A short distance further and Paco pointed, “There.”
Hunter turned and stopped at the gate so Ike could pick the lock. Before he exited, he said, “You drive my truck like you own it.”
“It handles pretty good, for a Ford.”
“You’re soooo funny.” He grinned when he said it. She winked as he walked to the gate and picked the lock in a matter of seconds.
Swinging it open, Ike waited for Hunter to drive through, then he closed and locked it behind them. When he was seated, Paco said, “This road for three miles, maybe leetle more.”
Hunter drove ahead on the rough neglected ranch road, passing through the pastures and from there into the low hills. Much of the cedar had been cut and bulldozed down and it now rested in broken piles and rows spread everywhere. Grass grew increasingly lush where the cedar was cleared, and so did the prickly pear cactus. A mixed blessing, Hunter thought.
The further they drove, the worse the road became. At times, it was no more than a faded path across rocks and stones and in portions of dry creek beds.
Ike said, “How much further?”
Paco said, “Not much.”
Ike turned in his seat to look at the man, “That’s no answer.”
Paco stammered, “Not far, not far. I don’t remember very well, it has been a year since I was here, and only that once.”
Ike waited, silent and unsmiling, until Paco said, “Okay, okay, I think fifteen minutes more.”
Hunter crossed a low ridge of brush and rocks to drop into another valley between hills, but this one was flatter in the bottom, easier to drive in. Half a mile further on, Paco said, “There, that one. It will take you to the place.”
That’s when they heard the airplane.
Ike checked the sky and spotted it two miles distant, and lowering in the sky. “I think it’s going to land.”
They watched as the silver, propeller driven plane circled ever lower, then dropped at an angle behind the hills in front of them. They heard the engines change pitch as it touched down.
Ike asked Paco, “Did it land where the children are held?”
“Si, Yes. There is a runway, very rough, but the planes such as that one land there.”
Hunter said, “DC-3. That’ll carry all sorts of things.”
Paco said, “It was to carry lots of kids, maybe twenty-five this time, but the other loads were caught by the Patrulla, the Patrol.”
Ike said, “So, how many this time?”
“Maybe ten, or a little less.”
“Not much of a load for that large a plane,” Hunter said.
“They are worth mucho dinero, much money. They tell me that one of the niñas, one of the girls, is worth millions of dollars, and a man already paid that money to our big boss.”
“Who is your big boss?”
Paco averted his eyes, “I don’t know, all I know is he is the big boss. That’s what the others tell me.”
“Who are the others? Name them.”
Paco rubbed his nose as perspiration popped out on his forehead. “I don’t know all of them.”
“Okay, just the ones you do know.”
He hesitated for a moment, “There is Sofia, and Sandra, another one they call La Osa, like the female bear, and one who is called Nadine. She is Cajun, I think, from Baton Rogue. They are all bad, but the most dangerous ones are a woman named Kit, and one called Suretta. She is not around often, but she is very dangerous, and very strong and quick. Kit knows the boss, and so does Suretta. I do not.”