At the start of each book, there’s a little blurb that says “Names, characters, places and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously…” While true, there is one scene in Loyalty to the Cause that fictionalizes a real event. It happened in Mexico.

My wife and I were in Zihuatanejo and we were looking for an ATM. A local gentleman who spoke perfect English pointed one out for us. We got to talking, and he offered to take us the following day to see the local sites. It was one of those things where, looking back, it seems a risky choice now, but back then it sounded like and was a great adventure.

We met Victor at the local bus station. We were going to take a local bus to a nearby village, meet the people, see a 300-year-old cactus, and see some artifacts found in the area. All of that happened, but the scene stolen for Loyalty to the Cause happened on the bus ride. It made several stops as we made our way into the countryside, and at one of them, a strange gentleman came aboard. Unlike the other passengers, he was in a business suit, and he stood at the front of the bus. He started speaking to the entire bus, gesturing with a folded case that looked to us like it might hold a passport.

My wife and I didn’t speak Spanish well enough to understand what he wanted. Taking our cue from the folded case, we were guessing he was checking passports for some reason, and we had left ours at our hotel. What would we do if he asked to see our identification? Frantic, we turned to Victor, who was sitting in the seat behind us and asked if the man was a government official and would ask for our passports.

“No, he’s just some guy selling wallets.”

Because, of course, one should expect a finely dressed wallet salesman on a country bus in Mexico. Anyway, you’ll know the scene in Loyalty to the Cause this story inspires when you read it.