Hey lovelies, sorry for the short break but I'm back fully to serve you better. Thank you for checking in and I really do appreciate your efforts
"You look just like she did.. The way you walk.. Your eyes.. The color of your hair.. Your thick lips.. I've never seen you laugh, but I believe you laugh exactly like her, too.."Mercedes had awakened that morning to more pressure by Don Fabrizio, who was dressed, seemingly for an outing, and had sat by her on the bed. She'd opened her eyes to him sitting by her and since then, he hadn't stopped speaking, forcing her into a conversation.".. How can I laugh, Don? I have no reason to.. I'm locked in here, stripped of all my rights, and yes, I have been treated fairly, but I am not happy.."".. And it's all your own doing..""What? How can you even say this? I didn't create myself.. I didn't make myself look so much like your late wife, and I am not obligated to take her place and fulfill her duties..""No, you miss the point, still, Coochie.. You don't simply look like her, and you are not merely her replacement.."Don Fabrizio's hand moved from her face to her chest area, and Mercede
70. This was the number of times Detective Dan James, the officer who'd been on hand at Agent Snyder's house after Mindi was killed, had watched the surveillance tapes outside the house just before the attack and just after. He'd watched it 70 times from that night until the following morning. He'd watched it meticulously until he slept off in his office, and when he woke up, he resumed watching it again. He was looking for something to hold on to. Anything.Ever since the previous night, he had been unable to rest, feeling very distressed at the manner in which the poor woman, Mindi, was killed, at how much she'd had to suffer, judging from the marks and wounds on her body, and also at how much pain he'd seen in the eyes of Agent Snyder, who'd looked shaken, a sign that he'd really cared about the woman.So far, he'd had no luck, but he was determined."Good morning, detective!" A voice bellowed.Dan James looked up to see Naomi Wallace, his protégé, holding his door half open an
"So, how did you come to the United States?""By plane," Sensi replied, laughing.After the meeting between Don Fabrizio and all his regional capos, which had gone smoothly, as opposed to how fiery it had been billed to be, with both sides being very reasonable and coming to a peaceful, mature agreement where everyone had ended up shaking hands, Sensi had decided against going home with his father or brother, opting instead to visit Marie at her house, seeing as that day was her off day at work, and he wanted to be with her. The feelings had been mutual on their first meeting, and he'd memorized her address on the day when he'd dropped her off. However, he made sure to let Gio know exactly where he was, just in case he got into any trouble.Right now, they were seated on her bed in her humble but tidy one room apartment which, although it wasn't fortunate enough to boast of a couch, had been managed as dexterously as it could have been, with books, clothes and a cooking area all carv
"For how long have you been.. Owned.. By Aleksandr?""Four years.."That same night, over at Don Fabrizio's mansion, Mercedes and Gio were cuddled up together in her bed. Don Fabrizio, having returned from the meeting with the capos, had rushed off to another appointment with a new cartel whose loyalty he was trying to win over in order to expand his organization, and when he'd gotten back from that, was so jaded that he'd gone straight to bed, retiring for the night. And so, Gio and Mercedes could be together without any fear, seeing as the mansion was huge, consisting three buildings, and Don Fabrizio lived alone in one of the buildings, so, it was impossible for him to come over to Mercedes's room without Gio having a headstart.Now, Gio and Mercedes were engrossed in one of their many deep, long conversations."Four years you've been stripping?" Gio asked, stunned.Mercedes chuckled. "No, I haven't been stripping for four years, that started just a couple years back.. But I've be
"He took a girl in, Snyder, and we both know what a grown man and woman would be doing in a hotel by this time of night. We're keeping an eye on the cars, though... Soon, as it moves, we'll move, too." This was probably the sixteenth time since they spotted the number plate that Ruby had had to rephrase the fact that they had eyes on the Ford Fiesta."Good. The bastard killed Mindi. However, don't forget that. He's dangerous. Don't give him any reason to suspect you.." Snyder warned over the phone."We don't even know if he's one of the men who killed her or not. He could've been the one who drove them there that night. But then again, he could be the one who pulled the trigger. It will do us all good if you stop assuming and concluding, Snyder," Ruby rebuked him."Fuck that, Ruby… You know I'm right.." "No, I don't, Snyder. We don't know anything at this point, and that's why we're trailing this fellow, so we can KNOW!"Ruby emphasized 'know' in a way that triggered laughter from O
'48 SALT LAKE STREET. BRICK BUILDING. SECOND FLOOR. FOURTH DOOR ON THE LEFT'.These were the contents of the piece of paper that Gio had in his hands, which he had gotten from Mercedes. It was apparently where her sister had been hidden away.He was cruising in his Ghibli, driving slowly, something he rarely did while trying to locate the street by looking at all the signposts and street indicators, observing which one he was supposed to be on.His car was presently stocked with groceries and toys that he'd gotten from the store while making his way here. He'd heard that the girl was still 14 and had automatically guessed that she would most likely be fascinated by teddy bears and Barbie toys, so he'd gone and purchased a boatload of them. Now, he looked to his left and saw a brick building that looked exactly like the one Mercedes had described: Big, brown, and ugly."Yeah, this is definitely it," he said to himself and proceeded to get out of his car. He'd made sure to dress normal
"We went to the same high school, and we were even dating..""For real?""Yeah.. For real.. I know her like the back of my hand.. At least, I used to.."Seeing Naomi Wallace walking into Aleksandr Matiç's compound had signaled the end of Omari and Ruby's spy mission the previous night, and they had gone home. Omari had promised to come to see her this morning after getting some sleep, and now, he was here, dressed in a soccer team jersey and a pair of shorts, sitting on her couch and telling her all he knew about Naomi Wallace."We were in a relationship, I and her, and although we were opposites, in the sense that I liked school work and she didn't, we still mixed well and kind of… completed each other, if you can call it that.."Ruby was sitting by his side, in a sleeveless top and jeans, listening keenly as Omari continued:"And it was all going good until one day when we heard that she'd been raped.. And then, I didn't see her again.. Rumors flew around.. Some said she left town t
Having finished the meals bought for her by Gio, Daniella was then sitting in the living room with her and Sensi, in full-blown, deep conversation."So, you've been in here, by yourself, all this time?" Gio asked. Mercedes had told him this before, but it seemed so surreal that he had to get a second source to confirm. "No friends? No people? Nothing?""Daniella shook her head gently, a sad look on her face. " Mercedes says nobody is to be trusted because Aleksandr has men everywhere in the city. So, I've been in here. No school, no friends, not even neighbors.. She comes to see me once every month, and she stocks the kitchen with food enough for a month until she comes again the following month."Gio's mouth hung open for a moment, as he imagined this much loneliness and depression the girl must have gone through.Daniella had more to say, though:"The door is always locked from outside, so I can't even go outside. Mercedes says I have to stay as silent as possible to make the house
“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