The Gambit (31 page)

“
Bienvenidos
à Hialeah
,” Briana said.

“Hialeah,” I repeated.

Rachel began to stir. She inhaled deeply and stretched her arms out.

“We’re already here?” she asked while yawning.

“Yep. I was about to have Owen wake you up.”

Rachel rubbed her eyes and peered out of both windows. “Wow, we are near the street Briana and me grew up on. That was quick.”

“Yeah for you, Sleeping Beauty,” I said, poking her in her side. “I was awake the whole time.”

“I could sleep for a week after what we went through in the past two days.”

“I can see that.”

“Rachel,” Briana called to her, “What street is Vinny’s garage off of? 37
th
of 44
th
? It’s been too damn long.”

“You should be ashamed,” Rachel answered. “You’re forgetting your roots,
amiga
.”

“Oh please, it’s been over a decade. Which is it?”

“This one! To the left!” The car whipped around and Briana’s tires screeched. I used my forearm to keep myself from being thrown against the window. We were all shaken up from her sudden turn. “37
th
,” Rachel said and let out a giggle.

I could see Briana’s sarcastic glare in the rearview mirror.

“A little too late, don’t you think?”

Rachel shrugged. Towards the end of the street, I saw what looked to be a concrete building. Apparently, Rachel had two cousins who owned a garage here in Hialeah. She told me before we left Briana’s this morning that their names were Vicenzo and Luciano, but to call them Vinny and Luke. I would come to find out they were
very
opinionated.

We pulled up in the small parking lot. As I stepped out, I noticed some of the asphalt was crumbling and deteriorated. My guess was that this building had been here long before Rachel’s cousins purchased it. There were three garage bays, all of which were open. I passed a souped-up Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, and a few feet from it was an equally nice Toyota Supra. I took a second glance when I saw it.
That
was a desired car amongst racers and car enthusiasts. Rachel took the lead ahead of us and strode into the garage like she lived there. I couldn’t help but glance down at her ass. She had borrowed some shorts from Briana. Our clothes were dirty, and Florida was shorts weather all year round. I wasn’t complaining.

“Is that who I think it is?!” a gruff voice asked from inside the garage. It was accompanied by another with the same Hispanic accent. “No fucking way!”

“It’s me,
primos!
” she shouted in a singsong tone. Two men barreled into her. The first embraced her in a bear hug. He picked her up and swung her around in a circle. She laughed and I heard him mutter something in Spanish with a huge grin on his face. Rachel rubbed his shiny bald head. “What happened to your hair, Luke?” He laughed, putting her down and rubbed it himself. “It started to go a while back, I had to shave it off. I look like Pitbull, right?” She shook her head and chuckled. “You wish!”

By now Grey, Briana, and I had settled in behind Rachel. Vinny greeted her next, and when he pulled her tight in a hug, I noticed how massive his arms were. The ridges in his biceps and triceps were stone-like. He had a tattoo sleeve on each arm, tribal designs in various patterns. The black ink ended at his wrists. He also had a shaved head. I assumed balding began early for the men in Rachel’s family. When Vinny released Rachel, he straightened his posture and his towering frame became apparent. I couldn’t help but stare. He must have been well over six foot, and his t-shirt looked a little too tight for a man of his size. Perhaps he was trying to flaunt his muscles. Besides his Hispanic features, he almost looked like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Luke was around my height, maybe five-eleven or six foot, but not nearly as built as Vinny. He had muscles, but he also was a little huskier.

By the looks of them, I wouldn’t want to be around when they saw red.

The garage smelled of rubber and motor oil. Rachel hadn’t introduced us yet, so I took this time to survey my surroundings. There was a car in the far bay with the hood open and movement visible from the mechanic’s well underneath. Judging by the fact Vinny and Luke hadn’t a trace of dirt or grease on them, I assumed they were the owners.

Luke’s demeanor turned serious and he glanced at all of us.

“Rachel, what the hell is going on? We saw you on the news. You are wanted big time,
chica
…” His baritone voice softened. He seemed concerned about her well-being, which made me happy. I then realized that now
I
also cared about Rachel, and it kind of alarmed me. I’d only known her for three days. Maybe it was fear that caused me to question the sensation as it swept over me. Megan made me bitter when she left. I was afraid to care, to invest so much into another human being again. There was something gravitating about her presence. It wasn’t just her looks, it was the energy she gave off. It made me want to be around her.

Regardless, a little voice inside told me that my road would be a short one. Albeit we were intelligent people, I had my doubts. Images of a future with Rachel swam around my head. A future where we wouldn’t have to hide, wouldn’t have to run, and could be free again. It all sounded a little too sublime, too good to be true. At this point, I was living day by day, uncertain of what was to come. I couldn’t get too attached to Rachel. It would cause her more pain than I’d like to imagine. For that little voice was incessant, and seldom had it quieted since discovering I was a wanted terrorist. It said my road would be a
short
one…and that very thought terrified me to my core.

“Owen! What are you waiting for? We have some things to discuss.”

Rachel’s voice jolted me from my daze. As I became coherent, I saw Grey and Briana trailing her and her cousins. I scurried behind them and we walked up concrete steps into a loft. It was spacious and had a pool table with burgundy fabric. The room had a faint smell of cigar smoke that lingered in the air, and even with the dim lighting, I couldn’t keep my eyes from the walls. There were all kinds of pictures of their family, posters of the Miami Heat, cars, and I saw one of the Wu-Tang Clan. In just a few glimpses, I saw most of what made up their interests.

“I like what you’ve done with the place,” Briana said.

“A lot different from when you were a little girl, huh?” Luke smiled and let out a throaty laugh. I caught the glimmer of a gold molar in his mouth. There was a long, saggy, beige couch against the wall, accompanied by another perpendicular in the corner. Her cousins both sat on the smaller sofa and let us four sit on the longer one. Rachel daintily crossed a bronze leg over the other and rested her hands, intertwining them around her knee. None on our couch said a word, but Vinny kept glancing over me as if I were an intruder of some sorts. His forehead was scrunched up, and he didn’t look very pleased.

“So,
prima
, tell me why the fuck are you risking your life for this
gringo?
” Vinny waved a hand in my direction. My anger caused me to flinch, and I almost jumped off of the couch, but Vinny’s rocky build made me think twice. Still, I was no coward. “What the fuck? Nice to meet you too, asshole.”

He jumped up and lunged at me with fiery eyes, and Rachel was between us before either of us could lay a hand on each other. “
Ay, ay, ay!
Calm down. No fighting!” Rachel shouted, pushing us farther apart.

“Fucking
gringo
…” He muttered some hateful Spanish, I assumed. Luke also stood up with him, but was now easing back down onto the couch. He eyed me just as Vinny had—distrusting and loathing.

“What does that word even mean?” I whispered to Briana.

“White boy…”

Rachel, still standing, huffed and began to wave her arms around heatedly.

“Now are you two ready to stop acting like thugs and listen to what I have to say? Owen—”

“Before you continue,” Grey interrupted. He seemed uncomfortable in this environment. “Take your batteries out of your phones. Now.”

Vinny and Luke looked at him as if he was insane. “Why?”

“Because
they
could be listening.” He pointed to Vinny’s phone which was now out of his pocket. “Take out the batteries.” They both glanced at Rachel to silently confirm Grey’s demand. Rachel crossed her arms and nodded. They reluctantly popped out the batteries and set them on the cocktail table between the couches.

“Owen is in deep shit, and it runs a lot deeper than you think.”

“He’s not my blood,” Vinny shrugged in my direction, making a sour face as if he could smell my
gringo
self from where he was sitting.

Rachel snorted. “He’s not your blood, but when whatever it is they are planning goes into action, you will both wish you would have treated him like he was.”

“What are you talking about?” Luke questioned.

“Owen was framed for the bombings at Georgetown. We think someone, or a group of people wanted Owen’s party to lose the election.”

“Why?” Vinny still glowered at me like I really
was
a killer.

“As a journalist, I am inclined to believe someone wants to keep themselves in power. With all of this happening weeks before the election, who knows what else they could be hiding?”

“Is that what all of this is about?” Vinny scoffed and stood up, pacing around. “You just trying to get a story for a big bonus at work?”

“It’s not
just
a story, Vinny! Something tells me this all goes back to the Confinement.”

Vinny and Luke froze. Their demeanor turned grave.

“What? What do you mean? This all goes back to the Confinement…”

The change in Luke’s tone was palpable. It was the first time since meeting them that they didn’t appear so callous. It was hard to tell, but it almost looked like
fear
.

“I’ve thought…that maybe we weren’t meant to be released from the Confinement.”

Rachel’s words pierced like daggers, and the reactions from Vinny and Luke were evidence.

“There’s no fucking way that’s true. I can’t believe it. After everything we saw happen, there’s no way…” Luke stumbled over his words and he rubbed his forehead with his palms. Was he beginning to sweat? Rachel sat down next to Grey at the end of the couch, closest to Vinny and Luke.

“Was the Miami Camp bad? What did you see?” her voice was soft and empathetic. Vinny’s eyes jumped up to meet Rachel’s. “It was a nightmare. Six million people, from all walks of life, different languages and cultures, stuck. Hundreds died every day because they would fight, and the guards would kill them. Imagine, all the gangs behind one fence, all the drug dealers
forced
to be together. I could only imagine how bad it would have been if it was in the dead of summer, the winter kept the temperature mild. Regardless, they didn’t have enough supplies to feed everyone—”

“Are you serious?” Rachel interrupted. “Yes, I’m serious,
prima
. Kids died right in front of my own eyes from starvation. It was horrible. I have nightmares sometimes.” There was pain behind Vinny’s voice. Luke didn’t add anything to Vinny’s statement, he just stared at the concrete floor. I glanced at the scar on my left forearm. I had nightmares too, just like Vinny. The faded dot on my arm from the cigarette was a physical scar…but the Confinement’s damage ran much deeper. It scarred us mentally more than anything.

“I wish you had pictures.” Rachel’s voice was distant.

“I don’t have any pictures,” Vinny answered, “but you do have our word. We are witnesses.”

Rachel nodded. She seemed to be daydreaming.

“So, tell us about this plan,” Luke said. Rachel pulled herself out of her daze. “Well, Owen and I have made it all the way here from North Carolina, and we can’t keep running. We are running out of time. We have to get Owen out of the country—”

Vinny started laughing. “You gotta be kidding me.” His chuckles were guttural and raspy. Rachel wasn’t amused, and she began to open her mouth to speak.

“No, it’s possible. I can do it,” Grey interjected. We all turned to him. “I’ve actually been thinking of how we would go about doing it.”

“No offense,” Vinny spoke over his subsiding laughs. “You think you’re going to be able to get Owen Marina, through security, and on a plane in the second largest international airport?”

“Yes.” Grey nodded confidently.

“
Gringos
, man…” Vinny patted Luke on the back. “They are
loco
.” Luke didn’t laugh, but a smile emerged. “I was laughing, too,” Briana added. “Until Grey and I talked. He’s the real deal, he’s not crazy. His computer skills are unbelievable.” They glanced at Grey again. I couldn’t tell if he was smiling behind his scraggly black beard.

“I’m interested in hearing about this later, Grey,” Luke said, “but what about you, Rachel? Maybe you forgot, but you are just as wanted as he is. Why don’t you go with him? And where is he going?”