The Ninth Day (12 page)

Perez shot her a look. “We? I thought you were leaving.”

Emma shook her head. “Not anymore. Oz is in there. If I can, I’ll try to warn him. If not, I’ll do my best to help him escape. From all of them.”

Perez got a sad look on her face. “There is no escape. We’ll be lucky to get out of this alive.”

“Today is not my day to die,” Emma said. She jerked her chin at the ignition. “Let’s go. There’s no gain in waiting.”

Perez inhaled, turned the key in the ignition, flipped the lights back on, and moved out, dropping off the road and driving parallel to the direction of where they thought the compound’s fence lay. Emma kept a watch on the surrounding countryside, but the night was so dark that she doubted she’d see anything until it was upon them. She leaned a little out the window, peering around the side of the car and casting regular glances at the side view mirror to see if anyone was following them. The darkness was unbroken behind them as well. Her eyes watered with the intensity of her stare, and she blinked to keep them moist. Two bugs went splat against the windshield, leaving behind a yellow, pus-like smear. They kept moving. After fifteen minutes, Perez began to angle right, cutting back toward the compound.

“You see anything?” Perez said.

“No. You?”

Perez jerked her head “no.” “I think we must be just a couple of miles away from the main road by now.”

“Be prepared to turn that wheel and run again if you see anyone.” Emma was glad for the relative lack of trees or other tall plants. Scrub bushes, “teddy bear” cactus, and low-lying dry-weather flowers were all that populated the area. There was nowhere to hide, both for the army and for them. She opened the glove compartment and fished around.

“Do you have a piece of paper in here? A pen?”

Perez nodded. “There should be.” Emma found both, and wrote the words “Edward Banner” and “Carol Stromeyer” on it, followed by cell phone numbers for both. She held it up for Perez to see.

“Here are the numbers for my friends. You get into trouble, call them.” Emma put the paper in the glove compartment and closed it.

“I’m not going to call anyone in the States,” Perez said. “Those men may help you because they know you, but they’re not going to help me.”

“One’s a woman, and they
will
help you. They specialize in contract security forces for the Department of Defense. If anyone can stand up to La Valle, it’s them.” Perez didn’t reply. She kept her eyes on the road. “See anything else?”

Perez shook her head. “Nothing.”

Emma’s feeling of dread remained, but as Perez headed in what she thought was a path that would intersect with the main road, the feeling didn’t increase. She didn’t see any metallic flashes or any other indication that someone was out there. After ten more minutes, a road appeared in the Rover’s beam.

“That’s it!” Perez’s voice held a note of excitement. Clearly she thought they were close to safety.

Emma wished she shared Perez’s faith in La Valle and his henchmen. She thought it unlikely that La Valle would come out on the right side of a firefight against the Mexican army, no matter how many guns he had and guards he employed. The army had the advantage that it could move freely around the compound in any direction, and if the siege lasted for a while, could replace men by driving them in from the surrounding countryside. La Valle, on the other hand, would be trapped in his ranch, forced to fight wave after wave of the army.

Emma shook off the thought. If there was one thing she’d learned in the last few years of working with and around the Darkview security personnel, it was that not everything went as planned. Not at all. When that thing went awry for the Mexican army in their attack, Emma would seize on it and use it against them.

“Get ready,” Perez said. “I’m going to drive as fast as I can to the front entrance.”

“Wait! What if they think we’re an intruder and fire on us?”

“They know my car. They won’t fire.”

Perez hammered the pedal down, and the Rover hesitated a moment, as if it hadn’t quite decided that she was serious. Then the car surged forward in a squeal of wheels and shooting bits of gravel. Emma watched the speedometer needle move upward in a smooth motion. It passed fifty, sixty, seventy, and soon was inching ahead of ninety-five.

The car shot down the asphalt road. Emma watched the foliage whip by, but nothing else seemed to impede their progress. The entrance gates came into view, with their scrolled “P.” Emma watched as they slowly opened. Perez dialed down the speed and she shot through the gates and hammered on the brakes. The car skidded to a stop.

Perez was out of the Rover in a flash. She left the car lights on, the key in the ignition, and the door hanging open. The repetitive dinging of the warning bell set Emma’s teeth on edge. She reached over, yanked the key fob out and tossed it on the front seat. She slid the revolver into her waistband at the small of her back and covered it with her shirt. Raoul jogged toward the car, with Carlos hot on his heels, his ever-present gun in his hand and his usual angry expression. Three other men that Emma didn’t recognize appeared from the guard station. They all looked worried. Emma climbed out of the car. Raoul stopped, took one look at her, and pointed his gun.

“Where the hell did you go?” he said.

Perez stepped between them. “There’s no time for that. The army surrounds us. They attacked the town, shooting at anything that moved. I think they’re coming here next. We saw some lying in wait on the west end.”

From somewhere in the distance came the shrill sound of a woman laughing and the bass beat of electronic dance music.

“Is the party still going?” Emma said. It seemed like a lifetime ago that she’d leapt the fence.

Perez gave Raoul a sharp look. “Party? Who’s here?”

Raoul grimaced. “The Ginoas and Chandos.”

“
All
of them?” Perez sounded shocked.

Raoul nodded. “At least the main guys. Felipe, Juan, and the ladies. The lieutenants, too. Jorge and that skinny one with one eye.”

“They call him ‘Churro.’ I’ve never learned his name,” Perez said.

“What condition are they in?” Emma said.

Raoul pointed the gun at her. “Shut up. You have nothing to say here.”

Perez once again waved him off. “It’s an important question. If they’re staggering drunk they’re going to be no use. Do we tell them?”

Raoul shot off a rapid sentence to one of the nearby guards and jerked the tip of his gun in the direction of the hacienda.

“Come on. You two are going to tell La Valle what you know.”

Perez jogged up to Raoul and fell in step beside him. Emma followed at a considerably slower pace. She thought of and discarded several plans in the space of a minute.

The worse fact was that now she was not only back on the compound, but she was in an even more precarious position than before, if such a thing was possible. La Valle could choose to kill her after she finished telling her tale, and if he didn’t kill her, she’d have to stand and fight should the army attack.

Chapter 15

O
nce they turned the corner to the back of the hacienda, the full extent of the party was revealed. The shrieking women were dancing by the pool, wearing only their diamond necklaces and bikini bottoms and stiletto heels. All looked smashed. None appeared capable of staying upright much longer, much less holding a gun and shooting it to defend themselves.

Emma noted that the men were in even worse shape. Two lay passed out on the chaise longues lining the deck area, and another was busy throwing up in the nearby bushes. One man staggered past the women without a glance, a bottle of Patron tequila in his hand. He raised it to his lips and took a huge gulp before continuing to sway in the hacienda’s direction. Neither La Valle nor Serena were in sight.

Raoul must have seen this as well, because he veered off toward the house and the family room. He, Carlos, Perez, and Emma stepped through the french doors.

Loud music assailed them. The stereo on the built-in cabinets on the wall blared a screaming rap song. La Valle sat on the couch, smoking a cigar with Serena in his lap. On the cocktail table before them was an elaborate hookah, with its water-filled lower bowl and three tubes.

Next to La Valle sat another man Emma didn’t recognize. Serena took a drag off the hookah. Jasmine-and-rose-scented smoke filled the air. Oz sat in a leather chair on the right of the room. He held his own hookah tip to his lips. His bloodshot eyes looked glassy and his face was lined with exhaustion. He glanced over at Emma, and his eyes widened. He sat up straighter.

La Valle fixed Emma with a stare and nudged Serena off his lap. She landed on the couch next to him. Her heavy-lidded eyes telegraphed her drunken state. Emma took a quick glance at her finger. The spot now covered half her hand and the fingers from the first knuckle to the tip. Emma felt some sympathy for the woman. She, of all people, had a reason to be smashed this evening.

Raoul walked over to the stereo and swung the volume control down. He turned back to La Valle. “Something’s happened,” he said.

“Why isn’t she locked up?” La Valle responded.

Perez stepped forward. “The army attacked the town. I barely got out of there alive. We came here on Quinona Road and saw some more soldiers camped out.” Perez waved in the direction of the stables. “Near the farm. I think they’re planning to attack here next.”

“How do you know they were army?” La Valle said. He stood up.

“They wore the uniforms. They came in army-issue trucks,” Perez said.

La Valle remained still, thinking. The only sound in the room was the bubbling of the hookah as Serena continued to inhale. Her head rested against the back of the couch, and her eyes were closed. She didn’t seem to be listening to the conversation. Emma flicked a glance over to Oz. He had put aside the tube on his own hookah, and rose off the couch, slowly. He pinned Emma with a look that seemed to say, What the hell is next? The party continued outside and the cacophony of voices mingled with the music that poured from the exterior speakers. Emma estimated there were fifty people in the pool area alone.

A man stepped into the room. About forty-two years old, he was of medium height and weight, with hair that was cut close to his head. He wore expensive jeans, a polo shirt, and had a revolver clipped to his belt. Three heavy gold chains looped around his neck, and the letter C in script and studded with diamonds sparkled on one. He directed a string of Spanish at La Valle, who answered. The man’s eyes flickered, but Emma thought he did an excellent job hiding his astonishment. He turned to Emma and spoke to her in Spanish.

“He wants to know who you are,” Perez translated.

“Emma Caldridge. An American chemist.”

The man’s eyes narrowed at her. “What were you doing out there?”

Emma went for the truth. “I was running away, what do you think I was doing?”

“Why did you come back here?” He’d switched to English. “Why didn’t you stay with the army?”

“She tried to go to them,” Perez explained. “They shot at her. You know how they are, they shoot first and ask questions later.”

“They don’t act like any army men I’ve ever encountered,” Emma said.

La Valle snorted. “That’s because they’re not. What do you think, Chando? Are they the ones controlled by Duarte?”

Chando nodded. “Probably. They think to ambush us all while we party.”

“How did they find out about it?” Raoul said.

Chando inhaled. “Someone betrayed us, La Valle.”

La Valle nodded. “I’ve got thirty guards. They should be sober. And Ginoa and his lieutenants? What condition are they in?”

Chando grimaced. “Juan is passed out in the bushes. Churro is so drunk on Patron that he’s ready to piss himself, and the others aren’t far behind. They left with some party girls for the stables, to look at the armadillos.”

“And Ginoa?”

Chando shrugged. “Ginoa is always good for a fight, no matter how drunk he is. He brought ten of his own guards, so they should be okay, and I have a dozen with me. With your thirty, it makes enough to show the bastards that they made a mistake coming here.”

La Valle waved at Raoul. “Tell the guards to go to the shed and get their body armor on. I’ll meet them there in ten minutes. Raoul, you, Carlos, and the gringo”—he indicated Oz—“get to the trucks containing the shipment. Drive it to the fields by the access road. When you hear us start firing, move out.”

“And her?” Raoul said.

La Valle turned his attention to Emma. “Have you gotten any answers?”

Emma shook her head. “I need access to a lab. I told you that.” La Valle crossed the room in two strides. He cocked his arm to hit her, with his hand balled into a fist. Emma stepped back, bumping into Raoul behind her. He pinned her arms close to her torso and held her in place.

“Eduardo, no!” Serena’s voice came from behind La Valle, and Emma saw Serena’s hand wrap around his bicep, keeping him from punching Emma. “I need her. Look at my hand.” Serena shoved her hand in La Valle’s face. He flinched away from the open sore. “You can’t keep killing the doctors. I’ll die. Let her go to a lab.”