by David Nees
Rodrigo waited but Dan didn’t respond. Time enough to figure that out later.
“I need to see if my sister is okay,” Rodrigo finally said.
“We can do that, but does she talk to other cartel members?”
“No. She doesn’t want to have anything to do with them. But one member, Carlos, has eyes for her. He may have taken her if he thinks I’m dead.”
“Okay. We’ll make sure she’s fine then we have work to do.”
“Do you have a plan?”
“Not yet, but I will.” Dan gave him a tight smile and leaned his head against the window.
The pickup bounced at a steady pace over the rough track. The trail actually improved as they got closer to the pavement. Rodrigo increased his speed. Finally they were out of the dirt and on the pavement. Dan awoke. Rodrigo was now banging along at sixty miles an hour and the pavement was not all that good. He was hammering the pickup through the potholes.
“Slow down! You’re going to break the suspension or have a flat. For God’s sake, drive around the potholes, don’t go through them.”
Rodrigo looked over at Dan, his face grim. “I’m just anxious to get back to Chihuahua to see my sister.”
“She’s the first place we’ll stop, but slow down, damn it. We don’t have a spare.”
Rodrigo reluctantly dropped his speed back and tried to dodge the holes in the road.
“Now, if we get stopped, you act like you’re bringing me to Chihuahua on Hector’s orders and you shouldn’t be messed with. Tell any police that it won’t go well for them if Hector hears they interfered with your mission.” Dan looked over at Rodrigo. “Will that work?”
Rodrigo thought for a moment. “Sí. It should work. The police know who Hector is, if not I can explain it to them and how he is in charge now that Jorge is dead.”
“I’ll have my hands behind my back with some line around them to make it seem as if I’m tied up. If we’re uncovered, or if the police don’t go for your story, we shoot them. I’ll have a pistol under my leg.”
“What about me?”
“What about you?”
“They’ll need to see me armed.”
Dan paused; this was a chance he would have to take. “Okay, I’ll give you a pistol. I have to trust you. You try to cross me I’ll shoot both you and the cop.” After a moment he added, “And don’t forget what I said about Tlayolotl, your life depends on it.”
Rodrigo looked over at Dan who met him with a cold stare.
“You do not want to test me on this,” said Dan. “Now pull over and let’s get everything arranged.”
“What do we do if you are driving?” Rodrigo asked.
“You have your pistol on your lap and explain that you’re tired of driving so you made me do it.”
After getting the guns and piece of rope, they set out again. As the road improved, Rodrigo went faster. They would be in Chihuahua by sunset.
Chapter 31
___________________________________
A n hour out of Chihuahua Dan and Rodrigo were pulled over by a member of the Chihuahua State Police. The officer sauntered up to the pickup.
“You were speeding. That is going to cost you,” the cop announced through the rolled down window. “Give me your license.”
Rodrigo looked up at him. “I’m on my way to meet Don Hector Ortega. He is in charge now that Don Mendoza has been killed. You know who he is. You are paid to know who he is and what our business is, so don’t interfere and don’t try to shake me down. Don Ortega will not appreciate it.”
The cop straightened up. A look of fear flashed across his face and then was hidden. But not before Rodrigo saw it.
“You can’t push me around. I don’t know Hector Ortega. And who is this gringo next to you?”
“You may not know him, but you know who he is. You will do what I tell you to do. This gringo is none of your business. What you need to know is that Don Ortega very much wants to talk with this person. That is why I am driving fast.” Rodrigo leaned out of the window, now more confident. “Amado Gonzales.” He read his name badge. “I can let Don Ortega know how helpful you were…or how unhelpful.” Rodrigo smiled at the cop who was now fully on the defensive. Rodrigo knew he had expected an easy bribe and now faced a serious situation. “It is your call, Officer Gonzales.”
The cop gave Rodrigo a nervous smile, “You go ahead. You will not be bothered.”
Rodrigo nodded and put the truck in gear and drove off.
“That went well. Are all the cops on the payroll?”
“Many of them. It was a good bet. We go to my sister’s house first. We can sleep there.”
Miranda lived north east of the Zona Central. On their way they drove through a neighborhood called Campestre Lomas. The area looked so nice that Dan thought it could be a transplant from a middle class San Diego neighborhood.
“I would like to have enough money to move here,” Rodrigo said, “but we have to make do with a less fancy part of the city. Still it is fairly safe, which is important.”
No thanks to you, Dan thought.
Miranda’s neighborhood had aimed for middle class status but money or commitment had run out. There were unfinished buildings and dirt streets. The houses that were completed showed the owners trying to maintain a semblance of quality amid the roughness of incomplete construction and neglect. They pulled up to a blue house with a white iron fence across the small front yard. There was a single car garage that looked like no car had entered it for many years. A small, Nissan sedan was parked in the drive in front of the garage. The neighborhood was on a slope. The roof of the garage served as an upper deck, opening up to the second floor of the house. It was small, but well kept.
Rodrigo parked around the corner on a dirt street. The houses along this street were not finished. They walked around to the front and Rodrigo opened the gate with his key.
“Miranda!” he called out as they walked to the door. It opened and a good-looking woman in her mid-twenties stepped out.
“Rodrigo,” she shouted and ran to him. She threw herself into his arms and hugged him tight. “They told me you had died in the desert. I felt so lost.” She pulled back. “You have been burned by the sun, but you’re alive. Thank God!” She grabbed him again.
Dan watched from the side.
“How did you get back? What happened to you?” Miranda’s questions tumbled out over one another. Finally she stepped back and looked over at Dan. “Who is this?”
“This man saved my life…in the desert.”
Miranda stared hard at Dan. He was obviously not Mexican.
“Is this the man you were sent to find?” She turned back to Rodrigo. “I don’t understand.”
“I’ll explain. Let’s go inside.”
They entered the house. When Solana saw them she shouted and ran to Rodrigo. “Tío! You’re alive! They told us you were dead. We were so sad. But now you’re alive.”
After giving Solana some huge hugs and twirling her around, Rodrigo put her down. He turned to Miranda. “Who told you I was dead?”
“Carlos. He’s come around twice.” Miranda shuddered visibly. “Solana, please go up to your room, I need to talk to Tío Rodrigo privately for a moment.”
“Mama, Uncle Rodrigo just got here. Don’t make me leave.”
Miranda patted her daughter’s head. “Just for a few minutes, I promise. I’ll call you when we’re done.”
“It’s okay,” said Rodrigo grabbing her hand. “I don’t have any presents for you today, but I have a lot of hugs to catch up on.”
Solana smiled at him and ran down the hall.
Miranda led them upstairs to the main floor. They went to the kitchen and sat at the table. She took three beers from the fridge and set them out.
“Tell me about Carlos,” Rodrigo said after opening his beer.
“He wants me, you know that. Now he thinks you’re dead, he will take me…me and Solana. She doesn’t notice his looks, but I do. He has bad t
houghts about me and about Solana. He says he’ll take care of us. Keep us safe from other gang members. I don’t know how to keep him away.”
“Hijo de perra!” Son of a bitch! Rodrigo growled through clenched teeth. “I will kill him.”
“No.” Miranda put her hand on his arm. “It’s enough that you are back. He won’t try anything with you around.” She turned to Dan. “But what are you going to do with this gringo? If he is the man you were chasing, why were the two of you traveling together? It’s not right. The others will think it’s wrong as well.”
Rodrigo scowled. “That is going to be a problem.” He looked over at Dan.
Dan spoke for the first time. He used his Spanish not knowing if Miranda could speak English. “For now, no one can know I’m alive. We will make up a story of how Rodrigo got out of the desert. He found my pickup, changed the flat tire where I couldn’t, and drove back by himself. It’s the story of what happened, only leaving me out of it.”
“But why did you save my brother? He was sent to kill you?”
Dan smiled at her and stretched himself out on the seat. The fatigue from the trip showed. “It is a long, complicated story. For now let us say I was told to rescue Rodrigo. There is something we have to do together.”
“Who told you to save Rodrigo?”
“A shaman named Tlayolotl. He led me to your brother.”
Now a look of fear crossed Miranda’s face. She turned to Rodrigo, “You will get killed if you help this man. This is the man all of you were sent to find. That is what you said and that is what Carlos said. He killed Señor Mendoza.”
“Yes, but things have changed and for now we need to hide him.” Rodrigo said.
“Not here. You risk me and Solana. You can’t keep him here.”
“I risk us all if he’s found no matter where I keep him. He can’t have gotten back here without me. No one would believe that.”
Miranda put her head in her hands. “Madre de Dios, what are we to do?” After a moment she looked up, her eyes bright with anger, a decision made. “He can’t stay here. You have to put him somewhere else.”
Rodrigo looked at his sister. He knew she would not budge. “Okay, I’ll put him in the garage, the one up the hill. I can park the pickup there as well.
Halfway up the side street, amid the unfinished houses was one that had a completed garage. Rodrigo had secured it with a solid door and locks. It was a safe place that the neighborhood thugs knew enough to leave alone.
The two men stood up. Miranda just eyed them warily, especially Dan. He was the largest threat to them. Without Dan, Rodrigo could tell his story and no one would know any better. With Dan, Rodrigo’s life would be at risk. Miranda had been around enough to hear the stories. Loyalty was prized, but as soon as someone became suspect, the bosses got rid of them. They didn’t wait, they didn’t mess around. Self-preservation was the rule in the cartel, especially among the higher ups.
Rodrigo and Dan pulled into the garage.
“If we empty the truck of weapons and it will look just like I drove it out of the desert,” Rodrigo said.
Dan looked around the space. “I don’t mind sleeping here. I’ve slept in worse places.”
“Bueno,” Rodrigo replied.
Chapter 32
___________________________________
A fter stashing the pickup, Dan and Rodrigo unloaded it and rolled the weapons in a tarp and hid them in a corner of the garage under some wood planks and other construction debris. It was now fully dark outside.
“You probably need to report to someone. If you had made it out on your own, what would you do?” Dan asked.
Rodrigo thought for a moment. “I’d try to get in touch with Don Hector. I don’t know where he is, but that would be the first move.”
“Where would you go to find him?”
“First the warehouse. He has spent much time there since the infiltrators were stashed there.”
“That is the warehouse on the southeast side of the Zona Central?”
Rodrigo’s eyes widened as he looked at Dan.
Dan smiled. “Tlayolotl. Remember the story I told you.”
Rodrigo shook his head. “This is too much for me. I’m a simple man.”
“It’s not too much for you. You are a drug cartel member, pretty high up, if I’m correct. This Carlos respects you and Miranda thinks he won’t bother her and Solana with you around. Don’t play the simple man. You’re not. You are a criminal, a gang member. Your problem is that a desert shaman has chosen you to help me complete my mission. That could be dangerous for you. You could get killed by the cartel or by Tlayolotl, but if you play your cards right, you will survive all of this…you and your family.”
“And what if I just tell Don Hector where you are? Then I’ll be done with you.”
Dan stepped up close to Rodrigo. His cold eyes bore into the gang member. “First, you won’t. If you were going to do that you wouldn’t have told me. Second, you would still come under Hector’s suspicions and you know what could happen to you then. And if Hector decides to whack you, what happens to Miranda…and Solana? Remember, Hector has got to be feeling pretty vulnerable right now. He will lash out at any perceived threat.”
“Maybe, maybe not.”
“And don’t forget Tlayolotl. He will come after you if I haven’t killed you already. You have heard me talk about his power and you have seen it.”
Rodrigo shrank back. “Madre de Dios. There is no way out.”
“Help me. Do what I tell you to do. That is the only way out…for you, and for Miranda and Solana.”
Dan grabbed Rodrigo by the shoulders. “You go find whoever you need to find. “I’m going to rest. And when you come back I will tell you what we are going to do.”
He pushed Rodrigo towards the side door of the garage.
Rodrigo walked back down the hill and entered the house.
“This is madness! Are you really going to help this gringo?” Miranda said when Rodrigo entered.
“Yes. There is no other way. Now give me the keys to the car. I need to find Hector. Carlos shouldn’t come by tonight, but if he does, tell him I am back and he must leave you alone.”
Miranda just stood there, a mix of anger and fear on her face as Rodrigo went into his room and retrieved a .45 semi-automatic pistol.
In twenty minutes Rodrigo was at the warehouse. He parked outside and went to the metal gate. One of the guards recognized him.
“Rodrigo is that you? Carlos said you were dead.”
“I’m not a ghost, so Carlos is wrong. Let me in.”
The gate swung open and Rodrigo went into the compound.
“I need to find Don Hector. Is he here?”
“He’s in Mexico City. He’s taking over Don Jorge’s mansion there. He’s trying to keep everyone from starting a war. It is dangerous to be out on the streets.”
“Here? In Chihuahua?”
The guard shook his head. “Not so much here, but down in Tamaulipas there are ambushes.
“Also Durango,” said another guard walking up.
“When will Don Hector be back?”
“A couple of days. He wants to get rid of these Arab dogs. He has much on his hands right now.”
“So who is in charge?”
“It should be you, but we all thought you were dead. Carlos has taken over and is throwing his weight around.”
“Where do I find Carlos?”
The guard shrugged. “I don’t know. He just comes and goes.”
“Are these Arabs ready to go?”
“Sí. They are ready, the trucks are fueled and sitting there.” He pointed to a corner of the warehouse compound where the five panel trucks were parked in a row against the sheet metal fencing.
A wave of fatigue came over Rodrigo but he suppressed it. He had been going nearly non-stop for twenty-four hours but he had to deal with Carlos. He needed to head off his challenge if he was to remain the local lieutenant. Before the fiasco in the desert
, Rodrigo had ambitions to become a small time Reyes, a local kingpin with his own territory to control. Then all the dirty work would be done by others. Jorge’s assassination and now his own presumed death left all those plans in doubt. The key was Don Hector, but Rodrigo couldn’t wait for him to return. He had to stop Carlos from taking over. He had to assert his rightful position.
“I’ll be back tomorrow. Hopefully Don Hector will be back soon and get all this straight. For now, I’m going to rest.”
Rodrigo left the compound. He didn’t drive back to his house. His position was dangerous, especially for the next day or two. He cruised through the neighborhoods that Carlos might frequent. He knew where the gang members collected to drink and party with women.
Pulling up to a large, non-descript house, Rodrigo sat in the car for a moment. He would have the element of surprise on his hands, but he needed to avoid a shootout. The first instinct of the men around Carlos would be to defend him. Rodrigo needed to assert his presence and give the men something to think about. They had been loyal to him before he was declared dead by Carlos. Rodrigo hoped they would again come back to him. But they would be cautious. If they picked the wrong side, the side Don Hector did not support, they were all dead men.
Rodrigo stepped out of the car. He put the .45 in the back of his pants, covered by his untucked shirt and approached the house. No one was outside. The door was not locked; which seemed foolish during this unsettled time. He quietly opened the door and entered the house. The living room was towards the rear of the house and he could hear the raucous sounds of drunken men.
Rodrigo took a deep breath and strode down the hall. He entered the room and glanced quickly around, looking for Carlos. Only a few of the men noticed him at first but the noise level quickly dropped as more and more recognized the man standing in the entrance to the room as the man they thought was dead.
Rodrigo held out his hands and smiled, “I am back from the dead. The desert cannot claim me.”
Some of the men cheered drunkenly and raised their drinks. Some questions were shouted out: “How did you get back? We thought everyone had died. What happened to the others? Did you get the gringo?”
