12. / Enlightening Business

"So," says Manito, inspecting Ché, "this is your son? What's your name, young man?" They are standing outside El Tarantula Azul an hour later, after Esteban has sheparded Philomena and Marisol to a hotel Sands recommended. The American has departed, but young Manolo waits in the plaza across the street.

"Ché Miguel Benito Sandoval, Señor." Ché stands tall - he has a way to go before he is as tall as either of them, but he's well on his way.

A flicker of emotion crosses the other man's face too swiftly for Lisiado to read it. Yes, he thinks. Benito for you. "And you answer to Ché?" The boy nods, regarding the stranger with curiousity. He doesn't seem to be afraid of him, and his father watches to see how they hit it off. "You can call me 'El'."

"That's not a real name!" Ché protests, wrinkling his nose.

"I have been called 'El Diablo'," Manito says dramatically . He makes eye contact briefly with Lisiado to see if he gets the joke. Ché wears the skeptical expression of a ten-year old who knows he's being kidded, and Lisiado suppresses a chuckle. "Okay, okay," says the boy's long-lost uncle. "Call me George."

George? Lisiado raises an eyebrow as Ché gives his uncle a solemn handshake. Seeing them together convinces him he's doing the right thing. Ché may learn a few bad habits from Manolo and Sands, but Manito will never let him turn into a cartelista.

Lisiado places a hand on his son's shoulder. "Ché, you know I would do anything to keep you from being harmed. I want you to understand that. You're not being sent away as a punishment, or because we don't love you. Don't ever think that. We want you to be safe."

"I'm scared, Papa. I don't want you to die like Señor Eduardo." No child should have to fear such things, thinks Lisiado with regret. This is why his son must leave, before he grows to accept such concern as normal.

"Not if I can help it." He kisses the boy's forehead. "Ché, here. A little walking around money for you." As he tucks the bills into his son's shirt pocket, his fingers encounter a thick rectangle...from the embarassed look on Ché's face, it's exactly what he thinks it is. The kid has found that deck of cards...again. Oh, what the hell, let him think he's getting away with something. "You listen to...George, okay?"

"I will. Be careful." One last look, intense, too worried for such a young face. His father's heart aches. Will he ever see his son again?

As the boy makes his way across the street to the plaza, the brothers look at one another. "George?"

Manito shrugs. "Inside joke. Besides, I can't let him call me El Diablo - it would be too easy to get me confused with Sands." His brother has developed an odd sense of humor, but he's already committed to this course; Ché will be fine, surely he will.

"I'd better get going. It's a long drive to Guadalajara."

"Be careful on that mountain road, it's a killer. Some of Eduardo's men found that out the hard way Sunday morning."

Lisiado halts. "Oh? Were they in a truck, or a sedan?"

"A blue truck."

"Ah." There aren't as many unaccounted for as he thought.

"I'm not sure what happened to the ones from the sedan," his brother continues thoughtfully. "I just shot them, someone else got rid of the bodies."

Lisiado's mouth opens and closes. Manito returns his look as innocently as Ché might. He wants to bellow at his brother - has Manito any idea, any clue how worried he's been about those stray pistoleros? Chalk up another dozen corpses to his brother's total...dozens. Maybe hundreds. "I don't want to know," he says out loud, shaking his head. "I really don't."

Manito grins at him. It's not a pleasant expression. "Be careful...brother."

"I'll do my best. Thank you for taking care of Ché. At least if anything happens, he'll be with...family." Taking a deep breath, the advisor heads for the jeep, not looking back. If he survives the confrontation with Ernesto, perhaps then he can begin to rewrite the Cain and Abel tale they are emeshed in.

Once he's on the road, Lisiado calls Dolores, his anxiety lessening slightly when she answers the phone. "What's happening there?" he asks.

"Ernesto and Ramirez have been in Nestor's office all afternoon. The men are having a drunken party in the pool house. They've been shooting guns off and playing loud music - I'm not even sure if anyone is on guard tonight."

"Stay inside, zamira mia," he cautions her. "Don't take any chances. I'm on my way there now to talk to Ernesto."

"But - Cesar - !"

"While you're waiting, pack what you want to take away with you. You'll be coming back with me. Try not to let them see you. And Dolores - don't forget Ché's robots."