The group roll on, until they reach the outskirts of a small town. As they get closer, four green and white painted pumps come into view, standing tall in front of a matching convenience store.
“Great! A gas station!” Emilio sighs with relief.
“Get me some soda and chips, and see if there’s any kind of clothing in there. I can’t keep travelling like this!” Karl pleads.
An old man wearing a green cap and matching overalls walks out of the store and over to the car. Emilio and Valencia get out of the car and stretch their aching limbs, after hours of being cramped up in a confined space.
“What fuel you wanna?” Asks the attendant, peering into the car and seeing Karl sitting in his underwear, doing his best to pretend everything is completely normal, in spite of the fact he is half naked and looks like he’s just gone ten rounds with a heavyweight champion.
“Fill her up with the best gas you’ve got.” Emilio answers, as he and Valencia walk over to the convenience store for much needed supplies.
The pair walk into the store, which is well air conditioned and immaculate, despite the old fixtures and fittings. The grubby pair shovel an abundance of cold soda cans into a basket with a thirst driven intensity. The attendant walks back into the store and sits on a high chair behind his counter, his gaze fixed on a baseball game on a small TV. He peers up from his game every now and then and watches the customers suspiciously. Emilio’s shirt has a distinct cut down the back of it. Valencia is the only person who looks respectable. The couple continue to trawl the store, picking up large bags of crisps, pre-packaged fajita wraps and tacos.
“Hey, Valencia, check it out!” Emilio points over to a cheap pair of bright yellow floral swimming trunks hanging in amongst a selection of miscellaneous items. “Karl’s gonna love these!”
Valencia laughs devilishly and grabs the trunks without hesitation, keen to escape the pessimistic cloud that’s been hanging over the group for the past few hours.
“Where the hell are we, anyway? And how are we going to get home?” Valencia questions as she walks further down the oddly diverse aisle, swiping a giant pack of jelly sweets.
“We’re gonna have to do it the old fashioned way. We’re gonna need a map!” Emilio points out a cylindrical rotating rack parked in the corner of the shop. Valencia walks over to the rack and pulls a road map from it.
“Wow, this map is older than me!” Valencia peers at the small print on the back. “It’s gonna have to do.”
She throws the map into the basket. Striding over to the counter she empties a ton of goods onto it. The attendant keeps his head down, engrossed in his game, not acknowledging the customers standing in front of him. Valencia opens her mouth, but the man cuts in before she’s able to speak.
“That’ll be 1300 Pesos and the same for the gas.” He states, without even looking at the merchandise.
“2600 Pesos for this and the gas! Your kidding! Some of this food is passed the sell by date!” Valencia is dismayed. The man peers up at them and replies deadpan.
“You act like you’ve never been in a gas station store before. You want value you can drive a hundred miles to the nearest Wal-Mart.”
“You’re ripping us off!” Valencia sniffs, as she drops a fistful of notes onto the counter.”
“Nope, you have a choice. Buy at my prices or go somewhere else. You’re not from around here, are you?” He replies, eyeing the pile of crumpled notes suspiciously.
“We are from a place called none of your damned business.” Valencia grabs two of the large brown paper bags and heads back to the car, with Emilio close behind her. Once out of the store Valencia cracks open a can of soda and downs it in one, feeling partial relief.
“What was that guy’s problem?” She crushes the soda can in her hand and throwing it on the ground petulantly.
“He’s going stir crazy, that’s for sure. I don’t get it, we’re probably the only customers he’s had all day.” Emilio shrugs.
“Yeah, you’d think he’d be happy to have some company.” Valencia places the grocery bags on the roof of the car before turning her attention to Karl, who is looking expectantly out from the open passenger window.
“You can relax now, stinky, we got you something to wear!” Valencia takes the trunks from the bag and comically displays them in front of him.
“Oh, very funny! Is that seriously all they had!” Karl snatches the trunks.
“You’re lucky they even had these!” Valencia replies, straight-faced, in spite of the fact she picked them deliberately from an array of much more muted and less embarrassing colours. Emilio looks on, giggling. Valencia then takes the map from one of the grocery bags and unfolds it. She bends over the bonnet, spreading the map out across it. Karl wriggles into the trunks and gets out of the car to stretch his legs, admiring Valencia’s posterior as he gorges on warm candy bars and wraps, foraged from the bag of groceries. Valencia has purposely put her body on display in an attempt to get Emilio to notice her in a different light, but he is focused on the map and shovelling tortilla chips into his mouth. Valencia realizes she’s wasting her time and sighs, slumping down on the hood to concentrate on the map.
“Ok, so we know we can’t get into the states through Tijuana, because by the time we get there they’ll have people looking for us. And I reckon it will be the same with the border at Mexicali.” Emilio muses.
“How about the border at San Luis Rio Colorado?” Points out Valencia.
“Looks like it’s the only way. According to this map it’s roughly a three-hour drive. And look at this. The highway runs close to the east coastline beside the famous Sea of Cortez.”
“Oh wow, do you think we could drive close to the Sea of Cortez? I’d love to experience it!” Valencia asks excitedly.
“I don’t see why not, if we have to travel to San Luis, then why not take the scenic route.” Replies Emilio.
“What’s so special about the Sea of Cortez, I mean, I’ve never even heard of it.” Karl butts in.
“It’s a young sea, formed from massive earthquakes and volcanic activity that happened something like five million years ago.” States Emilio.
“Five million years ago! You call that young?”
“In relation to the age of our planet, yes. But the most interesting thing for me is that they are so many varieties of fish, and many different species of whales, dolphins and sharks. And you know how much I love my sharks, Karl. I’ve heard the Sea of Cortez referred to as the world’s aquarium. So that should give you some idea of what it’s like, Karl.”
“So it’s like a tropical fish tank.”
“Yeah, I guess you could put it that way.”
“Well then why didn’t you just say that in the first place, instead of going off on one about the history of the world? I can’t believe you two, anyway. Valencia’s just killed some twisted drug smugglers and you guys are planning on going to the seaside.”
“I’m going out my mind with worry, Karl. I’m trying to do whatever I can to cope with this situation.” Emilio kicks the tyre of their car. “So I say we go to the fucking seaside and try to chill out.”
“Amen, I hear that.” Valencia puts her hand up for Emilio to dish her an emphatic high five.
“Do you see what I’ve had to put with all these years, Val? Let’s get going! I’ll put the groceries in the trunk.” Emilio grabs the bags from the roof and slips around to the back of the vehicle, opening the trunk and placing the bags inside. “Ok, we’re good to go!”
The black car slides on through forgotten back roads and up winding, barren hillsides. After a few wrong turns and toilet stops they find their way onto a road that hugs the coastline from an elevated cliff edge, giving them a stunning panoramic view of the Sea of Cortez. Rippling turquoise blue and emerald green water is bordered by pale, almost wh
ite, sand. Valencia is in awe of the ocean’s beauty. The calming sea soothes their ragged nerves.
"Wow, it's beautiful isn't it?" Valencia sticks her head out of the window and inhales the refreshing air. The sea is sprawling and vast, the polar opposite to the enclosed Amazon rainforest that was her home.
"Can we go down to the beach for a little while? We'll probably never get the opportunity to experience this part of the world ever again."
"No way! We have to keep moving, we can't chance being caught up!" Karl continues to err on the side of caution.
"Hey guys, can you make out what that is on the water? Out there in the distance? Is that a whale?" Valencia completely ignores Karl.
"Of course we can go to the beach! That’s the whole reason we came out this way! Come on, let's go down and get a closer look!" Emilio overrules his anxious friend.
He continues along the coastal road until an opening appears, leading down to the deserted beach. Emilio parks as close as he can to the sands, and Valencia excitedly throws her shoes onto the back seat and hops out, sinking into the warm sands. She runs down to the water to get as close as possible to the angelic leviathan rolling playfully in the depths. Emilio and Karl run after her, soaking up her feeling of elation.
"There are two of them! I think they’re Blue Whales! We’re so lucky! They’re extremely rare!" Valencia calls excitedly.
"We are anything but lucky." Karl puts a dampener on the occasion.
"You really know how to ruin a joyous moment, don't you, Karl?" Emilio says sternly.
"Excuse me, but has it occurred to any of you guys that we’re driving a car with a shit load of drugs stuffed in the tyres?” We are running from a major drug smuggling operation who are sooner or later going to realise we've stolen their drugs and murdered two members of their family, and they’re going to be pretty fucking pissed with us, don’t you think?”
"Yeah, we have to unload this car, Emilio. We need to destroy the drugs." Valencia agrees.
Emilio hadn’t forgot about the cocaine at all. It had been playing on his mind, along with the murders, swirling around his brain like a washing machine of thoughts. Emilio was selfishly elated at the thought of getting away with a huge quantity of narcotics.
“See Emilio, even Valencia speaks sense.” Karl says patronisingly.
“Hey, what do you mean ‘even Valencia speaks sense’? Like I’m the last person that could possibly have a sensible opinion! Well, I’m the one who saved your sorry asses. If it wasn’t for me you’d both be dead meat.”
“Don’t read too much into it, Valencia, it’s not always so easy for girls to think logically, that’s all!” Emilio laughs, trying to wind her up, but she isn’t biting.
“God, I thought my life sucked a week ago, now it’s even worse!” Karl changes the subject back, unable to shake the weight of their problems from his shoulders.
“You know what? I get fed up of hearing people moaning about their life when all they are doing is taking it for granted! Human beings are miraculous. We should all just stop and appreciate the fact that we are conscious of our existence and able to witness the existence of all other life.” Emilio rants.
“Here he goes again!” Karl rolls his eyes, as he’s heard the same lecture a hundred times before.
“Look, I don’t think we should be so hasty about getting rid of the coke. I mean, why don’t we try and sell it?” Emilio throws his idea out into the open.
“No fucking way! Are you trying to get us killed? Is that it? Because it seems like every time we get out of any kind of trouble all you’re thinking about is how you can throw us back into danger again. Can you believe what he’s saying, Valencia! And who the hell are we going to sell the drugs to! You can’t just walk into one of those cash converter stores and hand a load of drugs over the counter.” Karl responds angrily.
“If we sell the drugs then we’re no better than the guys who killed Elmanda, and think of all the lives we would be helping to corrupt.” He continues righteously.
“Think of the money, Val. Haven’t you always wanted to go to America and live the good life?” Pleads Emilio, trying to get her on his side.
Valencia stops for a moment, turning her head away from Emilio as if trying to find room for clear thought. The money would make her life more comfortable and stress free, but over-riding those selfish desires is her determination not to have anything to do with the business which is tearing the rainforest apart and ruining the lives of so many otherwise good souls, makes her resolute in her intention to destroy the evil narcotics.
"Not at the expense of others, Emilio. So here's what's happening, we're going to bring all that evil shit from the car and set the whole fucking lot on fire right here of the beach. The tide will take the ashes away and wash our hands of this whole mess.”
“Come on, Val! This shipment is nothing in the grand scheme of things! Destroying the drugs we’ve got here isn't going to make a difference."
"You know, if everybody thought like that then the world would be a shit place to live in.” Valencia doesn’t want to hear another word on the matter, and turns her attention back to the ocean.
“Emilio, I really think we should stay one step ahead and get moving.” Karl says anxiously.
"We are one step ahead, in fact were several hundred miles ahead. And when they do search for us they not going to think to come in this direction." Emilio responds arrogantly.
"What makes you so sure?" Karl sounds disbelieving.
"You can never be one-hundred percent sure, but you have to think positive, there's just no other way."
"That’s easy for you to say! You’re always positive. It's a lot harder for me."
While the boys are arguing, Valencia strips down to her underwear and runs into the sea. Karl stops mid sentence to marvel at her semi clad body. She sprints straight through the warm, clear shallows and dives when the water is waist deep, swimming strongly in the direction of the whales. She swims out as far as she feels safe then turns back to face the beach, waving at the boys, who look like matchsticks in the distance. She treads water confidently, then turns to watch the two Blue Whales as they swim away into deeper waters side by side, breaking the surface with their looping tails. Valencia notices a shoal of fish jostling to the surface, barely an arms length to her left. She kicks gently, treading water, keeping her shoulders level with the surface. Fathoms below her a Hammerhead Shark chases a wounded Stingray. Valencia casually swims back to shore, unaware of the predator lurking beneath her. The Hammerhead catches the Stingray and thrashes its head from side to side ripping with its spiked teeth through the Stingray’s rough skin, attracting other Hammerheads. Valencia makes the beach just in time to avoid being caught up in a school of sharks.
“You guys sorted your differences out yet?” She gasps, short of breath from the exertion.
“We’re getting on just fine, aren’t we, Karl?”
Karl is transfixed by Valencia’s sopping wet hourglass figure and doesn’t respond.
“You know, you don’t have to make it so obvious, Karl.” Emilio rolls his eyes.
“What’s so obvious? Come on, we need to get rid of all that dope.” Valencia starts walking back to the car, oblivious to Emilio’s teasing.
Karl shoves Emilio in a temper and walks off after Valencia. The three congregate around the car and scratch their heads.
“Ok. So how are we going to destroy this stuff? It’s in the wheels we’re driving on.” Karl is baffled.
Valencia goes to the back seat and reaches into a compartment in the rear door. Walking back to where the boys are stood she presents the Bowie knife she stole from Pancho.
“Thought it might come in useful.” She smiles grimly.
“Man, you really do keep your nerve in a stressful situation.” Karl is impressed. “I mean
, I would have fallen to pieces if it was me killing those guys back there. I wouldn’t have thought to go through their possessions, I would be cracking up.”
“It was us or them, and I’d rather it was them.” Valencia responds quietly.
“Absolutely.” Agrees Emilio.
“We better remove these tyres to do this properly. Emilio, can you start taking the off?”
“No! It’s not possible. The mechanic dude packed these tyres so the car could run on them without much need for air. If we take the shit out, we’ll be running on flat tyres.” Says Emilio honestly.
“Then I suppose we have no choice. We’ll have to run this car to the border as it is!” Valencia slumps down onto the sand in defeat. The boys join her. They lie in mournful silence.
“I think we should get going. If we leave now we can make San Luis by nightfall.” Emilio finds it hard to relax, and is eager to get to the border. Karl gets up and climbs into the front passenger seat. Valencia drags herself from the sun-drenched beach and grudgingly lies across the car’s back seat. Emilio gets into the baking driver’s seat and pilots the vehicle back to the road, and on towards the freeway.
Chapter 23: Road to the Border - Part 4