Shaking Off the Dust (32 page)

“Damn, Shimodo, you are pushing it on both those items.” I added the extra-large lubricated-condoms package I’d spotted.

He did one of those almost smiles he was good at and looked me straight in the eyes, before bursting out laughing. “My wanton Hannah.”

Tom appeared next to us and perused the contents of the basket. He saw the pregnancy kits and got right up into my face. “Hannah, what’s going on? I thought you two were using protection?”

I got my feelings hurt. He was worried for Takeshi, afraid I would trap his friend. I couldn’t stop from tearing up.

“What’s the matter, Hannah, what’s going on?” Takeshi demanded urgently. “Tell me, please?”

“Tom’s worried I’m trying to tie you to me,” I replied.

“I never said that. I didn’t even imply it. I’m worried about you, Hannah. Your brain won’t take labor.

The strain could be fatal.”

I blinked. “Nobody has ever mentioned that to me. If I can survive one lovemaking session with Shimodo, I can survive anything. Tell me the truth, Tom. You think I’m too old and bitter for him. And I agree a hundred times over. He put those pregnancy kits in there, not me.”

“You’re wrong. I want him to be happy. But I worry about you. I think I worry about you more now.

Carrying a baby would be difficult. Many of the medications you are taking would need to be stopped.

Takeshi knows that. You can’t have the stress to your brain or your heart that trying to push out a baby requires.”

“He keeps telling me I smell like blackberries and honey and that’s supposed to be proof positive.”

“In fifteen years, he’s never been wrong. It was a game when we were in med school.”

“Don’t start this crap with me. He’s wrong this time. I prefer strawberries.” I stomped down the aisle to the checkout. I grabbed a bunch of chocolate, which Takeshi put back on the shelf, whispering, “Caffeine,” so I threw in bags of peanuts and a power bar.

I pulled out a wad of pesetas Enrique had given to me and put it down on the counter. Takeshi picked it up and gave it back it me, then handed the checkout girl his credit card. She gave us a curious glance and bagged the items. We left in silence to go hunting for the rest of our ever-increasing group and found them all still in the toy section.

Hector and Rachel were racing cars while Mateo and Jack were cheering on their counterparts. The little girls were touching Rachel, urging her to go faster and her eyes were sparkling with laughter. After the girls won the race, they decided to buy several toys including the cars and trucks, and we all headed back to the cars.

We took a gravel path off the main road and drove up to a lake and surrounding countryside. The cars were parked a short distance from where we set up our picnic. There were blankets and baskets filled with food and drink. Everyone sat back, eating and telling silly stories. The children even told jokes, though as translator I don’t know if my delivery did justice to their small voices. Then they began running off into the woods, yelling and laughing. It felt like a real family gathering. I tried to tell the others how much fun the children were having, and I wished they could have seen them too.

I leaned against Takeshi’s chest and was thinking I might take a nap when Brodie came running back.

“Hannah, you have to see this. There’s a whole family of small animals in the woods over there. Come on and look.” He was so excited I decided to let him share his enthusiasm.

I told the others of the wonders to behold if they also followed Brodie. Hector, Rachel and Takeshi joined the excursion.

It’s always strange when you enter a forested area, it seems ominous and closed in. The sun barely pierced the overhanging trees and the darkness increased. We walked for about ten minutes until I could hear water rushing as we came upon a waterfall that fed into a fast moving stream of rapids and down a ravine. The trees cleared as we got near the water and the sun shone on us again. Leading the way, Brodie walked straight across the water to the other side.

“Brodie,” I yelled. “We can’t follow you. We can’t walk on water and it’s too cold to wade through.”

Disappointed, he came back to us. I let my hand pass through his hair in my attempt to ruffle it and he grinned. “Being dead has its good points.” He looked longingly at the other side of the water.

I turned around looking for Hector and Rachel. They’d been behind us. Takeshi tensed. He shaded his eyes with his hand as he scanned the rocks near the waterfall. From behind a tree, like shadows detaching, two men came out. One held Rachel around the neck, with a gun to her head.

Takeshi stepped in front of me and blocked me from them.

The second man came forward speaking in heavily accented English. “Where’s the other one? The man with this woman?”

Takeshi shrugged. “Let her go. Let her stand with us.”

“You have no say here,” the man spat back at him.

There was a shout and someone yelled from upstream. Two men were fighting at the edge of the water.

I could make out Hector holding off a man with a gun. They were near equal in size and for now Hector had the gun pointing away from him.

“Brodie,” I whispered. “Find Tom, tell him what’s going on and bring Enrique and Bill. Tell them to be very careful.”

“I’m staying with you. I made a promise to protect you.”

“Then do as I say,” I said between my teeth.

He blinked away. I moved beside Takeshi, so that I could see better, but he pushed me behind him. He was vibrating with tension.

A shot rang out and one of the men on the rock plummeted into the water. It was Hector. He fell straight into the rapids. I screamed and ran towards the rushing water, with Takeshi trying to catch me.

Hector appeared unconscious or, worse, dead. He bounced against the small rocks and then would rush forward again as the water swept over him. I started into the water, but Takeshi yanked me up and out.

Then he jumped in and barely snagged Hector’s jacket as he swiftly passed by. Takeshi grabbed more clothes until he had Hector and pulled him towards the shore.

There was blood on Hector’s head and shoulder. He was turning blue. We both dragged him to the shore and I went into nurse mode. I listened for breathing and heard none, so I tried to breathe for him. I screamed my frustration.

“He has taken too much water into his lungs.” With chattering teeth, Takeshi heaved him over. He pushed on his back and abdomen until water pored out of his nose and mouth.

We flipped Hector on his back again and I gave him rescue breaths. I ignored the pain it caused my jaw and lips. I searched for a pulse, but felt nothing so Takeshi and I started CPR. It took a full two minutes before he coughed and took in a shuddering breath. He didn’t wake up, but he was breathing and I could feel a slow pulse.

I examined the wound on his shoulder. The bleeding was sluggish, so I stripped off my jacket and sweater, and I ripped off the sleeves on my long-sleeve shirt. I used one to apply pressure to his wound and the other to tie it in place. The gunshot had missed major arteries. Things were suddenly looking up.

Two men walked up to us and a third came down from the rocks to join his compatriots. They were dragging Rachel along. She looked pissed.

“I’m looking for an American woman named Hannah. Which of you is she?” The man waved the gun back and forth between us.

“Me, I’m Hannah,” I yelled. But Rachel claimed she was too.

I looked up at her. “Rachel, I need you to stay with Hector. Apply pressure and try to warm him until you can get him to a hospital. Just do that. I don’t think they want to hurt me. I’m too valuable.”

The three men stared at us and at a command from the man who had spoken, the others threw Rachel on the ground. I helped her up and showed her how to hold pressure. I unbuttoned Takeshi’s shirt and stripped him down to bare chest. He shook with the cold, so I gave him the sweater he’d made me wear and put my jacket back on. It was the best I could do at the moment.

One of the men came up and reached for me, but Takeshi slid in between us and flipped him to the ground. It looked as if he’d barely touched him. The man with the gun came forward pointing it at Takeshi.

Takeshi raised his hand. “Do not touch her,” he said in a low growl. “We will follow, but do not touch her.”

“We don’t need you, we only need her.” The leader helped his man stand.

“But you will take me, because I go where she goes. She is mine. As long as you do not harm her we will get along fine.” He stood his ground.

“Is this true? Is he your husband?” The leader appeared unimpressed.

“He is mine. If you hurt him or make him leave, you might as well shoot me too. I’ll be of no use to you dead.” I think I believed it. Apparently they did too, because he pointed in the direction away from where we came and we followed.

“Rachel, don’t stop the pressure on that wound until he’s at a hospital.”

We walked over rough terrain for almost thirty minutes. I was cold from just my feet being wet, so I knew Takeshi was freezing. He held my hand the entire time and helped me over the rougher spots.

“Hannah, the others are coming. I need to lead them.” Tom popped up near me. “Are you all right?”

I nodded and he was gone again. Brodie stayed right with us, so excited he skipped part of the time. I prayed that Hector was on his way to the hospital.

We reached a clearing where two cars were parked. I recognized one of them. When we approached, Tomas Ramirez stepped out of an extra-long limousine and asked the leader something.

As we walked up, I started talking. I pointed to Takeshi. “He needs out of these wet clothes. Do you have a blanket or other clothes for him to wear?”

The guard laughed and I glared. “Tell your boss what I asked for.”

Hate filled his eyes before he turned and spoke to Tomas. He turned back to me and spat. The trunk was opened and a rough gray blanket was brought out.

I marched over to it and snatched it from his hands then came back to Takeshi. “Wrap this around you and take off your wet pants. You’re going to end up hypothermic if you don’t.”

“Hannah, being undressed with these people is not a very good idea.”

“Just do it,” I nearly screamed. I was worried about him.

He sighed and wrapped the blanket around him. I watched his pants fall to the ground. “I do this only because I love you. Remember that.”

Ramirez spoke and the guard translated. “Come join me in the car where it is warmer.”

I got in and Takeshi followed. It was warmer and I huddled against Takeshi. There was silence. I wondered what was coming next, why we were waiting.

Tomas sat with a pleasant smile on his face. He glanced at his watch every once in a while. Perhaps twenty minutes passed. I was curious as to why we were waiting. A noise coming from behind the trees drew my attention and I watched as six men led out Enrique and Bill at gunpoint.

Ramirez got out of the car and motioned for us to stay inside. An extended conversation began in Spanish, after which Enrique and Bill joined Tomas in the limo. Even with them inside there was room for two or three more.

Ramirez spoke and Enrique translated. “Now we have all the players.”

“Please tell me that Hector is on his way to the hospital?” I rushed in to ask.

Enrique nodded. “Jack and Mateo are taking him. They let them go once they had taken Bill and me.”

Tomas spoke for a long time before Enrique filled us in. “He wants you to know that no one was supposed to be harmed. Hector forced his man to defend himself and his injury could not be helped. By the time they reach help for Hector, we will be done here. Cell phones won’t work.”

Enrique accepted my outraged stare as acceptance and launched into another conversation with Ramirez. Twenty minutes of continuous conversation later, Ramirez pulled out a small box from his pocket. Inside were two baby teeth. He handed it to me.

“These are Nina’s and Isabella’s. He wishes you to communicate with his sisters. Hannah, he gave me invaluable information and is willing to work with us now. If you can help him, he would be very grateful.”

I was mad at Ramirez for what had happened to Hector. But I’d do what Enrique requested. I touched the baby teeth and the two young women appeared on either side of Ramirez.

They recognized me and thanked me before I could even think about being angry again. “You saved our brother. You have pulled him from evil and his heart is now open again. Thank you, thank you.”

“I didn’t do that. He made his choices. I hope he has changed. Tell me what you know?” I tried to keep my face neutral.

“He questioned Vincent. We turned our backs but I was glad to hear him suffer.” Nina lowered her voice while sharing her guilty secret. “He betrayed Tomas many times. He works for the Sanchez family, who deal in drugs and who beat up shop owners demanding money for protection.”

“What is your brother’s business?” I probed, curious to see how he differed.

“He redirects new technology from China and other places, selling it to the highest bidder.” Isabella was quoting someone. I could guess who.

I laughed and Ramirez demanded to know why. I repeated what Isabella had told me. He had the good grace to look embarrassed, but there was a smile underneath. I think it reinforced to him that I was the real thing, and his sisters were with him.

“Go on,” I encouraged the girls.

“Vincent told him that Sanchez supplied a man with technology they had bought from Tomas that caused the plane to explode. They want to take over his clients and thought to lead the police to our brother.

Then he would be killed or put in jail.”

Nina’s head bobbed in agreement with her sister. “Tomas had Vincent set up a meeting with old Sanchez. He is letting these men”—she gestured towards Enrique and Bill—“and you come to that meeting to catch these bad people. Our brother thinks they will be able to find the ones who placed the bomb.”

“Why does he want me there? This is all good, but what does Tomas want in return?”

“There is a masked ball on Halloween. He wishes for you to attend with him.” Isabella pointed to Enrique. “At dawn Tomas wants to be with us as we go to God. He says he deserves the reward posted by the Spanish government for anyone who helps find the fanatics. He wants the FBI to move him to America, where he can be safe and buy an electronics store.”