Page 30 of Vistaria Has Fallen
Duardo bent and held out his hand. “Put your foot there and I will lift you up,” he told Minnie, pointing to the edge of the platform.
Minnie looked down at her tight, mid-thigh length denim skirt. “I’m not hitching my leg up there.”She shook her head.
The others in the truck laughed. Her expression was clear enough even if they didn’t follow the English.
Duardo grinned. “No problem.” He turned and spoke quickly. Two more men got to their feet and moved to the edge of the truck, while Duardo jumped to the ground. He grasped Minnie’s waist in both hands. “Lift your arms,” he instructed.
She lifted her arms. The men tookan arm each. Then, with no visible effort, Duardo lifted her up into the air, high enough for her to take a decorous step up onto the platform.
Duardo motioned Calli toward him.
“No, thank you,” she said. “I can manage this.” She stepped up to the truck bed and waved the two men away. They moved back, grinning. She could sense Duardo hovering behind her. Long legs and stretch jeans gave heran advantage, though. She tucked her knee to her chest and planted her sandaled foot on the wooden flooring. It wasn’t even much of a stretch, after years of flexibility training for karate. Pausing for a moment to balance herself with a hand on either side, she flexed her leg, pouring power into it. Straightening the leg, she raised herself up onto the floor. She ended up standing on the edge.
Duardo clapped. The men gave little whistles of appreciation, laughing and making comments. “Bravo!” she heard. These men, all soldiers, would understand the physical agility and strength she had just displayed. Smiling, she gave a little curtsey and sat in the vacant space they made for her, between Minnie and a man in a black AC/DC tee-shirt. He smiled and gave her a thumbs up. She smiled back.
Duardo settled down beside Minnie at the edge of the flat bed. They sat on the driver’s side, so he leaned around the end and patted the side of the truck. “Vayamos!”
The truck jerked into gear and with a belching roar, chuffed up the road.
Duardo leaned around Minnie and pointed to the man on Calli’s left. “This is Pietro,” he said.
“Sí,” Pietro agreed with a grin.
“Hi Pietro.”
Duardo indicatedthe others in the truck. They all waved or said hello in English or Spanish, including Elvira, who attempted a shaky, thick ‘how are you?’. In civilian clothes, without rank or title, they seemed to be young, amiable people.
They made their way out of the city, climbing up and down foothills. The truck turned onto a poorly maintained ribbon of tarmac with thick vegetation creeping close to theverge. Traffic kept the road clear of growth, while trees leaned in overhead, struggling for light at the edges of the canopy. The road became a shadowed, narrow tunnel, lit by patches of dazzling sunlight. Above the canopy, Calli glimpsed pale blue, cloudless sky.
The people in the back paid no attention to their surroundings. They laughed and chatted and Calli relaxed. The roar of the engineand the vibrations had a soothing effect. She grew sleepy.
Pietro gave her arm a gentle nudge. She opened her eyes. He offered an open bottle of Mezcal.
“It’s watered down with lime juice and mineral water,” Minnie said. “Very nice.”
“It’s too hot. You need water,” Duardo explained. “Drink.”
She took a sip and enjoyed the tang of the juice. It had been well-watered and seemed refreshing. TheMezcal merely added flavor. She took a longer drink and gave the bottle back.
The man with the incongruous name of Harry stood up and leaned over the boards at the side of the truck, calling down into the cab. Then he reached over and lifted a guitar. He sat and settled it against his thigh and strummed some fast chords. This appeared to please everyone. The energy picked up. Harry laughed andplayed intricate Latin-style music with a compulsive beat. The others picked up the beat, hands on thighs, feet tapping, clapping. There didn’t appear to be any lyrics, although Calli heard Pietro next to her humming and slapping his thigh. After a while the music changed into a different melody, while the beat stayed the same. Harry was doodling, trying out different themes before moving onto somethingnew.
When Harry tired of it, another man picked up the guitar and a new lilt emerged.
Calli took sips from the Mezcal bottle when offered. Time passed.
The truck was climbing up sheer mountainside, the road switching back on itself over and over. The pavement here, particularly the verges, was well maintained, consisting of poured concrete and iron reinforcements. It seemed Vistaria had wiselychosen its priorities for road maintenance.
They travelled in full sunshine now. At this elevation, the sun beat down, direct and bright. Calli fished her sunglasses out of her bag and put them on. As they turned another hairpin bend, she got a breath-catching view of the countryside. They’d climbed a thousand feet. The Pacific sparkled deep blue to the east. In between lay a carpet of green,rimmed by white beach. To the north lay Lozano Colinas,Las Colinas,thick with buildings and roads, lapping up against the mountain chain that ran north and south along the spine of the main island. They climbed that same chain now. The altitude made the engine of the elderly truck groan and work.
“This truck...this road...many. Many,” Pietro said, with a big smile, lifting his voice above themusic. He moved his hand in a flat sideways motion. “No worry.”
Calli gave him a small answering smile. Had her concern been so apparent?
Pietro’s confidence seemed well placed. Despite alarming noises and the driver dropping into such a low gear that Calli could have walked and made better time, the truck kept running.As the road flattened out and headed into a deep crevasse of the mountains,the truck picked up speed.
The valley they were in tucked into a fold of the mountains, thick with trees. Over two dozen houses hugged the steep valley walls, dotted on either side of the road. Some of them were large, expensive-looking establishments. Others were little more than two-room cottages with the traditional Vistarian gate and courtyard tacked onto the front.
“What is this place?”Calli asked Duardo.
