Somewhere In Mexico

Chapter 8

The driver had arrived at the borders between Arizona and Sonora. He calmly presented his ID card and an entry permit. The customs and border protection officers had asked him to open down the dump body of the vehicle which he did. They mounted the vehicle and examined the vehicle thoroughly. He was asked to move on afterwards, since nothing illegal was found in the vehicle. He heaved a sigh of relief and drove on.

8:32pm and the truck had just arrived in Nogales. Gustavo had arrived an hour earlier to pick up Marcus. The vehicle came to a halt and the driver jumped down, looking around expectantly. Gustavo walked over to him, unsure if he had approached the right person.

"Are you Ethan? Ethan Farrell?" he asked, staring at a note in his hand. He seemed to have written the name down.

"Yes. And you're Gustavo?" the driver replied in a deep, masculine voice. They both exchanged handshakes. They walked over to the vehicle and Gustavo looked around to ensure that no one was around before he spoke in a whisper.

"Where's the kid? Sergio told you everything, right?"

"Yes, he did. He's in the vehicle. Let's get him down", and with that, they both climbed into the back of the truck and made their way to where Marcus lay, unconscious. They pulled him down and Gustavo carried him to his car. He was laid on the backseat of the car and taken to Gustavo's house.

Gustavo pulled into the driveway and didn't bother parking in the garage. He got down and made for the backseat where Marcus lay. He had slowly started regaining consciousness. Gustavo tugged at Marcus and directed his flashlight right into his eyes.

"Ugh….", Marcus groaned, "where am I?" He went on, trying to shield his eyes from the beam of the flash.

"Welcome to Mexico, son", Gustavo exclaimed and laughed snottily.

Marcus couldn't understand anything. He felt giddy and light-headed. He could barely move his legs. Gustavo carried him out of the car and into the house.

Gustavo was in his late-twenties. He and Sergio always considered themselves as cousins although they had no blood connection. As kids, Gustavo and Sergio were so close that everyone had thought they were brothers. When Gustavo's parents had died in a car accident, Sergio's family took him in and abducted him as their own son. This strengthened the bond they shared. Although Sergio's parents had the resources to give all their children modest education, Sergio and Gustavo would rather spend time on the streets than be in school like their mates. They had slowly started adapting to the life of crime at a young age and soon, Sergio's parents realized there was nothing they could do about it. Sergio became a drug addict and they had to send him off to a rehabilitation facility only for him to return five years later, worse than the way he had left. Gustavo, realizing he couldn't put up with Sergio's family, not with the way he behaved, had to go away and when Sergio returned from rehab, he moved in with Gustavo. They both had started diversifying in their life of crimes. They not only trafficked drugs but also humans and arms within and outside of Mexico.

He took Marcus to the bathroom and put him in the bathtub which was filled with water. This would help reduce the effect of the sedatives he had been given in the last few days.

Gustavo sat beside him all the while he remained in the bathtub to ensure he didn't get drowned. After what seemed like an hour had gone by, Marcus had regained consciousness to a considerable extent and Gustavo helped him out of the tub. He helped him change into a clean set of clothing and went down to make dinner.

By morning, Marcus was fully recovered and he had so many questions set aside for Gustavo. Marcus was in the living room and he could hear whispers coming from the balcony. He moved closer to listen in on their discussions.

"You never told me you had a cousin who stays in the States", it was a feminine voice.

"You don't expect me to tell you about all my cousins and where they stay. And besides, you never asked", Gustavo replied.

The lady in question, whom Marcus later got to know as Sara, was Gustavo's nextdoor neighbor. She never knew the business Gustavo was into. He only told her he worked with a building maintenance organization and she totally believed it.

She seemed to have so much trust in Gustavo. Although the age difference between them was much, they still seemed quite close.

Marcus was beginning to get furious. He couldn't remain calm any longer. He waited for Gustavo to return into the house before he could do anything.

"Sir, what am I doing here? When are you guys letting me see my family?" Marcus asked, trying to be calm.

Gustavo, who had just got back into the house and was making his way up the stairs, stopped and turned to look at Marcus. He laughed so hard that his stomach started hurting,

"Listen here kid. I didn't bring you here to pet you or anything. Returning to your family is something you shouldn't be thinking of right now. You'll be here for a while and I'll teach you a few things you need to know before you're finally sent to Él Ligeró. And mind you, just a piece of advice", he said and paused for a while, pointing at Marcus, "you had better not fucked things up. I won't hesitate to end you. Don't act smart with me. Okay?"

And he continued up the stairs. Marcus dropped to the floor in tears. He needed to find his way home. But how was he going to do that?

* * *

Two months gone, and life went on with the Kinneys. Although Marcus' absence left a hole in their hearts which could never be filled. They just kept on with their lives, hoping that someday, he would walk back in and things would get back to being how they were before he left. Carla wasn't finding any of it easy. She had really withdrawn into herself that she hardly attended to her work anymore. She would rather stay indoors all day, brooding over her loss.

Carla had recently started having constant fatigue and every effort made by Burdett to see that she visited a doctor were futile. She kept on insisting that she was okay and just needed more time to rest.

Rest? Did she say rest? But she never even did anything. She had completely neglected her works and all the bills which were usually split between her and Burdett, were now taken care of by Burdett alone. But he didn't mind. It was just a phase. And it would definitely pass.

Emma and Aiden were gradually learning to stay in peace. Seeing Carla in tears was one thing they didn't wish for so they had to set aside their differences and tolerate each other's excesses.

* * *

"Hi, I'm Sara. I guess you're Marcus, Gustavo's cousin, yeah?" Sara said, stretching out her hand towards Marcus for a handshake.

"Yeah, I'm Marcus", he replied, taking her hand in his, "Nice meeting you, Sara".

Marcus and Sara got to meet each other at her birthday party. She was just turning twenty and she invited her friends over, including Gustavo who of course came along with his own friends. Sara's parents were away from the country on a business trip and their return was undecided yet. She attended college just a few miles away from her house.

Marcus had started trading drugs on the streets of Nogales for Gustavo. He claimed he was only teaching Marcus the necessary things he needed to know before being sent off to Él Ligeró.

"I hope you haven't become so close to that girl", Gustavo, who had been noticing how fond Marcus had grown of Sara, whispered into his ear in a hoarse voice. He couldn't risk anything. He knew that sooner or later, Sara would become a trait to his existence and he had planned it all out for her.

The commensurated time to which Marcus was to meet Él Ligeró was fast approaching. He was barely getting enough sleep. He would spend the nights wondering what his fate would be, working for Él Ligeró. If only he hadn't visited Eric on that very day, he thought. He couldn't stop regretting every single thing. He thought about the pains his family would be going through and all he could do was cry all night long.

He had thought about running away but how was that going to be possible? He didn't know anyone in Mexico who could help him out. He had once contemplated telling Sara everything that was going on but waved the thought aside. But at this point, he didn't have anything else to do. He just had to tell her. Maybe, she would be able to help him out.

That afternoon, Marcus walked over to Sara's house. He knocked sharply on the door and looked around to ensure Gustavo wasn't watching. He could hear footsteps approaching the door from within and soon, Sara unlocked the door to see him standing like a scared little child. He walked past her sharply into the house.

"Marcus, are you okay?" She asked in a dulcet voice, as sweet as a songbird.

Marcus, for a split second had forgotten the reason he was at her house and took his time to absorb everything about her.

She had on, a delicate dress that displayed her well sculpted figure which was twine-thin. Her waist was tapered and she had a burnished complexion. A set of dazzling, angle-white teeth which was fully arrayed at every word she spoke. Her crescent shaped eyebrows inclined slightly as she noticed the way Marcus stared at her. But he wasn't done. He still had a lot more to take in. Her hair was kohl-black and it plunged over her shoulders.

He was beginning to feel something he had never felt for any girl before.

She had stopped speaking and gazed at Marcus with her constellation-blue eyes.

"Marcus? Are you alright?"

This finally jerked Marcus back to reality. He cleared his throat and swallowed hard, feeling ashamed of himself for what he just did.

"You just stood there for the past seconds staring at me without saying a word", she went on.

Oh thank goodness. It was only seconds. But it felt like forever, he thought.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable", he apologized, still trying to find his words.

"It's fine now. You can sit. Why are you here?", she asked, making her way to the kitchen. He couldn't help but follow every step of hers with his eyes. He wished he could see more of this everyday, but he'll be leaving soon. This was the point he remembered why he had come in the first place.

Sara walked back into the living room, carrying a bowl of cookies. She placed it down on the little table right next to Marcus. He was observing her fingernails which were filed to perfection and painted in a venus-red polish. And again, he had drifted away in his thoughts. How could someone be so perfectly sculptured, he thought.

She shuffled her feet to distract him from his thoughts.

"You're acting really strange, Marcus. What's up with you?" She spoke with a blend of mexican accent in her voice. Her English was way better than that of most other Mexicans Marcus had had an encounter with.

He placed his hands in between his legs and shrugged a bit, not knowing what exactly to say to her.

"Sara?" he called, in a question-like tone, eyes fixed to the ground, "Uhm… I don't know how to say this", and he swallowed hard once more.

"Marcus, are you okay? Talk to me. What is wrong? Did you have a fight with Gustavo?"

She was beginning to get impatient. She stared at him with pleading eyes as if to get the truth out of his mind.

"Sara, please I really need your help. I'm in trouble", Marcus finally voiced out.

Trouble? What kind of trouble? And how did he want her to help him? She thought.

It seemed as though Marcus had read her mind and went ahead to answer the questions,

"I got entangled with drug dealers and in a few days, I'll be taken away to work for this guy named Él Ligeró. I am not Gustavo's…."

He was interrupted by a loud knock on the door. It was Gustavo.

"Sara, is Marcus in there with you?" Gustavo called from outside.

At the mention of the name, Él Ligeró, Sara had frozen in her tracks. Of course, who didn't know the most dreaded drug baron in Mexico. If all Marcus had told her about being taken away to work for Él Ligeró were true, then this wasn't something she could assist with.

"Sara?" Gustavo, on getting no response called out once more,

"Is Marcus in there? I need him this moment", and he kept on knocking.

"Yess..sss, he's here. I'll be there in one sec", she finally replied. Her legs felt heavy and she was having difficulties standing up from where she sat.

An encounter with Él Ligeró was something she wouldn't even pray for her worst enemy. She and Marcus had bonded with each other and she wasn't ready to let them take him away just like that. But who were they?

She made for the door with Marcus following closely behind. On seeing Marcus, Gustavo smiled deceitfully at him, crossed his arms over Marcus's shoulder and walked him home.

"Hey boy", Gustavo echoed to Marcus who was trying to make his way up the stairs to his room,

"What were you both talking about?"

He sank into the sofa, crossed his legs and made for the little sculpture on the side stool. He still wore the deceitful smile on and this really made Marcus scared. Did he eavesdrop on us?

"We were just having a random discussion, okay?" and he continued up the stairs. Gustavo had his eyes on Marcus till he was completely out of sight.

He knew he had to get Marcus to Él Ligeró sooner than later.