Travel bags. Four of them. In Ruby's living room.Omari and Ruby were seated in silence and tension on her couch and the travel bags were by the center table. Omari was planning on keeping his word and leaving the city to save his sister's life. But such a drastic move was the last thing he had envisioned; he hadn't planned to leave the city for the next two, three or even five years, but this was what life was when one dealt with organized criminals: things tended to move fast. Very fast.In an hour or two, Omari was going to get on a bus and leave the city, and then he was going to make a video call to the phone which Sheila had reached him from to prove to her captors that he had indeed left the city, and then, she would be released.This was the plan, and Omari was willing to follow through, but this was just like a farewell visit to Ruby, the woman he loved."I really can't believe you'll be leaving.. Just like that.. I mean.. We only just met.. I.."Ruby cut herself short, swall
"So, essentially, you're saying you lost her, right?""Yes sir... I'm really sorry, sir.."The officer whom Dan James had assigned with the responsibility of trailing Naomi Wallace had just returned to say that he'd lost her. Dan James was not mad at the young man who was still starting out, because he had expected this.He was more concerned with Naomi's whereabouts; where could she have gone?She was no slouch, he knew that she had been well aware of the vehicle tailing her and that she'd expertly evaded it. Now, the fact that she hadn't even bothered to call him and ask why a tail was on her meant that she knew why she should be running. She had something to hide."You can go, officer," he said at the end to the fidgeting officer before him."Thank you, sir," he said, before scurrying out of sight as quickly as possible, probably to avoid another task that he was scared of failing at.As he pondered on it, Dan James got up to his feet and decided to take a stroll out of his office
"Omari.. Omari, please talk to me.." Ruby said softly, tears flowing down her cheeks.Stoic. This was how Omari remained until the following morning. The shock of the event of his sister's execution that had just played out on his phone screen had sent shockwaves to his brain that had traumatized him and mentally paralyzed him. He had been rendered inactive since seeing Sheila die, and he was currently seated on the floor, still inside the truck, with his eyes wide open and a look on his face that gave one the impression that the lights were on, but there was no one home."Omari, please, for God's sake, say something," she said again, this time she whimpered towards the end of her statement.She had been unable to contain her emotion since they all watched Sheila get shot.Deep down, she was blaming Snyder for this, because it had all been his idea, but she was aware that she also had a role to play in this. She should have convinced Omari to make the logical move and save his sister'
"Hey, Xavier.. Hello, my little prince.."And the baby cooed before smiling innocently and beautifully."See how happy he is? He doesn't even remember that he has a mother..""He can never forget me, Aleksandr.." Naomi said back, fighting the tears."Oh, but he can, Naomi... But he can.."Having pulled the trigger on Sheila, Aleksandr had completed a major part of clearing all the obstacles that stood as obstacles in his quest to get his Coochie back, and now, he was about to enter the last phase of tying up loose ends. The baby in his arms was Xavier, Naomi's young son, whom he had in his custody and used as a blackmail medium to force her to do all the things that she did."You see, nothing is impossible when Aleksandr Matiç is at the wheel..""You're not omnipotent, Aleksandr.." Naomi said, despising his arrogance."Am I not? Well then, let's look at my track record, then... I left Serbia, my home country, and I came here, a foreign land at the time, and I still managed to establis
It turned out that Mercedes had been so frustrated and feeling worthless with all the unfortunate incidents that had been going on in her life that she decided to take her own life by slitting her wrists. And on her 28th birthday of all days.The panic in the Colpani Mansion was very evident on the faces of all the occupants. Don Fabrizio had been called from his quarters and he'd called for the family doctor to come have a lot of Mercedes, who was presently laid on the bed and unconscious.The doctor, Doctor Deona, having requested for all the men (Gio, Sensi, Don Fabrizio, and the rest of the Uomini Marrone who'd been around) to leave the room, was stitching Mercedes up while the chefs were cleaning up the bloody mess that Mercedes had made on and around her bed. But amidst all these, Don Fabrizio, Giovanni, and Sensi were outside the room and going at each other's throats.“This is all because of you, Father!” Gio bellowed.“What do you mean, because of me? I have never put her thr
“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
“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