by Thom J Poore
Chapter 19: Load up and hit the road
Fresh from having their passport photos taken, Emilio, Karl and Valencia seize the chance to check in with each other while the Llera brothers are caught up talking amongst themselves.
“What if we get caught going over the border? We’ll go to jail, and what will happen to us then?” Karl is close to hysterical, pulling at his own hair painfully hard, unable to control his emotions. Valencia puts her arm around him to try and comfort and stabilize him, looking directly at Emilio with an anxious expression. She pulls Emilio in to form a group hug, to deliver her thoughts without being overheard.
“I say we grab their guns and murder every fucking one of these bastards right now!” Valencia breathes with focused anger.
“No, we can’t do that, we can’t do anything right now. We don’t how many of their people are on this site, plus they have security. Look, lets just drive towards the border and stick as closely together as possible. We should wait patiently for our moment and then try to get the hell out of this situation.” Emilio whispers.
Valencia drops her head to think. Raising her head she winks at Emilio to silently signify her agreement. Karl looks at Emilio in desperate hope as he stands wiping his tear filled eyes.
The young couple cling to each other desperately as they stare out of the opened window and over the quarry, talking quietly to one another.
“I reckon I could climb those metal pipes on the mineshaft. If I could get up there then I could easily climb the fence above it. What about you, Logan?” The girl asks; her eyes fixed on her target.
“I couldn’t climb that thing. You’re talking crazy, Shannon, it’s too risky!”
“Well, if we stay here we’re as good as dead or worse; we could end up in prison for the rest of our lives. I just can’t face it!”
“Don’t be stupid, we could get the drugs over the border, we’ve done it before.”
“Not the amount they have in mind. And we don’t even know what we’re smuggling anymore. And what if we do get over the border? They said that we could walk away any time we wanted, and that was bullshit. If we do make it across the border, what makes you think they’ll let us walk away then? I’m sorry, babe, but I’m not waiting around to find out!”
Shannon looks round at the Llera brothers who are so caught up in their conversation that they don’t notice her slyly opening the window fully and slipping out. Logan tries to grab her arm but she pulls it back. He follows after her, scared of being left behind, but he is less nimble than Shannon and falls as he tries to clumsily scramble through it. Emilio, Karl and Valencia watch Shannon and Logan running for the mineshaft, with the Llera brothers temporarily oblivious.
“What the fuck!” Shouts Pancho with a grimace of shocked realization, as he notices Logan running across the quarry. He walks up to the window and lets rip a few rounds from his machine gun, shattering the glass and ricocheting off a steel strut which supports the grids of walkways stretching out from the colossal mine shaft opening. Pancho fires another wave of bullets, which spark loudly as they hit the metal hydraulic pulley system, pipes and platforms, narrowly missing the moving targets. Logan and Shannon jump over the railings and onto the maintenance platform, which runs down to the shaft itself. Dwight, hearing the punching machine gun fire from down the hall sprints back into the training room, wondering what the hell is going on. As soon as he becomes fully aware of the situation he vents his frustration on Pancho.
“Cease fire! What the hell do you think your doing? They can’t go anywhere, there’s no way out over there!”
Dwight kicks the remaining shards of glass from the windowsill and hurdles through the empty frame in pursuit of the fleeing figures.
Shannon and Logan stand hesitantly peering down at the vast mineshaft void below them.
“Well this was a shitty idea! There’s no way of climbing over this thing! The drop goes on forever!” Logan is distraught.
Shannon turns and sees Dwight heading down the platform towards them.
“It’ll be a cinch, like gym class back in high school, just don’t look down or even think about what you’re about to climb over!”
“I can’t climb that thing!” Logan frets, looking over his shoulder as Dwight walks coolly and calmly in their direction, convinced they won’t venture much further.
“I wanna live, Logan!” Shannon yells in sheer panic as Dwight advance ever closer, forcing her to step up on to the edge of the first long pipe and balance her way nimbly along it, placing one foot in front of the other and pulling herself up through the overhanging pipes, trying her hardest not to look down at the seemingly endless chasm below. She hurries across three other adjoining pipes, losing her balance momentarily before regaining her composure and pulling herself victoriously up on to the flat land. Shannon looks back at Logan briefly, mouthing the word “sorry” before jumping straight on to the tall perimeter fence. Once clear of the fence she runs out on to the main road, waving her arms in front of an approaching lorry which stops for the young woman before driving off with her.
Logan places his foot out in front of him onto the first pipe, his heart pounding with fear. Dwight has finally caught up with him and is just a meter behind with his arm out over the mineshaft, trying to grab the back of Logan’s T-Shirt, but he is just out of reach.
“Come down, boy! Don’t be stupid now!” Dwight addresses the shaking teen.
Grabbing an overhanging pipe, Logan tries to pull himself up, but he has no upper body strength, and loses his footing. He throws up in his mouth as he is left hanging over the never-ending drop.
“Help! Fucking help me, I don’t want to die!”
“Just hold on, I’m not having anybody die on my mine today. Now just do as I tell you. Take deep breaths and concentrate on your grip!” Dwight speaks calmly as he grabs a safety harness from a grey metal maintenance box attached to the railings.
“Be careful, boy, just stay still. I’m going to throw you this harness. Looks like I’ll have to loop it around your neck!”
Logan nods, struggling to remain calm, his legs kicking as he tries to adjust his grip.
“Once the harness loop is round your neck I will pull it tight, but don’t panic, it’s just so I can catch you if your hands slip. I’ll pull you in before you suffocate, ok! Have you got all that?”
Logan’s fingers slip as he tries to re-gain his grip once again, he cannot gain the same tight hold as he had held just moments before as the blood is cruelly draining from his fingertips and his bodyweight is becoming too much for his feeble grasp. Dangling by one arm over the abyss Logan starts whimpering like a young child. Dwight throws the loop but misses Logan’s head.
“Now stay still, boy! I’m going to try again.”
Dwight throws the harness again, but hits Logan’s arm. Logan’s body starts to jerk as his legs kick aimlessly. His aching fingers go numb. He feels the harness being thrown against his torso repeatedly, as he looks up at the sky wondering if this is the last time he’ll ever gaze at the heavens. The perspiration from Logan’s palms make it impossible for him to maintain his grip, and the laws of physics take over. He falls, hitting a series of sharp-edged conveyor plates on his morbid descent, eventually landing on a long rusty post sticking out from the mineshaft wall, which pierces his back and perforates his stomach leaving him hanging like a slaughtered pig on a meat hook.
Dwight looks down into the dark void and slams his fists in frustration. He doesn’t care about the boy; his only concern is whether the Vipercom representatives find out about the incident.
Below, unseen from above, a couple of miners stand startled, Logan’s blood dripping from their boiler suits.
“Of all days!" Dwight curses, as he peers down into the darkness. He pulls out his cell phone and quickly organises a clean up operation.
With a deep breath, he turns to face the Llera brothers, who are watching with amusement from the training room window. Dwight makes his way back, his face like thunder, trying to concoct a plausible excuse to offer the miners. He climbs back through the broken window and addresses his audience.
“What did I say to you this morning? No bloodshed! And now I have this! You’d better pray no one finds out.”
“Or what!” Pancho drawls, looking to get a rise out of Dwight.
“Or else.” Dwight stands his ground.
Pancho starts sizing Dwight up. “You don’t control me. Nobody controls me, man. Fucking puto!”
“You need to teach your brother some manners, General!” Dwight growls.
“Well, you are kinda disrespecting him. He was only trying to stop the mules from getting away. Now we have to hope that girl doesn’t go running to the cops!” The General replies, sticking up for his volatile sibling.
“We own the cops around here. You know that!”
Pancho takes his machine gun and points it at Dwight. Emilio, Karl and Valencia have backed themselves silently into a corner, determined to make space between them and the increasingly charged atmosphere.
“Oh yeah, hide behind a gun! Real brave! If you have a problem, why don’t you settle it like a man!” Taunts Dwight.
The General is growing bored. He knows from the look in Pancho’s eyes that he’s about to flip. He can’t be bothered to clean up after him, so he pushes the tip of Pancho's gun slowly downward until it’s pointing at the floor.
“Enough of these games! Let’s get these mules loaded!”
He walks out of the room and Cathos signals for the teenagers to follow, while Pancho and Dwight exchange vindictive glances. Dwight walks out of the room with his head held high, to collect the fake passports and driving licenses.
The group are guided back down the corridors and into a large maintenance workshop. To the far right of the garage sit three estate cars, one green, one red and one black. They all look like normal family cars. The black one has been jacked up and the wheels removed. Higuain stands to one side, in front of a metal work bench, wrapping cocaine parcels in foil, then coating them in aviation grease before finally wrapping them in a layer of cellophane, in an attempt to throw the dogs at the border off the scent. The cocaine is then packed into the car tyres, twelve kilograms in each wheel. Higuain is an expert mechanic who has made incisions in the wheel hubs, so that the vehicles are still robust enough to look normal and drive properly.
“Woah, this is major!” Karl murmurs as he watches the processes in action.
Emilio and Valencia are both taken aback as the task in front of them becomes a harsh reality. Dwight walks in behind the group, holding the fake documents, and starts dishing out orders, putting his negative episode with Pancho out of his mind for the time being.
“Obviously, we’re a couple of mules down now, but we have to keep on moving. We won’t be able to ship all the cocaine, but we can move most of it. You all know the routine by now, so Cathos and Pancho might as well hit the road with the mules, and leave us to tend to Vipercom.” Dwight is eager to see the back of the Pancho and get back to the mine to check on the cleaning process.
“I have two cars finished already, so your mules are good to go.” Higuain cuts in.
“Ok then.” Dwight motions to Karl. “You, fat boy, you drive the red estate and Romeo and Juliet are taking the black one. We have registered the red estate to you, fat boy, so that all the details match your passport and driving license, and the black is registered to Romeo over there.”
“I don’t believe this!” Mutters Karl, staring at the old red estate.
“You got something to say, kid?” Responds Dwight.
“No!” Karl mumbles.
Dwight pauses, looking at Karl in disgust for a moment, before turning and speaking to The General.
“I’m going to ring the Vipercom representatives now and find out where they are. Hopefully they haven’t started looking underground yet. I’m still trying to work out what to say to them in case they heard the machine gun fire!” Dwight puts his cell phone to his ear as The General turns to his brothers to hand over the fake documents and bid them farewell.
“Here are all the passports and licenses. I’ll see you two when you get back. Cathos, make sure everything runs according to the plan. No fuck ups!”
The General and Dwight walk off towards the office blocks, their only concern now that Vipercom don’t turn over too many stones.
“Hey, we’re good to go!” Higuain claps his oily hands sharply. The Llera brothers stand up slowly and beckon the young group to the vehicles. Pancho pulls Karl toward him like a rag doll and then pushes him into the driver’s seat of the red car, before sliding into the passenger seat next to him. Karl is forced to drive off, scared out of his grubby, sweaty skin, constantly checking his rear view mirrors, terrified of losing sight of Emilio and Valencia. Cathos turns to Emilio and Valencia and takes a lighter approach, opening the door to the black car and inviting the couple to enter of their own free will. Emilio is keen to keep up with Karl and he jumps into the driver’s seat and takes off to trail Karl as closely as possible.