Evolution of a Killer

by Robert Ullrich

  Young Bear checked the aerial map of Los Trios one more time. The target was circled in red, a one story with a white metal roof. Derek confirmed the location with a contact in the Mexican army. Young Bear pulled back on the stick, bringing the nose up to almost 45 degrees, slowing to a hover before setting the chopper down. Two of the team members almost lost their lunch in the middle of the maneuver. “Fucking Young Bear,” they muttered simultaneously, earning a half-grin from the pilot.

  Derek and the female headed to the door, the four men took up positions at the corners of the property. Their arrival drew out some curious neighbors. They quickly disappeared when the team dismounted, faces covered with ski masks and armed with automatic weapons. Derek didn’t wait to be invited in. He kicked the front door open as he shouted in Spanish, “Rosalinda Vasquez! We’re here to take you to Disney World to meet your husband Ernesto!”

  Rosalinda had grabbed the girls and run to the back bedroom when she heard the chopper. She put the girls in the closet, ready to face whoever was coming with an old Remington shotgun. She heard her husband’s name. That took her by surprise. The stranger repeated the greeting in Spanish, mentioning Disney World again. Rosalinda couldn’t believe her ears. She was trying to decide what to do when the bedroom door opened and a woman walked in, her hands in the air, unarmed.

  “Senora Vasquez, my name is Selma De La Rosa,” she said in perfect Spanish. “We must hurry. I don’t have time to explain, but we are here to take you to your husband. Ernesto said you would believe us if we told you it was time to go to Disney World.”

  Rosalinda was in shock, but the words rang true. If they were Torano’s men she’d be dead already. She noticed a man in the hallway behind the woman, watching the front door. She swallowed hard and asked, “Where are you really taking us?”

  “We are taking you to Ernesto. He is waiting for you in Corpus Christi. I will explain everything once we are out of here. You need to understand that we are leaving in 2 minutes, with or without you. That is all the time we have.” Selma smiled. “I know this is hard to accept, but we are not here to hurt you, Maria or Dolores.”

  The woman knew the names of her children. The only way she could possibly know that had to be from Ernesto. It eased her apprehension.

  Rosalinda understood she didn’t have time to debate. She made her decision, calling the girls out of the closet and holding them close. “Can we bring anything with us?” she asked.

  Selma nodded, “Whatever you can grab in one minute.”

  Both girls were crying as Rosalinda tried to assure them, they would be safe. The girls each grabbed a couple of toys while Rosalinda grabbed a photo album off the dresser and a small jewelry box. “We are ready to go,” she said with a nod of her head.

  With Derek leading the way, the two women each picked up a child and ran after him. They climbed in with the rest of the team hot on their tails. Derek tapped Young Bear twice on his helmet, and the Sikorsky practically leapt into the air. He came around quickly, heading for the border. Just then, Derek spotted two black Yukons on Highway 2, coming south at a high rate of speed. He tapped Young Bear on the shoulder and pointed out the Yukons. He held up two fingers. Young Bear nodded and brought the Sikorsky around to bear. He locked on and launched two volleys of four rockets. The vehicles disappeared in explosions that could be heard for miles around.

  Derek shook his head, “What’s the matter Greg? Can’t count to two with your shoes on?”

  Young Bear shrugged, “Guess it must be somethin’ with the sequencing. The second volley sorta surprised me. I’ll check the firing systems when we’re back to base.”

  Derek grinned at the bald-faced lie. Besides, it would look good on the report. With any luck they might have hit Torano himself, doubtful as it was.

  *****

  Twenty minutes later they were back in US air space. Derek called Lazarus, reporting the extraction was complete.

  “It went smooth as silk, Lazarus,” said Derek. “That was of course, if you don’t count the two Yukons Young Bear obliterated. They might not have been Torano’s men,” Derek observed. “You know me. I don’t believe in coincidences. That’s why I had Gunny take them out”.

  Lazarus believed Torano was behind it; sending a team to kill Vasquez’ family. “Tell Young Bear thanks and I owe him one.”

  “Will do,” answered Derek. “He said he will be collecting on it. By the way, I’ll be in Corpus in about 10 hours. The Sikorsky has the range. But unless you’re buyin’ the JP4 I’ll have to drive.

  “Don’t go alone, Derek. Take De La Rosa with you. She can spell you, and the girls will be more comfortable around her than your sorry ass.” Lazarus added with a laugh, “Besides, she’s way easier on the eyes than you are.”

  “Screw you, ya multicolored lizard wannabee.” Lazarus could hear Young Bear laughing at Derek’s joke. Lazarus hung up on him.

  He called Helen and brought her up to speed on the travel time.

  “Works for me,” answered Helen. “That’ll give us the whole evening with Katsumi and the Ernesto kid. I swear he was about to implode waiting on word about his family. He can’t believe you pulled it off, let alone so damn quickly. Tomorrow morning, we can hit IHOP on the way in. I loves me some IHOP Spike.”

  “Tell me something I don’t know, Doc,” he replied.

  Lazarus could hear Ernesto in the background. It sounded like he was either laughing or crying, or maybe even both at the same time. That’s all Lazarus needed to know he’d done the right thing.

  Chapter Forty

  Lazarus got up from the chair he’d been lounging in and went to check on Angelique. He peeked through the partially open door and she appeared to be sleeping. Cheyenne noticed him and let out a low growl, rousing Angelique. She rolled over to see Lazarus standing in the doorway.

  “Hey there, beautiful,” he said. “I’m going to order something from Panjo’s. Is there anything you’d prefer?”

  Angelique stretched, letting the sheet slip off her shoulder. “I love their pizza. I could really go for a small double hamburger, double pepperoni with pineapple.”

  “What about Rebecca?” Lazarus asked. “I looked in on her and she’s out like a light.”

  “Make it a large and we’ll split it.” Angelique climbed out of bed, pulling the sheet loosely around her. “I’m going to take a quick shower, care to join me?” she asked and then winced at the pain in her ribs.

  “I’ll take a rain check,” he said grinning. “Besides, I don’t think you could handle me right now, bruised ribs and all that,” he added with a wink.

  Angelique stuck her tongue out and limped towards the shower. “Smart ass,” she whispered under her breath, even though she knew he was probably right. She dropped the sheet as she closed the door. What little Lazarus saw was more than enough to make him reconsider her offer. He shook his head, sighing as he walked out of the room to order the food.

  Forty-five minutes later they were stuffed. Langston and Cheyenne didn’t do too badly either. They were both gifted beggars when it came to pizza. Lazarus dug out some Blue Belle Homemade Vanilla from the freezer, much to everyone’s delight.

  Lazarus cleared off the table and sat down across from Angelique. “I need to talk to you about Enrique. Rebecca, you’re welcome to stay since this involves you, too.”

  Rebecca said, “If it’s all the same with you, I’ll pass. As far as Enrique is concerned, I couldn’t care less. I go where Angelique goes, so whatever happens, happens. I’d rather take the dogs out on the deck, catch some sun and have a beer.”

  Lazarus responded, “That’s up to you. There’s some Heinekens in the fridge.”

  Angelique piped up. “I assume you packed your favorite swimsuit?”

  “Well, it was lying right there on my dresser,” Rebecca replied. “So, I figured what the hell, and brought it along. I got yours, too,” she added with a glance at Lazarus. Rebecca headed down the hallway, returning a couple of minutes later in a bright
red bikini. It really set off her tan. She took her time getting a beer from the refrigerator, knowing that Lazarus was watching her, and that Angelique would be watching him watching her.

  “My, my,” said Lazarus. “The sun god must really like me.”

  Rebecca blushed almost as red as her suit trying to ignore him. “Come on babies; let’s go sit by the pool.” She coaxed both dogs into following her out the door.

  “So, you approve, Mr. Solaris?” asked Angelique.

  “Asked and answered counselor on the first day I met her,” Lazarus replied.

  “By golly, that does ring a bell. I do believe you may have mentioned her ‘really spankable ass’, or something to that affect. I hate to have to break it to you, but she doesn’t like men. She’s more of a girlie girl’s girl, if you know what I mean.” Angelique laughed and winced at the ensuing pain.

  “Nope; not going there, at least not today,” Lazarus added with a shake of his head. “I’ve got a feeling that together, you two might be more dangerous than me.”

  Angelique started to laugh and winced. She changed the subject. “Okay then, what about Enrique?”

  “Ah yes, Enrique,” said Lazarus, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly. “What I’m going to say may affect what you think of me or feel about me for that matter.”

  Angelique smiled and put her hands over Lazarus’. “I know more about you than you think, Lazarus. Or should I call you ‘The Chameleon’ like my captors did?”

  “You’re assuming they were talking about me. Why’s that?” he asked.

  “Several things got me thinking you might be him. One was Langston being there during our rescue by Helen and Darnell. Another was that those total strangers, to me at least, were putting their lives on the line just because you asked them to. The fact we were told not to call you by your real name in front of the Mexicans was intriguing. What sealed it was the rescue of Ernesto’s family in Mexico. I couldn’t imagine Mr. Lazarus Solaris, the well-known philanthropist, had those kinds of connections and resources.”

  “What family?” Lazarus asked calmly.

  Angelique smiled. “Lazarus, I don’t live in a bubble. I overheard you talking to someone on the phone about an ‘extraction’ of some sort. You referred to them as ‘innocents’, which is why it caught my attention. You were on the deck and I was going to surprise you. I wasn’t eavesdropping and I didn’t want you to think I was, so I went back to bed and waited for you.”

  She laced her fingers together in front of her, took a deep breath and asked. “Are you the Chameleon?”

  Lazarus didn’t blink. “I prefer Lazarus among friends. Does Rebecca know?”

  “She suspects it.”

  “What did they say about me, if you don’t mind telling?” asked Lazarus.

  “Much of what they said sounded unbelievable. It was like they were talking about a ghost, or some supernatural creature. They said the Chameleon could change shape and no one knows what he really looks like. Javier told us he makes people disappear - the bodies never found.”

  “There’s a lot of truth in what they said, minus the shape shifting,” Lazarus said calmly. “I am what I am; who I was meant to be. I can and do make people disappear.”

  “Have you ever killed anyone?” she asked, believing he had.

  Lazarus didn’t detect any judgment in the question. “Yes,” he replied.

  “Lazarus,” said Angelique. “That doesn’t matter to me. I grew up in Lebanon where death was a part of life.” She paused before continuing. “Have you ever killed just for the sake of killing?”

  Lazarus thought about Katsumi, Father Dominique and the men in Juarez he killed while pulling Derek’s ass out of the fire. “I’ve killed men that I wasn’t contracted for, if that’s what you mean.”

  Angelique nodded, encouraging him to continue.

  “Two were men who violently abused a young girl by the name of Katsumi. She’s the girl who lives on my property. Another was the priest that molested me, stealing my childhood. The other four were cartel thugs I killed saving a man I didn’t even know in Juarez. They were trying to kidnap or kill him, and I wasn’t in the mood to let that happen.” Lazarus left Houston out of it. He wasn’t trying to hide it from Angelique. He just didn’t think about Edwards.

  Angelique nodded her head, “Then perhaps they got what they deserved.”

  She hesitated, looking down at her hands before continuing. “Are you going to kill Enrique?” she asked nervously.

  “No, that is not my plan, anyway. I was contracted to relocate him to Argentina with a new identity - Buenos Aries to be precise. He didn’t hire me to kill him.” Lazarus answered truthfully. What might happen after Garza arrived in Argentina wasn’t part of the contract.

  “Why did he hire you?”

  “Enrique embezzled millions of dollars from the man responsible for you being held hostage. He’s the head of a Mexican drug cartel and Enrique’s half-brother, Ramon Torano. Torano suspected your husband was involved, so he was holding you as leverage. He would have had you killed once he got his money,” said Lazarus, his eyes darkening.

  “Does he know it was Enrique?” Angelique asked.

  “No,” answered Lazarus. “Enrique convinced him it was someone who worked at the bank. His explanation to Ramon was he hired me to find the money and get it back.”

  Angelique was surprised to hear Enrique had a brother, let alone a drug lord. She was even more surprised when she realized she didn’t care. “So, what happened with his brother? Is he still around?”

  Lazarus leaned back in his chair. In his best Marlon Brando impression, he said, “I made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.”

  Angelique laughed and winced. “So, you did; did you?”

  “Yep,” he answered. “I had to work something out with Torano to protect you from retaliation. He would have come after you when Enrique disappeared, let alone after what I did to convince him to leave Corpus.”

  Angelique was no longer smiling. “What did you do?”

  “Do you really want to know, Angelique?” Lazarus asked as he leaned forward, placing his hands over hers. “You can ask anything, and I will tell you, just be sure you really want to know the answer.”

  She thought it over for a few seconds before responding. “No, I suppose I really don’t.” She took a deep breath and let it go. Angelique believed whatever Lazarus had done was to keep her safe. That was good enough for her.

  “So, when’s Enrique leaving?” she asked off-handedly.

  “Tomorrow morning. I’m meeting him tonight to finalize things. I need to call Katsumi and confirm the flights to Buenos Aires are booked.”

  Angelique sighed. “I’ll miss him a little, I think. He was good to me, even though I know he didn’t love me.”

  Lazarus waited; no hint of jealousy.

  “I do want him out of my life, though” she said emotionally. “I only have room for one man in my heart.” She lowered her gaze to their hands on the table.

  Lazarus spoke confidently, leaving no room for doubt. “Angelique, I am that man. I’m going to take you with me and neither you nor I will ever regret it.”

  Her eyes filled with tears. “I believe you,” she said. “I don’t understand this at all, and I can’t even begin explain it. The only thing I know for sure right now is I want to be with you, that is, if you’ll have me.”

  Lazarus kissed both of her hands tenderly. “I will give my life for your love. I’ll never hurt or leave you. That goes for your Rebecca, too, since you two seem inseparable,” he added with a roll of his eyes that got a chuckle out of Angelique, despite the tears.

  “Rebecca will go wherever I go, and she’ll trust you because I trust you. Besides, she knows how much you mean to me, and approves. She’s afraid she might not get to come with us.”

  Lazarus stood up, her right hand in his left and helped her gently to her feet. He pulled her close, wrapping her in his arms and whispering a single word in her ear, “Mine.�
��

  Angelique melted, becoming a part of him in a way she couldn’t understand. Lazarus led her down the hall to the master suite, closing the door behind them. He carefully removed her clothes and took her gently, sealing their connection as he entered her willing flesh.

  *****

  They laid together in sated silence, her head on his chest as he stroked her long black hair. “I love you, Lazarus,” said Angelique.

  “I know,” Lazarus replied as he kissed the top of her head. “My heart is yours, Mon Cheri.” Lazarus couldn’t say “love”; he didn’t know what it meant. He knew he was feeling something new, and he believed it just might be love.

  Angelique snuggled in closer.

  “I need to call Katsumi,” Lazarus said peacefully. “Stay here and rest. I’ll ask Rebecca to check in on you from time to time.”

  Angelique replied smiling, “Go, Lazarus. I’ll be fine.”

  He kissed her on the lips and slipped out of bed. Angelique studied his naked body as he headed towards the bathroom. She sighed contentedly and closed her eyes, quickly falling asleep.

  Lazarus found Rebecca in her room with the dogs.

  She looked up as he entered. “Am I included in your plans?” Rebecca asked without preamble.

  “Where she goes, you go. I’d be honored to have you accompany us.”

  Her face lit up. “Thank you, Lazarus, with all my heart. Angelique is everything to me.” She went on, “It isn’t sexual, but believe me, I’d be all over that like white on rice if the opportunity presented itself.” Rebecca blushed and grinned at the same time. “I can’t imagine life without her. Someday I’ll tell you why that is, if you want to know.”