Isla Vulnerable: A Cuban Farm Boy Transforms Into a US Spy by Ivan Luiz Hernandez

Author:Ivan Luiz Hernandez [Hernandez, Ivan Luiz]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781634896283
Publisher: Wise Ink
Published: 2023-06-05T22:00:00+00:00

Fuentes’s apartment was empty when Victor returned. Without the papers, he stalled heading out to meet her at El Periquito, flipping through Sarita’s photos. She would have known what to say to ease his nerves.

Victor changed back into the pants he’d arrived in but kept the nice shoes. Dressing your best for the nightclub had fallen out of style ever since the Mafia left Havana.

Victor moved through the streets differently now. While he was thinking of what to tell Fuentes, he was also hyperaware of his surroundings. There was a strange car idling across from the apartment, so he remembered the license plate number. A man was walking on the opposite side of the street but in the same direction, holding a mesh bag of oranges. Victor tried to remember what he looked like. By the time he reached the pink neon sign above El Periquito, his head was swimming with the faces of everyone he’d passed, the cars that were driving too slowly, and the apartments that had people at the windows.

The club was packed for happy hour. The sounds of the crowd drowned out the trumpet players onstage, who were the oldest people there. Couples pressed together and made it hard for Victor to find Fuentes. Everyone was drinking, stumbling on each other and shouting over the music. It reminded Victor of the night he’d met Sarita. He jumped at the sound of a bang, and twisted around to see where it came from, but it was only a Champagne cork. Then he saw Fuentes, sitting at a table surrounded by a group of young men, telling a story with her hands. At Victor’s approach, she waved in recognition. “Red! Come meet my friends.” She threw an arm around Victor. “This is my new guy,” she told the group. “Let’s show him a good time, eh?”

Victor’s face burned, and then someone was shoving a cup into his hand. He scanned the room as though he’d see Corzo standing across from him. I can find out everything about you.

It was hours before Victor convinced Fuentes to go outside for an update, and his head was spinning. “I . . . I . . .”

“You didn’t get them,” said Fuentes. “Don’t worry. I told you he’s difficult. Just show up at his office tomorrow and act like he hired you.”

Victor stared at her in disbelief. “How will I get past security? Won’t he turn me in?”

Fuentes laughed. “Turning you in would raise more questions than answers. Don’t worry about Corzo. He’ll do whatever we say.”

“But are we going to get him out of Cuba?”

Fuentes shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. Depends on if his information is good. If it’s better than good, we might keep him.” Fuentes winked. “Go back to the apartment, Red. Rest up. Corzo’s office address is on a slip of paper between the couch cushions. I’m going back in. My night is only beginning.”

Victor left his drink untouched and headed back. There was a car parked across from the apartment, but Victor didn’t know if it was the same one or not.

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