by Finian Blake
“I have a relief come in for a few hours each day so that I can retain my sanity,” Laurita said. “If you have time we could have dinner later.”
“We are at the Gaudi hotel. Call us when you know the time.”
“Perfect there is a restaurant, not far from there that has excellent Catalan cuisine. I will make a reservation for eight and pick you up at seven. I think that you will love it.” Laurita kissed both Anna and Alex warmly on the cheek sending them on their way.
Laurita walked back in the sick room. She kissed Juan tenderly as he looked at her desperately.
“Will he do it?”
“He will do everything that you asked him to do. I do not think that he will do what you really want him to do.” Juan gasped and rocked back on the bed his body arching in pain. “Will you do it?”
“You know that I cannot, but I think I have found somebody that will.” Juan smiled and relaxed. Laurita presented herself as being one hundred percent loyal to Juan. He was both blessed and cursed by loyalty. She carefully climbed on the bed and tenderly stroked his face.
“You will only see one more sunrise.” She left the bed and went to prepare for dinner. Her relief was Paul their chauffer. After Laurita had passed on her instructions she prepared for the evening. Before she left she rubbed a small quantity of pepper sauce in the corner of both eyes which made them red and watery.
“Please watch him carefully and make sure that they give him his pain medication. I will be back around eleven.”
Laurita made it a point to be early and Anna was still getting ready. Alex did not think twice about admitting her while Anna was still in her lingerie. Laurita took the opportunity to comment on the quality of her clothing.
“That is custom made lingerie where on earth did you find someone that makes that?” Anna looked at Alex.
“You do not want to be bored by our talk. Why don’t you go down stairs and start a bottle of wine? We need to prepare for the evening.” Anna left no room for argument, so Alex took the hint and left. Laurita looked for Anna’s purse once more and not trusting her Anna made it a point to keep it by her while she was preparing. Laurita reclined on the bed and Anna could see her red eyes.
Laurita pushed, “You are loyal to ‘Hermes’. If I offered you a million dollars would you kill Alex?” Anna did not break her concentration putting on her make up knowing that this was a test. She did not even look at Laurita.
“We both know the answer to that. Why do you even ask?”
Laurita continued with her questions, “Do you think that Alex would kill Juan?” Anna instantly saw the direction that the conversation was moving. “Juan wants me to kill him. That is why he insisted on having Alex come here. He does not want to die of rot and he does not want to be killed by an enemy. I cannot do the job myself. I promised to find somebody to do it for him. Right now, his enemies would just as soon let him rot, so Juan wanted Alex to do the job.”
Anna countered, “Alex would never break loyalty at this point. I know that he will refuse.”
Laurita went straight to the meat of the issue, “I love Juan. I cannot do the job and I cannot refuse him. You have killed. I can tell by the way that you are prepared. Juan will go to a million for the job. Can you do it?” Anna shook her head no.
“That would break loyalty with Alex, and you know what that means. I must ask his permission to see if he will approve.” Anna sat down on the bed and stroked Laurita’s cheek. “If he approves, I will do it as an act of compassion. I do not want or need your money.” She could see the anticipation on Laurita’s face. She did not know whether it was the relief for Juan or saving the million. Laurita was intrigued by Anna’s ‘do not want or need’ comment, there was no sign of arrogance in her speech just confidence.
Alex walked in the room to see Anna still in her underwear sitting on the bed with Laurita. She was reclined on the bed looking nervous. He knew that something was wrong. Anna waved her hand toward her.
“Laurita has brought us a request from Juan.” Alex did not like Laurita’s delay in making the request.
“Juan would like you to kill him. He does not want to die from rot, and he does not want an enemy to kill him.” A sad expression came over Alex’s face.
“I have done everything he has ever asked me to do. I cannot do this.”
“I thought that you would turn this one down because I know how loyal you are to Juan. I asked Anna to do the job.” Alex shot a surprised look at Anna.
“Alex, it is an act of compassion,” Anna said softly. “She offered me a million dollars. I told Laurita that I would do it gratis, if you approved. As an act of compassion it should not have a price. Remember what Sarah did for Terri.” He said nothing. Alex walked out on the terrace with Anna stopping Laurita from following. He spent ten minutes on the terrace looking out on the city.
Alex walked back into the room and took Anna’s hand.
“Alright you can do the job, but we cannot do it in the hospital. We need to figure something out.” He poured three glasses of wine and reclined on the bed next to Laurita watching Anna as she finished preparing for the evening. Laurita studied him as he watched Anna.
“Alex, you really do love her.”
“She is a true partner in everything.” Laurita sipped her wine deep in thought wondering how deeply Anna was involved with him. She was obviously no push over. Anna was prepared to walk out the door when Laurita came up with an idea. “I could take him home to die and he could be assassinated on the way home.”
“Is there a place along the way that might be suitable?” Anna asked.
Laurita answered without hesitation, “Yes, we pass through a large park. There a few traffic lights along the way for pedestrians.”
“You should call the hospital and make arrangements with the doctor after we leave the hotel. We can think it over while we have dinner.”
They walked down to a small restaurant that was emanating a marvelous smell of Catalan cooking. The owner greeted them at the door. They ordered a bottle of Alicante wine and an appetizer platter of olives, cheese, fresh vegetables and bread. The three conspirators sat watching the foot traffic move along the side walk. Laurita casually compared it to Mexico City. Anna was surprised to find out that she was really Mexican, since Laurita’s Catalan was so natural that Anna assumed that she was from Barcelona.
“Juan brought me here when ‘Hermes’ changed our names as you know he is a genius at identities. We made a home here.”
“You and Juan are Mexican?”
“I am Mexican, but Juan is Italian. The Government would not leave him alone. Alex had to kill him.” This story sounded familiar to Anna.
“Who were you before the change?” Alex jumped in the conversation firmly.
“That is not open to discussion even after Juan is dead. Laurita still has to worry about enemies.” She looked at Anna with a sad look.
Laurita huffed proceeding with a pained recital, “Alex is such a tyrant about these things. Juan’s family is from Barcelona and my family is from Castile.”
Alex smiled, “That is better. Now, don’t forget your history. The only past you have is what I gave you. I promised your father twelve years ago that I would keep my eye on you. Nothing has changed, nor are things going to change. I made a promise to Juan and I am not going to break it.”
“Juan is your father!”
“Not this Juan, Mooney killed him and took his name.” Anna had a look of complete shock on her face. She knew Alex could do a lot, but this was beyond belief. How could Laurita give such fierce loyalty to a man that killed her father? Alex studied Anna, he trusted her with everything, and now she was going to do this.
Alex sighed, “I promise that I will tell you when it is just the two of us for now let us stick to what needs doing.” They went through the possibilities and came up with an acceptable plan. Laurita went back to the hospital to insure the cooperation of Paul their chauffer.
When morning arrived, the doctor
verified that Juan’s home care was arranged and signed the release papers. The doctor wanted him to go in an ambulance. Juan refused to go home in anything, but his new Mercedes. Paul and two nurses loaded him in the back of the car. Laurita climbed in behind the chauffer. The Mercedes pulled out from the curb moving along with traffic. Juan kept the windows down for fresh air. As they started into the park Laurita took out her Glock, chambered a round putting it on the floor as Alex had instructed her to do. Anna was standing on the curb waiting by the pedestrian cross walk as agreed. Alex was standing twenty feet behind her looking for pedestrian traffic and seeing none Alex signaled a go. If there were any witnesses, Paul would make another run through the area. Alex found it easy to look at the area surrounding the Mercedes for witnesses not wanting to see what Anna was about to do. Anna walked up to the window looking inside of the Mercedes.
“This is your last chance. Do you want to change your mind?” Juan looked at her giving the signal that they agreed upon. Anna fired two rounds from her purse into his chest and one into his forehead. She fired three more rounds into the seat of the car next to Laurita. The shots were no louder than a cough. Paul drove off calmly looking for the right moment. As Paul continued through the park Alex put his arm around Anna crossing the wide boulevard walking to the metro stop a few blocks away. While they were walking he removed the piece of leather from the end of Anna’s purse replacing it with one of the spares. When the Mercedes hit the first stop light it was the third car back from the light with no other cars behind it, this presented the perfect situation. Paul started beeping the horn ramming the back of the car in front. The tires were smoking and Paul kept pushing until he could pass the car in front of him. He drove on for a few blocks pulling to the curb with the horn still blaring. A police car spotted the disturbance racing up to the car. As the police car pulled up Laurita was hiding behind the car splattered with blood and screaming.
“They killed him. They killed him.” Laurita was pointing across the street. “They went that way.” Paul had his gun out standing over her. The police called for backup making Paul put his gun on the ground. There were five police cars surrounding the Mercedes within ten minutes. There was no doubt that Juan was dead. They found Laurita’s unfired Glock on the floor of the car with one round in the chamber. She was screaming, “I was too slow. I was too slow.”
Alex took the first Metro train three stops down and went up to the street. He threw the piece of leather that he removed from the end of her purse in a waste bin.
They caught a cab to the private terminal at the airport where he talked to the manager.
“We decided to stay for a few more days. We need to make arrangements to park the plane.” They went out to the Otter and lifted the floor panel. Anna placed her purse under the floor panel and Alex screwed it down. Alex went back in paying for the maintenance that was to be performed. They caught a cab and rode back to their hotel in silence. On the way back they stopped at a shop and bought another purse for Anna. She loaded her makeup and other personal items in the new purse. When they went to the desk to pick up their room key, there was a message at the desk. ‘JUAN HAS BEEN SHOT. I AM AT THE POLICE STATION’.
Anna cried, “Oh my god! How do we get there?” The hotel manager took them down to the police station personally. Alex and Anna asked the officer at the desk for Laurita Garcia. Anna’s, Spanish was perfect. She inquired about Juan. As the detective told her that Juan was dead, her knees sagged and she leaned against the desk. Alex marveled at her acting ability. The officer behind the desk took Anna back to the officer in charge of the case.
“We are friends of Juan visiting from America. How is Laurita?”
“She is shaken but unharmed. They are questioning her as we speak. She had a weapon which was approved because she was his bodyguard and his daughter.”
“Can I talk to her after you talk to her?” The detective escorted her into a room asking questions about her morning. They called Alex into the room trying to interrogate him.
“I need an interpreter.”
“We will have one in an hour.”
“I would like to use mine.” They finally allowed Alex to use Anna for an interpreter. After a few hours they released everyone. Alex and Anna both promised not to leave Barcelona until their departure was approved. After a long day answering questions Paul drove them to Juan’s house and they all took a good stiff drink. Laurita lifted her glass, “To my father.” They tapped their glasses together and drained them. “The police believe that the target was supposed to be somebody else. They believe that the real target was the Minister of Finance who was due to pass through the park at the same time. The incident with Juan forced his car to reroute and put the police on high alert.”
Alex interrupted Laurita, “We are required to stay until they clear us. I need to secure our hotel room for a few more nights. I should take Anna back to the hotel.” Anna was starting to show signs of stress. Laurita could detect the pressure showing in her eyes and Alex was feeling guilty, since once again Anna did what he would not do.
Alex took Anna back to the hotel informing the Manager that he would need the suite for several days more, but unfortunately, Alex was only able to book one more night, since there was a big fashion convention in town and the hotel was fully booked. He called back to Laurita asking for her help. He ordered two bottles of wine and a selection of fresh fruit, olives, cheeses and breads. Alex ran a warm bath so that Anna could soak the tension away. When the service cart came, he tipped the waiter and rolled the cart in the bathroom. Alex sat on the floor pouring the wine feeding Anna as she soaked. Alex seemed to be detached.
“I never had a problem with guilt, but for the first time I am having a major problem.”
“For letting me show some compassion,” Anna asked.
“No, I feel guilty for having you do what I would not do. This is the second time, I stuck you with a job that I would not do.”
“I am glad to hear that because it makes you human. You have a strange code of honor, but there is honor in it. Was Juan’s code of honor the same.”
“No, we have similar codes, but I draw the line sooner than he would. He made the mistake of thinking that if he did what the government would not do, they would turn a blind eye in appreciation. The same people that asked him to do these things hounded him to the grave and once he was in the grave they tried to take everything he had.”
“Who was he?”
“We will just call him Mooney. Names are incidental anyway. The last two contracts were at the request of the government. After he started they did everything possible to screw him up. They screwed him over completely until he had to die. The plan was mine and I arranged the details.”
Anna was unhappy too, letting her Russian accent slip through. “You mean like selling guns to the enemy, so that they can shoot the soldiers that they put in the field and importing drugs that they send people to Siberia for?” Alex snorted and his wine came out of his nose, “Exactly, I will tell you the story when we go to Laurita’s house. Let’s leave it alone for now. If I am going to tell it, I want her help. I was told that a secret is something that only one person knows.”
Anna stood up removing his clothes while she was still standing in the tub. She pushed him back on the bathroom floor stepping out of the tub soaking wet straddling him.”
“You promised Edward a brother.” They made love tenderly and when they were through they dressed for a walk around Barcelona. They started their walking tour with the Sagrada Familia Cathedral designed by Gaudi. They enjoyed the mixture of wide Boulevards and narrow streets. They walked for a few hours. When they returned, Paul was waiting for them in the lobby. Alex was instantly concerned. Paul walked up with an apologetic smile.
“Laurita does not want to be alone tonight. She was wondering if you would come to the house.” The voice was one he had heard many times. Paul was the voice of ‘Mercury’. Laurita had him deliver the orders to keep people fooled into thi
nking that ‘Mercury’ was a man. The ruse kept Laurita safe and hidden. Alex looked to Anna and she nodded her ascent. They went up to the room quickly packing up their belongings. The bellman brought their luggage down to the Mercedes. It was the older limo that Juan kept for reserve. The primary car was impounded by the police as evidence. He looked around the car and had a thought, Mooney liked to hide money in the car in case he needed to run. He would have a discussion with Paul later when they arrived at Juan’s villa.
Laurita greeted them as they pulled up to the door, “Thank you for coming. I need someone that I know to stay with me.” The home was a mansion. There were several rooms and a patio with a swimming pool in the back of the house. On the opposite side of the pool was a pool house with a conversation pit built around a fireplace. In the pit there were a selection of pillows of different sizes and different covers. Juan had it swept for electronics on a daily basis as a matter of habit. This was Juan’s security room. Laurita had the house swept just before they arrived. Paul put their luggage in the guest wing which was opposite of the living quarters. Laurita had a selection of hot and cold appetizers prepared by her house keeper Constanza asking Alex and Anna to carry the refreshments out to the pool house. They selected something to eat settling into the pit. Anna put her feet on Alex’s lap.
“Rub my feet darling.” She worked her feet seductively as Alex started his attentions. Laurita started the conversation.
“Thank you for your compassion. Why did you shoot so many rounds in the car? I thought that you were a better shot than that.”
“I wanted to make it look like they tried to kill you too. That is why I had you throw your gun on the floor. We needed to make it appear as if you tried to defend Juan. You went for your gun and they shot at you. All of the extra holes went where you were sitting.” Anna turned to Alex, “Tell her what my price is.”
“Anna wants to hear your story. She wants to know why you are so loyal to the man that shot your father. I said that you must be present to correct any exaggerations that I make.” Alex hesitated. “I would like to do that tomorrow. Tonight I would like to comfort an old friend.” He put his arm around Laurita’s shoulder kissing her on the cheek. Anna thought that he would comfort her with something more than a brotherly kiss.
