Informant #2

Chapter 8

Early the next morning at The Agency, Francine had just sat down in Billy's office. He had called her in with news about Amanda.

Francine smirked, "Sure didn't take long for her to get into trouble, did it?" Then noting Billy's unappreciated response, she turned solemn, "Obviously my timing is off. Amanda's alright isn't she?"

"Seems to be." But Billy still looked glum, "Mrs. King had left a voice message late last night, but with the different time zones, I didn't receive it until I came in this morning."

"Don't tell me that she's already run into the impostor!"

"Not that, either, Francine. Unfortunately, after she identified the first informant, he was found murdered soon afterward."

Francine's mouth dropped, "That's terrible news! So tragic!"

"It is. Miguel was one of our most reliable informants," Billy noted, his expression saddened, "A very good man as well."

RING!RING!

Their conversation was interrupted by the phone. Billy picked up.

"Melrose."

He listened and then stated, "Alright. Thanks for letting me know," and then hung up.

Francine tilted her head, "More bad news?"

"The worse," Billy told her, his mouth a straight line, "That was Mrs. Marston. I told her to ring me the minute Lee entered the building. He just did and he's on his way up."

"He'll see that Amanda's not here," Francine noted, "Aaand, he'll want to know where she is."

"Exactly," Billy concurred and then gave Francine a troublesome look, "I think my day just hit rock bottom."

"-or more like your rock bottom found a basement," Francine dryly commented.

#

Amanda awoke at 6 am. She had had a restless night. Calling room service, they suggested she try the tepita-style migas, which is a bread and egg soup. It was delicious; rich and aromatic. She didn't have the appetite, but she forced it down, for she needed to keep up her strength.

Promptly at eight, she met Ramos in the lobby, her suitcase and purchases by her side. They would not be coming back here. They would be on the road for six hours to reach informant #2.

Amanda had again carefully memorized the next informant's face. Paco Ramirez worked as a waiter at El Pujol restaurant.

As Ramos loaded the truck of the car, he pointed to the package wrapped in newspaper that Amanda carefully held like precious jewels.

"What is that?" he wanted to know, pointing, his expression dour.

Amanda held the package close to her chest, "It's the clothing and some items I bought at Miguel's store yesterday-"

-before he was murdered in cold blood, she thought morbidly, but didn't say it out loud.

She eyed him, "You're not going to complain about the extra space in the car I'll be taking up with this package, are you?"

"No, but you were foolish to spend your money needlessly," he bitterly stated, "now, get in and let's get going!"

#

They drove in silence. Amanda could feel the antagonism between them. It was obvious he still didn't want her on the trip and she almost wanted to just throw the stupid money belt at him and go home. Plus Miguel's death still weighed heavily on her mind. She wanted to talk about it in order to help her heart heal, but she knew Ramos would feel she was too weak and emotional.

Amanda felt so lonely on this trip. Sighing with boredom, she dug into her purse to look at pictures of her mother and her two sons. She really missed them.

From the driver's side, Ramos side-eyed her, "What is that? What are you looking at?"

"Pictures of my family," she explained, "just wondering what they're doing now. You don't have a family, do you, Agent Ramos?"

Ramos stared straight ahead, "Instead of asking soft and sentimental question, you should be thinking of strong and inquisitive ideas! I still do not understand why you were hired on this mission!"

Ooooo! This man!

"I sometimes wonder why as well," Amanda mumbled out loud, as she shut her wallet and then spent the rest of the trip peering out the window or looking at the map.

They were taking the backroads, so throughout most of the drive, all Amanda could see was desolate land with few trees but plenty of dirt. They also passed a few villages but Ramos only made one quick stop to just stretch out and then they were on the road again.

At last they arrived at the village of Tamasina, which was slightly larger than Bajo Salto. No donkeys were wandering about like in Baja Salto. Instead, old vehicles ruled the dirt streets. From the passenger side of the car, Amanda spotted the restaurant sign which read: El Pujol.

"There it is!" she pointed out, "El Pujol! And look! It has an open-air patio! How charming!"

"'Charming' is NOT the reason we are here!" Ramos reminded her, as he pulled the car in to park.

Amanda told herself to be patient. She just needed to continue being nice and maybe Agent Ramos will eventually come around. For now, at least they had reached their destination safely without killing one another. When they parked their vehicle and got out, Amanda's muscles felt stiff from sitting too long.

They chose to sit inside the cafe, picking seats near the window. After Ramos sloppily hung his jacket behind his chair, he elected to go first to use the restroom.

Very typical that he would think of his needs first, she thought, but at least he was gone.

Looking over at his seat, she noted his jacket askew and went over to straighten it on the chair. Definitely a bachelor. Then she sat down again and viewed the patrons in the dining area. Quite a few people eating a late lunch or early dinner. She stared at every server and customer in the place, but disappointingly, no one looked to be Paco Ramirez.

Perhaps he wasn't working this day. She hoped that was the reason. The image of Miguel Estban's fallen body with a knife plunged into his back crept into her mind. She shook her head to clear it.

By now, Ramos had returned, so now it was Amanda's turn to use the ladies' room.

#

As she emerged from the restroom, she nearly collided with a man rushing down the hall with a tray.

"Perdone, Señorita!" he apologized, his expression intense at his clumsiness with a customer.

When Amanda recovered, she looked squarely at him and her whole face lit up.

She had accidentally bumped into informant #2, Paco Ramirez!

He was a young man with a kind, eager face.

"Oh!" she tried her best not to give a sign of recognition, "Don't worry about it! I'm perfectly alright!"

He looked relieved, "That is good you are not hurt!" His face was open and sincere, "Señorita, has your order been accepted?"

"What?" she asked and then thought about it, "Oh! You mean have we ordered yet? No, I've just arrived."

"Then you are in for a treat! The food is very much good here!" he enthused.

Amanda smiled for the first time that day, "Really? That good, eh? And what would you recommend?"

His face dropped as he lowered his head, "I...I am not...important... enough to tell you, Señorita. I am but a busboy. You must talk to waiter."

"What do you ever mean?" Amanda asked, giving him an empathetic look, "Of course you're important enough to tell me! You're the busboy, so you have seen everything here. The dining area. The kitchen. The good AND the bad of all the dishes! You are EXACTLY the person I need to ask!"

Paco lifted his head, "Yes? You think so?"

With surety she answered, "I know so!"

He lowered his voice, "Señorita, this is what I think, then. Do not order the specials today! Order our homemade carnitas or tamale. They are very best! You will see!"

She winked, "I'm sure I will have a fine dining experience now, thanks to you!"

#

When Amanda arrived back at the table she was in a good mood.

Sitting down, she gave a knowing nod to Agent Ramos.

"I have found the person we seek," she announced covertly, enjoying that she almost felt like a spy

In a rare moment, Ramos looked pleased, "That is good," he looked around, "Where is he? What is his name?"

That happy feeling dissipated. Instinctively, alarms went off in Amanda's head. She didn't see the point of identifying the informant to him.

Amanda cleared her throat, attempting to casually unwrap her napkin and place it on her lap, "Is it really necessary for you to know that information now? I've just verified that it was definitely him."

Ramos' eyes narrowed, "so is it you still do not trust me? Did you not remind me many times that we are in this together? That we are a team?"

He had a point. But Amanda needed to be careful.

"Yes, but we have completed what we set out to do in this town," she pointed out, "so now we must think of the next destination instead."

"To which I have no information on, as well!" Ramos growled.

They stopped talking as the waiter came and their order was taken. Then they were alone again.

It didn't take long for the food to come. Their conversation during that time seemed stilted and trivial.

However, the tamales and pork carnitas were superb.

As the dinner came to a close, Amanda decided to try kindness again.

She announced, "I was thinking afterward of taking a walk around the town," she informed him and then added as an afterthought to be friendly, "would you like to join me?"

"No, I would not!" he grunted, "The way I see it, if you've seen one town, you've seen them all! So just go ahead and be quick about it!"

Amanda tried not to show her displeasure as she forced a smile, "Alright, dear cousin. I won't take long."

Partnering up with Lee was like a walk in the park compared to Agent Ramos. And as she walked out, she wondered if she would ever work with Lee again.

#

Amanda did take a small tour around the town after the early dinner, but she was alone. She didn't mind and actually welcomed it. Crossing the road to the opposite street, she passed the 'Dentiste" office, a bookstore, a candle shop, and a five and dime, among others. She didn't go inside any of them but chose only to 'window shop'. She would have loved to explore the quaint town with its homemade wares, but she knew Ramos would have a bad-mood fit if she dilly- dallied. So in no time, she headed back to the motel.

Purposely turning to look towards the patio of El Pujol, she could see busboy Paco Ramirez busily clearing the dishes from the patio tables and it gave her a sense of satisfaction that he was fine.

After her nice stroll, she returned to see Agent Ramos in the parking lot, leaning on his parked rental car, his arms folded. Amanda took a deep breath in and readied herself for the confrontation.

"What took you so long?" he demanded to know as she walked up to him.

Amanda had hoped a good meal in him would lighten his disposition, but no, he was still in a foul mood.

"I've been gone for less than 30 minutes!" she claimed, and then forced herself to calm down, "what does it matter, anyway? We have completed this second identification!"

"I was thinking we could go to the next town," he stated.

Amanda looked exasperated, "Now?"

"it is still daytime and we may be able to reach it by nightfall," he explained, "Of course, the problem is, I cannot determine the arrival time to the next place since, thanks to your stubbornness, I have absolutely no knowledge of our next destination!"

Amanda was getting tired of his attitude and his insistence that he needed the ID packet, but she would NOT let him get to her.

"Our next destination will take approximately four hours," she informed him, "but if we leave now, that will mean we have been in a car for 10 hours!"

"So what? Just tell me the destination and who we are to identify."

Amanda stated through clenched teeth, "I have a feeling if I told you, you will drive ahead and leave me stranded here!"

"Again! We keep going around and around!" Ramos looked hot as a pot filled with steaming water, about to boil over. "You not revealing our next destination is utterly ridiculous!" he declared, as he looked at her with disdain, "You are acting like a petulant child, and I am sick and tired of it!"

"I'm acting like a petulant child?" Amanda stood up for herself, "You're the one with a continual pout on your face! Snapping at everyone you come in contact with; especially me! Yes, we are on a mission, but that doesn't mean we can't be pleasant with one another! And you know what the worst part is, Agent Ramos?"

"I do NOT know, but I'm sure you can't wait to tell me!"

"The worst part," Amanda began, "is that I HATE how you are making me lose my temper!"

Ramos looked around to make sure no one was listening. When he turned back to her, his eyes flashed.

"Once again, your inexperience shows!" he bluntly concluded, "Agents are trained never to express emotions and you have shown tears, sadness, and now you have shown a loss of your temper!"

"Ohhhh, I haven't even BEGUN to lose my temper yet!" she announced, "and the show of emotions is called being human! So THAT explains why you can't show emotions!"

"It is useless reasoning with you! Have it your way! We will stay here one night!" he snapped, walking over to open the trunk of the car, "And you will carry your own luggage as well as balancing all your packages!"

Amanda held her head up high. She would not let him get to her!

#

It was late at night and Amanda sat up in the bed of her austere room, reading a book by candlelight. It was hard to concentrate on the words of the story, however. This was the first time she had been so miserable while on a mission.

What she wouldn't give to go on a mission with Lee!

The only problem with that is that he was the one who didn't want to go on a mission with HER.

Lee and now Agent Ramos. Maybe it wasn't the agents who were difficult to work with, maybe it was HER.

No, she convinced herself, I will not think like that...instead, I will think optimistically and in the morning, everything will be better, she decided.

She shut the book, blew out the candle and immediately the room was enveloped in darkness.

#

Amanda had been asleep for some time when she was awakened by a small but insistent sound coming from the outside.

CLINK!CLINK!CLINK!

Now fully awake, her eyes widened. She recognized the noise as someone fumbling with the lock on her door.

Someone was breaking into her room!

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