Echoes of a Distant Summer (64 page)

“How?”

“You’ve given DiMarco information. He knows now that you are someone to contend with. He will be more careful, more guarded. If I knew exactly what you said, I could probably point out more information you gave away. And as important, you have blown the element of surprise.”

“I thought I’d make him consider his actions more carefully.”

Carlos rebutted, “We don’t want him to consider his actions more carefully! We want him to feel secure, that there is no one to challenge him. Overconfidence self-destructs against a prepared opponent. You gained nothing. Making yourself known to him will not stop him. The only thing deterring DiMarco is the election. Understand you’re being
hunted now. They know that you are the only one authorized to sign over ownership of the documents and that this can only be done at the Central Bank in downtown Oakland. They’re working hard trying to find you.”

Jackson nodded his head. The logic of Carlos’s words was irrefutable. He stared out the large window that overlooked Alamo Square Park. He remembered when the thought of going to the park filled him with anticipation. Sounds emanating from the kitchen interrupted his musings. The banging of pots and pans seemed strident. He had not yet grown used to having Theresa perform all his domestic chores.

Jackson stood up tiredly and said, “I’ve got to make a phone call.” Theresa smiled at him when Jackson went past the kitchen sink to use the phone in the living room. He called Elizabeth and left a message on her home phone, then rejoined Carlos at the breakfast table.

Carlos smiled and asked, “You called the woman? The one you’re dating?”

Jackson countered, “Is everything your business?”

Carlos smiled even more broadly and said with a tilt of his head, “Only when it comes to your safety. You must know that this is a dangerous time to get involved. You might be jeopardizing her life as well. Have you thought this out?”

“I haven’t thought anything out. But it doesn’t matter. She and I are over. She doesn’t want to see me again. She won’t return my calls. It seems that the criminal aspects of my new life aren’t appealing to her. I can’t say that I’d be thrilled to get involved with a woman who admitted to me that she had killed in the past and might kill again in the future. I’d be looking for the door before she got my address.”

Carlos studied Jackson and observed, “You really like her, eh?”

“More than I knew. She sort of stays on my mind.”

“Well, let’s change the subject,” Carlos said with a sigh. “You ready to work out?”

Jackson said, “You really want to do this knife stuff seven days a week, Carlos?”

“Fate rewards preparation. It punishes those who underestimate the level of will and discipline it takes to survive and win.” Carlos paused to let his words sink in, then asked, “Are you ready to work out now?”

Jackson nodded his head resignedly and stood up. He followed Carlos down the stairs to the basement workout area and showers. The
workout space was a large, open room with weights and boxing equipment similar to that located in the house in Mexico City, but the room was larger and had a fifteen-foot sparring ring in one corner. After some initial stretching, they entered the ring. Carlos handed him a large rubber Bowie knife and they began going through the patterns of the various thrust, slash, and parry positions. Carlos spent the first hour working on overhand attack movements. The second hour was spent on full-contact in-fighting, using arm and hand blocks. Jackson’s wrists and forearms were sore and he was sweating when they finished.

Carlos, who looked surprisingly fresh, clapped him on the shoulder and said, “You’re getting it. Don’t be impatient. It takes practice. It takes time. We’ll work on underhand attacks and parries all of next week. Your martial arts training gives you a good basis to build on.”

Later, as Jackson grabbed a couple of towels off the shelf and tossed one to Carlos, he asked, “Where did you learn knife fighting?”

“Your grandfather sent me to Brazil to learn how to use a seven-inch blade. I worked four hours a day with a master for nearly six months. Then the next year I trained with a man in Miami for a couple months. After that I used to go back to Miami every year or so until he died.”

“Have you had cause to use this skill?”

“Many times. Too many times.” Carlos shrugged as he put his towel around his neck. “But you only have to need it once to cherish it.”

“My grandfather sent you to learn this? Were you training to be a bodyguard?”

Carlos suggested, “We can continue this conversation while we eat.” He led the way upstairs into the kitchen. As if their entrance were a signal, Theresa put two large, steaming plates of shredded pork with eggs and cheese cooked in a red sauce on the table. Then she brought over a warm stack of handmade tortillas. The two men fell upon on the food and did not stop to talk until their plates were nearly clean.

Jackson pushed his plate away. “I had no idea how hungry I was.” Theresa came and collected his plate with a nod of approval. Jackson waved his hand in salute. “Thank you, Theresa; that was excellent.” She acknowledged his words with another nod and busied herself in the kitchen. “So talk to me, Carlos. Were you training to be a bodyguard or what?”

“The year after El Indio was killed in the raid on El Jaguar, Federico Ramirez was killed during a dinner by an assassin who posed as part of
the catering crew. He had a knife as his only weapon, yet his skill was such that he killed three of our men before he was subdued. I was responsible for setting up security that day. It was a lapse on my part; I didn’t check out all the staff sufficiently. Guilt made me want vengeance. I wanted to search out those behind the attack and kill them all with knives.” Carlos made a fist as he finished speaking and seemed to sink into a reverie.

Jackson said nothing. He had never heard Carlos speak with such intensity. For a moment, Jackson had an uncharacteristic view deep into Carlos’s interior and saw a boiler room with blazing flames rather than the austere fluorescence of a cold fusion system he had presumed would be there. It made Jackson realize how little he actually knew about Carlos. He asked, “And did you exact revenge?”

“Yes, all blood debts are paid. I killed all three men with the blade.”

“Damn, if you don’t sound like my grandfather!”

“Your grandfather understood my need for revenge, that I needed to spill the blood of these men to atone for my mistake. He told me that before I could get his approval for such a mission I would have to train with a master.”

Theresa put a bowl of fruit on the table and two glasses of water then said something in Spanish to Carlos. He translated to Jackson, “She says leave your laundry on the floor like you always do and she’ll get it later, but now she has to hurry to her English class.”

Jackson laughed ruefully. He had to admit that Theresa was a competent, organized housekeeper and other than her coffee, an excellent cook. It was the fact she had assumed responsibility for organizing everything that happened under his roof that occasionally grated upon him. She acted like she was family. And for all intents and purposes she was, for there was no way he could terminate her employment. He waved his thanks. Theresa gave him a big smile and left the room.

Carlos stared after her and said, “You are very fortunate to have Theresa. She works hard and she is loyal and courageous. Plus, she likes you. If you treat her right, she might even serve you in bed.” Carlos smiled. “She is a solid woman with a nice body, no?”

Jackson shook his head, “Sometimes you are too eloquent to be a simple security specialist. She is attractive in her own way, but I have someone in my heart already.”

“Who said I was simple? I run a major security service. I make pitches
and presentations to major corporations. The vast majority of my clients are American corporate executives who live overseas, particularly South America. Your grandfather asked me to handle this particular assignment personally and I was happy to do it. Of course, he paid me well. He left me the security business.”

“My grandfather ran a security business?”

“Not originally; it was something he built up over the years to protect himself. He had a pretty good network when I came up with the idea to sell our services so that we could keep the good people full-time on the payroll.”

“Does security work always entail the physical elimination of the opponent?”

“Only occasionally. I could have as much work as I wanted, if I wanted to do removals. Cash in a suitcase, no questions asked!”

Jackson shook his head in disgust. “I don’t need or want to know any more. I want to get through this and be finished with it.”

“Your life is changed now; you can’t ever go back! If you want to live to a ripe old age, like your grandfather, you’ve got to develop an alertness, a consciousness of your surroundings and the people in it.”

“Don’t you get it?” Jackson barked. “I don’t want my grandfather’s life! I can’t think of anyone who I’d like my life patterned after less!”

“Why not? He lived a full life and did what he wanted. He was a man who took no word of insult from any man no matter his color at a time when it was dangerous for black men to be publicly defiant. He stood tall among all men. When he died, he was tired of living. What better way to live a life? He was generous with his wealth and assistance and as a result had many friends, people who would risk their lives for him. As I said, he stood tall among men.”

“You make it sound like he was a Good Samaritan. That’s not the man I remember. I remember a hard man who gave no quarter and expected none. He was feared and then respected.”

“Maybe he learned something since that last summer you spent in Mexico,” Carlos suggested. “Maybe we all did.”

Jackson nodded, then changed the subject. “Tomorrow’s the last day of my family death leave. Bedrosian granted my leave under duress. I’ll be fired if I don’t return to work.”

Carlos said, “We need to talk strategy before you make any plans to go back to work. And we need to discuss what we’re going to do in response
to these attacks on your friends. These actions can’t go unanswered. The enemy must not think that they can act with impunity.”

“What do you propose?”

Carlos answered, “It’s what you propose that must be examined.”

“I need more information. I don’t even know who all my enemies are yet.”

“That’s a good place to start. We need to pick up one of their operatives and question him a bit.”

“Is that a euphemism for torture?”

“You must be prepared to do whatever is necessary to survive. Believe me, they will torture you if they are fortunate enough to capture you alive. They will only keep you alive until they have the stock certificates in hand; after that, you’ll be history.”

“Okay, how do we get one of their operatives?”

“We use bait. We show them something that they really want.”

“What type of bait?”

“You. We show them you. That’s the reason you’ll return to work.”

“Isn’t that dangerous?” Jackson asked. “Won’t they try to kill me on sight?”

“You were planning to go in to work anyway, weren’t you?” Jackson nodded. Carlos continued, “Then we’ll just plan to have a security force around when you go. Their first desire is to capture you alive. They will only kill you if they can’t capture you.”

“I feel so much better now, knowing their preference is to capture me and torture me first.”

“When do you want to return to work? We need to start setting up the surveillance squad.”

“Thursday.”

“All right, now tell me how much you told your friends.” Jackson recounted the discussion of his proposal then waited while Carlos pondered his words. After a moment, Carlos nodded his head. “A hundred grand is a good offer. Did you ask them to get involved in any way?”

“No. I might have done it fifteen years ago, but not now. They lead different lives now. Fifteen years ago it was—”

“I know all about what happened fifteen years ago between you and your friends and that street gang. You boys were sloppy drunk. You left clues and didn’t get rid of the bodies. I had to step in and dispose of that evidence. That’s why there was no police investigation.”

“You know about that?”

“It’s why your friend Presenio enlisted and Dan transferred to Howard. If you boys hadn’t been drunk it probably wouldn’t have happened at all.”

All Jackson could muster was “Damn!”

“It’s best to leave the dirty work to me and my associates,” Carlos observed. “That way, it will be handled by professionals. Let your friends help you recover the stock certificates. It’s much cleaner this way. Professionals have no conscience nor any desire to tell the whole truth in order to cleanse their soul. Oh, and I don’t think it’s a good idea to mention me either. Unless they come on board to fight, I’ll be a nameless employee. Let them consider me domestic help like Theresa.”

“That was a joke, right?” Jackson asked. “You’re not serious?”

“It’s best that they know nothing about me. This way, if one of our opponents’ disappearance makes the paper, there’ll be no face to connect with the action. Total disclosure is only valuable in situations where the rules are being followed. When lives are in the balance, the less known the better.

“In my business you meet many people, all sorts of people who will do certain jobs for money. Your grandfather used to keep a stable of them. They were independents. Such arrangements can still be made and I can handle any such arrangements as you will approve.”

“I get the feeling you could handle this whole matter by yourself. That I don’t really need to do anything.”

“Maybe I could handle this for you, but what would you truly learn? You would not be ready for the next time. This is a harder test than catching and killing game in the ravines and gullies of Durango. If you live, you will make enemies, enemies who will be patient about getting their revenge. You need a certain level of alertness and offensive spontaneity that you have yet to develop. I’m here to help you through this period. When you find the stock certificates, the full wealth of your grandfather’s estate will be at your disposal. You will need considerable vigilance to hold on to it.”