‘I take it that it is done?’ Alex asked. She looked at him and nodded.
No more was said as they gathered their things and left the clearing, hoping that Dulce’s group had achieved the same level of success. The morning brought good news. The other group had managed to kill both the target and his two sons. That combined with the success of the Reyes’ assassinations had effectively cut off the family’s power. Already they heard terrifying rumours and tales of the monster that had killed the Reyes. Superstition would aid the impact of the killings.
The revolutionaries that had accompanied Alex and Tonal on the raid remained silent about what had taken place. They’d all agreed that it was the best way. Leave the actual details out and let the rumours and superstition do their work. The rest of the council was unaware of the extent of her talents. She wanted to keep it that way. Even if it meant constant bickering with Dulce, who didn’t appreciate being kept in the dark.
But her time would come.
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
We were nearing the climax, or what we thought of as the pinnacle of the struggle. It was time to take Ortiz out of the picture. The fact that he was probably responsible for Julio’s deathly only strengthened our resolve.
But it would be no picnic. The man was seriously paranoid—and with reason.
His actions had earned him the hatred of everyone who crossed his path. Killing without any semblance of empathy—discriminating only to whom was beneficial to his cause or not—he had left a legacy of bodies and blood behind him. Money and fear were the only things that kept him alive, and he had enough of both. Rich beyond measure, he was a ruthless psychopath. He kept his hold on the people and the rulers with vicious commitment and mercenaries that followed his every whim.
To go up against him was dangerous, but necessary. He had to be taken out of the picture. Even more important to the cause than El Presidente himself, taking Ortiz down was the pinnacle of our effort.
We had thought up many different plans and dismissed most because of the extreme danger and only slight chance of success. One stood up to the measure. But it wasn’t simple or safe. It was however the only option we had.
Dulce and I would infiltrate the tyrant’s inner circle.
He was a known womaniser. Always looking for his next conquest. He favoured long legged exotic looking women. Mostly American or European. That was my cue. With my strange coloured eyes, long auburn hair and—if I may say so myself—fantastic figure, I was sure to attract his attention. If, that was, I managed to get anywhere near him.
We thought up a plan. Something that was sure to interest him.
The initial story was put in place, complete with Internet and cloud manipulated to show my history and support the story we would spin. It was a scam—a big one. I was an international jet set figure. Looking for new business possibilities in Latin America. Bored with America and my home country in Europe, I craved new challenges and was looking to new countries to satisfy my hunger. My history showed that I was ruthless. I broke hearts and lives everywhere I went, annihilating everything that was in my way.
Because of a legal and personal hassle in Italy I’d decided to move my headquarters to the southern Americas; to a town fifty miles from Ortiz’s stronghold.
I specialised in exploiting the weak. That was bound to appeal to Ortiz. My company was built on the backs of the farmers around me. I bought their products for ridiculous prices, promising all kinds of extra benefits from housing to education for the children. When it came my turn to honour the contracts, I pointed out the small print and the farmers were backed into the corner.
It hurt to have to do this, but we recorded all the takings and pledged to repay the farmers with interest after we had managed to get rid of Ortiz. It was regrettable that we could not inform them, but we needed to keep up appearances. The scam needed absolute secrecy and total authenticity to be successful. There were even rumours that I had ordered the brutal murder of a competitor. And that I had ruined many more.
It made for intriguing rumours.
Thankfully that was all they were.
Alex looked me up. He was anxious. The plan involved Dulce and me getting very close to Ortiz. This was an enormous worry for him. We were his sister and the love of his life.
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
Alex, Dulce and I had travelled into the jungle. We stopped at a small cliff that was easily scalable for me, but quite a challenge for the others.
It was time to take out Ortiz. Besides the President, he was the only one left on the list of targets.
My undercover personage had finally gotten his attention. We had taken our time because the story needed to be fool-proof. The man was a monster, and any mistake on our part—however small—would be terminal. Well for the others, for me it would be unpleasant at the least.
Dulce and I had cultivated a cover as a wealthy young businesswoman and her servant. My role was of an arrogant European woman, who terrorised her employees, or more appropriately—her slaves. The cover story was that she had literally purchased them. Dulce was the personal assistant bought from her family long ago and brought up in the woman’s mansion. I regularly pretended to abuse Dulce in public to consolidate the image. It wasn’t real but looked authentic.
Ortiz was even better protected than the Presidential couple. Quite understandable if you considered his reign of terror and the number of enemies that he had racked up in the past years. He was a very dangerous man without any semblance of a conscience who was led by his short-term lusts, in summary; he was a psychopath with limitless power. They don’t get any scarier than that.
Ortiz fancied himself to be a Casanova. His taste was split into two kinds of women: the disposable ones—the prettiest of the peasants who died when he tired of them—and the trophy women. Tall, beautiful women with a status of their own. Preferably Caucasian and powerful. Though beauty was more important than power. His kind of soul-mate would be someone who was as scrupulous and vicious as the man himself. So that was my cover.
We had determined how we would get into the fortress. I would seduce him and take Dulce with me as handmaiden. A woman of my stature traveling alone would arouse suspicion. I needed a servant. Then, when we were finally alone, I would kill him and we would escape.
That part was thought out to the most miniscule detail. Today we had travelled to this place to practice our escape.
Still unaware of the details of my special talents, Dulce had no idea how we would be able to exit the heavily guarded fortress after we had fulfilled our task. She had seen some of the results of my abilities that puzzled her but was still kept in the dark as to what had really happened. Today she would finally find out.
‘This will do’ I said to Alex. ‘This cliff resembles the high wall and moat at the fortress.’ I dropped my pack and took off my jacket. The temperature was reasonable and thankfully it was dry. My two companions followed my lead and dropped their gear.
Dulce sat on a large rock. ‘What’s the use of practicing. There is no way that we’ll be able to get out. The wall is our least worry.’ She had accepted that this would be her last mission, that she would sacrifice herself for the good cause. I had no such predisposition. We would get out and live to fight another day. ‘The moat is filled with man-eating lions. If we don’t kill ourselves in the building or on the wall, there’s no way that we will be able to get past them’ she added. ‘The moat extends for about three miles. We might be able to fool the lions for a minute, but after that we are like lambs to the slaughter.’ Dulce looked at me, resignation in her eyes.
‘I have no intention of dying’ I answered ‘or of getting you killed. We leave through the moat, and I don’t expect too many problems.’
She shrugged, not believing what I said. The whole situation amused Alex. He was no great fan of the idea that Dulce accompanied me into the fortress, but he knew there was no other way. I could not have a male servant. That would complicate things too much. And Dulce wa
s petit and more important light which was a necessity for our plan.
‘Don’t be so pessimistic Sis.’ Placing his hand on her shoulder he continued. ‘Besides, today you finally find out what is so special about Tonal. What her talents are. Cause you will need them to get out.’ The mention of my special talents got her attention. Now that was the Dulce that I knew. Her curiosity was killing her. Had been for a long time.
‘Finally,’ she exclaimed to Alex’s laughter and my smiles. She proceeded to stand up, but Alex stopped her.
‘You might want to stay seated, Sis. Get something solid under you.’
I walked a few feet away from them into the light and started to take off my clothes. The look on Dulce’s face was priceless. She was becoming more and more confused.
‘Watch carefully’ Alex cautioned her. She turned to face me again. I was naked now and poised to change. Alex and I had agreed that I would take my time—not change too quickly—so that she could appreciate what happened.
Slowly I started the process, watching her reaction all the time.
Her eyes opened to their limit, almost popping out of her head, her mouth fell open.
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
Keeping his hand on Dulce’s shoulders, Alex watched the change. He never tired of seeing the miracle every time she took feline form. He was enthralled by the beauty and raw power of the change. He felt the tension building in Dulce. Her body was poised, ready to run, but she was too fascinated and captivated to actually move.
What she was seeing was too warped and too fantastic to be true. Dulce sat with open mouth, hardly breathing. She took in every change and not still couldn’t register what was happening at all. Her mind shut down, survival kicked in, convincing her that this was some trick. It wasn’t possible. It couldn’t be happening, defied everything, and yet… … In some strange way, it fit. Fit with all the things that had happened in the short time since this woman had been their companion. Fit with the unbelievable inexplicable things that she some way—somehow—did.
The change was completed, and the massive cat sat on its haunches, calmly regarding the two people.
The sun chose that precise moment to dramatically appear from behind the clouds and shine a bright ray on her—like a spotlight. It completed the moment. No one spoke or moved for a while.
‘So, Sis, what do you think?’ Alex spoke softly, so as not to startle Dulce’s already frayed nerves.
Finding her voice again Dulce answered. ‘Now that’s some talent.’
Alex doubled up laughing. It was so typically Dulce. Slowly she regained her composure, calmed by the obvious ease with which Alex dealt with this strange and fascinating moment. Finally, Alex’s laugh subsided to a chuckle.
‘Come on Dulce, your curiosity must be killing you. Let’s go say hallo.’ He walked in the direction of the cat. Hesitating, Dulce weighed the possibilities. She could be killed and devoured by this animal, but then again, it was her friend, or any way it used to be. Or, nothing would happen, and she could find out more about this unbelievable experience. As her brother had so clearly noticed, the suspense and her curiosity were overpowering. She shrugged, decided to go for it and slowly walked towards the two beings in the clearing.
The cat followed her progress with its eyes. Dulce swore that it was smiling, laughing at her, like Alex. This spurred her on. She stopped three feet from the feline and really observed what was in front of her—a massive lion-like cat. Big as a horse, at least five foot at the shoulder. Tawny brown with a hint of stripes on her shoulders and back. The head was enormous, with slightly ruffled long hair along the side. Not exactly a mane, more like the cheek fur on a Siberian tiger. The cat’s eyes were intense, ochre-yellow and piercing. Looking into her soul. But she recognised the strange colour that Tonal had in human form.
Unintentionally her hand moved as if to stroke the cat’s fur. Suddenly realising what she was doing she quickly pulled her arm back, hiding it behind her back. She turned bright red, this was definitely not a house cat. It was completely something else.
‘It’s Ok, Sis. She doesn’t mind if you touch her, actually, she quite likes it.’ Putting actions to his words, Alex placed his hands on either side of the cat’s big head and moved his face towards her nose and muzzle. A strange rough sound was coming from the cat’s throat.
Surprised and unbelieving Dulce exclaimed. ‘Is she purring?’
‘Yes.’ Alex answered. ‘She does that.’ He turned his head to his sister, the cat followed suit. ‘Give me your hand, come on.’
Slowly Dulce took another step forward, and another one, hesitantly extending her hand. Alex took her sweaty fingers in his and moved her closer to the cat. He placed Dulce’s hand on the cat’s shoulder. Holding it there, then he let go.
Dulce was fascinated. The feeling was unexplainable. The fur was soft and warm, the muscles beneath hard and massive. The power obvious. She couldn’t believe this was really happening. It was all too much. Slowly tears left the corners of her eyes, running down her cheeks. Disgusted with her excessive emotionality, she roughly rubbed them away with her left hand, keeping her right one on the soft animal, not able to take it away. The silence was comforting in a way. She took another step closer and took in the wild smell. She had smelled this before.
The scene stayed that way for a few moments. Finally broken when the big cat lowered itself to a more comfortable position. Alex and Dulce followed suit and sat down on the grass.
‘I’m sorry that you couldn’t know, but there are people after Tonal.’ Alex broke the silence.
‘It’s ok’ was all Dulce could bring herself to say, too preoccupied with the situation.
‘This is probably the best kept secret in the world as we know it.’ He joked. ‘Papa wanted me to keep it that way. It has been difficult, especially since she has been helping us. People see the result of her talents, and they are hard to explain.’ Slowly his words were getting through to Dulce.
‘This is why Papa asked us to find her’ understanding flooded her senses. ‘How he got out of the lab in the first place. I knew that she was strong, but this… this… is just too fantastic to believe.’
‘Well, believe it Sis, because this is what is going to get you out of Ortiz’s fortress.’
‘How?’ Trying to work it out, she understood now why the lions would be less of a problem than she thought. But still that was for Tonal, she couldn’t replicate the bizarre metamorphosis.
Alex answered her questions for her. ‘On her back.’
‘What!’ she exclaimed. This was ridiculous. How could she? You don’t just get on a lion’s back and ride out into the sunset.
‘You heard me, on her back. You will ride her out of the fortress. Not like on a horse, but flat on her back so as not to hinder her progress. She will have to jump over the wall and needs excellent balance.’ He wasn’t even smiling, so tentatively she started to accept what he was implying. The idea was so out of this world, but still maybe the only way that she would be able to fulfil the mission and live to tell the tale. Truth be told, she wasn’t really ready to sacrifice herself. Life was too interesting to lose right now. Besides, she was still young and had so much to do and experience. So maybe—just maybe—this was an option.
‘How would that work?’ she asked softly. The cat turned its head towards her and rubbed its cheek against her hand. Obviously, she had made the right choice. At least according to her friend.
‘Good decision Sis.’ Alex was serious, all fun and games over now. This was a matter of life or death for his little sister. His whole life he had taken care of her, looked out for her, and now here he was, planning a mission that was so dangerous and so downright suicidal that he was actually contemplating letting her ride a massive predator through a moat with man-eating lions. He was either mad or desperate. Actually, his desperation, and that of the revolution was out of this world. The only way to get the final phase in the war going was to get to Ortiz. And this was the only way to do
it. Ortiz had survived more attempts on his life than he had eaten warm meals. At least once a week someone would try. Some even got as far as to wound him. Regrettably not severely and definitely nowhere near fatally. The repercussions were out of proportion. Whole villages had been wiped out because one of their own had been part of the conspiracy. Families were put to death in the most violent, most atrocious and brutal ways. Mothers had watched while their children were fed to the lions. Some even jumped over the wall, in a desperate attempt to shield their babies. All the time accompanied by the mad laughs and jeers of the lunatic Ortiz and his mercenaries. And that was where he was sending his baby sister.
He was dying inside. The revolution was his responsibility. Not only his of course, they were all in this together, but they looked to him for leadership. He and Jesus made the final decisions on what to attack, where, when and by whom. He knew that she was the best—no, the only person—for the job, together with Tonal.
They had tried to get to Ortiz for so long and finally there was a chance.
But Dulce? Did it have to be her? He wanted to stop her, veto the whole thing.
Tonal would be able to get out, she would be ok. But Dulce was mortal, and she was his family, his little sister. She was so petit, so young, so small, so fragile… … so stubborn, so strong, so competent. And she would not take “no” for an answer. Even from him, scratch that—especially not from him. He might as well resign himself to the situation. He would not win this fight. She was determined. He watched her as she in turn observed the turmoil boiling inside of him.
‘I’ll be ok’ she read his mind ‘Tonal will take care of me.’
‘I know’ he finally managed to say. ‘She won’t come back without you, and besides you are very capable of taking care of yourself. Still, we had better start practicing.’ They stood up. Tonal stayed in her relaxed position.
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