Nomad's Baby

You Know My Name Part 2

"Well. That's a sight."

Whisper peered through the shelves to see the woman who spoke to him.

Her eyes narrowed a little above the carved mini statues used for prayer and ritual.

Whisper only smirked in response. "I need access to the real botanica, not the part you keep open for tourists."

"You've been gone a long time," she answered. "I don't see any Death Skulls here any more."

"That's a shame. We're an interesting bunch."

"You have a tribute?"

Whisper held a crisp one hundred folded between his fingers and offered it to her through the shelves.

The woman shook her head.

When Whisper looked to his right he saw a young boy come toward him who'd been behind the counter.

He offered the money to him and he quickly snatched it, disappearing.

Without another word Whisper followed the woman to the back of the store and down a set of stairs to a deceptively spacious room full of supplies and books. The familiar scent of incense saturated the air.

He smiled at the set of handmade dolls located not far from the altar where a set of tarot cards were on display.

"You're the only person who pays, that I'm not sure is true believer," she said.

"Why am I allowed access then?"

She peered at him. "I'm curious."

"So am I." He found a chair in front of a book shelf. "What have I missed?"

"Cartels, killing a hundred people a day. Police corruption, kidnapping here and there, trafficking."

"So not much."

"A new cartel sprang up in Sinaloa since Camacho was extradited. So now there are three fighting instead of two. Oh and there's a new mayor."

"A new mayor?"

Dona rolled her eyes on a flippant shrug.

"All these new players. Have you been praying to the saints for protection?"

"Always. And I also have this." From under the table she raised an assault rifle.

Whisper laughed.

"So Ignacio. Are you back for good?"

He sighed. "I needed some downtime."

"Is life too hard in America? Is the food bad?"

He tilted his head on an eyebrow raise, letting his gaze wander the room. "Life can be hard anywhere."

"And the food?"

"It depends."

The chair croaked when he stood up, he started to walk along the wall looking at the dolls lined on a shelf. Some were from a factory, others were hand made.

"Death Skulls MC," she said aloud, reading the back of his vest. "I don't know how much clout that holds down here anymore. You should be careful during your stay."

"You can pray for me Dona." He lifted a doll with huge circle black eyes, holding it in front of his face.

**

"Your child's safe." In the small room, Alonso had to repeat himself due to all the crying. "Your child's safe."

He pulled back from the bed and the young boy's mother rushed over to him, wailing as she rested her head on his tiny hand before kissing it.