‘Jeep, yes. And I ride with you.’
Parker thought a few seconds. This was wasting time, and he could see he wasn’t getting anywhere. All right, he’d unload England when he had to. ‘Good,’ he said. ‘You come with us.’
‘I’ll get on the radio right away,’ England said.
2
GROFIELD said, ‘Mother, in my last moments I was thinking of you.’
Parker looked over at him, and Grofield was sitting up. They’d put him in the shade under the helicopter while waiting for the jeep, and now he was sitting up, holding to a strut with his right hand, smiling out at the world.
Parker went over to him and said, very low, so England wouldn’t hear it, ‘Lie down, you moron. When that jeep gets here, I want you able to walk to it.’
Grofield said, ‘Why?’
‘Are you awake or asleep? Or maybe you think going to a hospital would be a good idea. If you’re well enough to walk to the jeep we can justify you staying at a hotel. If we have to carry you, England will ship you to a hospital and there’s nothing we can do about it, and from the hospital it’s one step to the Mexican law, and they turn you over to our law, and I’ll see you in fifteen, twenty years.’
Grofield blinked. ‘Oh,’ he said. He lay down again, carefully. ‘I’m sorry, I’m not thinking. I’ll be all right now.’
‘Good.’
Around on the other side of the helicopter, England said, ‘Here it comes. Here comes the jeep.’
Parker walked around and looked westward and saw the dust cloud. Beneath it something small and black was bouncing.
‘At last,’ said England. He rubbed his hands together, like a man with lots to do. ‘Now we can get going.’
England was a lot more chipper now, since he’d made the radio call and unloaded the responsibility. He no longer argued with Parker or stood around prophesying doublecrosses.
It took a long while for the jeep to come the last stretch; for a while it looked as though it were just bouncing up and down out there, not coming forward at all. But it finally showed up, braking heavily, and the Mexican driver jumped out with a toothy grin as the dust cloud caught up with the car, surrounded it, and dissipated. The driver walked out of the cloud, still grinning, slapping now at his trousers to get the dust off. He was stocky, moustached, swarthy, in civilian clothes: short-sleeved white shirt and dark grey slacks. He made a comic flourish and said, ‘Senores, your auto.’
England was snapping his fingers, snapping his fingers. All of a sudden he was in a hurry. ‘Where’s Grofield?’ he said.
‘Right here, never fear, right here.’ Grofield came around the helicopter, walking, smiling his nonchalance, his left hand tucked into his trouser pocket. ‘Just the day for a ride,’ he said.
‘Si,’ said the driver. ‘You know.’ He and Grofield seemed pleased by each other.
England got in front with the driver, and Parker and Grofield sat in back. Grofield had a little trouble getting in and Parker had to give him a boost, but once he was seated his smile flashed again and he said, ‘Ready as ever.’
Parker slid into the seat beside him, and the jeep started around in a U-turn, heading back the way it had come. Behind them, the pilot was getting into his helicopter to take it back to its ship.
‘Once around the park, driver,’ Grofield said. ‘I believe I’ll take a nap.’ His smile got glassy and he passed out, his head falling over on Parker’s shoulder.
Parker said, for England’s benefit, ‘That’s a good idea. Sleep the whole trip, why don’t you?’
The first part of the trip, cross-country, was rough, and it was just as well Grofield had passed out at the beginning of it. The road, when they finally reached it and turned north on it, was good only by comparison.
They entered a village called Soto la Marina, a dirt street flanked by dirt houses. The main crop of this country seemed to be stones, so there were stone walls here and there.
After Soto la Marina they turned left on a road just like the first one. They were heading west again now, passing through a town called Casas that looked exactly the same as Soto la Marina except the road had begun to improve a little.
Just beyond Casas there were two men beside the road, an old one and a young one. The young one, big as a bull, was standing with his hands on his hips, watching the jeep go by. The old one, tired-looking, was sitting on an upended suitcase. The other suitcase was beside the young one’s legs.
Parker didn’t look back after the jeep went by.
They kept going, and a white later they passed through a town called Petaqueno. The road was getting better and better, and was blacktop by now. A sagging orange bus, wide as a whale, was taking on passengers in the square, every passenger carrying a huge bundle wrapped in cloth.
Just beyond Petaqueno, Parker shifted Grofield’s body so his weight went the other way, leaving Parker’s left arm free. He poked around the floor and between the seats, because every jeep in the world has tools rattling around inside it, and he found a screwdriver and a wrench. He hefted the wrench, nodded, and said, ‘Stop for a second, will you?’
England turned around, frowning. ‘What for? We’ll be in Victoria in fifteen minutes.’
‘This is an emergency. You, stop.’
The driver smiled and shrugged and brought the jeep to a stop. ‘When you got to go,’ he said, and Parker hit England with the wrench. The driver made an O with his mouth and started to bring his arm up against the swinging wrench, but he was a little late.
