Chapter 150 - I Saw a Ghost - Fears
Roland
I was worried about what my sister had said. She was expecting an answer from me.
"I'll do it tomorrow."
"Good, Simón is heading back to Bogotá with his people after tonight. They arrived this afternoon and from what he was told, I don't think it's good. He hasn't stopped asking me questions about your plan, he's been a bit distant."
"If he gets angry, it won't be for long. Besides, you were just following my orders, he'll understand."
"I hope so. I want to get this over with, I'm not going to wear glasses. I'll call you when it's done."
Now I felt worse, I always ended up messing everything up. I didn't want to do it, but I had to. I took out the keys to the basement. The four ranches were connected by tunnels I made, and there was a huge underground apartment that connected the four properties, with enough space for over fifty people.
Nobody knew about the invisible door in the basement of the four ranches, which led to the apartment. From there, I could take any direction I wanted. I couldn't give up old habits; I always needed a place to hide. When I talk to my friends again, I'll show them. For now, I had to get to El Renacer. I hoped Cebolla wouldn't see me, he might shoot me and he never misses.
I had to see her, it was a long walk, the distances and the corridors stretched for several miles. I went looking for my mother, she had dinner ready. We ate, and using psychology to my advantage, another habit I couldn't forget.
"Mom, tonight is the operation, a rosary from you would help us a lot."
"You're right, my love. Is Luisa directly involved?"
"Simón left her out."
"Thank God, even so, I must pray for your friends' protection. Let me know when it's over, I'll be in my room."
"Okay, Mom. I'll go to my room."
She blessed me and went up to her room. It was past eight, I'd be getting to El Renacer around ten. I cursed myself for not having the camera system active, I didn't have time to set it up. I was already in front of the basement door of my ranch, it was almost twelve. I had been waiting for half an hour for them to fall asleep, Verónica had been put to sleep, but I needed to see her.
I entered the house quietly. I didn't get distracted, my goal was to reach our room. If something happened, I'd use the passage that connects the master bedroom to the basement. A subtle reminder of my university years, it was a challenge for the model-making professor to discover my secrets, my houses always had unexpected exits.
Miguel was sleeping or resting in the hammock on the balcony, Inés was in bed with my Beautiful. I knelt down, kissed her forehead, I couldn't stay as I had thought. With the slightest noise, Cebolla would wake up, but the good thing was that I had made the escape route under the bed. My woman was beautiful, I approached and whispered, "Tomorrow we'll be together again. I love you." Why did they guard her so much? It was true, I recommended it, but the way they did it was so possessive...
If she had something with Cebolla, he would be sleeping next to her, not my old lady. I felt like kissing her forehead too. What could have happened? I took her hand, saw she had thick leather bracelets on both wrists. She didn't take them off to sleep, well, they drugged her, that explained it. I kissed her lips again, I was as hard as a rock. "Let morning come soon!"
I moved away, and a curse alerted me. Instinctively, I got under the bed, triggered the tile, and without making noise, several tiles sank until I could get out. I crawled to the side, pressed the button, and the tiles returned to their original position. The curse came from Cebolla.
Shit, did he see me? I crawled until I reached the stairs hidden by a large rustic column that decorated the living room and led to the basement. I had to get out of the house. Now to wait for the operation where Luisa was. Tomorrow I could have my Beautiful.
……
Miguel
My curse alerted Inés, I was still in shock, I admit I was about to crap my pants. I don't know if it was a bad reflection in the bedroom mirror, but I could swear I saw Roland kneeling by the lady. Yes! It was fucking crazy, but it felt very real. My reaction to that image after my curse was to enter the room, turn on the light, and Inés was already sitting up.
"Why are you shouting?"
The lady was still asleep, and not even the outbreak of World War III would wake her up. My hands were trembling as I stared at her. Inés approached me, frightened.
"You're pale, son."
I looked under the bed and in the bathroom, as if a ghost couldn't appear and disappear. This was madness; my heart was racing.
"I swear, old lady, it looked so real. It wasn't a specter."
"What are you talking about?"
"The lady isn't crazy. I just saw it."
"You look pale. What did you just see? For God's sake, Cebolla, tell me!"
"I swear the Boss was kneeling next to the lady." Inés crossed herself.
"But have you lost your mind?"
"Nothing in his life is madness. After all, an angel appeared to him. I swear I saw Roland in the mirror, and he didn't look like a ghost."
My hands were still trembling. My old lady fell silent, took my hand, and we walked to the couch. I was still shaking all over. I saw the ghost, Roland… Damn!
"He's watching over her, so the lady might have seen him, and she's not just having another episode."
I started shaking my head. If she saw what I saw and they talked like she said, what does that mean now?
"You're still shaking."
"I don't see a ghost every day. It was him, old lady."
I looked at the lady. Wherever she was, my friend was still watching over her, I told myself. Inés went to prepare one of those drinks, and after a while, Diana brought the tea.
"Inés said…"
I nodded, put the drink on the table, and extended my arms. My woman came over with that beautiful smile. Having her close was a breath of fresh air.
"Are you still scared?"
"You can't imagine the scare. I'm not ashamed to admit it. I almost shit myself. I saw him kneeling by the lady in the mirror. Baby, it was him. It wasn't a blurry image; he looked like flesh and blood."
"If it were like that, he would be standing in front of us. Matter doesn't vanish."
"I know. That's why I'm so freaked out. Stay by my side."
"You know we can't."
"Inés will be coming through that door soon. Stay until I calm down. Besides, miss, in two days, Rata will bring some papers of yours that I need, and we'll finally get married."
I was very excited about our wedding; this little one had gotten into my soul. I had calmed down; she soothed me.
"Son, are you going to talk to Rata?"
"Yes, when he calls. He must be on the operation. If I call him, he'll worry, thinking it's something related to Mrs. Verónica."
"It definitely is, but you're right. He needs to stay focused. Do you feel better now?" I held Diana's small body tighter.
"Yes." I looked at my watch; it was already one o'clock. "Simón is taking a while to call." I took out my phone and sent him a message.
Two hours passed. Diana was sleeping soundly on my chest, and I had the baby monitor next to me to hear if the child woke up. We had lain down in the hammock. Inés was next to the lady, leaving the lamp on. I hadn't closed my eyes at all, relaxing by stroking my woman's hair. The phone rang. Carefully, I got out of the hammock when I saw it was the call I had been waiting for.
"How did it go?" I asked as I walked away, not wanting to wake Diana.
"Churrusco has a bullet in his leg, but it went through cleanly. Cereza has a wound on her left arm. An American died, and six others are injured. Overall, it was a success."
"Simón, what's up?"
"I'm on my way to Bogotá. If I confirm what I'm thinking, I'll call you later. How's the lady?"
"Still asleep. She won't wake up until ten in the morning. Rata..."
"What?"
"Man, around midnight, I saw the Boss's ghost kneeling next to Mrs. Verónica."
"What?!" I heard the screeching of car brakes.
"Are you driving?"
"I'm arriving at what used to be the house. The information Arnold gave me left me with mixed feelings, and now you tell me this crap."
"I swear... that's what I saw. I almost shit and pissed my pants. When I turned on the light, he was gone. Simón, the lady might have seen the same thing."
"This is real life! It's not a paranormal novel, though I admit Roland's life ended up being a novel."
"I understand, it might sound crazy. But she said she saw someone when he stopped her from stepping into the creek, warning her about the dangerous waters. Simón, an angel appeared to Roland. What's so strange about him appearing now to warn her of danger?"
"Cebolla, if I confirm something, I can swear to you, it's not a ghost."
"Are you saying..."
"That bastard might still be alive..."