Different Circles

Jake smiled a little. He was sure he could beat this guy. But then he had a second thought. Did he really want to be perceived as hustling a Colombian drug lord? “Uh ... well ... Eddie, before I agree to the wager, I think I should make a disclosure.”

“Yes?”

“I am very good at darts. Not only do I play it when I go out to a bar, I have one of these machines in the entertainment room of my house and practice quite frequently. My wife and I play almost every time we go out to a pub ... and we rarely lose.”

“I will consider myself advised,” Eddie said. “Is it a bet?”

Jake held out his hand. “It’s a bet.”

They shook on it. And then they went to play, carrying their beers and their cigars with them. Jake quickly found out that Eddie was quite good at the game as well. But he was not quite good enough. It took all five games to declare a winner, but Jake edged him out in the end, putting the last dart in the double 10 slot to bring his score down from 20 to exactly 0.

“Well then,” Eddie said, a smile still on his face. “I guess that’s it.”

“Yep,” Jake said, eyeing him a little nervously, but the man did not seem the least bit upset that he had just lost fifty thousand American dollars.

“How about we have one more and then hit the road?” Eddie asked.

“Sounds like a plan,” Jake said.

They returned to the bar and Eddie ordered up two more Bravas. As they sipped them, Eddie said, “It’s been quite enjoyable socializing with you, Jake. If you ever come back to Colombia, I hope we can do it again.”

“It’s been fun hanging out with you too, Eddie,” Jake told him, and, to his surprise, he found he was telling the truth. It had been a bit disconcerting, but it had been fun. “And if you’re ever in the states, I’d love to show you a few of my favorite places as well.”

“I will keep the invitation in mind,” he said. He took a large drink of his beer and then looked at Jake meaningfully. “There is one thing I would like to ask you.”

“What’s that?”

“Those stories one hears. The stories about you snorting yeyo out of that zunga’s butt crack?”

“Yeah,” Jake said slowly. “I’ve heard those stories.”

“As have I,” Eddie said. “Are they true?”

Jake looked at the man and smiled a little. “Before I answer that, Eddie, can I ask you something?”

“Anything, parcero,” he said. “Anything at all.”

“I’m told you’re in the import/export business, that that is how you made enough money to buy a business jet.”

“That is correct,” Eddie said with a nod. “I have been very successful.”

“Obviously,” Jake said. “My question is: what exactly do you import and export?”

Eddie stared at him for a moment, his eyes darkening momentarily. Jake began to think maybe he had had one too many Bravas while playing darts. But then the eyes softened, and Eddie chuckled.

“I export coffee,” he said at last. “You have heard we grow world famous coffee here in Colombia.”

“I’ve drank some of it,” Jake said. “It is quite good.”

“That is how I make my living,” Eddie said. “I export coffee and I import American and Asian consumer electronics. The business has been very kind to me.”

“Yes, it has,” Jake agreed.

“And of the yeyo and the zunga?” Eddie asked.

“It never happened,” Jake told him, shaking his head. “Nothing but media lies.”

“Oh ... I see,” Eddie said, visibly disappointed.

“Sometimes the truth is not nearly as interesting as the story, huh?”

“You speak correctly, Jake.”

When they returned to the hangar, they found that the two mechanics were the only people still physically working on something. They had the cowling off the number one engine and Travis was standing on a step ladder, peering inside with a flashlight while Samuel read numbers to him from a logbook. Nick, the accountant, was sitting by himself, reading through some notes and running some figures with a pocket calculator. Jill and Sebastian the pilot were sitting at one of the tables drinking coffee and having what appeared to be an animated conversation. Jake was surprised to see that Jill was smiling and giggling at whatever they were discussing. He had never known Jill to giggle before, would not have thought she was even capable of it had he not seen it with his own eyes.

As the two men came inside, Jill quickly excused herself from Sebastian and Nick quickly folded up the notes he was working on. They both came over to where Jake and Eddie stood and put their business faces back on.

“Well?” Eddie asked them. “What have you accomplished?”

“We’re sure we have a preliminary agreement worked out,” Nick said. “At least we do until the lawyers get their hands on it.”

“Yes, the vampiros,” Eddie spat, contempt clear in his voice. “They have to have their greasy little hands in everything.”

“Some things truly are universal,” Jake put in.

“Indeed,” Eddie said with a sigh. “That is for another day, however. Tell me what you came up with.”