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I decided to stay in Los Angeles. The weather agreed with me. I did not mind the heat. And I had found a few writing jobs that allowed me a lot of free time. At Anselmo's suggestion, I had taken a small but nice apartment from a friend of his for next to nothing. He and I would chat occasionally through the mail or when he would come to visit my landlord. We spoke mostly of light philosophy, as we had the day that we met. I was always very interested in his insights and happy to speak with him, though my landlord, despite being friendly toward Anselmo, did not seem to enjoy his company.
After a few months I got in to a groove as I grew more comfortable out West, and I began to really enjoy their outdoors. I must have mentioned this to Anselmo once, because, very suddenly, it seemed, I received a call from an associate of his. He told me that Anselmo would like me to accompany him on a hike. It was nearby path, and one that I knew well, so I agreed.
We met at the path's entrance. I rode my bike, and met him there in my usual hiking attire, which simply consisted of pants and boots with an undershirt and sometimes a hat. This time I had brought a hat. As I rode closer, however, I was shocked to notice that he wore a suit, as he had on the day that we met, and nearly every time I had seen him since then. I then saw that he was not alone. He was joined by two other men who I did not recognize. One also wore a suit, and the other had on all the makings of a suit, but without the jacket. I was not sure how I felt about their presence.
Anselmo was patting his forehead with a handkerchief as I neared. He did not notice me at first, but the man with the suit waved a hand towards him, and he turned, smiling at me over the roof of their car.
"I'm glad that you could make it, John," he said to me.
I simply nodded my head and looked to the other men.
"Ah, forgive me," he said. "These are some associates of mine. Frank and Richard." He made no indication of which was which, and they just nodded silently at me. I did not feel the need to clarify.
We set off with minimal delay. Anselmo first asked me if I would like some water before we left the car, and I was already thirsty from my bike ride, so I took some, and we boarded the trail, which first curved downward and to the left, out of sight.
The path took you along the side of a hill--really a small mountain--with the rise to your left and the fall to your right. Making our way slowly at first, but speeding up as my companions got used to using their shoes on the rocks, we passed all of the sights that I had seen several times before. Initially, the furthest visual landmark is a pile of stones so perfectly piled it seemed that a society of giants must have stacked them, centuries ago. Once that had came and gone, a green hill became visible far in the distance, which, to me, always resembled the Greek Utopia--their version of heaven. The really fantastic thing about California hills is the lack of trees fills them with flowers or green grass. I don't know if it's the fires or what, but it really does something for the hilly views.
I typically turned back once I had gained a reasonable view of this hill, which still stood far off in the distance, but my companions led on far beyond the furthest point that I had ever reached on this trail. Eventually, we actually reached what appeared to be the end of the trail. The mountain range we were walking on actually ended, resulting in a cliff ahead of us much steeper than the one we had been walking along. We each slowly approached the edge and looked out across the hills and valleys. The utopian hill still seemed as far off as it ever had, but I could now make out a few sheep standing along the bottom of it. I was on the very left of the four, with Anselmo directly to my right. He spoke for the first time since leaving the car.
"You seem to be a very virtuous man, John. You seem to have a lot of honor about you."
The question was much more personal than our recent discussions had been, but his tone was very friendly. I looked up to him in surprise, but he was looking out into the air, so I, too, turned back.
"I like to think that I do the right thing when I can," I said.
"Men like you are very trustworthy," he said. "You take your responsibilities seriously, and you make sure the job is done right. You will probably make a good father, someday." There were silence for a few moments, and we all seemed to take a deep breath in unison, before Anselmo said, laughing a little, as if he had just thought of it, "Like a shepard watching over his flock, correct?"
I did not know what to say. I assumed it was rhetorical. And the energy was very tense, so I stayed silent.
"And if a danger approaches the flock," he went on, "like a RAT, or a SICKNESS..."
When he said the word 'rat,' he grabbed the back of the collar of the man standing to his right. When he said the word 'sickness,' he drove the man's face in to the rocks directly behind me. I spun around and looked up at him, shocked, as the fourth man rushed to pick up the now injured one under the armpits.
"...We must defend against them, correct?" he finished, and the fourth man roughly dropped the one without the suit down the rocky slope in front of us. I was still unable to find words. "That man was a snitch," he said. And not the normal kind of snitch, either. No, we have nearly complete control over the police force. He was an informant to another organization. He could have gotten a lot of people killed." I did not look up, but I nodded and bit my bottom lip, so he continued. "I would like very much for you to join my organization, John. I enjoy the way you think, and I think that it would offer a productive contrast to my way of doing things. Together, I think, we can be very successful, you and I."
I looked up and smiled. I had suspected that this man was a professional criminal, but had denied it in my mind. I let the fancy suits and intelligence overrule the muscled and extravagant appearance.
"But, as I'm sure you have realized," he went on, "If you try and fuck me, John, or with anyone in my family, you will end up at the bottom of that hill with Frank."
Ah, so HE was Frank, I thought to myself. It's going to be interesting working with this guy, that's for sure. But he's right. We WILL make an interesting contrast. This could be good. |
