Page 8 of Vaquero
Domingo could count on it.
*****
“We’re going back toward Oz’s mine,” Meg told Pepe, “but before we get there, we’ll turn left and head to Giant’s Toes. That’s where our new camp is. You know where I mean?”
Giant’s Toes was simply a strange rock formation that jutted upward and out of the forest like a giant’s leg. The five boulders clustered at its base gave it the name. For some reason, no vines or parasitic creepers fancied the monolithic stone, most likely because of some poisonous element embedded in the deeply veined rock. At least, that was Meg’s uneducated guess. The locals claimed the column was all that remained of an ancient, evil shaman. A witch doctor. That was why no living thing dared touch it. Oddly, in Brazil, that made sense, too.
She’d needed the cover of the forest, and the legends surrounding Giant’s Toes to keep close enough to Oz’s despicable mine in order to rescue her kids, yet far enough away to keep her other children safe. That location had given her time to scout the edges of his vast empire while she kept her children hidden in plain sight. It was an old Army Ranger trick she’d learned from a good friend.
“You are not taking us back to your place?” Pepe asked fearfully.
My place.She loved that he called the orphanage her place.
“No. I’m sorry, but Oz destroyed it after he kidnapped you kids. Marta and Craig stood up to him, and that made him mad. They escaped when his army overran everything, but for now, everyone’s hiding out near Giant’s Toes. We’ll be okay there, Pepe. It’s a really good hideaway, and no, it’s not haunted like everyone says. Trust me. You’ll be okay there. We all will. Fernando and Joseph are there. Marta and Craig will be waiting for you kids.”
Fernando and Joseph Alcaldo were local brothers who’d started the orphanage several years back. They should’ve been priests, the way they nurtured and tended the children in their care.
Marta and Craig Brunner were married German missionaries out to save the world. Driven by a relentless work ethic, they firmly believed in twenty-four-hour days, God bless them. These four caretakes each gave so much back to the kids. Almost made Meg tear up thinking about all they’d done.
But then there were the older kids, which meant any child over nine. They buckled in to help care for the smaller ones as well. This group of big and little brothers and sisters had become Meg’s family away from home. She’d die for any one of them.
“But he will hunt Marta and Craig now,” Pepe murmured. “He will kill them.”
Meg nodded. “Honey, Oz will kill all of us if he catches us. It’s up to you and me to make sure that doesn’t happen. Are you up for it?”
Good morale always focused on commitment. That was what Pepe needed now, the internal commitment and willpower to overcome assholes like Orlando Zapata in his life. He wasn’t the first and he wouldn’t be the last. Something warm and fragile passed between Meg and her valiant ten-year-old warrior then. Something she hoped would eventually turn permanent if she had her way. She’d adopt all of these kids if she could.
“Then I will lead the others to our new home,” Pepe declared resolutely, his eyes bright with what Meg knew was a childish crush on her.
“Thank you. Kids? Please follow Pepe and be quiet. But be fast, too.”Because you are not going back into those mines. Not a one of you. Never again. And somehow, I will find a way to kill that son of a bitch Orlando Zapata if I have to do it myself.
The kids were so dirty, and their clothes had been reduced to rags over the weeks they’d been stuck inside Oz’s mines. It had taken Meg way too long to locate them. By then, she was as dirty and hungry as they were, and there was no time for anything but running. Like the best little soldiers ever, they stuck to Pepe while she brought up the rear.
What a sight, her dear, sweet family marching toward what she hoped was their freedom. A month ago, she’d placed a call to an old Army friend for exfil of these kids out of Brazil. Still active duty, Corporal Zabrina Pisoni had promised she’d pass Meg’s SOS along. But then Oz struck, and Meg had no way of knowing whether Zabrina followed through or not. Even if she had, everything was different now. The orphanage was gone. The remaining kids were relocated with Marta and Craig. And Meg had gone off the reservation to find her babies. If the Army had sent an assist, which they might not have since Brazilian officials might not have appreciated USA interference, would the Army have searched long enough to have been any help?
Wasn’t that the question of the hour?
A weak cough rattled the tiny body tucked against her heart.
“Hey,” she crooned to Dom. Peeling the sarape over one shoulder, she unbuttoned her blouse’s top two buttons and peered down at him. “How you doing, big guy?”
He smiled! This darling little soldier smiled up at her. It was a feeble effort at best, but it was a ghost of an authentic smile nonetheless. He was going to live, damn it. He had to.
Meg eased the last of her water up from her backpack. Carefully, she set the pack at her feet, then pressed the nearly empty plastic bottle inside her shirt, angling it so she didn’t drown this precious boy. “Drink slowly,” she whispered as he took a sip, having come to a full stop by now. “Pepe,” she called out as quietly as she could. “Hold up. Dom needs a break. Let’s all rest for a—”
Of course, Pepe obeyed so quickly that little Joachim ran into him, crushing poor Maria, who was on Pepe’s back, between the two boys. Air whooshed out of the little girl. She drew in a deep breath, then choked back the tears gathering in her pretty eyes. But that wasn’t what Meg focused on. She’d spotted the dark, hulking shadow just ahead of Pepe, hiding on the animal trail they’d been following back to camp.
“Break time’s over, kids,” Meg ordered gently, as she tucked Dom back where he’d be safest. The bottled water went back in her pack. Her voice stayed low and certain. “Stay here, Pepe. Keep everyone quiet. Don’t make a peep. I’ll be right back.”
Once beyond their view, she reached under her sarape and unleashed the Army service revolver from its holster in the back of her pants. She had work to do. If Oz was out there, he wouldn’t last long. Not today, damn him.
