"And Then They Came..." ( Chapter XXIX )
Chapter XXIX The drone followed the CRV at an altitude of 5,000 feet, recording its entire path. The vehicle had driven by the retirement community while Fernández and Aarón hid with a monitor inside Aarón’s 2009 Honda Civic—Fernández’s WKPA van, which bore a large logo of the station, hidden behind a large trash bin. The CRV had traveled in a southern course toward the mountains. The drone, with a range of nearly 22 miles, would be able to follow the CRV without the two men
"And Then They Came..." (Chapter XXVIII)
Chapter XXVIII “I have the boy,” Nour announced triumphantly through her cell phone to Enrique. The Homer Addams look-alike, standing on the second floor terrace of the terrorist hideout, continued staring at the green forest extending below him, and grinned happily. “Great! Is he all right?” “I had to tie his hands behind his back, and bind his ankles, because he wanted to escape, but he’s alive. Weak, but alive.” “Perfect. Bring him in. Which car are you driving?” “The bla
"And Then They Came..." ( Chapter XXVII )
Chapter XXVII At 8:15 A.M., the Government of Puerto Rico posted the following Manifesto on its Facebook page, which was subsequently reproduced and re-printed by every news media outfits in the island as well as several national and international news organizations: “To all the people of this world: We are a group of international freedom fighters that have dedicated our lives to righting the terrible wrongs inflicted upon the poor, defenseless, and powerless peoples of the
"And Then They Came..." ( Chapter XXVI )
Chapter XXVI Governor Pietrantoni looked at the photocopy of the Manifesto, just sent by the criminal lab after the original had been retained by the police for fingerprints and other types of examination. His Secretary of State, Alberto Arizmendi, pored over another copy, sometimes pausing and reading back some passages. As he finished, Arizmendi—or as he was commonly known to most Puerto Ricans, “Double A”—tossed the papers on the Governor’s desk, and shook his head in dis
"And Then They Came..." ( Chapter XXV )
Chapter XXV Flanigan heard Fillo move behind him as the other men left. The scarred terrorist whistled a song that the American had never heard before, sometimes interspersing it with Spanish, rap-sounding words. “Okay, gringo,” he said cheerily, “your time has come. Don’t get too choked up about it.” A silken rope slipped over the American’s head and coiled tightly around his neck. Flanigan desperately tried to breathe, but no air reached his lungs. For a few seconds, he st
"And Then They Came..." ( Chapter XXIV )
Chapter XXIV Da’ud stopped the van in front of what seemed to be a rural abandoned commercial property, walked to its entrance—kept closed by a thick, padlocked chain—and unlocked the chain’s padlock. He pushed open the wire fenced gate and, getting back into the van, drove through a narrow, weed-filled driveway to a warehouse situated about two dozen yards away. He was followed by Fillo on a scooter. The Great Recession had hit Puerto Rico harder than any other U.S. jurisdi
"And Then They Came..." ( Chapter XXIII )
Chapter XXIII Lucas fired at the enemy, invisible in the darkness except for the flashes from the muzzles of their rifles. Next to him, Danny Satter yelled “Incoming!’ and a wall next to them exploded, covering both with dust and small fragments of concrete. “Are you alright?” he asked Danny, except it was Jeannie, and they were trapped in a round hall at the end of a dark tunnel. The entrance to the room was barred by large, round barrels, but already many of them were disi
"And Then They Came..." ( Chapter XXII )
Chapter XXII Governor Pietrantoni and his wife, Nereida sat at the informal dining room in La Fortaleza, quietly eating a late lunch. Neither spoke or ate much, their mood bordering on despair since Francisco had been abducted. Even though not his natural mother, Nereida had raised Francisco as her own, first as his governess—after Pietrantoni’s first wife had died in an automobile accident six years before—then as his stepmother—when the Governor had realized that he loved
"And Then They Came..." ( Chapter XXI )
Chapter XXI Flanigan awoke with a start, tried to stand up, and tumbled face forward along with the metal chair to which he was tied. Fortunately for him, he fell on some sort of rubber mat that mitigated the force of the fall. The American surveyed the room around him, trying to make out where he was. His hands were firmly tied to the chair behind his back, his ankles—he saw—bound with silver duct tape. Most of the room was dark, the only light filtering under the lower edg
