Chapter 20: Road to the border - Part 1
Emilio concentrates on keeping as close to Karl as possible as they head through the desolate landscape along the main freeway, where even the cactuses growing amongst the bone-dry rocks look parched. After three hours non-stop driving Karl is desperate for the toilet. He has been putting it out of his mind for the last half hour, but now he can’t think about anything else, and knows he won’t be able to hold it much longer, Gathering his courage he clears his throat to get Pancho’s attention.
“Excuse me sir, but I gotta take a leak.” Pancho ignores him. “Serious dude, I don’t think I can hold it much longer, can we pull over for a minute?”
“No, just keep driving, we have a tight schedule!”
“You don’t understand. I'm desperate, I don’t wanna pee myself!”
“Don’t piss in this car, hold it in, just concentrate on the road!”
“I’ve been holding it in for the past half an hour. I’m sorry, I’m pulling over”
“You’ll keep driving if you don’t want a bullet through your fucking loco brain! Now put your foot down, you’re driving like a pussy.”
The threat reminds Karl of his dream, which sends shivers through him, making his urge to go even worse. Karl knows Pancho is unhinged and keeps driving. His face becomes impassive once again. He puts his foot down, upping the car’s speed from seventy to one hundred miles an hour, but every slight bump and shudder of the car goes straight to his bladder, making him feel faint. Seventeen agonising minutes later Karl passes out at the wheel, soaking his pants and the driving seat. As he loses consciousness he falls onto the steering wheel, locking it hard left, sending the car hurtling off road onto the rocky plains. His right foot jams on the accelerator pedal and the speedometer maxes out as the car reaches one hundred and forty miles per hour, headed straight for a cluster of giant cacti. Pancho breaks from his stoned state and grabs the wheel, trying desperately to steer the car away from the obstruction. The car hits a series of rocks, caving the right rear door like a hot spoon through soft ice cream and flipping it like a coin, sending it rolling into the cacti, where it comes to rest upside-down.
Emilio quickly follows Karl’s car off the road, and pulls up behind the wreck. He jumps out and sprints over to the scene of the accident.
“Karl! Karl! Oh fuck, please God, let him be in one piece. I’ll never make fun of him again, I promise!”
Emilio goes straight to the driver’s side and looks through the bust window frame, where Karl lies motionless and bleeding from his ear. Emilio knows that your not supposed to move anyone from the scene of an accident for fear of doing further damage if they have suffered spinal injuries. He reaches into the wreck and places his hand upon Karl’s. Karl responds, squeezing Emilio’s hand tightly before slowly opening his eyes. All he can see is a hazy blur, and is unsure of what is happening.
“Karl, can you hear me, are you ok?”
Emilio goes against his better judgement and begins to pull his friend from the wreckage, dragging him across the coarse sand, leaving a trail of blood from where his face smashed into the driver’s wheel. Cathos walks up behind the wreck, holding Valencia at gunpoint in case either she or Emilio try to take advantage of the situation. As they approach the scene the smell of gasoline fills the air. Pancho pulls himself from the passenger window and gradually gets to his feet. He stands looking back at the wreck, bruised and shocked, but surprisingly unscathed. He walks around the car, taking it all in, until he sees Karl sprawled out on the ground. The sight of Karl infuriates him. He approaches Karl at speed, kicking him in the head as hard as possible, then drops to his knees, thumping Karl in the face with his hairy knuckled fists. Emilio jumps between them and takes several painful blows to his rib cage. Pancho lifts his trouser leg and grasps the large bowie knife, which is strapped to the inside of his ankle. Thrusting the blade out in front of himself, he tries to stab Karl in the stomach. Emilio grabs the knife-wielding arm with both hands and restrains it as best as possible, putting his back into Pancho's chest as he moves in. Karl rolls out of the way. Pancho uses his immense physical strength to pull his arm free and swings for Emilio’s back, which is now exposed in front of him. Emilio darts forward, narrowly avoiding Pancho’s lunging blade, which slices through the fabric of his shirt. Emilio feels the baking sun on his exposed skin. Cathos, calmer and more calculated than his brother, sees the situation is spiralling further out of control and is keen to clear up the mess and progress to the border as planned.
“Pancho! We have no time for this!”
Pancho reluctantly stands back, struggling for breath, defeated by his eighty a day chain-smoking habit. He gives Karl a filthy look, signalling unfinished business. Cathos throws Pancho an assault rifle to keep the hostages at bay while he checks the damage to the vehicle. Pancho takes great pleasure in aiming the assault rifle at Emilio and Valencia who are kneeling down by Karl’s side. Pancho aims the gun at Karl’s head and feels the familiar sensation of pent up anger rippling through his body, making his trigger finger twitch excitedly. Karl feels nauseous and close to death. Cathos emerges from his inspection dismayed.
“We need to take the wheels off. It’s so messed up, we can’t use it!”
Cathos wastes little time going to the boot of the undamaged car and getting the tool kit from under the spare wheel. He throws the weighty kit at Emilio who awkwardly catches it, pushing him off balance.
“Remove the wheels from this vehicle and then place them behind the rocks over here.” Cathos demands. He looks at the tyres and racks his brain, thinking about how they are going to get them all transported.
Emilio sets about removing the wheels from the upturned car. The sun beats down upon his exposed back as he strips the wheels from the wreckage, rolling them across the ground and stacking them up behind the rocks. After thirty minutes labouring in the blistering heat the task is complete. Pancho, who is standing guard, thinks he hears something approaching and turns to the freeway. Heat rising from the roads distorts the view. For a time he can see nothing, but as he gazes into the distance a speck appears on the horizon, over a mile away.
“Hey, Cathos, we got company!”
Cathos springs to attention like a meerkat.
“Shit, we don’t need any rats.”
Pancho taps his gun smugly.
“Rats can be eliminated, and let’s face it, we’re gonna need another car.”
Cathos ponders for a moment and then agrees.
“Ok, here’s how it’s going down. You! The girl! You flag the car down when it gets near. Tell the driver there’s been an accident. We will take cover behind the wreckage. You draw the driver over to see the accident and then let us take care of the rest.”
Valencia is reluctant, and airs her views as she is growing in confidence around the Llera brothers.
“Do not bring anyone else into this! I will not help you to trick anyone!”
Pancho doesn’t care for Valencia’s stern tone and lays down the law.
“We will take whatever action we feel is necessary. And if you don’t do as we tell you then we will kill the fat boy.”
Valencia is left little choice, as she can tell from Pancho’s tone that his words are a promise, not a threat. Cathos drives the black car behind the rocks, before joining Pancho, Emilio and Karl behind the wreck. Valencia is forced to stop the approaching car by herself, as anyone passing is more likely to stop for a vulnerable young woman.
In the approaching vehicle is an elderly couple. They look on inquisitively as they see the young woman waving in the distance and the wreck of a red car. The man pulls over and jumps out of the car, rushing to Valencia, his expression as concerned as if she was his own daughter.
“Are you ok? What’s happen? Is anyone in the car?”
Valencia looks into his kind, wrinkled face
and bursts out crying. She knows her deceit may mean their death. Unaware of the reason for her tears the man holds Valencia and pats her on the back reassuringly as he escorts her over to the wreck.
“You are in grave danger, a gunman will appear from behind the rocks. When he does, run to your car as fast as you can.” Valencia speaks urgently, while pretending to bury her face in her hands in despair. The old man stops in his tracks for a moment and looks at her in confusion and trepidation. Pancho sees the hesitation, calculates that the man is far enough from his own car to make escape unlikely, and jumps out from behind the wreckage with his assault rifle aimed at the man’s head. Seeing a gun being aimed at her husband’s head, his wife climbs out of their car and runs to him, determined to stand by his side regardless of the situation. Pancho rolls his eyes as she stands between the gun and her husband. The old man jostles with his wife, pleading with her to calm down and let him deal with the situation. Unable to control herself, she proceeds to tell Pancho off.
“You evil bastard, how dare you hold a gun to my husband’s head?”
Pancho is unamused and hits her round the head with the back of his gun, the hard solid steel handle knocking her to the ground, leaving her in immense pain and briefly unable to move. Her husband goes for Pancho’s throat in anger, trying to get a grip in an attempt to strangle the rogue. Pancho fends off the older, weaker man. Holding him at arm’s length he strikes him in the same manner as he struck his wife. Lying powerless on the floor, the old man looks up at Valencia in disbelief. She is raging inside at Pancho’s treatment of the innocent couple. Cathos has been watching the drama unfold unsympathetically.
“We should put them in the car and then destroy any evidence.”
Valencia is horrified by what she is hearing.
“You don’t need to do that, they’re messed up enough as it is. Just destroy the car, that’s all you gotta do!”
Pancho starts laughing at Valencia’s worthless pleas. Cathos is working his next move, eager to get to the border without anymore incident.
“Pancho, drag the couple into the car over there.”
“No, you’re not taking them, I won’t let this happen.” Valencia cuts in, before lying over the injured couple.
Emilio and Karl look at each other in agreement and then run over to Valencia to help screen the couple. Cathos looks on, frustrated, glancing at his diamond watch.
“Pancho! We don’t have time for this, brother.”
“I say we waste these useless mules. They are nothing but trouble.”
“Maybe we should kill one of them.” Cathos agrees, his temper finally snapping.
Pancho grabs Karl, putting him in a headlock and choking him. Karl struggles to breath, turning blue in the face. Pancho gives Karl a sly punch to the stomach and Cathos puts a gun to his head while he’s restrained.
“If you don’t move your asses and get in the car then your friend is dead!” Cathos has had enough. Valencia and Emilio reluctantly stand back, fearing for Karl’s life, as he is being choked so badly his arms are starting to dangle lifelessly. Cathos can tell Pancho is intent on murdering the boy and doesn’t want the situation to get any more complicated than it already is.
“Pancho, come on. Let’s just set fire to the wreck, and get going.”
Pancho squeezes Karl’s neck viciously in a last ditch attempt to inflict permanent damage before releasing him. Karl falls to the ground in a fragile heap.
“You stink of piss, anyway!” Pancho spits as he walks off to drag the elderly couple alongside the wrecked car.