Savage Lands by Andy Briggs Page A

in the wilderness.
    The helicopter pivoted over a landing pad, nothing more than a slab of concrete set into the mud a hundred feet from a set of portable cabins that fanned out across the site like a shantytown. The scale was greater than Karibu Mji and the devastation was above and beyond anything they had achieved even after months of logging.
    They landed so smoothly that Jane didn’t feel a thing. The rotors quickly wound down and a pair of ground crew rushed over to help Greystoke out. They kept their heads bent down as they passed under the slow-spinning rotor blades, despite the fact that there was more than enough clearance.
    The side door cranked open and the ground crew gestured for them to exit. One of the crewmembers wore a perfectly white shirt that looked out of place in the dirty mine around them; he looked like the poster boy for a corporation with more cash than morals. He walked ahead with Greystoke, and the group caught the name Edward from a snatch of conversation. The other was a woman with flame-red hair. She didn’t look happy to see them, but was apparently under orders to be hospitable.
    â€œWelcome,” she said with an Australian accent.
    The smell of dust and diesel struck Jane. Every breath she took tasted of dirt. “What are you mining?” she asked. The woman ignored her and helped Archie, who grinned at her with all the charm he could muster, out of the helicopter.
    â€œAn absolute pleasure. Lovely to meet you. I’m Archie.”
    â€œIdra,” acknowledged the woman.
    Jane rolled her eyes and hurried over to Greystoke and Edward. Greystoke was gesticulating, his voice raised: “Don’t let any more of those damned pygmies in here. How hard can that be?” He shot a scathing look in the direction of a dozen barefoot Mbuti men carrying heavy machinery. Unlike the people they had encountered in the jungle, the men wore grubby Westernized clothing and their faces bore a pale unsmiling mask. Jane thought they looked more like slaves than workers.
    â€œWhat are you mining here?” she asked, pushing herself between Greystoke and Edward and looking around. She noticed Archie was still chatting to a bored-looking Idra as Robbie and Clark took in the site, Clark occasionally pointing to huge pieces of digging machinery.
    Greystoke hesitated, obviously not used to being spoken to so casually in front of staff. He shot Edward a look before answering. “Coltan.”
    â€œNever heard of it,” said Jane crossing her arms and turning to face him. “I guess it’s pretty valuable, otherwise you wouldn’t be poisoning the land?”
    Edward raised his hand and smoothly moved in between them, a job he was no doubt amply paid for. “This is a fully legal operation we have out here, miss.”
    His tone irritated Jane, but she didn’t let it show. Instead she forced a smile. “That’s not what I asked, Edward .”
    Greystoke nudged his spokesman aside. “Coltan is very valuable and we need it,” he said primly. “You use it all the time, everybody does. In your phone, car ignition systems, lights, computers—just about every electrical item uses coltan, and it just so happens that one of the world’s largest supplies is under this jungle.”
    â€œSo you’ll rip up the rainforest just to find it?”
    â€œAh, now you’re a flag-waving eco-warrior are you? Spend a few months in this hellhole and you think it should all be preserved?”
    â€œI’ve only just got here and I can see what you’re doing is wrong.”
    Greystoke laughed, his eyes narrowing. “Oh, the irony of such a statement coming from the daughter of a logger.” He shook his head condescendingly.
    Jane tensed, ready for an argument, but Archie and Clark caught up with them.
    â€œNice operation,” said Clark casually. Greystoke didn’t see the look he shot at Jane. It spoke volumes: Shut up.