by Navi' Robins
Once Rose was out of sight, Hector turned and looked at Brian with an evil grin and gestured for his men to follow him further into the mansion. The mansion’s floor was covered in a very expensive white and black marble that eerily resembled the same marble used in mausoleums. The resemblance only heightened Brian’s anxiety and by the time they stopped walking, a cold sweat had covered his entire body. The men led Brian into a large office that appeared to be a direct replica of Tony Montana’s office from the movie Scarface. Hector gestured for them to close the doors and he slowly walked up to Brian, smiling.
He remained silent as he circled his prisoner while looking him over, and once he was directly in front of Brian, he jolted forward until the two men were face-to-face. Hector expected Brian to cower away from his sudden aggressive movement, but Brian stood still with an amused look on his face.
“You’re not afraid?” Hector asked, while looking him directly in his eyes. His alcohol laced breath blowing the smell of tequila up Brian’s nose. Brian’s only response was a slight grin, as he looked Hector back in his eyes without a hint of fear. Being this close to Brian, Hector noticed the fresh scars on his face and then turned to his men, laughing while saying, “Le dio una buena cojida eh?!” (She gave him a good fucking)
Ramiro, who was standing next to Hector’s large black desk laughed loudly and replied, “Lo mismo dije yo.” (I said the same thing.)
“Si? Ay Ramiro, estás de suerte que no te dio un chingadazo.” (Yeah? Ay Ramiro you’re lucky she didn’t kick your ass.)
Ramiro’s smile quickly disappeared and he looked down at the floor, shuffling his feet. Ramiro’s reaction intrigued Brian, but before he had time to consider anything, Hector returned his attention to him.
“So cabron, you think you can just come here and fuck my Rosita and live?”
Looking Hector in his eyes, Brian responded, “I had no idea she was your woman, had I known, I wouldn’t have asked her out!”
Hector stared at Brian with an impenetrable poker face, refusing to give away any of the horrible plans he had. Then suddenly, he bent over laughing hysterically and the rest of the men in the office joined him. Brian looked around confused and unamused, as they continued to laugh loudly, some of them being brought to tears. Hector suddenly placed his arm around Brian’s shoulders and led him over to the pair of chairs that sat in front of his desk.
“Sientate,” (Sit) Hector demanded, as he wiped the tears from his eyes. Once Brian sat down in the black leather chair, Hector sat on top on his desk directly in front of Brian and firmly placed his large handgun between his legs. The coldness of the nozzle seemed to penetrate his pants and chill his groin.
“Rosita is not my woman, she’s mi carnala (my sister)…, idiota, (you idiot)” Hector responded, chuckling. Confusion covered Brian’s face as he looked down and appeared to be searching for something on the red-carpeted floor. Hector watched Brian closely as he continued to search his mind for answers. No longer amused by Brian’s reaction, Hector lifted his gun from Brian’s groin and placed it directly under his chin, lifting his head up until he was looking him in the face.
“I guess the CIA didn’t have that intel, huh? I’m just trying to figure out how your government thought sending one man to kill me would be enough. Especially after what happened to the last guy that tried to infiltrate my organization. Aaaand then you decided to fuck my baby sister. That shit would get you killed, even if you were just some dumb executive and not an espía.” (spy).
“I’m not CIA nor am I a spy.”
“Really? So, is it Optec Oil’s policy to hire executives that know how to take down five armed Escorpiones and then kill even more in a high-speed car chase? All within a half hour? I have a lot of well-trained soldiers at my command and none of them could pull that shit off…not even Ramiro. Sin ofender, carnal, (No offense my brother)” Hector responded, while looking over at Ramiro to apologize.
“No hay problema, Rey. (No problem King.)”
Seeing the surprise on Brian’s face, Hector nodded and continued to speak. “Yes, I know exactly who you are, Brian Turner. Or should I say who your files say you are, because clearly you are more than some smart black dude from the South Side of Chicago.”
“Like I told you, I’m no spy or CIA.”
“So, explain how did you pull off that daring escape from Chalco? What kind of training you received from the streets of Chicago that allowed you to do that?”
Leaning forward and getting closer to Hector’s face, Brain responded; “My father was a Navy Seal and he taught me three things in life, Guns, Honor, and how to break bones. All three I used to save your sister, so instead of waving your gun around my dick like some gangster faggot, how about you show some fucking gratitude. Your sister was definitely grateful and didn’t hesitate to show it.”
Hector looked at Brian like he’d lost his mind, turned towards Ramiro and said, “Este se cree bien huevudo (He thinks he got big balls.) Well, let me show you a clip full of gratitude,” Hector yelled, while pointing his gun in the middle of Brian’s forehead.
Suddenly, Rose’s voice filled the office as she screamed, “Hector no! Don’t do it!”
The sound of her voice startled Hector and he threw his hands in the air and yelled out, “Rosita, I told you not to come in here.”
“I know, but listen to me. Do you think you are making the right move here? If you kill him and he’s not CIA or a spy, you may have a bigger problem on your hands.”
“Que? Even if he is just a top executive at Optec Oil, how is killing him more trouble for me? Executives die in Mexico City every day.”
“True, but how many top executives from an oil company as large and powerful as Optec in Mexico City die in less than two months? Optec is the largest oil company in the world and they have a very specific reputation. With billions of dollars at their disposal, what do you think they’ll do to you if you kill another one of their executives?”
“I don’t know, file a police report?”
“No pendejo (stupid)! Optec has locations all over the world and some of those locations are far worse than Mexico City and for as long as they operated; only one of their top executives have been touched by anyone. So what do you think they’ll do to you and the Martillo de Dioses? They are more powerful than any government…yeah…they’ll turn this compound into a crater and bury all of us in it. Double-check his credentials to see if he’s who he says he is. If not, then I leave it up to you, but if he is, you have to let him go.”
Hector growled loudly while holding both of his hands over his ears. He appeared to be in pain as he kept shaking his head in denial. Having heard enough, Hector jumped off the desk and rushed over to Rose yelling, “Rosita, why are you doing this, huh? Do you love this guy? Or are you working with him to bring me down? I know you’ve never liked the way I’m running things, but I never thought you would sell me out to a spy!”
“I love you, Hector and as much as I hate what you do, I would never betray you. You’re my brother and I don’t want anything to happen to you,” she responded as he stood directly in front of her waving his gun in her face. Unfazed by the gun, Rose pushed him away from her. Hector lifted his gun and aimed it at Rose and Brian quickly jumped out of his chair, rushing towards Hector. Seeing Brian from the corner of his eye, Hector aimed the gun towards Brian and fired. As Brian raced towards Hector, he quickly ducked down while shifting his body to the right; dodging the bullet Hector fired in his direction. Before Hector could adjust his aim, Brian was in front of him, with one hand firmly twisting the wrist holding the gun, while his other hand firmly gripped Hector’s windpipe. Hector’s hand immediately dropped the gun and Brian spun him around until Hector was facing Ramiro, who was now aiming his assault rifle in their direction.
“Chinga tu madre! Look at this shit, Rosita! You still think this man ain’t CIA?” Hector yelled, while a look of terror came across his face as he felt Brian’s grip on his windpipe tighten.
�
�Brian stop,” Rose pleaded while holding onto his arm. “I believe you, but my brother needs more convincing and this isn’t helping. Let them check you out and then I promise, he’ll let you go.”
Hector's eyes shifted in Rose’s direction, looking her over like she was insane. Noticing her brother’s look, Rose quickly glanced at Brian and then back at Hector. Hector’s eyebrows lifted as he slowly nodded his head and relaxed.
“Please, Brian.”
Exhaling forcefully, Brian released his grip and shoved Hector away from him. Hector immediately leaped towards Brian to attack him, but Rose stood in his way. Looking heartbroken and confused, Hector stopped in his tracks and pointed at his sister while gritting his teeth. Looking over her shoulder, he looked at Brian, pointed to him and ran his middle finger across his neck. Brian watched Hector threaten to cut his throat while saying, “Fuck you” at the same time and smiled.
Brian’s reaction infuriated the drug lord and he considered bum rushing him, but when he looked down he saw the determined look on his sister’s face and he contained himself.
“Since you care so much for this puto, you stay here with him until we check him out. Rosita, I swear to God that if he’s anything other than what he says he is, I will gut him like a fish and make you watch,” Hector warned as he ordered his men to follow him out of the office, leaving Brian and Rose alone. Rose swallowed hard as the black and gold double doors closed behind her brother and his men. She knew he would post armed guards at the door and suggesting they make a run for it was out of the question, so she gestured for Brian to have a seat. The only response she got from Brian was him wrapping his large hand around her throat and pushing her on top of Hector’s desk. He was gritting his teeth and staring at her with a rage so potent it made her shiver.
“You fucking bitch! You set me up!” Brian growled in her face as he applied more pressure to her neck.
Taken by surprise, Rose tried to scream, but the only thing that escaped her lips was a quiet whimper. Tears began to well in her eyes and she tried to speak and shake her head; begging Brian not to kill her. Staring in her pleading eyes caused Brian to snap out of his rage and he quickly let her neck go and started to pace back and forth around the office while mumbling. Coughing and holding her neck, she inhaled deeply before trying to speak. “If I wanted to set you up, I would’ve told Hector the truth and you’d be maggot food by now. Brian, I am putting my life on the line for you too, so let’s pray whomever you work for knows how to cover their tracks.”
“Fuck you! Your brother has no intentions of letting me live, no matter what he finds out.”
Still holding her throat, Rose looked down at the floor as her shoulders slouched. She knew what Brian said was a likely scenario, but she was hoping she could convince Hector otherwise.
“I can’t believe I fell for your tricks. I should’ve known better. Your fucking brother?”
“Cállate, (shut up) they’ll hear you,” she warned, while looking over at the doors uncomfortably. “I’m dead already, so why should I care? Might as well go out yelling, right?”
“Don’t blame all this on me. I told you my life is too complicated to include you in it. But did you listen? Nooooo, you were so damn persistent. So here we are.”
“You could’ve told me as soon as I told you who I really was. You could’ve said you are a part of the biggest drug cartel in Mexico. I trusted you. That’s the least you could’ve done, if you actually cared about me.”
“Fuck you, Brian. I am not a part of this shit. Why do you think I clean offices? You think I like cleaning the toilets of gringos; scrubbing floors and smelling like a chemical spill? Especially when my brother is worth millions? I do that so I won’t depend on his money to survive.”
Laughing loudly Brian responded, “Bullshit! You live here in this massive mansion with him. Not many office cleaners live in a place like this.”
“I have no choice but to stay here. He’s a wanted man and they’ll use me to get to him.”
“If that’s so, why did you take me to Chalco? A place that’s clearly not too friendly to the Martillo de Dioses cartel.”
“I had no idea my brother lost Chalco to the Escorpiones. Two weeks ago, he controlled most of Chalco. I thought we would be safe there. I was wrong.”
“Oh, that’s the understatement of the fucking century!” Brian snapped back.
“Brian, please calm down. I promise you, I mean you no harm and I will do everything in my power to make sure my brother doesn’t kill you. But could you please stop attacking him and his men?
That could go a long way towards him letting you go. What you did to him just made things worse.”
“I thought he was going to shoot you. I couldn’t let that happen. Even though, I should shoot you myself.”
“I understand, but just before you do, could you fuck me one more time,” she responded, while giving him a mischievous smirk.
“You are unbelievable,” he responded, shaking his head. “Mmm…mmm…mmm…”
“We don’t have time for this,” Brian responded, chuckling nervously. He had an idea what was coming next as he watched Rose open her legs and lean back on Hector’s desk.
“Fuck me, papi, right here on Hector’s desk.”
“Why, so it’ll be easier for him to plant a bullet in my back?”
“No, because I want you so bad. The way you came to my defense against Hector was so fucking hot. You didn’t give a fuck that there were six armed men in this room. You jumped up anyway. Even after finding out he’s my brother. I thought you were trying to play me back at the bungalow when you told me you loved me. But now I know you meant it.”
“I said I think I’m in love with you. But things change, especially being in the position I’m in now.” “Nah papi, you still love your mamacita. You can’t deny it.”
“Do not deny that your brother is a dangerous man.”
“I’ve never denied that, but him having a nuclear device for sale? Now that’s something that I’ll never believe.”
“You’re naïve.”
“Look at Hector; does he strike you as the kind of man with the intellect to pull something like that off?”
Her question stopped Brian from his pacing and he began to seriously consider what she just said. The answer to her question began to reveal other possibilities that started to make a mission that had so many unanswered variables suddenly make perfect sense. Brian was an expert on profiling dangerous men and although Hector was dangerous, he was nowhere near “nuclear holocaust” deadly. Saddam, Isis, the Taliban, Iran…those countries were run by very intelligent and calculating men, with the mental capacity to carry out such a task without remorse or mistakes. Hector, on the other hand, was a thug, smart enough to run the Martillo de Dioses cartel, but not to broker a nuclear arms deal with a terrorist network that spans across the globe. Something seemed off about this entire mission and Rose’s question and meeting Hector in person brought certain details to light.
Before he could calculate further, the office doors flung open with Hector racing in the room, his silver hand cannon in his hand, pointing it in Brian’s direction.
Here we go.
“Rosita, get the fuck off my desk like that! This isn’t some hotel suite…and you…Mr. Optec Oil executive man…your story checked out. So, I’m gonna let you live.”
Then Hector stood next to Brian and whispered in his ear, “Because my sister seems to care about you and you saved her life, you’ll get a pass this time. But if I find out you stuck your Kentucky Fried Chicken in my sister’s taco again…I’m gonna cut it off from the root, cabron.”
Turning slightly towards Hector, Brian nodded while thinking, might as well get your garden tools out.
Hector then turned around and ordered his men to take Brian safely back to the bungalow…
CHAPTER EIGHT
Improvise or Die
THREE HOURS LATER
Brian stood outside the bungalow’s door and hesitate
d before carefully opening it and checking his blind spots. Once he was satisfied that no one could sneak up behind him from the living area, he closed the door behind him. The place was a wreck as he looked over the aftermath of Hector’s men ransacking the bungalow, probably looking for anything that could give them an idea of who he was. Moving further into the bungalow, Brian stepped over the broken glass that Rose cut herself on earlier and the dried-up alcohol that was now covered in dead flies. Brian paused and closely studied the dead insects lying on the floor. Shaking his head, he continued searching throughout the bungalow, making sure he was alone. Once he was certain the bungalow was secured, he went about deactivating the safe house by clearing out the hidden weapons, cash and identification stash.
Twenty-Four Hours Later Undisclosed location, Mexico City
“God dammit, Brian! How the fuck did you blow your cover?” Donald Hamlin ranted in a dark room, with only the light of a small portable projector to illuminate his peach-colored face.
“I didn’t blow my mission, sir. Things are still on track from my point of view.”
“How the fuck are things still on track?” the man yelled, while pulling on his graying hair as if he intended on pulling out two large handfuls by the root. “Let’s assess that notion. What was your mission?”
Hesitating a few seconds, Brian looked down at his hands and then answered; “Rose Ayala was the mission, sir.”
“Okay, and what was the particulars of your mission concerning Rose Ayala?”
“My mission…my mission…” Brian paused and exhaled forcefully, ashamed to say out loud the particulars of his mission.
