Page 28 of Rough Choice

“The pilot, Alberto, is flying in from Coahuila today. He’s stopping to refuel in town and then right back out to Ciudad del Carmen. The driver suggested we pay an extra ten thousand per person and he might take us on to San Pedro.”

“That would put us only two hours outside Belize City,” Eliana said, checking the map over. Kye’s jaw clicked as it tensed.

“That’s convenient,” he said tersely.

“It seemed a little too convenient,” Grier agreed.

“I think we should try it,” Eliana said, folding the map up. “We can’t be sure that this guy has bad intentions, and it seems the likely option he and his cousin just want to make some quick money. We pose as tourists looking to find a quick ride, they’ll think nothing else. Bounty hunters can’t have spies in every hangar in the world.”

“She’s got a point,” Kye stated.

“Yeah, but we didn’t survive this long taking unnecessary risks. We’ve always checked into our drivers and transports. We’ve never gone blind like this.”

“We’ve never been forced to do any different,” Kye countered. “We’ve had the luxury of time, but we don’t have that now. I called the bus depot when you were out, and the bus we were stranded on never arrived. They sent the policia out looking for them.”

“It’s only been a few hours; let’s not freak out just yet,” Eliana advised, but even she had to admit she was feeling nervous. Once they were at Kye’s safe house in Belize maybe she could breathe a little easier, but for now, her nerves were a half step away from frayed.

“Tell me about the plane,” Kye said, rubbing his tired eyes. They’d been avoiding looking for a motel just yet, hoping they could catch a car out of town immediately, but it was looking more and more like they were going to be in town for several more hours. A little sleep wouldn’t hurt.

“He said it was a turboprop aircraft, and freshly fueled it can take us to San Pedro with only one stopover. He said his cousin mainly uses it to deliver ‘commodities’, but it seats up to twelve passengers.”

“Commodities?” Eliana asked and already knew the answer. Drugs.

“Does he have any passengers lined up? I don’t want to be sharing the aircraft with anyone,” Kye said, and Eliana had a feeling their plan was reluctantly coming into motion.

“He didn’t say, just gave a price. Fifty thousand per seat.”

“Pesos or American.”

“Pesos.”

“How did you swing that?” Kye asked incredulously. “They see an American and everything is in US dollars.”

“I happen to speak flawless Spanish. As long as we keep our mouths shut, maybe we won’t wreak of American wealth,” Grier stated.

“Right, let’s not risk it. Tell him we’ll pay seventy-five thousand up front and a hundred thousand upon arrival in Ciudad del Carmen. If he takes us on to San Pedro we’ll pay fifty thousand for all three of us,” Kye offered.

“These guys, they’re going to want to see the money and credentials…”

“No,” Kye said firmly. “Tell him you’re representing a client who has special interests in some Honduran property and wants to keep a low profile so he’s not bought out. If he doesn’t accept that offer, an extra thousand pesos for his cooperation.”

“If we throw too much money at them, they’re going to milk us for more,” Eliana added.

“I have no doubt, but if the worst should happen and they don’t accept the offer, then we’re right back where we started. We’ll charter a car to take us to Belize in increments if needed,” Kye said, and Grier nodded.

“Alright,” he said, standing. “I’ll take half the cash and pay up front; you keep the rest. If they kill me, at least you two should have the funds.” He was only half-joking, and all three of them felt slightly nervous as they had to divvy the money into two smaller bags in the public location. Hoping they weren’t seen, they agreed to meet back at this cantina in two hours.

“Where are we going?” Eliana asked as she fell in step with Kye as they left through the front door while Grier slipped out the back.

“There’s a public market just down the road,” he said, intertwining his fingers with hers. “If we’re going to fool these guys into thinking we’re property-hungry tourists, we need to look the part.”

“Sunglasses and floppy hats?” she teased, and he gave her a tired smile.

“I’m going to buy you your first sombrero,” he said and ruffled her hair. Eliana laughed and wrapped an arm around his waist. The beginning of the end was finally in sight.

“Alberto, estos son tus pasajeros,” Diego, the driver that Grier had done all of his handlings with, introduced the three of them to their new pilot. The five of them were standing on the tarmac just outside the massive metal hangar. Diego had driven them there only thirty minutes ago, agreeing to make the introductions and leave them to their business. It had only cost five thousand pesos for his courtesy.

“Hola, amigos, es un buen dia para volar!” Alberto was a middle-aged man with a handsome face, dark brown skin and hair with flecks of gray at the temples. He shook Grier’s hand firmly, then Kye’s and when he took Eliana’s he kissed the back of it.