SUNGLASESS AND ROCKETS Part 2: The Machine

RED ROSES

My stomach shrank.

We started to fly over an elegant neighborhood. I noticed that Felix was signaling from his seat in the front row.

"Gordo," I heard thru the earphones.

I came closer. You could see through the window several houses of fancy structures. Butterflies were fluttering in my stomach.

"See that house?" Felix asked, pointing to the front.

I stood up. I saw an extensive garden with many cypress trees and rose bushes surrounding a country house...two big dogs appeared...

The dogs were barking at our chopper. I gulped down.

"Are you talking about the house with the dogs?"

The dogs began to jump threateningly.

"No," Felix corrected and pointed again. "The house in the back."

I breathed relieved. Another house appeared from behind a small forest, across the street.

We went in that direction.

The helicopter stopped. No. It swayed and moved in order to land right on the ample rose garden. Annoyed, I got up and looked down: the tree tops were bending...there were waves formed on the grass...

We were descending.

"It's the house across the street," I told the pilot and looked at Felix puzzled. "It is that house...isn't it?

Felix nodded and checked the time. I didn't get it. The pilot turned his head slightly and talked to me.

"Why don't you bring her flowers?"

"Flowers?" I was surprised. "Where? Do you mean...?"

Darwin patted my back. I turned around.

The two men in black had opened the hatch and now were throwing down a rope ladder.

"Done," they said.

Oh God!

I removed my headphones and went to the edge. The ladder was swinging; its end had gone down a couple of feet from the grass. The frenzied dogs were jumping vigorously around it.

They opened their jaws to bite the intruder.

"Bring her roses and she'll be all yours!" Darwin encouraged me. "All yours!"

I took a deep breath and kneeled over the edge. I turned around slowly, very carefully. I stretched out my foot and searched for the first step. I found it. I stuck my foot in and seized it.

Then, one of the men indicated me to stop. I stopped and saw him wondering. He looked away at his partner, who was getting a bill from Felix from the front cabin.

Now what?

The guy came back quickly and handed me the money. It was ten dollars.

"Pay the gardener."

Good God!

I started to descend and noticed that an individual in overalls was coming out of the small forest. He was threatening with his machete...

I continued my descent, faster.

I stopped when the ladder smashed me against a rose bush. I was about 6 feet from the ground and an inch from the voracious jaws of the dogs. They were jumping like kangaroos and bit the air fiercely.

It was obvious that my proximity had them excited.

At the same time, their proximity had me excited too: frantically, I began to pull out the red roses.

I gathered the dozen in a flash, drew out the ten dollar bill and showed it to the astonished gardener who was keeping a prudent distance.

"Thank you!" I said in Spanish.

I nailed the bill between the branches and signaled for my retreat. The ladder went up at once and took me out of the dangerous garden.

After passing some woods and bouncing on an electricity post, I ended up in the middle of the street. The ladder went down again and drew me by the front step of a colonial style house.

Before jumping down, Darwin showed up from a side of the cabin and raised his thumb. I reciprocated, secured the flowers and jumped.

The most important mission in my life was about to begin.