A deep wave of anguish washed over Cristal. It was the closest she ever felt to him in months.
She went on to observe the rest of his apartment. Her gaze lingered on a few pictures of him. She managed to smile, thinking how handsome he was. She picked up a few of his books and skimmed through them. She carefully walked around his apartment and absorbed the way he lived. He definitely was a single man. And he lived alone. There was nothing to tell her where he might be. Whoever took him was quick and stealthy. His knapsack and laptop were still left in the apartment. She picked them up to take with her. There were no other clues for her to pick up.
She left the apartment covered in a black hoodie and dark shades. Each step she made was a cautious one. She carried a .45 and several knives. The knives had saved her life in New Orleans. She had to worry about more gunmen coming her way, another lone assassin ready to earn her stripes, or a sniper perched on a rooftop yards away ready to put a bullet into her head.
She climbed into a cab and headed back to the motel.
Cristal had what she needed from his apartment, and now it was time to go analyze his laptop and the contents in the knapsack. Seated at the desk going through his laptop and being online for several hours, she was able to track his phone to a location right outside of Pittsburgh. Why was he in Pennsylvania? She didn’t have time to linger; it was time for her to go. She packed her things and left the motel room. This time instead of taking the Greyhound, she planned on taking a car. It was a risk driving in a stolen car, but time was of the essence. She needed to be in Pennsylvania yesterday.
*
It was four in the morning when Cristal arrived in Pennsylvania. I-79 was covered with falling snow and some ice, and it was biting cold, with the temperature below 25 degrees. Pittsburgh felt arctic, like the next ice age was coming soon. Driving in a Ford Taurus, she had the heat on blast and the radio playing. Cristal downed cups of coffee and kept focused.
Her GPS took her off the interstate and onto Rochester Road, a two-lane main road bordered by trees and shrubbery on both sides. The road was icy, winding, and dark, so she had to take her time driving. Close to her destination, she turned right off the road onto a narrow dirt road.
Her final stop was an isolated farmhouse nestled deep in the woods. The snow was profuse, and the land stretched for miles. This was where Daniel was being held. She knew it.
She climbed out of the car and opened the trunk. She went through the duffel bag filled with guns and knives and readied herself with multiple weapons.
Cristal knew it was a trap, but she had to do this. She was tired of running, and if going into the farmhouse meant she would die, and die with Daniel, then so be it. She knew that whoever took him hadn’t done it to let him go. It was like that psychic Ida had prophesized.
She sheathed her knives, holstered several guns, and trekked through the snow carrying a Heckler and Koch machine gun. If it was an ambush, then she was determined to take a few out with her before she met her Maker. From a distance, she staked out the place with her binoculars and looked at every angle. The farm was dilapidated and seemingly untouched since its occupants had left years ago. The snow-covered remains of a dismantled tractor sat in the field of the farm. She didn’t see anything else—no threat, no shooters, no life—around the farmhouse. She looked for footprints in the snow. Nothing.
She took a deep breath and proceeded toward the house cautiously. Each step to the farmhouse was a nerve-wracking one. Her eyes darted everywhere. She kept the gun poised in her arms. She had an eerie feeling as she slowly walked into the place. It was a mess and it was dark, with dusty shelves, broken-down furniture, spider webs everywhere, and moldy walls. The rank smell was insufferable.
Cristal went room to room, until finally, her heart dropped with dismay and grief. She had found him. He was bound to a chair with his throat cut open. Cristal immediately ran to him and scooped his body into her arms.
Overwhelmed with grief, tears streamed down her face. “Daniel!” she cried out.
A range of emotions flooded her body—sadness, rage, guilt, and anger all went through her. He was a good man and didn’t deserve dying in some filthy, abandoned farm.
She released him from the chair, and his stiff body fell into her arms. The frigid weather had slowed decomposition, but she could tell that he had been dead for some time. Cristal held him close. She was on her knees and so deep in pain and grief, she didn’t hear the threat approaching from behind.
Suddenly she felt the silencer placed to the back of her head. Aoki had gotten the drop on her. Cristal didn’t flinch; she didn’t care anymore. She wanted to die.
“Me thought yuh would be a challenge,” Aoki said.
Cristal remained on her knees and continued to hold Daniel in her arms as best she could. “You didn’t have to kill him,” she said.
“Him die cuz of yuh,” said Aoki. “There’s no room fah love.”
Cristal calmly and slowly turned her head toward Aoki. She wanted to look the bitch in the eyes.
Aoki gave her the pleasure. She wanted to see Cristal’s eyes too before she killed her.
“I know you,” Cristal uttered.
“Yuh don’t know me.”
Cristal knew Aoki was the female assassin that people were praising on The Farm. She’d secretly idolized this bitch for years.
Still locking eyes with Aoki, Cristal smirked. Her tears had stopped falling, and now she seemed focused again.
Aoki still had the gun pointed at her head. She would do what others failed to do, kill this bitch Cristal and move on with her life. She thought she’d hesitated for too long, though. She simply wanted to look into Cristal’s eyes, see into her tortured soul before ending her life.
“Gudnite,” Aoki uttered.
Her index finger squeezed the trigger, but not before Cristal reacted precisely, and in a split second, knocked away the gun from Aoki’s grip and it simultaneously went off.
Bak!
The bullet whizzed by Cristal’s ear, and she leaped at Aoki and plunged a knife into her leg.
Aoki hollered and stumbled backwards. Now it was an equal battle between them.
“Yuh fuckin’ bitch!” Aoki hollered.
Cristal unholstered her own pistol and fired at Aoki rapidly, four shots in succession. Bak! Bak! Bak! Bak!
Aoki swiftly took cover behind a dividing wall as bullets tore into the old walls of the farmhouse. Aoki wasn’t down and out yet. She had a little surprise for Cristal. She had weapons stashed everywhere in the place.
She reached for an UZI and opened fire back at Cristal. The machine gun fire splintered the walls and shredded everything in the surrounding area.
Cristal had to duck and take cover, her own fierce weapon, the Heckler and Koch, out of her reach. She shot back with her pistol, but was overwhelmed with bullets coming her way from the UZI.
The farmhouse had turned into a World War III battleground.
“Yuh gon’ die tonight, bitch!”
Cristal took one final look at Daniel’s body lying on the cold, dirty floor and sulked. She had to leave him. Though she had injured Aoki, there was no telling what kind of booby traps and weapons she had stashed elsewhere, or if she had reinforcements coming. She couldn’t chance it. When the opportunity came for her to escape, she seized it. She bolted from the farm with Aoki shooting at her and disappeared into the woods and darkness.
Aoki cursed loudly. Now, it was likely that Cristal would be hunting her, wanting payback for Daniel’s death.
Twenty--Nine
AZ was elated when the call from Pena finally came. Pena told him that another shipment had come into the States. A thousand kilos had arrived in Miami, and half of that was heading toward New York and would be in the city early the next day. Every kilo was his. Pena gave him the location of the pickup point.
But there was one th
ing that worried AZ, and that was Mateo. Heavy Pop was right—there was something off about him. He was asking too many questions and seemed nervous. What if Mateo was working with the feds? Just the thought of it being true made AZ sick to his stomach. If true, how would Oscar take the news? It was a worrisome issue that he needed to deal with right away.
The house was quiet. Since he’d kicked Wendy and the boys out, the home felt like a ghost town. There was no laughter or quarreling, just one empty room after another. AZ barely stayed home. He spent his nights in the bar or in New York. He had gotten word that Wendy and the kids were staying at her sister’s place in Glen Burnie. He didn’t miss her at all. In fact, he was glad she was gone. AZ relished time alone in his home. He needed to think. He needed to take care of a few problems.
AZ got on the phone and called Heavy Pop. Two rings later, Heavy picked up and AZ said, “We’re on for tomorrow morning. I’ll be in town.” He kept their phone conversation brief. There was no telling if the feds had their phones tapped.
AZ hung up and poured himself another shot of vodka, his liquid healing. He walked toward the window and stared outside. With February right around the corner, the winter was still significant in Maryland. The weatherman had forecasted more snow, up to six inches this coming weekend. AZ was tired of the snow. He was tired of walking in it, driving in it, and dealing with it. Maybe after this deal in New York, he would take a trip somewhere warm, Miami probably, or Las Vegas. He would enjoy the warm climate, spend some money, and have casual sex with different men. If he went to Vegas, he would get a luxury suite and gamble. If he decided to go to Miami, he would take in the nightlife and prowl their lengthy white beaches. It was time for a vacation.
His trip to New York was hours away. Until then, he wanted to escape sexually. Of course, Baron was on his mind. It’d been a while since they’d linked up. He was in the mood to see him. He called, and Baron answered.
“I really need to see you tonight,” AZ said.
“I’m with my family,” Baron replied.
“Can you break away from them for a moment? It’s important.”
Baron sighed. “I’ll try.”
“Two hours. You know where.”
After their called ended, AZ poured more alcohol down his throat.
*
It was eight thirty and AZ sat in the parking lot of the Quality Inn on Security Boulevard in Woodlawn, Maryland. He sat in the driver’s seat of his Benz truck smoking his cigar and waiting patiently for Baron to arrive. After his rendezvous with Baron, he was going to jump straight on the interstate and drive to New York. His idea was to leave tonight, beat the traffic, and settle into a hotel in the city.
He watched a pair of headlights turn into the parking lot of the motel from his rearview mirror. The closer they got, he could see it was Baron’s silver Benz coming toward his truck. AZ could feel his erection growing in his pants. Baron parked next to him and stepped out of his Benz dressed sharply in a black three-piece suit and white tie. AZ smiled.
Baron climbed into the passenger seat of AZ’s truck, and the two kissed for a moment.
“It’s good to see you again. I missed you,” AZ said.
“I missed you too.”
AZ lit up when he was around Baron. The man was handsome and smart. His head game was fierce and he was endowed.
“What’s important?” Baron asked.
“I’m leaving for New York tonight on business. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone. I had to see you before I leave.”
“How long is long?” Baron asked.
“Maybe a month, maybe two.”
“That long, huh?”
He nodded. “And I’m no longer with my wife.”
“Why not?”
“Infidelity issues.”
“She knows about us?” Baron asked, sounding worried.
“I know about her. I caught her cheating.”
“Ironic, seeing that you’re seeing me.”
“Our business is cool . . . it’s safe,” AZ assured him.
Baron sighed profoundly. It looked like he had something on his mind.
“What is it?” AZ asked.
“I love my wife, and I love my kids,” Baron told him.
“And?”
“And this sneaking around coming to see you, it’s taking a toll on me. My wife is starting to become suspicious. She’s starting to ask questions. She thinks I’m having an affair.”
“You are.”
“Yes, but she thinks it’s another woman.”
“You don’t want to continue seeing me?” AZ asked.
“I do, but I feel we need to slow things down.”
“Well, I’ll be away for about a month, will that slow things down enough?”
“I want this, AZ, but I have to think about my family too. And my father, I told you about him. He’s a frantic homophobe. If he ever finds out about us, you know what he will do to me.”
“We’ve always been careful, Baron.”
“I know. It’s just I can’t afford to have our business get out.”
“It won’t. I promise you that, Baron. But since you’re here, let’s have some fun. Give me something to remember you by while I’m gone.”
Baron managed to smile.
AZ unzipped his pants and showed his erection. His heart was pumping fast, and he could feel the blood rushing inside of him. The way Baron made him come was unbelievable. He was better than any bitch at sucking dick.
Feeling Baron’s thin lips wrap around his erection, AZ closed his eyes and leaned back into his seat. This was the perfect remedy that he needed. Sex. Baron’s head bobbed up and down sprucely, manifesting pure perversion in the front seat of the Benz truck.
“I wanna come in your mouth,” AZ said, breathing harder. He moaned and wanted to explode.
As AZ felt himself swimming in paradise, the passenger door suddenly flew open, and a man shouted, “What the fuck!”
Everything stopped. Both their heads spun in the direction of the voice, and there was Baron’s father glaring at them. He grabbed his son roughly and snatched him out of the truck. Baron stumbled from the seat and fell to the ground, landing on his side.
His father started to kick him vehemently. He cursed, “You fucking faggot! You shame our family’s name with your blatant homosexuality! How dare you!”
He was going to kill his son. He kicked and stomped Baron. Seeing his son committing a homosexual act in a motel parking lot, and on a black male was an abomination. “I’ll kill you for sucking that nigger’s dick!” his pops shouted angrily.
Baron’s wife had called and poured her heart out to her father-in-law, suspecting something was off with her husband. Baron’s father decided to get to the bottom of what was going on. His father used his clout and had a tracking device placed on Baron’s car. When Baron left his family suddenly, she called the father. The tracking device led him to the motel in Woodlawn.
Baron could hardly defend himself from the vicious attack by the man who’d raised him. “I’ll fucking kill you! You fucking faggot!”
AZ had to do something. He quickly fastened his pants, reached for his gun, and hurried toward the beating. He aimed his pistol at the man and shouted, “Get the fuck off him!”
Baron’s father stopped kicking his son and shot a wicked look over at AZ and growled, “You know who I am, you nigger? I will have you destroyed for this. You turned my son into a faggot!”
“I didn’t turn your son into anything, he’s just being himself.”
“You lying nigger!”
AZ was getting tired of hearing the word nigger spew from his mouth. He wanted to shoot this homophobic racist so bad, but he didn’t need that kind of heat on him. The man was an aristocrat with connections all through D.C.
AZ shouted, “Back the fuck up, old man, or I swear
, you won’t leave this parking lot alive.”
The man clenched his fists. If he became any redder, he would have turned into lava and scorched the place.
“Baron, you okay?” AZ asked him.
Baron was hurt badly. He managed to slowly pick himself up from the concrete. He pressed his hands against his ribs, and they felt broken. He was curved over in pain. His father had definitely done a number on him.
“Let’s go, son,” his father said with authority.
Baron looked saddened. His whole world had been suddenly turned upside down. The cat was out of the bag. He had been caught sucking another man’s dick, and by his father no less.
“Baron, you don’t have to go. Fuck him!”
“You mind your damn business, you black faggot! You have already done enough damage to our fucking family. Baron, get in your damn car, and let’s go.”
Baron glanced at AZ briefly with a sad, broken look, and then he did what he was told. He went to his Benz and got inside. The door shut. He couldn’t look back at AZ. His father stood near AZ and continued to fume. AZ lowered the gun from the man.
“I’m not done with you, you fucking nigger! I swear I will end you. What you did to my son, I won’t forget. You will regret this day.” He pivoted and marched away.
AZ watched them both leave. He sighed heavily. What the fuck just happened?
AZ couldn’t do anything else but climb back into his vehicle and leave for New York. Business still needed to be taken care of.
*
AZ arrived in New York before midnight. He checked into a Hilton in downtown Brooklyn and called Heavy Pop the moment he settled in.
An hour later, Heavy Pop came through, and the two went out for drinks at a bar nearby. AZ had a lot on his mind. With Heavy Pop listening, he cried the blues about his marriage and fake kids. Heavy was a good ear. The two shared stories about the good, the bad, and the ugly—about bitches and the streets.
As AZ continued to throw back shots, Heavy Pop was starting to become concerned about his drinking. The men managed to laugh despite what was going on around them. Mateo was still a grave concern.
Killer Dolls, Part 3 Page 17