11:30 AM, Thursday, August 13, 2024
For about half an hour, they drove in silence, then the two young men apparently got bored, because they started talking, "Hey, Raul, do you think they're going to kill this guy when we get to Petatan?"
"Probably, I hope they let us do it," They both laughed out loud for far too long. So, Jesus and Raul, thought Manny. At least he knew both of their names. He had noticed that Raul had a gun tucked into his waistband, it looked like a 38. Manny hoped he was smart enough to have the safety on.
"With our luck, they'll let him go," Jesus said. "Maybe just steal his truck and make him walk home." They laughed again. "It'd take him two days…"
When they finished "I think Rafi wants to use him as a messenger."
Jesus replied, "I bet his dead body would send a message, hey?" More laughter.
Meanwhile, unknown to any of them, an invisible sensor platform was flying about a foot outside Raul's open window. It recorded every word, and high-definition video of everything that was said, as it had been doing since the original encounter in San Juan Ixtoy. That's not quite accurate, it was relaying all the data back to the artificial intelligence named Joe Torres, who was recording, or remembering really with perfect recall. A drone had even been present when the two had first shown up at the church and told Father Dominguez not to show up at the market that day. He seemed to know Raul and immediately understood the situation, agreeing without protest. He went around to the houses of the people and told them to stay home, the gang was doing something in the village square and they should avoid it. It didn't take much convincing.
Finally, after several hours of driving that seemed much longer than it actually was because of the two making statements that were half jokes and half threats all the way. They arrived at Petatan. A small community in the western part of Huehuetenango District. When they got there, Raul directed him to a small sheet metal building. As they approached a garage door, Raul leaned out the side window so the man sitting by the door could see him. He banged twice with his hand on the side of the truck. "Hey, open up. They waitin' for us!"
The guard at the door jumped up and unlatched the two swinging doors, pulling one back, and then crossing to swing the other one back and out of the way so the truck could enter. There was a partition wall about twenty feet in, with a single door in the middle. "Shut it off and get out." Raul directed when the truck was inside. He motioned toward the guard who opened the garage doors and he shut them again. Manny opened the driver side door and stepped out of the truck. His legs were stiff from sitting so long. Too bad his shield couldn't protect against that, he thought. Raul handed his gun to Jesus and said "Watch him. Kill him if he tries anything." He looked straight at Manny as he gave the order. Raul then went to the door and knocked, three knocks, pause, two knocks, pause, one knock. A couple seconds later the door opened, Raul entered and closed the door again behind him.
Jesus had the gun pointed at Manny's face from a distance of about 12 inches. Manny was pretty sure he could take that gun away from the kid and shove it up his… "Go ahead, I know you wanna try something. Think you can take me old man? Come on, try something, I really wanna shoot you in the face, man."
"I'm not gonna try anything," Manny replied calmly, staring directly at Jesus. He knew it would unnerve him and might be dangerous in most situations. He figured the two had orders to bring him alive and unharmed. Shooting someone that your superiors wanted alive was really bad for career development in most gangs, so, making the kid uncomfortable was probably safe, this time. I mean after all, you're just a delivery man, like me. You get told where to go, what to pick up, where to bring it. I bet when they come back out of that door, they'll thank you for the delivery and send you home. I hope you don't have far to walk," Manny smirked.
The kid's anger showed in his face. "I could shoot you right now, splatter your brains all over that piece of shit truck. There wouldn't be enough left of your face to identify." He said, keeping his voice low so it couldn't be heard in the next room.
Manny looked back at him. "Go ahead, if you think they'll let you live after that. Go ahead, shoot me." It was too much for Jesus, he was not used to controlling his temper. He didn't let people talk to him like this ever, he pulled the gun back from Manny's face and suddenly sucker-punched him in the gut.
Manny didn't budge, Jesus yelled and held his hand in front of his face, staring at it. "What the F.., you got a steel plate under there? Damn." Just then, the door opened, Jesus stood back.
Raul and another man stepped into the garage area. The man examined Manny carefully.
Jesus called out a little too loudly, "You better search him, he's acting kinda funny."
The man looked at Raul. "You two didn't search him before you brought him in here?" He said calmly, with an eyebrow raised.
"Um, sorry." Raul immediately stepped forward and spun Manny around and began patting him down. He pulled his wallet out of his pocket and tossed it to Jesus. That was all he had on him. "He's clean." Raul said, stepping away.
Jesus had already pulled a license out of the wallet and was staring at it, memorizing the name and address.
"Good." The other man said, "now give him back his wallet, and get the truck unloaded. Fold the tarp and put it on the passenger seat. When you're finished, you may leave. I want to have a polite conversation with this gentleman in private."
With one last look at the license, Jesus stuffed it back in the wallet. "Here you go Jaime Ruiz of Santa Cruz del Quiche. Maybe I'll see you again sometime," he said with an evil, mocking smile.
"That's enough," The man told Jesus. Raul grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him toward the door as he tossed the wallet back to Manny. Of course, Manny had been issued several sets of fake ID by his bosses early in his training. He would never carry identifying papers with him on a mission.
Manny and the well-dressed man stood together and watched as the truck was unloaded. "Some of the tortillas and corn will be given out at a tiny Mayan village near one of our farming operations. The rest will go to feed those working on the farm. They will appreciate it and be thankful to those who brought it."
"Is the farm not doing well, that they don't have enough to eat?" Manny asked.
The man chuckled, "the farm is doing quite well, but they are not growing food."
Manny understood. They watched the rest of the unloading in silence. When Raul and Jesus had finished, the man who they worked for said, "Thank you, Raul. Take your assistant and go."
They watched the two depart through a door adjacent to the garage door.
When they were alone, the other man turned to Manny.
"First Jaime, let me assure you that you have nothing to worry about. You will not be harmed. I'm going to send you home with a hundred Quetzales for your trouble. I just want you to deliver a letter for me." He reached into his shirt pocket and removed an envelope that had been sitting there, half-exposed. It was a small white envelope. Labeled simply in Spanish, 'To the Person in Charge of Food First.' The handwriting was neat and precise.
Manny looked at it. "I only know my supervisor…"
The man smiled, he had a good smile, it made him seem friendly, helpful, kind. "That's ok, Jaime, just give it to him, and tell him how important it is that he pass it on up the chain, until it reaches it's intended destination, ok? Oh, and it's very important that it get delivered to that final destination no later than 9:00 AM tomorrow morning. I know it's going to be late when you get back, so do whatever you have to do in order for that to happen. I will be… very disappointed if it is not delivered on time. I might have to send a few of my junior associates to find out why it was delayed should that happen. Do you understand, Jaime?" He asked with a smooth, calming voice that made it sound as though he was just trying to help, but Manny understood that this man was really dangerous. The two in the truck had been nothing compared to the danger this man posed.
He could tell this man was used to being obeyed. People not only feared to cross him, but really wanted to help him, wanted him to like them. Everything about him oozed confidence and control; the way he gave you his full attention when he was speaking with you, making sure to use your name as if it were an important part of the conversation and other subtle tricks. Manny could read the cues he used purposefully to influence people. They had been a part of Manny's training. He could use them too, if needed, but this situation called for a bumbling deliveryman, not a polished speaker.
"Yes, sir. I understand. I'll get it to my supervisor as fast as I can. I'll make sure he knows… how important it is," Manny said, trying to look afraid, trying not to meet the other man's gaze.
"Excellent, you may go now. Here, one hundred Quetzales as promised. Make sure you drive safely, Mr. Ruiz. An accident on this trip could be quite catastrophic. If anyone tries to bother you on the way, tell them you have Rafi's protection this week." Rafi smiled and handed a bill to Manny, patting him on the shoulder like an old friend. Then, he stepped back through the door and closed it behind him. Manny just stood there. Two seconds later, the garage doors swung open and a man was silhouetted in the doorway motioning him to leave. Manny climbed into the truck, backed out of the garage, turned around and began the long drive back.
When it got dark, which was not long after he left, he discovered that one headlight did not work. One was enough to get him back. Overall, he thought, that wasn't too bad. Especially knowing he was protected by a James Bond level shield ring that could have come directly from Q. As he drove, he imagined finding Raul and Jesus walking along the road and honking his horn and waving to them as he passed. Unfortunately, that didn't happen.