There weren't many patrons inside the club and it made the detective wonder why the bouncer was stopping the new entries. It was all as it should be in a strip club. The patrons were drooling over the strippers clinging onto the poles. Carl was nowhere to be seen. Wade was exhausted. He decided to take a seat at the bar. The bartender was polishing a glass like he expected a genie to come out of it. He approached Wade with a welcoming gaze. “What’s it gonna be, officer?” The bartender asked and Wade frowned. He was in his casual outfit and his badge was hidden inside his jacket. Was his grumpy face that much of a dead giveaway?“The Zombie, please,” Wade requested. The bartender gave him a troubled look and nodded. “Got something to forget, dear?” A seductive female voice rang out from his right. He looked in the direction of the voice and found a pretty looking stripper sitting a barstool away from him. The lady was darker in skin tone and was wearing a seductive red dress. Her hai
Wade was sure that the eerie looking room in front of him held the answers to his questions. He approached the door of the room but a familiar voice from behind him stopped him in his tracks.“Looking for something, officer?” The voice rang out. Wade turned to look and found Bethany staring back at him. Her expression was anything but welcoming. Carl took a step back. Her demeanor ran a shiver down his spine. That wasn't the same bubbly lady who was trying to throw Wade on a bed a few minutes ago. Wade was wondering when the cavalry would show up. She must have found the passed out bouncer by the staircase. The fact that there was no alarm in her tone or body language, confirmed some of Wade’s suspicions. “As a matter of fact, I am,” Wade responded, unmoved. “Maybe you can help me out here, Beth. Who’s the sleeping beauty?” He added and pointed at Boris on the ground. Bethany was in no mood for humor but neither was Wade. He had smelled something fishy but now he realized that it had
The girl was eerily calm now. It didn't sit right with Wade. The girl had been violated yet there she was looking like nothing happened after the shock wore off. It could only mean that she had been through that before. He turned towards the girl and she was chewing bubblegum. She looked barely eighteen. Her eyes were bouncing from one thing to another. “I know it’s a lost cause but can you remember anything?” Wade asked her. The girl squinted her eyes and stared into nothing. She shook her head. Wade sighed. The girl seemed to remember something. “Wait a sec. I think I woke up for a moment. I don't remember seeing anyone but I’m sure I heard someone speak Mexican,” she said.“Mexican?”“Yeah, yeah. Whatever the fuck language they speak.”“Are you sure?”“Ummm… yeah, because that triggered a never ending loop of Macarena song in my dreams.”Wade had little doubt that the cartel had been there but now he was certain. Carl was still confused.“How did you know about the takeover?” Car
The Eppley Airfield wasn't as active as one would expect the biggest airport in the state to be. In most aspects, it didn't even resemble an airport at all. No deafening announcements echoing in the halls and no panicky passengers scrambling for their luggage. It was perhaps because of the early morning but airports never really cared for the clock. A little boy was making the most of the half deserted lounge. His remote controlled truck was showing all sorts of tricks and acrobatics. The truck maneuvered through the legs of the benches and the passengers. A few appreciated it while the others were just irritated. The faint whirring noise of the toy and the occasional clattering were the only sounds in the lounge. The kid followed the truck, matching its speed. It let out a loud clatter as it collided with something hard and stopped moving. The kid ran to see where it had struck. He found an older man reading a newspaper on one of the benches. The truck had flipped after hitting his b
The air in the hotel lobby started to get heavier and the emotions awkward. Ivan Volkov made one gesture to his men and they manned the doors. They started to gradually limit the new entries and hasten the exits. It all happened so subtly that even the hotel security couldn't see it happen. Within no time, the civilians in the lobby were outnumbered by three to one. Michelle felt sweat running down her forehead. She hadn't expected the encounter to take such an ominous turn. She was one wrong move away from becoming a turf war casualty. Another addition in the millions that weren't even worthy to be named in the evening news. She could feel the burning glare of the Bratva boss as he read her emotions and she knew better than to play any mind games with him. Ivan was far too dominating and intelligent to let anything slide. He put a hand in his coat pocket and Michelle’s breath got stuck in her throat. It dawned on her that he had made up his mind. Her body was frozen on that couch. Iv
It was Jessica’s turn to make dinner and she was going for mac and cheese. They both loved it. Adam was going to prepare some snacks when they were done with dinner. It was movie night and it warranted some butter popcorn. They badly needed a distraction with everything that had been going on for the past week. Adam was on the couch looking for a movie to watch. He had been on it for the past half an hour. They had literally memorized all the westerns. Adam was leaning more towards binge watching a series tonight. Dinner was ready and Jessica called him to lend a hand. That’s when Adam saw the absolute magnitude she had prepared.“Didn't know we were feeding an army of orcs!” Adam muttered and she nudged him hard with her elbow. He shouted ‘ouch!’ but laughed. Jessica also had a smile on her face as he emptied the pot into a couple of dishes. Jessica had that problem. She always ended up cooking too much. But it wasn't causing any harm. They could afford it and the local homeless guy
Jessica and Adam sat there confused with a table covered with pizza and mac and cheese. The previews kept playing on the TV. “What the hell just happened?” Jessica asked with her mouth full of pizza. Adam shrugged.“Who the hell cares? Pizza!” Adam responded and waved a slice in her face. “And that moron didn't even eat much.”Jessica shrugged and picked up another slice. Adam decided to tell her about Frank’s real motive to visit when they were off to bed. He didn't want to spoil the evening with serious talk about running away to a stranger land with fake aliases. He went back to choosing the movie to watch tonight. He chose a new rom-com police series and Jessica was excited to try something new. “Wait a sec! Let me clear the table first!” She said and picked up the dinner plates to take them to the kitchen. She returned in a minute, drying her hands on her shirt. “Now!”The moment Adam pressed the play button, there was another loud knock on the door. Adam groaned in irritation.
Back at Santa Maria Hospital…It had been two weeks since they had found Camila in the middle of the field. Her condition was improving but very gradually. The panic attacks and hallucinations were still there. It often felt like one attack would negate all the progress they had made and throw her back at the starting line. Hugo hadn't left her side for one second. The doctors had tried to convince him to go home and get some rest but his one threatening glare was enough to prevent them from trying again. Aleksander Volkov was long gone but Hugo’s rage was far from extinguished. The test reports had arrived and it only made matters worse for Hugo. The reports indicated gangrape. He had his suspicions. One man couldn't wreak such havoc on a woman. He had already ordered his men to comb the city for any suspicious activities or rumors. The police were taking care of this case as their first priority. It was almost like a curfew in the city. There were raids everywhere but nothing came u