Bad News

The sun is shining. Must be early in the morning because the birds are making a little more noise than they do in the afternoon. I am laying face down in fresh sheets. I don't really care where I am right now, just being in a clean bed is enough for me.
"Senior?"
This is what must have awaken me.
"Senior Jake?"
Voice sounds familiar. I turn to see who is there and catch my breath. It all comes back to me. My wound, although cleaned and treated, is still painful. I roll to a sitting position and try to talk.
"Come in."

The door opens and it is Loco... in a suit and tie no less.
"Who died?"
Loco smiles.
"No one die, Senior Jake. Is Sunday."
"They let a crazy bastard like you into church?"
"The Lord see no crazy bastards, Senior. Besides, my wife is crazy and she kill me if I no go to church on Sunday."

I stand and catch myself on the wall at the head of the bed. Still woozy from whatever treatment I received.
"No, Jake... you no get up. I just want to see you. To say I am here."
"Gotcha."
"I see you later?"
I nod, feeling dizzy. Before the door can close a fairly decent nurse walks in. Now I know for a fact there isn't a real hospital here... certainly not one with clean sheets and a comfortable bed. So where the fuck am I?

She helps me to a chair and talks to me in mother tongue. I catch a few words, doctor, infection, something about blood loss. She holds out two small cups; one with three pills and the other with water. Like a fool I take all three with the water, not knowing what the pills are or where the water might be from. Before I can give it much more thought she has me laying on my stomach as she checks my dressing. And that is all I remember.

It turns out that Loco took most of the money we gave him after our rescue from KOZANOSTRA and actually paid to have the small clinic in town expanded. There are now three small rooms, an actual clean environment operating room... of sorts, and updated equipment and supplies.

People can surprise you sometimes. At our first meeting I took Loco to be a stoner, a wildman, and someone that seemed like he only cared about himself. After I get to know him I find that he was a man that cared deeply for his family and friends. Now I find out that he is so into his little town that he spends his own money on expanding the clinic. Shit... I feel like an asshole. Not because I didn't know this about him, but because I guess I never thought he had it in him. Wouldn't be the first thing I would think of if I had extra money lying around.

I don't know how long I am out this time, or when I awaken or why. But now, in my room are shadows sitting in chairs with faces I cannot see. It is dusk and I can smell Dominican's roasting meat down at the marina. As soon as I stir the shadows stand and walk into the light that the moon is casting in through the window.

"Well... it's about fucking time."
It's Jerry, already busting my chops.
"Good morning to you too."
"It's evening and I am getting tired of sitting here watching you sleep."
"Pervert."
I sit up and swing my feet off the side of the bed. I don't feel dizzy like before.
"How long have I been asleep?"
"A couple of days."
"No way."
"Way."
"What happened?"

Jerry picks up something out of one of the chairs and then sits down beside me on the bed. "You took a spear in the back, man."
"I remember."
"So... you took a spear in the back and whatever was on it gave you an infection that almost killed you."

I mull that over for a moment or two. Then things start coming back to me.
"Lou?"
"Last I heard he is alive. The dart he took in the chest paralyzed him. The doctors in Costa Rica figured that he only had moments to live before Antonelli gave him the kiss of life."
"Breath of life."
"Whatever." Jerry lights a match and sets fire to a large Cuban cigar. Once he puffs it to life, he continues.
"So the oxygen returning to his brain kept him alive and jump-started his system."

I rub my face and look around for my clothes. Jerry takes the cue and hands me the fresh clothing he had purchased in town. As I dress I mull over what he had said.
"So is he... brain damaged or anything like that?"
"Do you mean more than before?"
"That's what I mean."
Jerry takes a draw on the Cohiba and then releases the smoke in a long stream. It smells like a bus station in here.
"Don't know."
He eyes my progress and then goes over into the shadows and comes back with a pair of handmade sandals and drops them at my feet.
"Chris is there with him. He has communication with his ship and the lawyers, and then they are calling the reports into Dominicans... they have a ship to shore radio."

We walk outside. I feel renewed... like I have slept for days. And I have. It is after eight o'clock at night, but the light clings to the top of the jungle to our west in a deep blue hue. It is humid, but for some reason I do not sweat. I look at my reflection in the bank building window as we pass and I am thin and gaunt.
"Jesus."
"Yeah, you lost a little weight. That poison dehydrated you, that and you haven't eaten anything for about a week."

I hadn't given it any thought with all that I to digest in the last half hour, but now I realize that I am hungry and thirsty. The two of them gnaw at me like rats on a mooring line. Jerry takes another hit on his cigar.
"Doctor's orders are to feed you and re-hydrate you."

The Tecate goes down like liquid gold. We stay away from the hard stuff, even though the bar manager has ordered extra skulls of Muerte Verde upon hearing that we were back in town. I order fish tacos and Jerry gets a steak. Before the main course arrives we have a bowl of Conch Chowder, one of the Dominican's specialties that we hadn't tried in our past visits. It is all delicious.

Out in the bay we can see CARIBBEAR at anchor. We have let the manager here at the restaurant know that we are waiting to hear from the ship. They have a radio operator standing by to receive any messages, but so far... nothing.

"I saw Loco today, or yesterday. It was Sunday."
"That was three days ago."
"He looked good."
"Yeah, I am the one that let him know we were here." Jerry takes a long draw on his beer, emptying it. Before the glass is back on the table our waitress is delivering another. "Did you know that he had that little doctor's office expanded into a full blown clinic?"
"Yeah, makes you think, doesn't it."

We are smoking a couple of Jerry's Cohibas when we see the helicopter flying to the ship from the east. Five minutes after it touches down we are handed a message from the radio operator. They are to find us and bring us to Dominican's. Well, that job is done.

We watch the helicopter take off from the ship after half an hour or so and it flies in toward us and finally over to the airfield. Jerry and I sit in silence. If it was bad news they wouldn't have relayed it over the radio. We both start to mark time when the helicopter disappears from view. It takes about five minutes to make the trip from the airfield to here.

Loco's green cab pulls up right in front of us. When I see his face I know it is bad. Antonelli emerges from the back of the cab. He sees us and gives a slight wave... his expression even worse than Loco's. This is bad.

From inside the cab Antonelli pulls two limbs toward him and literally lifts Lou to his feet. His head flops listlessly to one side. It is as though he were unconcious, but his eyes are open and there is determination there.

"Oh fuck." Jerry mutters.
I feel my eyes well up at the sight of this mighty warrior reduced to this. Was it a lack of oxygen to his brain? Did that poison cause permanent damage to his nervous system?
"Oh... man."

Antonelli and Loco each take a side and they pretty much lift him up the steps to the patio. His feet try to move but they clumsily drag on each step. When they come near I can see the wet spot on his shirt where he has drooled. There is nothing worse than this. Even death would be better than this.

I hear Jerry catch his breath, as though he were holding back a flood of emotion. The boys walk him up to our table. I can't even look Lou in the eye.

Loco looks at Antonelli, "His bags?"
Chris says he'll get them and lets go of Lou, but Loco has already released him and turns to get the bags as well.

Lou falls toward the two of us and both Jerry and I leap to our feet to catch him. But when we do Lou steps forward and grabs us both around the shoulders.
"You two Nancys started without me?"