Laughing Eyes: Bittersweet Familia (3)

by Melissa Jane

  “Drop your fucking gun!” I ordered to the flailing man. He had fallen to his knees, his left hand covering the wound just below his groin.

  “You almost shot my fucking dick, asshole.”

  “I missed on purpose. Now put your fucking gun down.”

  He ignored the instruction and lifted his weapon, the metal and stone-studded handle gleaming in the distant street light. Aiden shot off two bullets, one hitting the man’s raised arm, the other where every male would hurt.

  Another agonized scream bellowed out from the wounded man, his gun dropping to the ground as he clutched his genitals, strangled sobs spewing from his mouth. At the entrance of the alley, the hookers who had struggled to see through the dimness, now knew what had transpired. Their raised voices filtered down the corridor as onlookers gathered behind them.

  “We need to get the hell out of here and fast.” I said to Aiden as he kneed his man in face. It was a sickening blow and one he wouldn’t be waking up from anytime soon.

  “There is a door down to the left. We can’t go back out onto the street.”

  The door was ajar, a light filtering through the crack. Strong smells wafted out of the kitchen that was still abuzz with workers. The staff barely even noticed as we snaked our way through the cramped space, the tiles slippery with spilled dish water and grime.

  A few sets of curious eyes followed us as we crossed from one end of the restaurant to the other.

  Back on the streets, keeping our heads down we soon came across what we had been searching for. In the middle of town, with wide glass frontage covered in security grills stood a gun and ammo shop.

  Pressing the red button positioned to the side of the door, we heard a faint buzz from inside as we waited. A few moments passed before an unfriendly face greeted us.

  The man with a wide girth held the door semi open as he rang off something in Spanish, his belly moving with every syllable. Aiden engaged in the short conversation which was terse from the beginning. The banter continued and the tone soon changed. Our now nervous and somewhat frightened looking shop assistance working up a furious sweat.

  “What’s he saying?” I asked Aiden who was now reaching behind for his Glock.

  Also noticing the impending threat, our unhospitable host moved quickly to close the door, his once beady eyes now wide with fear.

  He was too slow and messing with the wrong people. My boot jarred the door startling the already on edge man. Pushing my way in, he took several steps back, his hands raised in terrified surrender.

  “He says he is just filling in for someone,” Aiden began, keeping his eyes trained on our trembling target. “Says that he was ordered not to let anyone in.”

  “Well that didn’t work out too well for him.” I pulled my own Glock out laying it on the counter, my finger itching on the trigger.

  “Do you speak English?” I asked.

  He looked to me, pursing his lips before holding his finger slightly apart.

  “Good enough! Where is the owner?”

  “Getting more.” He gestured around the shop, which had a massive range of weaponry on display in glass cabinetry yet at least half the room seemed to be behind lock and key offering zero visibility of the products.

  “Where does he buy from?” Aiden asked.

  Our man looked to us, his face suddenly drawing a blank.

  “Who does the owner buy from?” I repeated, my words slower.

  “I no understand.”

  “Bullshit!” Time was ticking by and this man was obviously too terrified to talk. Pointing my gun to his head, he squeezed his eyes closed and muttered a prayer between sobs. I did feel a twinge of guilt. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But I needed answers.

  “Last chance, buddy! Who does he buy from?”

  “Please,” he begged. “El Leon, he will kill me and my family.”

  “Your boss buys from El Leon?” Aiden queried, his curiosity piqued by the sudden change of tone.

  “Yes. He owns everything. This place, the whole street. Police too scared to help. You cross him, you die. And bad. Rodrigo, three doors down, was dragged in middle of street, his….his…” Lacking the words, our man fisted his hand and ran it along his wide belly, indicating this ‘Rodrigo’ had met an awful fate.

  It sounded all too familiar.

  “Where does El Leon live?” I asked.

  He now looked defeated, his shoulders slumped.

  “In a white house,” he replied through sobs.

  “He lives in a white house?”

  He nodded his head furiously determined to get this over and down with.

  “Come,” I said, grabbing him by his sweaty singlet, leading him to the door. Looking around the street, only a few people loitered fifty yards away. Dragging him out, we faced the mountain top that looked over the city. It was dark yet I knew the positioning of the “white house”. The cliff face was dotted with an assortment of mansions, their lights twinkling in the night sky.

  “Is that the one?” I said, pointing in its direction.

  He nodded his head, this time with less enthusiasm. “Yes.” His one word reply was barely audible.

  “Thank you, your help is appreciated.”

  The man didn’t seem convinced. He looked to me like he had just been delivered a life sentence.

  “We’re done, you can go.”

  His eyes darted around the street nervously as he took three hesitant steps back. After a brief pause, narrowing his vision to something down the lane, we watched as he walked back into the shop, not even closing the door behind him.

  Aiden heaved a heavy sigh, fatigue starting to get to us both. “At least now we have the right house. If what he was saying is true -”

  A sudden blast from inside the shop had us both crouching to the road, eyes glued to the entry. “What the fuck was that?”

  Deep down I already knew. The guilt I had felt earlier came flooding back in waves. The few people down the street, watched, but were far from alert. Perhaps they too were used to the horrors of this place. The violence clearly wasn’t just promised to the jungle, but also to the city folk.

  Cautiously, we made our way to the shop, both with our weapons still drawn.

  The scene before us was one we hadn’t expected.

  “Fuck!” Aiden summed it all up.

  The man’s fear had been real.

  The terror in his eyes hadn’t all been for show.

  Slumped against the counter, a thick smear of blood behind him, our informant lay dead. A bullet to the mouth sealing his fate.

  ***

  The gates to the cliff-side mansion was manned by a security team, each sentry sporting a high-powered machine gun.

  “This will be interesting,” Aiden whispered. We were only two hundred yards down from the entrance behind a large power box on the opposite side of the road, a position ideal for scoping the targets.

  “He’s not shy of flaunting his blood money.” I said, as we both looked through our binoculars at the lit up architects masterpiece that adorned the cliff. “Luckily one of us is well versed in dealing with this sort of arrogance.”

  “Fuck you, bro!” I snorted with laughter at Aiden’s response. I could tell he was smiling when he said it, but there was an edge to it also. “What do you see?”

  “I’m not quite sure yet. You need to be somewhere?” I asked, amused at his attempt to change the subject.

  “Hector wants me head back home.”

  I cast him a curious look. “Do you want to go back?”

  “What do you reckon?”

  “No, I don’t reckon you do.” Aiden didn’t have to, but he felt like he still owed some servitude to the man.

  “How many of them are there?”

  “I’m can see five. I think we are good to go,” I said, already moving to set up my sniper rifle, “I’ll take the northern sentry, you cover the southern corner and entry.”

  Five minutes later we were poised to take our first ro
und of shots. The sentries only moved every few minutes which made them easy targets.

  “On your go,” Aiden said, his eye glued to the scope.

  “Ready….now!”

  Our shots were fired and seconds later the first two men dropped to the ground. Moments after that, another two, and then the last who barely had time to position his machine gun.

  “Let’s go.” After disabling our rifles we repacked them in the large duffle and hid the bag in a row of shrubs. Whatever was taking place next would be close up contact.

  Using bolt cutters, Aiden opened the metal door of the electrical box preparing to short circuit the wires. There was no doubt El Leon would have his humble abode monitored from every angle so taking out the security cameras would no doubt be a disadvantage to him.

  “All right, lights out.”

  In an instant the entire cliff face fell into darkness, only the soft glow of the moon highlighted the western face of the mansion.

  “Game on, bro,” I said with a hint of excitement, “Let’s get this fucker then get the hell out of the country.”

  Danny

  Glocks at the ready we headed straight around to the cliff-side entrance. Huge glass frontage dominated the patio area which was adorned with European furniture.

  We stopped just short of an alcove when the sound of a man’s eager voice could be heard.

  “What’s he saying?” I whispered to Aiden, our Spanish translator. My own ability was fair to reasonable, but his was excellent.

  “He’s trying to get a hold of the man we just shot. Asking him what the deal is.”

  “How many are there?”

  “Just one by the sounds of it.”

  “He’s yours.”

  “That’s gracious of you,” He quipped.

  “I aim to please.”

  Seconds later the man collapsed on the wooden deck, his radio clattering next to him.

  “Behind you!” Aiden said quickly, his Glock already raised taking aim at the guard behind, killing him in an instant.

  Testing the folding doors, they moved easily with the slightest touch, granting us immediate access.

  “Why have all this security if you can’t even lock the doors?” I asked in disbelief.

  “That’s a good sign. Means the fucker is most likely here.”

  “Or we are walking into a trap!”

  Inside the spacious lounge, our green night goggles picked up no heat. The area was clear with the exception of some wine glasses, half-filled sitting on the coffee table.

  “Another good sign,” I mouthed into my head piece. We cleared the first floor with nothing worth further mention and headed to the stairs. With Aiden leading the way, I observed the discarded lingerie strewn across the marble steps and balustrade.

  “He’s been busy.” I tossed a barely-there lacy bra at Aiden who caught it with one hand.

  “Lucky for some.”

  While I took the first room on the right, Aiden disappeared through to the left.

  “You could have had Luiza, you know,” I said quietly.

  “I could have. Plenty of times, but I’m not keen on easy.”

  We met back out in the hall that was wide enough to have two cars parked side by side.

  Aiden froze, his eyes glued to the end. “Did you hear that?”

  “Fucking hell, don’t tell me!”

  Making a line straight to the far room, I peered around the corner, my finger caressing the trigger. Aiden gave me the nudge as we both stormed the room.

  “Face down on the mattress, hands straight out!” I yelled, terrifying the occupants. What followed was a series of unexpected high-pitched banshee screams from the two women who occupied the king-sized four poster bed.

  “Face down!” Aiden followed, his business-like tone having the desired effect on the women. They complied with his instruction, their hysteria now turned to fearful sobbing. He shone the flash in their faces, eyes rapidly blinking from the glare. Both were naked, make up smeared across their features.

  Listening to the steady flow of conversation as Aiden quizzed the girls, I maintained half my gaze to the hall entry. From what I could tell, all occupants in the house were in this very room, but I still wasn’t one to take chances.

  After further investigation and a gun held to one of their heads, the confession we needed was finally revealed. I knew Aiden wouldn’t shoot them, but his art of persuasion was working a treat.

  El Leon was gone.

  Apparently he had left some time ago after getting his rocks off. From their continual pleading, even with the threat of death, they didn’t know where he was or when he would return.

  Anna

  “Anna, wake up. Get up now!” Luiza’s voice startled me from my already troubled dreams. There was something about her tone that had my heart pounding before I even opened my eyes.

  “What is it, babe?” The soft glow of the lamp lit up our small hotel room. My best friend’s face had paled considerably, her distress obvious. “Did you have a nightmare?”

  She didn’t speak, just shook her head and pointed to the end of my bed.

  There, laying on the faded blue bed cover was a single, yellow flower.

  “What the hell?” Bolting upright, my back hit the wall behind me. I couldn’t get far enough away from the flower of death that now seemed to follow me everywhere.

  “How did it get in here?” Luiza stammered, her teeth clattering.

  “I – I don’t know h-how!”

  My thoughts quickly went to the guard outside, my head spinning at the thought that he had something to do with this. The doors and windows were locked and there was no sign of a break-in. Someone other than us, had access to the room.

  I crawled off my bed and moved to Luiza’s, wrapping my arms around her.

  “What do we do?” She asked through sobs.

  “We need to get out of here and wait in the airport.”

  “He was in here, Anna, watching us. Watching you! Why is he doing this?”

  “Babe, I am just as much in the dark as you. How did you know it was there? Did you see him?”

  She shook her head gently. “No, I turned the light on. I had to use the bathroom and then I saw it.”

  “Ok, get dressed.” We were both in our underwear and singlets. Despite my instruction, Luiza didn’t move a muscle. I could sense her hesitance, but we stood more of chance staying safe being surrounded by people. The airport itself offered us that protection.

  “Luiza, don’t freak out ok. If he wanted to hurt us he would have done it while we were sleeping. Now come on, get dressed.” I gave her an encouraging nudge and she finally moved.

  Keeping a wide berth of my bed, I eyed the incriminating flower. It was simply beautiful, the brilliant yellow the same as the sun on a clear day. I didn’t know what the trumpet-shaped breed was, but I did know it represented death and destruction. It was a very real threat and why it had become synonymous with El Leon, I didn’t know.

  I didn’t want to know.

  I was too scared of the truth.

  ***

  Two long painful minutes passed and we were dressed, our meagre items repacked.

  “Anna, I don’t know that leaving is the best idea. I mean, Danny was clear that we stay put.”

  “Babe, that was before someone came into our hotel room, in the dark, while we were asleep.”

  She couldn’t argue with that, instead she gave a slight nod in defeat.

  “Come, let’s get out of here.” I walked to the door, my hand resting on the cool metal lever. Inhaling deeply, I steadied my nerves preparing for the unknown. Gripping Luiza’s hand, I opened the door and was assaulted by the outside fluorescent light, a dozen moths flittering about daring to be burnt.

  Our guard who had been stationed outside was no longer there. His chair long abandoned.

  Shit.

  Behind me, I could hear Luiza release another sob. His disappearance was not a welcome realization.

  “Let�
��s go,” I said as a matter of urgency. We had picked up speed rounding the corner, seeing the airport lights in the distance when our feet came into contact with something, sending us both careering through the air, landing heavily on the unforgiving concrete.

  Wincing in pain, I could feel the air tingling at grazes on both elbows, blood covering my entire front.

  “What the fuck?” Luiza gave a terrified screech. Even after all we had seen, nothing could have prepared us for this.

  I turned in her direction to see the man who was our sentry.

  Taking a deep breath, I swallowed the vomit that was working its way up. The guard had been vivisected, his mass of organs spewing from his body and onto the ground.

  He had been killed protecting us. The look of terror was still etched on his contorted face. His sheathed gun told me he never stood a chance.

  Turning to leave, I grabbed my bag. We had to make it across to the airport. We just had to! “Let’s –”

  “Anna!” Luiza screamed my name, her terrified voice chilling me to the core.

  I swung around to face her and saw the reason for her hysteria. A man held a gun to my best friend’s temple, a challenge marking his already rough features. Beside him, with hypnotic blue-grey eyes set against smooth tanned skin, stood a striking man. While he appeared calm in every way, he was downright scary looking.

  “What do you want?” I stammered. “We don’t have anything.”

  The man simply smiled at me, a brief uncaring smile before my world went black.

  Danny

  The sun was burning down on us as I made a phone call to the airport. I was on hold while I waited for Helena, the woman managing boarding.

  Aiden sat drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, just as anxious to hear some good news.

  Finally, after what felt like an eternity of waiting, a faint click was heard on the line, followed by a small, female voice. We were not in an ideal setting for reception having decided to head back to a base camp in the jungle away from the hustle.

  “Mr Peters?” her voice crackled through the line.