In the chill of the early morning in Mexico City six friends sat round a table drinking 
coffee wearing the only clothes they possessed.

“Sylvia told me! Believe me these Perez people are rolling in money and a few 6000 pesos are easy for them to come by.”

“Rodulpho, what are you thinking? How can we kidnap this big shot? It will never work!”

Manuel paced round the room waving his arms around.

“My friend Jesus is a cleaner in the office block where Perez works. He says you can set your watch by the time Perez leaves work each day. Always at 7.30.

He’s been watching him for a whole month. When Perez steps out of the building he always hails a taxi”.

"OK once we get him in the taxi what do we do? Where do we take him?”

“My Uncle Tobias’s got a small shack out in his maize field. We could take him there. No one will see or hear anything now that the maize has been harvested.”

“I don’t know, I don’t know! It’s a crazy idea.”

“Do you want to go to the States or don’t you! It's our only chance to get kitted out in smart clothes, afford a car and drive up to Chicago! Its been our dream since we were at school together. If we don’t act now we’ll be too old and set in our ways to take any other chances.”

“OK, OK so we need a plan!”

“Let’s split into two groups Pablo, Alfredo and Manuel, you go and pick him up. Me and Jacinto and Gustavo will contact his fat wife and demand the money.”

"Alfredo you get your cousin’s cab and I will ask Jesus to get Perez’s home phone number.”

“You’ve got the easiest job talking to the old woman. We’ve got to struggle with the bastard once he realises we’re not taking him home.”

“Think, think-just get him drunk then tying him up will be easy.”

“Remember…are we going to get rich in USA or always regret never taking a chance to change our lives?”

“You lot pick Perez up at 7.30. tomorrow evening. At eight pm I will phone Sra. Perez and demand money. Then we will join you at the farm.”

The next day at 6 pm Perez leaned back in his office chair smiled fondly and phoned his mistress Rosita and arranged to meet her earlier than usual for a special meal in a new restaurant.”

“It so popular 6.30 is the only booking they had free. See you soon for a blissful twenty four hours of indulgence.”

Rosita giggled and applied her false eyelashes.

Perez’s wife Mercedes meanwhile prepared for her regular card evening with her friends. Her cook had made spinach tarts and chocolate cake and the ingredients for cuba libres were ready.

She knew that Perez would stay away all night. He hated her friends and their gossip about their favourite soap operas. After all these years of marriage she did not mind him staying with his old friend Enrique who lived in the mountains even if the area was too remote to for him to have a phone.

Perez always turned up the next day with flowers and chocolates looking happy and relaxed.

She finished applying her make up and put on a blond wig. A sapphire set off her green silk dress. She pattered across the veranda to the pool side card table all laid out beautifully; and sat down to play patience while she waited for Esperansa, Sophia and Maria Jesus to arrive.

Her maid trotted out to the patio.

“Someone’s on the phone for you”.

“Who is it?” Sra Perez snapped. I told you always ask who it is.”

“He said he was an important person in your life.”

Intrigued Mercedes put down her cards and walked into the luxurious reception room and picked up an antique phone receiver.

“Bueno, who is this?” she asked.

“Snra Perez this is a very important message. Your husband’s life is at stake.”

“Madre mia,” squeeked Mercedes. “What are you doing to him?”

“No harm will come to him if you put 6,000 pesos in a bag and leave it under the statue of Guadalupe in the main square, at 10.30 tomorrow morning.”

The call was cut off.

“Ay Rosita mi esposo pobresito! They’ve kidnapped him! Dios mio!”

Tears pouring down her cheeks Mercedes ordered her chauffeur/gardener to take her to the mank . It was vital to take kidnapping seriously in Mexico, Mercedes had heard so many tales of mutilation and killings when the families did not pay up.

It was her son’s eighteenth birthday in a weeks time. What would they do without their father. Meanwhile the three amigos sat in the taxi waiting fort Perez to emerge from the building at his usual time of 7.30. they had arrived just at seven just in case they missed him.

As time passed and Perez was not to be seen the friends started panicking.

“Son of a bitch! He’s not coming. What are we going to do?"

“Go in and ask where he is at reception.”

“Fool! You make such a stupid kidnapper. You can’t show your face. They kill kidnappers before the police find them. You know that."

 At 8.30 they gave up and drove to the remote farm to wait for Manuel, knowing that they would pay for this mess up. Manuel got really crazy when he was angry.

“Why didn’t we tell him to get the man so that we could get the money? We always take all the risks!”

They slept on and off all night huddled under thin blankets in the cold of the high altitude.

At 10.30 am Manuel emerged from behind the statue of the Virigin Guadalupe and looked around for observers. He saw a street cleaner and some stray dogs. He retreived the bag of 6,000 pesos from the hollow base of the statue.

He dashed back to his friends.

“Yipee! USA here we come.

At 7.50 that evening Perez returned home to be greeted by a wife whose eyes were swollen and red from crying all night.

“Praise God the kidnappers have released you.

It was worth 6,000 pesos to have you in my arms again."

Perez was speechless.

In Tobias's farm the six friends were jumping up and down and dancing laughing and weeping.

“We’ve got a future. No more beans and tortillas every day. No more cleaning up other people’s rubbish. Ha, ha, ha.”

“Where the hell was Perez?"

“It doesn’t matter."

 “We won, We won!”