by Jon Mills
Jack was laying into one of Pueblo’s men when he felt a baton strike him on the top half of his back, he turned in time to feel it connect with his face. He hit the ground, spitting blood for a few seconds before getting up and trying to figure out where Noah had gone. Everyone was coughing and choking on the smoke. One moment he could see figures ahead of him, the next a knee came out of nowhere and he fell back. Roll, he told himself as a foot came down from above. He swept the leg out and jammed his fist into the throat of one man. All around him was total anarchy. The sound of cursing, boots running, bones cracking and men’s cries filled the air. Chairs were being thrown, buckets and anything that wasn’t bolted down.
A rapid series of rounds were fired above their heads from multiple places and then the fighting ceased. By the time Jack stumbled out of the smoke, he had taken down four guys.
When the guards had regained order with the help of the coordinators, those who didn’t need medical treatment were lined up for another day of hard labor in the mountains.
“This is bullshit,” Noah said.
“Just consider yourself lucky that no one saw you, otherwise you would be in the hole.”
Noah scowled. “Does it matter? This whole place is a hole. A shit hole. At least down there I can have peace.”
Chepe came over and pulled Jack to one side. “You better get a grip on your brother. I had money on the fights that took place today. That little outburst of his is going to cost him.”
“Why are you speaking to me? Speak to him,” Jack said.
Chepe turned and standing beyond the gate was Lázaro. Chepe didn’t have any money on the fights. He was simply passing along a message.
Lázaro sneered and walked away.
By the time they made it back to the mountains it was almost eleven in the morning. This time they were flown out in a helicopter. As the thump of the rotors beat overhead, Jack looked down at the acres upon acres of burned forest. The sun was beating down and a harsh wind was blowing through the trees bringing with it the smell of burnt wood. With over forty pounds of gear on him, Jack was sweating as he hacked away at the ground for the first hour then spent the next few hours thinning trees.
Some of the fires were 100 feet tall. Now whether the outburst had mellowed everyone out or whether the inmates were exhausted, very little was said by any of them. Everyone got started. The growl of a chainsaw filled the air, along with the thud of axes and rakes scraping the ground. Inmates continued to patrol different areas after a section of fire was put out to make sure it didn’t flare up.
“Move out of the way,” someone yelled as a falling tree came crashing down and debris flew up in the air. A cry was heard and several men rushed down a steep incline to a man who hadn’t moved in time. His arm was stuck under a tree. It was sickening sight. He’d lost it for sure.
Among the insults thrown at each other and the threats and glares, there were moments when people didn’t act like animals. There was something about hard work that made a man feel alive. A sense of accomplishment. That was one of the many reasons the inmates were involved. It was to prepare them for when they were released. The fire chief gave some spiel at the break about how many inmates had been helped over the years and how many of them were now full-fledged firefighters after getting out of prison.
Jack could see the appeal. For many inside the walls of Danlí, they needed a break. Someone to give them a chance at a better life.
“I’m doing it with or without you,” Noah said casting his eyes around while scraping at the terrain.
“How?” Jack replied.
“Doesn’t matter.”
“It will if you have a bullet in your back,” Jack said.
“Robert is coming.”
Robert shuffled over. He was the other American that Jack had seen enter the prison not long after he arrived. Another fuck-up who had got caught for stabbing some pimp. He pleaded self-defense but after hearing Noah’s lies, Jack didn’t believe anyone. There was a saying in prison that no one was guilty. Everyone had an excuse. It was only when they were heading down the green mile to be executed for their crimes that some took responsibility.
“Let’s say you make it out of here, how are you going to escape Honduras?”
“Who gives a fuck? I’ll figure that out when I get to that hurdle. Right now, I’m getting out of here. You said you came in to get me out. This is our chance, brother.”
“No. Use your head.”
“Suit yourself.”
Jack shook his head.
“What? You think you have a better idea?”
Jack continued to hack away at a tree, thinning out the branches. He coughed as some of the foliage got in his face.
“Far from it. But dodging bullets isn’t smart.”
“And neither is staying here.” Noah slapped him on the chest. “Look, you know if we don’t bounce now, there is only one way we are getting out of here, and that’s in a body bag.”
Jack contemplated what he said for a second. Not that he hadn’t considered escaping. There were no fences, no walls, and few guards in the mountains. But that wasn’t what he was worried about. It was trying to escape Honduras.
Another hour passed, then an idea came to him.
“Okay.”
“Really?” Noah looked surprised.
“But we do it my way. You follow my lead.”
“You got it.”
“We wait until the sun goes down, when we get our dinner break.”
Noah moved down the line and whispered to Robert. Over the next few hours, Noah looked pleased with himself. Fucking guy would be the death of them all. The only reason he’d agreed was because he knew Lázaro wasn’t a man of his word. There was no chance in hell he would let them out after nineteen fights, hell even sixty fights. This was all one big game to him.
When it was time for chow, everyone settled down on their backpacks for dinner. They waited until Chepe and the fire chief were busy discussing work for the next day when they bolted. There was no method to the madness, except to put as much distance between themselves and the crew, and head toward the fire. If they even attempted to descend the mountain, they would run into crew on the road. No one in their right mind would try to follow them into the fire. It was dangerous and the odds of them actually escaping were slim but Jack wouldn't let Noah go alone.
They hadn’t even made it a few yards when the guards opened fire. Robert was struck in the back and Noah turned but Jack grabbed him.
“No time, let’s go.”
Jack’s legs screamed in protest as they scaled up the steep incline, using burning trees and the thick smoke as cover. Behind his fogged-up mask, his breathing was labored.
“Which way?”
Fire raged around them. Not far behind them they could hear guards yelling. Jack had done a lot of stupid things in his time but this one was right up there. He pointed east and they darted in and out of the trees. Occasionally they would stumble and hit the dirt. Ascending a mountain was tough enough; one wrong footing and they could fall to their deaths. But when the heat of the fire was added into the mix it was almost unbearable.
What made it even more dangerous was that trees were collapsing around them. Every crack and pop of wood put his nerves on edge.
The guards didn’t pursue them for long. They didn’t earn enough and the firefighters wouldn't come after two hardened criminals. They jogged through the treacherous terrain for what felt like hours, stopping only for a few minutes to catch their breath and take a sip of water from the bottles they brought.
Eventually they made it out of the ring of fire and reached a rocky plateau that overlooked the city. Jack lifted his breathing mask and goggles. Sweat poured off his brow as he wiped it with the back of his forearm.
Noah patted him on the back. “We did it, brother.”
Jack shook his head and rolled his eyes. They weren’t out of trouble yet.
“What now?” Noah asked.
“Now we pay
someone a visit.”
Eighteen - Lawyer Up
They’d tossed their firefighting overalls long before they reached the city. The upside to being in Danlí Prison was they didn’t provide bright orange prison garbs, which meant they could blend in. Jack’s T-shirt was soaked in sweat and he kept pulling at it as they arrived in the city and did their best to stay out of sight. With evening upon them, and darkness shrouding their movements, he figured that the guards wouldn’t be looking in the city. They would expect them to make a run for the border.
“You think he can help?”
“No, but without money we aren’t getting out of here and this bastard owes me.”
They darted across the street heading for the cigar store. It was still open. A light glimmered from inside. They slipped down the back alley and made their way around to the back. Jack vaulted up onto the wall and was getting over when three dogs came rushing out of nowhere. Taken aback by the sudden assault, he nearly lost his balance. They were the same dogs from José’s home. Two of them were jumping up trying to get at his leg. Jack climbed back over and hopped down.
Someone shouting in Spanish tried to calm the dogs but they weren’t paying any attention.
“Well that won't work,” Noah said.
“Then in the front entrance it is.”
Jack knew they would be armed. He remembered they had one security guard on the door the day he visited. At the corner of the alley, Jack peered around and looked up and down the street before moving out. They hugged the wall tight until they reached the entrance. From the moment he stepped inside, the guard looked at him.
“We’re closing in ten minutes.”
“José in?” Jack asked.
He gave a nod and they walked on into the store section of the factory.
“I’ll go get him,” the security guard muttered in Spanish. Jack knew the second he saw him, the shit would hit the fan. He watched as the security guard buzzed himself in through a door using a card. Jack motioned to Noah and he rushed over and stuck his foot in before it closed. Not wasting any time, they ventured into the corridor beyond the door and watched the security guard stroll down to an office. He stopped and thumbed over his shoulder. Meanwhile Noah and Jack positioned themselves across the hall waiting for them to return. He could hear José asking who it was but the security guard had forgot to ask. José reprimanded him and said he could be replaced.
Jack prepared as the sound of their boots echoed in the corridor. The security guard was the first one that came into his line of sight. He’d already told Noah to grab his gun while he disabled him. Jack lunged forward and grabbed him around the neck while Noah grasped the gun and pulled it from its holster.
Like a rat about to be pounced on by a cat, José fled towards his office, almost slipping while Noah held a gun on the guard. Jack raced after him. Just as José was about to slam the door on him, Jack barged in knocking him back.
“How did you get out?”
“It’s good to see you too, José. Take a seat.”
Jack grabbed him up by the collar and dumped his ass on a chair.
“You shouldn’t be here. No, you need to go.”
Jack grabbed a chair and turned it around and plunked himself down. “I’m not going anywhere until you hand over the fifty thousand.”
José scowled. “What are you on about?”
Jack breathed in, smiled and then lunged forward and plowed his fist into his face.
“Don’t fuck with me. How much did you pay them?”
Holding his bloody nose and groaning like a bitch he shook his head. “I don’t know what you are on about.”
“Wrong answer.”
Jack grabbed a hold of him and threw him across his desk, sending paperwork and a cup of coffee all over the floor.
“It wasn’t me. It was Lázaro. He told me to set it up.”
“And Noah?”
“That was nothing to do with either of us. That was his own stupidity.”
Jack grabbed a hold of him and pushed him back into his chair. “I swear, it was Lázaro.”
“So you must have got a cut from it.”
“Twenty thousand. He has the rest.”
“Where is it?”
José was reluctant to say. Jack grabbed the back of his head and slammed it against the table.
“In my safe. I’ll get it for you.”
Jack wiped his hands on the back of José’s shirt. All the while, Noah stood in the doorway by the guard who was now on the floor.
“Guessing you have done this before?” Noah said. Jack didn’t reply. He wanted that money and then they were getting the hell out of there. Twenty thousand was more than enough, but he would still pay Lázaro a visit before they returned to the USA. No one fucked him over.
The sniffling little asshole got down on his hands and knees and turned over the safe’s dial until it unlocked. When it popped open, Jack leaned in and grabbed out what money he had inside. There was over twenty thousand but he wouldn't take any more than he was owed. He thumbed through it until he had his cut then he turned back to the table, grabbed a phone and slammed it down in front of José.
“Call Lázaro. Tell him you have just had a phone call from me and that I’m waiting at the airport.”
He shook his head. “No. I’m not going to do that. He’ll kill me.”
“I’ll kill you if you don’t. Ten seconds.”
Jack counted down. He’d about reached the end of his rope. José stared at the phone, then glanced at the guard.
“Time’s a ticking, José.”
José leaned forward and placed the call. He held several tissues to his face to catch the steady trickle of blood seeping from his nose. He had one hell of a welt on his forehead. Jack listened as the call went to voicemail. José shrugged.
“Try his cell.”
José tried again. This time he got through. All the time he was on the call, Jack kept a firm grip on the back of his neck. Occasionally he would squeeze it just to let him know what was going to happen if he tried to screw them over.
Once he hung up, Jack smiled and patted him on the back of the head like a dog.
“Right, get over there,” Noah said to the security guard. They tied and gagged both of them and shoved them inside a closet. Once it was closed, Noah looked at Jack and smiled.
“Mother never told me about what you did for a living. I have a feeling I know why now.”
Nineteen - Warden
The vehicle purred as he pulled out of the Honduran-Cuban Tobacco Company. He’d snatched up the keys to José’s vehicle and planned on using it until they could dump it and pay for another. They were hours away from getting out of Honduras.
“I don’t see why we have to risk heading to his place.”
“No, you wouldn’t.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Noah asked.
Sirens could be heard in the distance. Hopefully they were making their way towards the airport. Lázaro probably had gone with them but he wasn’t taking any chances. Jack had taken a Cold Python gun belonging to José and Noah had the security guard’s weapon.
“Do you ever tell her the truth?”
“Of course, but you don’t know her, Jack, like I do. She would fly off the handle if she knew what I was involved in. She thinks I’m helping out with a missionary organization.”
“The longer you keep her in the dark, the more pissed off she will be when she finds out.”
The car wound its way through the valley towards the home of Lázaro. The lights of cars streaked past, blinding his vision.
“She won’t find out.”
“No?”
Noah stared at him. “Anyway, so what’s the deal with you?”
“She never mentioned me?” Jack asked.
“Not until recently.”
“Do you know you had a sister?”
“What happened to her?”
“Murdered by the Mafia,” Jack muttered.
“So that�
��s what you did before this?”
He nodded. “Been out of it for a while now.”
“Trying to turn over a new leaf, huh?”
“Something like that.”
As they got closer to Lázaro’s property, Jack swerved the vehicle off to the side and killed the engine. “We’ll walk from here.”
He planned on entering the place from the beach side but then opted to cut through the neighbor’s property. Floodlights came on as they raced across a stranger’s yard. They hauled themselves over a fence until they were around the side of the home. Jack figured he’d have surveillance cameras, maybe even a security guard or two. They hugged the side of the home as they made their way around to the back. Jack peered in through a window and saw Lázaro inside.
“Fuck.”
He assumed he would be gone but instead he was sitting in front of a fireplace sipping on wine.
“You still want to do this?” Noah asked.
Jack checked how many rounds were inside the magazine before slamming it back inside.
“Wait here.”
“Why?”
“Because I said so. If this goes south, I want you to take the money and get out. Purchase a vehicle, get over the border. Do whatever you need to.”
“I’m not leaving you here.”
“I didn’t come all this way and go through hell to have you dick me around,” Jack said while eyeing Lázaro inside. The lights were dim. Just a few side lights offered illumination. If he was there, security couldn’t be far. He glanced up looking for where the cameras were but there were none visible. He shuffled along the ground and reached up and tried the sliding door. It slipped open. He glanced back at Noah and nodded, then ventured inside. Wood crackled in the fire, and classical piano music played softly in the background. To think this asshole was living in the lap of luxury, all paid for by his own criminal behavior, pissed Jack off to no end.
He moved quietly up behind Lázaro and placed the gun to the back of his head and cocked it. As it clicked over, Lázaro didn’t put his hands up or even act scared, he continued to sip his wine.