A Mother's Dilemma Pt. 13: Conclusion

Heading back to her room, Maggie was just in a daze. She could not imagine anything that could be more humiliating than what she had just been through. She was wrong. Entering the room, she saw Lisa laying on her bed, curled in a fetal position and whimpering.

Silently, Maggie made her way over and sat on the side of the bed. As she reached over to touch her daughter, Lisa cringed.

Startled, Maggie soothingly reassured her, "Lisa, honey, it is just me. Everything will be okay."

Without turning to look at her mother, Lisa exclaimed, "Mom, we will neve be 'okay' here. Haven't you figured that out yet? He did terrible things to me. He took me from behind. I have never done that before and it hurt. (Maggie thought, "I really should not be hearing this from my daughter." But she did not interrupt.) Now Lisa turned around to look at her mother. "But the worst thing is that this is never going to end. He wants to "protect" me and "provide" for me. He even implied that he might bring his own daughter, who is about my age, over here for a meeting. Sobbing, Lisa buried her face on her mother's shoulder. "Mom, what are we going to do? We can't live like this."

Maggie was shocked by what she was hearing but tried to compose herself, for both of their sakes. "Honey, I want you to do one thing for me. I want you to get up and get some clothes on. You remember the plan that I told you about?" Lisa nodded. "Well, it may be for tonight. So I need for you to get dressed and be ready."

Maggie knew she also needed to follow her own advice. Pedro never did return her gown. All the outfits she had here were "revealing." Pedro would not permit anything else. But she picked out the most comfortable skirt and blouse she could find and put them on.

Then, plopping onto her bed, her mind raced. Lisa was right. They really could not go on like this. Maybe the promised deliverance would come before morning. But if it did not, Maggie resolved not to go on. There were certainly a lot of weapons on the property. Maybe Consuelo could be induced to smuggle a gun to her. She certainly could not leave Lisa here alone to face Pedro's wrath. So she would shoot her daughter and then turn the gun on herself. If there was a God, she begged him to show her another way. But the only answer she got was silence.

Maggie laid in bed for what seemed an eternity, wondering if she would ever see another sunset. Then, from a distance, some strange noises. Then, a commotion outside. Whirring sounds preceded something hitting the roof above them. Seconds later, there were screams and the sound of automatic weapons fire. Seconds more passed and the commotion was inside the house. Terrified, Maggie and Lisa huddled in the middle of the room. Without warning, the door was pushed open and in rushed two heavily armed soldiers. One stood at the door. The other quickly inspected the room and called out, "All clear." Motioning at the two women, he barked, " Get out. NOW. GO. GO.!" Maggie remembered her instructions from the supermarket encounter with "John Widener." She was to follow orders without question. The two of them fled from the room with one soldier leading the way and the other trailing behind them.

The soldier led them to the end of the hallway where there was apparently a trap door. (Maggie never even knew it was there. How did these people know about it?)

Going through the doorway, they were in a dank, dark room. The only light was from lights shining through an opening in the roof. First Lisa and then Maggie were hoisted up. The two soldiers followed. From that vantage point, Maggie could see a firefight still raging on the estate. Without hesitation, the two ladies were helped into a waiting helicopter. One of the soldiers slapped his hand against the side, and they were airborne.

It had all happened so fast that Maggie and Lisa had no time to do anything but react. For a while, the two women sat in stunned silence. Soon, though, one of the military personnel in their escort pointed to the ground below. "See that, ladies? That is the Rio Grande. Welcome back to the United States."

Only then did the reality really sink in. They were free. Maggie and Lisa both just broke down. Maggie made a point of kissing everyone on the copter and shouting at them over the sound of the engine, "God bless you." She tried to reach the pilot, but one of the others held her back.

The rescue of Maggie and Lisa, and the capture of Pedro Camarena and his return to face drug charges, were major news events. Maggie and Lisa were celebrities. Initially, the two of them were kept at Fort Hood for a few days to allow them to begin to recover from their ordeal. While there, they saw news reports about the incident. They actually saw the Commandante on television, angrily protesting the blatant violation of Mexican sovereignty. The two of them just looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

Lisa really just wanted to put the episode behind her and get on with her life. She and her fiancee decided to move up the wedding date. That turned out to be a prudent move when Lisa learned that she was pregnant. At first, she was conflicted about what could be a very difficult decision. But then it was determined that her husband-to-be was the father and she was ecstatic.

Maggie was besieged with book and movie offers for her story. She first went on the talk show circuit. Her first program included a "surprise guest." It was none other than "John Widener," the man who had been her knight in shining armor in Mexico. His real name was Alton Kelly. This was going to be his last mission before retiring from the Special Forces.

After the taping of the show, he asked if it would be presumptuous for him to take her out to dinner. She eagerly accepted. Immediately, the two of them were inseparable. Later appearances were made together. One of them included a segment that Mr. Kelly had arranged in advance with the producers. After they had described their initial meeting in the supermarket, he turned to her and said, "I knew then I had found the one for me." Kneeling on one knee in front of her, he took her by the hand. "Will you marry me," he asked.

Shaking, Maggie started crying and answered simply, "Yes." The studio audience erupted. Gradually, the story faded from public view. Maggie and her new husband settled down to a comfortable, quiet existence in the Chicago suburbs. Maggie could not spoil Lisa any longer. That was her husband's job. But she did have a new grandson. And she spoiled him rotten.

Pedro Camarena was convicted under RICO, the federal anti-racketeering law. That law is designed to take in "professional" criminals who engage in a "pattern or practice" of criminal activity. In addition to major drug smuggling, he was shown to have been involved in murders (at least five), money laundering and prostitution. He was sentenced to life in prison. In the federal system, there is no such thing as parole. Life means life. Pedro Camarena will go to his grave as federal inmate #1515983.