Mireya was at her apartment, cooking something for herself, when the call came in on her land line. It being late at night, the call doubly caught her attention. She responded through the speaker. "Hello? Who’s speaking?"
The voice of a man with a strong Hispanic accent responded. "Three guesses, and the first two don’t count."
"Ricardo?" The caller—Ricardo Matos—was a professional hunter, someone she had met during her job as a policewoman. She thought he was a criminal at first, but after taking down a rather vicious ghoul with him, they became fast friends—or at least, shared enough information about nearby hunts. A tan man with shoulder-length black hair and a stubble, he often roamed South America for creatures such as the Chupacabras, and every so often, made a trip to the United States to hunt some dangerous game.
Mireya valued him for one reason, however; he kept an ear on potential bounties, and most importantly, the bounty she desired. "Calling for business, or just checking in?"
"Business this time, dear." She heard Ricardo’s laugh from the speaker, as she moved to the kitchen to check her meal. "Found another lair."
Mireya grabbed the handset, gasping in surprise. "You did? Where!?"
"Heard some rumors about miners suffering from a wasting disease after getting bitten by some large lizard. Sounds a lot like the thing you’re always looking for, right?"
"Yeah, yeah..." Mireya rubbed her lips. "Where is it?"
"Gonna have to do a trip to Brazil. It’s on ... uh, the state of Minas Gerais. Northern region, close to, uh ... Pirapora and Paracatu. I’ll send you the map with the most likely location."
"Thanks for the tip. I’ll make sure to repay it to you one day—unless you want to join the hunt?"
"Oh, no!" Ricardo dismissed Mireya with a chortle. "Don’t want to make your boyfriend jealous."
Jealous.
Mireya reflexively looked at the ring at her right hand. Though it was rather simple, made of gold with a single small diamond at the center, she valued Jeff’s gesture. Half a year had passed since the two became a couple, making it official before her father a few weeks later. Their relationship was a long-distance one, however, as he was traveling the world to complete his training. She had planned to meet up with him in London, but he'd asked her to wait, and that he would catch up to her when he next passed through New Jersey.
Now, as she focused on the symbol of their engagement, she was faced with a hard choice. This was the opportunity of a lifetime: a live basilisk, it sounded like, the same creature that took her mother’s life, ready to be captured and dealt with. She could care little for the bounty; instead, the opportunity to finally complete her mother’s work meant more. She feared that, if she told Jeff, he would try to forbid her from making the attempt. On the other hand, she feared that, if she refused to tell, he would appear nonetheless, putting him at risk—and given what she read about Sulva, and how they often appeared when least expected (out of nowhere, just like the time she tried to hunt the ettin with Marty), that could put either of them at risk.
She knew one thing, though. She wouldn't make the same mistake as her mother. And fortunately, the one other person she could trust would be right on her path...
--
"I don’t recommend doing this alone." Dr. Gustavo rebuked Mireya. He loomed over her as he spoke—he was taller than her anyway, but he also projected a powerful aura. "Even your mother thought of taking someone with her."
"She wasn’t a hunter. I am. And it’s not like I won’t take my precautions. I’ve studied that thing—"
"The people that accompanied Maribella weren’t exactly inexperienced. And I must remind you that she dealt with equally dangerous things during her travels."
"I won’t make the same mistake Mami did."
"I wouldn’t count on it, Mireya. In fact, I’d recommend not doing this trip in the first place, but I know I can’t stop you. Doing this with someone else seems like the logical choice."
"I don’t want to put anyone else in danger."
"Fair enough. If something were to happen to you, though? What would your family do? Better yet," stressed the doctor, staring through her eyes. "What would Mr. Harrison do?"
"I can’t tell Jeff," she replied in fear. "I shouldn’t worry him. He’s not meant for field work, Dr. Gus. I can’t put him at risk."
"All the more reason to travel with someone you trust; someone that you feel can help you on the task. I do not want to see a repeat of what happened to Dr. Aristizábal with you, Mireya. Yet, I understand your desire to vindicate her sacrifice."
Mireya’s stare hardened as she heard the words. "Mami didn’t sacrifice for anyone. Let alone me. I only want to complete the one thing she couldn’t."
"I apologize, then." Dr. Gustavo’s words relieved her, even though she felt they sounded insincere. "I shouldn’t have used that word."
"It doesn’t matter."
"I will insist that you take someone experienced and qualified with you. Going alone and failing will be worse than—"
"I won’t capture it immediately," she clarified. "I’ll scout the area, listen to what witnesses have to say, single out the location. This isn’t my first rodeo, Dr. Gus."
"And I wish it’s not your last." The words of the doctor felt like a weight on Mireya’s chest, as if he was seeking to induce guilt. "That only leaves the question of why did you come here."
"I..." Mireya sighed, shaking her head while covering her eyes from her falling hair. "I wanted you to know. In case...something happened to me."
"Doesn’t sound like it. You could’ve done that through a letter, or an e-mail—a direct message in social media, even. No." Dr. Gustavo dropped into his chair, and studied her. "You came here looking for my approval."
"Dr. Gus... We’re so close." Mireya closed her eyes for a brief instant. "If I fail... If something happened to me... I want you to tell Jeff that I’m sorry, that I didn’t want to worry him. He means a lot to me."
"I understand," he repeated. "You’re looking for my silence, though."
"Yes," she said in a shudder. "Don’t tell him anything. I don’t want him looking for me, in case anything goes wrong. And... I wanted you to know that I appreciate the efforts in trying to work a cure for what killed Mami. I feel I should say this before--"
"That sounds like the last words of someone condemned to death." Dr. Gustavo’s response shook Mireya to the core. "If you were to get bitten, there’s little you could do. Making the trip here would be next to impossible, and very few hospitals would be capable of even understanding how the venom works. I’m afraid I cannot help you if that were to happen." He gave little time for Mireya to absorb the repercussions of her decision before asking. "May I ask where’s the lair? In case something were to happen?"
"In Brazil. Minas Gerais."
Dr. Gustavo hummed. "That’s neighboring São Paulo, right?"
Mireya chuckled. "I’m not sure."
"You may be in luck." Dr. Gustavo fished inside his desk, then handed Mireya a business card; as she read it, she gasped in surprise. "She recently opened a clinic—a full-fledged hospital, I’d say—but if something were to happen, you may have a chance there."
Mireya read the words in the business card carefully. Clínica de tratamento e recuperação para fins beneficentes Maria Cardozo. The name "Maria Cardozo" appeared not just as its founder, but also as part of the board of directives. "Wait a sec... Isn’t this—?"
"Maria is due to announce her retirement soon, but she created the facility for charity purposes."
Mireya cackled sadly at the irony. "Even after Mami died, she’s still trying to one-up her."
"Or perhaps she’s trying to honor Maribella in her own way. She asked me if I wanted a position there, but that would mean abandoning this facility to its luck. We...reached an agreement."
"An agreement?"
"We’ll split the cases Maribella would have attended if she was alive. The Institute will reserve the right to claim the more sensitive cases."
"And that way, you won’t be bothered while you do your research, right?"
"It will also help as another resource for the... ‘organization’, if you understand what I mean. It will certainly free my time, though. If something were to happen to you, I’ll travel there personally."
"I see." Mireya stored the card in her purse, standing. "Thanks, Dr. Gus."
"No need to." The doctor stood and reached across the desk to grasp her shoulder. "And I pray for your success."
With those parting words, Mireya left the office, leaving Dr. Gus to his devices. None of her senses alerted her to the phone call he was about to make, or the words that would follow. "Hello. Mr. Harrison?"
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