by Paul Knox
“Look at it this way,” Kai quickly iterated. “They are together. You want them both, correct? I’ll get them both.”
Yunru spoke as if he was buying chocolate from a candy store. “If you can’t take control of a simple situation in your own country, then you will never be respected. You will never be the white dragon. And you will be crushed.”
“I am the white dragon!” Kai roared.
Yunru’s lips twisted into a slight grin. “You are nothing until you accomplish this. Fail me again and it will be the last time you ever have the chance to do so.” Yunru tapped End without waiting for a response.
A moment later Aiguo returned, escorting a man in a wrinkled suit.
“I came as quick as I could,” the man gushed.
“I regret your arrival, Lindon,” Yunru said, his hands folded peacefully behind his back.
“But…” Lindon looked confused. “You sent for me.”
“It appears I will be taking over your simple task: bring Reece and Chang to Honduras. That was all you were responsible for.”
The man’s eyes suddenly glossed over and his confusion morphed to fear. “The plane crashed into a volcano. There was nothing I could do—”
“And yet they both survived, but your two men did not.”
“How could they survive?”
“You question my eyes and ears?”
“No, Yunru, of course not.” The man bowed slightly, clenching his jaw. He spoke with a new resolve. “Then I will find them. Please, let me regain your trust.”
“My trust?” Yunru asked with disgust. “Where is the gold necklace?”
“Surely it is in the wreckage. Please—”
“The necklace isn’t in the wreckage.”
“Yunru, I swear to you—I will not fail you again.”
“You are correct. You will not.” Yunru glanced at Aiguo and nodded.
Aiguo suddenly kicked the back of Lindon’s knees and grabbed the collar of his suit jacket, yanking him down. Lindon crumbled, landing on his knees.
Before Lindon even knew what was happening, Aiguo had already removed a clear plastic bag from his back pocket, and in a flick of his wrist, had it open and around the man’s head.
“Behold the city,” Yunru instructed, pointing at the buildings in the distance.
Lindon gasped for air and struggled in a feeble attempt at survival. But Aiguo had locked his arms around his neck. Aiguo’s kneecap ground deep into the man’s spine.
Lindon’s eyes were wild like an animal which had been shot by a hunter, maimed but still alive, watching as the hunter drew near to claim his prize.
“The city doesn’t care if you live or die,” Yunru continued, noticing a neon sign flickering in the distance. “But it cares if you work properly. And if you don’t, you might as well be replaced.”
“I…I…P…Please…” Lindon choked out, begging for his life, his face turning blue.
“Pitiful,” Yunru muttered, hardly interested in the scene before him.
Lindon’s eyes unfocused. Moments later his lifeless body stilled. Aiguo stood, letting the deadweight crumple to the artificial turf.
“After you take out the trash,” Yunru instructed, “prepare our departure. Due to the hurricane, we’ll take the same route into El Salvador that Reece and Change were supposed to take out.”
“It will be a six hour drive from the international airport in Honduras to San Salvador, and another hour or two depending on if we go north or south from there,” Aiguo informed him.
Once again, Yunru peered at the moon. He took a deep breath, inhaling the night. Upon his exhale, beneath his black button-down shirt, every muscle in his body flexed.
“So be it.”
29
A FEW MINUTES after leaving the hotel, Reece received a call from Ambrosia.
“Still on this side of the grave?” she asked.
“We made it thanks to your help.”
“Good, because I’ve got a kid named Mario who was worried about you. Are you close?”
“I’m a little over a half hour away. But Ambrosia…I need another favor. The BMW I drove in—any chance you can make it disappear?”
“There’s a chop shop nearby that’ll love to get their hands on that i8. They’ll owe me one after this. You’re doing me a favor, Reece.”
“Perfect. Be there soon.” Reece disconnected.
“We need a new hotel,” Sandy mentioned, driving through the storm. “Way inland. Somewhere no one can make heads or tails of.”
“I’m on it.” Reece pulled up Google maps. “I found one. It’s called Vista Los Volcanes.”
“Excellent,” Sandy said. “Was that Konstantin’s BMW at El Jocotillo?”
“Sure was. I have to admit…that i8 was nice. I might have to get my own back in the states.”
“Eh.” Sandy shrugged. “You deserve better.”
Reece looked away, hiding her expression. Comments like those were far and few between.
She was about to call Chang, but paused, and then called a different number: Duke’s.
He’s probably sleeping, but I hope he picks up.
Reece missed him. But the call went straight to voicemail.
“Hey there, Duke. It’s Reece. Just wanted to let you know I’m…fine. Give me a call when you get this. It would be great to talk again. There’s something I need to tell you.”
“Duke?” Sandy asked.
“He’s a friend,” Reece muttered, now preoccupied with dialing Chang.
To her surprise, Chang picked up on the first ring. “Reece? Where are you?”
“Chang, hi, I thought you’d be asleep by now. How’s your leg?”
“My leg? Oh, right, my leg. It’s fine. A dry bite, remember? So, are you okay?”
“Never better. I’m heading inland to a hotel with Sandy and Mario. I’ll swing by and pick you up tomorrow morning. But…this trip isn’t over yet. I’ll tell you about it in person.”
“What hotel? I’ll come to you. I should be there with you.”
“It’s called Vista Los Volcanes, in a town called Juayúa. But it’s okay, Chang, just get some sleep. We’ll meet up tomorrow. I’ll be fine—I always am.”
* * *
Later that night, Reece was sound asleep on the couch with Mario slumbering on a cot next to her. Sandy was in the only bed—Reece had insisted the ‘old man’ take it.
Suddenly Reece was startled awake. She heard something. It sounded like footsteps outside the hotel door. She bolted upright and grabbed a handgun from the floor beside her. It was one of the guns from Sandy’s ‘arsenal.’
And then the door handle jiggled.
“Sandy!” Reece hissed, pointing the gun at the door.
But Sandy was already half out of bed and racking a slide, moving silently to the door.
At this point, Mario had woken as well. “Señora Reece?” he whispered. “What’s going on?”
“Mario,” she instructed, “I want you to yell who’s there. Got it?”
Recognition donned in his eyes. The boy didn’t even hesitate. “¿Quién está ahí—nadie?”
“Um, Reece?” came the response from behind the door.
Sandy eyed her quizzically.
“It’s okay,” she said. “Let him in.”
Sandy flung open the door. Standing before them all, in the middle of the night, was none other than Chang.
“Reece…I just couldn’t wait. I couldn’t sleep. I needed to make sure you were okay.”
“Here,” Reece said, throwing a couch cushion to him. “The floor is the only place left.”
* * *
Before falling back asleep, Reece glanced at her phone. She had a missed call from Duke and a subsequent text.
I got your message, Reece. I’m so glad to hear from you. You’ll never believe where I am. El Salvador! Call me in the morning first thing!! I can’t wait to see you
Reece read the text a few times to make sure she wasn’t dreaming—or having a nightm
are.
“Oh shit,” she muttered.
30
“DUKE IS ON HIS WAY HERE…NOW?” Sandy echoed back to Reece, voicing much of the same confusion Reece had felt after reading his text the night before. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and said, “The extravagance of nature in full force. New plan?”
“Well,” Reece began, still trying to figure that out, “the storm is getting worse. There won’t be any commercial flights in or out of this country until it passes. When Duke gets here, someone can go to the market and pick up food and supplies.”
“So we can’t just send him home?” Chang asked.
Reece didn’t say anything.
Sandy found the room’s coffee maker and dropped a single-serve bag in the brew container. “Chang,” he asked with his back turned, “do you have any knowledge of Yunru, the new green dragon?”
“I’ve never heard the name. Should I know it?”
Sandy flipped the red power switch and turned to face him. “Yunru is working with the communist party in China and helping to force repatriation—either to kill dissenters or to have them submit and publicly declare their loyalty to the government.”
“Like what happened to my father,” Chang said softly.
“Exactly like what happened to him.”
“What does that have to do with—” Chang motioned around— “all of this?”
Reece answered. “We’re not sure yet. But if The Association successfully re-forms, its worldwide reach will be near impossible to stop. It needs to be put down once and for all—all at once.”
The smell of coffee began to fill the room.
Mario piped up, exclaiming gleefully, “You’ll never believe what happened to me and Reece on the way here! She’s a certified badass!”
Reece smiled and joined Sandy for a small Styrofoam cup of joe. She proceeded to tell Chang all about their encounter with Konstantin and the now-dead Castro brothers. Just as she finished the part about Pozo de Fuego and Kai, a knock at the hotel door sounded. She walked over and answered it.
“Reece!” Duke exclaimed ecstatically. The umbrella he was holding suddenly caught the wind and flipped up, inside out. He tossed it to the ground and stepped inside, throwing his arms around her.
She let him hold her for a moment, noticing that Chang watched them closely from the corner of her eye. She stepped away to shut the door, her smile gone.
Perhaps her mood reflected the conundrum of keeping Duke safe in the midst of a hurricane and around dangerous murderers. Or maybe it was something else.
“Oh, ah… Sorry to interrupt,” Duke stammered, seeming to read Reece’s nonverbal cues. He tried to recover from the awkwardness. “Um…someone has a big scar?—I heard, ah, right before I knocked.”
“The white dragon,” Mario emphasized with an odious tone. “Right down his face. But he’s dead meat now, though. Right, Señora Reece?”
Reece nodded but still remained silent, a far-off look in her eyes.
Duke eyed Chang cautiously.
Chang folded his arms in front of him.
“Duke,” Reece finally said, “this is my…he’s my…”
“I’m her father,” Sandy interjected.
Reece cleared her throat.
Sandy extended his hand for a shake. As Duke took it, Sandy looked him in the eye and said, “Greetings. And you shouldn’t be here.”
Reece watched as the last tiny bit of enthusiasm in Duke completely deflated. He didn’t respond to Sandy’s comment, probably because there’s no gentlemanly response when the father of a man’s girlfriend says the man isn’t welcome—while also in the predicament of there being absolutely nowhere else to go.
So instead, Duke held up a camera bag he was holding, stared at it, and said somewhat meekly, “At least I can get some pictures of a hurricane.” He mumbled, “Can’t do that in Arizona.”
Reece spoke to everyone, but looked pointedly at Duke. “I’m going to the market for some food. We need some supplies before this storm gets any worse and every place closes—or gets destroyed.”
But before Duke could respond, Chang immediately said, “I’ll go with you, Reece. Everyone else will be safe here.”
Reece waited in silence for a moment, eyeing Duke and wondering if he would say something.
“I’ll wait here,” Duke muttered. “I wouldn’t want to get in your way.”
* * *
One block down, the two found a small market. Miraculously they were open. Reece and Chang hurried inside, shoes splashing atop the wet floor. The place was mostly empty.
After entering, the shopkeeper called out to them in Spanish. “We are about to close. Hurry!”
“Sí, claro,” Reece responded.
“Let’s split up,” Chang said. “You get the food and I’ll get water.”
“Right.” Reece took off for the bread aisle. She scooped a few loaves into the cart and then went for some cheese and fruits.
While rounding the aisles, she found a bunch of plastic waterproof ponchos they could slip on over their clothes. She grabbed five of them.
After loading up, she wheeled the cart to the front, surprised she hadn’t seen Chang yet.
But he wasn’t in the front of the store, either.
Reece searched the entire market two complete times before the shopkeeper yelled at her that he was closing now, pointing emphatically at the water running down the streets and inside.
Peering through the windows, Reece spotted Chang’s rental they had driven still parked out front. Frustrated, she grabbed a couple gallons of water, purchased it all, and loaded it into the car.
Sitting inside, she honked the horn a few times, hoping it would signal to Chang, wherever he was. Then she tried his phone. No answer.
A few more minutes passed. Reece got out of the car, and again fought the brutal weather, running behind the shop and around the nearby streets, looking for him. The umbrella barely even helped against the sideways rain.
Now completely worried something had happened, she called Duke at the hotel.
“Reece?” he answered.
“Did Chang come back?”
“No…he’s not with you?”
“No.” Reece strained her eyes, scanning the surroundings for some clue she might have missed. “Tell Sandy he’s missing. And Duke…be careful.”
31
AN HOUR PASSED. The storm was getting worse by the minute and searching randomly for Chang outside had proved fruitless.
Reece had regrouped with Sandy inside the small hotel room, recapping what they knew about Yunru, Konstantin, and Kai. They tried looking at the situation from different angles. Reece kept one eye on her phone and one eye on the weather.
Meanwhile, Duke listened, making them all sandwiches with the items purchased from the store.
“Thanks for the sandwich, Duke,” Reece said between hurried bites.
Duke offered her a smile. “That’s a unique necklace, Reece. I like it.”
Mario looked over with his mouth full. “That gold medallion is a small piece of the tablets, Señora Reece. I haven’t seen it since the last time I saw my mother.”
“It’s your family’s?” Reece set the sandwich down and stood up. “I apologize, Mario. Why didn’t you say something?” She began to take the necklace off.
“No, no, please.” Mario waved his hands. “It can only belong to someone magical—like you. I was just remembering.”
Reece gazed at Mario. He was a boy in a room full of adults. A boy without parents. He acted hard, but at this moment she saw a tender heart.
Sandy broke the short silence. “But if the pilots had it, then there is only one logical conclusion to assume.”
Reece knew exactly what he meant. Yunru and Kai Castro must be working together.
“Señor Duke,” Mario said, “I’ve been telling Señora Reece the story of my people, and the sacred gold tablets we protect. Want to hear it?”
Duke leaned forward. “Yeah, that’d be great.
”
Mario looked up at Reece. “Many years after Atl Balam…”
The new Halach Uinic, Tonaltzintli, stood atop the grand pyramid of Cihuatán on the summer solstice. He peered across the entire valley and the people within, all gazing up at him. With his beloved queen beside him, he spoke to them all.
“Twelve generations ago,” Tonaltzintli proudly said, “my ancestor Atl Balam sacrificed himself so that we may live.”
The queen, Metztli, turned to him with a sacred object in her hands. “Will you read the ancient words?”
The sounds of cheering and clapping enveloped the Cihuatán pyramid.
Tonaltzintli smiled at his wife, the queen, and noticed a glimmer of satisfaction in her eyes. She handed him a single tablet.
He felt the heaviness of the gold. The morning’s sun and sky reflected off the glimmering metal like the surface of a pond.
Then he read the ancient words while his people listened. Afterwards, the festival of the summer solstice began.
Later that day, Tonaltzintli presided over a ball game. But at this particular moment his heart was uneasy. He didn’t know why, but something felt strange. Then two guards approached.
“What is it?” Tonaltzintli asked.
One of them answered with a grim expression. “It’s Metztli. Please come.”
“What’s wrong with her?”
The other guard spoke. “The sacred tablet has been stolen.”
Just then someone pounded on the door to their hotel room, startling Mario.
“Reece, it’s me!” Chang’s frantic voice called from the other side.
She jumped up and let him in. He hurriedly stepped into the room, soaked to the bone and shivering.
“I saw him,” Chang gushed, pointing outside.
Reece threw him a towel. “Saw who?”
“The man with the scar down his face.”
“Kai Castro?—he’s here in Juayúa?”
