The Founders' Plot

At the county jail, he was put in a holding cell with about a dozen others but was allowed to make a call. An hour later, Dominic arrived with a lawyer to bail Carlos out.

“How you doing?” Dominic asked as they walked to his Escalade.

“I guess I’m all right. Still shaky. And my wrists hurt. They put those cuffs on tight.”

“I know. It’s a scary experience. I remember the first time I got pinched. Damn near pissed my pants.”

When Carlos got into Dominic’s Escalade, he called Marisol to tell her he was all right and would be home soon. Then asked Dominic, “What happens now?”

“Stay off the streets. Don’t sell any papers for a while. There’s a big backlog of illegals, but eventually they’ll most likely take you before an immigration judge. He’ll decide if you’re deported.

“That could be a few weeks or a month or two. It’s hard to say. It’s always different. If that happens, you’re going to have to go on the lam, get away from here fast. So be prepared. I’ll warn you if I hear anything. If they catch you, the lawyer with me tonight is exceptionally good. But he’s expensive.”

“How expensive?”

“Again, it depends. You were only caught with the fake IDs, not selling them.” He looked at Carlos. “Have you been arrested before?”

“No. Not even a traffic ticket.”

“You should be okay. They’ve got big-time criminals to deal with. Next to them, your small potatoes. You might get off with a fine, but you could still be deported. The lawyer will be there if they take you in front of the immigration judge. Even though you’re an illegal, you still have rights. And, like I said, this guy is very good.”

“How expensive?” Carlos asked again.

“Figure on eight, maybe ten thousand.”

“Ten thousand! My God. That’s a lot of money for me.”

“Don’t worry. The way you’ve been selling those documents you’ll make it up in three or four weeks.”

Carlos looked away. Not a chance. He was out of this. But he kept it to himself. If Dominic knew he wanted to quit, he’d have no reason to help. “But not right away,” Carlos said. “You told me to stop for a while.”

“That’s right. I’ll work you someplace else. Maybe another state. You can quit the construction job after that. Keep working full-time for me and you’ll be making even more.”

Carlos said nothing. But No way! “What do I tell my wife?”

“That’s up to you. Make up a good story or tell her the truth.”

“I don’t understand what happened. I thought the documents were perfect. How could they have caught me?”

Dominic nibbled his lower lip. “I’ve been asking myself that since you called me tonight. I’ll check it out first thing in the morning. Take it easy,” Dominic said when he dropped Carlos off at his pickup. “Relax. This will work out. Stay in touch.”

When he entered his apartment, Marisol was sitting on the sofa in a house dress reading a magazine. The children were playing video games in their room.

“I hope you’ve got a good explanation for this,” she said as he sat down in the chair across from her. “Something is going on and whatever it is, it’s not good. You’ve been coming home late almost every night, and your excuses are getting worse and worse. And the bruises and cuts. You can’t be having that many accidents at work.”

He bowed his head. He had to tell her. He was out of it now. No more phony papers. No more Dominic. No more police. No more lies.

“For a while,” she said, “I thought it was another woman. But you’d have been more discreet. Not almost every night. You’re smarter than that.”

“No. It’s nothing like that.”

And he explained everything to her.