SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA. The safest city in Central America, as the locals said was very busy at noon. Airplanes flew in from the north, coming from different parts of the United States of America and Europe. The line of tourists at the local market wasn't getting any shorter. The sun was high in the sky, and the tourist had gathered under shades provided by shops.The traffic was mild for mid-afternoon and the cops weren't in sight. A perfect time to commit crimes."How much for this one?" An English tourist asked. He wasn't even going mild on his accent."Just, twenty dollars senōr," the shopkeeper said. He held out a bundle of ripe, colorful bananas in the face of the tourist.The tourist's face went from normal to a range of pink, light red, and very deep red as anger flooded him."I can't buy that? That will be mugging me of my hard-earned money!" He exclaimed so loud that other people turned their heads at him.The shopkeeper clicked his tongue and tried again."Senōr, Pura Vida,
Lucien dropped at San Jose airport secretly with his men. In fact, they had come in a private plane and they had only come out when the plane had docked indoors in a closed hangar. That way, it wouldn't be easy to get their identities.Lucien entered the waiting black Escalade and made himself comfortable. The last time he had come to Costa Rica was to claim the remains of Fred's crashed plane, twenty-three years ago. Being here felt very uncomfortable. It was a place full of bad memories."Is the hotel ready?" Lucien asked the men at the front."Yes sir, we have scanned the whole building just for you sir, all the equipment you requested has been brought there just as you wished," one of them replied."Good," Lucien murmured. He couldn't wait to start work and leave that place immediately. He would cause a lot of havoc. He had left Iryna and Reynold in a safe house in Portland, Maryland where they would be safe if anything was to happen in Lucien's absence. That way, he could keep a
It was very hot in the crampy apartment. Decembers in Costa Rica were generally dry, since it was the start of the season, and temperatures were supposed to drop. But nature defied the law and it was hot and humid that day. The insects buzzing was very annoying, it disturbed the peace of a few settlers that had built their house close to the forest. Children could be seen running in shorts and boots.Despite the rain that fell the day before, it was surprising how the weather hadn't dropped. The ATV's tires were muddy. It would need to be cleaned because the boss hated it when he saw his things dirty."Hola, American!"Michael flinched and opened one eye. He refused to get up."Hola! Puta! Get up and let's roll!"Michael grumbled. He only got the chance to close his eyes a few minutes ago, after a night of going through numbers.He hated this.Back in New Orleans, when he still worked with Federico, of course, he had to show his worth, but not by being dragged away every day for som
"For Christ's sake! Michael, what were you thinking?!" James hissed. But his irritation doubled as his voice echoed within the empty spaces of the bar.It was still a couple of hours before its customers flocked, so conversations could travel long distances in that empty space.Michael bent his head down. "James, you are being too loud," he whispered.James looked around and glared at the onlookers at their tables and they turned away. "They don't seem to have a problem with that!" He yelled at Michael again.Michael gritted his teeth. "Look, I got my balls mashed some hours ago, cut me some slack. They fell heavier than usual," Michael complained. He put the cold bottle of beer on his table between his legs and whimpered as the coldness enveloped his crotch. "Oh my God...""Look, I don't care about your balls—""Dude, I need to see a doctor," Michael interrupted him. Even though the pain was starting to subside, Michael wanted to milk the pity party."For fuck's sake! Forget about
Iryna packed her hair into her towel and smiled at the mirror. She looked at her skin and clicked her tongue when she saw that it was spotless. Selena would have been proud of her. Too bad she had gone on a business trip that took her away from home for six months."Hey Reynold, why don't you come and take your bath? The toilet is free," Iryna called from the bathroom. There was silence coming from the room. Had he left?"Reynold?" Iryna called again. She got no response again and she decided to walk to the bedroom to see what was going on. Reynold wasn't there.Iryna frowned and looked around her room for where he could be hiding, in case he wanted to pull another new prank on her so that she would freak out. He had been watching Ninja Assassins last night, and he would want to spook her when she didn't know."That man," Iryna growled and clenched her fist. She picked up a wooden bat that had been lying in the corner and she looked outside the window. And the lights from the bui
It was dark, also because a sack had been put on Michael's head. He was inside a vehicle, and he knew he was nestled in the back seat between two wrestler-class agents. Anything crazy he did might cost him a broken rib or two. That was if he could even move his finger back to his palm.From the way the vehicle was moving, they were driving on smooth tarred roads and there was little noise outside, which meant he was being transported to a quiet wealthy residential area."Where am I?" It sounded muffled as Michael asked.There was no reply coming from anyone in the car.He should have run out of the taxi from the left-hand side and not the right-hand side when he had seen Kynes. It was not like he knew the agents had been waiting to grab him when he came out. Now he was back in the FBI's hold."Can I talk to Kynes?" He asked again. He felt a muscle twitch against his skin from his left. It must have been a bicep, but it was gently crushing his left shoulder.The message was received
"Just hold things there for me, Marcus," Iryna said to the phone as she walked to the larger living room. The bodyguards were standing at the door and she heard Lucien's voice in the living room as he conversed with Reynold. She was on a secured line with her business associates. That way, she wouldn't be tracked by her enemies."It will take some time before we can fish out Tyrese," Lucien said to Reynold."Look, he might just be laying low. Apart from that, haven't you seen his place of operation? What about collaborating with the local police?" Reynold asked.Lucien sighed. "It isn't as easy as you say." He saw Iryna and bowed his head to her. Iryna waved him away and resumed her conversation with Marcus."What isn't easy? I thought you said you had friends down here," Reynold said with a scowl on his face."We can't trust the local police. Someone like Tyrese will know a person that knows a person that works in the local police force," Lucien said. "About his place of operatio
Michael was shoved into a chair with a beautiful redhead sitting right opposite him. If he wasn't in this situation, he might have asked her out. There was weird electrical equipment in the room. His nerves were on edge. The only thing keeping him from screaming was the beautiful redhead but unfortunately, she wasn't even looking at him. Stones receded to the back of the room and waited for the redhead to do her job.Finally, she turned to Michael and started scribbling down some things.Was she sketching him? Michael wondered in alarm..."Look, I didn't do anything. What are you going to do to me?" Michael asked.The lady flashed her eyes at him and returned to her canvas. She looked up again at Michael's face and sighed."What?" Michael asked."Stop looking at me like that, I can literally feel your eyes on me," she replied."Look, you don't need to waste your time, you won't find anything useful on me," Michael said. "Just save yourself the trouble and let me go."There was a la
The court had been swift in declaring Marcus and Michael's verdict.Michael had hired a hot-shot criminal lawyer that lied like fuck during the entire hearing. The man was so good that he had almost even convinced everyone at the hearing that his client Michael was innocent, but the evidence was just too much against him.Marcus had been sentenced to ten years in prison with light labor in a penitentiary in California.Michael was sentenced to twenty-one years in prison, with hard labor and no parole. His modeling career was over, his life was over as it stood."Mark my words, you will pay for this!" Michael had said to Iryna when he was being thrown in a van."It should get old by now, shouldn't it?" Lucien waved him away at the court.Amanda Walters was still being held by the FBI, and it looked like it would remain like that for a while.The FBI wanted to fish out all information about the Mafia network in Latin America.Tyrese's charred body was later recovered.It was discovered
The sound of helicopters got closer and panic started spreading among the gangs and Mafia lords that surrounded the empty cars."The FBI!" Someone screamed.Government-issued SUVs pulled up and FBI SWAT teams were already over the place, holding their guns at them. They were completely surrounded.Michael gritted his teeth and dropped his phone. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" He screamed. "Why does this always happen to me!"The FBI team wasted no effort in apprehending all the Mafia and gang members.The mission was possible because of two things, one, the FBI had come in massive numbers and had surrounded their enemies. Two, because of their magnificent entree, the enemy was too overwhelmed to act that they had suddenly given up their will to fight."Drop your weapons and go down on your knees, order of the bureau!" someone said on a loudspeaker."Fuck this!" Michael dragged Amanda and kicked Marcus out of his way. He ran forward to a nearby vehicle, but he was stopped by agents.Amanda tried
"Sir, the plane has landed," the intercom buzzed.Michael was seated inside a black limousine and sipped wine from his cup."Any sign of them?" He asked after he had put his glass down."Yes, they are stepping out of the plane," the intercom buzzed again."Jesus, New Orleans is so cold at this time of the year," Amanda shivered as she entered the car. "So this is the United States," Amanda looked out of the window at the high-rise buildings in the Central Business District."The target has landed, the plan is being kicked into motion," Michael said."Good, they will be heading to the mansion, and we will cut them off in that location you mentioned," Amanda held Michael's chest and began drawing circles."What are you doing?" Michael suddenly asked.Amanda came up and kissed Michael on the lips, short and fast."What was that for?" Michael asked as blushes developed on his cheek."That is just part one, I will give you the rest when we are done with them," Amanda whispered in his ears.
Iryna's eyes felt like lead when she woke up. She was in and out of sleep for the past eight hours. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. The bandages on her hands made them feel even sore.She looked out of the window and all she saw was water, from a bird's eye view. They were on their way to The United States... home."You were out for quite a long," a deep voice spoke.Iryna turned in the direction of the voice and saw Lucien sitting on a chair on the other side. IV lines were there and he wore a blanket over his legs. He looked better now, and his wounds had been tended to."Gosh," Iryna rubbed her eyes and yawned. "How are you doing, Lucien?" Iryna asked. She stretched and heard a few bones bop in her shoulders."Never been better," Lucien laughed. "The doctor said it was a miracle I was alive. My liver has been grazed, plus a lot of other internal blood vessels," he said with a smile. "Seems like I will be out for months," Lucien chuckled."Just rest up," Iryna told him. She looked o
Michael was getting irritated where he was. All of a sudden, the cops were showing up in large numbers, and Amanda was nowhere to be found."Alright boys, let's round this up!" Michael spoke out.The men all stopped and looked at him."I know, I am not your boss, but I can't seem to find Amanda anywhere and the police are coming, so we will have to ditch this place and run," Michael explained.He expected Amanda to do just fine, besides she was crazy enough to save him from the FBI that day. She would save herself."Where is Amanda?" One of the men asked. "We can't leave without her," he looked around. There was a murmuring passing among the group."For Christ's sake! It is almost morning, we have to go," Michael pointed at the sky.The sun was just On the horizon, it was just seconds away from sunrise. There was no time to wait around anymore."Michael!" Amanda suddenly appeared from behind a vehicle and she limped heavily.Her Kawasaki bike was oddly naked and there were a few crazy
Amanda stood up and stepped forward. Her left leg side roared with pain from her contact with the ground after that stunt with the van. There was a bruise on her forehead, but nothing she couldn't handle.Amanda picked up a bat that lay on the floor and smiled. She walked in the direction of the van.Iryna was the first to open her eyes. She let out a cough. Her legs hurt, but she could still feel and move them.She looked around and saw that the door at the back was missing. She felt fear develop in her and turned towards Lucien. He was still breathing, but he was knocked unconscious after the van turned over. Reynold was also unconscious, but his breathing was becoming raspy.Iryna looked at the front, and she saw Selena dangling from her seat belt upside down, the wound on her head looked very bad, and she could already tell that the driver was in an even worse state.Iryna tapped Selena's face. "Selena, Selena, wake up," there was a response, the twitching of facial muscles and so
"Shit, hold him tight!" Selena cussed as they lifted Reynold across the burning parking lot.Iryna held his legs, while Selena held his hands. He turned out to be too heavy for one person to carry."Huh," Reynold groaned. They had managed to stop the bleeding, it was a miracle he was still alive after all that blood loss."Hang in there, we will soon get you a doctor," Iryna said despite the pain in her leg, as they carried him to a waiting vehicle. A nab was waiting outside and when he saw them, he brought out a stretcher and ran to them."He needs medical treatment," Iryna said to the man."Christ! Señorita Selena! What took you so long?" The man asked. He had a very thick accent."Long story, just focus on getting us out of here," Selena said to the man.Iryna opened the door to the bus and saw Lucien sleeping on a bed. There were vials and IV lines that were still attached to him."Hey madam," Lucien's voice cracked."Lucien!" Iryna hugged him. "God, you are alright.""Last time y
Selena would never forget Iryna's scream. It rang through the night and was momentarily louder than the sound of bullets moving around them.Iryna herself could not even hear her own screams. They were silent in her skull. She couldn't even hear the sounds of gunshots. She didn't care about the bullets that ricochetted against the cars.As she watched as Reynold slowly fell to the floor, she wanted to die too."Shit!" Selena cussed as she grabbed Iryna and ran to take cover.Kynes fired several shots at them, but they had safely gone behind vehicles."What are you doing?" Iryna was hysterical. "What about Reynold? We can't leave him there!" She kicked against Selena and thrashed about.She refused to accept that Reynold was dead. He was lying on his back, a pool of blood was already forming there."What are you doing? There is nothing we could have done! There is nothing I can do to bring him back!" Selena screamed.She looked over the trunk of the car and several shots rang. She duck
Reynold rested on the bench and ran his hand gently on Iryna's shoulder. It was the first time he was finding comfort in detention. Even in their situation, Iryna still looked very appealing.Reynold tried not to wake her up as he caressed her gently. Very soon, Selena would come up with a crazy escape plan.He was worried about Iryna, he didn't want any bullets touching her, and how they would move Lucien who had just come out of surgery —everything was hard.Reynold bent down and kissed Iryna's head. She smelled of mint, she must have used the twenty-four hour mist. It had been two days since they had gotten a proper shower. But Iryna still smelled nice.He heard footsteps at the door and Reynold clenched his jaw muscles. He sure hoped as hell that it wasn't Kynes. He always spoiled the mood.There were two heavy thuds. Reynold cocked his brows and watched the door.The door flew open and Selena walked in. She looked around the room and pressed the switch. Reynold flinched from the