Part 42 (1/2)

I don't know, E. This place is just too well guarded. We need some help. If I could only get that little peasant girl... Ca.s.s began.

Don't you think she's a little young for you, Ca.s.s? Enforcer asked.

Oh for Christ's sake, E. I wasn't talking about getting her into bed! All I want is some help! Gees.h.!.+ Ca.s.s exclaimed.

All right, all right. I'm sorry. I'm under a lot of stress here! Give me a break! the alter ego exclaimed.

Okay, where do you want it.... your neck, your leg??? Ca.s.s replied.

Before Enforcer could respond, the door to the cell opened wide to admit Ana, carrying a breakfast tray.

”Buenos dias, Senorita,” she said as she placed the tray on the straw bed next to Ca.s.s. [”Good Morning, Senorita.”]

Ca.s.s smiled. ”Por favor, quedate conmigo un rato,” she asked, patting the mattress beside her. [”Please, sit with me a while,”]

Ana looked nervously toward the door, then gingerly sat on the edge of Ca.s.s' bed while she ate.

”Tienes bellos ojos,” Ana said to Ca.s.s. ”So tan azules!” [”You have beautiful eyes.... They are so blue!]

Ca.s.s smiled once more, trying very hard to make the child comfortable. ”Gracias,” she said. [”Thank you.”] After a moment, Ca.s.s looked Ana directly in the eyes. ”Ana, Necesito ayuda. Me estan forzando a volar drogas fureras del pais. Necesito escaparme,” she explained. [”Ana, I need help. I am being forced to fly drugs out of this country. I need to escape,”]

Ana knotted her hands in her lap. Meeting Ca.s.s' gaze, tears filled her eyes as she replied, ”Me mataran a mi y a mi familia si te ayudo. No se que hacer!!” [”They will kill me and my family if I help you. I don't know what to do!”]

Ca.s.s reached over and placed her larger hand on top of the girl's. ”Entiendo, Ana. Tienes que proteger a tu familia. Gracias de todas maneras,” she said. [”I understand, Ana. You must protect your family. Thank you anyway,”]

”Ana, apurate, muchacha. El jefe quiere que vallas al mercado,” the guard's voice boomed from the doorway, startling both women. [”Ana! Be quick in there girl. The boss wants you to go to the market,”]

Ana rose to her feet and looked at Ca.s.s, sadness and regret filling her eyes. ”Lo siento,” she whispered before leaving the cell. [”I am sorry.]

Rox wasted no time. She went directly back to her hotel, showered, changed her clothes, then hit the streets, armed with Ca.s.s' picture. Obviously, she couldn't expect any help from the police department, so she firmed her resolve to find Ca.s.s by herself. For the next four hours, Rox walked the streets of Bogota, showing the picture to hundreds of people. She guessed that about half of them had no idea what she was talking about.

Entering the public marketplace thoroughly frustrated by her lack of success over the last four hours, Rox began showing Ca.s.s' picture around again. Time after time, she received confused looks or negative responses. On the verge of giving up, she showed the picture to a beautiful young girl with large brown eyes and curly black hair, who was picking out fresh produce at a vegetable vendor.

”Excuse me, Miss, but have you seen this woman?” Rox asked, handing the picture of Ca.s.s to the girl.

The girl looked questioningly at Rox, obviously not understanding what the red head was saying. Finally, she glanced at the picture, and promptly dropped her vegetable basket, scattering its content on the ground.

Immediately, Rox realized she had hit pay dirt. ”Here, let me help you,” she said to the girl as she helped to collect the spilled merchandise.

The girl was shaking uncontrollably as she accepted the basket back from Rox. ”Gracias... gracias,” she said nervously as she turned to flee. [”Thank you ... thank you,”]

Rox grabbed the girl's arm before she could escape. ”Please! Wait! You know her, don't you? You know where she is!” Rox demanded.

A play of emotions paraded across the girl's face as her eyes locked with Rox's.

”Please, I love her,” Rox pleaded. ”I need to find her.” Rox's eyes were filled with such love and hope that it shone unquestionably from her face.

Even though the girl did not understand Rox's words, she certainly understood the emotions. Looking down for a moment, the girl raised her eyes to meet Rox's tear filled ones. Closing her own eyes, she nodded her head, then took Rox's hand and led her through several nearby alleys, finally slipping through a doorway, and into a residence that was little more than a slum. Placing her basket on the table, the girl turned to Rox and took Ca.s.s' picture out of her hand once more. Looking at it closely, she once again confirmed that this was the same woman she had been serving meals to at the compound. Meeting Rox's eyes once more, she saw the same look there that she saw in the eyes of the gringa prisoner.... she saw desperation, determination and an emotion she could only describe as love. It was very obvious that these two women loved each other.

The girl motioned for Rox to wait while she went into an adjacent room, returning moments later with a frail old man, whom she sat in the chair opposite Rox.

”Papa, esta mujer necesita nuestra ayuda. Tienen a su amiga detenida en ese complejo. La estan forzando a transportar drogas fuera del pais,” the girl said to the old man as he listened intently. [”Papa, This woman needs our help. Her friend is being held in the compound. She is being forced to transport drugs out of the country,”]

The old man nodded, a tear forming in the corner of his eye.

”Papa, al fin podremos vengar la muerte de Pedro si ayudamos a su amiga. Por favor, hazlo por mi,” the girl exclaimed. [”Papa, we can finally avenge Pedro's death if we help her friend. Please talk for me,”]

The old man looked intently at the girl and nodded. Looking back at Rox, he said, ”I will help. I will avenge Pedro's death.”

Rox was thrilled that the man spoke English. Finally, she was getting somewhere! ”Senor, please, My name is Roxanne Ward. I need to find my friend. I fear she is being held against her will. I must find her,” Rox pleaded.

The old man turned to the girl and translated Rox's words. The girl responded, ”Papa, la mujer de quien ella habla es prisionera de Carlos Santino. Yo la llevare alli, pero sera peligroso.” [”Papa, the woman she speaks of is a prisoner of Carlos Santonio. I will take her there, but it will be dangerous.”]

”Senorita Ward, my granddaughter, Ana says she knows where your friend is, and she will take you there. It will be dangerous. These are evil men. They murdered my 10 year old grandson Pedro when he accidentally wandered onto their property on his way home from school. He was an innocent child. We will have our revenge, and you will have your friend,” he said pa.s.sionately as a tear rolled down his cheek.

Rox reached forward and took the man's hands in her own. ”Thank you,” she said, her own tears mirroring those of the old man. ”When do we leave?”

The old man turned to Ana and translated Rox's question into Spanish.

”Al anochecer,” said the girl. ”Sera menos peligroso entonces.”

”My granddaughter says, 'after dark. It will be safer then,'” the old man repeated. ”It is dark very early this time of year, so we don't have much time. Please join us for a meager meal while we await and plan.”

Ca.s.s was crawling out of her skin with antic.i.p.ation. She hated being confined, especially to a small area such as her cell. After Ana left that morning, she spent most of the day exercising and going through Taekwondo drills. She wasn't sure when the opportunity for escape would present itself, but she wanted to be ready if and when it happened. She was slightly hampered by her injuries, but with the proper discipline and concentration techniques learned as part of Taekwondo, she was able to overcome the pain and work through her routines. It was nearly dinner time by the time she finished. She stood there, covered in a sheen of sweat, and desperately in need of a shower.

”Very impressive,” Jason said from the cell door. Ca.s.s was so absorbed in her drill, she was unaware that she had an audience for the last few minutes of it.

Ca.s.s turned sharply toward the door, her body glistening with sweat, her heart beating violently, her hands clenched into fists at her side. A look of pure hatred came over her face as she turned her gaze on Jason. Jason gasped and visibly took a step backward in reaction. Finally realizing he had the cell door between himself and this dangerous woman, his confidence returned as he stepped once more up to the bars.

When Jason locked her in the cell, he was sure he could break her spirit and gain her cooperation. Now, he wasn't so sure. So far, she had resisted all his efforts, threats and beatings. He wished he had a p.a.w.n to hold over her. They were loading the plane tonight and would be leaving in the morning. He had to think fast if he was going to pull this one off. At this point, he was convinced she'd rather die than fly that plane out tomorrow. He decided he had nothing to lose by staging a bluff.

”Ca.s.s,” he called from the door. ”You might like to know that the plane is being loaded tonight and we fly out in the morning.”

”You mean, YOU fly out in the morning. I'm not going, Jason,” she replied.

”You see, you have to fly it out. There are no pilots around here ... well, none that can be bought anyway ... that are experienced enough to fly a large jet,” he explained.

I will not help you break the law,” Ca.s.s replied.

”Don't be so sure of that,” he said. ”I didn't want it to come to this, but I've got something of yours that you'll never see again if you don't cooperate tomorrow.”

Ca.s.s' head snapped around toward the door. ”Rox?” she said, almost beneath her breath.

Yes! What a stroke of luck! Jason, you're a genius! he said to himself, mentally pumping his fist in victory. With a calm he wasn't feeling, he grinned and said, ”Yes ... Rox. And if you don't fly that plane out of here tomorrow morning, she is a dead woman. Do you understand?” he asked.