“One last thing,” said Megan, “Throughout this interview you’ve touched on killing people, working for drug dealers. It’s a world I’ll never relate to. But you’ve never said if you were ever in love. Were you?”
Sergio’s body language changed instantly. The cockiness evaporated. His eyes dipped to the ground, then he found a place on the wall. He shifted in his chair. The question came out of left field. Megan knew she hit an iceberg in Sergio’s head.
“What was her name?” asked Megan.
“Don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“It’s written all over your face. It’s obvious she wasn’t just some fling, or one night stand.”
“You’re right. She wasn’t just a piece of ass. I met her when I moved to Modesto, right after I started hanging with the Chicano Boys.”
“High School sweetheart’s?” said Megan.
“I hardly went to school. But yeah, her name was Jackie. Still, the most beautiful I ever seen. And I ran through a lot of women, fuckin’ models, strippers. Those broads couldn’t hold a candle to her. She was more than beautiful. She was smart, always reading philosophy, poetry. Her pops hated me with a passion. Says I was gonna ruin his daughter’s life. He was some professor or some shit.”
“How did she make you feel?” asked Megan.
Sergio smiled. His white teeth showing, cheeks stretched out. “For the first time in my life I found a purpose. Since I was little I was always in survival mode. Just floating through, surviving. And for what? Jackie gave me that purpose. She was like an angel. I was the fuckin’ devil. She would always lecture me about hanging out with different people, staying out of trouble ‘cause she wanted to marry me.”
“So, why didn’t you change when you met her?” asked Megan.
“I did. Before I got popped and sent to the pen we had a plan. Move away after she graduated. I’d get a job, she would go to school. But then she got pregnant.”
“How did you feel when she told you?” Megan could see a small tear sliding down Sergio’s cheek. Maybe he is human after all.
Sergio focused on his leg. He couldn’t look Megan in the face. She could tell this hurt Sergio just talking about this subject.
“Like I won the lottery. I was so happy. I remember that night she broke the news, we lied in my bed, didn’t do nothing sexual, but just looked at the ceiling, talking about names for the baby, if it was a boy or girl. We were listening to New Edition, which was her favorite group, all night long. I’ve never been so happy, except when I heard my baby girl was born.”
“Heard?” asked Megan.
“I was in prison when my daughter was born. I hated myself for not being there. I promised myself when I got out I would always take care of Jackie and the baby, I mean Kim. That was her name.”
“Did you ever see your daughter?”
“Jackie would bring her to see me. This happened for a few years, then she stopped.”
“Why?”
“Jackie got into a car accident. Her and my daughter died.” Sergio said the words as if he didn’t want to believe it. His fists were balls. He pounded them on the coffee table. “I should have been there. I should have protected her. Fuck!”
“Yeah, you should have,” said, Megan, “but you were too busy playing gangster.”
Sergio was caught off guard by Megan’s tone. It was blunt, angry.
Sergio stood up. “Fuckin’ bitch, shut your mouth.”
“Or what,” said Megan, “You gonna kill me too? You broke her heart.”
“You don’t know shit about her,” said Sergio.
“Bullshit. I saw the letters you wrote her from prison. I read her journal. Her heart broke over and over every night you were locked up.”
“Who are you, lady?” said Sergio.
“I can tell by the way you’re looking at me, you already know the answer to that Dad.”
Sergio did a double take. He was mad at himself for not recognizing it when Megan first entered the room. She was the spitting image of her mother. Blonde hair, thin frame, beak nose, but it was those eyes that gave Sergio confirmation. They were luminous, innocent, grateful for what the world gave them.
“No,” said Sergio, “it’s impossible.”
The Marshall went to the living room to coordinate with another Marshall, who came through the door.
Megan stood up and looked at the clock. 12:47pm.
“Whatever you do,” she said to Sergio, “don’t move. Don’t panic. And keep your head down.”
******
David’s phone rang. “Hello.”
“Hola, David. I was thinking,” said Esperanza Valdez.
“Yeah, what about?”
“Our business arrangement. I’ve been thinking about it. I’ve decided to go in a different direction. To show you I’m not completely heartless, I’ll let you choose. Either that niece of yours dies or you do.”
“Fuckin’ bitch,” said David.
“Such harsh words for a gentleman. I’ll be getting acquainted with your niece very shortly. The decision is yours. Call you later on with the details.”
David hung up and dialed. “It’s me. She fucked us just as I knew she would. I’m on site. Take out the targets outside. I’ll go through the house.”
The Marshalls came back into the room, unholstered their guns and pointed them at Megan.
“Fuck is this?” said Sergio.
“Esperanza,” Megan said, “bitch went back on her word.”
“Esperanza Valdez?” asked Sergio.
Just then the sound of gunfire erupted outside.
“Fuck is going on?” said one the Marshalls.
The other one disappeared, heading for the door but was struck in the head by a bullet. He dropped to the ground.
In a panic, the other Marshall threw Sergio on the floor and pointed the gun to his head. The next thing Sergio heard was a gunshot. He patted himself, searching for the bullet. He couldn’t find one. The Marshall dropped to his knees, blood oozing out of his head. A slim, muscular man stood in front of Sergio, gun in hand.
“Holy shit,” said Sergio, “David?”
“Hello big brother,” said David.
Sergio grabbed on to the backend of the couch, pulling himself up. “What the fuck is going on?”
“This isn’t the time. We got to get the hell out of here.”
David handed Megan a gun. “Back door. The truck’s waiting for us.”
There were two men with AK 47’s in their hands, coming in from the front door. “Look out,” said Megan, pushing David out of the way. She fired three shots, hitting both men square in the chest. Sergio didn’t know what to make of the situation.
David grabbed Sergio by the arm, Megan led the charge out the back door. Outside a dark SUV waited for them. They piled in. A young man with a crewcut was the driver. “Go, go, go,” screamed David.
Sergio looked out the back of the window and saw cars on fire, gunshots invaded the air.
The driver was wearing an ear piece. He turned to David. “Just received confirmation sir. All targets have been terminated. The rendezvous point is clear.”
The SUV made a sharp turn down a bumpy road. Sergio could see up ahead, a small plane, the propellers spinning round and round. Two men dressed in Army fatigues, with machine guns standing guard.
“Let’s go,” said David.
“Where to?” asked Sergio.
“All your questions will be answered in time big brother. Let’s go.”
*******
“Where are we?” asked Sergio.
“One of the safe houses I use. In a little town called Mt. Shasta.”
“Time for answers,” said Sergio.
Megan stepped forward. “For years, I’ve tried to find you. It was only when you got busted, started to do these interviews. I knew there was a price on your head. I didn’t want to expose myself as your daughter for fear of retaliation so David contacted Esperanza Valdez, asked for her help to get close to you.�
�
“I know Esperanza. She wouldn’t just agree to help you out of the kindness of her heart. She wanted something.”
David interjected. “I agreed to help her transport her drugs into the country and train her men in weapons training, hand to hand. She’s got an Army. I became expendable when my second in command betrayed me. I knew she was never going to keep her part of the deal so I had my men spread out in the fields, outside of the house. I put a tracking device on Megan. She knew I would. She wanted me to bust in, try and save Megan after she called me on the phone telling me she fucked me. I promised her I’d kill you after Megan interviewed you.”
“What’s her motivation?” asked Sergio.
“Set me up. I bust in, guns blazing, her guys take me out, the next day it’s all over the news. I can see the headline now: Man gets into a shootout with cops, trying to rescue his drug dealer brother. A huge egg on the face for the Feds. I’m the patsy. Your dead, can’t testify. It’s a win, win.”
Sergio stepped closer to his brother. “You like some special agent or something?”
“After you went to prison I left home. Joined the military, saw a little action in Bosnia, joined the Special Forces, started going on covert operations, shit that makes Mussolini look like a choir boy. There was one thing. I started to like it. I’m ashamed to say I’ve killed women and children but it wasn’t in vein or malice. I decided to go into business for myself.”
“So, are you like some mercenary?”
“More like a liberator,” said David.
“But mom? For years she was worried sick.”
“Big brother, I left because of her.”
“Why?”
“You know why. The same reason I changed my last name. I know what she is, so do you.”
Sergio looked off into the distance. He didn’t want to admit it, not to himself, not to his brother, and now his daughter.
“When did it start?” asked Megan, “when did your mom start showing you how to kill people?”
Sergio sat on the couch. The truth was out. He couldn’t hide it any longer. All color drained from his face. “I knew she killed my father, your grandfather. I walked into the basement at our old house. I was just a kid. I see my father tied up, bruised, looked like he went twelve rounds with Ali. He sees me. He’s got this scared look on his face. Never seen anything like it. He’s begging me to help him, pleadin’. Next thing I know, there’s a hand over my face, I blacked out. I knew it was mom.”
“How?” said Megan.
“Then when I was a kid, I didn’t, but later on I did. I was fourteen. I went into the garage and saw our landlord, Mr. Banks lying on a table, duct tape covering him. Mom comes up from behind me, tells me she has to kill Mr. Banks ‘cause he tried to kick us out. She hands me the knife, tells me if I don’t kill him we are all going to be homeless. So, I killed him, stabbed him. I felt nothing. I figured he was an enemy. He was going to hurt my family, so fuck that. That was the first time. After that, mom would take me on killing sprees. She would usually kidnap them, take them to the woods or an old building or something. We’d take turns, killing, burying them. We’d take something from them. A watch, necklace, piece of hair, something. It was an ego thing. Power trip. Guess you can say I acquired a taste for it.”
“Victims,” said Megan, “how many were there?”
“Fifteen, twenty. I lost count.”
Megan pushed Sergio. “Bastard! Do you know? No, you don’t. Your mother killed my mom, the love of your life.”
“Fuck you talking about?” said Sergio.
“Your psycho mother thought that my mom was taking you away from her.”
“I don’t’ know what you’re talking about?” said Sergio.
David interjected. “I went over to see Jackie, make sure she was doing OK. I knock on the door. I get no answer so I go through the back door. I walk in and see Jackie stabbed, beaten. I see Mom in the bathroom with a butcher knife to your daughter’s throat. I can’t tell you the feeling I felt at that moment. Your own mother trying to kill your niece. I call out, mom sees me, tells me it’s God’s will. She has to kill her. I end up wrestling the knife out of her hand. Mom takes off, out the door. I take your daughter, raise her as my own. I placed her with a friend while I was in the military.”
“The way she smoked those two dudes, I’m guessing you trained my daughter.”
“I tried to talk her out of it,” said David, “pushed her to go to school but this is what she wanted.”
“Why didn’t you come to me? said Sergio.
“You’re kidding, right?” said David, “What kind of life would she have with you? When Mom left, I went back to her house, that’s when I found newspaper clippings about the murders you and her committed, items she took off the victims. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t know who this woman was or who you were anymore.”
Sergio held up his hands, waving them around. “Mom was the one who told me Jackie and Kim… I mean Megan, were killed in a car accident. Said the bodies were burned bad, nothing left. And then you just disappearing, what the fuck else did I have to live for? You should have came to me. I wouldn’t have gotten into this shit. I would have…”
“You’re a killer!” said Megan, “it’s who you are. It’s what you are.”
Sergio tried to grab Megan’s arm. “Baby, I’m so sorry, for everything. You and your mom were my world.”
Megan pulled away, turning her back.
“What’s going to happen with Esperanza?” asked Sergio.
David said, “She puts a price on our head.”
“So, you run? Move around from country to country for the rest of your life? Fuck that.”
“Got a better idea?” said David.
“Get Esperanza on the phone,” said Sergio.
“Excuse me,” said David.
“I’m the real threat. If I’m out of the way, there’s no need to come after you.”
David and Megan exchanged a glance, before David dialed the number, handing the phone to Sergio.
“Yes,” said Esperanza. Sergio noticed a sprinkle of panic in here voice.
“Hola mommy,” said Sergio, “it’s your favorite killer.”
There was an air of silence.
Sergio continued, “Bet you’re scared. Missed your shot. I’m still here.”
“Not for long,” said Esperanza. “Before I kill her I’m gonna make you watch as my men torture your daughter.”
“You touch her, my brother and I’ll send a package to the U.S. Attorney. I got everything, where you keep your money overseas, recordings of you and me talking business, murder, all the good shit. See, I didn’t rat you out. The Sinaloa Cartel did. I only gave up the mob guys, but I know you don’t believe me and now that you know I got this info, I’m guessing you want me dead.”
Again Silence.
“What’s a matter mommy, dick in your mouth?”
“Smart little boy,” said Esperanza, “where do we go from here?”
“I give myself up. You leave my family alone.”
“Maybe I underestimated you,” said Esperanza.
“Problem you got mommy, is you live in a bubble, don’t think anyone’s gonna pop it. You don’t realize people are lining up ready to pop that motherfucker. We got a deal?”
“OK, but if you...”
“One more thing. I know how good you are at keeping your word so I took out an insurance policy. I got a guy who’s sittin’ in an apartment somewhere in the world. Each week he will receive a fat envelope from me and will continue after I’m gone. His job is to check in with my brother, once a week, face to face. If for some reason my brother, or daughter gets hit by a bus, lightning strikes, that envelope stops. And your days are numbered. Not only will he kill you but your kids, your dog, goldfish, anybody you care about. We understand each other.”
Esperanza chuckled, impressed. “May they live a long and prosperous life.”
“I’ll call you tomorrow with a meeting place.” Ser
gio hung up.
“You know she’s going to kill you,” said Megan.
“I know.” Sergio went over to Megan and touched her shoulder. “If I had known, maybe things would have been different.”
Megan embraced him. “There’s someone we brought here to see you.”
Sergio stepped back. He went into defensive move.
“Come on,” said Megan.
Sergio reluctantly followed her and David to one of the bedrooms. When Sergio entered, he could hardly believe his eyes. His mother sat in a chair, tied up. Megan ripped off the duct tape covering her mouth.
“Sergio, my baby,” she said, “help me.”
“How could you?” asked Sergio, “Jackie was my life.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Megan slapped her across the face. “Shut the fuck up Loretta. At least have some dignity before you die.”
Loretta Ramirez spat at Megan. “Bitch, you and your mother took my son away. Fuckin’ ruined everything.”
“That’s why you killed her, Mom? Cause you thought she took you away from me?”
Loretta Ramirez was foaming at the mouth. Even though she was trapped like a fly in a spider’s web she was still trying to take back the power. “I tried to help you,” she said, “Shield you from the horror of this world.”
Confessions of a Vigilante Page 11