“Flora, I’m going to take you down to our panic room and seal you in. No matter what, you do not leave there. I don’t care if you think it’s me. If it’s safe for you to come out, I’ll let myself in.”
He takes my hand and guides me into the basement. He presses a button and moves aside a set of shelves like somethingout of a movie orScooby-Doocartoon. With biometrics, he unlocks a door that could fit a bank vault. I’ve never seen one so thick in real life.
Lights with motion sensors flicker on as we step inside. It’s an entire apartment down here. He moves around, switching on what must be a generator. There’s a bathroom with a shower off to the right, and on the other side of the living room is a small but full kitchen. I notice two doors are open, and they reveal bedrooms with two sets of bunk beds in each. He leads me into a pantry that’s well stocked.
“If someone breaches that door, there’s a tunnel that will get you out to the river. It’s a mile long and has motion-sensor lights too. There’s a small rubber motorboat with an outboard engine. Have you ever driven one before?”
“I’ve only driven one once, but it’s been years. Is it a pull cord to start?”
“Yes. You’ll have to push it off the bank to begin with before you lower it into the water. There’s a lever on the right side of the engine. Once you’re deep enough, you can do that and start the engine. All you have to do is cross to the other side. It’s wide and fast moving, but manageable. We own the land on that side too. There’ll be guards who can take you to Bogotá. If anything feels even remotely out of my control, I’ll trigger my tracker. It sends an alert toPapá, mytíos, and my cousins. They’ll turn on the feed for here and see what’s happening. If there’s the opportunity, I’ll get inside and activate the alarm system.”
Alarm system. That’s the only reassuring thing Pablo’s said so far.
“It makes this an impenetrable fortress. Metal barriers will slide down the windows and across all doorways. No one can get in until someone inside turns it off. They need biometrics to do that. Let me program you into this door.”
I offer my hand, and he places it on the screen, adding my fingerprints then my retinal scan to the system. He wraps his arms around me and gives me a brief kiss before guiding me back to the living room. He points to screens on the wall before he turns them on. They look like multiple TVs in a sports bar, but they’re linked to security cameras around the property. We watch the helicopter land.
“I have to go,chiquita. Stay here. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“I know, Daddy.”
The word stuns us both for a heartbeat.
Then he’s kissing me deeply, but it’s over far too fast. I watch him leave, and the door seals with a whoosh behind him. I turn my attention to the screens as Humberto approaches the wall. Unlike when we arrived, there’s no one there to greet him warmly. It forces him to walk around to the front of the estate. I see Pablo dash out of the front door with a rifle slung across his chest and a pistol in his hand.
I wonder if I’ll be able to hear what happens. That curiosity is satisfied only a moment later as the pedestrian gate opens rather than the one for vehicles. Pablo shoots, hitting the wall beside Humberto as he passes by. I hear the bullet ricochet off the wall.
“You’re not welcome here.”
“This should have been my home, not yourpedazo de mierda tío’s.”
“You believe you’re entitled to everything when you deserve nothing. You were never the elder son. Everything passed to myabuelothe way it was supposed to then to mytío. No one ever intended the inheritance go to you. God and fate ensured you fucked yourself over by changing the path this family took. You had your own brother killed, thinking you would take power from him and fromTíoEnrique. All you did ensured webecame the most powerful men in all the Western and Southern hemispheres. Thank you for that.”
I can see Pablo’s smirk. If I were Humberto, it would make me want to slap it off his face. It’s the most patronizing expression I’ve ever seen. I wonder how much practice it took for him to do it so well. Or does it come naturally when you’re second-in-command of the Diaz Cartel?
“You and yourtíobelieve you’ve kept me locked away for decades. All you did was remove distractions. I’ve had plenty of time to plan this. I’ve bought the people I need, and they are loyal to me.”
Pablo laughs as Humberto takes another step forward. The guards he didn’t arrive with surround him. There are others on the outside of the wall who must have traveled with him. I watch as each of those men outside the wall collapse. I scan the screens, trying to find the sniper. I realize he’s crouched on a platform to the left of the gate, allowing him to see over the wall.
It was shoot now, don’t bother asking questions later.
The men who surround Humberto press him to move forward. Pablo doesn’t lower his gun. He continues to aim directly at Humberto. The guards position themselves, so there’s an easy line of sight for Pablo, but not enough room for Humberto to break free. It’s not like he could. He’s not in horrible shape for a man in his mid-eighties. He looks better than most men his age, but he’s certainly no match for the men in their twenties and early thirties who surround him. He may act like the king of his castle, but he looks like nothing more than a peon here.
“What do you want, Humberto?”
“Florencia.”
“And you came all the way here?”
“Don’t bullshit me, Pablo. I know she’s with you.”
“And what makes you think that?”
“Because you didn’t kill all the men watching her place. I know you carried her out and took her to the airfield. Now you’re here.”
“Do you see her with me?”
“You’ve got her hidden somewhere inside.”
