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The fifth chapter of a seven part series that will run all week.

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Inside the black step van, the cook from the K-Bob’s, three boys from the Jim Bowie High School basketball team, two boys who worked as baggers at the Piggly Wiggly,  and one young woman who worked housekeeping at the Piggly Wiggly were in the back of the van, in addition to Delgado and his mother.   All of them were uncomfortable, confused, and worried.

Only Delgado’s mother spoke Spanish.  The others who had been taken into custody and taken across the border were all kids that had been born and raised in Fort Stockton.  Delgado tried to make sense of what was going on as the black van made its way across the rocky roads deeper into Mexico.  “Are any of you criminals?” he asked.

They all looked at each other, not having a clue what he could even be talking about.  The young woman who was in housekeeping at the Naughty Pine Motel looked sheepish.  “I took the tags off some pillows one time.”  Tears began rolling down her face.  “I didn’t know till later it was a federal offense.  I should have tried to sew them back on.”  By now she was sobbing.  “I didn’t know!”

In order to make room for the deportees as well as to stay behind for further confiscations and not risk overtime, the extraction crew had been reduced to just a driver and one guard before the van crossed the border.  Occasionally the driver would pull off to the side of the road so the deportees could climb down out of the van and relieve themselves ten feet away.  They remained under constant surveillance the entire time.

Lucinda was steadily gaining on them.  The Sequoia, while heavy with bulletproof glass and armor plating, was still lighter and much faster than the old GMC step-van filled with dangerous cargo.  She barely drank any liquids to keep from having to relieve herself.  When she did, she employed an old trick Delgado had taught her in the Airstream.  Looking to be sure there was no traffic behind her, Lucinda would slow the Sequoia down to 20 or 25 miles an hour, shimmy her shorts down around her ankles, and open the driver’s door.  Hanging her business outside, she’d empty her bladder without even having to stop.

The very first time she employed this time saving method on the journey, she hadn’t compensated for the additional weight of the armor plated door and almost fell out of the Toyota doing about 30 MPH.  The Airstream had never been moving when she first learned the trick.  During subsequent times, she compensated for the armor, positioned herself slightly further to the left and used cruise control to free up both hands for greater balance.  That seemed to work well.

That’s the position she was in when the 2021 Dynamax DX3 37BH Motor Home suddenly appeared on the horizon in the rearview mirror.  She hadn’t noticed it previously, but could quickly make out that the coach was finished in black and gray over beige upholstery.  Power appeared to come from a Cummins 8.9-liter turbodiesel inline-six paired with an Allison six-speed automatic transmission and a dually rear axle. A slide-out was positioned on each side, and the motorhome was also outfitted with a camp-side awning, an outdoor TV, equipment compartments, automatic leveling jacks, and LED lighting. 

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She wished she’d asked for someone to come along with her and split the driving time, but she didn’t have the forethought to work out those details.  She also wished she’d sprung for something with a self-contained bathroom like the rig behind her rather than taking her life in her hands every time she needed to bleed the lizard.  

But she hadn’t had the luxury of time.  Delgado had been snatched with no warning and her gut reflexes kicked in.  She was relatively sure the bulletproof glass and armor plating of the Sequoia would end up paying for themselves at some point, but the porcelain throne of a self contained 2021 Dynamax DX3 37BH Motor Home sure held some appeal.  Lucinda wished for a better look at the rig, but every time she slowed down to catch a better glance, the driver behind her slowed down as well, keeping a safe distance between the two vehicles.

Just across the border, back in Texas, the caravan was making good time.  As good as could be expected, anyway.  Sister Thelma was not about to hang her unmentionables out the side of a moving Mercury to relieve herself.  Beside the road was not an option, either.  She required privacy and the sanctity of sanitary surroundings.  Such things only slowed down the group of vehicles heading south from Fort Stockton.  Both Pastor Peterson and Rex Hall seized every time they stopped as an opportunity to get out of the Escalade, walk around and relieve the pressure from whatever ailment each was dealing with.  Each of them would wince when he got back into the car and Danbury floored it.  

Harlan would reach behind the rear seat every so often and check on the cardboard box.  Chad seemed to be engrossed in YouTube videos on his phone, texting Prudence to let her know he was okay, and checking in with Mrs. Drury at the Piggly Wiggly to make sure she had everything firmly under control.

Lucinda, checking her phone for Delgado’s location, could see she was only about an hour away, as long as nothing unforeseen took place.  The signal from Delgado’s phone was becoming weak, however.  She feared she may lose it before she finally caught up.

Because Lucinda had her phone plugged into the charger of the Sequoia, she was at full strength.  Back at the Grounds for Divorce, I was getting steady updates of her location, although she didn’t know that.  I was completely clueless as to why she would slow down to 20 or 25 miles an hour while on a highway every so often.  But I would update Sister Thelma in the lead car of the caravan.  They were keeping up and making progress towards catching up to her.

Every now and again, Rusty would pull the crew cab F-100 to the front of the line and gun it, just so everyone would pick up speed.  Earl, not to be outdone, would gun the Corvette and race ahead, trying to make it a competition.  Franklin Danbury, behind the wheel of his 682 horsepower 2023 Cadillac Escalade-V ESV, would just laugh at the futility of old guys and the old cars and trucks they chose to drive.

Rex, in the passenger seat next to him, would shift in his Captain’s Chair, trying to reduce the pressure on his back.  Pastor Peterson tried not to give in to scratch the itch taking place between his swollen cheeks.  I was back at the GFD, listening to New Guy’s endless stories, attempting to seem like I cared, and keeping my eye on the phone for location updates.

Of course, none of us knew what lay ahead.

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