Ch 17, High Price
Castel Fioto told Teresa to 'sit tight' as she was engaging an associate of hers who operated in Fortaleza. She asked for her coordinates, which Teresa took off Google and provided right away.
"I'm sending my plane. It's about a four hour flight one way…So, by morning your friend and you should be in Medellin!" Castel was very business-like, but Teresa had the feeling she detected excitement in her voice.
Teresa could hardly contain her relief. She had been hearing the voice of the priest she and James had delivered to King George long time ago to be executed, a reformed man by the name of Ronaldo. He had asked her if she was ready to 'meet her maker' and whether she knew where her soul was going. And ever since Marcel had walked back in her life, she had been thinking that there was no permanent escape from the past. It always came back to remind her of its tainted tentacles. What was happening now was the greatest proof!
She heard herself ask Castel: "Would I need to do anything to have your people identify me?"
"When they use my name, that should be good for you!" Castel was ready to hang up, when Teresa decided to thank her and was told that it 'was too early' and that she would do it in person soon enough!
The last sentence gave her a premonition, but she shoved it deep down inside because she had to tell Marcel who was coming for them. She kept her story to the fact that Castel Fioto ran the largest drug cartel in Colombia.
It was close to an hour and a half later when they heard motor engines going up and down the street, then intermittent shots, then a full-blown shootout.
Even in the bad light Marcel could tell Teresa had shed some tears. They had streaked down through the grime on her face like running eyeliner. She noticed his worried look, took out a tissue from the back pack and wiped her face. He didn't dare say anything and decided to focus on the noise that kept coming to them.
He was antsy to get out, but Teresa was adamant to do exactly as Castel had told her: wait until identification. Then they heard the whirring of chopper blades or so they thought, and Marcel got out of their hiding room and ran down the dark corridor. Teresa had no choice but to follow.
He peeked through a window and noticed splotches of green from what he assumed were night vision goggles. Teresa saw them too and was not surprised because any associates of Castel Fioto were expected to be well equipped.
A few minutes later they could hear radios cracking and were able to visually confirm that the whirring was the rotors of a chopper.
A sudden torrent of gunfire filled the hallway as they flattened themselves against the ground until the shooting stopped. Struggling back onto their feet, they ran to the exit with more urgency.
The outside door was on the floor below. They descended and picked out distinct voices. Two men and one woman. Two red dots crisscrossed Marcel's path. He felt something zip by like a passing hornet. A bullet. Another one struck the door with a spark of fire. Who had entered the warehouse and was shooting at them?
He sidestepped to the left, straight into the darkness where he believed the outside door to be. Teresa had already reached it and to his surprise was leaning on it trying to push it open. He threw his full weight next to her as the door slid open and they both disappeared in the darkness.
It was super muggy outside. The air felt thicker sliding into their lungs, and Marcel registered a twinge of light headedness. His head swam, his stomach churned. Movement edged into the periphery of illumination coming from the street. A figure coming towards them.
The yard was dark, and the only noise was the whirring of the chopper that had now remained on the other side of the building. Then they heard a clang and a voice shouted in accented Spanish: "Teresa Mendoza! Estamos aqui para sacarla! Senora Fioto nos manda!" (We are here to get you out. Senora Fioto sent us.)
Marcel could feel his chest heave as Teresa grabbed his arm and pulled him running towards the figure in black.
Almost four hours later, after they had been moved from the chopper to Castel's private plane, it landed smoothly on a short strip surrounded by lush jungle vegetation as far as the eyes could see. It was still very early morning as it was dark, but Teresa felt so hyped that she had to refuse the aromatic coffee they were offered. One of the men accompanying them had informed her that all of her attackers, all five of them have been 'neutralized'. The news sounded awful to her ears but filled her heart with relief.
They sat in the huge mountain Jeep that met them and then jostled them up and down a winding jungle road for about half an hour. Teresa saw Marcel stare through the glass in awe at the nature that surrounded them, while her mind kept presenting her with vivid images of her two trips to the Bolivian jungle. She nervously tied her hair back in an effort to block the memories. She felt tired and dirty and although the Jeep was air conditioned, she felt hot and sticky and the whole set up made her super anxious.
Marcel had relaxed and his eyes glided over the views. He even commented about the white fog floating half way down the green hills in the rising sun.
Another half hour later, the vegetation thinned out and they approached a valley where houses could be seen. The driver informed them that they were approaching the outskirts of Medellin and that soon they would be arriving at the Fioto hacienda.
Teresa sighed and closed her eyes just as her cell beeped. She realized they had gotten into an area with cell coverage and hastily checked her messages.
James's heavy voice, telling her he loved her, filled her heart with outright angst. Something had happened, something had gone wrong! He sounded like he had been through the ringer!
She called him back twice and got his voicemail twice. She needed privacy to tell him her whereabouts and the developments around her, so she opted to send a brief text that everything was in order and that she would try him again later.
Castel Fioto hadn't changed at all. She was as elegant and as composed as ever. Little T was doing her best to carry herself with the class of her Jefa.
The hacienda was huge, palm trees and other well maintained vegetation all around it; heavily guarded by soldiers with rifles.
They were given guests rooms and after an hour's respite were brought to the grand hall to have lunch with the hostess. Teresa had found linen summer clothes on her bed to change into and was not surprised that Marcel showed up changed as well. Someone had attended to his ear where the bullet had grazed him. After a profusion of gratitude, they all sat around the table and got served appetizers.
"What situation did you get yourself into?" Castel inquired as she dismissed the server.
"Marcel is in a better position to explain. I…am only assisting him in uncovering a fraudulent scheme…we are old friends and associates from New Orleans…" Teresa explained.
Marcel's story engaged Castel's interest and right after Little T had joined them, she noted: "This is an elaborate scheme to extort money from developers. It is not the first time I hear about land laundering and purposeful waste dumping."
"All I care about right now is to find that Englishman Lancaster and see if I can recover my funds somehow!" Marcel noted.
"Is this land impossible to clean?" Little T asked.
"My lawyer in Phuket told me that it can be cleaned, but the cost will be slightly less than what we paid for it. Only then we can think about actually developing it, if we get an investor!" Marcel looked at Teresa and added: "That is …if Teresa decides to support us with her venture cap!"
Castel nodded and then changed the topic: "My Brazilian associate said his team neutralized 5 sicarios that were after you. Are there more people after you and your families?"
"Yes, for sure…but we don't know exactly how many". Teresa gave her an outline of what detail Mossad had been able to squeeze out of the captured Blackridge operative in Tel Aviv.
"I assume your families are protected!" Castel sipped her white wine and looked at them.
Teresa exhaled and said: "James and our eldest son are in Goa, checking out another piece of land…you are familiar with James's skillset…Pote and Kelly Anne have not been really involved in this search!"
"And your son…does he have James's training?" Castel smiled.
Teresa just nodded and then smiled back: "Kind of!"
Marcel's voice was shaking when he responded to Castel's look: "I have a wife and a daughter in New Orleans…and ever since I became a legitimate developer…I don't employ security…and now I see this is a mistake!"
The evening brought a light gathering in the hacienda of people who spoke Spanish with different accents and Teresa was certain it was a distro meeting of some sort. The pool area was lit by soft lights; a band played soft music and the servers had made a tower of champagne glasses that complemented the mid-size fountains in the garden. Marcel drank and talked to a few people, and Teresa hoped he had figured out that under the circumstances it would be better to listen more and talk less.
Sometime later he got a call from his lawyer in Thailand and was told that two Blackridge operatives had made an attempt on the lawyer's life and have been detained by the police. The local office of the Ministry of Environment had reopened the lawyer's complaint for fraud and required the presence of the land's owners to make a decision on its future.
"I'm flying to Thailand as soon as I find flights. Are you coming with me or are you going home?" Marcel asked Teresa.
"I can't get hold of James…he left me a voicemail and he didn't sound okay…so I don't know yet." She had tried reaching James again and had been unable to.
Marcel was worried and just as he had started to check flights, he got another call. This time it was his wife to let him know that their house had been broken into. The news sent him in overdrive.
Teresa was trying to calm him down when Castel let go of a group of her guests and walked over to them.
"I can have your family out of New Orleans tonight…if you'd like!" she offered. Teresa held her breath. She was certain Castel wasn't doing all of this for free.
As Marcel called his wife to get her ready, Teresa looked Castel in the eyes and said: "I know you helped me because of James…I just don't know why you're getting so deep with helping Marcel…I know why I'm doing it…but…"
Castel smiled: "No, I did it for you…not for James…I helped James back in Dallas when he was in trouble… he saved me, and my team's lives in Venezuela…besides James is special!... But this time…I did this for you…I've always admired you...I cannot be more thankful to you for brining Little T in my circle…and truth be told I'm sad that you left biz…as we were such great partners!"
"Really?" Teresa was surprised at the revelations she was hearing.
"Yes!" Castel smiled pleasantly and signalled to a server to refill her glass. "I'm interested in this 'land laundering'…As my superiors may be very intrigued by what I have found!"
"Which superiors?" Teresa asked.
"The ones only you and I know about!" Castel said flatly.
'So, Little T has no idea who you work for?" Teresa added.
"No!" Castel shook her head. "And neither do you… as far as your former associates are concerned. And since you asked me about helping Marcel…I had him checked. I need a person with his caliber in New Orleans and plan to have him in my debt so he cannot refuse my offer!" Castel kept smiling pleasantly as if they were talking about the crab cakes they were eating.
"He moved on…before I did", Teresa said. "If you want to change his mind back, my guess is that you'll need to tell him who you really are!"
Marcel and Teresa flew to Thailand in Castel's private jet in five days as the plane had to first get Marcel's family out of New Orleans to South Africa.
Castel had made her pitch to Marcel the next morning when Teresa had been late for breakfast. He had accepted and their talking 'business' kept them busy the next few days as Teresa enjoyed the pool. Marcel told Teresa that she had 'incredible' contacts.
Teresa got hold of James the next day to find out that Chicho had had complications and could not travel alone to Thailand. His presence as an owner was required just as Marcel's was. James had had Kelly Anne wire him funds to the hotel. He had booked passage on a cargo ship to Thailand as they had no passports to fly on. He knew about the arrested Blackridge operatives because Chicho had received all the information Marcel had. Kelly Anne was filing passport applications with the US and South African Embassies in Bangkok so that they could have passports waiting for them upon arrival. They agreed Kelly Anne was 'wonderful' and 'indispensable'.
The cargo ship James had found was not part of a fleet but was a small standalone vessel. The important thing was that the captain had not cared about their lack of documents. Cash had been sufficient to buy them passage.
The day before they boarded the ship, James called Teresa to share the news that Mossad had located a mansion owned by Lancaster's mother in the outskirts of Fianarantsoa, Madagascar.
