TRAITORS (15 page)

Their appointment was at 8:30 in the morning, but they arrived at 8:10. They were dressed in military uniforms decorated with some of the medals they had received for their heroism on the battlefield. Both had risked their lives many times, and had always emerged triumphant. At one point, Pablo received a gunshot wound in a fierce battle in Afghanistan. The wound on his left arm had already healed. This injury had earned him a medal, because despite being injured, he went back into combat to rescue another soldier who had been hit by a grenade. The rescued soldier survived, and Pablo was recognized for this great act of courage.

“Come in,” invited the Major, “I’ve been expecting you.” After the usual salutations, they were invited to take a seat. “I regret to inform you that I may not be able to present myself in court because there were a few drawbacks. First, I verified the matter with my superiors and my presence would not have much impact. Testifying, knowing that I was not able to meet your brother in person, would categorically fall into a lie. Other than that, military laws forbid us to do these kinds of appearances. Finally, I will be assigned to a special mission tomorrow. Believe me, I am sorry I cannot help, but I wish you all the best.”

They were rendered speechless. Neither believed in the veracity of the arguments that the Major had laid out before them. There is no law prohibiting members of the military from appearing to testify in court. What is possible is that it would have a negative impact on his career much less, is the excuse of being transferred. Both knew that the Major’s orders were to remain on that base for at least a full year to train new recruits.

“You can’t turn your back on us,” said Pablo. “We had placed all our hope in you. You know we only have two days left before the hearing and we don’t have many other options, please don’t refuse us your help.”

“Sorry, guys. I don’t want you to lose more time. I have another appointment within fifteen minutes and want to keep my friendship with you. Please understand my reasons and I wish you the best of luck.”

The Major was very clear and definite. There was nothing that Pablo or Norma could do because by no means would they force anyone to do what they didn’t want to. The Major had been very blunt in his decision. The couple went back to the San Fernando Valley and picked up Zina and Norberto to go to the appointment with Attorney Quintanilla. They all arrived at the law firm a few minutes before eleven o’clock. Aunt Lupita came along with Mr. Mireles, while Pablo came with Norma, Norberto and Zina. All were silent since there were other people in the waiting room. After a few minutes, the secretary invited them in.

“Please sit down,” requested Quintanilla while making a hand gesture to his assistant signaling her to bring one more chairs. “Everything must come to an end,” declared the lawyer. That Monday morning, he looked like a real expert willing to put his heart and soul into the case. “The judge welcomed the four letters that I submitted last Friday. A favorable expression in his eyes could be noticed when he saw that what he had requested had been supplied. He said these people would have major impact in court because they are recognized in society. If at least three of the four were to testify, the case would be won and we will have Luis back home.”

Pablo interrupted the lawyer with a tone of sadness in his voice. “I regret to inform you all that the Major has denied us his help this morning. He made plenty of excuses to mask his unwillingness to support. Norma and I felt that he simply did not want to get involved. He simply had no intention of doing so.”

“I don’t know how some people could be so insensitive and give little or no importance to such sensitive issues,” snapped Aunt Lupita. “I know there are some immigrants who commit crimes, but the percentage is very low compared to those who are good and have come to this country to work.”

“I agree!” Quintanilla said. “But right now, we have little time to spare so we must concentrate on the case. Without the support of the Major, what other option do we have? Are the three people we counted on?”

“No,” said Mr. Mireles. “Father Carlos said we should speak with him if we lack one person. After this meeting, we will all go the parish and speak with him. The only sure ones are the school principal and Mr. Rolmes.”

“Then I will meet up with Luis today to finalize details and I need at least one of you to go with me. Only two people aside from me can go see him, and we only have fifteen minutes to be alone with him,” said Quintanilla.

“I think Pablo and I should go,” suggested Zina. I can’t lose this chance to see him even if it’s just for a few minutes.

“Very well!” said the lawyer. “We need to communicate with the people who are going to the hearing. It is urgent that you go and speak with Father Carlos, and please inform everyone that we should be at court by 10:30 in the morning to register. The hearing is at eleven and we do not want setbacks. As for you both, I’ll see you at the detention center at two this afternoon,” said Quintanilla. “Please be there ten or fifteen minutes early, so don’t waste any time.”

Everyone left the office and immediately went to the parish office in Santa Rosa. They arrived and spoke to the receptionist.

“Is Father expecting you?” she asked.

“He didn’t tell us what time to come,” said Lupita, “but he already knew that we would come see him.”

“He’s almost done with the person he’s currently with. Please take a seat, and I will soon inform him that you are here.”

The group of newcomers filled the small reception room. They sat in total silence. The ten minutes they spent waiting seemed eternal, until the priest finally appeared.

“Come with me,” he said with joy that characterized him.

They passed through the narrow hallway and entered into the conference room on the second floor of the parish.

“We will have more privacy here. How’s everything? Tell me all about it,” said the priest.

Everyone told their share of the story to the priest, as if venting out after so much stress. They explained how problems had arisen with people who refused to help: the problem of Zina with her father, the refusal of Pablo’s friend, and the cold response from the Mexican consul in Los Angeles.

“You see, Father,” said Mr. Mireles “we really need you! Your presence is very important!”

“Well, we must understand that this matter is especially delicate,” said the priest. “And we know that those involved are sometimes questioned by the authorities in case deeper problems arise. Let us not judge those who refused to cooperate. They have only been careful in their decisions. I have heard of many cases where people do get into trouble. To some extent, the orders and prohibitions come from their superiors and they get warned to be very cautious.”

“Yes, but the superiors don’t know of the suffering that those involved are going through,” said Zina. “I think it’s a matter of justice, and justice can never be questioned.”

“I agree!” said the Father. “But let’s not discuss the matter further. We’ll see each other there on Wednesday,” he said in a vague tone. The priest held a strong internal struggle to hide his fear of the situation, but he felt the obligation of providing aid to a servant of his parish, a son of God in distress. What else could he do but to come forward and support him? Love should be above fear of problems and fear of superiors.

Jonathan entered the office of the school principal. She had summoned him.

“There are some things I want to discuss with you,” she said. “I don’t want any riot in school on Wednesday. I learned that many students have agreed to skip class and go to court in a sign of support. Please remind your fellow students that there will be consequences if they make too much fuss and I may not be able to do much for them since I’m already having enough problems with my decision to attend. This morning, the teachers who are against me testifying came and again threatened to report me and make it seem like I was the one who orchestrated all this. I also found out that there is a group of students who also plan to attend and show their denunciation. I don’t want to cause an incident or confrontation. One of the teachers, and I will not name names, is even getting that organized. These teachers are not just content with reporting me! They are also planning to go with the students to express their dissatisfaction. There are even talks that they will contact some radio stations. Please be very careful. I do not want anyone to be affected—neither you guys nor the teachers.”

Jonathan left the office a little upset about the situation, but convinced about not causing much commotion in school. He wanted things to continue as they were at that moment so as not to discourage the principal and prevent her from changing her decision.

Zina could not hide her anxiety on the way to Lancaster. She was very quiet and was deep in thought. Her heart beat rapidly and this caused her to have a cold sweat. The road to Lancaster seemed endless. Although they had been there before and she knew the place was far, she felt as if they would never reach their destination. She wondered what she’d do when she was again in front of Luis. What would she say? She thought of thousands of ways to maintain tranquility.

She had to assure Luis that everything would turn out fine. After all, she hoped that his martyrdom would come to an end on Wednesday. They arrived five minutes before two, the lawyer was already waiting for them, and they went into the waiting room.

Luis was quietly sitting in the interview room while waiting for the lawyer. He never imagined that his brother and Zina would also come to see him knowing that such visits were not allowed, let alone just two days before his hearing. The three visitors came in all of a sudden. Luis sprung up from his chair unable to say a word. There she was, his beloved. It had been more than a month since he last held her in his arms. She seemed more beautiful than he remembered, but she looked tired from so many sleepless nights.

Luis, meanwhile, looked thinner. His eyes reflected all the days he spent in sorrow, and the long hours he had spent crying beneath the blanket, waiting for the moment when he would finally be reunited with her and to make up for all the suffering he had caused her. They merged into an embrace, and no one said a word. They wanted that moment to last forever. At the same time, Pablo embraced them unable to hold back his tears from the emotion of seeing their great love for each other and the great affection he felt for his brother. He had dedicated himself to protecting him since the day he was with them. He felt remorse for not having fulfilled the promise of taking care of him; a promise he had made to their mother. His soul ached to see his brother.

“Okay, give me a minute to explain the details of the hearing,” said the lawyer clearing his throat, “then I will leave you so you can talk at ease.”

Blushing, the brothers separated from the hug and Quintanilla immediately told Luis about certain procedures for the hearing. He told him what he had to answer and what not to. He also set expectations of what would happen at the end of the hearing. He then left them to be alone.

The three held hands. Luis broadly told them about his stay there while Zina and Pablo told him about the successes and failures of their struggle to free him. Although Zina had already partly told him those in her letters, she just simply confirmed the cowardice of the pastor of his congregation, about her father, and about Major Smith. They promised each other that they would recover every lost minute and be together forever. They were optimistic about Wednesday’s hearing and they also made plans for the day that Luis was released.

“There is something else you need to know,” Pablo told Luis, “this morning, Uncle Antonio informed me that Grandma’s health had again deteriorated. They had to take her to the hospital again. I’ll call to find out more about it this afternoon. When we’re done with the hearing I’ll go to Mexico and see her. I think my presence will help her recover sooner.”

Luis burst into tears again. Something inside him knew that his grandmother’s health had been in a delicate state. He felt guilty because he had stopped calling her, knowing that hearing from her grandchildren was what kept her going.

Blaming himself, Luis said “I’ll never forgive myself if something happens to my
Sweet
Granny,
I wouldn’t be able to deal with my conscience if we were to lose her. If I manage to get out of here, I will find a way to be with her and make up for the lost time. I have made many promises and I must fulfill them.”

The three of them hugged each other again, and promised to be together after Wednesday. They were interrupted by the guard, who asked the visitors to leave. Their time was up and they needed to bring Luis back to his cell. They parted with just a kiss and the promise of being together again to go on with the part of their lives which fate had frozen in time.

With nothing much left to do, they all left the detention center. All they could do now was to wait for Wednesday morning to arrive to discover what fate had in store for them.

That afternoon, Mr. Mireles called the Red Cross commissioner again to remind him of Wednesday’s appointment, but the commissioner did not answer. Mireles resigned to leave a message on the answering machine and wait for him to return his call.

The day of the hearing finally arrived. Jonathan and about forty students were gathered outside the school readying a motorcade bound for Lancaster. It was 8:30 in the morning and most of the other students were already in class. Principal Johnson had not arrived, because she would directly go to courthouse. However, the one they did see was Vice Principal Kim Dru. She was with the other opposing teachers and ten students, also bound for Lancaster. But in their case, to protest. The battle had begun.

Meanwhile, Aunt Lupita and her family were already out. Norberto along with his girlfriend Ximena were also on their way. Pablo, Norma and Zina had been unable to sleep and had been ready since an hour, or more, ago. The three were only waiting for the arrival of Mrs. Tamara, Zina’s mother, who was to fulfill her promise of being by her daughter’s side that morning. It was 8:37 a.m. when the phone rang. Zina ran to answer thinking it was her mother. In fact, she answered a little upset since she was already late.