Free Project Apex by Michael Bray Page B

for small insects. Upon locating a nest, the Satere-Mawe use smoke to render the ants unconscious and remove them. The ants are woven into a leaf glove with their stingers facing inward. In order for a Satere-Mawe boy to become a man, he must wear the glove for ten minutes, enduring the hundreds of stings of the angry ants inside. After the ten excruciating minutes are up, the glove is removed, often as the poor wearer convulses or slips into paralysis. Usually within a week, the wearer will make a full recovery although in some cases death is the result of the bizarre and eye-watering initiation, which often has to be completed multiple times before the tribe accept the boy as a man. Draven himself had felt the sting of just one ant, more out of curiosity to see how it felt. The pain was excruciating to the point of incapacitating him for almost twenty-four hours. He lay in his bunk, arm throbbing, his insides on fire as the toxic venom ravaged his system.  It was for that reason he kept a respectful distance from the nest which he knew could contain literally thousands of ants. His primary interest in the creatures was in how they attacked. An aggressive species by nature, the bullet ant had an ability to attack any intruder en masse. He had learned   this was due to the first attacking ant releasing a pheromone to which all the other ants responded. Attacks on humans were often a case of a poor hiker accidentally kicking a nest open without realising it was there, only to find their legs covered with thousands of the tiny and aggressive creatures attacking in a frenzy.  His train of thought was broken by the humanoid shadow which fell across the floor in front of him.
    He looked over his shoulder, squinting against the sun. "Can I help you?"
    "Are you Richard Draven?" the woman said as she stepped closer, blocking out the glare of the sun, her blue eyes trained on him.
    "Yes. Who are you?" He said, getting to his feet with a wince as his knees popped in protest.
    "You're a difficult man to track down."
    "People don't often come looking for me. What can I do for you?"
    "You need to come with me."
    "Am I under arrest?" he said, finding time to appreciate her good looks. Her hair, in particular, seemed to glow as it was lit by the sun.
    "No, you're not under arrest. Even if you were, I wouldn’t have the power to do it."
    “You still haven’t told me who you are,” Draven said, keeping a close eye on the ants nest to make sure they were keeping their distance.
    “My name is Kate Goodall. I work for the government.”
    “What does that have to do with me?”
    “I’ll tell you on the way. Right now we have to leave.”
    "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I can't go anywhere. I'm busy here."
    The woman scowled, pursing her thin lips and wiping a forearm against her forehead. There was a harshness about her which was both attractive and intimidating. He couldn't resist checking out the rest of her. Good figure, long legs poking out from khaki shorts.
    "Homeland security sent me," she said, folding her arms.
    Draven hesitated, glancing down at the Bullet ant nest. "You sure you have the right guy?"
    "We don't make mistakes. You're definitely who we're looking for."
    "That's nice to know," Draven said. "I'm still not going anywhere until you tell me what you want."
    She sighed, planting her hands on hips. "I work as a special liaison for the United States government. I need you to come and consult us on a developing situation back on US soil.”
    "I'm afraid my consulting days are behind me. There are much better-qualified people out there I'm sure."
    "Not about this," Kate said, holding his gaze.
    "I'm not sure if the people at Homeland Security know this, but my reputation isn't exactly stellar in the science community these days. If it's a consultant you want, I suggest Sebastian Eller or Mary-Ann Palmer. I’m sure they would be more than happy to help you."
    "I'm sure they’re good, but I also know they don't know anything