CL Hart -From A Distance

by CL Hart

  Minutes later, Kenzie came out of the station's convenience store carrying a brown paper bag and a six-pack of bottled water. She handed the attendant some pesos for the gas and then climbed into the car.

  "I guess we have an understanding." Kenzie placed her purchases into the back seat. Cori nodded reluctantly. Kenzie started up the car as she studied Cori's face for a moment. She pulled the car up next to the gas station and then turned the car off. "Go clean yourself up. I'll wait."

  There was no compassion in her voice, then again, Cori had not expected any.

  The dim light flickered on in the bathroom and Cori looked at her reflection in the dingy mirror. She looked tousled, dirty, and bruises were coloring her cheek and chin. Splashing some water on her face, she was briefly taken aback by the coolness of the water. She patted her face tenderly with a paper towel. Better, but not good, she thought as she combed her fingers through her hair. Moments later, she slid back into the passenger seat of her car.

  "Thanks," she said as she snapped the seatbelt into place. "Now what?"

  Kenzie didn't reply as she reached around to the paper bag in the backseat and pulled out two pairs of sunglasses. "Here." She offered a pair to Cori. "You're gonna need these."

  Tired and resigned, Cori took the glasses. "Not much of a disguise."

  "It's not meant to be a disguise," Kenzie said as she slid her new sunglasses into place and fired up the car. "They're for protecting your eyes. We're heading west, into the sun."

  Silence fell between them. The traffic grew heavier but it was not the zany, out of control rush hour to which most North Americans were accustomed. This was Mexico, where there was a different pace for doing things, and that included driving. There were no horns honking, no tailgaters. If people wanted to pass, they flashed their lights or used their hazard lights and other cars moved out of the way. It was a different life down here, and that was what drew many people. However, it was not the pace Kenzie was used to, and the trudging traffic only added to her frustration and aggravation. In utter exasperation, she slammed her hand down on the horn.

  "That won't help any," Cori said. "People aren't in a hurry here, and they sure don't pay much attention to horns."

  Kenzie swung the car out and around a slow moving farm truck and squeezed in front of it, barely missing an oncoming taxi.

  "Jesus, that was close. Are you still trying to kill me?" Cori said as she looked over her shoulder at the taxi speeding away.

  "I'm not trying to kill anyone," Kenzie said quietly.

  "Really? Or did you mean at this moment?"

  Kenzie didn't respond to the sardonic comments. As the car turned onto Highway 15, Cori looked back at the city of Guadalajara. "The way I've got it figured is..." she finally said, "you said you were following orders, and there are only so many kinds of people who get those kinds of orders. Organized crime, but I highly doubt that, so either you're military or you're government."

  There was a long moment of silence before Kenzie finally answered, "Yeah." There was hesitancy in her voice.

  It was an answer, but not the answer Cori was expecting. She wanted more. She turned to look at the woman driving her car. "Well, which is it?"

  Kenzie contemplated the question for a moment before she answered, "Both."

  Settling more comfortably into her seat, Cori focused her eyes on the road. "Whose?" she finally asked.

  Kenzie's grip tightened on the steering wheel and the muscles of her forearms flexed. "Whose do you think?"

  Cori didn't want to think about that, not if the answers were as scary as the questions. It just couldn't be possible that someone had put out a hit on her, but if it was, then... "I don't understand. Why would they want me dead?" Her head hurt. "That doesn't make sense."

  "You're telling me."

  For a long while, neither of them spoke. The little car's motor vibrated roughly, the tires clicked rhythmically over the cement highway as they headed westward - away from the city, and headfirst into the unknown.

  Cori broke the silence. "So now what?"

  "I'm not really sure. I'm kinda making this up as we go."

  "Great, that makes me feel a whole lot better."

  The morning sun rose high and hot as the landscape around them became less populated and more humid. With the car windows missing, there was no use trying to use the air conditioning and the heat became stifling. Kenzie pulled her paper bag of supplies from the back seat; a mix of fruit, nuts, and some packaged jerky, and offered it to Cori. She refused and Kenzie didn't push it. She knew hunger would win Cori over - eventually.

  Kenzie was right, but it was well into the afternoon before Cori reached for a piece of fruit. Peeling the skin from an orange gave Cori something to do as she watched the Sierra Madres in the hazy distance.

  "Where are we heading?" Cori asked as she noted the sign indicating they had crossed over from the Central Time Zone into the Mountain Time Zone.

  "Mazatlan," Kenzie answered.

  "Mazatlan? Why not Puerto Vallarta? It has an international airport like Guadalajara." She bit into the fruit, painfully splitting her already sore lip.

  "Because we're not flying."

  "But I thought we - were we not waiting for a plane back there before you shot that guy?"

  Kenzie pulled the map out from behind the sun visor and glanced over it.

  "Are we not flying back to the States?"

  "No." Kenzie stowed the map back to its previous location.

  "But I thought you said-"

  "You'd do better to think more about why someone would want you dead than to focus on what I might have said."

  Cori repeatedly ran her fingers through her honey-colored hair as she thought about Kenzie's admonition.

  The calm Kenzie was exhibiting was a far cry from the turmoil inside her. The quiet gave her time to think, but the longer she thought, the more she realized how bad their situation was - little money, no ID, and no idea where they were going or what they were going to do once they got there. The situation was grim, and something told her it was not going to get better any time soon.

  The wheels on the road were turning as fast as Kenzie's mind was searching for answers neither of them had. The silence grew heavy in the car. Trained to be detached, Kenzie did whatever needed to be done without thinking about the human cost. Nevertheless, she was starting to realize she was still human after all. She felt sorry for Cori and the position she had put her in.

  "The reason we can't fly," Kenzie said suddenly, breaking the silent tension in the car, "is that we don't have tickets. In order for us to get tickets, we would need to show ID. You can't show yours because that would tip off whoever is after you, and I can't show ID because...well, I can't show ID. So we're going to have to drive."

  Cori gingerly touched her sore face. "Drive...all the way!"

  "I figure our best bet is to take the ferry out of Mazatlan to La Paz, then up the Baja to Tijuana and over the border to San Diego."

  "All the way to San Diego," Cori said in disbelief. "That's like...a thousand miles."

  Kenzie glanced at her watch. She was hoping they would reach Mazatlan by sundown. "Pretty close. I figure it's about 900 miles, give or take a few."

  "How long is that going to take us?"

  "A few days."

  Cori leaned back against her seat. "But what about the border? We'll need ID there, won't we - ID and visitors' visas or passports?"

  "I've got a connection in Tijuana." Kenzie had reviewed every available avenue of escape, but they were in a foreign country, a country that required proper identification. They wouldn't be able to use Cori's because that would send a red flag to whomever was behind the hit, and as far as she herself went...

  With a sigh, Kenzie put her elbow on the window's edge and rested her head on her hand. She wasn't even sure she had enough money with her to make it out of Mexico, never mind to buy ID for someone who didn't exist. She knew what that meant, but was hoping they wouldn't have to deal
with it until they reached Tijuana - if they were lucky.

  As they drew closer to the coast, the lush green vegetation began to change. At her first glimpse of the distant waters, Cori sat up at little straighter in her seat. "There it is."

  "What?" Kenzie asked as she wiped the ever-present sweat from her brow and dried it on her pants.

  "The ocean."

  Kenzie glanced over at her for a moment before she commented, "You act like you've never seen it before."

  "I've seen it, but I'm originally from Missouri, so it's always a big deal." She sat back down in her seat, a little self-conscious and taken aback.

  "Missouri?"

  "Born and raised."

  "Whereabouts?" Kenzie asked.

  "Springfield, Missouri."

  "Your family still there?"

  "My mom. My dad died when I was a kid, so it was just mom and me for the most part. She's still there."

  "And let me guess, you were a cheerleader at Springfield High," Kenzie said derisively.

  "Actually, well...yes, but I went to school at Kickapoo High-"

  "Kickapoo?" Kenzie asked with raised eyebrows. "Seriously?"

  "Yeah, Kickapoo, or Kick-a-shit as we used to say," she said with a chuckle, forgetting for a moment where she was. "Kickapoo. It was named that because of where it was located, Kickapoo Prairie. It has a whole Indian background thing and...anyhow, it's where Brad Pitt went to school."

  Kenzie stared out the windshield. "Who?"

  "Brad Pitt." It was easy to see Kenzie had no idea who the actor was, "You don't know who Brad Pitt is?"

  "Should I?"

  "Brad Pitt, the actor. You know, Interview with a Vampire, Troy, Legends of the Fall." She looked at Kenzie and could tell the titles meant nothing. "Just had a baby with Angelina Jolie?"

  Kenzie shook her head. "Sorry."

  "Actually, you kinda look like her," Cori said as she studied Kenzie's profile.

  Kenzie turned to face her. "Like who?"

  "Forget it," Cori said, and then questioned in an afterthought, "What was the last movie you saw, anyhow?"

  It was an innocent question, but to Kenzie, it reinforced the reality of what her life was, or rather, was not. It was not normal and it never had been. She didn't see movies, she didn't date, she didn't do a number of things. Follow orders...that's what she did. Her life was her job and her job was her life. She had given everything to the military and had never looked back - until recently. "I-I don't remember," Kenzie answered honestly.

  "I suppose you don't watch TV either, do you?" Kenzie's thoughts went to her home in Seattle. There was a television there, but she couldn't recall if she'd ever actually sat down and turned it on.

  "You must have watched some as a kid, or gone to the movies for fun when you were a teenager?"

  As Cori watched the changes in Kenzie's facial expressions, Kenzie was suddenly feeling very uncomfortable.

  "You did have fun, didn't you? Or, at the very least, a childhood?"

  Fun? It wasn't really a word in her vocabulary. Has my life ever been fun? The more she listened to Cori talk, the more she realized there had been a lot missing from her life.

  "I don't remember much about my childhood, but I know I didn't watch TV or go to movies."

  "Well, what did you do? You must have done something for fun - hobbies, sports, boys?" The question resulted in a subtle change in Kenzie's demeanor, and Cori dropped her sunglasses to get a better look at Kenzie.

  The scrutiny made Kenzie pause for a moment before she answered. "I didn't have time for that stuff."

  "For boys?"

  She turned and looked at Cori. "Actually, it was girls...but I didn't have much time for them, either."

  "Really?"

  Kenzie was looking at Cori wondering what the woman thought about that revelation. Then Cori asked without more than a little hesitation.

  "What did you do with your time, then?"

  "I stole cars."

  The conversation in the car was mostly one sided as Cori related the story of her life as Kenzie pursued any reason for Cori being a target. Nothing made sense, at least not to Kenzie. After hours of listening to Cori's normal childhood, she was even more confused.

  "What about work?"

  "You mean since high school?" Kenzie nodded and Cori thought a moment, then shook her head. "I delivered pizzas and then flowers for a while after graduation. Then I moved away from the Midwest and came out to the coast. I did a number of different odd jobs, just about anything to pay the rent and put food on the table, until I landed a good job working as a secretary with Trillium International, which has offices all around the world, including Mexico. They're the ones that helped me get into the University of Guadalajara."

  "Helped you...how?"

  "They have this in-house program that helps people at the lower income levels advance their education."

  "Really?" Kenzie chewed on that information for a moment. "So, they're paying for your education? Why would they do that?"

  "They say if they invest in their employees, then the employees are more loyal and will do a better job. I suppose that's partially true, but I think the real reason is because they get a big tax break. Either way, I don't care. I get an education and a good job to go back to once I'm finished with school." Cori paused in her recollection. "I was lucky. I owe Trillium a lot."

  "I would guess it was the result of a lot of hard work on your part rather than luck. What does Trillium International do?"

  "I'm not really sure. They're one of those big conglomerates that seem to have branding irons in a lot of different fires. You've heard of them, haven't you?" Cori turned to Kenzie and registered her blank look. "Where exactly did you grow up, in a cave?"

  "In Seattle."

  "Seattle! That's where I was, that's where I was working for Trillium, in their head office. That's something we have in common. You've never heard of them?"

  "Who?" Kenzie asked.

  "Trillium International."

  "Nope."

  "Have you actually been living this life?" Cori asked. "You lived in Seattle, so you must have at least heard of Bill Gates."

  The name did ring a bell for Kenzie. "You mean that computer guy?"

  "Yeah, that computer guy. You really need to get out more." Cori shook her head in disbelief. "Calling Bill Gates 'that computer guy' is like saying Wayne Gretzky was an ice skater." Even that name was unfamiliar to Kenzie. "Never mind," Cori said. "Anyhow, I liked Seattle."

  "Yeah, it's okay, if you can handle the rain. What exactly did you do at Trillium?"

  "Secretarial stuff mostly."

  The questions and answers died away and Kenzie was actually a little disappointed to see the port of Mazatlan in the distance. It had been relaxing, listening to Cori talk. All the same, the more she heard, the more Kenzie was reminded that her own life had been anything but conventional. Robbed of a childhood, she had learned the art of survival on the streets, picking fights instead of picking outfits. Stealing cars had been a lot easier than stealing hearts. She didn't have a mother to teach her how to be a woman, she had the military, and they taught her how to be a soldier and then they taught her how to kill. Gingerly, she rubbed at the dried blood that matted the hair at her temple as she thought about her most recent trip to the Middle East. She was not aware that she winced but Cori saw it.

  "Is your head okay?"

  "I've had worse," she answered as she removed her sunglasses and looked at the side of her head in the mirror.

  "I can look at that if you want. I wanted to be a doctor for a while, until I realized how much schooling it was going to take...and how much it was going to cost. I tried med school for one semester but it didn't work out, so I left school and kept looking for a job. Are you sure your head is okay?"

  "It's fine." Kenzie put her glasses back on. "Thanks," she added, barely above a whisper, but loudly enough for Cori to hear the attempted nicety.

  At the outskirts of Mazatlan, Kenzie looke
d sadly at the rubble that some people called homes. Everything seemed to have a layer of dust, even some of the people. Cement buildings with their chipped paint and unfinished fences contrasted sharply against the backdrop of fancy hotels where wealthy foreigners came to play. Money bought color, she realized - the more money spent, the more vibrant and vivid the colors. The poor seemed to exist in grays and browns, while the wealthy basked in the energy of blues, oranges, reds, and greens.

  "Welcome to Mazatlan, the Pearl of the Pacific," Kenzie said. In order to cross traffic at the next light, Kenzie pulled the car over into the right-hand lane.

  The city roads, more pot-holed than paved, were made of cobblestones that had been there since before time, or so it felt as they swayed back and forth inside the car.

  "So, what didn't work out?" Kenzie asked.

  Cori seemed surprised by Kenzie's sudden question. "Pardon?"

  "I asked what didn't work out...with being a doctor?"

  Looking down at her hands, Cori recalled with vivid clarity. "I couldn't stomach it." She turned back to the window, attempting to hide her embarrassment. "Watching the surgeries made me vomit."

  Kenzie maneuvered the car through the city until they reached the road that traveled alongside the ocean. Mazatlan's harbor was home to the West Coast's largest fishing fleet, making it easy to find. Kenzie pulled the car into a vacant lot. Driving through the long grass, avoiding the piles of rubble and discarded refuse, she stopped at the edge, parking just above the ferry terminal. Killing the motor, they sat and watched the fishing vessels come in and out of the harbor.

  Cori sat quietly for a while, periodically glancing at her watch. "Would it be okay if I went to find a bathroom?" she asked hesitantly.