The Evening News (27 page)

While he was aware of her dual affiliation and that Sendero
Luminoso had, in fact, insisted on Socorro's inclusion in the kidnap
group, he had no reason to mistrust her. He occasionally wondered
,
though, if Socorro's long exposure to
t
he American scene had diluted her Colombian and Peruvian loyalties
.
The question was one Socorro herself would have had trouble answering
.
On the one hand, she had always been a revolutionary, initially finding an
outlet for her fervor with the Colombian M-19 guerrillas, then more
recently-and profitably-with the Medellin cartel and Sendero Luminoso. Her
conviction about the Colombian and Peruvian governments was that she wanted
the villainous ruling class killed and would happily join the slaughter
.
At the same time she had been indoctrinated to consider the U.S. power
structure as equally evil. Yet after three years of living in the United
States and receiving friendly fairness where hostility and oppression would
have been easier to handle, she found it difficult to continue despising
and regarding as enemies America and its people
.
Right now she was doing her best to hate these three captives-rico
bourgeois scum, she assured herself-but not wholly succeeding . .
.
damnably not succeeding . . . because pity, in a revolutionary, was a
contemptible emotionI
But once out of this perplexing country, as all of them would be very soon
,
Socorro was sure she could do better and be stronger, more consistent in
her hatreds
.
From a tilted-back chair on the far side of the room, Miguel said to
Baudelio, "Tell me what it is you are doing
.”

His tone made clear it was
an order
.”
I am working quickly because the midazolam I administered will very soon
wear off. When it does, I shall begin injections of propofol, an
intravenous anesthetic, a longer-acting drug than the earlier one and more
suitable for what is ahead
.”

As he moved and spoke, Baudelio seemed transformed from his normal gaunt
and ghostlike self to the teacher and practicing anesthesiologist he had
once been. The same effect, a stirring of long-discarded dignity, had
occurred shortly before the kidnap. But he showed no concern, then or now
,
that his skills were being criminally debased or that the circumstances he
was sharing were despicable
.
He continued, "Propofol is a tricky drug to use. The optimum dose for each individual varies, and if too much accumulates in the bloodstream death can result. So initially there must be experimental doses, closely monitored
.”

Miguel asked, "Are you sure you can handle it
?
”

"If you have doubts
,”
Baudelio said sarcastically, "you are free to get
someone else
.”

When Miguel failed to answer, the ex-doctor went on, "Because these
people will be unconscious when we transport them, we must be certain
there is no vomiting and aspiration into the lungs. Therefore while we
are waiting there will be a period of enforced starvation. However, they
must not become dehydrated, so I shall give them fluids intravenously
.
Then at the end of two days, which you tell me is the time I have, we
shall be ready to put them into those
.”

With his head, Baudelio gestured
to the wall behind him
.
Propped upright against the wall were two open funeral caskets, solidly
constructed and silk-lined. One was smaller than the other. The
ornamented hinged lids for both had been removed and stood alongside
.
The caskets reminded Baudelio of a question. Pointing to Angus Sloane
,
he asked, "Do you want him prepared, or not
?
”

"If we take him, do you have the medical supplies to handle it
?
”

-Yes. There's a reserve of everything in case something goes wrong. But
we'd need another His eyes returned to the caskets by the wall
.
Miguel said irritably, "I do not need to be told that
.”

Still, he wondered. The original orders from Medellin and Sendero
Luminoso specified abduction of the woman and the boy and then, as soon
as possible afterward, their transfer to Peru. The caskets were to be a
covert means of transportation; a phony cover story had been devised to
forestall an exit search by U.S. Customs. Once in Peru the prisoners
would become prize hostages~-high-stakes bargaining chips against the
fulfilment of unique demands by Sendeio Luminoso, their nature yet to be
disclosed. But would the unexpected addition of Crawford Sloane's father
be regarded as an added prize or, at this point, a needless risk and
burden?
If there had been some way to do so, Miguel would have sought an answer
from his superiors. But the only secure communication channel was not
open to him at that moment, and to telephone on one of the cellular
phones would leave the record of a call. Miguel had been emphatic with
everyone in the Hackensack operating group that the phones were solely
for vehicle-to-vehicle or vehicle-to-headquarters use. Positively no
calls were to be made to other numbers. The few outside calls that were
necessary had been made from public pay phones
.
Therefore the decision was his alone. He must also consider that
obtaining an extra casket meant taking addit
ional risks. Was it worth
it?
Miguel reasoned that it was. From experience, he knew it was almost a
certainty that after Sendero Luminoso's ransom demands were made known
,
one of the captives would have to be killed and the body dumped where it
would be found--all to make the point that the kidnappers were serious
.
Possession of Angus Sloane would mean an extra body for that purpose
,
leaving either the woman or the boy to be executed later if it became
necessary to make the same point twice. So in that sense the extra
captive was a bonus
.
Miguel told Baudelio, "Tes, the old man goes
.”

Baudelio nodded. Despite his outward assurance, he was nervous around
Miguel today because, the night before, Baudeho had committed what he now
recognized as a serious mistake, a possible breach of everyone's
security. While he was alone, in a moment of profound loneliness and
dejection, he had used one of the cellular phones to call Peru. It was
a woman he had spoken to, his slatternly live-in companion and only
friend, whose
f
requently drunken companionship he sorely missed
.
It was because of Baudelio's continuing anxiety about that call that he
was slow to react when suddenly, unexpectedly, a crisis confronted him.

Jessica, during the struggle outside the Larchmont supermarket, had had
only a minute or two, first of shock, then horror, to grasp the enormity
of what was happening. Even
after her screams had been silenced by the gag slapped over her mouth, she continued to struggle fiercely and desperately, aware that Nicky, too, had been seized by the unknown brutes around them and that Angus had been savagely struck down. But moments later, as the strong injected sedative circulated through her bloodstream, blackness supervened and she fell into deep unconsciousness
.
But now, without knowing how long it had lasted, she was reviving, her
memory returning. She became aware, dimly at first and then more clearly
,
of sounds around her. She tried to move, to speak, but found she could
do neither. When she transferred the effort to her eyes, they would not
open
.
It was as if she were at the bottom of a well of darkness, attempting to
do something, anything, but able to do nothing
.
Then, as more moments passed, the voices became clearer, the awful memory
of events at Larchmont sharpened
.
At last Jessica's eyes opened
.
Baudelio, Socorro and Miguel were all looking elsewhere and failed to see
it happen
.
Jessica was aware of feeling coming back into her body but could not
understand why her arms and legs wouldn't move, except for the smallest
distance. Then she saw that her nearer arm, the left, was constricted by
a strap and realized she was on what looked like a hospital bed, and that
her other arm and both legs were restricted in the same way
.
She turned her head slightly and froze in horror at what she saw
.
Nicky was on another bed, imprisoned like herself. Beyond him Angus, too
,
was tied down with ropes. And then-Oh, nol Oh, god
!
-she glimpsed the two
open funeral caskets, one smaller than the other, clearly intended for
herself and Nicky
.
In a single instant she began to scream and struggle wildly. Somehow, in
her demmted terror, she managed to get her left arm free
.
Hearing the scream, the three conspirators swung toward her. For a moment
Baudelio, who should have taken instant action, was too startled to move
.
By then Jessica had seen them all.
Still struggling wildly, she reached out with her left hand, trying
desperately to find something to use as a weapon to protect herself and
Nicky. The table of instruments was beside her. As her fingers groped
frantically, she seized what felt like a kitchen paring knife. It was a
scalpel
.
Now Baudelio, having collected his wits, raced toward her. Seeing Jessica's
free arm, he tried to refasten it with Socorro's help
.
But Jessica was faster. In her desperation she reached out with the metal
object, slashing wildly, managing to gash Baudelio's face, then Socorro's
hand. At first, thin red lines appeared on both. A moment later blood
gushed out
.
Baudelio ignored the pain and tried to secure that flailing arm. Miguel
,
hurrying forward, hit Jessica savagely with his fist, then helped Baudelio
.
With Baudelio's wound dripping blood onto Jessica and the cot, they managed
to re-strap Jessica's arm
.
Miguel retrieved the scalpel. Though Jessica still struggled, it was to no
avail. Defeated and helpless, she broke down in tears
.
Then, another complication. Nicky's sedation was also wearing off. Becoming
aware of the shouting, and of his mother nearby, he returned to
consciousness more quickly. He too began screaming, but despite his
struggles couldn't free himself from the restraining straps
.
Angus, who had been sedated later than the other two, did not stir
.
By now the noise and confusion were overwhelming, but Baudelio and Socorro
both knew their own wounds had to be treated ahead of anything else
.
Socorro, with the lesser injury, put a temporary adhesive dressing on her
own cut hand, then turned to aid Baudelio. She taped gauze pads over his
face, though they were quickly soaked with blood
.
Recovering from initial shock, he nodded an acknowledgment, then pointed
to the assembled equipment and murmured,
“
Help me
.”

Socorro tightened the strap above Jessica's left elbow. Then Baudelio
inserted a hypodermic needle into a vein and injected
the propofol he had prepared earlier. Jessica, watching and screaming, fought against the drug's effect until her eyes closed and once more she was unconscious
.
Baudelio and Socorro, moved on to Nicky and repeated the process. He
,
too, stopped his painful cries and slumped back, his brief period of
awareness ended
.
Then, rather than take a chance on the old man regaining consciousness
and causing trouble, Angus was also given propofol
.
Miguel, while not interfering in the latter stages, had been glowering
.
Now he accused Baudelio, "You incompetent asshole
!”