CHAPTER 16, WHEN IN ROME…
   

     We returned to the camp where Paco and José dropped me off. I went inside my trailer and took the liberty of going through all the drawers and cupboards. I made sure where things were and I also made sure I would have enough food and water. I turned on the sink, but only for a second. I didn’t want to waste any water. As soon as I turned the handle a slow stream of water came out of the tap. I quickly turned it off. the trailer must have water tanks because I didn’t see any pipes or hoses that ran anywhere outside of the mobile home. I turned on the lights, then quickly shut them off. I didn’t want to waste any electricity either. They turned on, but they were very dim. I walked into the bed room and opened the closet. All that were in there were a large collection of Hawaiian shirts that were brightly colored with flowers on them. I think I had the entire spectrum of visible light in that closet. I moved the shirts aside and found what looked like the breaker box. I opened the metal door and found that it was in fact the breaker box, but it was also a sort of instrument panel. It showed the water level in the tank, the water pressure, how much electricity there was, and also the outside temperature. There was also a gauge for how much the battery was charging. I couldn’t see how, it wasn’t plugged in, but it said it was at ¾ charge rate. Then I realized, solar energy. That had enough of that to burn, so to speak. It was getting darker so the charge was going down. I think I had enough electricity to last me the night.
    I then went through the house and tried all the light switches to see which lights would turn on. I noted which switches controlled which lights. I also found out I had a porch light.
    I was in the front room with the couch. I sat down, then got back up again. I almost forgot about the radio. I had to set that up and start monitoring it in case Ice Man decides to show up early. Before I set it up, however, I had to find it. I looked all around the room, then in the kitchen, then in the bedroom. I couldn’t find it anywhere. I sat back down on the couch, trying to think of where the marshals would have put it. Then it dawned on me. I got off the couch and looked underneath. There it was, a cardboard box, which I could only assume, had the radio in it. I opened it up and found some instructions to put the radio together, along with the radio.
    I was up until late hours of the night putting the radio together. I figured it was better to go out and hang the antenna at night than it would be in the day with the scorching sun. I finished at about midnight, then I turned the volume all the way up in case of transmission.
    I went to the bed and threw myself on it, and went to sleep. Then, just as I had fallen asleep to the white noise of the radio. “This is Jim Murray. We are here… I think. We are heading south on the Sasabe Road, where do we go, over.”
    I groggily got out of bed and stumbled to the radio in the other room. I picked up the microphone and pressed the button. “Turn right at the big cactus, hombre.” I said. I stumbled back to my bedroom and fell into dreamland.

    I woke up the next morning and changed out of the uniform I slept in, and into one of the Hawaiian shirts and jeans that were supplied for me. I felt like a tourist in those clothes, but I figured I should keep my jump suits pretty clean. I walked outside and went behind the building. I remembered seeing an outhouse when Paco and José showed me the camp. I walked in and did my business. I heard people in the distance. I guess the volunteers had arrived.
    I left the outhouse and decided to investigate. I walked over to the trailer that was about fifty feet behind mine. I walked around to the front of it, and I noticed Paco’s patrol car. I knocked on the door.
    “Buenos dias amigo” Paco said as he swung open the door. “How was de sleep in your trailer” he asked.
    “Pretty good.”
    An older guy stepped behind Paco, “Glad to hear it” he said. It was Jim Murray director of the National Registry of EMTs. I recognized him from back when I took the tests to become an ANHP officer. “Ready to help us set up?” he asked.
    “You bet. Where do I start?”
    Paco jumped in, “J’ou can start by helping show de way for de other people who are coming” he said
    “Right, I’ll do that.”
    “Good to hear it, the boys are heading from the north down the Sasabe Road, which is the one that we entered the camp from. They should be getting close, maybe just getting onto Sasabe.” Jim said
    “Si señor, jus’ meet dem hav’ way, and show dem how to get to de camp.”
    “Alright, I’ll do that.”
    I returned to my trailer and got back into my jump suit uniform. I got in the Camaro and put my helmet on. “Start” I said. I backed out and was off. I got on my radio. “Smokey to Volunteer EMTs, I’m northbound and looking for you guys, over.”
    “This is Paramedic Henry Davis, we just got onto the Sasabe Road and are southbound. See you in a few.”
    I pulled out onto Sasabe Road. “Drag mode” I said. I felt the car’s construction change. I gave it gas and braced myself for the wheelie that soon followed. The car accelerated and in no time hit 200mph. “Circuit mode” I said. I put in the clutch and went back into first gear, with a new ratio. I kept going at a steady pace of 235mph when I passed them. They were more like a blur of white and red. “Road course mode, Rear wheel drive” I quickly felt the car slow and I pulled a perfect U turn drift and was going the same direction as them in the other lane. I caught up quickly, got in the other lane and passed them all. “Follow the leader everyone,” I said on my radio. I switched back into street mode. That’s where I got the most gas mileage. I think I averaged about 15mpg driving carefully. The drive back was slow. It took about 40 minutes it seemed like a year. Things felt so slow after going so fast.
    “Ipod, Playlist, Driving. Play track, Ghost Riders In The Sky.” The outlaws played through my helmet. That made the drive a little more enjoyable. “GPS” I said. My map popped up. “Zoom out” the map became more broad. I saw my little pin-mark named Big Cactus. We slowly drew up on it going about 70mph. I got on the radio. “Turn right at the big cactus.”
    “There are a ton of cactuses” said Henry over my radio.
    “Trust me” I said, “You will know which one is the big cactus.”
    I saw big cactus and turned right and went down the road always as it turned into the dusty dirt. I was going to have to change my air filter in a week because of all this dust. We reached the camp and I pulled into my garage. The others went to their trailers. They went to trailers corresponding with numbers painted on their ambulances or fire engines. I guess they had been setting up numbered signs next to all the trailers when I was gone.
    I took my helmet off, and my jump suit. I was wearing my Hawaiian shirt and jeans underneath. I looked like a tourist. I walked towards Jim Murray’s trailer so that he could tell me exactly how this was going to be organized. I also planned to tell him about the situation in Nogales. How it was completely ripped apart and had digressed to a third world country.
    The train of EMTs just kept coming, then, at the back of the line, were two large water trucks with large tanks of water on the back. We were going to need that.
    I knocked on Jim’s door. He answered. “Come in” he said. His trailer was the same set up as mine. He had the couch in the front room just like me. He also had a radio that was all set up.
    “Sir, Nogales is a wreck. It looks like a hurricane blew through and they haven’t gotten any aid. People are looting, shooting, and suffering, they are in need of major aid. It’s all due to the Ice Man, or as they call him, El Catastrofé.” I said.
    “Yes, Paco and José had informed me about the situation in the town. I find it so hard to believe the town is in that bad of shape because of a maniac in a car. There is just no way.”
    “Believe it.” I said, “If you don’t believe me or Paco, let us show you.”
    “Agreed, I would like to assess the town.”
    “We’ll take the local patrol car, I’ll drive. I would like for Paco or José to show me my way around a little better, so we will take one of them.”
    We told José to stay and be the welcome wagon for the volunteer EMTs while Jim, Paco, and I went into the shredded up town. I hopped into the drivers seat, with Paco as passenger and Jim in the back seat. Paco gave me very very very detailed instructions as to his secret short cut to Nogales. He would say things like, “Pass de dark rojo rock on de left. Den turn right after counting to cinco. After you hit cinco, count to tres and turn left. Den just go straight until you reach de big bush, den turn again and…” Yeah, very detailed instructions.
    Finally after a little while we got to the asphalt road. “Bery good señor, j’ou will know de way in no time” Paco said. Yeah, I hoped so, I think I will take this trip with him again in Justice, so that I can mark the way with my GPS.
    We followed the Ruby Road all the way to Nogales. Paco gave me step by step directions through the town. We saw children walking into the demolished school building. I guess they still held class. I looked at Jim’s face in my rearview mirror. He was horrified.
    “I’m horrified,” he said. I figured as much. Jim continued. “Are those children still going to school?”
    “No, dey live in de school. Those children have parents that were killed, señor. Dey are de orphans. De parents were either killed by de gangs dat recently formed, by de looters, or by El Catastrophe.” Paco answered. “Look” he said. He pointed to a little boy who sadly drug his feet in the back of the line. “Dat is little Francisco. His papa died of dehydration. He gave all de last of his water to his son so dat he would live.” I could tell Paco’s sadness. “Me an’ José set up bedrooms in de classrooms dat are still intact. Every day around noon we give dem water we have confiscated from looters and criminals.”
    Jim looked at his watch. “Its five to noon.” He said.
    Paco looked at his watch “Ay carumba, J’ou are right. Señor Smokey, we have to go to de station to get water for de children.”
    “I’m on it,” I said. I vaguely remembered the way to the underground police station. It was just down the road from the school. I watched as Jim’s face grew more and more worried.
    “Oh my…” he said, astonished at what his eyes were seeing. “What has become of this nation?”
    “The Bandit has become of this nation.” I said
    “STOP THE CAR!” Jim shouted abruptly.
    I stepped on the brakes, “What?” I said.
    “We have to help that man,” he said pointing out the window. He began to take his seatbelt off.
    I recognized the man he was pointing at. It was the man that had been shot and killed the other day. I remembered the house, I guess the body was still lying there. “He is dead,” I said
     “Si.” Confirmed Paco, “He was shooting at us yesterday, an’ we killed him because he was shooting at us. De mourge is full, and dere are no undertakers left in de town or means to get rid of de body. We jus’ let de desert take dem.”
    Jim put his seat belt back on. “I see.” He said “The second we get back to camp I’ll call the Red Cross to provide aid.”
    Paco laughed. “De rojo cross, we call dem a hundred time. Dey just say dey are too busy to help.”
    “Yeah, well they will listen to me.” Jim said.
    I pulled up to the smashed building that was now a police station.
    “This is it?” Jim said.
    “Si Señor”
    We got out and I helped Paco with the trap door. We descended back down the musty staircase and into the underground station and jail.
    “This is the station?” asked Jim
    “Si Señor” Paco said as he grabbed the gallon jugs of water he had taken from the looter the other day. “Grab de cups Señor Smokey. Dey are under de table”
    I looked under the decrepit desk and took the bags filled with small Dixie cups. We went back up the stairs and I let Paco drive. “Ay, ay, ay we are late.” Paco said as we traversed down the street.
    We reached the school and found all the children had gathered in the destroyed play ground. I recognized the kid that Paco had called Francisco. He ominously swung crookedly on a bent swing set. As soon as the patrol car pulled into the play ground the kids jumped and cheered and ran towards the Durango. All except Francisco who stayed on his swing set.
    Paco parked the car and opened the back of the car. The children happily rushed him and attempted to group hug him. “Wow, there little Niños!” Paco said. He grabbed a white cardboard box that was in the back of the car and he opened it. Inside it was full of twinkies. I heard somewhere that twinkies were the perfect survival food. I guess Paco had heard that too.
    I handed out twinkies, Jim poured the water for the kids, and Paco held the cups and gave one to each kid. The kids were allowed one cup of water and one twinkie. They ate and drank gratefully. I noticed little Francisco was last to get his. He was a little odd. He didn’t eat or drink his right away. He got it, then quickly retreated to a partially smashed wall that was about five feet high. I saw a hand reach from behind the wall and take his water cup, and then I saw the hand give him a small carton. It was cigarettes. I set my near empty water jug down in the back seat and jumped out of the car. I walked over to the wall where Francisco was standing. I stepped on the other side of it and found a middle-aged guy that looked to be about in his thirties crouching behind it with the empty plastic cup on the ground. This guy really pissed me off giving cigarettes to kids like that. I picked him up by the shirt. He shouted in Spanish and was trying to loosen my grip. I had gotten stronger from the workout room at the marshal headquarters, and this guy was weak and malnourished. He pulled and clawed at my hand with his overgrown fingernails.
    “So, you like manipulating little kids huh?” I said through clenched teeth. That is one thing that really got me steamed, when people manipulate other people with weapons and drugs.
    “No señor. NO! NO!” he shouted. I was inches away from knocking that guy’s head off of his neck. I fought the temptation and threw him to the ground. “Get out of here!” I yelled pointing my finger behind me. The man scrambled to his feet and ran off.
    I went to Paco, who was playing with the kids. “Paco” I said, “I think you need to talk to Francisco.”
    I told him about the man and the cigarettes. “Ay, ay, ay.” He said. “I’ll go talk to him.”
    I poured another cup of water, using the last bit that we had. Paco was kindly explaining to Francisco the problem. I handed Paco the cup of water, he quickly drank it. Paco quickly took the carton of cigarettes out of his hand. I took the cigarettes out of Paco’s hand and I stomped on them, crushing them into the dust.
    “Hey mang, I might have used those!” Paco said as he watched me smash the cigarettes.
    “Trust me,” I told him with a chuckle. “Its for your own good.”

    We spent about a month at the Buenos Aires camp. I would accompany José and Paco on their water runs to the orphanage. I got to know the kids and why they were orphans.
    I also took Paco or José for several rides in the Camaro, so that I could mark areas on my GPS. They seemed to enjoy the power behind Justice’s rear wheels. We also practiced shooting. They had plenty of confiscated ammo we could use, and plenty of debris to use as targets.
I had gotten used to life down there. Knowing my luck, however, just as I get used to something, it all changes.