Journey's End
by
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Leon was startled to hear his name being announced. Who would know he was here? Even Roland and Rick had not known about this hotel. All his companions were looking at each other in consternation now. Everyone except Cosmopoulos. Leon noted that for a split second, "Cosmo" had a strange, guarded look on his face. Turning his attention to the source of the page, Leon approached the elegant front desk staffed by an equally elegant young man. The youngster raised his eyebrows inquisitively. "I'm Santos," Leon rumbled, trying to scan his surroundings and see who was watching him at the front counter. "But of course, Señor Santos," the young man said enthusiastically, flashing a smile. Leon noted the name "Rivera" on his name tag. With an elegant flare, the young man extended his arm, indicating a phone on the wall at the extreme end of the front desk. "Por favor, tome el telefono, señor, y bienvenido(Please, take that telephone, sir, and welcome)." Leon nodded politely, conflicting trains of thought racing through his mind. Still, he allowed himself to smile slightly before he moved to the telephone. After all, he did not know when and if he would need to be in this young man's good graces. He was aware that his companions moved with him, casually but methodically looking this way and that. That is, all of them except Cosmopoulos, who was already engaging the young desk clerk in earnest conversation. Leon picked up the phone and noticing that one of its several lines was lit, punched down on it. "Habla (Speak)," he said gruffly. There was a palpable, momentary hesitation on the other end and then, a short, dry chuckle. "It must be a family trait- these abominable telephone manners." The voice was moderated and extremely precise. Leon was sure he had never heard it before. "Who is this?" He deliberately put an annoyed growl in his voice. Marima. Marima was the reason for everything he must do now. There was no time to waste on guessing games, Leon thought. He had to know what was going on quickly. "Oh, we have been tied to each other for a long time, Leon. I would even say that we have been close, but we have never met or spoken." "Victor- " Leon breathed the name, a Maelstrom of feelings swirling around inside of him. His fingers crushed the telephone he held. "Exactly," the voice in his ear said with decided satisfaction. Leon could almost see the sardonic smirk through the phone. The voice continued. "I believe it is time we had a talk, no?" "I want to see her," Leon said, each one of his words a tightly coiled spring. "I need to know she's alright." From a few feet away, Leon saw Roland's intense expression. He had heard Leon's end of the conversation- knew that it was Victor on the phone. "That's not what we are here about, Santos." Victor's voice was cold, hard- unrelenting. Leon forced himself to swallow; to collect himself and breathe. He had to match wills and wits with this man. Marima needed him. Her life depended on everything he did now. Alright then, he thought. He had to find out what Victor wanted to use him for. Once he knew that, he would take the structure of Victor's plans and turn it around, or inside out- use it to do whatever he must do to free Marima. He held up an open palm to Roland, signalling him to take it easy. Performing this gesture calmed him more than it did Roland, who furiously paced to and fro in front of Leon. Rick, in the meantime continued to cast his eye around the lobby, hoping to spy anyone observing them. At the front desk, Cosmopoulos and the young clerk shared a laugh. Leon felt his eyes narrow as he watched the Greek. He forced himself to focus on the telephone conversation. "What's the job?" His voice was calm, objective and without antagonism. The way he willed it to be. He was in control of himself. "Now that is what I like to hear." Victor's voice was full of enthusiasm- like a tutor who has just gotten a correct response from a particularly dense student. It was here that Leon consciously observed that Victor used no contractions when he spoke. "Listen and observe closely for the next few minutes," Victor said. "Your assignment is headed toward you even as we speak." "God in Heaven, Leon thought, desperation tearing at his wall of self-control. There's only one way he could know that.- he's here- Victor's right here. Roland must have been looking into his eyes and read the expression in them, for his own face took on a tortured and frantic look. "He's here. The sonofabitch is right here!" His voice was a moaning growl. Much to Rick's credit, he did not visibly react to all of this. Instead, he seemed to melt against the wall, his eyes the only thing alive on him. "Look to your left now, Leon," Victor instructed carefully. "You will see a small group of men- five to be exact, coming your way. One of them, the three-hundred and twenty pound man in the middle, very coal-black, wearing the expensive blue suit- he is part of your assignment." As Victor spoke, Leon followed his instructions and immediately saw a group of five men emerging from the left wing leading into the lobby. Even if they had not been pointed out by Victor, Leon would have singled them out, he thought. In spite of all the activity and movement in the immense lobby, these men were significantly different. Leon watched their head movements- the small, precise shifts as they "quartered" or sectioned their fields of vision, checking and re-checking for movement, something unusual; something out of place. The other people in the lobby sauntered, strolled, changed direction, milled about- some of the little ones even ran. Not so these men. This group strode with precision and aggression in a "V" formation. Keeping the fifth man a few paces behind them and in the middle, they forced the milling mass of humanity in the lobby to open up, to make way. As Leon watched, he saw people instinctively scurrying away from these men. It was like watching a mighty predator- perhaps a Great White Shark, swimming amongst its prey. The predator and the prey both knew their place. Leon's eyes first sought the man the others protected. He was hard to miss. Even at this distance, Leon accurately gauged him to be about six foot two or three. Everything about this man was massive- his head, his neck, shoulders, girth. At first glance, the average person would misjudge this man and call him fat. Leon was making no such mistake. This man might be carrying some fat, but underneath it, there was nothing but massive muscle and raw Power and Strength. "You are looking at Obey." Victor's voice came through again, inexorable in its precision and modulation; by those very qualities demanding and getting attention. "The Nigerian King of Heroin." Victor's words brought Obey's face into focus for Leon. He could suddenly make out the slight knot of a frown sitting over the broad nose and flaring nostrils, the prou
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About the Book
Powerful and mysterious forces have been pulling at Leon Santos and his family all his life. These same forces have led him to become a soldier of the Cuban Revolution, a policeman, would-be assassin and combatant in Angola, Africa, and finally, a convict buried in Fidel Castro's prison system. All through this, he has been thrown into being an unwilling adversary of someone he loves deeply: his twin brother, Tommy. Now, through the Mariel Boat Lift, Leon has been given a new lease on life: a chance to be born again in the United States and Marima, a woman to love. At this very moment, those same mysterious forces rip into Leon's life, threatening to tear Marima away from him, make him a fugitive in his new land, and finally, take his life. A shadowy and menacing figure emerges in all of this: Victor - part gangster, part Devil- all-Powerful. Is he a figment of the imagination, a myth, or is he somehow connected to Leon's family's past? Leon now moves in a dangerous world of drug lords, government agents, murder, intrigue, plot and counterplot and double-dealing. It is a world where ancient family ties and obligations become enmeshed with Shadows, new and old friends and relations. But who can now be trusted and how can Leon reconcile all this with his need and love for the beautiful young dancer, Marima? Racing against Time, Leon struggles to find a way to save the woman he loves, his newly-gained Spirituality and dignity, avoid a deadly confrontation with his twin brother and solve an ancient mystery rooted in blood and Evil. For Leon, losing is not an option in this kaleidoscopic race that spans three continents, as he rushes headlong toward his "Journeys End".
About the Author
Henry Youngblood is a native New Yorker who "came up" in the streets of Harlem and the Bronx. He says that he has been the beneficiary of that "education" as well as the one given him by his mother, Carmen, the Vietnam Era and the U.S. Army. Traveling abroad was also a factor, culminating in his becoming an Honors Graduate in Psychology from Temple University, Philadelphia. It was while working in the field of mental health that in 1980, Henry became involved with the Cuban people of the Mariel Boat Lift. Providing counseling and psychotherapy for the refugee camp at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania, and being an avid amateur historian as well, he became intrigued by the Afro-Cuban people of the camps. He freely admits that he was moved and captivated by the plight of all refugees and became personally involved with them and entranced by their stories. After his normal duty hours, he moved among them, gathering personal interviews, taping their music and religious affairs and pursuing his first great love in life- anthropological studies. He was present and directly involved in the riot that occurred at the camp, and because of his rapport with the people was able to be an eyewitness to these occurrences without being harmed. Henry was also able to rescue a number of refugees who did not wish to be involved in the riot. Later, he played a central role in relocating a small population of Cubans to the Washington D.C. area and St.Elizabeths Hospital where he continued to help in providing mental health treatment to them. It was out of this experience that "Journey's End" and an accompanying series yet to be published was born. It is the product of thousands of hours of work - including years of research, travel, interviews, reading hundreds of books in four languages and as the author states : "writing and re-writing". Journey's End, he says, is a novel that is part history, part fiction, part personal experience and all adventure. Youngblood states that the refugee camp experience was a major turning point in his life, leading him to see himself, his education and the American experience in a totally different light. Today, Henry is still counseling and currently works as a veterans' counselor- still hoping to help people "find their way home".