Following their adventures uncovering the web of Red Shadow corruption in Rio, Dario, Vikram & Doc Silver are joined by Ajax and Jaspar to proceed in following the trail to the art deco pearl of Brazil’s central states Goiânia where Zé do Caixão, Coffin Joe appears to be a link in the chain to Blanka’s origins.
They secure from DUKE (Department Undercover Kinetic Espionage) a DC 3 kitched out with velure ottomons, faux zebra skin rug and an excellent drinks cabinet.
As the our about halfway to their destinate they spot they are being followed by a aircradt. It slips into the sun and begins and attack! Dario’s skilled piloting manages to escape the initial attack run. It’s bright red p-41 thunderbolt in red shadow livery.
Dario manages to use his knowledge of the enemy aircraft & its weight and torque to climb and twist away but searches in vain for cloud cover. As the Red Shadow comes in 8 x .50 calls blazing Jaspar makes a shot hitting an oil kine spurting oil over the enemy ace’s canopy – as he clears this – he flies straight and level enough for Vikram to make a deadly shot killing the enemy pilot and the Thunderbolt plummets.
The agents land at Goiânia airport quiz a janitor about strange goings on at the airport but he is a tight lipped given fear of the military authorities rulling Brazil.
They procede to Coffin Joe’s funeral home – Dario in a large anerican dodge polars with extra styling and fins. Jaspar rides shotgun. They stay outside while Vikram, Doc & Ajax go in the home.
There they are greeted by the sinister Coffin Joe.
When quizzed Joe is open about his co-operation with the Red Shadows – how he is not to be tied by common herd morality in his quest to find the ‘perfect speciem’ woman to ensure a ‘continuation of the blood.’ He then explodes a smokes bomb and escapes onto the roof. He escapes fleeing shots. Dario speeds in oursuit raning his dodge into a traffic jam of ethanol fueled VW beetles and giving the brazillian drivers portuguese curses there equal in his italian. The gives Jaspar the chance to clip Joe in the leg before he escapes into the market. They bundle the nefarious undertaker into the boot before ransacking his offices.
In the offices they find that the ‘packages’ Joe was transporting using his mortuary credebtials to the corrupt Rio Military Police where transport from the Parque Zoológico, specifically the Head Primate keeper Cesar Camaras. They also find preserved but not embalmed female bodies, and a strange lab – Doc Silver collates sanoles for further study.
Hearing sirens they return to the car and find Coffin Joe has disappeared leaving empty clothes and maggots where vikram had clipped his nails. Vikram finds a mãe de santo (priestess) of Candomblé who takes the remains of coffin joe and promises to put them to good use containing his evil. Ajax also seeks advice about his puzzlement about how he never made sweet love to President Zula despite their connection but balks at the suggestion he converts to islam and proposes marriage.
The Boys decide to spend a day at the zoo. They have some lovely ice creams and enjoy seeing the giraffes getting fed. They also see Camaras around his duties and not he seems genuineky progressive and caring about the animals. Then they hide in a storage shed till the visitors are gone and break into the primate house.
They locate Cesar in the office but leave him unmolested. They find in a loading bay a locked large container cover by tarp. Vikram unlocks it and sees it contains a cage and most awful stink,
Then as he tried to unlock the cage he is grabbed ! By rotten figures ! Wrenching himself free then lock up the container going to Camaras for answers.
Despite fears for his life Camaras soon coffesses all – he is a link in the chain – once a true believer in the Red Baron but now more committed to his zoo keeping. He has to transport these mystery cargos from the Minotaur Stockyard, Rio Branco under cover as protein for omnivarious apes. He thinks there are probably further links back to a Red Shadow secret science facility deep in the Amazon rainforest.
The team contact DUKE to evacuate Camaras and his family and put a tracker on the container. They determine to board the DC3 and head to Rio Blanco.
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