Chapter 6: Mexico

Pedro Gonzalez and his wife Dr. Irene Gonzalez sat in chairs on their patio, drinking wine, watching the beautiful sunset, and discussing the events of the past three months.

“I know it all happened but I still can’t quite grasp it,” Irene said.

“Yes, dear. It’s been an amazing three months. It’s hard to believe we have our country back. When the president declared yet another Anti-Crime Task Force, the news was met with skepticism by almost everyone. Especially the press.”

“This time though, he put the right man in charge! My brilliant husband!” Irene raised her wine glass in a toast to her spouse.

“We would have failed like all the other attempts to rid the country of cartels and corruption if not for our famous ally,” Pedro reminded his wife.

“By famous, I know you don’t mean the North Americans. They sent that team of advisers to help us poor Mexicans solve all of our problems.”

Pedro laughed. “No, not the Americans. They never said, but that twelve man team had to include FBI, DHS, NSA, and military. I’ll never forget our first formal meeting here in the capital.”

“You’ve told me the story before, sweetheart, but please tell me again. I will never tire of hearing about that meeting.”

Pedro smiled at his loving wife and began, “Well, there we all sat, around a large conference table. I had my twenty task force leaders and the twelve advisers joined us. Almost before I could even begin, the arrogant Americans attempted to take over the meeting. Then suddenly, with no warning, she was there. The Angel Latina. The same one who rescued all those people in Mexico City after the earthquake. Everyone was shocked. Including me, your brave husband! We’ve both seen Angels on television and YouTube, but to see one in person was, well I have no words to describe how incredible that moment was. Next to marrying you and the birth of our children, it was the single most defining moment of my life.

“Before the shock of her arrival could dissipate, Angel Latina was in charge of the meeting. If her mere presence wasn’t commanding enough, her words were! This was not a person to be trifled with. She didn’t speak out loud, but her thoughts went directly into our heads! The first thing she told us was that previous task force efforts had been undermined by corruption from within. Then she dissolved six people. Just dissolved them! They turned into piles of ashes! Two of them were from the Americans! That got everyone’s attention, let me tell you! The Americans especially were shocked!

“Angel Latina then told us she would be in communication with me throughout the process of reclaiming Mexico. She told us to pick a target, assemble our men, and she would arrive. She promised to ‘soften up’ the target and then our forces could move in and arrest any survivors. My God! Survivors! You already know how few of those we found!

“She told the Americans they would not be needed! The looks on their faces! I suspect no one had ever spoken to them like that before. Then she was gone! There was a popping sound of the air displacement when she left and we sat there staring at each other. All of us wondering if what we just saw was real or not. We looked at six piles of ash where living people used to be sitting only moments before and we knew. The Angel Latina was real. She was REAL! God help me, I cried. Not for those dead traitors, but for Mexico. For my country! For my family and friends! Finally, after all these years, all the pain and suffering, we would be free again. I knew it in my heart. This time! Mexico will triumph! I stood and screamed! The men in my command joined me. We were dancing together, jumping up and down. Crying and laughing.”

“The Americans?”

“They left with their tails between their legs. The Americans would not be needed. This mission was ours! Ours and the Angel Latina!”

“Honey.”

“Yes my lover?”

“You have no idea how hot I get when you tell that story!”

“Hmmm, is that right?”

“I’m dripping wet! Husband of mine, take me to bed! I need you!”

Approximately three months earlier:

Linda and the Posse sat on top of a tall building in Mexico City, trying to peer through the smog blanketing this sprawling city of more than eight million souls.

Ugh! Tinker Bell can’t you do something with all this pollution? Ret complained.

I’m working on it! Tink replied.

I don’t see any difference, and I can barely breathe, Mouse gasped.

Breathe? No! No! No! I’m fixing the water pollution. I can’t do air! Tink exclaimed.

Think about it for a minute Tink. You can dissolve fire, for God’s sake! Ret reminded her.

It’s just too scattered. I need it to be more condensed, kind of, Tink groaned.

Linda? Mouse whispered.

What? Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention. I was thinking about the meeting we just had with the Mexican Task Force, Linda replied. I think it went well.

Can you use your TK to sort of, I don’t know, round up the air pollution so Tink can dissolve it? Mouse suggested, hopefully.

Let me think for a minute. There might be something I can do, Linda whispered.

Okay, Ret, warn the people of the city the Angel Latina is going to raise the wind! Linda told the Posse.

Mouse reminded everyone to put their Kevlar vests back on. The girls had removed them after the meeting ended. They still had their steel-toed shoes on.

Linda began using her TK ability above Mexico City like the blades of a huge food processor, spinning around faster and faster. The massive invisible telekinetic blades sucked the air pollution into a smaller and smaller towering, spinning mass thousands of feet above the city.

Yes! I can work with this! Tinker Bell decided. She began dissolving the cloud of compressed pollutants in the air above the city. When she was finished, the air was eighty percent cleaner. Ret reported the people in the city were stunned. When the pollution miracle was reported to the international community via various news services, the entire world would be stunned as well, and they would be clamoring for the Angels to repeat the process in their cities. Almost lost in the euphoria, the waters in lakes and rivers within fifty miles of Mexico City were also free of pollution for the first time in centuries. Several more videos went viral.

Linda and the Posse air-popped back to the Grand Caymans in time to grab some popcorn and play video games with Jessie and Joyce on Linda’s seventy inch HDTV. Mario Kart. The Twins won.

Linda and the Posse were sitting in her private lounge together. The Twins were watching cartoons on Netflix. Ret was listening to language software for Russian dialects. Mouse had her earbuds in listening to music. Linda was going over some financial statements.

Ret? Tink asked. She had a pensive look on her face.

Yeah Tinker Bell? What’s up? Ret replied.

Tink got an exasperated look on her face. You know. Sex! I just can’t see them doing it like missionaries.

Missionary style?

Right. That’s what I meant.

Linda and Ret looked over at Mouse. She was nodding her head in time to the music blasting from her earbuds, but she was blushing. Mouse was very, very red. From the tips of her ears all the way down to her neck and disappearing into her blouse.

Mouse... Ret whispered.

It was two weeks before Linda’s birthday. She hadn’t told anyone. Her birthdays had seldom been anything worth celebrating. The internet, however, can be an incredible tool. It seems like a snoopy, curious woman could find out all sorts of interesting information. Even about a former orphan girl.

Jessica told Juan she wanted to have some kind of big birthday blowout for Linda. Juan, of course, told his good friend, the governor. Now, you have to understand the dynamics here. Linda was truly loved by the citizens of Grand Cayman. Truthfully, she was loved all over the Caribbean now. She had literally pumped billions of dollars into island nations’ economies. She’d created jobs, funded schools, shelters, and orphanages. She was providing college scholarships, rebuilding homes and businesses and now she was building factories to produce solar energy panels. Linda attempted to accomplish all this anonymously, too. Still, everyone knew who was behind the largesse. Linda Spencer. Add to all this the mystique surrounding the Angels. No one knew for certain exactly what Linda’s Angel connection was, but there was something. A lot of the island people were very religious, but they were also a bit superstitious. No offense intended here. It came from their heritage, way before the Spanish Conquistadors arrived. Combine Angels, religion, and superstition, then mix well with economic expansion and jobs. The birthday party took on a life of its’ own.

On international television, the governor of the Grand Cayman Islands declared a national holiday. He called it “Angel Day” in appreciation of everything the Angels had done for the island country and the world. Banks, schools, government offices, all would be closed. The date just happened to coincide with Linda’s birthday. Everyone in the islands knew it was really a ‘Linda Appreciation Day’, but it wasn’t officially stated as such.

It didn’t end there. President Fredricks, of the United States, decided it was an excellent idea. With the complete, unanimous support of Congress, he declared a national holiday, too. Other countries, not wishing to be left out, quickly joined the growing list of celebrants. Parades were planned. Floats decorated. High school and college marching bands began practicing. Feasts, fireworks, speeches! Every country that Linda and the Angels had cleansed was celebrating Angel Day! From small towns to huge metropolises, everyone was getting into the act. Linda’s birthday became, almost overnight, a world holiday, and a world-wide party.

North Korea, the Middle-East Islamic countries, Russia, and China, notably, did not participate. Cuba did. Venezuela and Colombia were the only South American countries to ignore the holiday.

Juan had the good grace to be a little bit embarrassed. Not too much, but a little bit.

Lt. Jake was sitting with Linda on the patio, drinking coffee and eating a breakfast of croissants and fruit.

“Linda, we have a situation. Several of them actually.”

“What situations? I’ve been really busy with Mexico lately. Too busy to scan much here at home.”

“Some teams and individuals have been spotted slipping onto the island in advance of Angel Day. The men and women we’ve spotted all have histories with various criminal organizations. Either that, or they work directly for governments that may not be friendly to the Angels.”

Linda grimaced at the mention of ‘Angel Day.’ “Want me to do a complete scan of the island?”