J.D. Trafford - Michael Collins 03 - No Time To Hide by J.D. Trafford Page B

girls. “The water’s pretty low right now, so it’s not as bad as it could be. But I’m going to take the sorority girls for this final run.” He paused and looked at the queen bees, none of whom were giggling at the moment. “If you get sucked down in a whirlpool  —remember — don’t try and swim out of it. Tuck your knees into your chest and let the life jacket do the work to bring you up to the surface.” Cheeto scanned the whole group of rafters, making eye contact with each one. He wanted them to know he was serious. “But the best idea is to not flip and not get sucked into the hole in the first place. Okay?”
    The group nodded, and Cheeto gave them a thumbs-up. “Okay. Then let’s paddle hard.”
     
    ###
    There was a collective gasp as they rounded the bend. 
    The churning water filled the canyon with deafening noise. Michael stole a glance at Andie, and then tried to figure out how the guide was going to safely steer them around the gigantic boulders and narrow passages.
    He looked around to see if there was a place to escape and portage the raft, but the limestone rose straight up on both sides, revealing just a sliver of sky. The only way out was through. Then he heard their guide start screaming at them.
    “Paddle, paddle, paddle.”
    Michael put his head down and started paddling harder than he had ever paddled in his life. He didn’t look up. He didn’t watch where they were going or how close they came to the boulders. He just paddled.
    They were fighting the river. On the first dip, the raft tilted to one side. Michael thought for sure that they would flip, but the raft corrected itself.
    “Keep going. Paddle. Paddle. Don’t stop.”
    The current kept pushing them toward the rocks, but the guide somehow found the breaks in the current and steered them away at the last moment. Until, eventually the canyon widened and the river spat them out into calm waters.
    It was a sudden change, going from violence to calm. Adrenaline switched to relief, and most couldn’t stop themselves from laughing or giving a cheer. A couple sorority girls asked if they could go again.
     
    ###
    The pull-out was a campsite run by the National Park Service. There were a half-dozen people waiting to greet them as the rafts glided to a rocky shore. Most of them worked at the tour company that had arranged the whitewater rafting trip, but there was also a park ranger and an immigration agent.
    “I got this,” Cheeto whispered to Michael as he walked past Michael toward the agent and the park ranger.
    “Gentlemen,” he said. “Another beautiful morning to be doing what we love.”
    The agent smiled, and he and Cheeto shook hands.
    “Always a pleasure, Cheeto.” The agent let go of Cheeto’s hand. “Anything strange happen?”
    Cheeto shook his head. “Just the same ol’ death defying acts of stupidity for meager profits.”
    “I hear ya.” The agent surveyed the group, lingering a bit on the sorority girls. “Looks like you had a surly crew this time.”
    “Not too bad.” Cheeto shrugged. “Looking forward to a warm shower, however.”
    “You all going to Maria’s tonight?”
    “Only place in town.” Cheeto handed the immigration agent a stack of papers. Then he caught the eye of one of the tour company employees, and gave them the approval to start loading the rafts and gear onto the truck.
    “Okay,” the agent said after giving the papers a cursory review. “Everything looks good here.” He slapped Cheeto on the back. “See you tonight at Maria’s.”
    Cheeto stood and watched the border agent walk over to his jeep and drive away. Then Cheeto turned and walked back to Michael and Andie.
    “That’s it?” Michael asked.
    “That’s it.” Cheeto smiled. “They randomly stop cars on the road out of the park, but they don’t have any computers or anything. They’re mostly just looking to see the color of your skin and whether you’ve got some Mexicans in your trunk.”
    “Well