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MARCHING POWDER

would be as a drug trafficker. Or they should at least wear bright clothes and be more extroverted. No one would suspect them then — who ever heard of an attention-seeking undercover agent?

I’m only joking, of course, but that’s my point. When I’m working, I treat the whole job as a game and I like to play with them. And in a game, you have to laugh. Whether it’s the drugs game, or any other game. But the only thing the specialists don’t have is a sense of humour. They take things way too seriously. That’s why I’m smarter than them and why I elude them every time. But there was no need to worry about them this time. There were no specialists in La Paz airport.

* * *

I paid the porter and checked in my suitcases at the airline counter without any problems.

'You’ll have to hurry, sir,' said the girl, pointing to the departure gates. 'You’re running very late.'

'I know. There were protestors blocking the highway.'

'Yes, sir. I understand. We’ve been informed of that and take-off has been delayed slightly. But you must hurry, please.'

In order to reduce the time the customs police would have to ask me questions, I wasted a few more minutes buying some cigarettes in the duty-free shop. I got my passport stamped and cleared customs easily. I was completely relaxed as I joined the queue for the departure lounge. It was when I was waiting in line that the real trouble started.

Suddenly, I heard someone call my name. From out of the corner of my eye I saw two policemen approaching me quickly.

'Thomas McFadden!' they called again.

Once more I pretended not to have heard. I continued studying my boarding pass. But when one of the policemen tapped me on the shoulder, I couldn’t ignore it.

'¿Es usted Thomas McFadden?' he asked. I hardly spoke any Spanish at that time, but I couldn’t pretend not to know my own name.

'Yes,' I nodded. 'Why?'

'Sígame, señor,' he said, indicating with his hand that I should follow him. I thought about arguing, but the other passengers in the line were beginning to look around. I wasn’t sure what was going on yet, but I kept my cool.

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