Ruin: The El Diablo Chronicles

by Autumn Sand

  I smile at the message and promptly type out my reply.

  Tallie: Oh yeah, all good. Just needed to run some errands. Naldo should be able to help you.

  Jason: NP, Naldo’s out today. I’ll get Tick. How about we get together later tonight after your errands?

  I look up to see Kenny throwing the items he chopped into the pan. The vegetables sizzle and once it hits the grease of the hot pan, my stomach begins to come awake.

  Tallie: Sorry, got plans for tonight. Raincheck?

  Jason: (sad face emoji). Absolutely.

  Just as I’m about to place the phone in my pocket, it rings. Without looking to see who is calling, I answer. “This is Tals.”

  “Tallie?” Mags is crying into the phone.

  “Mags? What’s wrong, honey?” I take a seat at the kitchen island as Kenny pushes a plate of fajitas in my direction.

  “Can you talk?”

  “Mmmhmm, Ray’s out of town.”

  “Clay broke up with me.” She sobs into the phone.

  I close my eyes as relief settles over me. The selfish part of me is excited I’ll have my friend back. But then it hits me my best friend is in pain. “Honey, I’m so sorry,” I say the heartfelt words and actually mean them.

  “Can you come home?” She blows her nose.

  I stare at my piping hot plate of food and push it away as I stand. “On my way now.”

  We arrived in Barranquilla, Colombia an hour ago and were met by a waiting car to take us to Castillo’s seaside compound. According the agreement to meet, I was only allowed to bring four men with me, and no weapons. Of course, this made Chicken feel uneasy—or shall I say, naked—without his gun, which is his constant companion.

  No one speaks on the ride and I’m thankful for the silence. My mind drifts to Tallie and I wonder if she is as truly okay as she said. I know Kenny’s heart was in the right place when he told her, but I’ll still need to have a talk with him when I return. He could’ve caused unnecessary damage.

  The car drives through the gate with armed guards standing around, ready to shoot at a moment’s notice. We slow to a stop in front of the house, where a man who was waiting for us outside opens our passenger doors. I step out first, followed by Chicken, and my three other men stay behind outside.

  When we walk inside the house, I see the floor is decorated in brown tiles with ivory-colored grout. The main room is sparsely decorated with a floral couch, large plants in the corners, and a television mounted to the wall.

  “This way,” the man who opened our doors says. We follow him out of the main room and down a hall, and finally outside.

  Instantly, I see the reason why Castillo has chosen this as his home. His house is nestled in between two mountains, which opens up to the ocean. The beach is only a few hundred yards from his backyard. There is a large Olympic-sized infinity pool, with a jacuzzi on the opposite end of the pool.

  Very little impresses me, but I must say, this view has me very impressed.

  “El, finally we meet again.” Castillo walks over to me, a glass in one hand and a naked woman in the other.

  I meet him halfway and we shake. “Good to see you again, my friend. And thank you for extending the invitation.”

  We go through the bullshit niceties, both of us knowing not to truly trust the other. My old boss, who began the empire I now control, often did business with Castillo. When I took over, I changed all of that because I knew Castillo was skimming the books. So, I bought him out and he has been resentful ever since. Not that he isn’t doing well, from the looks of it. There is enough out there for all of us.

  “Sit, sit, my friend.” He waves his hand at the empty chairs near the pool. I choose one that places me at an angle, where I can keep my eyes on everything. I know we bought information from him and right now, I can consider him an ally, but you never know.

  He huffs when he takes a seat because of his large frame, which barely fits in the wicker chair. I wonder for a moment if the chair could withstand all of his weight.

  “Well, you said you had some information for us?” I cross my legs, folding my hands and resting them on my knee.

  “Sí, sí, I do. But first, we eat and drink.” He snaps his fingers at one of the naked women standing in the back. She snaps to attention and goes inside, only to come out moments later with a tray of food.

  She sets up our table immediately with meats, cheeses, breads, and fruits.

  “Light fare for you. We’ll eat a hearty dinner tonight in celebration of you getting closer to finding Pedro’s men,” Castillo says as he greedily picks up food with his hands and throws it on his plate.

  I’m already turned off by the food from watching him eat, nonetheless seeing him touch it with his unwashed hands.

  The woman asks me if I want her to fix my plate. I nod and she selects an assortment for both me and Chicken. Both of us move our food around our plates, never eating.

  Castillo burps loudly and pats his stomach. “I see you kept your shape, my friend, even though you run everything now.”

  Of course, I never wanted to get like Castillo—slovenly and doesn’t pay attention to who is doing what in his crew. I’ve kept tabs on him from a distance. You know the saying, keep your friends close but your enemies closer. Well, guess which category he fits into.

  The things that drive Castillo are women, snorting coke, food, and money. Lucky for me, I have money, so it was able to buy me the information I need.

  “Castillo, what is the information you have, my friend.” I use the term loosely.

  He lets out a loud belch and wipes his greasy fingers on his bare chest. “This information was very hard to come by. I just want you to know the trouble I went through to get it.”

  Also known as, I need more money. I nod at Chicken, who pushes his plate aside and places the briefcase on the table. He punches in the code and turns the open case to face Castillo, whose eyes widen like saucers.

  “My friend, my friend, you no had to do that.” His accent grows more pronounced with every moment that passes.

  “Sí, sí, I know. But this is just something to show my appreciation for your effort.”

  He holds up his hands in surrender. “Well, who am I to disappoint a friend by not accepting such a generous gift.” He snaps his fingers and one of the naked women appears and takes the case. I guess that was just in case we changed our minds.

  “Well, I spoke to one of Pedro’s men. The person pulling the strings right now is his older brother and his nephew.” He speaks in between bites of his roasted chicken.

  “Where is their base?” I clench my fists under the table.

  “That, I was not able to find out. But I can say his brother and nephew was never part of the business before. This is strictly a vendetta, my friend.” He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.

  “What’re their names?”

  “His brother goes by the name of Tomas but he has a nickname.” He drops his chicken to the plate as he thinks. “Aye, I forget. He also belongs to the church. I mean…how do you say? A member? Sí, a member. The large church in Manhattan on Fifth.” He shrugs, picking up a piece of meat, and takes a huge bite.

  “What about the nephew?” My foot bounces under the table in an effort to mask my irritation at how slow he is to give us the information.

  “Je’sus.” Castillo now holds a piece of papaya in one hand and his drink in the other. He has yet to wipe the grease off of his hands.

  “Is that all? Anything else?” I’m ready to conclude this meeting.

  “Sí, sí, Tomas has a tattoo.” He points to his hand, the space in between the thumb and pointer finger.

  “That’s nothing unusual. All of Pedro’s people have a marking there, the letter P.” I look over to Chicken who nods in agreement.

  “No, no, my friend. The marking isn’t a P. His brother is deeply religious. Like a religious zealot. He has a cross tattooed there. Also, on his back is Jesus on the cross.”

  As soon
as the words come out of his mouth, anger courses through my entire body. Son of a bitch! He was right under my fucking nose!

  “We gotta go,” I say immediately, and rise.

  “Wait, we have a celebratory party soon. Marking us doing business again.” He stands and follows behind us.

  I’ve yet to slow down when I walk through his house and towards the door. “No time.” With Chicken hot on my heels, we step outside and walk towards the car.

  “You forgetting something?” Chicken says to me.

  That was the only thing that causes me to stop. I immediately take out my cell and press a button, one of my men answers immediately.

  “Ahora.” I say the code word and hang up immediately.

  From both sides, helicopters carrying my armed men come in from either side of the mountains and open fire on the compound. By now, the boats are pulling up to take over the compound. I turn around to see Castillo’s shocked expression as his men drop before him, all dead. He looks at me with wide eye shock and disbelief.

  I take out the knife that was sewn in my suit jacket and fling it, hitting its mark in the middle of his head. He drops to his knees, eyes wide, mouth open, and falls forward. I walk over to him, not bothering to linger further, and snatch the knife out of his skull, wiping the blade covered in his blood on him.

  “Send my regards in hell.”

  “Mags?” I yell when I open the door to our apartment. My eyes try to adjust to the darkness as I reach for the switch on the wall. Blindly, my fingers find the switch and flip it up but the light doesn’t come on. “Mags? Where are you? I’m here. You said it was an emergency.”

  I listen intently but hear nothing. Maybe she had to run out to do something. I walk through our pitch-black apartment and try to find the lamp on the living room table. I stumble over something on the floor and fall.

  What the hell was that? I feel around the floor until my hand lands on the object I tripped over. An arm? Slowly, my hand works its way up until I feel a face and hair.

  I scream and jump back on the floor. “Mags?” I cry.

  “Gone.” I hear Clay’s voice from another part of the living room.

  Sheer terror crawls up my body and seizes me. I should run, scream, or do something, but instead, it plasters me in place and I am immobile.

  “Wh-what have you done to her?” My voice cracks even though I try to sound strong.

  “She was a sinner. All of you are. Whores. I watched you fuck him in your room. Whores.” He says it, then mumbles out a prayer I can’t quite make out.

  It was him, that night.

  Anxiety creeps along the lines of my terror.

  “You killed her? Why?” I crawl around the floor in the dark.

  “She found out,” he murmurs.

  What is that? Is that the lamp? I grope around desperately for a weapon to use.

  “Found out what?” Yes, it’s the lamp. Maybe I can find the kitchen so I can get a knife. Again, I crawl in what I believe is the direction of the kitchen. Is the furniture out of place?

  “What I was here for. Now I have the one thing to bring Manny out of hiding.”

  Wait, did I hear that right?

  “Manny?” I say as I crawl around yet another object, still looking for the kitchen.

  “I knew tonight was perfect when you said your boyfriend was out of town.”

  Why does he sound closer? I reach out and feel the wall. Slowly, I rise while holding on to the wall. A few more feet and I should be at the kitchen, I think.

  Keeping my back flat against the wall, I edge my way towards the kitchen. Then my hand touches…oh my God.

  He grabs my wrist and snatches me to him. The other hand wraps around my windpipe. I-I can’t breathe. I try to kick him in the shin but my effort only makes him squeeze harder. He’s going to break my neck. My brain gets fuzzy as I try to get out of his steel-like grip.

  “God help me, I want you. I’m going to fuck you before I kill you. Then I’ll leave your body where Manny will get the message. He’ll come out of hiding.” He licks my face and I scream.

  “I know it’s a sin, but you were put here on this earth to tempt me. The devil sent you to me. Lord”—even in the darkness, I can hear the change in his voice as he looks heavenward—“you know my flesh is weak and I try to do your bidding. But as your servant, I need her. Just a taste.”

  He releases my neck, then punches me in the face, and my world goes dark.

  “Fucking try her again,” I snap at Chicken, as I drive like a madman through the streets of Manhattan. I honk my horn at a cabbie and aggressively go around him. No need for a driver this time. I have to get to her, and I only trust myself to get there in a timely manner.

  “It’s going directly to voicemail.” He hits redial again.

  Why did I listen to her and not give her a security detail? Fuuuuccckk. I pound on the steering wheel when I hit deadlock traffic. Fuck it, I’m driving on the sidewalk.

  “Hold on,” I yell as the car hops on the curb and pedestrians scatter like roaches on the sidewalk. When we reach the end of the sidewalk, I swing back onto the street.

  “Fuck, don’t get arrested. We won’t be able to help if you get arrested.” Chicken holds on to the “oh shit” bar.

  I hate New York traffic! Everyone, get the fuck out of my way. I knew I didn’t like that fucking guy, Clay. Should’ve known that was Pedro’s brother. How the fuck did I not figure it out? The only way to keep me calm is to imagine exactly how I will kill him.

  I will take my time killing this motherfucker and with every scream, I’ll enjoy it more.

  I almost drive past her block because I was going at least a buck twenty. My foot hits the brake so hard the smell of burnt rubber is in the air. We jump out of the car, locked, loaded, and safety off. Who am I kidding, our safety is always off. We run through her building because fuck the elevator, then take the steps two at a time.

  When we get to her floor, instantly, I can feel something is wrong. I signal to Chicken I’m going in first and he is to follow.

  Tallie’s scream pieces through the walls and into my gut. What the fuck is he doing to her? Whatever semblance of a plan I had just went out of the window. We burst through the unlocked door.

  “Tallie!” I yell out her name.

  She screams louder.

  What the fuck?

  “Tallie.” I try to turn on the lights in the living room, and nothing.

  “Please, oh God, nooooooo!”

  “I’ll fucking kill you if you hurt her, you motherfucker.” A religious zealot? Well, I’m going to help him meet his God soon.

  “Found her roommate,” Chicken says from the other side of the living room.

  We’ve both been using our cell phone flashlights.

  I look down and see Mags with a rope tied around her neck. “You check for a pulse?” Even though I know she’s gone, I want to make sure.

  “Yeah, she’s been gone for, I’d say six, maybe seven, hours. Give or take.” He rises and aims the flashlight down the hall.

  “Tallie!” I yell.

  Whimpers come from the back.

  “Tallie?” I say again, a little softer this time, as we walk closer to her close bedroom door.

  “Pleeeaaaase, don’t do this,” she cries.

  “Tallie, I’m here. Clay, you crazy motherfucker, come out.”

  “First, we pray. We have to pray before we act upon this sin,” Clay says.

  Chicken and I both stare at each other in confusion. My hand reaches for the doorknob, unsure if I want to see what is going on behind the door. The latch clicks when I turn the knob and open the door into darkness.

  “Tallie!” we both yell.

  “Pray, pray. God will forgive our sins.”

  “Where the fuck are they? This apartment is only yay big,” I say, spinning around to determine where the voices are coming from.

  Chicken taps me on the shoulder. “There.” He points to a speaker on the bed.

 
“Dear God, please forgive me for my sins—”

  “She’s not here. He left a speaker for us to hear them,” Chicken says.

  I pick up the speaker and throw it against the wall. To my surprise, it doesn’t break.

  “Where the fuck did he take her?” I rub my head with the butt of my gun. For the first time in my life, I feel helpless. I did this to her. I asked for her help. I didn’t protect her.

  I kneel in front of the speaker, listening to their prayers, and I wonder if I should pray too. I’ve never believed in God. If there was a God, why did he take my mother away so soon? Why did he destine me to this life? If there is a God, I’m the opposite of what he stands for.

  And yet, I’m willing to pray, if it means I get her back safely.

  “He wants us to hear this,” Chicken says.

  “I know,” I say under my breath.

  “Welcome to my party, El.”

  Both Chicken and I stare at the inanimate speaker laying on the floor. We walk over to it and kneel at its alter of hope.

  “Bring me Manny and you can have the whore after I’m done with her.”

  The sound clicks off and leaves us with white noise in its place.

  “What do you want to do?” Chicken, a man who has stared death in the face more times than I can count, stands before me in bewilderment.

  “I can’t give him Manny, and I’m willing to guess he is banking on that. Her death would be the only thing he knows will bring Manny out.”

  He lowers his head and paces the floor. “Okay, let’s go over what we know about him.”

  “Not much. We know he’s a relig—” As if a lightbulb appears over my head, Chicken and I both look at each other, our earlier conversation with Castillo playing out in our minds. This is the dawning of a new day, an absolute understanding, and the ball is back in our court.

  I jog towards the door as Chicken begins making phone calls.

  Clay, I’m coming for you and I’m bringing hell with me.

  My knees begin to ache from kneeling in front of the altar beside Clay. His head is bowed in deep prayer. My head spins around like it’s on a swivel, trying to figure out a way to get out. My fingers begin to numb at the tips because of the tight binding around my wrists. The more I move my hands, the tighter the intricate knots seem to become. My wrists redden from the binds that hold me.