Page 20 of The Perfect Stranger

“Over the ridge.” His accent was thick.

“You’re a bit far from home.”

“I’m west bank sentry.”

“You alone?”

“Yes.”

“Telling me the truth aren’t you?”

He nodded slowly identifying the threat in my tone.

“I have another question for you, and this time, I want the truth.”

He swallowed hard.

“Are the rebels currently supporting Los Santos cartel in La Balsa.”

He looked dead into my eyes, and I watched, surprised when they turned sad. His face dropped, a single tear running down his dirty cheek. Jase and I exchanged curious glances while we waited for the man to gather his composure.

“Are the rebels currently supporting Los Santos cartel in La Balsa?” I repeated knowing the man’s reaction to my question probably didn’t have a positive response.

Still looking at the ground, his hands anxiously wringing, he nodded. A slow, remorseful nod.

“My sister is married to a man from La Balsa,” he finally spoke. “I hear stories. They gloat and laugh about what’s happening to the women there. That’s why I am on sentry, far away from the town. They don’t trust me to be too close.”

He was one of them, but he was also a victim, forced to fight for a cause he didn’t believe in. A cause that had repercussions throughout their own families.

“What’s your name?”

“Alejandro.”

“Well, Alejandro… this is our current situation. If we release you and you report us to your superiors you’ll blow our mission. So, therefore, the likelihood of that happening is slim. Or, you use this opportunity to change your wrongs into rights, and hopefully save your sister from a fate that would surely end in death.”

His head lifted high, hope in his eyes now replacing the sadness from earlier.

“She has a small child. I don’t know if either is still alive, but I must try.”

“And your allegiance to the Rebels?” Jase’s eyes narrowed

His eyes narrowed with a vehemence I wasn’t expecting. “When we were told we would be invading La Balsa, I took my superior aside. I told him about my sister and my nephew and I pleaded with him not to destroy the town. But then, he asked me what she looked like.” He pulled a tattered photo from his pocket and handed it to me. It had a family of five all posing together, but he pointed to the middle young woman. “I gave him this photo so he would know that she was my family.” Again, he looked to the ground and crunched a dry leaf between his fingers. “And then he looked from the photo to me and a slow smile spread over his face, and he said, ‘I’ll personally show her our hospitality.’ I knew then that he would rape her. After they had attacked the town on the first night, he returned to camp and for the next hour he told a story to the men about how he had… fucked a woman while she screamed and begged for her life. The whole time he was describing her and what he did, he was looking at me. It was my fault. I should never have shown him the picture. I put a target on her head.” Revenge glimmered from his eyes. “So you see, I have no allegiance. Not to the Colonel. Not to Los Santos. No one.”

“Can we trust you?”

“With my life.”

Dusk began to settle over the jungle. The day was spent discussing our approach, Alejandro already proving his worth. From his vantage point up the mountain he had a perfect view of the town. He told us the security weak points. He knew who would be sentry, when and where and how some would be easier to dispose of than others. So by the time we made tracks with the last bit of sun coming through the jungle’s canopy we were confident of what was about to go down throughout the evening.

Every hour on the hour the three sentries in the mountains marking a triangular perimeter would flash a light twice to indicate all was good in their section. The light would reach down to the center guard who was located on the ground in the middle of town. This gave us a window of opportunity. We had less than an hour.

“Jase, you take east, Alejandro and I will take west. By all accounts, the terrain looks almost identical, which means we should make it to the northern point around the same time, then we can advance from there.”

“Got it,” Jase nodded. “Where possible, keep it as up close and personal as you can. Even with silencers, it’s too dark to tell who else is close by.”

We made to head off in our designated directions when Jase grabbed my upper arm. I turned and saw the concern in his eyes.

“Keep Alejandro in your sight at all times.” We looked at the man who could very well be a Judas. “I sympathize with his story but if it comes down to it, if he compromises your position, kill him.”

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