Chapter 7

Chapter 7
December 31, 2011
Greenfield, California

    The only thing that Belinda could keep straight in her mind was that she did not want Rodolfo to leave the house this morning. She was as alone as she had ever been and she was beginning to regret chasing her sister and friends away, but something inside told her this was her one chance to regain some control of her life. She knew Vic was outside manning the police line, and that Sofia and Etienne were probably there too, but she was determined not to call on them. Belinda had made her decision to refuse to let Rodolfo out, and she planned to stick to it. She would not let her son be a pawn in anybody's game.
    Dawn came and went and when no one emerged from the house the crowd grew restless. The Loyal Order sent a four person delegation to the house and knocked. Belinda answered the door and told them to go away. The group took the answer back to the other members.   A murmur started to run through the crowd and an almost electric transformation began. It began with chants of , "Rodolfo, Rodolfo, Rodolfo," and quickened into agitated movements and jostling.
    One man tried to cross the line that separated the throng from Belinda's house but was unceremoniously pushed back. Offense was taken and the melee began. The Loyal Order held tough for a couple of minutes, but then one, then two, then a handful of people broke through their line. The rioters began to pound the walls of Belinda's house. One got to a window in the front of the house and broke it through. He stuck a bleeding head inside and a terrified Rodolfo and Belinda recoiled in horror . The head quickly disappeared and was replaced by a smiling face that Belinda recognized. The face said, "Ma'am, I don't want to be one to tell you how to run your business, but I don't know how long we can keep these thugs back. Maybe you ought to take Rodolfo to the machine."
    A shell shocked Belinda had begun to think that was a pretty good idea when all hell broke loose. The friendly face abruptly disappeared from the window. She heard a loud crash and a mass of people rolled through the door. Vic Castenada was in the middle of the heap. He managed to get to his feet and pull his pistol out just as he was blind-sided with a chair. The chief started to fall and the last thing he heard was Belinda scream.
    Two men saw Rodolfo and headed for him. Belinda put herself between the men and Rodolfo. They moved towards her and she readied herself for a fight. The men paused and thought better of it. One said, "Lady we just want our money. We don't want nothin to happen to you or your kid." The other added, "Yeah, let's just go down there. This is crazy."
    Belinda was up against it and she knew it. She nodded acquiescence and accompanied the men out the back door. A steady stream of people followed them through the house, stepping over the unconscious Castenada en route.
    The word passed person to person throughout the crowd that Rodolfo was on his way and the riot stopped as suddenly as it had started. Belinda carried Mango and Rodolfo walked beside her. Belinda's sense of isolation and powerlessness were total. The feelings of guilt for what she had said to her sister and Etienne and especially Vic resurfaced with a vengeance. She prayed that Vic was not seriously injured. He'd taken a terrible blow to the head. Rodolfo's stride altered and she saw Sofia had taken his other hand and that Etienne had fallen into step behind him.
    "Thanks Sis." Belinda managed to blurt out. "Why aren't you broadcasting? Who's minding the store? Sorry, I know it's your work, and I'm glad you're here. Don't go and lose your job though. Me and Rodolfo may need you."
    "Nobody's minding the store. And did you just chew me out or apologize. I can never tell with you. But I don't mind what you say Bel. You and Rodolfo have been paying for all of us. Now it's our turn. I don't care if I ever do another broadcast." Sofia got close and whispered, "If you want to run away with Rodolfo, I'll go with you."
    "Where's Vic? He got hit in the head. I saw him fall," asked a worried Belinda.
    "He's O.K. That's a pretty hard head on his shoulders Belinda. Sofia and I were through your front door just as you were going out the back. Sofia followed you and I pulled Vic to the side and got him on his feet. He sent me after you. He's taking the patrol car as close to the machine as possible so we can get out of there when we're done," Etienne answered.
    "You guys talk like there's somewhere to run. We're surrounded. You think we'll be safe anywhere? Everybody in this state wants their money. Maybe you were right about the interview Sofia, I mean, maybe if we let everybody know what it's like and let them know that we'll go early every morning they'll leave us alone." Belinda fell silent with exhaustion.
    "Bel, you don't need to decide anything now. Let's just get to the machine and get away from this crowd, and then we can talk." Sofia was subdued and almost as preoccupied as Belinda was. They all walked the rest of the way in silence.
    The sea of people near the machine opened a clear path for Rodolfo and the others without being prompted. As soon as Rodolfo had touched the machine and the other screens became activated, the crowd lost interest in them for a moment. While everyone else was focusing on money, Etienne, Sofia, Belinda and Rodolfo drifted over towards El Camino Real and got in the patrol car that Vic Castenada had waiting for them. They sped off amid cheers of "Rodolfo, Rodolfo, Rodolfo..." and were, for the moment at least, safely away.

    Preston and Noe were at their new morning hang out, the sofa in Preston's house watching the circus at the ATM. "It's enough to make a seeing man go blind. Sons-a-bitches. What's your boys got to say for themselves Noe?" Preston asked.
    "They got themselves wrapped tight in that little group that thinks they're protecting the kid. You thinking about grabbing him, huh boss? If we could stash the kid for a few days you think that would really shut the whole thing down?" Noe asked nervously.
    Noe felt uneasy sitting casually in Preston's house. He and Noe had always had a well defined professional relationship that had been altered beyond recognition. He and Preston were now criminal conspirators. They had never needed to worry about the police before because their actions were part of the general order of the world. They banged a few heads, but only the heads that needed banging. They had been an unbeatable team. Now Noe knew he and Preston had crossed a line, and there was no going back. What he had to consider carefully was how much further was he willing to go for Preston.

    The mood in the patrol car was somber. Belinda had been elated when Sofia and Etienne had shown up, but now she felt as if she were on the way to a funeral. "Talk to me Sofia. You know you're the rock of the family. I need you, not some weepy eyed little girl." Belinda was determined to open up the lines of communication that had been so recently broken.
    Sofia turned to her sister with a serious look on her face, "All right Belinda. Don't you ever forget I'm bad. I'm the baddest sister you got. So don't you worry bout me getting teary-eyed. If anyone is coming after you Belinda, they gotta go through me first." Sofia managed to get it all ought before Belinda broke in.
    "Yeah, you bad sister. You are the baddest sister I got," Belinda said, and they all laughed.
    "Hey you guys. I just got hit on the head. How bout a little sympathy here." Vic managed to moan.
    "That coconut is too hard to crack Vic," chided Etienne.

Noe wasn't the only one to do some long term reassessment of the situation, Preston had begun to have nagging suspicions that he was not privy to the "big picture." He had gotten Noe to infiltrate the Loyal Order for the Protection of Rodolfo. But what worried Preston, what was starting to keep him up nights, was who else was doing the same thing. These ATM's had altered the entire social fabric in every locale they entered. Those who were on top were being brushed aside. Those who were previously dependant and weak, now thumbed their noses at authority. A new elite, a la Gil Tanzini and Efrain Mendoza, was already emerging. But damn it, no one had let Preston in on it. If the big boys were going to shake things up he deserved some consideration. He had paid his dues, campaign contributions, favors to politicians of all stripes, cooperating with the police when asked. If he was getting the old heave-ho, he didn't understand. Who could be pulling off this scam and why?
He wanted to be sure of one thing, that he wasn't being set up. If he could be assured that he could get away with what ever those in power wanted done, Preston Witt was their man. He was nobody's patsy, he wasn't about to be hung out to dry, but he also knew this type of second guessing himself was dangerous. This whole thing was way out of hand, he only wished it would be over soon.