the other way around. I learned that the hard way. I get my money up front or it's no deal."
    "There are other guides, Lewis."
    "Sure there are. But none as good as I am. It's your choice if you want to get back alive or die in there. Like I said, I just returned from a trip. It won't hurt my feelings to have a little vacation before I take another job."
    Ben was aware that he wasn't telling the exact truth, but bluffing was part of the game. If these fools didn't know how to play it, that was their problem. There were Indians in the region who knew more about living in the jungle than he ever would, but those Indians just might be the biggest danger to anyone trespassing in their territory. There were still bands of natives deep in the interior who had never seen a white man, still huge areas that were uncharted. No one knew what was in there. At least, no one who had come back out to describe it. Hell, for all he knew, the region was infested with headhunters.
    "Ask around," he said carelessly, getting to his feet. "Like I said, I don't need a job, but you need a guide pretty damn bad."
    It was real funny the way most people valued something more if they thought it was hard to obtain. Just as he'd thought, his indifference to the job convinced them that he was the best available.
    "Don't be so hasty," Kates said. "You're hired."
    "Fine," Ben said just as carelessly as before. "When do you want to leave?"
    "As soon as possible."
    He sighed. Damn. He'd hoped for a few days to relax, but twenty-five thousand was twenty-five thousand. "Okay." He glanced at his watch. Three-thirty. "Meet me back here at seven and we'll go over the logistics." That would give him at least two hours with Theresa, and time for cleaning up as well.
    "We can do that now," Sherwood said.
    "You can. I can't. Seven o'clock." Ben walked away and approached Theresa. "Give me your key," he said, and