THE ATCHO CONSPIRACY: AN ATCHO INTERNATIONAL SPY THRILLER by Lee Jackson

Author:Lee Jackson [Jackson, Lee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Stonewall Publishers, LLC
Published: 2013-11-24T22:00:00+00:00

21

Another week passed. Then, bright sunlight pierced Atcho’s eyes as he and his companions staggered through the courtyard of the old fortress to a waiting van. He was pleased to see Domingo and Pedro and the others but appalled at their skeletal appearance, shadows of even their emaciated states of six months ago. They greeted each other with weak smiles. I am so sorry, he wanted to tell them.

The prisoners had been awakened early in the morning. They repeated the process they had gone through during their previous release to the Swiss Embassy. After breakfast, the guards provided them with showers and a change of clothing. As on the earlier occasion, they wore expressions of mixed hope and fear. Mindful of how easily freedom could be withdrawn, they regarded each other in silence.

After loading into the van, their guards drove them to the Swiss Embassy. Administrative personnel led them through the same doors and corridors they had seen six months before. This time, even while waiting to be processed, they maintained their guard. The conference room again filled with political prisoners anxious to leave Cuba.

Atcho looked for Sofia, the secretary who had helped him contact Isabel. She was nowhere to be seen. Disappointed, he inspected himself in the mirror he had used previously and was dismayed to see the toll exacted by his self-imposed starvation.

As before, Director Tilden entered the room. “I understand that you are part of the group whose departure was delayed,” he said to Atcho’s group. The gravity of his face expressed knowledge of their re-incarceration. “I’m sorry that happened to you.”

A strained voice called out, “How long will we wait this time?”

“Let’s get you to Miami,” the director responded. “Now. The bus is waiting.”

Still not trusting their good fortune, the former prisoners filed silently out of the United States’ Interests Section to a yard at the rear of the embassy. There, watchful for signs that this dream would end, they clambered aboard another bus.

Atcho and Domingo sat next to each other. No one spoke.

The bus started up and drove through the decrepit streets. Each blackened hulk of classical architecture seemed an emblem of a proud history long gone.

They arrived at José Martí Airport and found a chartered passenger jet waiting on a secluded runway. The bus drove alongside the aircraft and stopped next to a portable stairway. The refugees climbed out and almost ran to the plane. They took seats aboard the jet and waited quietly for takeoff.

Within minutes, the aircraft taxied down the runway and climbed into the sky. The pilot’s voice came over the intercom. “Gentlemen, we have cleared Cuban airspace. We will land at Miami International Airport in twenty minutes.”

Silence.

The men looked at each other, afraid to believe. Then, a joyous roar thundered through the aircraft as they leaped from their seats in exuberant celebration. They laughed, jumped, hugged each other, cursed Castro, blessed the United States, kissed the floor, and danced in the aisle.

Atcho remained in his seat. Govorov had said that Isabel no longer believed him dead.

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