When the morning would come, the whispers in his head would go away. The mirror in front of him had revealed hideous parts of his soul as if he was staring directly at it. The man in the mirror was Don Isagise, his alter ego. He refused to believe that this was him, a murderer and so came the whispers.
He pulled a stool and placed it before the mirror. There was a table there and a blunt knife that kept begging him to sit down next to it. He paced here and there around the room trying to avoid eye contact with the man in the mirror. There was this thing in his head that kept burning, nonstop, a madness that had finally caught up with him. He raked his fingers through his hair, he took another quick look at the man in the mirror, and realized how distressed he seemed, how weary his features had become.With all his willpower, he drew closer to the stool, to the mirror and he sat down, afraid of his reflection now more than ever. I am not a murderer. His hand reached for the knife and ever so gently his finger ran down the sharp edges. He could use that same knife to serve his veins. No one would miss him. Memories of bad people are always short-lived.The man in the mirror was a bad man and a lot of people were going to die because of him. He watched himself lift the knife higher to his neck until it was right there where he could just tug it violently to the side to end it all. This decision was a result of the many years he had failed to fulfill the promises he had made to the people he loved. No one would have to die in his stead.The door opened. His brother, Maximus broke in unannounced and he had to hide the knife with urgency. Don got up, and shrugged into a clean shirt, for a moment oblivious to the voice of his brother. His only concern now was that the morning had come and the whispers had gone away.“Are you even listening!” his brother screamed at him.“Yes Max, what bothers you?” he answered back nonchalantly. He paced to the window and drew away the shades to reassure himself that his alter ego had gone with the night.“We need to get to the harbor. We are supposed to leave in half an hour”“Why can‟t you just go alone and handle the Gringo brothers. I trust that you can handle the situation without me, little brother.”
“The last time I made a deal with them, they wanted to see the man in the shadows. Trust me, they won‟t do business with us if you don‟t show your face”“Then I‟ll have to take my business somewhere else. They aren't the only ones with explosives”Frustration was building with Max. “ I've told you before if you keep up with this, you are going to get yourself killed. I think it's best if I do the talking, like the last hundred times.”“Am doing this to protect you. It will be much safer for you if our enemies don‟t know my identity”*****The cars lined up outside, ready to transport a dozen men. The morning was distinctly cold. The rays of light strained to escape through the hazy clouds but eventually spread across the ambiance of the camp like a velvet robe. Maximus came out first then his brother. Both had decided to dress aggressively for this event. A technique that had worked in the past to intimidate the enemies. Maximus would have to negotiate with them first. The Gringo brothers were venomous snakes. Nothing about them could be trusted but desperation had led to this unlikely alliance.Two cars took the lead, followed by Donatello‟s Cadillac where he was together with his brother, then the rest of the cars. Security was necessary. Four of the cars would lag before reaching the harbor and some of the men would surround the whole area in case things went south.The harbor was the most unassailable location for the Gringo brothers. There they posed the greatest danger. They had built a reputation for the drug as well as human trafficking. The entire area was filled with shipment containers to their advantage. It only appeared as a maze when viewed from afar. A calm sea lapped against the harbor, periodically sending waves that rocked the ships that waited there.In a while, at a great distance, Don‟s convoy approached. Only three cars could be seen now. The other cars had done as instructed. The tinted glass had offered additional protection and the Cadillac itself had been fitted with bulletproofs. Slowly they maneuvered the cars through theentrance. All the shipment containers had code labels. M105 for cocaine in breakable artifacts to R321 and codes AB42 for human cargo.
They drove through the maze of containers and then spotted a seating of cars in an open space and a party of armed gentlemen waiting there.The cars stopped. A few daring seconds of quietness went by and then the Cadillac door opened. Maximus stepped out and six of his men in the other cars accompanied him. By now he already knew that they were already disadvantaged. They were outnumbered ten to one but most of the danger was posed by the snipers hiding in the shipment containers.Two males pulled away from the other party to meet Maximus mid-way. The first one was a tall, well-built figure in a Hawaiian shirt and brown pants. The other was a slim averaged size male that had a spitting resemblance to the other tall fellow. These were the Gringo brothers.“You are late” the slim one spoke first. “We had to make sure we weren't followed.”The slim one studied him piercingly, then turned to his men as if to discredit their relevance. He looked back at him and said,“Do you have the payments?”“As soon as I see the merchandise” he answered back. A few large cases of the explosives were brought as per instruction from the other party and a briefcase of the case was presented as requested.There was that searching look from the slim one. “How much is in there?” he asked him. “Five million.......”“We agreed on seven”“No, we agreed on five million” his voice went up a level.“Oh, yes” he agreed, rubbing the bridge of his nose mockingly. “It was five million. But you see, we ran into an issue preparing the merchandise and the price just went up”“That‟s not my problem” he answered back in a steady voice.The man thought for a moment, then turned to his mute brother for confirmation.” I think it kinda is” he replied with a grin.“Then am afraid I‟ll have to take my business elsewhere.”The slim one turned to his brother again and then back to him. “I think we‟ll take the money.......and keep the merchandise”Everyone tensed at the mention of those words. “Then we are going to have a problem.........”
“Yeah but you aren't going to do anything about that now will you?” he pointed out as if to insult his men and him. “ You see, we ran into a buddy of yours a week ago who offered us a handsome amount of cash just to have a word with the man behind the tinted glass. I wonder why he never shows his face? Am guessing he‟s just ugly, but that‟s beside the point. What am trying to say is, you‟re not leaving with the money and we need to deliver your employer to our business partner” he spoke casually.There was a sudden hand movement and Maximus‟ hand shot out with a gun. His aim was directed at one of the cars belonging to the other party. An explosion would scatter the crowd and allow them a quick exit. When he shot, the projectile‟s impact was felt by one of the men in the line of fire and immediately guns were blazing with bullets flying everywhere.The Cadillac came forward with speed and in a few eering seconds reached Maximus and made a skidding U-turn around him. Maximus jumped in in a flash with bullets barely missing him. Most of his men had been taken out by the snipers and his backup was nowhere to be seen.Only the driver, Don and Maximus were in the car. Bullets were bouncing off the tinted glass at the time when they raced for the exit. An ear-splitting noise was heard all at once and the Cadillac was tossed a few feet in the air when something touched the boot. The car landed on its hood and a fire ignited at the same time. The driver, unconscious, was hanging loosely from the seat belt. Don crawled out. Something must have been broken inside of him. His brother, Maximus, was gasping for breath. Don reached out and pulled his brother out first.The driver was injured, badly. Don managed to get to his feet and he trudged to the smoking car once more. The car was about to explode. Two strong arms grabbed him from behind suddenly. Another gentleman appeared in front of him and swung a clenched fist into his midsection. Another one landed on his right eye and the final blow almost knocked him unconscious. Drowsily he could hear Maximus screaming behind him.They dragged him away. Blood was leaking from his temple causing a painful pulsation in his veins. There were footsteps all around him but he couldn't see over the fog in his eyes. The shooting stopped and the voices around him became plainer. It was something about the human cargo.“We can‟t risk transporting so many by sea without attracting attention. You‟ll have to dispose of them” one of the voices instructed. Probably the smaller of the Gringo brothers. The same voice leaned over and said, “You hear that El Moruno? You just cost us precious cargo today. Because of you, we are losing control of our shipment rights. Not good man-”
A few of the shipment container doors opened somewhere around the area and dozens of weak screams broke free. The human cargo was led behind the containers near the docks and they were disposed of.Another group of criminals joined the scene and Don was dropped in front of one of them. This man in a black hat with a brown ribbon and a white jacket bent over, grabbed Don by the hair, and picked his head up. “Do you know who I am boy?” From the sound of his voice, it was clear that this man was old. But still, Don could not see all of him because his vision was smoke and fog. “My name is Chaplain,” he began. “I have a daughter, had a daughter, about your age. Her name was Caroline. I lost her last year after she ended her own life so morbidly. Do you know why? Because of some worthless punk that broke her heart. I am going to make you remember her name boy and make you wish you never touched my baby girl.”It was had to recall one girl out of the hundreds he had been involved with over the last few years. Whatever happened to her was not directly his fault, but maybe it was probably best that he paid for the heartbreaks.Don looked up at the man lazily, unwilling to put up a fight
Flashback Fred came back home and stopped a distance from his house. He was drunk and could barely stay on his feet. He felt the dots of rain that started falling from the distant black sky and immediately he spit, then cursed for nothing in particular. He staggered a little more and almost dropped his bottle of beer. He let out another diatribe of insults but almost immediately realized that he was alone in the street, then he quietly matched to the door of his house.At that time of the night, he thought the children were fast asleep but they were still awake and cheerfully playing in their beds. Their mother was somewhere in the house and she was preparing food for her husband, their stepfather. Fred's arrival was announced by the careless manner in which he barged in. His beer was spilling all over the floor and the smell of him was stale.He saw her in the living room. She simply tried to avoid him and this enraged him. There was a look of disgust on his face and a moment later,
Doctor AntoinetteBeauty, divine, an emblem of virtue and purity. Now in the mid-morning, the Cafeteria lights had overemphasized her loveliness, her hair, and her skin. Doctor Antoinette. She would choose to be called something else in any other place. Without the scrub, she could make any man melt because of her beauty. The only consolation she would have at the hospital was seeing Erick, her only brother, and Laura during her lunch break hours.On the 4th of October, her friend, and nurse, Isabella had gone missing. It had been three days now. Because of it, she would have to lie as good as she breathed and pretend her day wasn't as bad as it really was. Laura and Erick were waiting in the Cafeteria and she joined them there.“You are late, again. We've been waiting forever out here.....” Laura started.“Am sorry” she said as she sat down, she laid the coffee cups on the table and slid one gently to Erick, “I truly am. It's just that I've been getting a lot of work lately. I'll mak
Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, in some criminal facility, the innocent nurse Isabella was being held captive. There was a man who was slowly dying in a bed because of the damage from a bullet wound. He had tubes down his throat and machines connected to his lifeline.“I cannot save him, am not qualified for this. He needs a doctor, not a nurse,” she protested against the man in the room.“Just keep him alive long enough for the doctor to get here”“I don't think I can do that either. He's lost a lot of blood. It'll be a miracle if he makes it through the night.”“I've got it handled. I've already sent someone to bring the doctor,” he said. He sat down in a chair across the bed with a file in his hands.“You mean to kidnap her,“ she corrected. “Listen, sir, Selena is my friend and I wouldn't want anything to happen to her.”“No one is going to hurt her,” he told her over the rim of the file, then drew his eyes back to the contents of the file. “ Doctor Selena Antoinette Grey. Surgi
On the highway, in the ebbing light of the evening sun, a gruesome and pitiful picture had been painted. Against the light, a car was speeding but every other thing around it seemed so peaceful. One could almost imagine a song playing, soothingly in the background as the lurid sunset animated the face of the troubled driver in the moving car. If only the car could fly when she needed it.In moments like these, the mind rebels and let‟s you picture the one you love, leaving you, no longer to be there with you. And instantly you are robbed of the memories of their smile, the way they make you happy. All the while, Selena kept crying because of the morbid thoughts that plagued her mind. If she wasn't going to get to Laura and Erick in time, then she was going to lose them forever. She tried to call again, hoping that she wasn't too late.Her wet eyes flickered to the gas meter absently only to realize that the car would stop any minute. She was out of gas and........out of options. But t
Selena woke up and she was wise enough to remain silent. On the other side of her bed, she could feel a woman, a captive just like her, Isabella. All around the room was a dull gloom and a quietness that could echo any attempt to escape. But before she did, she wanted so badly to embrace Isabella whom she was finally reunited. She couldn't piece together how the criminals managed to kidnap her and how she fitted in all this.A creaking door bludgeoned Selena‟s gaze there. A faint light came in with the opening door and a shadow was blocking part of it, a frame of a man. His eyes had at once revealed horrible savagery in them and she found herself wondering about the evil that was going to be done to her.“Why am I here ?”“My brother is in pain. He is dying-”“You should have taken him to the hospital if you cared about him”“Doctor, my men will get you all the equipment you need to save my brother. But not here. We will go someplace safer” he said, “We need to leave before the sun co
The women were given separate rooms, against their will. Selena‟s had a colorful view through a clear transparent window. Everything in the room was covered in white. The bedding was silky white. The pillows where she would moan over the next several hours were snow white and furry.Shades of gray blended with the onset of a storm as misty clouds lanced into view, then thicker they grew out of form. Memories of her family yet again robbed her of sleep. How long were they going to keep her here?She tossed and turned in bed. Heart hammering against her chest. This was a terrible nightmare but she was fully awake. She got out of bed because of the thunder and lightning and walked to the window. Droplets of rain clung to the glass like teardrops. From down below, her eyes suddenly caught the display of muscle cars round about the fountain of water. The cars would make any other girl strip naked, but not her and she looked away. She hurried to the door. No one had the right to keep her aw
“What did you expect, that my past could be as good as yours?” he screamed at her.“I don't care. It's none of my business. You can sleep with anyone you want, ”“You don't get to say that. You don't know what I've been through-”“Is that supposed to justify you sleeping with a hundred women?” she snapped back. “Oh, so you do care after all?”“Am not doing this with you,” she warned in a calmer tone. “Just get out of my room or do you prefer to take away my privacy too as you have done my life?” He glowered at her. “You are going to regret this”“What more can you possibly do to ruin my life mister?” she opposed.“From what I gathered, you had a deplorable life and I just saved you from it.” “Did your little files tell you that?” she mocked with eyes of contempt.“Yes, I've got files on you and everyone else if that's what you want to hear,” he told her, “And I don't have you here by choice. My brother is dying, that's the only reason you have to save your purpose-”“Then what happ