Jorge and his band of 10 were trudging down the path that led to his home. The weather was nice enough this time of year so that they could all sleep outside while he was inside with his woman. As he walked through the rugged terrain of the forest paths, Jorge always stepped higher, a habit that kept him from tripping. He cleared Victor's trap without noticing it. So did the man behind him. It was the luckless third man who sprung the trap and got creamed by the heavy sack of rock and straw. He was knocked out cold. When Jorge saw this he thought it was Miguel and started a stream of cursing that even the men blushed at.
"I'm gonna kill that sonabitch" he screamed in Spanish and he launched himself towards the house. The path was narrow and rocky enough to slow him down.
Teresa jumped up, grabbed her dress and ran into the house. Victor struggled to get his pants on, then jumped up to follow Teresa, only to succumb to his bad knee and fall face first into the ground. Spitting out dirt, he grabbed for his crutch, got up and moved as fast as he could. He stopped at the door and yelled to her, "the bellows, point it to the face of anyone who comes here" then left to go around back. He hadn't planned where he should go when Jorge showed up. He had to play it by ear now. He had no choice. He knew he couldn't fit through the hole in the back of the barn that Miguel made, so the barn trap was out for now. He headed towards the pit. Hopefully someone would jump the fence of the paddock to go after him. As he rounded the back of the house he saw a lead pipe about 3 feet long. He grabbed it.
Miguel heard the yelling and knew instantly what happened. He knew that voice and he was upset that Victor's first trap didn't get Jorge. He hurried his burro along the path to the rock outcropping he hid behind the day he brought Victor home. He peered around just as Jorge, red faced and exploding, barged into the yard from the other side. Miguel was about to step out and into the fray when he saw many more men than he had expected or that they had planned for. He stood there trying to decide what to do. He should go in and help Victor and his mother. They needed his help. But if he held back just for a moment, he might be even more useful, a surprise attack when they didn't expect it. He was torn as to what to do and he waited for the right opportunity.
The Tracy brothers were just about to pitch the tents and make camp when off in the distance they heard a commotion. They stopped what they were doing to listen.
"It could be anything." Gordon said.
"But it is in the direction that we are heading in" added Alan. "Supposed it's the rebel camp and that is where Virgil is?"
"Would rebels use donkeys?" John asked alighting to the burro tracks that they have been following.
Alan just shrugged his shoulders. "It is still in the direction that the tracks point to. Suppose it is Virgil putting up a fight trying to escape?"
Torn between wanting to find their brother and being realistic that they are after all in the middle of a war zone, the Tracys were having trouble deciding what to do. Scott finally stepped into his leadership role and said, "Let's go. We've got nothing to lose. Pack all unnecessary stuff away into hiding areas, bring flashlights, guns, and our communicators."
Quickly hiding the tents, food, and climbing equipment under thick brush, the brothers were all set to find out what all the yelling was about. That's when they heard a shot.
There was just enough light left in the twilight to see clearly when Jorge barreled into the front yard. He caught the glimpse of someone running around the back of the house. It was most probably Miguel. It looked to be a male figure. He gestured to some of his men to go around to the other side of the house to cut the kid off. Then he went chasing after the lone figure. As he passed by the door, he decided to quickly stop and yell at Teresa that he was going to kill that kid of hers, but when he looked in, he got a faceful of homemade tear gas.
Jorge stepped back screaming, clawing at his eyes. Teresa quickly stepped out and clobbered him over the head with a heavy skillet, then ducked back into the house. He fell hard. Several of his men ran over to him not really knowing what happened. Two dropped to their knees at the side of their fallen leader, two more went to the doorway. Teresa was able to get one more squirt of teargas out of the bellows to send one of the men screaming. She went to hit him over the head with the skillet but was grabbed by the other man. Smiling at his prize he said, "Look what we have here, compadres. This is Jorge's little spitfire. Boy is he going to be madder than a nest full of hornets when he comes too." Teresa was struggling against her captor but without much success.
She stopped struggling when she heard a shot.
Victor moved as fast as he could along the back of the paddock hoping that the men would decide it faster to jump the fence rather than go around. Two did. They both immediately fell when their feet stuck in the hidden mire. Victor went through the open gate in the back and being careful where he hobbled swiftly took out both men with the metal pole. He looked up in time to see three more men coming at him from around the paddock. He moved as quickly as he could back out of the paddock towards the pit and skirted around the far side of it. The nearest rebel fell right into the pit landing awkwardly on the logs breaking both ankles. As he screamed in pain, Victor turned around. He was looking straight down the barrel of a gun. The man standing near the paddock wasn't into playing games. He heard the shot
"I have a bad feeling about this." John said when they all hear the gun shot.
Scott ever the logical one replied, "What are the odds that after missing for over a week and presumed dead, in a country in the middle of civil war, that that shot would have anything to do with Virgil?"
"A billion to one. So I say we had better hurry." Said Alan.
They all nodded in agreement and ran down the path that they had been following.