The Rainbow Around Her Neck

#116 - Part 2 - The grounds lit up with floodlights, and I heard a guard call out.

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The Rainbow Around Her Neck

Four guards were stationed around the house. Slipping past them would be easier than getting by the geese with their keen eyesight and hearing.

No lights were on inside. Only the front entryway had light. It served as a meeting point for the guards as they made their rounds.

Upon reaching the end of the hedge and fence, I pulled a length of rope out of my pack and tied a loop at the base of each and tied myself to the rope. Holding onto the fence, I lowered myself into the void and pulled myself up onto the property side and retrieved my rope.

Crouching low and slow between the low fence and the cliff edge I made my way to the side of the house. So far, so good.

The notro tree near the balcony was just inside the fence barrier. The ladder still leaned against the tree trunk.

The light from the screen of a cellphone, and the glowing red ember of a cigarette gave away the guard in the shadows as he sat on a bench.

The geese were penned maybe twenty-five yards away near the hedge.

I decided the limb I wanted to use wouldn’t do. It wasn’t close enough, but the ladder was tall enough to get me close enough to the balcony where I thought I could reach the banister railing base for a handhold. With no other obvious or easier option, it would have to do.

Moving the ladder quietly to the hacienda without being seen or heard was the thing. If unsuccessful, this heist was busted, and escape would be necessary.

The guard stood up, flicked his cigarette away with sparks flying, and walked toward the front of the hacienda. That got the geese’s attention.

Slowly, step by step to the ladder, I pulled it from the trunk of the tree and angled over to the wall just under the balcony. The shadows helped conceal me and the geese were yet unaware.

Standing on tip toes on the highest rung I could safely climb; I grasped a banister rail with one hand. Holding tight, I left the safety of the ladder and briefly hung in air before I grabbed hold with my other hand.

I pulled myself up, then over onto the balcony.

Monte Fitz Roy rose squarely in front of the balcony, stark in the distance, seeming almost touchable as the moon’s first light lit the peak. I moved to the glass double doors with floor to ceiling windows on either side.

A simple latch lock held the doors closed. I said to myself, “Senor, you must feel very secure.”

With little leverage, I pried the latch open with my nailfile. A quiet pop resulted in doing so. It stood out in the quiet of the night. I heard a murmur from the geese but no outright honk.

I slid open one door wide enough to step inside the room. I hoped The Senor had no tricks planned for an intruder.

My small light revealed I was in a bedroom. A quick scan showed paintings and other pieces of art.

Bingo! I knew this was The Senor’s private stash.

Picasso’s ’Le Pigeon aux Petits Pois,’ missing for almost fifteen years, hung on one wall near the bedstead.

I thought, “Senor Rodriguez, my hat is off to you. And to the slickster who stole this piece!”

Next to the bed, there it was – The Rainbow. It graced the neck of a spitting image of The Senor’s wife. A work of wax in exquisite detail. She sat at her dressing table brushing her long black hair, a diamond bracelet on her wrist.

She was naked. She was beautiful.

I stepped over the few steps to her, unclasped the necklace, and bracelet, secured them in my jacket, and gave the room a last look before exiting.

On the night table beside the bed, a dagger shone bright in my light’s beam. Another two steps to pick it up revealed a blade of Mayan, or Incan design, with their revered jade gemstones inlaid in the hilt. I took it.

Reversing my steps, I set the door latch, exited the room and slid the door closed. I nailfiled the latch down over its catch with only a muffled click.

All was silent.

I pulled out my rope, double looped it around the banister and lowered myself to the ground.

I retrieved my rope and stashed it away, took off my backpack and pulled out my chute. I reshouldered my backpack, and then the chute, and cinched up the harness. I was ready to fly.

I made my way to the ladder to return it to the tree. I hit a branch while leaning it against the tree trunk and the geese heard it. They honked.

The grounds lit up with floodlights, and I heard a guard call out.

Time to go!!

I stepped over the fence and at the cliff’s edge, quickly checked my harness and chute controls, and leaped into the abyss.

Pulling the ripcord of my chute, the pilot chute caught air and pulled out the main chute and lines. It filled with air, and I was airborne, gliding along in the shadow of the cliff, out of the light of the rising moon.

My Ranger School training continued to pay dividends.

The guards would discover nothing. The theft might not be discovered until The Senor returned from his travels.

Warm wind thermals still rose from the valley floor, and I rode the wind almost all the way back to El Chalten before landing in a small meadow.

Nearby ran a tributary of the Las Vueltas River that runs through El Chalten.

I repacked my chute, loaded it with river rock, and tossed it as far as I could into the water. It promptly sank.

It was barely 11 pm when I got back to town and the streets were still alive.

I stopped in a nightclub, got a beer and texted Christiana, my, ahem, associate.

“All’s good. See you in two days.” She replied, “We’ll be there.”

At 10 am we met for breakfast at the La Wafleria.

Pretending to be friends and meeting after a time apart, we exchanged gifts.

A small string-tied paper bag to Christiana held the diamond bracelet within, and to our buyer, a Mr. Chang, a similarly wrapped package contained The Rainbow.

He slid a shoebox with a red ribbon around it across the table to me. Christiana subtly nodded.

We opened our gifts without revealing the contents to any chance onlookers. I looked at several banded stacks of large denomination US dollars. Mr. Chang and I exchanged smiles.

Christi leaned over to me with a kiss.

The waffles with fruit were delicious.

We left the restaurant and walked down the street a ways before Mr. Chang took his leave.

Christi and I spent a few days in El Chalten before I returned with her to Puerto Santa Cruz for our return trip to Miami.

We would be traveling by private yacht, an easy way to stash away any questionable goods, or cash, from the customs checks we would encounter as we made our ports of call.

Back home, Christi knew a man who might be interested in a dagger.

The Rainbow – pt 1

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