After snapping a few pictures, they both turned forward again. “What kind of meeting are you chaps here for?” Brennan asked.
The edge of Caesare’s lips curled as he glanced at Clay. The driver’s question had a knowing tone. “It’s more of a convention actually,” Caesare answered.
“I see,” replied Brennan, still watching them. “What kind of convention, if you don’t mind my query?”
“Potato chips.”
Brennan raised his eyebrows. “Potato chips?”
“Yes. I believe you call them ‘crisps.’”
The driver sat upright and peered in the mirror at Caesare, who was now grinning widely.
Brennan suddenly laughed. “You’re funning with me.”
Clay reached forward and dropped a large bill onto the seat. “Mr. Brennan, perhaps you can find a quiet place to pull over.”
The driver’s expression changed from curiosity to nervousness. “Sure,” he said, glancing down at the protruding microphone attached to his two-way radio. At the next block, he turned left and circled back onto the busy four-lane road of Mandela Avenue. “Any place in particular?” he asked, scanning the road.
“Here is fine,” Clay answered, as he reached behind himself.
Brennan’s apprehension grew as he quickly pulled to the side and stopped the car. He didn’t know that the object Clay was reaching for was simply his wallet. Clay retrieved two bills and returned it to his back pocket.
“Mr. Brennan, you seem an intelligent man. It may not come as a big surprise that my friend and I would like to remain as ‘unmemorable’ to you as possible.”
“Okay.”
Clay smirked. “And please relax. We’re not going to hurt you.”
Brennan took a deep breath and calmly breathed out. “Well, I’m glad to hear that.” He was more relieved than they knew. Despite their tourist apparel, it was clear to Brennan that these two men had an edge about them. They were polite, but he suspected his two passengers could be as physical as they needed to be.
“Well,” Brennan said, with a humorous tone. “I presume you chaps aren’t looking for a store to buy chips.”
Both Clay and Caesare smiled. “Not exactly.” Clay handed the two bills to the driver. “We’re more interested in getting some information.”
The old man noted the money in Clay’s hand and took it calmly. It was his turn to smirk. “I suspect it has something to do with the Chinese ship then?”
“It does.”
Brennan finally shook his head and chuckled. “Bloody hell,” he said, running a hand through his white hair. “I thought for a minute you boys were going to off me.”
Caesare laughed. “Your tour wasn’t that bad.”
The driver laughed as well. “Well, I’m happy to know that’s settled.” He put the car into park and shifted his body sideways to get a better look at the two in the back. “So what about that ship are you keen to find out? The bloody thing has been sitting here for a long time and the lot of us has been wondering why.”
“So, you don’t know?”
“No one does. No one can get near it. What you saw was as close as anyone is allowed to get.” Brennan looked at them suspiciously. “And at night, no one is allowed on these streets at all.”
“Why’s that?” Caesare asked.
Brennan looked around outside the car and lowered his voice. “Because of the trucks.”
“What trucks?”
The driver grinned at that. “Come now, boys. I reckon you wouldn’t be here unless you knew a bit about the trucks yourself.”
Clay acquiesced. “We know a bit, but not much. Do you know where the trucks are going?”
“No. That entire part of the jungle is now off-limits according to the government. It has been ever since that ship arrived.” Brennan watched his two passengers exchange looks. “Do you know what they’re carrying on those trucks?” asked the taller of the two.
“Nah, no one does. Except our government, of course.”
“So, they’re involved?”
“Oh yes,” Brennan said, almost sarcastically. “Something changed when that Chinese boat arrived. Many of us have noticed that our dear, old government officials are driving a lot of spanking new automobiles around now. And their families are too. But that’s not all. There’s a lot of new money floating around lately, which is helping just about everyone. Hospitals, schools, the ferry, large stores, even small shop owners see it. The government has even been talking about paying down our debt and reducing taxes. And I can tell you lads this, that’s something I haven’t heard before in my lifetime.”
25
“I think we’re ready.” Juan stood up with the vest, unplugging both cables. He crossed the small cabin and stood next to DeeAnn, who looked up eagerly. From inside her cage, Dulce also gazed up from her half-eaten clump of celery.
“Really?”
“Yep.”
DeeAnn was immediately up off her seat. Juan held out the vest while she slipped her arms through one at a time. He then clipped both sides together and cinched the large nylon strap.
“How does it feel?”
She wiggled back and forth. “Good. But heavy.”
“It’s only a few pounds heavier but probably feels like a lot more.” Juan turned her around and reached under the vest’s edges to make sure nothing was caught. With his fingertips, he felt for the wires under the thick material and made sure they traced cleanly back to the batteries. He turned her back around. “All right.”
They both looked down at Dulce, who was still watching.
“Here’s the on-off switch,” he said, pointing to the front left side. “Pretty close to where the old one was. The microphone is here, as far from the speaker as we could get it. And the video camera is right here in the middle.” He stepped back and pointed his arm straight at her torso. “Try to face Dulce straight on when you talk to her. Otherwise the camera may not pick it up.”
“Okay.” DeeAnn placed her finger lightly on the power switch. “Now?”
Juan nodded. “Now.”
The switch clicked easily and a soft blue LED light illuminated the plastic switch. To minimize power consumption, it was the only indicator light on the vest.
Behind them, near the front, Alves rose from his seat and shuffled closer to watch.
With one more nod from Juan, DeeAnn cleared her throat and spoke loudly. “Hello, Dulce.”
Her grin faded quickly when nothing came back out of the speaker. She started to say something else when Juan cut her off, motioning to her to stay quiet. Finally, almost thirty seconds later, the speaker broadcast the familiar pattern.
Dulce quickly rose to her feet with a giant grin. She gripped the steel bars and rocked back and forth while replying. The delay was as long as DeeAnn’s.
Me love Mommy.
DeeAnn exhaled with obvious relief. “How are you?” she said, waiting.
Me happy now.
DeeAnn smiled and turned to Juan, who winked back at her. “Not bad for a couple of yahoos.”
They both laughed. It was a favorite phrase of Lee’s. Next to both of them, Alves was also grinning widely.
“Well done, Mr. Diaz. Well done.”
“Thank you. I’m not done, but this will do until we get to your place. I’ll see if I can tweak it a little more, but the slowness is mostly due to the system’s limited processing power.”
“Understandable,” Alves nodded, as if he understood what Juan had just said. “But still impressive.”
Both men watched as DeeAnn sat back down onto her seat somewhat awkwardly. She twisted her body to accommodate the stiff vest and leaned in close to the bars of the cage. She reached in and grabbed Dulce’s hand. “Are you okay?”