The Evening News (72 page)

"Oh, darling, neither do 1. But until we can do something, we have to
hold on. Keep reminding yourself that your father and a lot of others are
searching for us
.”

Jessica hoped her voice sounded reassuring
.”
I hear you, Jessie. You too, Nicky
.”

It was Angus, speaking from the
cell on the far side of Nicky's, though his voice seemed weak
.”
Keep
believing that we'll all get out of here. And we will
.”

"Try to get some rest, Angus
.”

Jessica was remembering the beating her
fattier-in-law had taken from Miguel in the hut where they all returned
to consciousness, the grueling trek through the jungle and Angus's fall
,
the long journey by boat, and then his struggle here
.
As she spoke, a shuffling of feet could be heard and from the shadows
beyond the cells a figure moved into view. It was one of the gunmen who
had accompanied them on the journey, a heavyset mustachioed man they
would later identify as
Ramon
. He carried a Kalashnikov rifle and, aiming
it at Jessica, ordered, "Silencio!
”
About to protest, Jessica heard Angus advise softly, "Jessie, don't
!”

She
curbed her impulse and they all fell silent. After a pause, the gun was
lowered and
Ramon
returned to a chair in which he had been seated
.
The experience proved to be their first with a succession of armed
guards, one of whom was always on duty in the hut, the individual
changing every four hours
.
As they quickly discovered, the strictness of the guards varied. The most
easygoing was Vicente, the man who had helped Nicky in the truck and, on
Miguel's orders, had cut the ropes
binding their wrists. Apart from motioning them to keep their voices lowered, Vicente allowed them to t
alk as much as they wished. Ramo
n was the strictest, permitting no talking at all, with the other guards somewhere in between
.
During the times they talked, Jessica shared with Nicky and Angus
recollections of her anti-terrorism course, especially the ordeal and
precepts of Brigadier Wade. Nicky seemed fascinated with the Wade
story-probably as a relief from the confinement and monotony. It was a
cruel restriction for an active, highly intelligent eleven-year-old, and
several times a day Nicky would ask, "What do you think Dad's doing right
now, Mom, to get us out of here
?
”

Jessica always tried answering imaginatively, at one point saying, "Your
father knows so many people that there isn't anyone he can't call on for
help. I'm sure he must have spoken with the President, who can get lots of
people working, looking for us
.”

Even if true, it was a piece of vanity which in normal times Jessica would
not have uttered. But if it bolstered Nicky's hopes, that was all that
mattered
.
Jessica urged the other two to follow as much of Brigadier Wade's example
as they could. In the matter of using the makeshift toilet facilities, they
respected each other's privacy by turning away when asked and not
commenting about the inevitable odors. On the second day they all began
exercising, Jessica again taking the lead
.
As the first few days passed, a pattern of living-mainly miserable-took
shape. Three times daily, a diet of unappetizing, greasy food-principally
cassava, rice and noodles-was brought to them. The first day, Nicky choked
on the grease which tasted sour and Jessica came close to vomiting; hunger
eventually outweighed distaste and they forced it down. Every forty-eight
hours, more or less, the stinking sanitary pails were removed and emptied
by an Indian woman. If they were washed at all, it was superficially; when
returned they smelled almost as bad. Drinking water was handed in to each
cell in used soft-drink bottles; occasionally there were bowls and other
water with which to wash. The guards warned the prisoners by
hand signals that they should not drink the washing water which was a muddy brown
.
Nicky's morale, which was the most important to Jessica, while not high
at least remained stable; he also proved himself to be resilient once the
initial shock of being there had passed. Jessica, who in New York did
part-time social work among underprivileged families, had observed that
in tragic situations, children often coped better than adults. Possibly
,
she thought, it was because children's thinking was less complicated and
more honest; or perhaps children became mentally adult when the need was
thrust upon them. In Nicky's case, for whatever reason, he was visibly
coping
.
He began attempting conversations with the guards. Nicky's Spanish was
rudimentary, but depending on the patience and good nature of the other
party, he managed to achieve exchanges and gain information. Vicente was
the most cooperative
.
From Vicente they learned of the impending departure of "the
doctor"-obviously the one whom Jessica thought of as Cutface-and who
,
Vicente believed, was "going home to Lima
.”

However, "the nurse
”
would
stay on, and this was clearly the sour-faced woman whose name they
discovered was Socorro
.
They speculated among themselves on why Vicente was different from the
other guards and apparently kinder. It was Jessica who cautioned Nicky
and Angus, "It's not so much that he's different. Vicente's still one of
those who brought us
here and are keeping us prisoners--D
on't let's
forget that. But he's not as mean or thoughtless as the others, so by
comparison he seems kind
.”

There were other facets of the subject that Jessica wanted to talk about
,
but she decided to save them for later. There would be need of fresh
themes for thought and discussion during what she foresaw as lonely days
ahead. Meanwhile, she added, "Because he's the way he is, let's make all
the use of Vicente that we can
.”

At Jessica's suggestion, Nicky asked Vicente if the prisoners were to be
allowed out of the cells at all, to go outside. To this
question, Vicente shook his head, though it was not clear whether the answer was negative or he didn't understand. Jessica, persisting, asked to have a message passed to Socorro that the prisoners would like to see her. Nicky did his best, but once more a headshake was the only response, making it seem doubtful the request would be delivered
.
Nicky's relative success with the language surprised Jessica since his
Spanish lessons at school had begun only a few months earlier. When she
mentioned this, Nicky told her that two of his friends at school were Cuban
immigrants who chattered in Spanish in the playground
.”
Some of us
listened, we picked up things . .
.”

Nicky paused, chuckling
.”
You won't
like this, Mom, but they know all the dirty words. They taught us those
.”

Angus, who had been listening, asked, "Did you learn any dirty insults
,
too
?
”

"Sure did, Gramps
.”

"Could you teach me a few? So I can use them on the people here, if I have
to
.”

"I'm not sure Mom would like
"Go ahead
,”
Jessica said
.”
I won't mind
.”

Nicky's laughter had been
wonderful to hear
.”
All right, Gramps. If you really want to badmouth somebody, you could say
. .
.”

Nicky crossed his cell and whispered to his grandfather through
their separating screen
.
They had, Jessica reflected, stumbled on one more way to pass the time
.
And later that day Socorro came, responding to the message
.
She stood in the outer doorway, her slim, lithe body a distinctive
silhouette, surveying the three cells, her nose wrinkling at the
all-pervading smell
.
Without waiting, Jessica spoke
.”
We know you're a nurse, Socorro. It's why
you cared enough to speak up and have our hands untied, and why you gave us
chocolate
.”

Socorro said crossly, "Not a nurse, a nursing aide
.”

She came closer to the
cells, her lips set tightly
.”
It make-, no difference, not here anyway
,”
Jessica said.

"Now that the doctor's going, you'll be the one who knows about medicine
.”

"You're trying to be smart; it won't help you. You wanted to see me
.
Why
?
”

"Because you've alre
ady shown you want to keep us alive and well. But
unless we get out of here, into some fresh air for a while, we'll all be
desperately ill
.”

"You have to stay inside. They don't want you to be seen
.”

"Why not! And who are 'they'
?
”

"That is not your concern, and you have no right to ask questions
.”

Jessica slammed back, "I have a mother's right to care about my son: also
about my father-in-law who is old and has been treated brutally
.”

"He deserved it. He talks too much. So do you
.”

Instinct told Jessica that some of Socorro's antagonism was contrived
.
She attempted a compliment
.”
Your English is excellent. You must have
lived in America a long time
.”

"That is none of your . .
.”

Socorro stopped and shrugged
.”
Three years
.
I hated it. It is a filthy, corrupt country
.”

Jessica said softly, "I don't think you really believe that. I think you
were treated well, and now you are having trouble hating us
.”

"Think what you want
,”
Socorro snapped as she walked away, then in the
doorway turned
.”
I will try to have more air let in here
.”

Her lips
twitched in the nearest thing to a smile
.”
It will be healthier for the
guards
.”

Next day two men arrived with tools. They cut open several spaces
,
creating unblocked windows in the walls facing the cells. Immediately
,
the daytime semidarkness was replaced by light so the three captives
could see each other clearly, and also the guard. As well, there was a
flow of air through the building, occasionally a breeze, and while foul
odors were not eliminated, they were greatly reduced
.
It was a victory for Jessica and also, she thought, an indication that
beneath the surface Socorro was not as hostile as she tried to appear-a
vulnerability perhaps to be exploited later in some larger way.
But the light-and-air victory was minor and, as it proved, there were major
agonies still to be endured. One, unknown to Jessica, was already taking
shape.

Six days after the captives and their escorts arrived at Nueva Esperanza, Miguel received a series of written orders from Sendero Luminoso, orders originating in Ayacucho. They were delivered by a messenger traveling in a truck that took two days to cover the five hundred tortuous road miles, a journey extending over perilous mountain passes and soggy jungle trails. Several items of specialized equipment were also delivered
.
The most important instruction involved making a videotape recording of the
woman prisoner. A script was supplied and no deviation from its wording
would be permitted. The project was to be personally supervised by Miguel
.
Another instruction confirmed that Baudelio's duties were at an end. He
would accompany the messenger in the truck back to Ayacucho, from where he
would fly to Lima. The truck would return to Nueva Esperanza in a few days'
time to bring more supplies and collect the completed videotape
.
The news that Baudelio was going home to Lima, even though expected
,
displeased Miguel. For one thing, the ex-doctor knew too much. For another
,
he was certain to resume his alcoholic ways,
h
ard liquor and a loose tongue
inevitably went together. Therefor
e
Baudelio at large was a threat not only
to the security of their small garrison but also-more importantly, as
Miguel saw it -to his own safety
.
In other circ
u
m
stances he would have forced Baudelio to take a walk in the
jungle from which only Miguel would return. But Sendero Luminoso, while
ruthless in many ways, could
become belligerent about an outsider killing one of its own people, for whatever reason
.
What Miguel did was send confidentially with the messenger a strongly
worded note pointing out the dangers of having Baudelio remain in
circulation. Sendero would quickly make its own decision. Miguel had little
doubt what that would be
.
One thing pleased him. Among the general instructions he received was one
to "keep the three hostages in good health until otherwise ordered
.”