Exotic Birds — Jessica Eppley

It is 2005. The multi-billion dollar company, Whittmeyer Industries, is under threat of bankruptcy. The CEO and founder, Harry Whittmeyer, has been mysteriously murdered. His daughter and successor, Megan Whittmeyer, is kidnapped soon after.Megan's only hope for rescue rests on the shoulders of her smart-mouth slacker of a brother, Jack, the disowned son of the Whittmeyer legacy. His three, equally displaced friends have found themselves reluctantly along for the ride. Under the constant watch of an unknown enemy simply identifying as ‘The X', the foursome must travel to Ecuador, trek through the Amazonian rainforest, and face the kidnappers head on. Assuming they don't kill each other first.