by Leo Romero
“Ah, there you are, young man,” Vincent said, pulling up sharp.
“Yeah, here I am,” Dom replied, staring at the carpet.
Vincent eyed him with concern. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah. Just thinking about my dad and Eddie again.”
Vincent’s eyes rolled downward. “Eddie is proud of you. And your father would be too.”
Dom nodded. “Yeah, you’re right.”
Vincent patted him on the shoulder. “Come along, Dominic. Time is of the essence.” Suddenly more upbeat, Dom followed Vincent as he led him down the stairs. Trixie was already there in a pair of tight black pants and turtle neck. By her feet was her duffle bag.
On seeing Dom, she smiled. “You ready?”
He took a quick breath. “Yeah, I’m ready.”
A pat on his back made him spin. He was faced with Vincent. “Take care out there. And keep a close eye on Trixie.”
Dom nodded. “I will.”
“Don’t worry. Lionel and his group will take care of you. He’s a good fellow.”
“A goodfella, huh? Maybe that’s just what we need.”
Vincent chuckled. He looked past Dom at Trixie. “Watch yourself, Patricia. Okay? No playing the heroine again.”
“Okay, Daddy,” she said with an innocent grin.
Vincent grumbled under his breath.
Dom chuckled.
“Here,” Trixie said, handing something to Dom.
Dom glanced down. In her hand was a smartphone.
“Take this. I’ve given one to Troy as well.”
“I’ve already got a phone,” Dom said.
“Yeah, but this one’s better.”
Dom shrugged. “Okay. If you insist.” He took it and put it in his pocket.
“Come on, let’s go,” Trixie then said, picking up her duffle bag.
They left the mansion and got in the waiting Land Rover. Dom started her up. Trixie wound down her window, letting in the light rain.
Vincent appeared by her side. “God be with you both,” he said to them.
Dom noticed the emergence of a tear in his eye. “We’ll be okay, Vincent,” he reassured him. “We know what we’re doing.”
Trixie reached down and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. “Bye, Dad.”
A small smile appeared on Vincent’s face. “Good luck,” he said.
Dom waved Vincent goodbye, and then pulled away. He blew the air from his cheeks; nerves were brewing in his stomach. What if that was the last time he ever saw Vincent?
Just don’t think like that, he told himself. Think positive!
It was the fear of the unknown playing on his mind. He had no idea what was waiting for him, and the fact they had no weapons made things worse.
“I don’t know what we’re gonna do about not having dart guns to use down there,” Dom said, expressing his concern as he pulled away from the estate. “Those things have saved my ass on more than one occasion.”
Trixie’s eyes stayed fixed on the wing mirror as they moved down the driveway. “Don’t worry, it’s all under control.”
“Oh, okay. It’s all under control. I’m starting to realize control around here means winging it; thinking on your feet.”
Trixie turned to face him. “In my experience, that’s the best way.”
“Er, I tend to disagree. Failure to plan is a plan for failure.”
“Okay, Descartes.”
Dom whipped his head around to face her. “Day-what?”
Trixie rolled her eyes.
CHAPTER TWELVE
They both slept for the duration of the flight. They arrived at Tijuana airport in the early morning, groggy and hungry. Dom dragged himself out of the airport to be met by a blazing morning sun. He put on his shades and stared out into the shimmering horizon while Trixie went and arranged a taxi.
He was glad he decided to dress light. The heat difference between Tijuana and Chicago was like night and day.
“Dom,” Trixie called, and he turned her way. She was hanging out the back of a yellow taxi. Dom went over and threw his stuff in the trunk.
He jumped in shotgun and beamed at the driver; a bald Mexican guy with a gray mustache. “Hey, buddy!”
The driver grinned in return. “Hola,” he said, adjusting his rear-view mirror. Hanging off it was a small picture of the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus.
“I’m Dom, this is Trixie.”
“American?” the driver asked.
“That’s right.”
The driver’s eyes lit up. “I love America. Welcome to Mexico! I’m Carlos. Where you going?”
“Valle del Paraíso,” answered Trixie.
Carlos’ grin vanished in an instant. “Valle del Paraíso?” he echoed in a hot whisper. “No, no, no, señorita,” he said shaking his head and waving his hand. “I don’t go there. Too dangerous.”
“Dangerous?” Dom repeated.
“Si, amigo. Too, too dangerous.”
Dom heard Trixie sigh. She whipped out a handful of cash. “Would this make it less dangerous?” she asked, shoving the money between the two front seats and in Carlos’ face. Carlos rolled his eyes down to the cash. He licked his lips. He was hesitating, which told Dom the guy really didn’t wanna go down to Valle del Paraíso.
Carlos’ shoulders then slumped. “Okay, okay,” he said, snatching the money and stuffing it in his shirt pocket. “I’ll take you as far as I can.”
“That would be great,” Trixie said, sitting back and crossing her arms over her chest.
Carlos gave Dom an uneasy glance.
Dom grinned at him. “Let’s go, amigo,” he said.
Carlos put on a pair of shades, threw on some Latino music, and then pulled away.
After a long drive through baking hot highways lined with palm trees, Carlos abruptly pulled up. Dom jumped forward in his seat.
Carlos turned down the Latino. “End of the line, amigo,” he said to Dom.
Dom looked out of the windshield. They were at the bottom of a valley, sand-colored mountains climbing either side of the highway into the distance.
“This Valle del Paraíso?” Dom asked him.
Carlos pointed up the highway. “Si. Valle del Paraíso up there. I don’t go in there. Too dangerous.”
Dom checked out the scene ahead. Dotted up the mountainsides were small houses and shacks. There was no one else around. “All right, amigo. Here have a tip,” he said, pulling out a bunch of pesos from his wallet. He handed them over to Carlos.
“Muchas gracias,” he said. “Enjoy Mexico!”
“Loving it already, buddy,” Dom said.
Trixie grabbed their bags and opened her door. “Gracias,” she said to Carlos, stepping out.
Dom got out. The second he closed the door behind him, Carlos threw the car in reverse and zoomed back, his tires screeching on the tarmac. Dom spun his head around to catch a glimpse of Carlos frantically spinning his wheel. The car flipped around one-eighty, and burned down the road, before vanishing into the shimmering horizon.
Then, they were alone. Dom puffed his cheeks; already the searing temperature was enveloping him. Man, this heat’s insane.
The tarmac below his feet had a soft quality about it as if the sun was melting it. Sweat plastered his clothes to him; he could literally feel his skin sizzling. “No wonder the vamps can’t stand it,” he said as he threw his baseball cap over his head. He looked up at the brilliant blue sky; the sun blazed down on him like a tyrant.
He looked around. In the far distance, rugged mountains surrounded the area like jagged thorns. Protruding from the dirt around them were cacti, some with exotic pink and yellow flowers sprouting wildly from within them. In the near distance were squat stone houses of varying hues of blue and green, some just bland old white. And not a soul in sight.
“Where the hell am I?” Dom asked himself as he turned in a small circle.
As he went, the whole world shimmered with heat waves as if everything was dancing. The loud sque
ak of grasshoppers rubbing their legs together punctuated the silence.
Trixie went and stood next to Dom, handing him his duffle bag. She wafted her flushed face with her hand.
“So what do we do now?” Dom asked, placing his shades on.
“Beats me.”
Dom glanced up at the sun; it was a yellow circle of absolute fire. “I don’t know how much of that I can take,” he said, pointing at it.
Trixie blew out her cheeks. “First time in Mexico, huh?”
“First time anywhere.”
“Well, you’ll just have to get used to it.”
A loud rasp of tires from behind tore the silence in two. They both spun to be fronted by a Humvee with blacked out windows. Sitting in the back were men with mean faces. They were all aiming assault rifles right at Dom and Trixie.
Then from behind came more roaring engines; within seconds, they were encircled by three similar vehicles with identikit guys in the back, all aiming rifles.
Dom gulped. His hands shot straight up into the searing air. Trixie froze, eyeing the guns with alarm.
“Hola!” Dom said, attempting to put on a smile even though it was the last thing he wanted to do.
One of the guys aiming a gun turned his head to side and spat.
“Nice to meet you too,” Dom mumbled to himself.
The passenger door of the nearest vehicle then swung open. A small pair of feet touched the dirt, before a petite figure stepped out and stared at them from behind her shades. Her long curls bounced over her shoulders as she threw the door shut. Her caramel skin was coated in a light sheen of sweat that gleamed under the sun. Her mouth was a gash across her face; she exuded anger out of every pore.
Dom glanced down at the submachine gun hanging from her shoulder. She grabbed it and aimed it with the expertise of a well-trained soldier. She marched toward Dom and Trixie, her breasts bouncing beneath her vest. A crucifix hanging around her neck rested between them.
She stopped a few feet away from them. A diminutive but central figure.
She removed her shades; she now stared at them both with beautifully lashed, deep-brown eyes that flashed with vibrancy and life.
Dom felt his jaw drop. She was a firecracker.
“Who are you? What do you want?” she asked in a rapid and aggressive tone, her perfect English unhindered by her Mexican accent.
“We’re looking for someone,” Trixie said, her eyes never leaving the girl.
“Are you tourists?” the girl asked.
“No,” Dom said in a voice that to him sounded weak. He glanced up to see his hands in the air like a wuss. He threw them back down, cleared his throat and lowered his voice an octave or two. “We’re looking for Lionel,” he said. “We work for Vincent Beauchamp. This is his daughter.”
The girl stared at Trixie hard for a second. “Lionel?” she then echoed, flicking her eyes over to Dom. “Lionel’s dead,” she said, her eyes brimming with sorrow.
Dom lowered his head. “Oh. Sorry.”
“Los Verdugos shot him in cold blood. They’re the cartel in control of Tijuana. Lionel was the leader of the autodefensa, us, la Sagrada Família, the Holy Family. We’re resistance fighters against the cartel. We were getting close to Los Verdugos’ boss, el Víbora, the Viper. His gangster hideout is at the top of this valley.” She pointed up the highway. “That was when they killed Lionel. I’m Lionel’s daughter, Alicia.”
“I’m Dom, this is Trixie.”
“Nice to meet you. We’ve been expecting you; we just had to make sure of who you were because you’ve just walked into the middle of a war zone.” She smiled. “I don’t know who this Vincent is, but we’ve still got access to my father’s emails and I saw messages sent between them both. They were obviously friends. And a friend of my father’s is a friend of ours. This Vincent said you two could help us.”
“Maybe we can help each other,” said Trixie.
Alicia stared at her for a second or two, and then nodded. “Welcome to Mexico.”
“Well if the greeting’s anything to go by, this should be a blast,” Dom said to Trixie in a quiet voice.
Alicia turned to her guys. “Bajar las armas,” she said.
They all lowered their guns.
Dom relaxed.
“Come on,” Alicia said to Dom and Trixie. “We’ll take you to town so we can talk.”
“Sounds good to me,” Dom said with a grin, stepping toward Alicia with much enthusiasm. “Get our bags, Trixie,” he said over his shoulder.
Trixie’s jaw dropped. “Yes, boss!”
Dom ignored her. Instead, he kept his focus on Alicia.
Alicia gave him a return smile. “How was your trip?” she asked him in a casual tone.
“Great!” Dom lied. “I love flying.”
“So what are your first impressions of Mexico?”
Dom ran his eyes down her slim, tanned body, that thin sheen of sweat causing her skin to glisten in the sun. He smiled. “Hot,” he replied.
Trixie followed up, feeling like a third wheel as she struggled with all the baggage. One of the Sagrada Família guys came over and offered to take her bag for her.
“Thank you,” she said as he then dumped it in the back of a truck like it was a bag of trash. “Thanks,” she then said without much enthusiasm. He then curtly ushered her over. He grabbed her arm and yanked her up and into the back of the truck with a few other guys. While that was going on, Dom was shown into the front seat of the Humvee complete with air con. He was laughing and smiling with Alicia the whole way like they were long-lost friends.
Trixie rolled her eyes. She turned her face up to the sun; it was beating down on her, something she wasn’t used to one iota. Chicago’s gray skyline was more her style.
She heard Dom laugh one more time before it was cut off once the passenger door shut. “Thanks, Dom,” she said to herself, glancing at the mean faces surrounding her, some of them obscured by bandannas. She sighed and sat back, the sun cooking her.
One of the guys handed her a bottle of water.
Trixie took it. “Gracias.”
“What’s your name,” the guy asked.
“Trixie.”
“I’m Rafa,” he said with a half-smile.
Trixie returned the faint smile. “Pleased to meet you.” She threw the cap off the bottle of water and gulped it down. It was warm and gritty, but right then, it was good.
The vehicles then all started up, and they headed along the highway toward the houses in the near distance.
They pulled up outside a series of small shacks. Chickens flew in terror as the Humvees approached. Somewhere nearby a grazing goat was bleating. Beyond the village were lush fields of golden corn that rose up to the perfect blue sky. Some of the trees that were dotted around were bursting with the greenest limes Trixie had ever laid eyes on. The only time she’d seen them was on a store shelf in a plastic wrapping. Seeing them dangling off the trees in such a picture perfect climate gave them a sense of vitality, health.
The guys in the vehicle with Trixie got out. Rafa turned and offered her his massive hand. Trixie thanked him and took it.
Rafa helped her down and stood tall, his broad shoulders widening. He gave her a pleasant smile. “My pleasure, señorita.” He gave her a final smile before he turned and headed away, giving orders to the other guys. Trixie watched him go, his lats flexing whenever he pointed here and there.
The door of one of the other vehicles swung open and with it came Dom’s laugh. The sound of it made Trixie’s top lip curl up. Dom stepped triumphantly out, holding the door open for Alicia. She got out and the laughs started up again.
Trixie shook her head. Dom caught her stare. He cocked a thumb her way before he finally left Alicia alone and headed toward Trixie. He reached out a hand.
“Well, you two seem to be getting on just great,” Trixie noted, shoving his duffle bag into his hand.
“Who, me and Alicia? Yeah, she’s a cool girl. Plus, she’s pretty damn hot,�
� Dom whispered to her.
“Well maybe you need a cold shower to cool you down.”
“Yeah, you know I could kill a cold Bud right about now. It’s hot down here, huh?”
Trixie gave him a hard stare. “At least you got to be in the shade for the drive. Try sitting in the back of one of those.” She swiped the sweat from her forehead as she spoke.
“Well, why didn’t you get in the front of one of the other cars?”
“Uh—”
Before she could respond, Dom clapped his hands together. “Hey, maybe it’s not gonna be so bad down here after all. We got good weather, hot babes. All we need now is a bar.”
Trixie poked a finger into his arm. “Hey! Just remember why we’re here.”
Dom showed her his palms. “Woah, woah, cool down. I know why we’re here. Jeez.”
“We don’t know these people,” Trixie reminded him in a lowered voice. “Okay? So, just play it safe.”
“Hey, safe is my middle name. Dom ‘Safe’ Dempsey.” He flashed her a grin before marching off to catch up with Alicia.
Trixie grabbed her forehead. He was acting like he was on vacation. She hoped the novelty would wear off quick.
Alicia led them toward one of the biggest buildings in the small town. “This whole town is now deserted thanks to Los Verdugos,” Alicia said as she opened the door. “They’ve all fled in terror or been killed.”
Inside, it was sparsely furnished. A couple of fans were placed at either end of the main room, both on full blast. Some old, beaten couches were pushed up against the walls. Other guys were already sitting on them, rifles on their laps.
“Levántate!” Alicia said to them, slapping them on the knees. They stood and cleared the way, taking their guns with them.
Alicia nodded toward the empty couch. “Take a seat,” she said.
“Thanks,” Dom replied, putting his bag down on the floor and then taking the weight off his feet with a satisfied groan.
Trixie went and sat next to him. She immediately began fanning herself with her hand.
“My cousin Rafa will get us some drinks,” Alicia said to them. “What you guys want?”
