Chapter 27.
I'm staring at him. And I look hard. Is he a mirage? Is he a zombie?
"You still talk out loud what you thinking, Amigo."
He lets go of me. I poke at him with my finger.
"I real," he says.
"How?"
Barba gives him her hat, I mean my hat...I mean, his hat.
"She tell me where she got my hat."
Barba turns up the lantern behind me. I turn to her and say, "Gracias, Senorita Barba" as fluently as I can. She bows.
"Thank you, lady hairy face?" George asks.
"Huh?"
"Barba. It means manly...beard. Hairy face. His no way to show appreciation. She like you, you know."
"Oh," I say. "Hey, wait a minute George. You were shot dead. I saw it."
"Shot, Si. But no dead. Ha, it takes a big bullet to kill Senor George, I'm the biggest man-"
"Yeah, yeah. Biggest man in your village. As you know, our plans have been sidetracked."
"Oh, Si. His true. Senor, I have a score to settle with the half man in the village. He is my mark, the mark of the traders who tried to kill me."
"Wait, what? You would honor a deal made with the slave traders? Are you nuts?"
"What are you talking about, Senor?"
We sit under the cool trees, and to spare you George's atrocious accent, I'll recount what he told me:
Dodge didn't build the village. He lied about the whole thing to me. The Amazons built the village a long time ago for the natives, in return for showing them what was edible and what was not. Like how the Native Americans helped the first settlers out. Dodge, it turns out, was a pilot for the slave traders. He makes his money flying their drugs up to New Canada.
Somewhere along the lines, he becomes partners with the scar faced brother. And him and Scarface start dividing up the business, and agree to a coupe to overthrow the leader of the group. Scarface thinks that he should to run the business, since he's got the most balls and is the smartest of the group.
So half the traders pay George to kill off Dodge. They figure Dodge is the real brains behind the coupe; the others side with Dodge and Scarface. Only that doesn't work out, because Dodge isn't in any of the villages that George visits. For months, George is tracking him up and down the Amazon. First, he would track the plane. And I recall Dodge telling me long ago that plane travel would never work out because it's a flying billboard. So Dodge ditches the plane. He goes by boat and uses the rivers. Then Dodge vanishes.
"That's when Dodge started using the zombie carriages and going over land," I say.
George agrees.
“Senor, I talk to the girl. Uno momento.”
They do their mumbo-jumbo talking. My ears perk up when I hear the word ‘Rumspringa.’
“George, George. Wait a second,” I interrupt. “Ask her about Rumspringa.”
He asks. She tells him.
George looks concerned. He says, “It means when the young people go on adventures. Fly the nest. If they come back, then live the life of an Amazon. Sometimes, they no come back. Zombies, or Rockettes, sometimes they captured and become slaves, work stamping coca leaves. How old is your daughter?”
“Fifteen,” I say.
George looks grim. “This is her Rumspringa season, Senor.”
"George, Dodge is heading east, that’s where my daughter is. Is there a good chance of her getting caught and turned into a slave?"
"Better than teenage pregnancy, Senor. But yes, his good chance-"
George holds his finger to his lips. I'm still. I also hate it when he does this. I hear galloping off in the distance, and George springs up, "My ride!"
I follow him out of the oasis, and I see Dodge racing off on a sleek black and white Pinto. George curses and shoots at him with his revolver. Dodge rides off towards the village.
"He's heading towards the village George. It's not far from here. Come on, let's go! I know you can take him."
"No, Senor."
"George, listen to me. I know you have family. I saw your photo, the night before you were shot. You have daughters. Help me save my daughter, George."
"His not that Senor. He no stay at the village. My shot missed, the village hear it. He no match for me, he run. See? He take my horse, but he no try to kill me when we talking. He knows I'm immortal."
"Wait, you're immortal? What the hell is this world coming to?"
"He just hear the rumors. I just a big guy, and just lucky with the getting hit with bullets. I as mortal as you or this girl here."
He and the girl talk for a bit, I can't follow it; it's a mish mash of Spanish and slurry Portuguese.
"Come, Senor. She agree to lead us to where she come from a few years ago. Your friend his no welcome there, but I think we will be OK."
"Which village?"
"Rockettes, Senor."