By now Carbonell knew that snipers had been Ecuadorians or at least had come from Ecuador. None of the fallen looked like a commander, so whoever he was, he had escaped. That meant payback down the road. 

In ordinary circumstances, the crew hiding the money and the weapons would have been trusted regulars. There were just too many people involved this time, and most were children with lives to lead, future guerrillas. This was a good time to instill in these kids how sacred a weapons cache was. He decided to use their childhood innocence to protect the site. He’d have them all participate in a curse. To do that effectively, it could not be himself who laid the curse. It had to be one of the children and he knew exactly who would be best for that task. The only one of the party, including the men, who would not believe a word of the curse but who could make it work.

He decided to use a ceremony about something else to give the curse a framework to live in.

 He selected his most seasoned child recruit, the trafficked girl from Canada - a red-haired Oriental girl,  whose features in the Colombian wilderness were unique and seemed fearsome. He would award Pip with her new alias. She was overdue anyway and would not suspect his ulterior motive.

It would be her who led the curse. He took her aside and made her memorize what he wanted her to say. Before that, he told her, he would be awarding her with her adult Alias this evening. 

“What Alias?” She thought she knew what an alias was but had never considered having one herself. She was suspicious.“I don’t need an Alias, I’m Pip. That’s my Alias.”

“I know you are Pip and why you are Pip, but you can’t keep that name here.”

“Why not? No one knows my real name here.”

“That’s true, Pip, but you don’t want your name Pip being traced back to El Heledaro. It could harm both of you if the connection were made. He definitely would not want that.”

“Huh, that’s not going to happen. No one here knows that but you and me, and we aren’t telling, are we?”

“No, we aren’t Pip, but you are just a little girl now. If you live, you are going to become famous.”

“Why am I going to become famous? I don’t want to be famous.”

“You won’t be able to help it, Pip. You have red hair, you look Chinese, have blue eyes and very pale skin. Oh, and you are little. No one looking at you can tell, just by looking, how strong you are. You will seem supernatural. You’re not only noticeable, you’re unforgettable among us. Every time you are involved in an action and people survive that action, who do you think they’re going to remember? Only you. Everyone else present, even me, will fade to ghost status by comparison. Every action our front takes part in will be defined by whether or not you were a participant.” He didn’t add that every death that resulted from those actions would be blamed on her.

“We’re, I mean I, am going to name you La Zorra.” 

But of course, Quinn being Quinn, no point could be made without her having to question it. “What does that mean?” she asked, suspicious again. 

“Vixen,” he said.

“What does Vixen mean then? I don’t want to be called a boy’s name.” 

“It’s not a boy’s name. It’s what we call a female fox. You have red hair and we all know you’re smart. You’re a girl. Don’t complain… It’s a great name, I promise you.

“And stop asking me when you’re going home.  You can’t go home from here. This is the world’s end. You can’t leave. Home for you is here in the jungle. No one walks out. Where your home was, we don’t want to know. Do not speak of where you came from. Between here and your past home stands the entire Colombian Army, mountain ranges, an ocean, and thousands upon thousands of miles north. You are here now and for the rest of your life unless El Heledaro survives his jail sentence in America and sends for you.

“Here is where God has given you your chance to shine. This is where you show the world what you are made of. You started with nothing but the clothes on your back like everyone else here. You live or die depending on what you say or do or don’t do. Right now you are mine. I own you until El Heledaro says to give you back. Do as I say, and you will live. Disobey me and you will be paid with a bullet like those soldiers we killed today or any of us, including me. You must be smart or you could not have learned to shoot, hide and speak Spanish so fast. Stay close to me and learn.”

She looked at him, still suspicious. 

“Okay, so what else did you want me to do?” 

“What I want you to do  is to lead the group in laying a curse on anyone who interferes with the goods we have hidden here. Be convincing. Show me what you can do. Strike the fear of the Devil’s retribution into them. We’ve got  a few hours between now and nightfall. Use that time to think about how you’re going to play this out. I’m looking for an unforgettable performance.” 

Around the campfire that night, after their evening meal, scavenged from a metal ammo crate in the helicopter , they enjoyed a meal that featured hot dogs, buns, mustard, relish and something no one recognized - sauerkraut. La Zorra knew what to do. She whittled a slim, sharp stick and ran it the length of her hot dog. Then she held it over the coals. The others were quick to copy. Once done she  put mustard and relish into her bun, put the hot dog in the bun then slathered sauerkraut on top. The others watch as she took a bite. A large blob of the sauerkraut fell off and landed on her foot. That got everyone laughing.

Later with flickering firelight giving his bearded face and shaggy hair a fearsome cast, Carbonell told his group they were going to celebrate a new beginning. “Every single one of us, including me, would be dead at this moment if it were not for Pip having spotted the snipers. 

“To honour that moment, her attentiveness, timing and courage, I’m going to award her with her adult Alias. From this moment forward, he said as he stood up, you, Pip, shall be known among men as La Zorra. Bearing this name, La Zorra, comes with an obligation. It is a formal name that should not be shortened or taken for granted. Your new name recognizes your small stature and, with it a big heart and a wily nature. It will protect you in ways we can’t expect. In return, we expect that you will continue to earn it and honour it. With that name, from time to time you will be asked to perform special duties. The first one, the first duty is our request that you protect this site from discovery by laying a curse on it that will condemn any unauthorized person or party from interfering or stealing from it. It represents our continued protection from the National Army. I believe you are the word and the way. All of us here are witnesses and all of us here thank you for your actions today.

This is what the group heard deep in the Colombian jungle from the little, red-haired orphan, three years after she disappeared from a beach in Trinidad: 

“I, Alias La Zorra, do this day,

solemnly swear to protect this cache, 

with my life, from discovery by those who would 

use these weapons 

against us and our cause.

Should I break this sacred trust, 

May my soul suffer eternal perdition.