CIA - The Slave Traders

by Joe Bob Newman

She held a hand out to him and he stayed and swam with her. He said his name was Michael. Lynda nearly made a mistake with her name, but told him her name was Babs.

  They swam and played together. Michael told her that his father was Miguel and that his mother was dead. He did not expound on what had happened to her. He had an older sister but she was in America at college.

  Lynda swam and played with the boy for an hour, then got out and laid on a recliner and sunned and dried herself. Michael came up to Lynda and said, “Thank you for playing with me. Here comes my father. I need to go!” He hurried off.

  Lynda undid the back of her top and let it fall open.

  The two men rode up to the pool and both watched Lynda. She pretended not to see them.

  Bobby finally yelled at her, “Hey, Babs, get dressed.” She jumped up, held the suit to her breasts, and ran to the bathroom. Once inside she looked at the ceiling and wondered how much longer this torture would last.

  She got dressed and went into the house. The old man hurried up to her. She told him that she just wanted a Coke. He hurried off. The Coke showed up in a matter of minutes.

  She heard the men enter the house. They were loud.

  She went in and sat down in the chair. The men stopped for drinks, then came into the room. Miguel hurried over to her and asked if she enjoyed the pool. She nodded, and took a chance. She said, “I met your son Michael. He told me about your wife. I am sorry.”

  “That little rascal,” Miguel said. “He is a handful!” He smiled.

  “Where does your daughter go to school?” Lynda asked.

  Miguel took a step back; Lynda realized that she was asking too many questions. He said, “UCLA in California.”

  Lynda had another thought. “I wish I could go to college!”

  Without missing a beat, Miguel said, “If you lived with me, I would see that you went to the college of your choice.”

  Bobby laughed, “Babs, we need to talk about that!” Bobby excused himself and went to the restroom.

  Miguel walked up to Lynda and held out his hand. She took it and stood up. He put his arms around her and said, “If you ever get tired of him, come see me. I will take care of you like a proper lady.” And he kissed her on the neck and ear. He pushed her back and winked at her. He helped her sit down. Lynda smiled broadly at Miguel.

  Bobby came out of the restroom, and looked at Lynda with a knowing smile.

  Lynda followed the two men out to the barn behind the pool. They went to one end and came to a small room. They went inside. There were bags of product everywhere. Mexican women were processing the drugs and bagging it. Miguel stuck his finger in some and put it in his mouth. Bobby followed his lead. Miguel stuck his finger back in it and held it up to Lynda. She started to say no, then saw Bobby nodding, so she sucked on Miguel’s finger. It tasted terrible. She nearly gagged. Almost immediately she felt it in her head. In a few moments she was high. Miguel went to a shelf and got a tiny plastic bag. He scooped up some dope and put it in the bag. He handed it to Lynda. He said, “For you, my lady!”

  Miguel said, “I am having a party tomorrow night. Why don’t you come? I think you will have a good time.”

  Bobby said, “Sounds like fun. Count us in.”

  Lynda said, “I need to go to the potty.” She hurried back to the house. When she got to the toilet she vomited. Her ears were ringing, and she had a headache. It wasn’t a headache so much as she was so damned high. She knew all the warning signs. She fought it hard.

  She left the bathroom, and went into the kitchen and got a Coke. She carried it back to the bathroom, and gargled with the soda and spit it out.

  Miguel and Bobby both came into the house and were laughing at something funny. Lynda came out of the bathroom and sat down in the chair. Her head was spinning. Miguel went to the bathroom. Bobby eased over to Lynda. “Are you okay?”

  She said, “He nearly OD’d me. I had to go throw up.”

  Bobby said, “He is proud of his stuff. He gave me a free sample too.”

  Miguel came out of the bathroom, wiping his nose. He had a big grin on his face.

  Bobby said, “Miguel, you have been a most kind host. We need to go. We will see you tomorrow night.”

  Bobby helped Lynda up and they walked arm-in-arm to the door. He helped her into the car, and they began the long drive back to the hotel. After they left the main gate, Bobby reached over and began to rub her left thigh. She looked at him, and said, “Who am I, Babs or Lynda?”

  Bobby said, “Damn, Lynda, ease up a bit.”

  She grabbed his hand and threw it back into his lap. She said, “You’re high. Cut it out!”

  They drove in silence all the way back to the hotel. When they got to the hotel, Bobby called Tom. He gave him a rundown, and said that they needed to stay two more days. Then he handed the phone to Lynda. Lynda said, “Yes?”

  Tom said, “You wanted to say something to me?”

  Lynda said, “No,” and hung up the phone.

  She was pissed. She bellowed, “What was that back in the car?”

  Bobby looked sheepish. “I am sorry. I got you confused with Marilyn. She likes to have fun!”

  “You bastard,” Lynda screamed. “You and Marilyn are doing it?”

  “All the time,” Bobby grinned.

  This time she said it softly; she said, “You bastard!” She was thinking about Ted with Marilyn. Would he say “No!”?

  She went on, “I trusted you. If you touch me again, I will break your arm. You sleep on the sofa tonight.”

  He didn’t argue with her. He asked, “Why didn’t you turn me in?”

  She said, “I have to work with you, I don’t have to like you.”

  They went to dinner together, but said very little. Lynda could be a cold fish when she wanted to.

  Finally, Bobby said, “Look, Lynda, I am sorry. I misread you. I thought you were game. It won’t happen again, I promise.”

  Lynda looked Bobby straight in the eye and asked, “You would have taken me if I had been high enough, wouldn’t you?”

  Bobby said, “Yes, I would have. I said I am sorry, my mistake, it won’t happen again.”

  “Bobby,” Lynda said, “I trusted you to protect me. You let me down. I can’t work with you anymore. This is our last job.”

  Bobby nodded. “I understand, but I promise to protect you for the rest of this job.”

  Even though they were in a crowded restaurant, Lynda started to cry. Bobby stood up and walked out. She paid the tab and left too.

  The car was gone. She walked the seven blocks back to the hotel. The car was parked near the front door. Lynda went to the room and opened the door. The room was empty. She went in, got her gown, and went in the bathroom. She locked the door. She showered, brushed her teeth, and walked back into the room. It was still empty.

  Lynda lay in bed for an hour, staring at the ceiling. She got up, put pants and a shirt on, and went down to the lounge. Bobby was sitting at the bar nursing a drink. There were empty glasses all around him. Lynda sat by him and ordered a bourbon and coke. She finished it and ordered another one. Bobby looked at her and said, “Lynda, I am so sorry. Can you forgive me?”

  She finished her second drink. She looked at him, and said, “Bobby, I forgive you. Come back to the room!”

  They walked back to the room together. He sat down on the small sofa. She went into the bathroom and changed clothes; she put her gown on, and a pair of shorts.

  When she came out, Bobby was lying on the sofa, all scrunched up. She felt sorry for him, but not too sorry. She went and got in the bed.

  She was staring out the window, when she felt the bed move. Bobby was just in his underwear and he had sat on the bed. He laughed a little and said, “Ted is going to kill me.”

  Lynda said, “I am not going to tell him!”

  Bobby said, “Thank you!”

  “Bobby, why are we g
oing to his party tomorrow night? You have everything that you need,” she asked.

  “I thought it would be fun. I was enjoying watching you play; you are so good at it. I was wishing that you were not married,” he said.

  “You know he is going to try and seduce me. What is in it for you?” Lynda asked.

  “He gave me drugs. He wants you Lynda. He wants you bad.” Bobby was bearing his soul.

  “You mean on top of everything else you were going to let him screw me? Is that right?” She was very angry now.

  “Lynda, it sounded good at the time. He gave me several hits. I was high.” Bobby was scared now.

  Lynda snarled, “We are going to the stupid party, and if you don’t protect me, I will shoot you and him both, and tell God you shot each other. Now get off my bed and go back to the couch.”

  The next morning Bobby was sober, and tried his best to make amends. He finally left Lynda alone.

  He was back at six o’clock and took a shower and cleaned up. He was still sober. Lynda waited for him in the lobby. They got in the car together. Neither one would look at the other one. Lynda was wearing conservative clothes. Not what Bobby wanted her to wear.

  When they arrived at the compound, it was full of people. Most were under thirty. There was a table set up by the pool with cocaine on it. People were lined up to get hits. Lynda walked around and saw everything that was going on. She saw Michael looking out an upstairs window watching the party. There were people already in the pool. Lynda went to the kitchen, got a Coke and sat down in the chair. She did not smoke but was wishing that she had something to do to occupy herself