El Paso Way (11 page)

By the end of the day Enrique was worried about Sereno, or about what Sereno might have discovered. He usually spotted him a half a dozen times or more during a day, but today he hadn't seen him but twice. These occurrences took place in the early part of the day, and it was now near dusk and the Tohono O'odham had made no presence known. Enrique let the rest of the crew know of his concern, and to be aware that maybe Sereno had found something and was in hiding. This had them all prepared to do some nighttime prowling for the Valdar camp.

“They could be tying one on,” Dutton said, “so we can listen carefully for the sounds of laughing. But be careful, being drunk don't mean they won't be dangerous.”

“They were drunk when they killed my family,” Enrique said.

“Yes,” Pang said. “Their tequila and opium are what gives them their evil strength. I would rather attack them in the morning, when their heads are hurting and their eyes are blurry and bloodshot.”

“That's not a bad idea there, Pang,” Dutton said. “You boys just lead the way, and I'll back you up.”

* * *

The finding of the Indian boy in the desert spooked Valdar. His drunken frenzy ended as he had Baliador take the boy and put him with the other prisoners, and he told his
compadre
that he was now in charge. It was a common move that his sidekicks were used to. He either left the gang for some kind of desert spiritual gathering, the communication with his demon spirits, or to go on ahead for other arrangements, specifically business. Being so close to El Paso, they knew the latter was likely his move. He took all the horses they had taken from the posse members and the Mexicans, tied them together in a line, and off he went into the darkness.

Times like these were special moments for Baliador. His first move was to make sure all captive merchandise was accounted for and well constrained, and then to make sure Beshkah was passed out drunk. With him out, he could do anything he wanted.

It took two hours to smoke enough opium and pour enough tequila down the renegade to get him where Baliador wanted him. They were standing together, relieving themselves, when Beshkah fell over forward and vomited. He lay there moaning, and seconds later he was snoring.

Baliador dropped the half-empty bottle of tequila next to his
compadre
and went to the other Apache who had joined them. They, too, were out like sleeping babies, snoring next to the campfire. Baliador kicked one of them lightly, and he only grunted and went back to snoring. The renegade grinned and walked on to his purpose.

They were tied together, waist to waist, behind a cluster of boulders near the camp, with the lead rope tied to a piñon. Their wrists and ankles were also tied together, but the ankles only when they camped.

The Tohono O'odham boy was now at the end of their chain and was the first to see the renegade as he walked up on them. The boy scooted back as Baliador approached, but Baliador paid him no mind. The next was the Mexican girl, who slept with her head on the lap of Mun Lo, who slept with her head on the shoulder of Sai Min. Sai Min slept in a sitting position, her head tilted back on the boulder, but she awakened and gasped when she saw Baliador squatting in front of her, staring, smiling.

He grabbed her by the front of her robe, now soiled and torn in many places from the rough trek across the desert and into the mountains. She screamed and cried, and the other women woke and did the same. The renegade did not even untie Sai Min, as that posed an unnecessary risk; he pulled her to her back, crawled on top of her, and opened her robe.

She let out a frightful scream, lifted up swiftly her tied-together wrists and fists, and struck Baliador under the chin. His head went back sharply, but came back to look at her with an angry stare as quick as it had gone back. He slapped her across the face and she cried, as did Mun Lo, who hit him on the back. Baliador would take nothing from her either and swung his hand sideways, knocking her down. She looked up at him with tearful eyes, and blood trickled from her lip onto her chin, which, like her face, was soiled, the white makeup mostly faded away.

The renegade looked back down at Sai Min, at her undergarments, and how difficult they would be to remove without tearing. He wanted her badly, as he'd never been with a Chinese woman, but to tear her garments was sure to give Valdar a clue to her having been touched. Baliador was not afraid of Valdar, but he liked his position and how much he learned of the known Demon Warrior's business practices. One day he would go off on his own, but he still had much to learn and did not want to jeopardize it now.

In frustration he pulled Sai Min's robe closed, jumped back up, and knowing the other China girl would be the same, he went to the Mexican. He pulled her to her back and lifted her dress, and just as he had thought—no undergarments. But then he realized that the buyer in Mexico would know if she was not a virgin. How this man could tell, Baliador did not know, but Valdar knew her as a virgin and would expect her to be that way when selling time came. Even more frustrated, Baliador jumped away and yelled. The women huddled together and cried, and Sereno backed closer to the wall, his arms tight against his chest, his hands in fists over his mouth, and his big eyes staring at the renegade.

Baliador could not understand how men could be with other men. He had heard Valdar comment that he found pleasure in it but preferred women more. There were occasions when Valdar would find a virgin girl and have her for himself. A bonus he would allow himself to have, but not very often. In fact, it had only happened three times since the time Baliador had joined up with him. The last time was a white girl, maybe twelve years old, whom they'd captured from a family whose wagon was traveling across the desert, likely on its way to California. Valdar took her, Baliador supposed, because she was a blonde, which, untouched or not, brought a premium.

The time before that was another Mexican girl, who Valdar said reminded him of his mother. And the time before that was with a Tohono O'odham girl, who fought so much that the only way Valdar could get her tamed down was to rape her. Plus, Valdar had said, he liked it when they fought, it gave him the deepest pleasure.

The renegade decided that his luck would not prevail this time, and that it was not worth any risk to have any of the women. He certainly couldn't do anything with the boy, so he would wait until El Paso, or until they raided another camp. With such a feeling of defeat, there was only one thing to do, so he went back to the campfire, found a bottle of tequila and an opium pipe, and sat down next to the snoring Apache and returned to the world of euphoria.

* * *

The dawn of the desert was typically a peaceful time, where one could say good-bye to the nocturnal voices and take pleasure in the birds and their morning songs and the hazy pastels of the sky with their brilliance cast on the mountainside. But the men, with their minds on their pursuit, were looking at nothing but the aftereffects of evil and trying not to let their anger take away from their abilities. Father Gaeta had warned that it could happen, and when Enrique had passed on this wisdom to the others, Pang agreed, and said that his father would have said the same thing.

After Tall Dog had scouted the camp, he reported back to them with alarming news.

“Your watchman is tied up with the women, but they are all there.”

Pang and Enrique made solemn eye contact. “This is our moment,” Enrique said.

Pang nodded.

“The Demon Warrior is not there,” Tall Dog said.

They all looked back at him.

“What are you saying?” Enrique said.

“He is not in the camp. There are only the traitors of the
Nnee
. All are sleeping.”

“Why is Valdar not there?” Enrique said through his teeth.

“He must be moving on ahead of the gang,” Dutton said. “We are getting closer to El Paso.”

“This is better for us,” Pang said. “We can capture our women; that way they are safe. Then we will go on and find Valdar. It will be only him, because all of his men will be dead.”

“Pang's got a good point there,” Dutton said. “He's one less man we'd have to fight now, and he'll be much easier to handle alone.”

“All right,” Enrique said. “It is us against two. Our odds are better.”

“You are mistaken,” Tall Dog said. “There are four Apache.”

“Four?”

“I recognized two others who did not pass their bravery tests and Geronimo would not let them serve as warriors to the
Nnee
. They left the tribe and swore vengeance on our chief.”

“Ah, I see,” Enrique said. “They are wanting help from the Demon Warrior to seek their vengeance. Well, we will not give them a chance.”

All nodded in agreement with Enrique, and the men sat together and formed their plan. After the plan was made, each man prepared himself.

The sheriff made sure his gun belt was full of cartridges, and the gun itself was loaded. He spun the cylinder, then looked out over the sight. His gun was ready.

Pang walked aside from the group, and began squatting up and down slowly, leaning from side to side, one leg long, the other bent underneath him. Then he stretched his arms, above his head and down to his toes. During all, he breathed deeply, in and out. Then he practiced kicking, from the front and the side, and jabbing with his hands, up, down, and from side to side. When he knelt to the ground and put his hands in a praying position, he, too, was ready.

Enrique checked that he had enough arrows—the longer, straightest arrows, with ends sharp and deadly. He made sure his quiver was full, and that the string on his bow was sure and tight. When all was checked, Enrique, like the others, was ready.

Tall Dog and Quick Bull sat holding their rifles and watching the others, occasionally pointing and sharing some observation they had made about the styles of fighting the men chose. They took particular interest in Pang, and Enrique understood that they were quite taken by his art. He also knew that they had nothing to do to prepare, that the Apache were used to fighting and always ready.

The men surrounded the camp, which was near the bank of a desert wash between the mountains. There wasn't a lot to hide behind in such an arid place, but the desert floor was like a maze of plants, shrubs, and cacti, and with enough cunning and careful planning, sneaking up on enemies was not impossible.

Tall Dog and Quick Bull took higher positions at the base of the mountains, fifty yards from camp. Their main purpose was to have their rifles ready to shoot down the men as they woke, and to protect the women and Sereno.

Enrique took a similar position, only closer, behind a stand of mesquite, from where he could see the faces of the men, and Sheriff Dutton, of course, as he worked his way into the camp. Enrique would also protect Pang, who, after he released the women, would wake the renegades from their sleep and release a style of fury unlike anything they'd ever seen. After Tall Dog explained to them the fighting abilities, or lack thereof, of the two new Apache members, they all agreed that Baliador and Beshkah were the biggest threat, and that Beshkah was likely the most dangerous of the remaining two.

Pang stepped quietly around the rocks and peeked at the prisoners. Sereno saw him instantly and the Chinaman held a finger over his mouth. The Tohono O'odham nudged the girl next to him, and she alerted Sai and Mun, and they all looked on in wonder and cried when they saw Pang. As he had with Sereno, he quickly signaled to them to remain still and silent.

He looked back around to make sure the sheriff was near his position, and then the Chinaman stepped nimbly toward the prisoners. He pulled a knife from a sheath given to him by Tall Dog and cut them free. Sereno wasted no time and ran off, while Mun and Sai embraced Pang and cried. The Mexican girl rubbed her wrists. She stared at Pang and expressed her gratitude with a weeping voice. Pang did not understand her Spanish tongue, but she understood his motions when he encouraged them to run away.

“You are coming with us?” Sai Min said.

“I will join you shortly. You run, I will find you.”

They tried to argue with him, but he would not hear it. They hugged him tight, then ran away weeping.

* * *

Dutton looked over at Beshkah, who lay moaning several feet from the smoking campfire, and at the others in their drunken slumber. He took notice of the spurs on Beshkah's boots, and the shiny plates on the toes. Never had he seen such strange weapons, which were enough to know just how crazy the man was.

He looked up to verify the positions of the other men, and spotted Tall Dog and Quick Bull, and then Enrique, who looked with one eye down an arrow. Dutton grabbed a handful of sand and stood above Beshkah's face. The renegade's mouth was slightly agape as he snored. The sheriff sifted the sand between the fingers of his fist and onto Beshkah's open lips. Beshkah's eyes twitched and his mouth closed. He raised his head slowly, his eyes still closed, and began spitting the sand from his mouth. He rose to his elbows, his eyes opened to a slight squint, and when he saw Dutton, he jumped to his feet.

Enrique's arrow made a thud in the renegade's breastbone. He looked at it, then grabbed it with both hands, growled, clenched his teeth, and pulled it out. Blood immediately followed, as did another arrow that stuck in his neck. This time the Apache fell to his knees, his eyes glaring at Dutton and his hands on the arrow in his neck. But he did not have the strength to remove this one, and fell dead in front of them.

Pang made his presence known with the sheriff at the camp. He took one step back, crouched into his fighting stance, with legs slightly bent and hands out in front of his chest. Baliador awoke and rose to his feet. The Chinaman offered him a slight smirk. Without any more hesitation, Baliador growled and kicked a leg forward, but Pang was quick to divert it, and the Apache fell forward clumsily. Annoyed, he got back up and wasted no time lunging for the Chinaman again, only this time with his arms wide and a distorting grimace.