ARCH 2 CHPT X
“…Alors on Danse…”
Spring 2017, 2pm.  Cidade de Deus, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Cassandro ran his 8 fingers over the resilient off-white paint.
Original and still holding together.  The elements are brutal on surfaces.  lightly waxed, color choice was good.
Insignificant discoloring in some parts, minor rust patches here and there; everything is as good as you can expect given the age and tropical environment. 
Windows have privacy tints, nice.  Cracked a smidge under the rain-guard add on; good habit of letting the cabin breathe.

The seller pops the hood and exposes the engine bay.
This is unexpected.  Not the stock engine. 
magnifique job though. belts, hoses and wires fresh and tidy, containers and fluids at where they should be.
Everything is solid, neat and done with deliberation and foresight.  No missing bolts or rings.  Snorkel style intake.  Extra battery pack feed to the winch.
This seller is that kind of extra.

“bellisimo ole.  Solo mireim eso.”

Cassandro motioned to the seller his intent to close the bonnet and was approved with a nod.

He then proceeded to admire the signature box look at the front and the owner’s choice of grille-guard. 
Went then akimbo, gave a few kicks to the tire.  “…Solo mireim eso.”
Looks sideways under the carriage.
Suspension and stance look balanced.  Dobinson lift.  
Used but not abused undercarriage.

“esta machina se vey menta…
Auhgora, como cheira deintro, e como soa sua conversion de cummins, 6.7 eh?”

Cassandro has one of those faces that always seem to give off a slight smile.

Seller nods, nervous Cassandro might be one of those dangerous buyers. 
Despite his crippled appearance and friendly mannerisms, Cassandro carried an animus. 
Vender opens the driver door, gestures inside and humbly offers the potential buyer the keys and help in getting inside.

“Obrigadio.  Ta bon.”

Cassandro made his way up and into the cruiser.
Carpet was replaced, easy to clean rubber flooring.  upholstery tastefully refurbished.  air-freshener; black cherry.

He struggles a moment adjusting his left foot into place, small wince of pain, starts getting a feel for the cockpit area.
Clutch is crisp and responsive. Shift knob’s worn down slightly to the owners groove. 

Slides key into accessory, the no frills radio lights up.

”” …♪lost in the sound roaming downtown goin’ a round feeling down down.
i’m on a highway sleeping by day♪…””

Cassandro turns the volume knob all the way down.

Humble dude.  Values function and ease of maintenance over luxury and attention.
Owners’ been enjoying this tool for decades, it’s a major part of him. 
Likely enjoys working on it, and imagines using it more than actually using it. 
No doubt, this engine will turn on, sound pretty and go anywhere when asked.
…He pretends wanting to give it away…   …thinks that selling himself for money will save him.
…that money solves problems.

“triste vender?”

Seller paused a moment, then recovered his composure.
“Ela tem sido boa para mim. Nunca me decepcionou. Recém-lubrificada. Diesel de qualidade. Você sabe que máquina é esta?”

“Claro. si…   Land Cruiser, serie 70.  Version troop carrier…
Conosco beim la machina.”

Cassandro turns the key over and she turned up rowdy. 
Rowdy for that gravel, grit, and grime-time.  She revved herself up lightly and then stabilized into her idle.

It’s been well cared for.
He should be bragging about all of these cool add-ons he worked on.
Poor bloke is broken right now, trying to keep up a good vendor act.

“muicho ahmor em esta gua-gua.  porque voce vendeir?”

“velhice e dinheiro senhor”.

Cassandro nods. 
turns the cruiser off.

“Gostaria trabahar con voce, avise que piensa”

Cassandro broke down the game plan.

“Sure, I’ll pay your asking price.  You can get your money and spend it.

or…

We can help each other out better. 

I understand that you used to work for the Belo Monte project, that’s valuable to me.
Rumor has it that you are selling off everything to pay for a secuestro, it just so happens this is an area i’m very much prepared and equipped to help you with. 

Would you like me to buy your wheels and roll out?
or would you like to go over more on how we could possibly help each other out?”

The man disintegrating in place immediately at hearing this.  Help is what he has been quietly praying for everyday. 
“you can help me with my brother?  nobody has helped me.  Nobody can.  i’ll do anything right now.  i’ll take anything and do anything, i can pay you back.  i can work, i can pay you back.  Police say they have too many cases.  The bank won’t loan to me.  I can’t pay these people, they are a big dangerous gang, and even if i paid them they’ve been know to…    Please sir, Nobody is buying the house and car.  I dont have anyone for help, the few family and friends we have are scared and dont have any money.  Some of them don’t talk to me anymore.  Everyone is scared.  I already sold everything else, and still don’t have enough. I’m worried for him, they could be hurting him.  I can’t do anything.  They can hurt me also.  He needs medications and it’s been 2 months-

“OE”

Cassandro got down carefully out of the Cruiser, “Ta beim ta beim.  I know what you are going through.  No mais solo. beim aca”.

Cassandro extended a hug, and the man went into his arms sobbing.

“Ajuda-me, por favor… o que tu quiseres. Podes ter tudo. O carro, a casa, tu podes ter tudo. Só quero o meu irmão são e salvo.”.

“Asi asi, va ser e salvo.  Our brothers and sisters will be fine, this will all work out”.

Cassandro hug-patted the seller’s back and helped him straighten up.

Gave him his shemagh to blow into.

“You’re not in a position to negotiate right now.
Let’s solve one problem at a time.

My understanding is that we are lucky, they simply want money and they are local level.  Is this right?”

“sim..   …o que você vai fazer?”

“At this point, trust is necessary to move this forward, are you ready?”

“sim.  Sim senhor”. 

“Numero porfavor, the one they gave you…    …obrigado”

Cassandro got his burner phone out and dialed the number.

>>>   Falla  <<<

“Guevon, ouca.
La pulpa sent me to reach out and negotiate. 
Did you get my messsage?

>>>  …  <<<

“it involved 3 hands in ice bags and pictures of 5 peers of yours, in a large bright colored box, with dead squids in it for extra flair. 
The note said favor no tocar el producto.  Tenerlos listos pra movimiento.  llamada muito pronto,
and a list of names and addresses some of you might find familiar. 
It’s a message that was purposefully made to be difficult to miss, there should be bells ringing up there.
Did you get the fkn message there quasimoto or not?

>>>… sim.  recebemos a mensagem  <<<

“Muito beim.  I was sent to resolve this issue without failure.
Your reputation forced me to be a little crude in my approach.
Speaking of which, reputations are important, you should take care of it.

We all make mistakes, so lets move on.
La pulpa was informed you care about money, that makes this easy.
You have in your possession some products, and one of those products belongs to us.
A snitch if you must know.  And we are particularly jealous of our snitches.
Product headcount if you would, right now.”

>>>   19   <<<

“are you sure?  Lies make things more complicated. 
Complicated things have a higher risk of failure, and that’s not a good thing.
my role here is to take this snitch back to Hogwartz intact.
I deliver solutions to complex problems in the most efficient and discreet way possible.
I care about my reputation, and would take it very personal if you try testing it again.
It’s my understanding that you like money.  That makes everything easier.
La pulpa would like to purchase everyone you have, with interest, to move on from this unexpected encounter immediately.
Product headcount if you would, right now.”

>>>   23   <<<

Bring all 23 secuestrados to container A.  Standby for picture and location, that comes now.
Container B will have your mates and the money’s to cover this transaction. 
That comes after.

Standby.  Chop-Chop”  

Cassandro ends the call and faces the seller.
Finger up.  “Uno momento favor”. 
Cassandro hit send, then opened up a security link app.

“Guard these screens, let me know if you see movement.”

Cassandro hands him the phone with videos of empty roads and a few buildings.

Finger up as he walked away from seller and the cruiser “Otro momento favor.” 

Cassandro went to urinate on a nearby coconut tree, then lit another maconha up.

“tem movimento!”

“excelente, todo va em buein tiempo.  Pra informar, 
Container A is going to be hitchable, your sweet-ass ride is going to make all of this extra convenient.
We attach, then take them up to a safe spot by the coast.
From there, there’s going to be a group of us ready to talk about what you guys want to do with your new lives.
Keep checking the screen for your bro, let me know when you”-“Aí, é isso! Estão levando, isso está funcionando.”

Cassandro gave the seller a comforting nudge. 
“So far all is going as expected.  Hermano va estar salvo, keep checking the screen.  
Now check it out, I’d like you to drive your car over there if you could.  I’ll be taking that back and paying attention to it. 
I also need my shemagh back, don’t worry, i’ll clean it.
Oe.  If you don’t mind. 
I’d like to ask you some questions about Kararao on our way over”.