Friendly Faces

Tapia and Mari's ranch house.








I find myself lost in thought as we find and follow the Mujer Silvestre as we had so many days ago. Seems like it has been months with all that has happened.

People have died. We have kept company with mercenaries, drug lords, mafia king pins. We started our journey from El Corazon with the simple thought of a supply and fuel run and ended up with nearly a million in gold, an Aztec giant, and of course a crazed Viet Nam Sharpshooter. A simple cashing transaction ended up in a foiled robbery and death to those bandits. Our escape from that danger wound up with Jerry being shot and eventually overdosed, Ollie severely wounded, and Lou shooting down the plane that was shadowing us.

It was my trial by fire behind Abby's controls. With Lou at my side, we managed to make it all the way to Cali without killing ourselves, even with that tremendous canyon landing we made. Then there were Dominican Brothers and the executions we witnessed. Our money held hostage as we were forced to bomb their competitors mountain hide-out and lab. Lou showed his stripes when he saved Antonelli's life, and in turn we made a friend with Bear. We welcomed Naomi into the fold and Lou got his wings. And then there was the women, the sex and drugs and rock and roll. Our flight for home and the Panama stop. Red and Dia's hospitality, music by the fire... homemade ice cream. And today, those pirates... and Lou's best shot that probably saved our lives again.

Now, as I fly Abby over the Mujer Silvestre as it connects to La Dora, I feel anxious to share what has happened. I want to finally relax and look into familiar faces. I want to sleep without a gun in my belt and one eye open. I want to get shitfaced and not have to worry about flying somewhere tomorrow. But I do want to fly. I don't think I can go back to the way it was. I have it in my blood now and I don't think I want the cure.

"Hey Jake, is that it up there?" Lou has been silent for the last hour, hanging on my left wing for the whole trip.

I pull back from my thoughts and see what he is seeing. A few miles ahead is Tapia's airstrip. Lou hasn't seen it in the daytime from the air.
"Yep, that's it, Lou. Let's do a fly-by and let them see that we are here."
I bring Abby in low and fly across the airstrip and up toward the ranchhouse. Lou stays on my wing and we buzz the house. I tell Lou to fly ahead of me as we make our bank around the back forty and come in and line up on the airstrip. Out of my left window I can see action around the front of the ranch house, trucks on the move.

I watch as Lou touches down, only once this time and pretty much perfect.
"Nice, Lou... looks like you finally have the hang of it."
"I fly better with a buzz I guess."
I touch down behind him and we motor to the end of the strip.
"Let's spin 'em and shut 'em down," Lou calls out.
"Aye, Captain Blood."
With Abby in the front spot now, I shut her down. Home at last, or damn near. Tapia's is a sanctuary that is just as good as El Corazon. Unless, of course there are a band of La Segunda Vida crashed in your field. I smile as I step down the cargo bay toward the door. Lou opens it from the outside.
"How's your ass?"
"Probably feeling like yours right now." I look up the airstrip and see the trucks coming. "Here they come." I turn to Lou and realize that I have found a new best bud, one who will have my back and I his. I extend a hand.
"I couldn't have done any of this without you, Lou."
He grabs my hand gives it a shake, then pulls me in and gives me a pat on the back.
"Me too, brother. Without you at those controls I think we would be dead right now." He looks at the trucks, closer now. "Depending on how all this works out you and I can always make our runs in Naomi."
The trucks race up. I can see Jerry in the front with Tapia, Jerry's good hand waving excitedly out the window.
"I think the three of us will fly until we are to old to do it, okay?" I pat him on the back. "You're with us now if that's where you want to be."

The trucks stop in a cloud of dust. We walk up and are embraced in a crowd of Tapia's men, crushing hugs and pats on the back. I feel a bit like a returning war hero. The missing bomber that everyone thought had been lost over the channel. The crowd parts and there is Jerry, a wide smile on his face... nodding his head.
"I knew you could do it, man. I just knew that you could." He steps up and grabs me in a quick hug with his good arm as Tapia grabs Lou off his feet and whirls him around.
"Estoy tan contento verle mi amigo!" He releases Lou, who puts his hands on Tapia's broad shoulders.
"I am glad to see you too, Tapia."
Jerry looks up at Abby and nods again, "Looks like you took good care of our girl." He looks back at the tail numbers, "What's the deal with that?"
"It's a long story, one that I will only tell with some of Mari's cooking and a big fat Walker being passed between us."
"A Walker... haven't heard that for a while." Jerry smiles and walks around Abby's wing. "And what do we have here?" He is looking at the little seaplane parked behind Abigail.
Lou steps up, "That's Naomi... she was a gift from a new friend."
Jerry walks back and gives her a quick walk around, "Beautiful... she's beautiful."
I reach up and give her fuselage a quick pat, "And there's more to her than meets the eye."

We are delivered to the main house and are greeted by Mari, who is already in an apron preparing the evening meal. She cries as she comes down the steps and holds the both of us like a grieving mother.
Tapia comes to her side and transfers her hugs to himself to free us. We let Tapia know our desire for a warm shower and maybe a little home brew when we are done.
"You boys clean up and we will light the bonfire. It will be a hell of a party." He looks at me with a tear in his eye, "We thought you boys were dead. We pray for you, for your soul. When we hear Abby we think it is in our heads. Then Mari scream... she scared the shit out of us, that she see you fly over. And now you are here. Dé gracias a Dios."

The water feels good. I stand for several minutes under the stream, letting it wash the week's events away. I try not to think about the people in the plane, or anyone else we had seen or knew of that died. I am still just an aircraft mechanic, not a warrior. I hope I never get so accustom to killing that it wouldn't bother me.
When I emerge from the bathroom, there is no one in the house. I can hear music outside and smell the woodfire. I look in on the room Ollie had occupied when we left, but it is empty. Outside they are all in a festive mood. Tapia has what looks like a leg of lamb and a half a dozen chickens on spits over part of the fire. There is a barrel that usually holds drinking water that now is dispensing some kind of punch or wine from the drinking ladel.

"Hey Jake, mi amigo, have some Sangria. It is my family's traditional recipe." Tapia hands me a plastic cup and fills it from the ladel. There are pieces of orange and lime in a sweet full bodied wine. I drink down the cold beverage and hold out for more.
"This is good, Tapia... hit me again."
I walk with my sangria and look at the sun going down. There is a fantastic crimson blush to the sky over the horizon. Red sky at night... sailor's delight. It will be smooth sailing. It is in the mid '70s with the breeze off of the La Dora. Cooler than usual here, but welcome just the same.
I see Jerry and Lou sitting off to the side of the bonfire. They are laughing about something. Next to them a few of Tapia's ranch hands make music with a couple of guitars and a banjo. I can't believe we made it back.

"JAKE." Jerry waves me over to a folding chair they have saved for me. "Sit down and tell me that Lou is full of shit."
"Lou is full of shit."
"Is what he told me true?"
I look at Lou, "What did you tell him?"
"Just about everything that happened to us."
"Then it's true." I drink down my second glass of sangria. Before I can give any thought to refilling it one of Tapia's boys takes my glass and hands me a fresh one. "Gracias." I call after him.
Jerry takes a hit off of one of Lou's Walkers and then passes it to me. He holds it for a three count and then exhales. I take my own hit.
"Lou says you guys landed in a canyon or gorge or some shit and it was like.. straight up out of that bitch. Is that right? And you made it?"
"You would have been proud." I say, still holding my hit. I let the smoke out in a long stream. It is nice to know we don't have anywhere to go. Then it hits me.
"We saw Abigail... Mike's ex. She says to say hi."
Jerry is speechless for a moment or two, then... "You saw Abigail. I thought she was dead."
"Well, me too, but she isn't. She is flying for the Dominican Brothers now." It occurs to me that we are missing someone. "Where's Ollie?"
Jerry has a long stick now and is pushing and prodding at the coals on this end of the fire. "Ollie had a pretty bad infection going so we had to leave him in a hospital that Tapia knows. He should be good to travel in a week or so."
"No shit... " Lou takes the Walker as it comes around, "That's a tough motherfucker. He should be okay."
"Nester must be shitting himself not knowing what happened to his money and old Ollie."
Jerry nods, "I have tried to radio the store, but no one answers. I think that power supply took a shit." He looks at me, "We need to fly back there and give him his money and tell him what happened. I know he is worried. It wouldn't be like Nester to think we stole his shit... he doesn't think that way about us. But I am sure he is worried."
"Well, we can go tomorrow. Abby is up for it."
Lou let's out his hit and passes it on to one of the ranch hands, "Jerry, would you mind flying right seat in Naomi. I could use some pointers."
"Naomi, huh? Sounds like fun. We don't have that far to fly, less than an hour. I don't know what I can tell you on the way, but I'd be happy to."

Before long, Tapia rings the dinner bell and we all take a little of everything. Mari made up some fantastic salads and a rice dish that is gone after the first pass. We all take our full plates back to the fire and take our seats. There isn't much talking, except to compliment the cooks.

"Man is it good to be here." I tell Jerry. "For a while there I didn't think we would ever see you guys again. Either we were going to die in Abby, or at the hands of all of these crazy fuckers we were dealing with."
Jerry nods, "Yeah, those Dominican Brothers sounded like real nut jobs."
"Not just them, Jerry. We were chased all the way into Costa Rica by this plane. They wanted Naomi, or something inside her."
"But there isn't anything inside her, Jerry. I looked." Lou tells him.
"Well, they wanted something. You might have to pull a few panels to be really sure."

The music starts again. With full bellies and plenty left to drink the party rolls on. Tomorrow we will make our way back home. Tomorrow we will see what Naomi is hiding... what is worth dying for.