by Crow Gray
“Si, I couldn't get anywhere. This town was the only place I could go.”
“Okay. Well, I have a Bronco out back, let's head out there now.”
“Let me move my Mercedes,” Esteban said.
“No need, they know you'll be here. Just leave it,” Axl said, not adding how he wanted them to know he was around. He also was amazed at how easily Esteban had accepted his story. He put the “E” in “Eediot”.
The two men walked out, Esteban holding onto his duffle bag like his life depended on it, which it probably did. Axl just nodded at Mark as they left. The two men had made it around the back when a huge dust cloud was visible in the distance. Esteban and Axl both watched and were dismayed to see it was a convoy made up of the Cartel's trucks, the Yakuza's SUVs and motorcycles.
“Shit. Looks like all your enemies have teamed up to get your ass,” Axl said, wondering how to deal with this new development.
“Oh, this is bad. Very, very bad,” Esteban said.
“Come on,” Axl said, and the two of them ran to the Bronco.
As Axl hopped into the driver's seat, Esteban pushed Rosita over and climbed in beside her.
“Oh great, look who's here,” Rosita said, her disgust obvious.
Axl started the Bronco and drove off, wondering how he could present Esteban to the men without getting them all killed. He pulled around the bar just as the convoy made it into town.
“Señor, why are you stopping?” Esteban said, panic in his voice.
“I'm going to–” Axl said, unsure how to finish the sentence. It was a moot point, as a hail of bullets rained down onto the Bronco. All three factions were firing at them, and Axl had no way of telling them the situation.
Axl floored it, heading for the open desert as Trista and Geoff screamed, and Esteban cursed. Only Axl and Rosita remained silent. Esteban leaned out of the window and took a few shots at their pursuers, but missed.
The entire group was soon chasing Axl as he headed for the nearby mountains, still trying to think of a plan. Bullets were peppering the Bronco, but his modifications were holding. Soon the bikes began to close in, able to move faster than the other vehicles with them.
“Fuck they're going to kill us!” Geoff said as bikers began to surround the vehicle.
“Not if I can help it,” Axl said, whipping the Bronco to the side and sending two of the bikers flying.
Another biker pulled up right beside Axl, firing a double-barreled shotgun right at the driver’s side window. Thankfully, the bulletproof glass held up. Axl rolled the window down to take his own shot before the biker could reload.
The biker wasn't wearing a helmet, and Axl was shocked to see a familiar face. “YOU!” Eric yelled just as Axl fired, the magnum bullet catching Eric in the upper lip and sending his brains through the back of his head along with a shower of blood and bone. Axl fired again, sending another biker to hell as they neared the edge of the mountain range.
“I'm going to drive up the mountain a ways, and then we're all going to pile out and run. Run straight up the mountain. There should be plenty of places to hide. Geoff make sure you bring that shotgun,” Axl said, reaching into the console and tossing a box of shells back to Geoff. He dug further into the console and pulled out a box of magnum shells for himself which he stuck in his pocket.
“Everyone ready?” Axl said. No one answered, but Axl just assume they were.
He drove the Bronco straight up the side of the nearest mountain but didn't get far before the gears began to grind, and it was just too steep to go any further.
“Everyone out!” he ordered, and they obeyed. Everyone scattered, running up the rocky terrain as bullets pinged all around then. They passed a small cave, which Axl herded Rosita, Trista and Geoff into.
“Geoff you stay right here. If anyone except me tries to come in there, blast them to hell!” Axl said. Geoff noticed he didn't mention Esteban, but just nodded.
“Esteban, we have to make a deal with them. Do you still have what you took?” Axl asked.
“Most of it was in the house,” Esteban said. “I only have what I could stuff in this bag, and I didn't take any drugs.”
Axl looked down at the bag, his mind racing. “Okay, hold onto that for now. I have a plan. Do you trust me enough to go along with it?”
“Si,” Esteban said. “What will you do?”
“Just go along with it, no matter what I say. Keep in mind, it's all part of the plan. Don't worry about what I say. It's just something to get us out of this. Got it?”
“I have it, tell them what you must,” Esteban said. “Trick them good, eh?” Esteban said, winking.
The men all parked at the bottom of the mountain, maybe 30 feet below them. They were slowly making their way up, the Yakuza and Cartel members on each side with the bikers in the middle. Axl noticed the bikers were greatly outnumbered, not a surprise considering he'd just taken several of them out himself.
“Parlay!” Axl said, wondering if they knew what that meant. His answer was several bullets aimed his way. “Oh for fuck's sake,” Axl said, taking off his jacket and tossing it the ground. “Too hot for that anyway,” he said. He then took off his white t-shirt and waved it in the air. “Let's talk!” he shouted.
He looked down and saw the group had stopped and seemed to be conferring with one another. “What do you want to say?” a member of the Cartel yelled, ostensibly the chosen spokesman.
“We need to make a deal. We don't want to die, and I don't think you really want to kill us,” Axl said.
“We don't know you, but we want to kill the man with you. Therefore, you all must die,” the spokesman said.
“I know him, and he's gonna fucking die too! He just killed Eric, Tony, Willie, and Gas-can! He's gotta die too!” one of the bikers shouted.
“I'm sorry about that. I was just defending myself!” Axl shouted, not liking the new turn of events. “Listen, we can make a deal.”
“We're listening,” the spokesman said.
“I know where the drugs are. We can turn them over to you!”
“We have our drugs and money back, we just need to take care of the puta who stole from us and killed our friends!” the spokesman said, angry.
“Okay, well, in that case, what if I turn Esteban over to you? Will you let the rest of us live?” Axl shouted.
“Señor, what the fuck are you doing?” Esteban said, having gone white as a sheet.
“Shh, remember, it's a plan?” Axl whispered.
Esteban winked and nodded.
The group below seemed to be still conferring. “Okay, that's a deal. You give us Esteban, and the rest of you can go. We don't know who the hell any of you are, anyway. As far as we know, the rest of Esteban's crew is all dead. We got those bastards living near you, Esteban. I know you can hear me, Morales. Those guys posing as the gay couple? We killed them both. Our Japanese friends beheaded them for us,” the spokesman taunted.
“Ah, they were good men,” Esteban said. “They weren't just posing as a couple, though.”
“We aren't letting that bastard live! He killed too many of our men!” one of the bikers shouted, with the others agreeing. Axl risked a look down and counted nine bikers. The other two groups had twice that many.
“Now listen. You guys can storm us, and you'll probably kill us all. But we have the high ground, and we have guns. We'll kill a lot of you before you can kill us. Wouldn't you rather do this the easy way?” Axl said.
“We have wasted too much time here already. The easy way sounds good,” the spokesman said.
“Okay, so the deal is, I turn over Esteban, and you all go right? Just walk away, and then we'll leave once you're gone.”
“Axl Dane, shut up! You're a dead man!” the biker yelled again.
“Sounds like the Kingsnakes don't like our little deal,” Axl said. “I guess it's the hard way, then.”
Axl watched as the head Cartel man and head Yakuza chief spoke. They turned to their crew and nodded, and within
seconds, the two groups both opened fire on the remaining bikers. The Kingsnakes never had a chance as bullets ripped into them, turning the gang into a troupe of dancing marionettes in the desert heat. The bikers dropped, their bodies ripped to shreds.
“There. The bikers aren't an issue. Now give us Esteban and let's all go home,” the spokesman said.
Axl was a little taken aback by the act of violence he had just witnessed, and was still staring when Esteban spoke. “Such a brilliant plan! You are very smart, señor! Now, I guess you get the two remaining groups to fight and kill one another, and then we walk away? Ah, I love it! Please, señor, hurry. I want to see how you do it!”
Axl looked at Esteban, then down at the men. They were looking up expectantly, and Axl had a feeling they wouldn't wait much longer.
“Okay, a deal's a deal,” Axl said, shooting Esteban twice in the chest with his Colt Python. The look of surprise on Esteban's face would have been comical under different circumstances, but given the red blossoms on his shirt and the chunks of flesh that had just been blown from his back, it just wasn't funny.
Esteban dropped his gun as his body fell, but before he could hit the ground, Axl kicked him down the mountain. He watched as Esteban's corpse rolled all the way down to land at the feet of the men below.
They all surrounded the body, and Axl saw nods as they identified Esteban. Several of the men took pictures with their phones, but then Axl was mortified as he watched the Yakuza behead the body and then present the head as a gift to the Cartel, who tossed it into the back of their truck like a basketball.
“Señor, we thank you. You have nothing to fear from us. You go your way, and we'll go ours. Vaya con dios,” he said.
Axl was still apprehensive as he watched them load into their vehicles, but he felt better about things as he watched them drive away. He finally let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, and walked over to the cave on shaky legs.
“It's over,” he said.
“Are you sure?” Trista asked.
“Yes, I am,” Axl said. They had all seen what happened, and Axl wondered what each of them was thinking of him at the moment. Rosita was the one he was most concerned with, and she must have sensed it.
“You did what you had to do. Esteban killed himself, you didn't. You saved all of our lives. As far as I'm concerned, you're a hero,” she said, kissing him deeply right in front of Trista and Geoff.
“All right, dude!” Geoff said, although whether he was congratulating Axl on saving them or on the kiss, no one knew. Trista gave them a jealous look but said nothing.
Axl walked over and picked up Esteban's gun, sliding it into his belt along with his own. He then picked up the duffle bag as well.
“Come on, let's get out of here,” he said. The group trudged back to the Bronco, which looked the worse for wear but was still driveable. Axl carefully drove back down the mountain and then back towards town. No one spoke on the drive, all of them lost in their own thoughts.
They stopped in the town with no name, all of them filing into the backroom. The two older Mexican men were back, but they were the only customers inside. Axl set the duffle bag on the table and closed the door to the room, having gotten permission from Mark for a few minutes of privacy.
“So what now?” Trista asked. She had been shaken the most by the events for obvious reasons.
“First off, stand up. You and Geoff,” Axl said
The pair looked at him strangely but walked over. Axl opened the duffle bag, displaying huge stacks of cash. Axl grabbed several stacks and shoved them into Geoff's pockets and down his shirt, then did the same to Trista.
“Take this money. I'm going to take you across the border. Then you two are going to get lost for a while,” Axl said.
“Get lost? What do you mean?” Geoff said.
“I mean better safe than sorry. I'm pretty sure the Cartel and Yakuza are done with you two, but no reason to risk it. Stay in the states, or at worst stay out of Mexico and Japan. Just take a long vacation,” Axl said.
“But I have a job and stuff,” Geoff said.
“I just stuffed like a hundred grand into your clothes. You really need to waste time cleaning pools?” Axl said.
Geoff frowned, then smiled. “Good point, dude!”
Axl stared at him, still wondering if he'd ever met anyone more stupid in his life.
“What about my life?” Trista said.
“Be happy you still have one at all,” Axl fired back.
Trista frowned.
“I don't care what you two do. Stay together, go apart, whatever. Just take that money and go. I can't force you, but I won't be responsible for what happens to you if you don't take my advice,” Axl said
So far Rosita had remained seated and listened quietly. Axl turned to her.
“What do you want to do?” he asked.
“What are my options?” she asked back.
“I can give you some money, and you can go wherever you want,” Axl said.
Rosita didn't speak, waiting to hear another option.
“Or you can stay with me a while,” Axl said.
“I'll stay with you,” Rosita said without hesitation.
Axl nodded, betraying no emotion even though he was very pleased by her choice.
“Let's get out of here, no reason to stick around,” Axl said.
Trista stopped him. “Axl, I still need to pay you for what you've done.”
Axl patted the bag. “I have more than I need here. Let's go.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Axl dropped Trista and Geoff off at the bus station. The massacre at the neighborhood would lead to an investigation, but the Cartels controlled most of the law in town, and Axl knew it wouldn't be nearly the issue it would be in any other town. It would be written off as gangland violence, and Trista would be assumed to have fled to Mexico. No one would look for her too hard. Things would cool off quickly, and it would be back to business as usual in Diablo Vista.
Axl took Rosita back to his apartment after they left the bus station. He assumed she was from Mexico, and he'd need to make some arrangements to get her a green card, whether fake or real. However, she explained she had been born in the United States just over the border and was considered a citizen. One less thing to worry about as far as Axl was concerned.
Axl and Rosita were both too tired to do anything but sleep as soon as they got to the apartment, both of them falling into Axl's bed fully dressed and sleeping within minutes. The events had been exhausting, and the two of them ended up sleeping for almost sixteen hours, broken only by trips for water and bathroom breaks. They did finally strip down, Rosita to her bra and thong and Axl to his shorts, but were still too fatigued to do anything beyond admire one another.
After they both felt human again, the two lay in bed together and talked.
“Where do we go from here, Axl?” she asked.
“I don't know,” Axl said.
“Me either,” Rosita said. Neither had had a chance to think the situation over, so there wasn't much to say.
“Damn. I need a shower,” Rosita said, standing.
Axl watched her as she stretched by the bed, his body finally rested enough for him to become aroused. Rosita noticed him watching, and bent over coyly, giving him a great view of her near perfect ass. She reached back and slid the thong down her legs slowly, looking over her shoulder to watch Axl as she did so. His heart beat faster as he got a good look at her tan lines, the best look he'd gotten so far considering it had been dark the first time he'd seen her naked. Her bare pussy lips peeked out from under her ass cheeks, and Axl felt himself stiffen.
Rosita turned, looking Axl in his eyes as she unhooked her bra, exposing her pendulous breasts and allowing them to fall free. The tan lines looked just as good there as well.
“Don't you need a shower too?” Rosita asked, as she turned and headed into the bathroom, giving her hips an exaggerated swagger to be sure her ass looked as enticing as possible.
Axl growled and hopped from the bed, slipping his boxers off as he followed her. He stood at the doorway and watched as she started the water, holding her hand beneath it to check the temperature. She was once again bent over at the waist as if she knew exactly what to do in order to drive Axl wild.
She stepped into the shower and Axl climbed in with her, pulling the shower curtain as she turned the spray on. The lukewarm water cascaded over their bodies and they just relished the sensation a moment. It felt as though not just the physical dust, but the mental dirt of the past few days was being washed away as well. It was a luxurious feeling, and the two grabbed the body wash and soaped one another up. Rosita ran her hands over Axl's muscular chest and shoulders, running her hands down his back. Axl squeezed her tits, lifting them in each hand and feeling the glorious weight as he soaped her nipples, pinching them to hardness. He moved behind her and reached around to cup them, massaging them and pushing them together as he kissed her neck, his hardness pressing against her lower back.
He slid his hands down between her legs, soaping her vulva up and letting his fingers wander, her moans guiding his touch. He slowly kissed down her back, stopping just above her ass cheeks before taking a good look at them. He was only inches away now and was lost in appreciation of her solid buns. He leaned in and kissed them, planting small pecks all over her rounded buttocks. He began to bite them, just hard enough for her to feel.
Axl put his hands on her back, pushing her forward to bend her over. Rosita reached out and placed her hands against the side of the shower as Axl bent her almost double. She felt his tongue sliding up and down her pussy from behind as he began to lick. His tongue on her pussy combined with the warm water running over her body for a fantastic innervation. Axl buried his face into her pussy from behind, the stubble from his beard rubbing against her thighs as he ate her pussy like a wild man. He used his tongue, his lips, even his teeth to work her pussy lips and clit. He grabbed an ass cheek in each hand, hooking his thumbs between them as he spread them so wide it hurt, eliciting a gasp from Rosita before he began to lick. He ran his tongue from her clit, over her pussy lips and over her asshole all in one long lick. Then back down, very slowly but very forcefully.