Then the officer stepped into the cage and kicked the prisoner’s hand. The cup flew. The man crawled after it.

Rambo helped the last prisoner aboard. Then he turned and looked back at the jungle. The monsoon had finally stopped. Steam rose from the trees like breath.

He had brought something better than proof.

When the Russian found him, Rambo was standing in the river, chest heaving, the surviving prisoners huddled behind him. The Russian raised a pistol. “For a nobody, you cost me a lot of money.”