When he entered the market, he stuffed the gun into his pants the way he had seen Alberto do it and slowed down while looking around for a hiding place. He spotted a young woman at a piñata and flower stall and went for it. When he got to where she was, he quickly pulled out a gun and went to the space in between the flowers. The girl was too scared to say anything.He found a tiny space in between the flowers and looked at the route he’d used to enter the market. There were two burly shifty looking guys making their way inside. They scanned the place while moving.“He went over there,” a skinny lad pointed to a corner of the market which had an exit. Rodney felt relieved when they started going there. He wasn’t worried because he knew that Rodrigo could take care of himself. Rodrigo was, after all, Alberto Roco’s true son. He was the one that would follow in his father’s footsteps.After some minutes, Rodney hid the gun and decided to come out. He was sure those men did not know him.
Emilia’s skin was very pale and her eyes looked sunken. Her left cheek was covered with a bandage. Maybe he imagined it but Rodney thought he saw a hint of a smile covering up her features.“Hey,” she said. Her voice was low. She was understandably weak.Rodney didn’t know what else to say to her. He didn’t understand why he had decided to come and check on her when she clearly hated him.“Thank you for coming,” Emilia said.Rodney nodded. “I’m glad that you survived the attack. We were attacked as well.”Emilia smiled. “Thank you. How is Lyra holding up?”“I was not able to see her,” Rodney confessed. “I’d just arrived when we were told about the attack on you.”Emilia looked like she was struggling to keep her eyes open.“I’ll just sit here,” Rodney said. “It looks like you need to rest.”Emilia nodded, and Rodney went to sit on the couch that was pushed up against the wall. He glanced at the man standing guard. There were two guards outside the door and one inside. Rodney didn’t un
Later that day, Octavio came home. Octavio was Rodney’s cousin who had warned him about Alberto when he first arrived at the mansion. Octavio went to Emilia’s room and was in there for a long time. When he came out, he went to the living room and started to drink. Rodney decided to join him.“Emilia told me you were around,” Octavio said.“Yeah.”“I don’t believe that you’re only here for the little girl,” he said, taking a long sip of his beer. “What do you think I’m here for?”Octavio stood up and looked around. “Let’s go outside and talk if you want.”“Okay,” Rodney said without questioning the rationale behind it. It was possible that there were recording devices here and there. For Alberto Roco to evade capture like that, he had to be very cautious. Rodney was pretty sure the man did not trust his own family.“What is it?” Rodney asked Octavio when they were outside.Octavio stood near a tree trunk, placing his leg on it. “You hate Alberto, and you wish you could do something to
“Get out,” the man seated with Rodney at the back pulled out his blindfold. Rodney opened his eyes and stared up at the imposing building in front of him. It was a large, gray concrete structure, with bars on the windows and a wall fence surrounding the perimeter.He opened the door and stepped out. Octavio who had been at the front also got out with the driver. They were at the headquarters of the most notorious drug lord in the city, his own father.The place said a lot about the man. Rodney knew that anyone who crossed his father would most likely never be seen again. Octavio had told him stories of ruthless violence and ruthless retribution, of bodies left in the streets and families torn apart. Rodney knew he was treading on dangerous ground but he had accepted to join the business so that he could take out Alberto from the inside. He could not get any information if he returned to New York and Alberto would continue to harm people and destroy their lives.But despite his fear, R
Rodney and Octavio spent the night at the big house. Thankfully, Alberto had left soon after they arrived so Rodney had not had the misfortune of running into him. There were about thirty guys living in the large two storied building. Most of the room upstairs were bedrooms, some with bunk beds. The ground floor was filled with loaded boxes and packages and the basement was basically a drug factory. Drugs were being produced, weighed and packaged there. There men working there seemed to never stop working and they were guarded by people with guns at all time.Phones were not allowed for people except the top guys, the gun wielding ones. They did not have some phones but button phones for only calls and messages. Octavio’s and Rodney’s had been confiscated before they even got into the car. The men had also ensured that the boys did not get to know where they were. Rodney could see that the security was tight and it was going to be hard for him to reach his goals. Still, he decided to
Octavio clearly had a way with words. Less than a minute after approaching the couple, Rodney saw the man letting out a stream of words while looking angry. He went away and Octavio and the girl laughed before starting to dance together. The date was so good that Octavio took her back to his apartment. Rodney had decided to stay the night at the apartment as well. He would sleep in the spare bedroom. As they went to the apartment, Rodney started thinking of an idea. When they got to the apartment, he asked Octavio to show him the bedroom, after mouthing we need to talk when she was not looking at them. They left the girl in the living room.“You need to get her drunk,” Rodney said. “We need to know if she can tell us some of Alberto’s secrets if she knows any.”“What, you’re still on that stupid plan that will never lead to anything good.”“You want your freedom, right?”“I think I gave up on that.”“Let’s just try, okay. If she knows nothing, we’ll let go.”“Okay, I have the perfect
A part of Alberto was amused by what Rodney had tried to do, but another part was proud of him. That boy had the courage of the Rocos, and the Nelsons. Sara Nelson had been one hell of a woman, and he had loved her at a certain point in his life. That was before she ran away with his child without telling him about it. The next time he saw her, he was not very happy with her. And it annoyed him very much when she stood up against him. Sara was not one to sit back and do nothing. He had felt that she would create problems for him sooner or later, which was why he decided to get rid of her. He hated that it caused a big rift between Rodney and him but he figured there was nothing to do. Life had to go on, and Rodney had to find ways of coping with the new reality.Alberto was surprised when Rodney built his life and became a great man. He was not very happy when he decided to leave everything in New York just to come and play nurse to a little girl. Although Rodney accepted to join the
Rodney frantically searched the streets for his cousin, Octavio. He didn’t remember how he found himself in the streets, sounded by a bunch of homeless people. They had been kidnapped last evening but he had been released. However, there was no sign of Octavio and Rodney was determined to find him. He ran from door to door, asking anyone if they had seen him. His heart pounded in his chest as he feared the worst. Who could those men have been and why did they take Octavio and not him? Were they Alberto’s enemies who recognized Octavio only? He couldn’t go back home without finding him. He was the one who had convinced Octavio to be part of the stupid plan. As the sun became hotter, Rodney's hope started to dwindle. He had no leads and no idea where he could be. Tears streamed down his face as he collapsed onto the sidewalk, feeling helpless and alone. Just then, a kind stranger approached him and knelt down beside him. “Are you okay, son?” the man asked gently. Rodney shook his head