Rodrigo stared at the trapdoor. It had been almost twenty years since the last time he was down there. Since Benetta was a little girl. He didn't even store wine there anymore and had forgotten about it until she mentioned it last night.
The trapdoor had a narrow slot cut into its center, just big enough for a man to slip his fingers into. Rodrigo reached into the slot and pulled the trapdoor up. It wasn't hinged and he lifted it straight out and leaned it against the pantry wall. Beneath the floor, an old wooden ladder led down into a dark hole.
Another heavy bang sounded against the front door.
"Is there a light?" the American woman asked.
There had been no time for introductions, but Rodrigo assumed the American woman was Scott Greene's wife and the two children were his also. Rodrigo reached up and found an aluminum flashlight on one of the shelves. He flipped the switch. Nothing happened. He banged it against the palm of his hand a couple of times. The light came on, but it was weak. He handed the flashlight to the gringa.
She took the light from him but shook her head. "I'm not going first."
"Yes, you are," Greene said. "You, Jake, then the girls. Then Benny and Father Rodrigo. I'll go last."
Whatever was slamming against the front door did it again.
"I...can't," the woman whispered, pleading with her husband. "You know how I am with tight-"
There was a burst of gunfire outside and the sound of splintering wood in the den. The American woman screamed. All three children started crying. Whoever was outside was trying to shoot through the door and shatter the lock. But the "lock" was, in fact, an old iron bar. It would hold them off for a few more minutes.
"Go!" the American shouted at his wife, and this time she did as she was told. Holding the flashlight in one hand, she squeezed through the opening in the tile floor and climbed down the old ladder.
The hole was eight feet deep. She reached the bottom and looked up. In the dim glow of the flashlight, Rodrigo could see the fear on her face but also the determination. "It's not so bad," she said, holding up a hand. "Come on, Jake. Show your sister and...Show them how to do it."
The boy glanced at his father. "Her name is Rosalita," Green said. "And your mom is right. Show the girls how good a climber you are."
With that, the boy scampered down the ladder just as more blows hammered the front door. Greene then held his daughter by her wrists and lowered her down as far as he could before dropping her into her mother's arms. Rosalita didn't wait to be lowered. She scuttled down just as fast as the boy had. Rodrigo smiled. His niece was a tomboy, just like her mother.
He looked at Benetta. "Vete," he said. Go. "Vete de aqui." Get out of here.
"Usted primero," she said. You first.
"Estare detras de ti." I'll be right behind you.
More gunshots at the front door.
Rodrigo jabbed a finger at the hole. "Vete," Go. "Vete ya!" Go now.
Benetta climbed down the ladder.
More banging against the front door. Then it crashed open.
Rodrigo turned to the DEA agent. "You go. I'll hold them."
The American shook his head. "I can't do that."
"We can't all make it."
More gunshots echoed through the rectory. Whoever had broken down the door wasn't taking any chances. They were shooting first.
"Save your family," Rodrigo said. "And my niece and grandniece."
The American hesitated.
"Go," Rodrigo said. "I've made my peace with God."
Scott Greene opened his mouth to say something. But he didn't. He just nodded. Then he climbed down the lad-der.
Rodrigo pushed the trapdoor back into place and cov-ered it with the rug. He heard footsteps in the den. He stood in the narrow pantry doorway and waited.
* * * *
To Scott, the sound of the trapdoor dropping back into place overhead was like that of a coffin lid closing.
The tunnel wasn't quite six feet tall. Scott had to stoop. And it was narrow, only about two feet wide. His shoulders touched both sides. With the trapdoor closed, the darkness was almost total. It pressed in on them from all sides, and the old flashlight Rodrigo had given Victoria didn't do much to beat it back.
"Where's tío?" Benny said.
Scott looked at her in the dim light. "He stayed be-hind."
"No." Benny tried to push past him to get to the ladder.
Scott held her back. "It's what he wanted."
Struggling against him, she said, "He can't stay."
"He's trying to buy us time. And we're wasting it."
She stopped struggling.
As he released her, Scott said, "We need to go."
Benny closed her eyes and a tear ran down her cheek.
Victoria laid a hand on Benny's arm and held out the flashlight to her. "Can you lead us to the other end?"
Benny took the flashlight and nodded. Still holding the pistol in her other hand, she wiped her face on her sleeve, then squeezed past the children and took the lead. Rosalita followed her, but Jake and Samantha stood still. Both looked at Scott. "Go," he said. "And stay close."