"And Then They Came..."(Chapter XXXVIII)
Chapter XXXVIII The men had been slowly gathering in Archie’s apartment since two in the afternoon. Negrón and Archie had arrived about fifteen minutes to three, and met there with Ojeda and Lucas. Michael and Myers had come in ten minutes later, after driving all the way from the El Yunque area. “The streets are semi-deserted,” Michael had said to the others. “I think everybody is getting ready for the hurricane.” “I have to get ready for the hurricane,” Negrón had interjec
"And Then They Came..." (Chapter XXXVII)
Chapter XXXVII Da’ud guided the fake ambulance into the narrow, weed-filled entrance, and drove it through the tree-lined, sandy alleyway of the abandoned estate. Only the front façade and parts of two side walls of what must have been in its heyday a grand plantation house remained. A wide set of tiled stairs with a flowery design, stained by more than a century of use and dust, led to a large porch that encircled the ruins of the house. A doorless entrance on the porch, at
"And Then They Came..." (Chapter XXXVI)
Chapter XXXVI Lucas held his left wrist in front of his face, trying to see the luminous dials of his watch in the darkness. It was his grandfather’s watch, still giving the correct hour after more than sixty years, the dim greenish outline of its face barely providing enough light to give him an educated guess of what the time was. Jeannie, now lying on the bed next to him, had on various instances suggested that he get a more modern watch. But this was Don Jorge Pietri’s—h
"And Then They Came..." (Chapter XXXV)
Chapter XXXV There were two reasons why Enrique’s original plan required a fake ambulance. First reason: in case they were forced to shoot at the real ambulance when they intercepted it, and substituted Sami and Yousef—the two fake paramedics—for the two genuine paramedics inside. It would look really bad and suspicious if a bullet riddled ambulance arrived at the airport with Francisco in it. And even if the ambulance was not struck by any bullets, they could still be force
"And Then They Came..." (Chapter XXXIV)
Chapter XXXIV They had watched the drone’s video twice, counting the terrorists guarding the property, although a significant portion of the overhead view was covered by the lush canopy of the trees and the vegetation growing in the area. Two guards armed with AK-47’s were stationed at the gated entrance, two more walked along the terrace of the mansion’s second floor, and six other similarly armed men patrolled the perimeter of the property, Bordered by tall, royal palm tre
"And Then They Came..." (Chapter XXXIII)
Chapter XXXIII “President Powell.” “Governor Pietrantoni,” the President of the United States replied. “How are you holding up?” “Well, to be honest, it could be a lot better,” Pietrantoni replied. He was speaking to the President through a private, encrypted line. “My people in NOAA say that the probabilities of a direct hit by Fay have increased substantially. I pray that they’re wrong.” Pietrantoni looked at the clock on his desk, where two figures, holding the flags of S
"And Then They Came..." (Chapter XXXII)
Chapter XXXII At 5’5”, Enrique was the smallest man in the group that had gathered in the living room of the rented mansion. Of the over three dozen men guarding the compound, only six people had been invited. He stood in front of the television set, a diminutive figure that looked more like the cartoon of a villain—like Boris, from the Boris and Natasha Show in the Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle—than a real person. Except there was nothing funny about him. He had always
"And Then They Came..." (Chapter XXXI)
Chapter XXXI Lucas and Michael arrived at the Ashford Courtyard Condominium around 6:20 P.M. Located in the Condado area of San Juan, it was one of the more exclusive neighborhoods in the city, closer to the ocean. Archie and Michelle’s apartment was located about a block and a half away from the northern shore, in a dead end street, where they had moved four months before. Situated on the eleventh floor, Michelle had bragged that from the extreme left hand corner of her liv
"And Then They Came..." (Chapter XXX)
Chapter XXX Secretary of State Arizmendi stood behind the podium, his head barely clearing its height. He was flanked by the towering figure of Police Superintendent Alejo Montañez and the not less imposing Fire Chief Francisco Oronoz, both of whom accentuated even more his lack of size. More than fifty reporters watched behind the television cameras, as he finished his 5:00 P.M. report. “To summarize, the latest Hurricane Center bulletin places Hurricane Fay arriving in Pue
