Fernando stepped inside. He saw Ignacio lying on the bed, hiding under the covers.
“Ignacio, look at me.”
Saying it in his soothing voice, the kind that promised he was not the monster his son had witnessed yesterday.
The covers shifted, and his son peeked up at him.
Fernando smiled and motioned Ignacio toward him.
“Come give me a hug.”
His son didn’t move at first, just stared at him from the bed. Then slowly he crawled out of the bed and made his way over to his father.
Fernando kneeled down to hug his son first, then stood to embrace his wife. He hated how he sometimes acted with them, but sometimes anger came to him too easily. Something simple could set him off, and when it was around his men that was one thing, but not around his wife and son.
In the hallway there were footsteps, and Jose Luis cleared his throat.
“Sir? I need to see you immediately.”
Fernando held his wife an extra couple of seconds. He smelled her hair, then kissed her on the forehead before he stepped away.
“I’ll be back soon. Okay?”
She nodded, her eyes starting to fill with tears.
Fernando left the bedroom to find Jose Luis and the two bodyguards in the hallway.
“What is it?”
Jose Luis said, “There’s something you need to see.”
The bodyguards stayed behind as Jose Luis led him down the steps and then out toward the front of the house. A car was parked there. Three men sat inside.
Jose Luis filled him in as they approached the car.
“They’re our men from La Miserias. They drove up to the gate minutes ago. Two of them are badly injured. Both need medical attention, but the driver knew better than to take them to a hospital. He thought one of our doctors might be able to help.”
“What happened?”
They had reached the car. Two of the men inside were writhing in pain. Both appeared to be clutching their legs. Fernando stepped even closer and saw that they’d been shot.
The driver said, his voice tremulous, “Can I get out of the car now?”
Fernando leaned down to look at the driver.
“What happened?”
The driver shook his head quickly, as if he was in shock.
“They kicked us out.”
“Who?”
“The town.”
“What do you mean, the town?”
“I mean the town. They fucking kicked us out. Said that if we came back they’d kill us. Now what about a doctor? These guys need help.”
Fernando stepped back from the car. He turned first to stare toward La Miserias. Then he turned back to Jose Luis.
“How many men did you call to protect the perimeter?”
“Ten additional men are coming. They should be here within a half hour.”
Fernando nodded, calculating the number in his head. The men who were already guarding the house and the additional men and how many more men they would need.
“See if you can get ten more.”
Jose Luis stared at him while the driver from the car kept asking for help.
“May I ask why?”
Fernando felt that anger bubbling inside him. Usually it spiked in situations like these, but this was a low boil. He knew that eventually it would explode, but he needed to wait for it to happen at the right time.
“You know exactly why. Get the additional men here as soon as possible. The people in that town thought yesterday was bad? They haven’t even begun to understand true misery.”
Thirty-Eight
Pork sizzles in the frying pan.
The sound alone makes my stomach grumble with pleasure.
Yolanda stands over the stove with a pair of tongs, turning each cubed piece of pork over so that all sides become browned. She already has the spices set aside, ready to add when the time is right.
Gabriela and I stand in the kitchen watching her. We offered to help, but she kept waving us away, saying that she was fine, despite the fact she moves slowly around the kitchen with her cane.
Dorado sits in the doorway, his tail flicking back and forth, watching patiently.
It’s been two hours since we kicked the narcos out of town. Two hours since the realization of what the townspeople had done began to sink in. I could tell from some of their faces that a few were already beginning to regret it, but others hadn’t. They’d looked proud. Relieved. Triumphant.
At the same time, they knew that this wasn’t the end of it. That eventually more narcos would come, seeking revenge. The townspeople needed to work on burying their loved ones from yesterday, but at the same time they needed to ensure that the town remained safe. So while a few worked on burial plans, the others were waiting with every weapon they had. We’d found several guns and rifles the narcos had stashed in their house, but it wasn’t an arsenal. There was a chance that when more narcos came, the townspeople would be outgunned and outnumbered. They acknowledged this, and they still wanted to fight.
As Yolanda browns the pork, she glances at us over her shoulder.
“How do you two know each other?”
Gabriela and I trade glances. We stare at each other for a long moment, and then I shrug.
“It’s a long story.”
Yolanda laughs, gestures at the stove.
“We have time.”
Neither one of us speaks.
Yolanda chuckles to herself, shaking her head as she keeps browning the pork.
“You can keep your secrets. Gabriela, are you really a journalist?”
“Yes.”
“Who do you write for?”
Gabriela hesitates, then says, “La Baliza.”
“That is noble work, I imagine. Also dangerous. What do your parents think of it?”
“They’re dead.”
Yolanda sighs, shaking her head.
“Much too young. Much, much too young.”
She peers at me.
“What about your parents?”
“I’d rather not talk about my parents.”
Yolanda nods, focusing again on the frying pan.
“Very well. Then we will not talk about anything. We will stay silent here in the kitchen while our food cooks.”
Dorado moves from his spot in the doorway. He slinks over to me and starts rubbing his face up against my leg. When I don’t give him any attention, he drifts over to Gabriela, who bends down
