Pandemic of Lies
The Exile
by
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More splashing. By now I had decided to go outside no matter what. The disrespect shown toward my privacy, peace, and tranquility had started to bother me more intensely than any potential danger to my physical being that could be lurking out there. As soon as I began descending the makeshift stairs made from wooden planks that had gone unpainted I didn’t know for how long, the splattering abruptly stopped. Why was that? Had the intruder seen my legs slowly descending on the wooden steps that led from the entrance of the hut to the sandy ground below? Or had he heard the squeaking of the door and the creaking of the stairs? Or had he, a killing machine with extraordinarily sharpened senses, perceived me as soon as my body’s scent hit its nostrils with the aid of the soft afternoon breeze? Whatever it was, it was not inanimate. That was a given. The splashing did not come from a fallen branch or a rolling stone. No, this thing could see or hear or smell or do all three things. Hopefully, it could not or would not kill me.
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About the Book
After Manuel Cruz moves from the United States to the South American Republic of Banador, he thinks he is going to live in paradise. Instead, he finds himself hiding out in a hut at the edge of a marsh, after leaving behind his wife, children, and haciendas. Somebody wants Manuel dead, and he thinks it is a diabolical political genius—the president of Banador. President Alejandro has an insatiable thirst for power. In just two years, he has seized control of nearly every major branch of the government and two television stations that pepper the airwaves with self-indulgent propaganda—all without a coup d’état. At one time, Manuel was not only President Alejandro’s good friend, but also his presidential advisor. But when Alejandro makes a covert state visit to Cuba to meet with Fidel Castro, Manuel takes revenge. Soon Alejandro’s wife and their children are leaving Banador for Europe; she wants a divorce, and Alejandro wants nothing more than for Manuel to disappear forever. In a last attempt to save his life, Manuel helps Alejandro’s political opponent defeat his former friend in the upcoming presidential election—but as turmoil continues to swirl around him, he wonders if he will ever be able to trust anyone again.
About the Author
Pedro C. López was born in Cuba and, at age ten, immigrated to the United States. He earned a bachelor of arts in English at the College of the Holy Cross and a master of arts in comparative literature from the University of Illinois. He now lives in Ecuador.