Guests

What's Fair

"Buenos días. Disculpe, pero no hablamos portugués. La señorita Diaz sólo puede comunicarse en inglés. Yo haré la labor de traductor."

I have to hold back my laughter because Rick is speaking so slowly that it feels like he's communicating with a child or someone hard of hearing. At one point, I turn my head, bite my lower lip, and muster all my willpower to maintain composure.

"Ok, then let's switch to English."

What! Is this guy joking? The person who called me said he couldn't speak my language... Rick looks at me as if I had fooled him.

"Excuse me, Mr. Santos, but someone claiming to be Kay's lawyer called me and said that he couldn't speak in English," I indicate, somewhat indignant. I don't appreciate being laughed at.

"Allow me to introduce myself first: I am Guilherme Nunes, the managing partner of the law firm. I thought it would be more convenient for me to take responsibility for assisting you in Miss Winters' case."

"Thank you. That's better."

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Rick breathe a sigh of relief and relax. He was worried he wouldn't be able to assist me with this matter. How sweet!

"The best thing we can do at this moment is to stay calm." Thank you for the suggestion! I was considering getting a weapon and forcing them to release Kay. "From what I spoke with Mr. Winters, his daughter still holds British citizenship, which will make it easier to cross-reference her information with the Schengen Information System. They will check her fingerprints and her British passport against that database, so in principle, this process shouldn't take more than a few hours."

"How is it possible that they have mistaken her for a terrorist who could be the same age as her mother?" There's more reproach than a need to understand in my question.

"When in doubt, security forces prefer to ask for forgiveness rather than regret. Just imagine if airport authorities let a wanted person pass through, and that person carried out an attack on the island. It would be a disaster that could have been avoided."

"That's completely understandable," Rick intervenes. "What doesn't make much sense is that with all the facial recognition tools they have, the data they share with Interpol, and Miss Winters' own information, she could be mistaken for the terrorist. Furthermore, in the event that this person dares to travel by conventional means, I don't think they would do it with a passport under their real name."

"You're not wrong. However, as I mentioned before, when in doubt, it's better to apologize. I'm sorry that you've had to go through this. Rest assured that I won't settle for just getting Miss Winters released. In accordance with the State's Civil Liability Law, I will seek compensation for damages and losses."

"You know that would be a lengthy process. I don't think Miss Diaz and Miss Winters will be here long enough to wait for that outcome."

I'm impressed by Rick's confidence. He hardly seems like the same person. I make him nervous. I'm sure he likes me! Oops! That's a slightly misplaced thought, considering the situation...

"Mr. del Río is right," I interject. I look at Rick and smile. I like calling him Mr. del Río. I think I'll bother him with that from now on. "We appreciate the effort, Mr. Nunes. If Miss Winters manages to get out today, as soon as possible, we will be satisfied."

The meeting ends a few minutes later. Nunes apologizes several times for the initial bad experience and hopes that the rest of our stay will be much better. Dear lawyer, I'm not going to say that I'm happy about Kay's imprisonment, but if it weren't for that, I would have never met Rick...