Capítulo 54: THE CATHEDRAL:- PART7
Mendoza steered his eyes towards the prison guards and gazed as if imploring their help. They looked away.
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"You're going to deliver me to Bush, so that he can parade me before the election, just like he did with Manuel Noriega. I'm not going to allow that, Doctor."
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"We should have killed this one during the campaign!" Popeye said. "It would have been easy."
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"Look." Mendoza said. "It would be unconstitutional for us to send you to the United States."
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"Then you're going to kill me. You're going to take me out of here and have me killed. Before I allow that to happen, many people will die."
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"Let us kill them, boss!"
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"Do you really think they're going to send someone like me to kill you?" Mendoza said. "There are hundreds of soldiers outside and other officials. Do you think we would send for this many witnesses if we were going to kill you? This is just not reasonable. I'll stay with you, if you want, all night. Wherever you go, you're a prisoner and we're obliged to guarantee your safety. So you don't have anything to worry about."
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Pablo glowered.
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"All we have to do is finish the prison," Mendoza said, "and we can't do that with you here."
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"No, Doctor," Pablo said. "That problem we had with the workers waS just a misunderstanding."
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"Look, I'm going to walk out of here. I'll be right out there." Mendoza pointed at the dirt road. "We're going to deliver the prison to the army. I'll be out there and I'll stay with you guys wherever you're going."
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As if making a decision, Pablo scanned the area beyond the fence.
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"I'll talk to you later." Mendoza, the colonel and the prison guards advanced towards the gate.
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"Boss, that son of a bitch is going to betray us. We should kill them all! Are you going to let them walk out?"
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The officials were almost at the gate, when Pablo's bodyguards rushed after them with their guns drawn. Mendoza expected the prison guards to defend him. Instead, they pulled out their weapons and pointed them at him. Wondering what to do next, Mendoza glanced at the colonel, who looked like he wanted to vomit.
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"Boss, look, look! They are sending messages to each other. Kill him! Kill him, the son of a bitch!" Popeye said, stamping his feet.
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Bodyguards shoved the officials towards the prison.
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"I'm sorry," Pablo said, "but you can't leave right now. We need you to ensure our own safety while we figure out what to do."
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At the warden's house, Popeye threw Mendoza through the doorway and aimed a gun at the side of his head. "I'm going to kill the guy! I've always wanted to kill a vice minister." With his face right up to Mendoza's, he yelled, "You son of a bitch. You motherfucker. You've been trying to get us for years. Now I'll get you."
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"Popeye, not now," Roberto said. "Maybe later. Relax. He's worth more alive."
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Mendoza was instructed to sit on a sofa in the warden's room.
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"Señor Vice Minister," Pablo said, brandishing a gun. "From this moment, you're my prisoner. If the army comes, you'll be the first to die."
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"Don't think by holding me you'll stop them." Mendoza said. "If you take us hostage you can forget about everything. They have heavy machine guns, lots of them. They'll kill everybody here! You can't escape!"
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Pablo smiled. "Doctor, you still don't understand. These people all work for me." Pablo called his wife. "We're having a little problem here. We're trying to solve it. You know what to do if it doesn't work." He gave Mendoza the phone. "Call the president."
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"The president won't take the call," Mendoza said.
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"Get somebody to take the call because you're about to die."
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Mendoza got through to a staff member at the president's office.
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"Are you being held hostage?"
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"Yes."
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The staff member hung up. Trembling, Mendoza imagined himself dying in the raid.
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"Let me kill him, boss," Popeye said.
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To make a private call, Pablo left the room for five minutes. He returned with a gun tucked into his pants. "Doctor, you're detained, but you're not going to be killed. If anyone touches you, he'll have to answer to me."
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"You can't escape from here," Mendoza said. "The army has the prison surrounded."
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"You had an agreement with me and you're breaking it. Doctor, I know you guys are bothered about those killings," Pablo said, referring to Galeano and Moncada. "Don't worry. They were problems among Mafioso. They don't concern you."
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Mendoza and the colonel were escorted to Pablo's lavishly furnished cell, where Popeye and a bodyguard kept watch. They were given ponchos to wrap around themselves to keep warm. Popeye kept pumping his shotgun near Mendoza, who was still ruminating on his own slaughter at the hands of the troops.
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The colonel picked up a bottle. "This could be the last whiskey I'll drink in my life." After swigging some, he reached for a Bible and read Psalm 91. He asked for and was granted a telephone. He told his family goodbye.
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"How do you stay so thin?" a bodyguard asked Mendoza.
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"I'm a vegetarian."
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"What should I eat to lose weight?"
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"More fruits and vegetables."
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The bodyguard fetched a plate of apple slices. "Now I'm going to start a healthy diet."
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Popeye shook his head. "What are you going to do that for? We're all going to be dead by seven o'clock."
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The weapons buried by Roberto and Pablo — prior to their arrival at the Cathedral — were unearthed. In addition to the pistol in his pants, Pablo slung an Uzi over his shoulder. Approaching the perimeter, they relied on the fog for cover. With soldiers nearby, Roberto used wire cutters on the electrified fence, making a gap big enough for a person to slip through.
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While preparing to escape, Pablo kept trying to contact the president. His lawyers and Father Garcia were rebuffed by the president's office.
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"Either we flee or we all die," Pablo told his men. He and Roberto entered a hidden room and grabbed lots of cash. To thwart the spy planes, Roberto used his emergency remote control to plunge the prison into darkness, which terrified everybody inside, including the hostages.
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Pablo listened to radio stations report different stories. One claimed he'd been captured and was on a plane to America. Another said the military had taken over the Cathedral and lives had been lost.
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Concerned about his family hearing these reports, he called them. "Don't worry. Don't listen to the news. The situation is being resolved directly with the president." After hanging up, he called and reassured his mother. Pablo crouched down, grabbed his shoelaces and finally tied them. "Roberto, let's put our radios on the same frequency."
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Pablo returned to his room to check on the hostages. "Try to remain calm. The situation will be resolved without anyone getting killed. I'm going to sleep. I'll see you in the morning."
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