Chapter 15

[Arnold's Manuscript]

We got in the SUV's and left heading north along the coast knowing bad people were somewhere in the area. I just didn't believe that they swooped into the area from inland and went back. I saw motion in my rearview mirror and felt that we were now the hunted. I sped up. Maria looked back and gasped. When we came beside Tomas, she pointed behind us and motioned for them to hurry.

Tomas picked up speed and we drove fast trying to outrun the vehicles behind us. I said, "Maria, we aren't going to outrun them. We need to find a place to fight or flee away without being followed. What kinds of ideas do you have?"

She said, "You are the best shooter. We can't stop or they will overrun us."

I said, "Take the wheel. I will set the cruise control and you steer while I move out of the way. Then, you can drive while I shoot." We did that but it's easier in the movies than in real life. We managed but almost wrecked the SUV in the process. Finally, we made the switch. By then, the SUV chasing us was closing and the people in it were shooting. We now knew they had evil intentions.

I moved some things around and climbed into the back seat with the window rolled down. I used my rifle and began to shoot at the oncoming SUV. It was getting closer until it suddenly veered off the road and wrecked. I think I hit a tire or the driver. We never stopped to find out.

We drove on at a high rate of speed for almost an hour. I had moved back to the front seat. We were coming into a small town and I had Maria flash the lights and slow down. We stopped at a small shopping area at the edge of town and all of us got out.

I said, "We must all be more careful. Bad people were not just in San Salvador."

Tomas said, "What should we do?"

I said, "First, we must be more guarded about what we do and how obvious we are in making our presence known. Second, we must be armed at all times and should practice until we are much better with our guns. Third, we must be ready to run. That means we should have a better route planned out in case we are separated. On the other hand, we cannot carry marked maps in our SUV's in case one is lost. Then, the other SUV would drive into a trap."

We were all quiet. The last thought was not a pretty thought.

We were in the outskirts of Puerto San Jose in Guatemala. We drove in and picked a beautiful hotel but hid our presence as best as possible. We saw no people. Everything about the hotel said first class in every way. We picked three suites. Tomas and Dulce made no pretense about their sleeping arrangements and had one while Maria and I had adjoining rooms or suites. We went to change and meet at the pool that looked to be in good shape. I went to my room and changed into my bathing suit. I came out of the room with a towel, a roadmap, and a loaded nine-millimeter in its holster. I reached the pool with my towel, pistol, and map. I placed those items on a table with the towel covering the pistol and dove into the pool. It still smelled good and my guess was that it was automatic. I swam a couple of laps and then lazed around relaxing in the water.

Maria came out wearing a cover-up and carrying a towel. She looked around and waved at me. She pointed at my table and I nodded. She placed the towel on the table and removed her cover-up and moved to the pool edge. I had to catch my breath because her suit was mostly not there! If it covered more, it would be a thong! Maria's body looked great and she was evenly tanned suggesting that she wore this suit or just skin for tanning purposes. She was beautiful.

She swam close to me and lightly splashed my face. "You're staring, Arnoldo."

I stammered. "You're beautiful! I knew that but that suit is still startling by what it doesn't cover. I am not complaining though. You're an altogether beautiful sight. Wow!"

She grinned at me. "It's nice to be appreciated for other than just my mind."

I decided that I had said enough for now and kept quiet. After a short silence, she added, "I think Tomas and Dulce are exercising. They may be out later." She chuckled.

I grinned. "Do you want exercise?"

"Not that kind. Arnoldo, I am not an 'easy girl.' For that matter, Dulce isn't either. She and Tomas were dating seriously before all this started."

"None of that relationship is a problem, Maria. I do hope you will talk to her. I don't want to push you or me into a situation one of us might later regret."

"Thank you.

"You brought the map, Arnoldo. What do you think?"

"I think our next big stop will be Acapulco. We are maybe a third of the way there. If we lose track of the other SUV, the plan will be to meet there at the airport.

"The ones who arrive first may wait as long as they want but at least one week. The next point will be Culiacan. Then, there is Hermosillo. After that, we will enter the United States. First would be Tucson, followed by Yuma, and San Diego. Los Angeles is only a short trip north. We will use airport terminal lobbies."

"That makes sense to my memory of the map, Arnoldo. We can look at it later. Right now, I do want to swim." She started to churn laps with perfect form for the crawl, breaststroke, and backstroke. After two laps of each and then two more of the crawl, she stopped beside me again. She was breathing only a little heavily. I hadn't completed as many laps and was breathing heavier.

I grinned and said, "No butterfly stroke? You did the others with perfect form."

"I can do it but it's not a fun stroke for me. I don't compete any more and the butterfly was never my strongest."

"That's okay. I'm just happy to get from one end of the pool to the other without drowning." I grinned at her.

"I have seen you swim. You're good."

"Just out of shape."

"Arnoldo, your job would have kept you from getting the exercise you should. Now, you can work on getting your wind back. I will swim or run with you as you prefer."

I smiled. "Having you running or swimming with me will provide great encouragement."