Warriors in Paradise (35 page)

Jonathan said, “Let me make a few calls, and I will tell you when we can leave.”

***

Charlie gave Juliette and Camille their valuables and documents. He drove the Camry to Dulles International Airport. Juliette was sitting next to him. Camille and Caleb were sitting in the back.

The drive to the airport was mostly done in silence.

They promised they were going to stay in touch and that they would see each other again. However, deep in their hearts, they knew that this was going to be the last time they would see each other.

Juliette and Camille had spent horrible, frightening days in a near comatose state induced by the tranquilizers and sedatives. Even though perhaps they loved Charlie and Caleb a little, seeing them again brought back the memories of their ordeal.

As they arrived at the airport, Charlie asked, “Would you like us to walk you in?”

Juliette and Camille declined. Juliette said, “It would be easier for everybody if we just say good-bye here.”

Charlie parked outside International Departures.

Caleb was already missing Camille. He gave her a long kiss and thought about how good sex had been with her. She cried and said, looking deeply into his eyes, “Good-bye, Caleb. I wish we could have met under different circumstances.”

Juliette said, “I will miss you, Charlie, and thank you for everything that the three of you have done for us. What we had was beautiful, but it was destroyed by forces beyond our control. Perhaps one day…” She looked down, and her lower lip was trembling. Then both girls turned around and walked into the terminal building without looking back.

Charlie and Caleb stood next to the car, watching them disappear into the terminal.

Caleb realized that even without the hugs, kisses, and magnificent sex, he would still have warm feelings for Camille. He was also sad they had not met under different circumstances.

Caleb asked Charlie, “Do you remember who said, ‘You need sadness to know happiness, noise to appreciate silence, and absence to value presence’?”

“No idea, but that is exactly how I feel: sad, silent, and absent.”

They drove back in silence. No words were needed. They were both feeling the same—saddened by a promised love that never had a chance to flourish.

Another reason to hate the Corporation.

Back to where it all started

Jonathan called Freddie, his special ops friend, and asked if he could borrow the corporate jet again. Freddie obliged again by saying, “Yes, you can have it. We will not need it for the next couple of days.”

Jonathan said, “Thanks, Freddie. We need to fly directly to Acapulco tomorrow morning.”

Freddie responded, “No problem. There is a military airport in Pie de la Cuesta where you can land and take off without any hassle. However, there are two problems: First, you have to take off immediately after landing. It is the only airport functioning in Acapulco, and it has been overwhelmed by all the flights needed for the ongoing relief and reconstruction effort. Second, you need to pay up front for the fuel and the plane staff.”

“No problem. The plane can come back immediately. It is a one-way trip,” Jonathan responded. “Regarding fuel and staff costs, consider it done. You just tell me to whom I pay, and that is the end of it.”

***

Santi and the Russian girls would be leaving early in the morning from the company’s private airfield.

Miranda stayed at the motel, keeping the Russian girls company. Jonathan went back to his house, and the three boys went to the apartment. Charlie and Caleb were distraught after Juliette and Camille’s departure, and Santi was feeling down because he had not been able to reach Valentina and Sandra. Communications with Acapulco had yet to be restored. He did talk to his mother in Mexico City, and she told him that things were looking better.

They slept late and had dry cereal for breakfast. The milk had gone sour. However, that was OK, since none of them was hungry. Charlie called Jonathan and Miranda. They agreed to bring the Russian girls to the rural airfield by 11:00 a.m. Santi would fly down with them. However, as an afterthought, Charlie and Caleb took their travel documents with them.

You never knew.

***

Jonathan was already at the motel waiting. Charlie went to reception and settled the bill. Charlie then gave Jonathan $280,000 of Nicanor Toro’s money, saying, “Uncle, here is a quarter of a million for Jack Taylor’s family and thirty thousand for the fuel and plane staff costs.”

“Thanks. That should do nicely,” said Jonathan.

Miranda drove her Camry and Jonathan his Jeep to the airfield.

Santi said, “Miranda, I feel like you are my American mother. Thank you for everything you have done. And I am sorry we brought you so much trouble.” He held her in his arms and kissed her on the cheek.

Miranda responded with a tender, motherly smile, “Santi, I also feel like you are my third son after Charlie and Caleb. We will see you soon, I hope.”

Santi looked at Jonathan and said, “Jonathan, I have learned a lot from you. You are loyal and straight as an arrow, somebody to look up to. Thanks for everything. If it had not been for you, we wouldn’t be here right now.”

Jonathan said, “Santi, you’re very welcome. This was an interesting and incredible adventure. Stay out of trouble.”

Santi looked at Charlie and Caleb without saying a word. Those two looked at each other and winked at the same time. Charlie said, “Hey, little man, we are coming with you. We promised Valentina, Sandra, and your mom to keep you out of trouble, and we keep our promises. Besides, we don’t want you to steal our clothes.”

“So what now? I have two gringo babysitters?” said Santi, smiling.

“And all paid for,” Caleb retorted.

They bid their farewells from Miranda and Jonathan, telling them they would be in touch and would probably be coming back soon, flying on a scheduled commercial airline flight.

Turmoil in Paradise

The flight was uneventful. Charlie, Caleb and Santi’s intention to meditate quietly on the recent events was made impossible by the exuberance of the Russian girls. They talked about the imminent trouble brewing between Russia and Ukraine, and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s lack of tolerance for any opposition,
specially the three-girl
punk band Pussy Riot, arrested for “hooliganism,” after a performance protest in Moscow’s main cathedral.

They arrived in Acapulco four and a half hours after leaving Virginia. Charlie and Caleb took the Russian girls to their hotel in one taxi, and Santi took another to the clinic.

The hotel staff was very understanding and helpful. They had kept the girls’ belongings in their rooms in spite of not having heard from them for several days. They even offered to halve their room rates.

Charlie asked the Russian girls, “How are you doing for money?”

One of them responded, “We don’t have much. Most of our cash was lost when we were abducted. Fortunately, we still have our credit cards in the hotel’s safe.”

Charlie took out his wallet. He gave $1,000 to each, saying, “Please take this, and consider it a contribution from Nicanor Toro.”

The Russian girls were very grateful, hugging and kissing Charlie and Caleb. “You saved our lives! Even though you did not know us, you came to free us.
Spasibo
—thank you very much! If you are ever in Russia, please don’t forget to get in touch with us.” And so on and so forth.

Charlie and Caleb took a taxi to Santi’s house, appreciating the ride in silence.

Acapulco looked better than it did when they had left for Mexico City, but there was still a lot of cleanup work and reconstruction to be done. The rains and floods had been devastating.

***

Santi arrived at the Santa Lucia Clinic. Valentina was no longer there. She had been released to Sandra’s care.

He went home. Sandra and the red dog were happy to see him. Valentina was sleeping in a hammock in the shade of a big mango tree in the garden. Her family could not travel to Acapulco. The highway was still not open to traffic.

Santi went to the kitchen for a beer and sat down next to Valentina. The red dog would not let him out of his sight. He thought, “I have to name you, dog.”

He said in a soft voice, “What is your name? Would you like me to give you a name? Do you like Güero? Wag your tail if you like it.”

The red dog looked at him, and he thought he saw a sparkle of disgust in his eyes.

“OK, point taken. You don’t like it. What about Rory?” The dog gave him another look of loathing. “OK, dog. I see this is going to be a long process.”

“Is that you, Santi?” Valentina asked from the hammock.

“Yes. Sorry if I woke you up.”

“No problem. I have been sleeping all of the time. I am constantly tired. I don’t know what is wrong with me.”

Santi had a long talk with Valentina. She kept on drifting in and out of sleep. One moment she would be talking, and next she would be breathing shallowly with her eyes closed. She seemed severely traumatized and depressed. She could not bring herself to talk about what had happened to her.

“I can’t get out of my mind the memory of seeing you being taken down by several men dressed in white and being hit on the head with a bottle. I keep on hearing the loud whack of the bottle making contact,” she said. “I thought you were dead. And I thought I would be too…”

She dozed off into a gentle slumber.

Charlie and Caleb arrived at the house. They were waiting for him on the dining-room terrace. Sandra had prepared a banquet fit for a king. They did not feel very hungry, but as soon as they started eating, they couldn’t stop. It had been a week of missed meals and restaurant food, so the return to a home-cooked meal was very welcome.

Charlie, Caleb, and Santi went down to the garden with a tray of food for Valentina. She was resting with her eyes closed.

Charlie asked Santi, “Have you thought of a name for the dog?”

“Yes, I have, but the dog doesn’t seem to like any of the names that I have suggested.”

Caleb lowered his head while looking at Santi and said, “You told us that this house has a South African name, and the dog is a South African Ridgeback, so why don’t you give it a South African name? What about Zulu?”

The dog looked at Caleb and wagged his tail.

Santi said, “Hey, look at that! He likes the name Zulu!”

The dog kept on wagging his tail.

“OK, so Zulu it is,” said Santi, adding, “It takes an African American to name a South African dog.”

“Being African American doesn’t have shit to do with finding a name for the dog. It is just that you don’t have any Mexican imagination,” Caleb retorted.

***

Charlie and Caleb went upstairs to their rooms and took the tray of uneaten food with them. Santi remained in the garden to watch over Valentina.

At 6:30 p.m., he woke her up and asked her, “Would you like something to eat?”

“Not really. I feel tired and would like to sleep some more,” Valentina responded.

“OK, but first, let’s walk up to the dining room and have something to eat so you can feel better. Also, you have to say hello to Charlie and Caleb.”

“Ah, yeah. What happened to Juliette and Camille?” Valentina asked.

While helping her out of the hammock’s cocoon, Santi said, “Come on, let’s go to the dining room, and then we will tell you everything you have missed, including what happened to the Russian girls.”

“Ah, yeah. What happened to the Russian girls?”

Santi helped Valentina to walk up the stairs to the dining room. Sandra had set the table and warmed up some of the leftovers. They looked enticing.

Santi aided Valentina to sit down, and soon thereafter, Charlie and Caleb appeared cautiously, greeting her. She seemed afraid of being touched by anyone other than Sandra. She looked at them in a dazed state and queried, “How are you? I haven’t seen you in a long time. Where are Juliette and Camille? Are they here?”

“No,” said Charlie. “Juliette and Camille flew back yesterday to Toronto.”

Santi said, putting some food on her plate, “Please, have something to eat. We have a story to tell you.”

Santi and Charlie talked for the next twenty minutes, telling her an edited version of the story up to that morning. Valentina listened to them while pecking at her food. She, however, had reached a point where her eyes were drooping.

Santi assisted her to stand up and walked her up to her room. Sandra stayed with her, keeping her company. Given her ordeal, Santi thought she was probably off men, including him, for a long, long time.

***

Charlie, Caleb, and Santi talked. They were sure that nobody in the Mexican drug cartel or the DC Corporation knew much about them. They had eliminated the only ones who could identify and track them. They were as safe as they could be.

They would soon find out how wrong they were.

They were unhappy to leave things as they were. The distribution of drugs throughout the United States would continue under the corrupt Corporation. Another Mexican drug lord would soon be selected to take over the Latin American cartel. The kidnapping and yearly auctions would continue under the direction of Rupert Pattinson. They knew they were powerless to change anything. The people in the Corporation were simply too mighty and beyond their reach.