Tortured Spirits by Gregory Lamberson

Joyce andMartin. Believe me, I’m just as stubborn as you are. You go to Pavot without me, and I’ll just follow you anyway.”
    Jake sighed. “All right. We’ll go together. But I don’t like it.”
    Maria stroked Edgar’s feathers. “Who says you have to?”

SIX
    â€œThis is Pavot Island.” Miriam gestured to the map spread out across the table she, Fernando, Jake, and Maria stood around in the otherwise empty nightclub. “It’s approximately three thousand square miles. Malvado is a capitalist, not a communist like Castro, but he’s a dictator. When a man oppresses his people, they don’t care about his political philosophies. Malvado uses Pavot Island’s treasury as his personal bank, the population as his workforce. Pavotians sneak out on boats, rafts, inner tubes—anything that will transport them. Many don’t survive the trip. But the promise of a better life is worth the risk.”
    Fernando pointed at the center of the map. “Pavot City is the nation’s capital. Malvado’s palace is on the outskirts. There are three smaller cities”—he moved his finger along the map’s terrain—”here, here, and here. Each city has atleast one suburb. There are eleven villages surrounding the cities and their provinces and isolated farms and plantations beyond them. The blank spots you see are the fields where Malvado grows the poppy for his heroin and cocaine.”
    Miriam lit a cigarette. “The palace forms a triangle with these two complexes that face the national rain forest: El Miedo prison and the central military headquarters. Andre is in El Miedo.”
    â€œEl Miedo means ‘fear,’” Maria said to Jake.
    â€œTwo million people live on Pavot,” Fernando said. “They’re primarily black, Hispanic, and a mixture of the two. It was originally populated by the Tainos who inhabited the Caribbean prior to the arrival of Europeans. First the Spaniards mined it for gold; the Tainos had no immunity against the diseases brought from Spain, and they died out. Then the French came with their African slaves. In 1804, the slaves on Haiti rebelled against their oppressors, which inspired a similar revolution on Pavot. The French and Dutch rulers fled for their lives.”
    â€œThree languages are spoken on Pavot,” Miriam said. “English, French, and Spanish.” She glanced at Jake. “You’ll get by.” She turned to Maria. “You’ll get by better.”
    â€œI speak French, too. What little I remember from high school anyway.”
    â€œYou couldn’t ask for a better shotgun,” Miriam told Jake.
    Maria cocked one eyebrow. “See? I just got here, and I’m already proving my value.”
    Miriam looked at Jake. “Yours won’t be the only white face on the island. The US government may not approve ofMalvado, but plenty of US companies have factories there. Cheap labor trumps other concerns, even when the workers are tortured.”
    â€œWhat happens when we land?” Jake said.
    Fernando pointed at an airstrip near the coast. “There’s only one airport for civilian and military personnel.”
    â€œYou’ll stay at the island’s only resort,” Miriam said. “Malvado developed the beach for tourists, but they never came. Only one resort hotel remains. One is a number you’ll find significant: one television station, one news radio network, one newspaper, one monthly magazine, one voice: Malvado’s. But books, magazines, and DVDs from abroad are permitted, and pirate radio stations have begun to pop up. The island residents have limited Internet access; it’s an intranet, like some companies have. Forget about cell phone service.
    â€œOn day one, you relax on the grounds. On day two, you play tourists, which will give you a chance to see parts of the island. You’ll visit Pavot City for dinner. Go to