ENDING OF PREVIOUS POST:

"It's too much of a coincidence. I don't believe in coincidences. The same thing with you being shot. Why don't you want the authorities involved?" Soni stepped closer. "People have asked if I know anything about a man nosing around. The description fits you. Who are you working for? Who's trying to shoot you and why? Are we in danger because we helped you? Are the people after you, now after us? Are we going to end up in jail for helping you?"

"I can't answer any of your questions."

"Can't or won't?" Soni's eyes glared as they met Jim's. After she received no response, she turned on her heels and left the room, slamming his door as well as hers.

TODAY'S POST:

CHAPTER SIX(9/7/14)

"Soni! Wait!" Jim tossed the blankets aside and scooted to the edge of the bed. As he attempted to stand, he grabbed his left shoulder and leaned into the bed post. "Damn that hurts!"

Jim hobbled into the living room, wearing only dirt and blood covered blue jeans. As he scanned the room, he ran his fingers through his short, sandy hair. Where'd she go?

Alex looked over the top edge of his newspaper. "If you're looking for Soni, she's in her room. I wouldn't advise going there. By the sounds of the door slamming, I'd say she's pretty riled. You know anything about that?"

"She's angry with me. I couldn't answer her questions." Jim sat in a tan, overstuffed chair beside Alex.

After taking time to fold each section of the newspaper, Alex asked, "Couldn't or wouldn't answer?"

"That's the same thing she asked and used the same wording." Jim watched Tatiana enter the room.

"You need a shirt. You can't be in here without a shirt." Tatiana knocked on Soni's door. "Soni, Mr. Jim's shirt is filled with blood. Can he borrow one of your dad's? Alex's are too small."

Only a faint, "I guess," could be heard.

"Thank you." Tatiana returned carrying a shirt and a pair of jeans. "The pants might be a little big around the waist, but they're clean. Your belt will hold them up." She watched Jim struggle to stand. "Let me help."

Tatiana put her arm under Jim's right armpit and steadied his walk. Inside the guest room, she said, "You'll need help. I'll send Alex in."

*****
After a little while, Alex and Jim returned to the living room. Alex nodded toward Soni's door. "She hasn't come out yet?"

Tatiana refreshed her husband's coffee and poured a cup for Jim. "She's in the den."

"Soni's the spittin' image of her mother, but inherited that temper from her father. Ray was the fairest man these parts have ever seen. He wasn't one to get riled, but once he was, nobody messed with him." Alex sipped his coffee."

"How long will it be before she'll speak to me again?" Jim paused to read the headlines of the newspaper.

"It depends on how much she thinks you're keeping from her and how much danger she feels you've put the Rockin' A in." Alex read the headline aloud. "I-35: A major artery to the nation's drug trade." He tapped the newspaper. "You wouldn't know anything about this, would you?"

Jim eyed the wall as he took a long drink of coffee. "I 35 corridor links with Highway 85 in Mexico, just south of Nuevo Laredo/Laredo Plaza. Many drug cartels got their start in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. The Zetas broke off from the Gulf Cartel a while back. They're fighting for territory. They both need a route north."

"You seem to know a lot about the problem."

"I read a lot." Jim continued, "They're fighting over control of the I 35 corridor. The Zetas have been known to deploy henchmen along I 35's cities to keep control of their smuggling route. The further north the drugs travel, the higher the price."

"There can't be that much traffic coming across." Alex studied the map in the page.

"At Nuevo Laredo a vehicle goes through every eight minutes, twenty-four hours a day, three hundred sixty-five days a year. It's impossible for the border patrol to catch everything."

"The news reported that the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, is in jail. Wasn't that the largest cartel? I'd think that would slow things down." Alex waited for Jim to answer.

"It only made the members of the Sinaloa Cartel angry. I understand they're causing a lot of problems in Chicago. The authorities, or at least the media, suspect he still controls things from prison."

"Chicagoans should know how to deal with them. It's the home of El Capone."

"Al Capone? Don't make me laugh. It hurts." Jim grabbed his shoulder.

Alex answered a knock on the front door. "Gus, what can I help you with?"

"I need to ask Soni what she wants me to do with that stallion of hers."

"I'll get her." Alex knocked on the door. "Soni, Gus needs some advice about Midnight."

Soni stepped into the living room. "What's he done now?" Her eyes met Gus's.

"He hasn't gotten into any more trouble since he ate the tomatoes. I think he has a belly ache." Gus chuckled. "I was wondering how you want me to restrain him so he can't get out of the stable. Can I shut and lock the doors?"

"No." Soni shook her head. "That was one of Dad's strictest rules. When he was a boy the stable caught fire and the horses couldn't get out. They all burned or died of smoke inhalation. I'll go with you, and we'll figure it out."

"Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes," Tatiana called after her.

Soni nodded in acknowledgement, stopped and glared at Jim, before she continued out the door with both large white dogs following her.

Jim propped his right hand on the chair's arm rest and pushed himself up. "If looks could kill, I'd be dead. I'd better get to my room before she returns. I don't want to cause a disturbance during dinner."

Alex raised his hand. "You stay put. Ray never held grudges. Let's see what his daughter does."

"I'm not sure I want to be the guinea pig." Jim sat.