Everything had happened exactly the way Jean-Luc said it would. He could smell the Floridian air, the coastal breeze, and it was only a matter of time before they rendezvoused with Guillermo’s cousin Raphael.
They would be staying at Raphael’s for one month, which would allow them time to sort out a place of their own. Raphael had a contact in the local forging racket. The plan was for Raphael to use his contact to acquire fake IDs and work permits for Guillermo’s family. This would make it possible to get jobs as well as enrol Isabel in school. All this would cost a significant amount of money. After paying the travel fees, Guillermo still had approximately fifteen thousand dollars.
It was around 8 p.m., and it was completely dark inside the container. Suddenly, more clanging noises came from the doors. When the doors flew open, all the passengers could see initially were bright beams from two flashlights. Loud voices emanated from the direction of the beams. “Okay, everybody on your feet—let’s go, let’s go, let’s go.” The command was repeated in Spanish by another voice.
When everyone stepped out of the container, they were asked to form a line. These men did not sound friendly. Guillermo’s confidence diminished, he felt that things could still fall apart. The two, armed US officials, sounded aggressive. It briefly crossed Guillermo’s mind that there was a possibility these men could be unaware of Jean-Luc’s arrangement. Guillermo tried to get a glimpse of the officers’ names, but they were not wearing name tags. He felt this was a good sign. If this had been a legal bust, it wouldn’t be necessary for the officers to conceal their identity.
One of the men walked towards the back of the line, while the other one remained in front. Everyone was given instructions to follow the officer at the front and not to break formation. The passengers were informed there would be no toilet breaks after they left the docks. Whoever needed to use the toilet needed to say so now. Guillermo and a few others put their hands up. The officer pointed in the direction of a few portable toilets nearby.
Once they had finished, the officer in front instructed everyone to follow him. After walking for five minutes, they stopped at the east section of the docks. Attached to a nearby barbed-wired fence was a gate with a green sign that read ‘Emergency Exit Only’. The crew had someone manning the security cameras, and they gave the signal that they were approaching the gate. The camera panned in the opposite direction, away from the gate. A minute later, the travellers were directed outside the gate, towards three white vans. Once they were in the clear, the camera resumed its normal cycle.
Guillermo and his family were assigned to the same van, but the man from their living quarters was placed in a separate van. All three vans pulled away from the docks in different directions. The driver of Guillermo’s van turned the radio down and said, “Welcome to America,” in Spanish. This was music to his ears; he could finally relax and be happy that the trip had been successful. The driver told everyone where he would be taking them and said there would be pay phones available so they could get in touch with their contacts in Miami. He warned them that, although the van had clean license plates, there was always a possibility of getting pulled over by the police. He explained that if this were to happen, there would be nothing he could do about it. Arrests leading to deportation would be inevitable. This sent Guillermo into panic mode again, but he didn’t let it show because he knew it would make Anna anxious.
The driver made it all the way to Thirty-Sixth Street with no problems. He told the passengers they had reached their destination, and that they could now exit the vehicle and off-load their luggage. Guillermo and his family were ecstatic. He turned to Anna and could see that she was tired, but she looked happy nonetheless. Isabel looked tired as well. He collected their luggage from the back of the van and said goodbye to the driver.
“Anna, my love, we did it!” Guillermo said in excitement.
“Yes, we did, we should call Raphael quickly. I am very tired and hungry. Isabel needs to eat something too.” Anna said.
“Yes, there is a pay phone just over there. I will call Raphael now. We can get some food at the restaurant across the road while we wait.” said Guillermo.
Guillermo made the call. Raphael told him to look out for a green, four-door Dauntless with plate number GIP-07A.
Raphael pulled into the restaurant parking lot in his hideous monstrosity of a car. It had massive chrome spoke rims, a white leather interior, and all kinds of tasteless ornaments on the dash. Guillermo spotted the car and told Anna and Isabel it was time to go. They came out of the restaurant, and both men hugged and shouted greetings. Guillermo introduced Anna and Isabel to Raphael, and he hugged them both. Raphael grabbed their luggage and after putting them in the trunk, they drove off.
Chapter 10
The Assembly
Where: The Royal Scepter, The United Nations of Europe and Americas, Albany, New York
When: 1300 hours, Thursday, October 3, 2041
Currency: UNEA credits
Before our flight to Albany, we did the press conference
