Savages

189

Jesus squirms in the fishing net suspended from the beam.

“I’m going to ask you again,” Lado says. “Where did you get this yerba?”

“From those two,” Jesus says, pointing down to Sal and Jumpy, who sit propped against the wall.

“From those two perritos?” Hernan asks, jutting his chin toward the two boys, who sit in a pool of their own piss. “I don’t think so. Try again.”

“I did!” It comes out as a whine.

Lado shakes his head and swings the bat. Big baseball fan, Lado. Thought at one point he might have a crack at the pros. A cup of coffee in Double A, maybe. Now he loves to go to Padres games. Gets there early to watch batting practice.

Jesus screams.

“That was a single,” Lado says. “This is going to be a double off the left field wall.”

He swings again.

Jumpy hears a bone break and starts to cry.

Again.

“You want a triple?” Lado says. “Tell me the truth. Tell me enough truth I might let you live.”

Jesus breaks down. “It was me, I did it.”

Lado, a little winded, leans on the bat. “Not alone, you didn’t. Who are you with?”

“The Nine-Four.”

“Never heard of them. What’s that?”

“My gang.”

“Your ‘gang,’” Lado says. “You little balls of shit couldn’t pull off a tombe like this. Who do you answer to?”

“The Baja Cartel.”

“Pendejo, I’m the Baja Cartel.”

“The other one.”

“What one?”

“El Azul.”

Lado nods. “And who with El Azul told you where to be and when?”

Jesus doesn’t have an answer.

He really doesn’t.

Not even when Lado hits a triple.

Not even when he hits a grand slam.

Jesus just spits out a lot of incoherent shit. This guy came to see him, he doesn’t know the guy’s name, the mystery man gave him the info about the dope run, suggested he should hit it, they’d split the profits …

“Do you know a man named Ben?” Lado asks. “Was it him?”

Jesus is happy for any suggestions. “Yes, that was it, Ben.”

“What did Ben look like?”

Wrong answers, wrong answers. Jesus can’t describe Ben, he can’t describe Chon.

Fregado—useless.

“Would these know?” Lado asks, pointing to Sal and Jumpy.

Yes, Jesus tells him, they’d know.