Back on Solid Ground (19 page)

Carlos
laughed.  “I can’t speak for Niki, but if it were me, I’d miss you,” he said.

“You’re very
diplomatic.”  Stacy closed her eyes and smiled.

“When do you
think they’ll be back?”

“Is it
possible for you to lie there and relax,
without speaking
, while I
finish your massage?” Carlos asked.

“I’ll try,”
Stacy said.   She cleared her mind and closed her eyes and let Carlos perform
his magic on her back.  When he had finished, Stacy was so relaxed that she
fell asleep on the floor and slept for hours. 

Stacy woke up
and looked around.  The room was empty and the house was quiet.  She went to
the kitchen, but no one was there, so she went out on the veranda and looked
out over the balcony. 

“There you
are,” Eli said, coming out on the veranda.  “When did you wake up?”

“Just now,”
she said.  “I swear, I’ve never slept so much in my life, as I have the last
few days.”

“Your body
needs it,” Eli said.  He pulled a chair out and sat down and Stacy came over
and sat in the chair beside him.

“You seem
awfully serious,” Stacy said.  “What’s the matter?  You worried about your
brother?”

Eli turned
and looked at Stacy. Her cheeks were pink from the sun and it made her eyes
even greener.  She looked beautiful and he reached over and touched her hand. 
“I’ll just be glad when they get back,” Eli said. 

“Me too,” she
said, attempting a smile.

Eli picked up
Stacy’s hand and looked at her blisters.  “You look like Scarlet  O’Hara.”

She took her
hand back and held it up beside her other one.  “Oh well,” she said, examining
them.  “The beach looks better.”

Eli smiled at
her.  “I need to get some work done,” he said, pushing his chair back.   “If
you need anything, I’ll be in my room.”

Stacy passed
the rest of the afternoon largely on her own.  Consuela never surfaced again
and Eli and Carlos were both busy with something behind closed doors.  She had
a lot of time to ponder what had happened and to speculate on what was going
to.

When she
thought with her head, Stacy knew that her infatuation with Niki was
ridiculous.  It was downright stupid and even potentially dangerous.  And it
was unlike her to be so totally swept up emotionally as to throw all caution to
the wind – especially where a man was concerned.  The thought of a lasting
relationship with this man she didn’t even know defied logic, truth and common
sense. And in the back of her mind, she couldn’t discount the very real possibility
that her feelings were part of some  kidnapping syndrome.

But when she
thought with her heart, all reason was lost.  She had never had such strong
feelings for anyone, and the thought of never seeing him again literally made
her heartsick.  She couldn’t imagine leaving him and going home.

And then,
when she had thought about it long enough, Stacy started to second-guess her
feelings for Niki.  She told herself she had probably exaggerated her feelings
and that when Niki came back, she would realize that she didn’t like him that
much after all, much less love him.

By the end of
the day, Stacy was drained.  Her mental barrage ended with a vow that she would
let things happen how they happen – that she would not manipulate the situation
one way or another.  Stacy would wait until she saw Niki again and see how she
felt.  If she liked him, so be it; if not, fine.  It was as easy as that.

It was still
early, but Stacy was tired and ready for bed.  She stopped by Carlos’ room but
he wasn’t there, so she knocked on Eli’s door before going back to her own
room.

“Yeah,” he
called from inside.

Stacy opened
the door and stood in the doorway.  “It’s me.”

Eli was
working at his computer.  “Hey, what’s up?” he said, getting up and coming into
his living area.   

Stacy walked
further into the room and stood beside the couch.  “I just wanted to let you
know, I’m going to bed.”

He looked at
his watch.  “Now?  It only 8:00 o’clock.”

“I’m really
tired.”

“Did you
eat?”

“No.  I don’t
have much appetite,” she said.  She turned to leave and Eli followed her to the
door. 

“You sleeping
in Niki’s room?” he asked. 

“I hadn’t
planned to.  I’d feel kind of weird sleeping in there without him.”

“No, you need
to.  I don’t want you all the way down there by yourself,” he said motioning to
the guest wing.  “If you’re in Niki’s room, Carlos will be right across the
hall.”  Eli walked out in the hall with her.  “Come on.  I’ll walk you down.”

“I need to
get some stuff from my room first.”

Eli walked
her down the hall and sat on the bed while Stacy gathered up her few things. 
She had gone in the bathroom for her toothbrush but she came back empty-handed.

“You know
what,” she said.  “I feel very presumptuous moving into Niki’s room while he’s
gone and I’m not going to do it.  I’m going to sleep here.”

“No, you’re
not,” Eli said emphatically. 

“Yeah, I am,”
Stacy said.  If I wasn’t before, I sure as hell am now, she thought.

“Stacy, just
get your stuff and let’s go,” Eli said, getting irritated.  He got off the bed
and picked up the small stack of clothes that Consuela had given her and stuck
it under his arm. “Get your toothbrush.”

“Fuck you,
Eli.”  She was looking at him like she had in the kitchen during the hair
scene.

Eli breathed
out heavily. When he finally spoke, he spoke slowly so he wouldn’t say the wrong
thing and piss her off even more. 

“I’m sorry,
Stacy.  I shouldn’t have said that like I was forbidding you to sleep here,” he
said.  “I realize that you feel weird sleeping in Niki’s bed when he’s not
here, but it’s not like he wouldn’t want you there.”

Stacy backed
off.  “I just don’t want him to come home and find all my stuff in there, like
I’ve just moved in while he’s gone.”

“All your
stuff?” Eli said, holding up the little stack of clothes.  “Stacy, you make it
sound like you’re going to take up half his closet!”

Stacy didn’t
say anything. 

“Please
Stacy.  Niki would be pissed if I let you sleep in here.  It’s a safety issue.”

“Okay, Eli,”
Stacy said.  She went back in the bathroom and came out with her toothbrush. 
“This is yours,” she said, holding out her hand.

“You stole my
Swiss Army knife!” he laughed. 

“Yeah, I
checked out your room before Niki caught me in his.”

“You little
witch,” he said, thoroughly impressed. 

They left
Stacy’s room and Eli walked her down to Niki’s.  He went in and looked over the
room and made sure that Niki’s pistol was on the bedside table. 

“You need
anything?” Eli asked.

Stacy smiled
at him.  “Just sleep.”

“Okay.  I’ll
see you in the morning,” he said.  He walked out into the hall and closed the
door behind him, just as Carlos was coming out of his room.  Eli leaned up
against the wall and banged his head against it.

Carlos
laughed out loud.  “What now?”

Eli shook his
head. “She’s impossible.  God help my brother.”

It was close
to midnight by the time Niki, Jason and Sandoval made it into Nicaragua and found the road that would take them to Ortega’s.  There was no moon and the night was
pitch black.  Both Niki and Jason had taken their M-16s out of their duffel
bags and each had a 9mm in his waistband; Niki also had a hunting knife in his
boot.  He hadn’t asked what Sandoval was packing, but he knew he would be
heavily armed as well.  The three were laughing about something when they came
around a corner and ran into trouble.

“Shit!”
Sandoval said, hitting the brakes and swerving just in time to miss running up
the back of another car.

The jeep’s
lights lit up the scene and Niki assessed the situation in a sweeping glance. 
There were two cars on the road, one facing the same direction as the jeep and
the other butted up to the first facing it.  Neither car had its lights on. 
There was a half-nude woman on the ground screaming, and a man was on top of
her tearing at her clothes.  Three other men were standing around cheering
their friend on.

Niki and Jason
jumped out of the jeep.  When the car lights hit them, the three men who were
standing went for their guns, but before they could get a shot off, Jason’s
M-16 had spit out a dozen rounds and dropped all three of them.  By the time
the other realized what was going on, Niki’s boot was in his face.  Niki kicked
the guy out of the way and bent down to check on the woman.  “Are you okay,”
Niki asked in Spanish.  She had been beaten about the face and her right eye
was swollen shut, but she was coherent enough to point to her husband, who was
either dead or unconscious a few feet away. 

Jason went
over to check on the man.  “He’s alive, he’s just out,” Jason told the woman in
Spanish.  Jason went back to the jeep and got some water and poured some on the
man’s face then gave some to the woman.  She was more concerned about her
husband than herself and she sat beside him waiting for him to come to. 

Sandoval,
Niki and Jason dragged the four bodies into the bushes and pushed their car off
the road.  By the time they had finished, the woman’s husband was awake. 

“Can you
drive?” Niki asked the man in Spanish.

“Si,” he
said, and he thanked Niki for saving their lives.

“Let’s get
out of here before someone finds us here,” Niki told Sandoval.  They got back
in the jeep and headed towards Ortega’s house.

It was after
2:00 a.m. when they arrived at the long driveway that led up to the house. 
“It’s right up there,” Sandoval said, pointing to the top of the hill.  “How do
you want to do this?”

“Drive a
little farther and Jason and I will go on foot,” said Niki.

Sandoval
drove as far up as he thought prudent and Niki and Jason got out.  They each
had a flashlight on their belt that lit the ground several feet in front of
them. 

“Damn, it’s
dark,” Jason said.  “I guess that’s good though.”

They had come
to the top of the hill but all they could see was black. 

“I can’t even
see the damn house.” Niki said.

They walked farther
and Jason took the light off of his belt and held it up over his head. 
Nothing.

“What the fuck?”
Niki said. 

He was just
beginning to think that Sandoval was a rat, when he saw something faintly
glowing on the ground farther up ahead of them.  They walked further and got
right up to it and Niki and Jason realized at the same time what they were
looking at.  The house had been burned to the ground and there were still
red-hot coals in the bottom of the ashes. 

“
Son of a
bitch
,” Jason said, under his breath.  He picked up a handful of ashes and
sifted them through his fingers.

Niki shook
his head. “I guess he
was
a trustworthy criminal.”

“You think he
was inside when it was torched?” Jason asked.

“Don’t you?”

“Probably. 
I’d assume anyway.”

“Yeah,” Niki
agreed.  “Do you think it’s worth sticking around until morning to see if we
find anything?”

“I don’t
think there’s anything left here to find,” Jason said. 

“Let’s go
home.”

They walked
back to the car and headed back to Honduras.

The drive
back was faster than the drive over, but it would be light in less than two
hours.  They were getting close to the curve where the couple had been
assaulted.  Sandoval drove slowly as they approached the curve.  The car they
had pushed off the road was gone and there was no sign of anyone. 

“Someone
already stole the car,” Sandoval said.  They looked in the bushes as they drove
past and could see that the bodies were still there.  “They probably won’t be
discovered until they start smelling,” Sandoval said.   He sped up and headed
toward the Honduran border.

“We can still
make it back tonight,” Jason said, looking at his watch.

“Yeah, it
shouldn’t be a problem,” Niki agreed. 

“So what’s
the plan?” Jason said.

“I don’t
know,” Niki said.  “Lay low and see what happens?” he suggested. “I need to
figure out the best way to get Stacy back home safely.”

“Home, as in San Antonio?” Jason asked surprised.

“Does she
have another home I don’t know about?” Niki asked, knowing full well what Jason
was referring to. 

Jason didn’t
say anything. 

“She has a
life, Jason,” Niki said.  “She can’t just let everyone think she’s dead.  She
has friends and family, she has a job.  Hell, she may even have a dog, for all
I know,” Niki said in frustration.  

“What if she
doesn’t want to go home?” Jason asked.  “Have you ever considered that?”

“I’ve
considered it in terms of
my
not wanting her to go,” Niki admitted.

“Stacy’s in
love with you,” Jason said.   “And Stacy does what Stacy wants.”

“Well, the
second part’s true.  I won’t argue with that,” Niki said.

“So is the
first,” said Jason.  “Stacy’s not going anywhere,” he predicted.

Stacy woke up
early and it was still dark outside.  She rolled over and curled up into Niki’s
pillow and lay there trying to decide whether to lounge in bed or get up and go
for a walk on the beach.  She decided she would get up and watch the sunrise
and then go for a walk, so she brushed her teeth and headed toward the
kitchen.  The house was dark and quiet until she came to the living room where
she was surprised to find Eli on the couch watching TV. 

“What are you
doing up so early?” Stacy asked him.

Eli jumped
out of his skin.  “I could ask you the same thing.”

Stacy came
around to the couch and sat down on the edge beside him.  “I went to bed at
8:00, remember?  What’s your excuse?”