I got mostly nods.
“That’s good,” I said. “Now we can all be friends.”
“Question…” Anton said.
“Shoot.”
“I don’t know how accurate the rumors we’ve been hearing from recent arrivals are, but the LSA is supposed to be a huge, well-armed organization. If they’re fighting Domino’s gang, why are we still here?”
“Mano, before today, no one in the LSA even suspected this island existed.” The miners exchanged glances. “Glottis and I are the only LSA agents who do know of it now, and we’re not exactly in a position to make a report. The only way word is going to get out is with us when we escape. The bulk of the LSA is trying to strike at the heart of this gang, and that’s all the way back in El Marrow. These guys were operating for years before anyone started getting wise. Get the idea? It’s a big puzzle we’re working on here, most of the pieces have been well hidden, and we don’t have the lid of the box it came in.”
“It’s OK, Manny,” Glottis said, “you don’t have to scare them.”
“I’m just trying to make them understand what we’re up against, carnal.”
“I think we’re beginning to,” Anton said. “So what are your plans, exactly?”
“Well, obviously,” I said, “Glottis has to work his magic on these engines. Then we have to get everyone on board this ship and get away. It’d be nice to sprout Domino first, but I think a quiet getaway is our best chance. I think I can distract him enough to make it work.”
“How?”
“Well, Domino has this crazy idea about ‘training’ me to take his place when he leaves. I don’t know why he thinks I’d be his trusty, but I’ll play along. Domino’s overconfident, which I think is his biggest weakness. So if he thinks he’s getting his way, he won’t be on his guard as much as he should and maybe we can sneak away without too much trouble.” But I thought about the cards. He picked up on that pretty quickly. I wondered if he already knew about the ship and was letting the prisoners tinker as a safety valve. “If we do make it, we head for Puerto Zapato, then overland to the end of the line, and on to the next world where you all belong.”
“But what about Domino and the rest of the people who brought us here?” Albert asked.
“Leave that to those who deserve to be stuck in this world,” I answered. “It’s our problem, so we’ll take care of it.” I sighed, suddenly feeling very old and tired. “Look, I’d love to explain everything to you—answer all your questions—but that’d take forever. We’ve all got a lot of work to do and not a lot of time, but once we’re free and clear I’ll talk until my jaw drops off. Until then…”
There were a few nodding skulls. “I think you’ve made your point,” Anton said. “It’s imperative we get away and we must rescue everyone. I think you’re right that answers can wait, but I think we’ll all hold you to your promise.”
“I expect you to,” I said. “OK, one last thing… if no one’s got a gun, I’m gonna need some beads and trinkets to trade with.”
Lil’ Sprouter
The next morning I was on the beach near the crane waiting for Chepito. I waved him over when he came into sight.
“I’ve got some stuff you might be interested in. Any line on what I want?” I asked.
“Not yet,” he answered.
“What?” I exclaimed. “Hey, you said—”
“I never said nothin’ about gettin’ no rod right away, so don’t go given’ me a hard time about it! You think I can just hop over to Arizona for a gun show? It’ll take some doing. Knowing what you had might make it a mite easier.”
“OK, OK,” I grumbled. I held open the sack I was carrying.
“Hey!” Chepito said, peering into the bag. “That’s not bad.” He reached in. “Is that real silk? Where’d you get these?”
“I’ve been wearing them the whole time,” I lied. It was simpler and safer than telling the truth.
“You, too?” he asked. That was more than I needed to know. “I think we can do business, after all. You’ve got some OK swag there, sonny-boy, but them stockings put you over the top. Yessiree, this makes it a whole lot easier. I’ll be in touch.” He turned and went on into the sea.
I spent some of that morning after talking to Chepito with the angelitos. They were a little upset about the cards but, on the other hand, it put Domino in a new light for them. I found a whiteboard and a few markers that weren’t dried up and we played hangman for a while. We got a scare when we heard footsteps out in the hall, but it turned out to be only Meche. She didn’t say much of anything. She was acting a aloof and cold. She said that the kids needed to be working, not playing. I tried to be funny by holding my pipe like a gun and said, “Bang! You’re dead!”
The kids laughed but Meche just said “Who isn’t?” and left. The kids were a little subdued after that and went back to work. The incident worried me, but when I ran into Domino that afternoon he didn’t say anything about it. He just took me and started my ‘training’. He explained to me how the place worked, from the slaves digging out the glowing variety of coral to the shipping of the finished light bulbs. The shipping part interested me until I was told it was the demon octopus that took care of that.
“Hey, Hurl,” I asked, “what makes you think you can trust me to run this place when you go scampering back to Hector?”
“Oh, I don’t have to trust you, Manny,” he said with a laugh. “I only need to control you. Meche, those kids, everyone else on this island—they’re leverage. If you don’t do your job, you can be sure I’ll hear about it and then someone will get hurt. I think that’s plain enough.”
There was something I wanted to know, and that was whether he had any scruples. “How can you keep little children in a cage?”
“Trust me, it’s easier than keeping big kids in a cage.”
So, no scruples.
“Then I guess if I don’t cooperate,” I said, “you’ll just send someone else over the edge. Is that it?”
“Well, I was thinking of just sprouting someone every time you give me trouble,” he said, sending me a smile, “but, hey, if the way your demon buddy bought it is what really gets to you, that’s just fine by me.”
“Why are you doing all this?” I asked. I was supposed to be playing along to keep Domino from getting suspicious, but I was getting a little worked up. I wasn’t being smart, as Max would say. “Don’t you have a conscience? This is wrong!”
Domino laughed. “You kill me, Manny. Really.” He laughed some more. “You sound like those goody-goody DOD trainers. I bet you were their star pupil.” He finally stopped laughing. “But, I’ll tell ya, Manny… right or wrong has got nothing to do with it. It’s survival. The guy who’s a winner goes to the top of the heap. The rest,” he pointed his thumb down in the classic Roman emperor gesture. “Right and wrong, morality and ethics, religion and law… just excuses for sore losers.”