"Let me go" Carolyn asked and as in a vacuum all was soundless. It was only the two of them. One body pressed against the other. One was holding another prisoner.
Slowly Raisa lowered her hands and watched as Carolyn ran away from her. Suddenly, she turned and once again the world became the storm. She stood rooted to the spot and the wind blew around her and the sky exploited over and over again. She faced the storm unafraid and challenged it. She was Raisa Andieta, and no one opposed her.
The storm had just begun.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Why are we having power problems Joaquin?" Demanded Raisa.
"It's the rains Ms Andieta. Katya is having mudslides. There are no reliable reports as to the dead count. And all the power lines are taking the toll...."
"Joaquin, I don't care what is happening in Katya! Joaquin we have a new generator. Why are we having power problems!" Raisa was now yelling at the top of her lungs.
"It is being looked at Ms Andieta," he answered miserably.
"Go and make sure it get done. Go!" She yelled pointing to the door.
"Miss Andieta..."
"Get out of here!"
With that the man almost ran out of her office.
The phone in her office had been ringing incessantly.
"Yes Gloria."
"Miss Andieta, I have Matt Stenbeck on line two."
"All right Gloria. Did he say what he wants?"
"Apparently they are having problems at one of the rigs."
"Damn! All right." Raisa switched lines. "Matt, what is going on?"
"Miss Andieta, we had an explosion here at rig 31."
"You what?"
"The fire is now under control, the rains have not helped."
"How did this happen Matt? This is your rig, who is responsible for security there?"
"Alberto Curbelo handles security, but.."
"Fire him. I want him off the premises as soon as you hang up this phone and Matt, I want you here by tomorrow morning with the changes and upgrades."
"Miss Andieata....we had casualties."
"Fire him.... I want him off my rig....Do it Matt."
She hung up the phone in aggravation. There were always casualties. That was just the way life was. In the end the profits outweighed the losses. In her opinion the losses were an acceptable.
Her phone line bussed again. "Yes Gloria."
"Miss Andieta, there has been a cave in near Las Lomas, the street in underwater. They are reporting some drowning of people caught in cars." Gloria's voice was shaking
"Gloria calm down. Get to the point!"
"The police called in to confirm that one was a company car." Gloria started crying.
"Gloria! For the love of God! Stop your crying and tell me what else"
"Ester Curbelo and her two boys downed. There was also another woman in the car with her that they have not identified yet"
"Keep me informed," Raisa said and disconnected the call.
It had been raining for a week. There were mudslides all over the city. And now this. It would probably slow down the production timetables.
She remembered meeting Ester Curbelo. She had actually been pleasant enough to talk to, Raisa thought to herself. She was sorry about the boys and glad she had never met them.
Raisa remembered that she had always seen Ester at those dinners she hated attending. And of course she remembered her because whenever Carolyn had attended she would be speaking to her. Carolyn!
There had been another woman in the car....
She called Carolyn's house and the phone seemed to ring forever. Suddenly, someone picked up.
"Residencia Stenbeck, buenos dias"
"I want to speak to Mrs Stenbeck."
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Stenbeck is not home"
"When will she be back? Do you know where she is?"
"She went out this morning and has not returned. I don't know when she will be home."
"Do you know if she spoke with Ester Curbelo today?"
"Who is this?" The maid asked suspiciously.
"Listen to me very carefully. I am Raisa Andieta. Do you recognize the name?"
"Yes of course Ms. Andieta."
"Then stop asking stupid questions and tell me if Carolyn spoke with Ester Curbelo today!"
There was a brief pause. "Yes Ms Andieta she did."
"Dios Mio...." God, escaped Raisa's lips. "If you hear from Mrs. Stenbeck tell her to contact me immediately do you understand?"
"Yes, Ms Andieta."
Raisa switched phone lines and dialed directly to the person she had inside the police department. She kept telling herself that she was overreacting. Just because Ester Curbelo had spoken with Carolyn this morning meant nothing. And yet she felt her heart beat picking up and her breathing was becoming agitated.
The phone seemed to ring and ring. The longer it took before someone picked up seemed to agitate her more and more. Finally...someone picked up the receiver.
"Ramiro, it's Raisa Andieta."
"Ms Andieta, what a pleasure it is....."
"I want to know the names of all the people that downed in my company car out at Las Lomas."
"Ms Andieta, please hold on and I will get that file."
"Fine, hurry."
Raisa waited tapping her fingernails on her desk. A few minutes later she was still waiting and the more she waited the more anxious she was becoming.
"Ms Andieta?"
"Yes, I'm here"
"We have an Ester Curbelo and her two sons Paulo 6 years old and Andres 4 years old. There is another woman and another child in the car that have not been identified as of yet."
"Ramiro, this is a priority. Find out who this other woman is. But most importantly I want you to find someone that is missing. Put all the men possible to this effort."
"Ms Andieta... that may be difficult right now..los barrios are collapsing with the water..."
"No argument. I want this done Ramiro. This is not a request. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Ms Andieta. Who am I looking for?"
"Her name is Carolyn Stenbeck. Her son attends Campo Alegre School. Find her and call me immediately. Nothing is more important than finding this woman do you understand?"
"Ms Andieta..."
"Nothing or you are going to know what pain is."
"Yes Ms Andieta. I will put all my men on this."
Raisa hung up the phone and leaned back on her chair. Where was Carolyn?
~~~~~~~~~~
Carolyn started getting really frightened as the water was getting higher and higher. There were cars both in front of her and behind her.
"I'm scared Mommy," Simon said nervously.
"Don't worry sweetheart. It's going to be okay. We will just be a little late in getting home." Carolyn tried to reassure him. But the more that time passed the higher the water was getting. People started leaving their cars. She had to decide quickly.
"Mommy, the water is getting higher and higher, look! That car just fell into a hole!"
"Simon put your window down hurry!"
~~~~~~~~~~
Six hours later still no word of Carolyn. Raisa Andieta felt like she was about to jump out of her skin. She had never felt less in control. She had a million problems to deal with today, from generators to explosions. She was used to working under incredible pressure. She had been grateful for the chaos, it had kept her focused. Every moment her mind was not over filled she would come back to the knowledge that Carolyn was still missing and the woman in the car with Ester Curbelo had still not been identified.
Her phone bussed and before the second ring she picked it up
"Yes Gloria."
"Ms Andieta we have the numbers on the casualties at Katya."
"I don't give a fuck about Katya or all those people. Keep this line open for Ramiro Fonseca and him only. Do you understand?"
"Yes Ms Andieta."
"Have you kept calling Carolyn Stenbeck's home?"
"Yes Ms Andieta, Clara the maid says still no word from Mrs. Stenbeck."