Chapter 11: Forewarned Is Forearmed

February 1999

“Malcolm, my friend, we are in a strange country, with danger all about us. I don’t think there is any question what we should do at this moment.”

We called his contact, and he agreed to meet with us. As we got on a bus to the location the contact would meet us, I remembered the warning that Pohlitz had given regarding public transportation. Still, we had been safe thus far, so we kept to what we knew.

We took our luggage with us from the bus stop down an alley as our contact had instructed us. I suppose that was another stupid thing to do but from what Pohlitz had said, death or anything else could meet up with us no matter what we did. It was clear to us that everything we did meant taking a risk. As we turned the corner coming out of the alley, a police car with a Columbian policeman was waiting for us. At first, we thought we were in trouble. After Lou and the officer began to converse, we found out he was the contact we were seeking. Lou and the officer did all the talking, as it was all in Spanish. With my limited Spanish language capability, I could make out that a business deal was in the making. It was evident that Lou was haggling. The Colombian was enjoying all of this. The officer motioned for Lou and me to follow him to the trunk of his car. He opened it up, all the while looking around for anyone who might be watching. Two submachine guns and two automatic handguns were in his trunk.

The rifles were AKM”s I believe. Apparently, Pohlitz had told him what to bring. There was plenty of ammunition also.

Apparently, Lou bought the weapons at a bargain. Lou asked me for some cash. I gave him almost a thousand bucks in cash (another dangerous thing to do) and the officer grabbed the weapons, and ammo, and stuffed them into a cloth sack. He handed it all to Lou and took the cash.

Grinning, he said “Vaya con Dios, Senors.” He jumped into his car and sped out of the alley.

We took the AKM”s, loaded them, and then placed them into our luggage. The handguns went inside our belts behind us, hidden from view by our coats. I felt very stupid. As if I knew what I was doing! I hadn’t used a firearm since my days in the military. That was a long time ago. Back up the alley with our luggage and out onto the sidewalk we walked to the bus stop. Lou was reading the schedules for the bus stop, when I saw one approaching. Lou wasn’t sure if it was ours, but I was so nervous standing in what I felt like was a minefield that I pleaded with him just to get us out of this area.

Lou retorted, “If this place wasn’t safe, why would the policeman agree to meet us here. After all, he was carrying plenty of desirable cargo for someone to want to steal. Relax, my friend! I will take care of you. I will not let you get yourself killed.” I fired back with “Well maybe he wasn’t a real policeman, and everyone here in this neighborhood knows him to be the worst and most dangerous criminal around here. They are afraid of him.”

Lou turned to look at me with the most disgusted look. Perhaps he felt I was worrying over nothing and it was starting to annoy him.

“Well, it could be something like that. You yourself said that we had been followed since we left Miami,” I said, trying to reestablish some credible position. Lou knew that I felt uncomfortable in such strange and unfamiliar surroundings. However, he was cool, confident, and focused on his mission. I wished that I could be as well, so, I said my little prayer, asking for calmness of my spirit, and for courage to stick to my course. I would need it.

We passed up that bus and the next one too. Then Lou said,

“Here comes our bus, let’s go”

I was happy to get on, as I was getting tired of standing. Lou asked the driver if this bus took us near to the Four Points Sheraton hotel. I saw the driver nod his head yes and I took it that it meant it was a good hotel and not far. Lou got directions from the driver, tipped him, and we got off the bus. “The bus driver said ours is a reputable hotel, within walking distance.”

“I am glad we made reservations. Still, for security sake no one needs to know where we are staying. Remember, no rooms above the third floor. That’s just in case we have to go out the window,” Lou instructed. “You should let me do all the talking for now. It is better that way till we are settled in.”

“Well, I know that he will know we are Americans as soon as he asks for our passports.”

When I mentioned that to Lou, he smiled, and nodded. “You are so right, amigo! I forgot about that. We have to make sure we get those back, before the morning.”

As we approached the hotel, Lou asked that I wait just inside the front door of the lobby. He wanted to “scope out” the hotel. He took a walk around the block, making notes of the alleys, avenues of approach, obstacles, places of cover and concealment. Most importantly, he was checking for avenues of escape, specifically fire escapes. About twenty minutes later Lou came walking in through the front door. He smiled, nodded that everything met his approval, saying, “Let’s get our rooms.” I still don’t understand why all the cloak and dagger stuff. I suppose that Lou was the one who was the security expert in this.

I lost my expectations of third world conditions as soon as I had entered the lobby of the hotel. Bellhops took our bags up to our rooms. The staff was very cordial and pleasant to us. Our accommodations were much more than I had expected. We had left our passports with the desk clerk, with the assurance that we would be able to pick them up at the desk in the morning. I was worried regarding who would be able to see them. If the wrong eyes saw our passports, would they take any action?

Lou and I decided to stay in one room for that night. That would give us a 50/50 chance of warning should they (whoever that was) try to get into our rooms. Should they go for Lou’s room first, we would hear it first. As we got settled into our room, Lou told me something that I still have trouble understanding, even more so believing. He told me that the reason that he had been looking over his shoulder and off to his left and right was so he could keep track of the man in black. Lou said the man had followed him into the airport and then all the way to the gate. He had been sitting across from Lou in the Lobby and watched Lou the entire time that he waited on me. I told Lou that that wasn’t possible because He had followed me in the airport to the gate lobby. I had lost sight of him just before I got to the gate. Lou looked at me in the strangest way. We both knew that wasn’t possible. How could our man in black be in two places at once? To make matters worse, we never saw him board the plane either. We never saw him leave the plane also. Nevertheless, there he was, always watching us. I decided that phenomenon was the reason for my bad feeling I had had all day. I’m not sure how much sleep we got that night. I spent a great deal of time thinking about Rachel’s dream and praying that night in our room. It had come so easy to her. However, if God talks to you and you hear His voice, it’s not hard to listen. I, myself, have had dreams like that. Now, my family was sleeping soundly as I should be. Earlier, I had called them from our room, speaking for only a few moments. I didn’t dare tell her of the man in the black suit. You do not tell some things to a wife, even if she does believe that angels protect you.

The next morning came quickly. Lou and I took turns in the bathroom while the other stood watch outside. I hoped nothing would happen while I was watching the hallway. After all, what would I do? Start shooting? I thought about that possibility, as I did not think that we had seen the last of the man in the black suit.

I was dying for a cup of coffee even though I knew that I would get some soon enough. Coffee in this town rated high so I guess I was sitting in anticipation of that first cup of the morning. Lou finished up and then it was my turn. I didn’t want to take too long, so I hurried. If someone were going to kidnap me, I didn’t want to be naked, or dirty with an unshaven face.