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 www.eamonngriffin.co.uk 
Genuine Article
Luis had the money. He had it all. Five hundred in USdollars. Five hundred in twenties and tens in a roll inhis left front jeans pocket with a rubber band rightround it all. He could feel the roll against his leg,but he still patte
d his pocket to check it hadn‟t been
spirited away anywhere. It was there alright.His hand went now to the left back pocket, to wherethe piece of paper was. A flyer, yellow and foldedpretty neatly into quarter-size. Kids had been handingthem out by the bus station every few days for the lasttwo or three months. Luis took it out and read throughit again.
 Want to cross the border? No hassle, no fuss, no cops!$500 US gets you a job and lodgings in Los AngelesGUARANTEED! Ring this number NOW!
With a picture of some grinning Latino stereotype, happyat work in some chain store uniform or other, stackingshelves somewhere. There were cans of chilli on theshelves. The phone number was repeated on the chest areaof his polo shirt.
 
 www.eamonngriffin.co.uk Sure, Luis had family in the States, and he knewpeople who tried to sneak across the border, heck in theold days you could pretty much walk across in some areas,but these days it was just too risky. Security wastight, the border guards were trigger-happy and hadhungry dogs with bad attitudes.That was when these organised crews had moved in.Nowadays, if you wanted to live as an illegal in theStates, you had to pay more than the cost of a regularflight into LAX. Crazy world, no doubt.But once in LA, then Luis knew he was made. He hadfamily with an auto-
shop. Uncle Felipe‟s place. And if
it had an engine, Luis could repair it. There was workwaiting for him, if only he could get across.So Luis had rung the number, and the woman on theother end had told him to ring back when he definitelyhad the money. In cash, in his hand. So he had, earliertoday. And the woman (it might have been the same one,
he wasn‟t sure) told him to be here, at the bus station
at midnight, with the money and no more than one bag.There were others waiting too. Maybe twenty alltold, mostly young males like Luis, shuffling and pacing,some smoking, some not, all nervy like first time fliers.There were two couples. One of the couples was a verytall guy and a cute girl in a yellow teeshirt. She was
 
 www.eamonngriffin.co.uk smiling and dancing around him. There was one group ofthree who must have been brothers, they looked so alike.All with their one bag; suitcases, holdalls, onewith an army-style kit bag. And all with a cool fivehundred US.Luis did the math. Ten grand just stood aroundhere. What would ten thousand buy in America? Whatwould it buy here?Luis was distracted by the truck pulling up. For
some reason, Luis thought that there‟d be a bus or a
coach. Like a Greyhound bus, like a school bus maybe.But this was a truck, the kind that grocery stores gettheir deliveries in. The kind with a roller shutter atthe back.Two men got out. Big guys. No-nonsense kind ofguys. One of them came forward. Jeans, work boots,teeshirt and heavy checked jacket, the kind you mightwear out hunting. His belt bristled with pouches.Mobile phone, keys, probably pocket knife or similar.Hopefully nothing more serious.
“You guys all ready?” His voice was soft, warm and
American, like pancakes and sausage. People round Luisshuffled forward. It was cold. Yeah, they were allready.
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