“Your name, please,” the nurse requested, saying polite words but having a very contrasting look on her face. She was probably tired and wondering why this smallish lady here was keen on seeing a patient who now had a 'clean slate’, as they called it at Aztec Infirmary.“Ruby.. Ruby Coxson..” was the response.Ruby had noticed the unfriendly sneer and state from this nurse from the minute she'd walked in, but she was there for something important, and she was keen on just focusing on that. She had come here to see Omari and get updates on his status. Now that she'd quit the FBI, she was now free to really live her life without always looking over her shoulder or racking her brain to investigate some crime lord or catch a getaway killer. Omari's plight had brought her to the realization of how much of her life she'd been missing and had made her realize that there was more to life than duty. It hurt her to know that it had taken so much for her to realize these truths, but they did sa
The sound of chirping birds that had become familiar due to constant hearing, the soft feel of the bed beneath her, and the unmistakable feeling of awareness of her surroundings.. It could only mean one thing.. She was alive.The realization of the fact that her attempt at suicide had failed wrecked her emotionally. She had wanted to die so badly that it hurt so much to know that she was still alive.Opening her eyes, the picture in her view, which was just the ceiling, was very blurred and dark at first, but it began to learn and brighten up as the seconds went by. Everything was still as it was before she'd taken the razor and slit her wrists on her birthday, only that it had been afternoon when she'd attempted to kill herself, bit by the look of things now, the day was already drawing to a close.Instantly, her mind went to Gio and Sensi, and how worried about her they would have been. She would have continued with her reminiscence, but she was cut short when she felt a sharp sting
“But why would she want to kill herself? Why did she want to leave me alone? Why did she want me to suffer with no family?”“Hey, hey, hey, Dannie.. There's no need for all these thoughts, alright? She's fine now, and that's what matters, so you don't have to worry, okay?”Sensi had gone to perform the daunting, difficult task of telling Daniella that Mercedes had attempted to kill herself. He had reemphasized the fact that she was okay now, but Daniella was still shaken at the news and probably imagining what would have become of her if she had actually succeeded. She would have lost Mercedes? Just like that? Without even spending proper time with her in nearly five years?These fears were what we're now bring tears to Daniella's eyes, and Sensi, although he was not a man of affection and emotion, was holding her closely to him and rubbing her back, trying hard to rock her until she stopped crying as opposed to his violent inclination of yelling at her to stop crying.Deep down insid
“And word on the street is that this shit is going down in a matter of days... Two days, to be precise. And they're meeting at the Serb's nightclub, the big one on this side of town. Niggas everywhere be tripping, because they know this Serb nigga and the Italian fella are dangerous sons of bitches, man..”“What are they meeting for, to form an alliance or something, because if it was war, they wouldn't be sitting down at the same table to talk, right?”Man, you don't get it... These two crews, they're Ike oil and water to one another.. They've never mixed. The battle for supremacy in this city is between them... Why do you think the streets are worried? If it was an alliance, no one would be bothered because we'd benefit anyway. Alliances, especially those that happen at the top, are always good things because those at the bottom will have more products to sell and, subsequently, more food to eat. It worries the streets because they're beefing... A war is on the horizon, but this lit
“This is the third day since I handed you the invite from the Serb, Father... You have said nothing about it to me or to anybody else since then... You've simply kept mute and moved about here, pressurizing the still recovering stripper who you kidnapped, who is the unmistakable cause for this meeting, and you have felt comfortable eating, sleeping, and taking shits like there's nothing wrong, when we all know there's something wrong and a goddam war brewing. I.. No, we... We demand a response from you, Father.”Gio was done. Ever since he had shown his father the handwritten note he'd been served by Vlahovic and the rest of the Serbian goons, Don Fabrizio had been stone silent, and now Sensi and Gio had come to interrupt him while he was having a meal of Turkey and a special Italian sauce to go with fries.He looked at his two sons with disdain and took a sip of the wine he had before him with which he'd been washing down the aforementioned combo before saying:“You two have no atom
Detective Dan James was standing in his office, holding a picture that was about three years old, which was one of him and Naomi after they'd just returned from a raid.As he looked at the smile she had on her face and the exhaustion that was etched on his, he got emotional and began to tear up. To think that this had only been three years ago and he remembered it so vividly, and to now see how much things had changed since then, with Naomi killing herself and now he cleaning out his locker, quitting the force, and walking away on the job of his dreams, was wild. Who would've thought?After Naomi had seen his daughter, Fiona, on the night when she'd come to his house to kill him, she'd been unable to pull that trigger and she'd given him a final warning before leaving: 'Get out of town for good’. And while he loved his job and didn't relish the idea of leaving it, talk less of leaving the city he'd known all his life, he knew better than to spurn the words of a woman who'd just sacrif
“Only a fool would say he doesn't know the reason for this meeting, and while I'd like to believe that we're all smart, sensible men, I am well aware that fools are everywhere, so I will reiterate this discourse's purpose to us all..”Aleksandr's first words were very brutal, direct and fearless and they drew disgruntled murmurs from the Uomini Marrone men, most notably Sensi, who would've loved nothing more than to be allowed to punch the guts out of this Serbian motherfucker. The men were seated in a VIP section of the club, around a small, round table, with men from each crew sitting directly opposite each other, leaving a noticeable gulf in between them,a clear sign that they were not on the same side.Sensi quickly observed this and summed up that,since Gio was on his far left, if a fight was to break out, he would have adequate support.But this was a meeting for peace, so he kept his opinions to himself and allowed the meeting to flow with Aleksandr, resuming his speech:“I, a
“He crumbled like a pack of cards!”Don Fabrizio had been hysterical ever since the meeting the previous night at Tequila, relishing how powerless Aleksandr had been and how he'd been forced to make his men lower their weapons, even if that was the last thing he wanted to do.Right now, he, Gio, and Sensi are on their way to the airport in Don Fabrizio's Lincoln with Gio and Sensi being forced to sit through and listen to Don's laughter“But you realize that if it wasn't for me and Sensi, he might have killed us, no?” Gio asked, bursting his father's bubble.“Well, I knew how valuable you both could be, and that's why I brought you both along. I knew you would have roles to play, and you played them extremely well when the time came. I was pleased,” Don Fabrizio said, sounding proud of them.His tone surprised Gio, who had never gotten any form of approval from his father since he was born. Well, when you save a man's life, you tend to win his trust. However, with Don Fabrizio, one ne
“Have you ever, at any time at all, and I mean any quantity at all, been involved in the sale of drugs to clients at the club?” “No, I haven't.” “Have you ever seen drug sales going down at the club?” “No, I have not..” “Have you ever been asked to transport drugs from any location to the other by the club management?” “No, I have not..” “Have you ever hidden any drugs in your underwear or-” “What kind of stupid question is that?” Mercedes had been taken from the airport, along with Ruby and Gabi, down to a local police station where she was being questioned by Freddy, the lackadaisical, lazy, and disinterested agent. She was distressed, and it seemed her baby could also feel her tension because he hadn't stopped crying since. She was trying to pat his back and calm him down while answering the questions she'd been asked when she'd gotten sick of it. “Listen, ma'am, I'm just doing my job.. I have to ask questions, even the uncomfortable ones, because you are a major
***LOS ANGELES, USA***“1..2..3.. Now!”The Los Angeles FBI, led by Mia and Riot, had surrounded Tequila for three long hours, watching the going-ins and coming-outs, working with the intel they had gotten from Frank, the insider snitch, and confirming the things he said. Today was supposed to be the meeting of the top distributors in the cartel, which Frank had said would be where they'd discuss the way forward for their organization.This, Frank had said, was the best time to bust them, because there was going to be too much evidence to nab them with illegal gun possession, cocaine possession, prison escapees, etc. Now, at exactly 8 am, Riot had sounded a call on her walkie-talkie to signal that they were to move in at that exact time, and all the agents had come out from their various places of hiding and disguise all over the surroundings of the strip club, with their guns drawn, and we're charging towards all the entrances to the club.Leading them were Riot and Mia, the ones wh
“Gabi, can you stop acting like a girl and be a man, for God's sake?”“Hey, I'm doing this for you, quit acting like you won't wince if I went any harder,” came the response.Ruby was sitting before Gabi as he tried to clean up her face which had been messed up by her fight with Les Latinas De La Muerte at the hospital, and her face was so fucked up that it scared Gabi to Ben touch it, even with the tissue, for fear that he would hurt her or further damage her. This fear had made him keep dabbing softly and inefficiently at her face instead of wiping the blood away, and Ruby had tolerated him enough.Mercedes, sitting in the same room as them, breastfeeding Junior, looked on and smiled at them, shaking her head.She'd gotten her joy back due to two major things; one, the birth of Junior, her long-awaited bundle of joy, and two, the promise her aunt, Aylla Pedro, had made to her when he said she would try to help Gio gain his freedom again.And so, feeling good again, she was able to c
***LOS ANGELES, USA***“Sign here, Frank..”Riot and Mia had pulled the necessary strings to get the documents that would exempt Frank Gallas from any investigations into Tequila when the people involved in the drug cartel were being arrested and rounded up.They had brought him to their office and he was now seated in an interrogation room which had a long table and a few chairs.They wanted to wrap up this case as soon as possible, nipping it in the bud before it would drag into weeks, months, and possibly, years... They had been briefed on how it had started as child's play under the original handlers, and how it had spiraled and developed into a dangerous, 'playing with fire’ situation because the previous handlers had failed to grab the situation by the scruff of the neck. It had resulted in deaths and many other eventualities which could have been avoided. And so, Mia and Riot were keen on avoiding the mistakes of their predecessors.“Well, hold on, I need to peruse the document
Upstairs at the hospital, there was chaos and fear; no one could leave, either with the elevators or the staircase, because the gunfire they'd been hearing had been going on downstairs and by the gate, in the same area where they were supposed to escape from. The gunfire had gone on for about thirty minutes and even when it ceased, they didn't dare to even attempt to step out.The only thing they could do was panic.The nurses and doctors who would normally be the ones telling patients to 'calm down’ were now the ones who were near tears. Everyone was now following their religious inclinations; the Pentecostals were praying to God/Jesus, the Catholics were praying to Mary, the Muslims were beseeching Allah, and the traditionalists were shedding tears of hopelessness to their gods.Gabi was probably the most panicky of the entire bunch, and not just because he had learned that Mercedes had given birth, but because he wasn't built for such high-pressure situations. He was sweaty and unc
***LOS ANGELES, USA***Mia Compton and Riot Langston were seated in Riot's Ford truck with the fellow who had accosted them at the coffee shop and listening to what he had to say.Mia was in the backseat, while Riot, who sat in the driver's seat, kept her full stare on the man in the front passenger seat as he spoke:“My name is Frank Gallas... I worked at Tequila for many years as one of their major distributors-”“Tequila doesn't deal in wholesaling drinks, so what the fuck are you talking about, 'major distributor’?” Mia impatiently cut in, not trusting this fellow one bit.As she said this, Riot touched her hand gently, as though to say 'Calm Down’. This singular action sent shivers down Mia's spine and made her obediently seal her lips. Riot had gained such a heavy influence over her in such a short period that even she couldn't explain or justify it.“When I say I was a distributor, ma'am,” Frank continued with a half smile on his face, “I didn't mean of drinks... I mean of drug
“Where is she, you traitorous bastard?”The stony silence from Gio further incensed Don Fabrizio and caused him to nod his head towards the man with the whip, and this enforcer duly thrashed down on Gio's back with the nail-embedded whip.“Arrghhhhhh!!!”The screams from Gio's lips filled the room as he felt his flesh being ripped into by the nails and thumbtacks that had been strategically fitted into the whip to make each stroke ten times as painful as it would have been with an ordinary whip.He was chained, his two hands high above his head, and his legs just above the ground, making it very difficult for him to breathe and increase the pain because his frame was overstretched.He had been whipped well over a hundred times, and his bloodied back was a testament to this.This torture had gone on for the past three hours, and it had continued because Gio had refused to disclose Mercedes’ location.“Why do you punish yourself so much, boy? This is a woman that means nothing to you! S
After Gio had willingly sacrificed his freedom for those of Mercedes, Gabi, and Ruby, to say that Mercedes was grieving for him was a massive understatement.She hadn't stopped crying for the past three days; not even for a minute. She'd wept to a point where there were no more tears to cry, and all she was doing was whimpering; she'd cried her eyes out, nearly literally. She'd rejected food, no matter how light or heavy, and she had sat in a corner of Ruby's house, unmoved. Whatever food was brought to her would remain untouched until Ruby or Gabi would have to come and take it away before insects surrounded it.Her hair was a shabby mess, her clothes were drenched with sweat, her face was swollen by the excessive tears, and she had lost a little weight. She hadn't spoken a word to either Gabi or Ruby since then.This had taken a massive toll on Gabi and Ruby, as they couldn't sleep for long or even enjoy any peace while having to hear Mercedes crying all day and all night.Currentl
The following morning, Omari, Snyder, Paz, and Selena were at the scene on the road where the clash had happened, and they couldn't believe their eyes.“So.. Hold on, let me get this straight... On one side, one side of the car, there's a lot of blood, broken glass, spent bullets, blah blah... And then, on the other side... There's not even a shard of glass... How the fuck es something like that even happen?”Paz was confused and trying to get answers from her compatriots, even though none of them had any for her.“It makes little sense, and there are no CCTV cameras around like at the restaurant... And even if there were, looking at the lighting system and pattern of this area, it would surely have been too dark to make out any faces or sense of the images we would have seen,” Selena added.“So.. What have we been able to get from the car?” Omari asked, determined to get something, at least, from, the entire outing.“Well... There's a wallet in the car... Probably belongs to whoever