Chapter 4

MONDAY 10:50 A. M. Local Time Buenaventura, Colombia

Ricardo was still fuming over the recent course of events, as he sat on the veranda of his seaside residence while watching the permutations of the Pacific Ocean below and sipping on his third cup of the finest coffee Colombia could produce. Even the ebb and flow of the Great Mother was not enough to calm the rage churning in his heart.

'My word is Law over the length and breadth of this entire land, yet now there is this 'no trespassing' sign in my most productive area of operations, ' he raged at the disruption, 'this is intolerable and I will find a way through. Eduardo has never failed me yet.'

As these thoughts concluded his gaze roamed over the Pacific, hoping against hope for the peace it promised. When his vision was focused due west, he noticed a disturbance on the face of the sea that he had never seen before. It looked as if a single waterspout was forming and growing in strength as he watched in fascinated wonder. When the waterspout was about to intersect the beach area, something shot from the apex looking like nothing more than a blue winged bird. As he watched the 'bird' soar into the crystal clear air, it reached it's apogee and began it's descent. When it became clear that his veranda was the termination point, he screamed, "Guards, aerial attack!"

Within seconds Death was flying to meet this winged threat and the sky became obscured with the detonations of the anti-aircraft ordinance. Slowly the detonations declined as the defensive positions ran out of ammunition. When the smoke began clearing in the breeze, one thing became instantly apparent. The 'bird' was still hanging in the sky, lazily flapping it's wings, as if mocking all of his power that had been thrown at it.

Then the fear began to set in as he recalled his Grandmother's tales of Quatzequatel, the winged serpent god. Gently and slowly, his fate descended and finally landed light as a feather upon his patio. This was followed by something he had never heard of. A man floated from the neck of Quatzequatel and landed with no sound beside the Winged Great One.

He then heard in his mind, 'I have returned and your days of playing the fool for Yum Cimil are over. Though you are the lowest of worms, yet you may serve my purpose. You and your brethren shall become my messengers and my message is life. Your people shall become my arms to enforce my will in this hemisphere and all shall carry my mark on their foreheads. Any that see the mark shall obey you instantly. Where you see the strong prey on the weak, you will stop it. Where you see injustice, you will correct it. Schools, hospitals and roads shall flow from your fingers as you spread my vision across this land. You will become the teachers of life from this day forward. Now, receive my mark.'

At this, Ricardo felt a tingling on his forehead and had no doubts that he was now marked for life. Bowing, he asked, "Where shall we begin, Great One?"

A hint of humor tinged the return thought, 'At home, of course, all good things begin there. Go now and thank your Grandmother for her wisdom.'

Then, while he watched again in wonder, this Gringo floated up in the air and settled on the neck of his Living God. He knew he would have to ponder the meaning hidden here, but eventually the answer would come.

Then Quatzequatel turned and sprang into the sky like an arrow released from the bowstring.

As they flew toward home again, Mike wrapped his arms around Puff's neck and hugged the heck out of her, while sending, 'You did so good, Baby. Your Dad is going to be so proud of you.'

The purr ramped up at this praise along with a mental, 'Wheeee ... that was so fun. Let's do it again.'

'We will, but it will be tonight, Kiddo. I think we're going to need a little bit different approach though, ' Mike returned, 'after all, you have to match the message to the mindset, ya know?'

MONDAY 12:00 P. M. CST Office of Henry Donaldson, Chicago, IL

As Rick stepped from Joe Buckley's elevator car, he tossed out, "Thanks for the ride Joe and have a great lunch."