On the Run

The van was rickety, old, and smelled a little funny. The space was tight and there were far too many people in it. The whole situation was uncomfortable, and Harry just wished that Louis would speed up so they could get to the border more quickly.

Louis insisted that he couldn’t go above the speed limit, because he couldn’t risk them getting pulled over. He was right about that, but Harry didn’t see the harm in going 70 in a 65 mile per hour zone. No cop was going to hunt someone down for going five over.

Harry wasn’t sure just how much more of the van he could take, but when he’d almost given up hope, they entered into the city limits of Santa Teresa, New Mexico. He breathed a sigh of relief as they passed the large sign, knowing that his contact was in that very town.

All they had to do was head to the center of the city, to the motel next to the casino, and meet up with Diego. Harry only knew him because together they’d rescued many girls, but he was thankful that he knew him at all. Diego was a good man, someone Harry thought he could trust, and with the added bonus of the ten grand, he had no reason to doubt that Diego would help them.

“Where’s your contact?” Louis called from the front of the van.

Harry leaned forward, shouting over the air conditioner that was forcefully blowing. “A motel in the center of town. Just follow the main road and we’ll hit it.”

Sure enough, they hit the motel in a matter of moments, and when Harry spotted Diego’s blue van, which he’d seen many times before, he knew exactly where to go. He pointed Louis to towards the back of the parking lot, so they could pull up next to him. Diego was a man of few words, so when he spoke, Harry wasn’t surprised.

“Do you have the money?” Diego asked, puffing his smoke into the window of the van, as he peeked through the passenger side.

“You’ll get it when we cross the border,” Louis responded, his eyes glaring at the man as they peeled over Caroline. He looked as though he wanted to jump across the van and ring the guy’s neck.

Diego nodded his head, blowing out another puff of smoke.

“Get in my van.”

“What?” Caroline questioned. “We’re leaving so soon?”

“Did you want to do a bit of sight-seeing so you could give the Viche some more time to come find you?”

Caroline shook her head.

“Then get in the van.”

Caroline looked back to Louis, speaking with a look in the way that people could only do when they’d been together for far too long. He nodded back at her, before popping his door open. Niall did the same with his, following their appointed leader out of the van. Everyone followed suit, with Harry the last to leave.

Louis tossed each of them their bags, which they then threw into Diego’s van. It was very similar to the one they’d just been in, but even dirtier, though it didn’t seem possible. Harry wondered how many other people he shipped across the border in that van. The number had to be in the thousands.

As they made their way through the streets, in the back of Diego’s rusted up van, Harry knew the moment was a low point for him. He thought managing a strip club was low. He thought taking a hit of ecstasy that one time was low. He thought sleeping with one of his girls was low. But until then, he didn’t know what low was.

“Where are we going?” Louis asked, always one to ask questions. Harry knew better than to pry, but Louis didn’t. It was just his nature.

Diego looked back at Louis through the rearview mirror. “I’ve got a guy,” he said simply. He turned his eyes back to the road, and they all knew not to question him further, even Louis.

They drove a few miles out of the city, continuing south, until all that laid before them was a large fence. Even from far away, Harry could see the man standing on the opposite side of it, with an off-road Jeep behind him. Was that how they’d get into Mexico? Was that what all the immigrants did?

“Money,” Diego ordered, when they pulled up to the fence. Harry could tell that Louis wanted to ask more questions, but luckily he didn’t, and simply passed Diego the suitcase full of cash. He held onto it for a second too long, and when he let go he gripped tightly onto Caroline’s hand.

Without Diego telling them, they knew to get out of the van, all of them staying silent. They stood for a moment, the sun beating down on them and the dirt dusting beneath their feet. Louis took the initiative, like he often did. With one hand wrapped around Caroline’s and the other placed against the small of Rory’s back, he walked them closer to the fence, and the rest of the group quickly trailed behind him.

It was obvious they were all nervous, as they were much quieter than they usually were. They had reason to be, though, because any wrong movement could ruin their chances of making it to freedom.

When the man popped open a section of the fence, where the wire had been discretely cut, Harry could have sworn he heard the Mexican National Anthem playing, like an invitation into the country. It was his mind – he knew that – but it still helped make him feel as though everything would be okay.

On the other side of that fence was their freedom, and when they ducked through the wire, and onto the side which had dust exactly the same as the other, Harry felt a weight lift off his shoulder. They were in Mexico, away from the Viche, and finally free.