CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Lisa walked along an unpaved street in the densely populated district of Planeta with an officer from Operation Lighting pointing out the patchwork of gang turfs. “Ramon, are you telling me that one block can be governed by one gang and the next three by their rivals?”
“Clado, que si.” Lifting his arm, he pointed toward a group of masked police officers in dust-covered body armor with their fingers on their weapons and raised an eyebrow. “Growing old here is a privilege, not a right.”
Feeling Ace tense at her back, she turned and watched his head moving right to left and then back. He’d been wired tight since they left the hotel earlier and she knew how much he hated having her out in the open. “We’re almost done.”
“Can’t happen soon enough,” he bit out.
Ramon nodded to one of the officers and then rested his hand on his gun. “There is no school and few businesses, so the community has no choice but to navigate the territories on their long commutes to more affluent parts of the city.”
“Why don’t they just move to another safer part of the city?” Ace asked.
“Have you asked that of the people living in your crime-ridden inner cities and government housing projects?”
“No,” Ace responded quietly. “Fair point.”
“Often, if a family moves, then all they’re doing is exchanging one set of gangs for another. The people who live here are existing in a tenuous state of calm alongside gang enforcers who can be neighbors, sons, or cousins. There is no black and white answer here, and to pretend like one exists is a waste of time.”
“The average age of a gang member seems much younger here than it does in El Salvador,” Lisa commented as she looked down at the crumbling building to the left. “They can’t be more than fifteen or sixteen.”
“Gang recruits are groomed from a young age, so an eleven or twelve-year-old is not unheard of,” Ramon replied as he began walking again. “This is a forgotten neighborhood and massacres are not uncommon.”
“Time to go,” Ace said firmly as he racked his gun and lifted it. “I don’t like the movement at the end of the block.”
Ramon nodded in agreement. “The police are moving toward them, so let’s not get caught in the crossfire.”
Putting her hand on Ace’s back, Lisa sighed. “Okay. The interviews that I did earlier are more than enough.”
Ace looked over his shoulder and nodded to Ramon. “Time to get out of Indian country.”
“For now,” Lisa whispered. Following Ace, she wondered how the cycle of violence would ever end, not only in this small corner of Central America but all the other places in the world.
Feeling exhausted down to her bones, she knew this would be her last foreign assignment for a while because her ability to witness the world’s horrors was just about used up.
Ashamed she wasn’t stronger and more resilient to continue the work, she let out a frustrated breath and hoped she could find a purpose that would make reconciling the fact possible.
Lisa waved to Ramon as he drove away and turned toward the entrance of the Hilton Princess with Ace following. As they walked into the marble lobby and she felt the bite of air-conditioning, she jerked at the contrast between the streets they had just left and the opulent surroundings.
“You okay, honey?”
“I’m a little spun out.”
“Figured as much. You’ve been grinding your teeth so hard, I was afraid you were going to start shooting enamel.”
Hitting the button for the elevator, she wrapped her arms around her waist. “I’m burnt, Ace.”
He switched his gun bag from one arm to the other and then pulled her against his side. “Witnessing what we did is not normal, and you’ve had a front-row seat to death lately, so it makes sense.”
The elevator doors slid open, and they walked on. “Give me some of your SEAL secrets; how do you handle it?”
“My heart isn’t as soft as yours, and I have the luxury of being in the fight. I’m the sharp end of the sword and have the satisfaction of being actively involved in the struggle against evil.” Taking her hand, he pressed it against his chest and bent over. “You have to witness it, and the only armament you have is the words you string together and put out there for the world to see.”
“I used to think that was enough, but it doesn’t feel like it anymore.” When they arrived on their floor, she walked off and waited next to their door. “How many gizmos did you put on the door today?”
“Just one.”
Rolling her eyes, she watched him disarm the secondary lock he’d attached to the door and then waited while he disengaged the additional one just inside the door. “Am I clear to enter, sir?”
Leaning back, he gave her a jaunty grin. “Since you’re so fucking beautiful, the only answer I can give you is yes.”
Pressing her mouth to his, she kissed him lightly and then entered their room and collapsed on the bed. She rolled her head and watched Ace set his gun bag down and give her a questioning glance. “What?”
“Just trying to decide if sexing you up before we go for a swim is a totally douchey thing to be thinking about since you’re having a small crisis of faith.”
She held out her hand and wiggled her fingers. “I’m all for therapeutic sex.”
He dropped down next to her and rolled on his side. “What can I do to make it better?”
“You mean other than the ‘sexing up’ and general amazingness that you’ve already shown me since we got on the plane in San Diego?”
“Yes,” he replied with a laugh.
“Nothing, this is just something I’ve got to work out on my own.” She ran her hands through his scruff and blinked several times. “Going to that service this morning for that boy who’d been lynched and dragged behind the truck was too much, Ace. He was sixteen years old and how something like that is possible, just because some gang members heard what neighborhood he’s from is…”
“Nothing anyone can explain.”
“But I need to explain things. I need to figure the cause and effect, so I can come up with a reasonable response and then write about it.” Wrapping her arms around him, she buried her face and inhaled his familiar soapy scent.
“Honey, maybe the teaching job you’re about to start is the beginning of something great. You don’t have to bear witness to every human tragedy to make a difference in the world.”
“You’re just saying that because you don’t want me to be out on the front lines.”
“Maybe a little, but I’ve also seen what staying too long can cost someone, and I don’t want that for you.”
“It feels like I’m giving up.”
“Nah, you’re just changing courses.”
“Seems I am because I don’t know if I can talk about young kids being involved in massacres for very much longer.” Kissing his chest, she let out a breath. “I’m ready to be sexed up now.”
Lifting her chin, he grinned. “Get ready then because I’m about to show you some of my best moves.”
Wiggling her hips, she looked up and saw his fierce gaze. “I’m so lucky to have you in my life, Ace. There isn’t a better man in the world.”
“Lisa, I’m the one who’s lucky, and I’m never going to let you go.”
Lifting her face, she met his hungry kiss and was tugged under the wave of desire that he always created whenever they were together.
A perfect antidote to the day.
***
Ace watched Lisa jump into the pool and leaned back against the side, waiting for her to surface. Cresting the water almost immediately, he saw her smile as she swam in his direction. “Better?”
“Yes,” she replied as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
“A couple of hours of dirty loving will usually fix what ails you, and I’m glad I was here to give you just that.”
“Me too since I was on the verge of a full-fledged freak.”
“Do you want to change the agenda for the trip?” He ran his hand down the center of her body and watched her shiver. “We have another week or so of stops, right?”
“Yes,” she replied as she pulled herself up straight. “I’m actually thinking of skipping Juarez. There’s been plenty of coverage on what’s happening in the border town, and I don’t know that I’d contribute anything new to the conversation.”
“What about Texas?”
“I’d like to get inside the detention centers, but I just heard back from a colleague, and he said he couldn’t get access. They had the one event for the press a couple of weeks ago, and it doesn’t look like they’re letting more in for the time being.”
“Do you have enough to write the series?”
“I think so.” She let her arms drop and slipped into the water. “I’m going to do some research and see how I can get an interview with a family who was separated. I think it could be the final puzzle piece that will make the series worth something.”
“I’ve got to say, it’s been hella interesting watching you put this thing together. What made you want to pursue this type of journalism in the first place?”
“Truth?”
“Yeah, since that’s the only currency we deal in.”
“I have an insatiable curiosity and always have. I can’t rest until I know the how and why of everything. My mom called me a reporter for as long as I can remember, and I’m pretty sure I made my parents nuts because I asked hundreds of questions daily. Mom finally gave me a notebook and a little tape recorder when I was eight or nine and told me to do something with the information I was gathering. Looking back, I think it was her way of slowing me down, so I wouldn’t interrogate everyone who I came in contact with.”
“Did it work?”
“Not really, it just made me more curious. I’d write little reports about whatever it was I was interested in and then read them at dinner. My dad called it Lisa’s reporting hour and always told me it was one of the best parts of his day.”
“That’s so fucking cool. What kind of things would you report on?”
Shrugging, she looked up at the sky. “Let’s see if I can remember any of the breaking stories.” She lifted herself out of the water and moved to his side. “There was one about the great strawberry ice cream shortage, and then, after much research, I broke one on whether the house at the end of our street was haunted. I also did some lifestyle stuff and had my sister test various lip glosses to decide which one was best and then, of course, got all my friends to vote on the best song of summer.”
Wrapping his arm around her shoulder, he pulled her closer. “And that led to traveling all over the world, sitting in rooms asking really tough questions, and standing witness to some pretty horrific shit.”
“Yeah…”
“Maybe there’s something between being in one of the most dangerous cities outside a war zone and the great strawberry ice cream debacle.”
“That’s what I’m hoping for because I love asking questions and figuring out the why. I just can’t see any more kids in caskets for a while.”
“Most people go a lifetime without seeing that, so don’t judge yourself harshly.”
“Kind of hard not to since plenty of people do this job for a lifetime. It makes me feel weak, and there’s nothing I dislike more.”
“There’s nothing weak about knowing your limits. I’ve seen men in my line of work go past the limit of what they can handle, and it breaks them. So badly sometimes that they never become whole again.” Turning, he wrapped her in his arms. “No way am I going to let that happen to you.”
Resting her hand on his cheek, she tilted her head. “You are a good man, and I’m happy that I’ve had the chance to discover how much that’s true.”
“I sure as hell want to be one for you. Not sure some days how I’m going to manage it, but I’ll try my best.”
“Can’t ask for more than that.”
Bending down, he captured her mouth and hoped her words were true because they had some big challenges ahead of them.