[104-10177-10217.pdf — page 15]
view of the cons. As the sword carriersare frisking Rothchild, the second noteIs triumphantly confiscated. They don'tknow that it says "Joe Morgan" on itThe name of the great Cincinnati sec-and baseman will go somewhere into theDISIP files.Halfway up the ramp. Rothchildsenses that the pressure has somehowbeen reversed, that now the DISIPwants to keep him on the ground. Sev-eral cops are following him as if theywant to get ahead and stop him at thedoor. He scurries inside the plane andrushes back to a seat; they are still fol-lowing him. He has his seat belt buckledalmost before his ass hits the cushion,and the two cops reach out as if to grabhim, then change their minds andabruptly leave the aircraft. But theyquickly return. They tell. Rothchild in avery friendly tone that his friendsdown on the ground want to: have aword with him and that he better un-buckle and come down. Rothchild is so.agitated he believes them. He gets asfar as the plane entrance, the top ofthe stairs, when he hears Branch yell-ing, "Get back." He bowls over a stew-ardess on the way to his seat,The cops are not through yet. Theyreturn with another ploy: Rothehild hasmot filled out the necessary papers andhe must return to an office in the air-port, "Are you sure this isn't a trick?"Rothchild asks. "No, no trick. Justa procedural matter." Rothchild tellsthem he isn't moving an inch until hetalks to the captain,Out his little window, Rothchild seesfurther agitation on the runway. Theyhave brought up a car and they are.trying to force Branch and Inclán toget into it. Camargo is flailing his armslike a giant windmill, determined to getall three reporters together-on or offthe plane. The reporters are equallydetermined, to split up. Branch andInclán keep telling Camargo that theywill not move from the runway untilthe plane takes off. They want to stayin plain view of all the passengers,fearing that the goons will grab Roth-child once the other two are safely outof view. Branch and Inclán keep en-couraging each other and making jokesabout how incredible all the commotionhas become. Workmen in orange suitssire crouched in the shade, smoking cig-arettes, and several hundred gawkersare spread out in a semicircle like fausin the bleachers.Camargo-tries a whole string oftricks to get Branch and Inclán out ofsight. Will they move into the airport,please? No. He goes off into a huddleand comes back. Will they get in thecar so they can get out of the hot sun?No. Will they get in the car if he prom-ises they can watch the plane fromthere? No. After one huddle, the noodchanges and several goons swing littlebrown blackjacks. Branch and Inclánsay a prayer, refuse to move and waveostentatiously at the airplane, Thegoons shove-and menace but then go offagain. Rómulo comes back with his gurpalled, looking, like a crazed assassin.Camargo soor. yanks him back to thegoon huddle, The plane starts taxiingom the runway and Camargo says,"You've won. Let's go." The reportershuddle and say not until it's off theground. Camargo looks furious andbarks a command to his walkie-talkieman. The plane stops immediately andsits in the middle of the airstrip. Ca-marge ce..trols the tower, the reportersconclude. The game, played by inchesand bluffs, goes on for nearly an hour.Camargo Plays HardballBranch and Inclán are spread-eagledagainst the back-door openings of thegoon car, facing each other, when thejet finally takes off. They have held thisposition for the last fifteen minutes orso so of the cat-and-mouse game. The roarof the jet engines sets off tremors inBranch's gut, and he is flooded with re-lief. He feels tears welling up.:Rómuño is now wearing his guntucked inside his pants at the navel,His turtleneck is soaked with sweatHe and Camargo and the head blackjack man escalate their nudging again,and extras crowd in behind them. Thereporters, talking over the roof of thecar, decide that the plane will not becalled back. They get in the car. Romulosits next to Branch, and Camargo takesthe front seat. They peel off down therunway with other cars following....."How long will it take the plane toget to Miami?" Inclán asks Camargo."A little more than three hours," say'sCamargo. "It has to stop in Mara-caibo."Branch shivers and asks Inclán totranslate the Spanish to make sure heheard right."I thought you said it was a directflight to Miami," Inclán says in dis-belief."It is going direct to Miami, señora,"replies Camargo, "but it is stopping inMaracaibo."The reporters discuss with renewedhorror the fact that Maracaibo is stillin Venezuela; they envision the DISIPpeople paying a call on Rothchild. Ca-ma rins at them. His lips slant inone direction, and the upper row. of hisfront teeth slants in the other, makingan X. Branch thinks Camargo mustfile his teeth. lie inches away fromRómulo until he is almost in Inclán'slapThree hours later, Camargo summonsthe two reporters to his office aftermore consultation with Central Ca-racas. Only one thing has changed, heReys graciously. Both their visas havebeen officially revoked; they are or-dered to leave at three-thirty. The re-porters ask why, and Camargo shrugs.Without warning, the session is in-terrupted when one of the youngergoons strolls in and hands Camargo abrand-new Jim Palmer baseball gloveand a box of six baseballs. The reporters are astonished.""Excuse me," says Camargo, whobegins to pound his fist in the newglove, He is beaming. He and Branchstart talking baseball, with a bewil-dered Inclán translating. A bond isformed. Camargo lets Branch pound hisfist into the gloveCamargo is now expansive, as if thereporters were guests in his home. Hesays he knows a lot about the UnitedStates and walks over to a corner wherethere is a stack of framed diplomas onthe floor. He flips through them andhands Branch a diploma from the U.S.Army School of Special Warfare. It issigned by General Joseph W. Stilwell,Commandant. Then he hands Branch acertificate from the International Police:Academy, a training school for theworld's policemen. It has closed after adose of scandal. Branch wonders if allthe DISIP goons have been trained bythe Agency; he would like to meet theirAmerican contacts:Rothchild has landed in Miami, Hegoes straight to The Miami News andcauses an uproar with his story. Theeditors there have been. worried aboutInclán since she missed her check-incall six hours ago. The managing edi-> [Figure: A cartoon depicts two men in suits whispering behind their hands, with several figures seated at desks in the background.  One of the men is speaking on the phone.]> "Any suggestions on who to get rid of?"> continued11