Page 94 of Hunter's Hidden Camera
The car ride to Carlos’s apartment is relatively quiet. Blanca hasn’t asked questions about how Oscar got into the trouble he’s in. And I haven’t tried to explain it. She’d probably think I was lying anyway.
She’s already texted Carlos, so he’s standing on the sidewalk of his apartment building when we arrive. Carlos is relatively short, but he’s muscular. His hair is slicked back. He’s wearing baggy jeans and a white T-shirt.
He opens the passenger side door. “Get out the front, Blanca. I’m riding shotgun.”
Blanca whines, “I was here first.”
Carlos pulls on her arm. “Get the fuck out, girl.”
“Okay, okay, okay.” Blanca climbs out of the car and gets in the backseat. “You’re an asshole sometimes, Carlos. You don’t know how to treat a lady.”
Carlos gets in the car and shuts the door. “I’ll treat a lady like a lady when Iseea lady.”
“‘Sup,” I say to Carlos.
“Ohhhhh,” he says. “You Oscar’s white friend.”
“Yeah.”
“So Blanca made it sound urgent. So this better be urgent. It’s not just Oscar being stupid?”
I shake my head. “No. This is serious.”
Carlos turns to Blanca in the backseat. “Oh, when a white boy says this is serious, this isserious!”
I continue: “My brother Nash is involved in some really shady business. Drugs. Dealing. I don’t know all of the details. But he pulled us into this situation where Oscar and I were fearing for our lives. And Oscar ended up stabbing a guy in the neck.”
“What?!” yells Blanca.
“Oh, shit!” says Carlos.
“The guy ended up surviving. But the thing is, this guy is the head of some kind of big criminal organization. He’s got like a whole team. We were trying to get away from them, and they crashed into my cousin’s car, and they took Oscar. And I think they’re going to kill him, if they haven’t already.”
“This ain’t some kind of joke, is it?” asks Carlos. “Like those prank videos on YouTube?”
“No, man, this is not a prank. I mean, look at my face, my body. I was hit by an SUV. I’ve been in a fight with my brother. I was in a car crash. This is real. And I pray to God it’s not too late.”
“All right then,” says Carlos. “Let’s go get Manny. He’ll know what to do.”
Manny doesn’t live too far from Carlos, so we get to his apartment building in a matter of minutes. But since it’s almost two in the morning, he’s not answering his texts.
We’re parked in front of Manny’s building.
“Blanca, go get Manny,” says Carlos.
“You go. Imma stay in the car.”
Carlos turns to Blanca. “I swear to God, girl. You’re getting on my nerves tonight. Go get Manny. Now.”
“Fine!” Blanca gets out of the car and slams the door.
I don’t know what to say to Carlos. What would we even talk about?
I try to make small talk. “Yeah, Blanca can be a handful sometimes.”
Carlos nods. “You got that right. Manny and I are always straight with her, ’cause that girl needs to toughen up.”
“Seriously?” I ask. “She seems pretty tough to me. Aggressive.”
