Chapter 10
Esmie’s face flushed at his stare. Did he recognize her? Was this a coincidence? Or did Leo set her up?
“Everything ok, Quita?” Leo turned around in his seat to check on her.
“Why did you sell your car?” she blurted.
“City living is expensive, and our paycheck doesn’t cover as much as you would think. Isn’t that right, Samson?” Leo asked the man while the engine roared to life, much louder than the electric cars everyone else drove.
“Yup,” the man named Samson answered, his eyes diverting from the mirror to the road.
“Is that why you drive something from the last century?” The question bubbled out before she could stop herself. Leo chuckled.
“I see your little sister doesn’t appreciate vintage when she sees it.” Samson rubbed his large, calloused hand along the dusty dashboard.
Esmie snorted. “Vintage, yes—this—is just old. And sad.” Leo burst into a full belly laugh. Samson’s full lips quirked up as he glanced at her in the review mirror again. Esmie’s whole body ignited, the warmth spreading throughout instead of just her eye.
Samson placed his fingertips on his chest in mock offense. “How dare you insult Shelly.”
“Shelly?” Esmie raised an eyebrow.
“That’s what I call her. Shelly. She’s my baby. I’m saving up to get a full detail on her, so she’ll look brand spanking new again. It’s just taking longer than I originally thought.”
“You’ll find working isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Taxes really gut you.” Leo leaned back into the head rest, closing his eyes.
“Not if you can’t fix this thing on my face.” Esmie mumbled to herself, her eyes on her hands. She heard the leather crunch and felt her brother’s stare right down to her toes. He continued to stare at her until her eyes raised to meet his.
“I won’t let anything happen to you, Quita.
I promise.” Esmie gazed out the window until Leo turned around again.
She gulped the emotion rising in her throat.
Samson continued to glance at her through the rearview mirror every so often but didn’t say a word the entire ride.
Maybe he didn’t recognize her. The sunglasses and hoodie were a vast difference from her cute outfit and makeup.
Or maybe he hadn’t been as enamored with her as she had been with him, neither noticing nor remembering her.
Esmie slumped down into the seat watching the scenery flash by.
The full trees, most of whose leaves still clung to their greenery, became more sparse.
Eventually, shiny flashes of metal and dull grays of concrete appeared between the thinning tree line.
She sat up in her seat for a better view.
Although a little further in than her college, Nightcrawler was still considered the outer edge of downtown Andloor.
Esmie had never been to downtown Andloor, at least that she could remember.
Mamá said they lived there at one time when she was a little girl but moved because it was a horrible place.
Her horror stories never deterred Esmie from wanting to visit, although Mamá forbade it.
There were a lot of things Mamá forbade.
The allusion of downtown Andloor Capitol always appealed to her.
She envied her brother and his cool downtown lifestyle.
Mamá wasn’t happy when he announced he was moving out to live there, but she relented when Leo explained he would be working at the Capitol building and the Law Enforcement Division would partially pay for his apartment so he could be close to work.
Still, Mamá worried every day, holding her rosario while praying to Elohim in her favorite red chair in the off-limits sala at the back of the house next to the dining room.
Esmie only knew because she had caught Mamá a couple of mornings when she was sneaking downstairs into the kitchen early in the morning to grab a snack.
With the kitchen being on the opposite side of the dining room, Esmie had a straight sight line into the sala to see her mother, without being seen.
The trees almost altogether disappeared the deeper into Andloor they went.
Esmie stared in awe at the passing scenery of steel skyscrapers and concrete apartment buildings, ignoring her brother’s sidelong glances.
The neon lights, although not as prominent as at night, still flashed their screens, exhibiting all different kinds of products, models, and news.
Esmie couldn’t believe how tall the buildings could be with the smallest scaling at least fifteen stories, while the tallest skyscrapers hid their crowns in the puffy white clouds.
“Are those shabby apartments really that interesting?”
Esmie jumped at the break in silence. “Those are apartments? I thought they were office buildings.”
Leo chuckled. “After living here for a while, you forget anyone outside of here would be amazed by this drabbery.” Esmie turned from the window to gaze at him in wonder.
“This doesn’t amaze you anymore? Especially after living how we did for so long?”
“Enjoy Papi and Mamá’s house for as long as you can. Stay en Las Afueras even when you move. I can see why Mamá never liked it here.” Leo grimaced. Samson’s full lips tightened to a line.
“By Elohim, are you siding with Mamá?” Esmie gaped at him. “Are you seriously saying she was right?”
Samson and Leo laughed at the same time. Esmie blushed. Leo’s eyes crinkled and Esmie noticed lines in his face he didn’t have before. They were more like worry lines than laughter lines. Andloor couldn’t have caused them so quickly. Maybe it was stress from his job.
“I wouldn’t go as far as to say she was right, but I understand her point of view.
” Leo’s smile was replaced with a solemn expression.
“After working in this environment, I have experienced so much you couldn’t even imagine.
” He frowned. She noticed more lines. “Those apartments may appear intriguing now but spend a week in them and you’ll see they are more like a cell.
The enticement of Andloor will decimate your dreams and if you’re not careful, it will leave you in squalor, filth, and poverty. ”
Bitterness laced each word. Even Samson’s eyes darted over to Leo. Esmie held the sharp breath she wanted to take. She wondered if that’s what he had been trying to explain to her in those encrypted messages. Leo rubbed his eyes as Samson eased into a turn.
“Papi and Mamá were fortunate to get out of here. Very fortunate. Sometimes I wonder how they managed it.” Leo’s face shadowed.
Esmie reached out a shaking hand and squeezed his bicep.
He shot her a tight smile. She was afraid to ask him more.
When she finally garnered up the courage, a tall concrete and steel building emerged in front of them.
Large glowing red letters spread across the front stating “Andloor Capitol Building”.
Esmie’s mouth opened at the grandeur of it.
“We’re here.” Samson cut in. “Esmie duck down and put that blanket over yourself. We can’t check you in with the guards. They’ll require a facial recognition scan. Let’s pray they won’t scan the car, or we’re done for.”
“Why? What does the scan do?” Esmie asked as she crouched behind Samson’s seat to cover herself.
“It’s called a scanner and it’s a device that looks like a radar gun. The guards use it to scan incoming cars to check for weapons, bombs, drugs, and large forms. It’s so they won’t have to go through the car themselves and possibly be injured by an ambush,” Leo explained in a low voice.
“Large forms? Like a human body?” Esmie hissed.
“Yes, now shush. I’m rolling down the window,” Samson hissed back.
Moisture gathered around Esmie’s nose as her heavy breaths clouded the small space under the blanket while she tucked behind Leo’s seat.
Her skin crawled giving her the desire to scratch all over and her stomach flopped sending a wave of nausea through her.
Claustrophobia was her enemy but the tightness in Samson’s voice scared her more.
The car slowed to a stop. Samson and Leo were chatting with someone who must have been the security guard.
The squeaking of the leather car seats almost made Esmie lurch.
She forced herself to stay still as Samson had instructed.
Training her ear, she listened through the muffle of the blanket.
The security guards were asking for badges.
There was the beep of a scan. A pinpoint of light tried to push its way through the blanket.
“Anything you need to report?” A gravelly voice asked.
“No, just coming back from the college after helping the recruiters set up,” Leo answered. The light traveled around the backseat of the car. Esmie could barely make it out, but she followed it with her eyes to keep herself occupied and ignore the nauseous feeling taking over.
“That’s today? I wonder what tactics they will use this time to trick kids into interning here.” The gravelly voice laughed. Samson and Leo offered forced laughs. “Don’t forget to get the scanner.” Esmie’s heart crawled into her throat.