34. Tell the Devil to do Your Errands

The Kodiak was in its lowest gear by the time it reached the inspection station at the southernmost end of La Mula, a small settlement of no more than a dozen adobe hovels set back a rock's throw north of the highway. As the truck approached the awning marking the spot where the inspections took place, Lilo disengaged the clutch and let the truck coast on its own inertia. Once at the spot where he was supposed to stop, he looked around and saw nobody. There were no vehicles waiting to be inspected. The entire facility looked abandoned. There were two official looking trucks parked in front of the tiny office, but the door was closed and no activity was visible through the windows. Lilo let the Kodiak quietly creep through the empty inspection lane. Lilo allowed the Kodiak to coast back toward the highway, on guard for any indication that he should stop or back up. Nothing happened. Nobody came out. Convinced he had met his obligation to the government by letting the truck come almost to a complete stop, Lilo let in the clutch to engage the engine and pick up speed. As he was concentrating on shifting up, a chrome-ladend yellow Chrysler pickup on oversized wheels roared passed them on the highway, not even feigning a look at the inspection station. While still recovering from their surprise as the pickup quickly open up the distance between them, another similarly appointed white Chevy truck noisily zoomed by, catching them off guard again.

"There they go," said Lilo.

"Who were they?" asked Ervey.

"Probably the ones that saw or got the inspectors to be away right now," said Lilo, "their cabins were loaded, four sombreroed güeyes in each."

"They were in quite a rush?" said Ervey almost under his breath, "I wonder where."

Lilo looked over at him and shrugged without saying a word.

"What?" asked Ervey, "you know them, too?"

"Well, they're either running from the devil or running to meet up with him down the road," said Lilo calmly, "all the same."

"That doesn't alarm you? Don't you think we should go back to Ojinaga or something?" said Ervey, "how can you be so blase about it?

"Son, it can't be helped. It may be something new to you because you're only now noticing or admitting it," said Lilo, "for me, it's the world as I have always known it. It's what my father and grandfathers talked about. Dangerous. Difficult. Short. You appreciate what life has given you because you could be moving on at any time. You're obligation's to make sure there's always a next generation. That's as far as you can survive. If your young are safe, what more do you want? I already have grandkids, so this life can do whatever with me. If the devil himself steps in front of me, I'll tell him to fondle my balls."

Ervey chuckled nervously.

"It hasn't always been this way," he said, "you're wrong because it only started since the president loosed the military on the narcocapos and widened the mayhem."

"Not true! In the past the capos were the governors and the mayors, and the same mayhem reigned. Same inspection stations and thugs at the roadblocks. The inspectors used to steal things right in front of you. They would also get drunk and bully everybody in town. Before that there was the aftermath of Revolucion, where there was no law at all for many years and all of these roads were infested with cuatreros, mounted robbers. And before that, the devil went totally unchecked in the Revolucion. Sí, there were generals and troops heading into battle, but in their absence the land was thick with Omars. And before that, the local strongmen, most of them uncultured despots, did what they wanted to the people. Damn, you can keep going back in history to the days when what you feared was being captured on these lonely roads by the Spaniards and compelled to work in their mines until you died, like Parral and Santa Barbara. That's where you come from, no? Come to think about it, it may very well be that you come from one of those miserable güeyes they hauled out of El Mulato in chains to go dig in Santa Barbara," Lilo said, snickering at the end.

"Well, you're right that Aquiles Serdan used to be called Santa Barbara because of the silver mine," said Ervey. He then started to say something but hushed.

Lilo let the conversation drop, but he kept looking over at Ervey, who was now clearly distraught.

The Kodiak soon reached high gear and sped up the road a long time without a word being said in its cabin.

"Don't a fret too much about it, muchacho," said Lilo, in a conciliatory tone, "you have a boy, you said, so you can tell the devil to do your errands."