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[The next day]
These long drives meeting with black SUV's were becoming a bad habit. This time in a stretch of no man's
land a few miles outside of Albuquerque. Her old man came through on the contacts and Delia didn't waste
any time on moving things forward.
The long, red-brown dirt road gave way to a small clearing where a blacked-out Suburban sat parked, flanked
by what looked to be five men. They were also all clad in dark colors. She slowed down and pulled off the road
with a decent amount of space between her and the others. Delia recognized the eldest man leaning against
the front of the truck. His name was Alexander Morra; a long-time friend and "associate" of her father.
She gets out of her car and approaches the men slowly. There was no such thing as a "sure thing" with Delia.
"The girl has become a woman!" Alexander said loudly, smiling.
"You sure we're far enough out?" Delia offered with sarcasm.
"How's your father?" he asked.
"Ernie's fine." she said looking the other four men over.
"Still can't call him Dad I see." he prodded.
Delia was now only a couple feet away from the older man. He'd aged significantly since she'd last seen him
but he was still Alex; the same man who always showed up at her birthday parties when she was young.
"You always travel this heavy?" she asked, her eyes squinting from the sun.
"I figured you'd want to meet the whole team."
Delia once again gave the men a quick scan, then looked back at Alex.
"Please tell me you're joking!" Delia replied.
"What do you mean?" Alex questioned.
"Six of us against Sanchez's army?"
"Five, I won't be joining you."
Delia threw her head back, quickly looking into the distance and sighing deeply.
"Did Ernie put you up to this? Thinking it would deter me?" she asked frustratedly.
"Honey, these men are all the fight you're gonna need!" he returned confidently.
Delia stared at the old man, trying to root out his truth.
"This will be a massacre." she said in protest.
Alex looked at her and smiled.
"It will, but that's the price you pay when you traffic children."
Delia had to find her footing, fast! Ex-special forces or not, these numbers weren't great. Their plan had
to be fool-proof. One gun short and there'd be five new holes in that Juarez desert. Delia didn't mind dying
for a good cause but she wouldn't go into battle unprepared.
She was all in now. Sanchez had a war coming.
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When Delicato burns the world, I want to be the one who gave her the matches.
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The key slides into the lock, is turned and the door opens. Home at last. One of the best feelings
a person could have.
"I'm home!" called out the short, plump older lady.
She walks from the living room into the kitchen and gasps, startled. There stands three unknown
figures; two in ski masks and one bare-faced.
"Hello Mrs. Flores. Or may I call you Mary?" Delicato asks.
"I don't, oh my God, I don't have any money but you can take my car, it's new!" she sputters while
nervously rifling through her purse for the keys she left on the table by the front door.
"This isn't a robbery." Delicato says flatly, marching the lady over to a chair.
The two masked individuals stand quietly and the lady takes a seat. Delicato pulls a chair over to join her.
"Why aren't you wearing a mask?" Mary asks.
Delicato leans in and says quietly "Your boss knows me."
The flustered woman looks around and panics. "Where's my husband? Did you - "
"Upstairs, on the bed. He'll be awake in a couple hours. He'll be groggy. Give him some water. He'll be fine."
Mary isn't used to this side of the business. Bank manager by day, wife and empty-nester by night.
Tears are now trickling, she was scared and knew she had every right to be.
"We figured the El Paso accounts were decoys, either that or purely from his drug operations." Delicato explained.
Mary wipes the tears from her face but keeps steady eye contact.
"Same with Albuquerque. Just too obvious. So we looked around a little. Wondered. Would he go
as far afield as Santa Fe? Could he be that far removed from his dirty child prostitution money?"
Mary's eyes lit up as shock plastered her face.
"I don't know what you're talking about!" she yelled.
"Oh, you thought it was all drug money, didn't you?" Delicato mused.
Then Mary winces, clutches at her chest and doubles over. She growls and begins to shake violently.
Delicato stands and takes a step back. The two masked figures advance forward.
The woman is now fully convulsing as froth escapes through her clenched teeth. Blood was present.
She hits the floor, jerks a few times then the moaning stops. And so does she. Less than thirty seconds
and she's gone.
"What the fuck just happened?" asked one of the masked men.
A phone begins ringing. They all three look around. It's coming from the dead woman's purse. Delicato
reaches in and grabs it. She holds it to her face, not saying a word.
"Hola chiquita! How are you?" said the voice on the line. She could almost see his sickly smile.
"Hell of a sense of timing you got!" Delicato fired back.
"It pays to be punctual, Delia." Sanchez said proudly.
"It's Delicato, and punctuality won't save you from what's coming."
"Aren't you going to introduce your two friends?" he asked.
Delicato looked over to her men, raised her index finger up to her lips and then pointed upwards in a circular
motion. They were being watched.
"Nevermind, it's bad manners over the phone. I'm sure we'll have time later for proper introductions."
"You know this doesn't end here." Delicato guaranteed.
"I hope not! You're a beautiful woman, Delia! My eyes rejoice upon your image!" he replies.
"So how did you do it?" she asked.
"Oh, Mary? That was all thanks to Your government's secret military tech."
"Some kind of implant?" she posed.
"American scientists, back in the fifties. Anyone with enough information would be fitted. They step out
of line, become a concern... well, you see how it works."
"This changes nothing!" she said in anger.
"If you want to dismantle an empire..." Sanchez began.
"You stem its flow of funding." Delicato shot back.
"Then, there is no empire." he concluded.
Delicato again looked over at her men and motioned for them all to leave.
"I do so enjoy our talks Delia, but I must love you and leave you. I have more pressing business at hand." he says in farewell and ends the call.
The three figures in black leave the house through a rear side entrance.
Sanchez stands looking down at a man bound and gagged, sitting in the corner of his entertainment room.
It's Delia's father.
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These cheap hotels had a way of all blurring together. Four tired walls, outdated decor, ratty carpeting.
After her many years on the job, Delia had seen it all. Sometimes she even felt more at home in them.
She sat up in that uncomfortable bed as her mind drifted back to fonder times. Those memories would always
revolve around her late husband, Charles. Her Charlie. He was her college sweetheart and the one and only
love of her life. His own being cut far too short by a drunk driver. His death absolutely ruined Delia. It was years
before she could even look at his picture. One thing was certain, those six years of marriage were the best
years of her life.
[Daydream flashback]
The two lovers strolled hand-in-hand along the water's edge. A favorite place for them. Beachfront property
they dreamed of one day buying. They came here as often as time would permit. The smell of the sea alone
was intoxicating. The beauty of the view was a whole other matter. Regardless, this was their place.
On one such occasion, in their final year of college, Charlie decided it was time to make his move. He smiled
and looked into her eyes, the tide washing onto their sand-coated bare feet. Never was there a more intense
gaze of worship than that he gave Delia now. Her heart raced, she could almost feel it. He dropped to one
knee, maintaining that deep devotion locked onto her gorgeous baby blues.
"Delia, I love you with all of my heart and Soul. I Always have and I Always will. You mean the absolute world to me."
She broke, tears running madly as she covered her mouth with both hands.
"And the only life I want to live is with You." he continued.
Reaching into his left pocket, he pulled out a small navy blue ring box. Delia was now sobbing.
He held it up to her and she took it gently with her right hand. Not even bothering to open
it, she fell onto her knees and embraced the man she loved. They both cried the most joyful
tears either one had ever known.
[End of flashback]
She could still feel that cold tide washing upon her knees. Those wonderful memories were rudely
interrupted by a loud, frantic knock on her door. She jumped to answer. It was Alexander. The look
on his face immediately drew her concern.
"We need to talk!" he said, pushing past Delia into her room.
And so it begins...
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EDIT - From "She grabbed it gently" to "She took it gently"
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Alexander removed a small plastic bag from his pocket and dropped in onto the table next to the
window. Delia looks down, staring confused, then up to her visitor.
"That's a thumb." he said bluntly.
Delia glances down once more.
"Message said the next package would be the matching hand."
She just stares at that plastic bag.
"And they only get bigger from there." he added.
Delia sighed as she turned and walked to the foot of her bed, sitting down.
"He's probably already dead." she said quietly.
Alexander walks over and kneels in front of her.
"I'm not ready to believe that." he counters.
She leans forward, cupping her face in her hands and begins crying. He hugs her and her whimpering
grows louder.
"We'll get him. Both of them." he says softly.
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Sanchez put the ball into their court, now it was time to answer back.
It was a long drive down a dirt road. Silence choked the air between them. Alex keeping his foot hard
on the gas and Delia staring out into the nothing that stretched for miles. Hot, dry and endless.
"We gettin' there today?" she questioned, looking over at him.
"Not much further." he replied.
They finally arrive at what looks like a concrete outhouse in the middle of nowhere. Both exit the vehicle
as Alex leads the way. Delia looks around as questions are surely filling her mind. He pulls out a card key
and they enter into an elevator the size of a phone booth.
"This your secret bunker?" Delia asks sarcastically.
"Yeah." he says looking her in the eye.
They begin the descent. Once at the bottom, the doors open to a darkened room. Alex presses a button
on his key fob and lights turn on. A very narrow hallway greets them and they walk to the end where
a lone door is found. Alex bends down to complete authorization by way of retinal scan. The lock clicks
and they enter. Delia's eyes widen at the room's contents. The walls were lined with every form of military
grade weaponry she could imagine. Maybe they did stand a chance?
"Fuck." was all she could say.
"I hope this goes a little ways toward setting your mind at ease." Alex said smiling.
His four men were milling about, checking inventory and preparing what they would need for the trip to
Juarez. Delia saw what she wanted from across the room. She rushes over to grab it.
"Please tell me this is mine!" she says holding the rocket launcher.
"A match made in Heaven." Alex said still grinning.
The six of them pack their arsenals for the next day, then Alex gives his pre-game speech.
"Obviously, we'd never make it through a border check, so we'll be taking a slightly less than desirable
path of entry."
"What does that mean?" she asks.
One of Alex's men pipes up. "It means we're taking an old drug tunnel. Have to kill our way in."
Delia looks at Alex, then at his man.
"You OK with that?" Alex asks.
"Completely." she says.
The bell now tolls for Enrique.
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He never made her jealous.
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His purpose - to worship her.
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A strange wind brushed through the wooden chimes. There was blood on the air…
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The two blacked-out SUV's barreled down that highway a good hour before dawn. Alex and Delia
leading with his men following. This was the day it all came home to Sanchez.
Alex pulls off onto a side road and both trucks continue driving for several minutes. They all stop
at a gravel clearing. Delia's got butterflies.
"This has to work." she says looking over to Alex.
"I've got no weapons, a clean passport and government plates. They so much as breathe on me
wrong I'll have their jobs before noon." he assures her about his border crossing.
Delia's pretty face gives way to a tiny smile.
"I'll be on the other end of that thing waiting." he says returning a similar expression.
Delia jumps out and joins the four men in the other truck. Alex turns around and heads back to the
highway as they drive deeper into that darkened desert.
EDIT: [For clarity, they've driven from Albuquerque to El Paso and are working their way into Juarez.]
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"This is it." declared the man behind the wheel.
Delia looks over at him and then out the windshield.
"Rest of the way on foot. Quarter mile." he said in answer to Delia's glance.
They all get out and gather at the back of the truck. The driver opens the doors and hands out the
large black wearable duffle bags. He then passes around night-vision goggles. Out here, noise and
light gets you killed. He and one of the other men take the lead and they march off into the canyon.
Delia moves to the front and the driver grabs her by the shoulder.
"Hey! Keep to the rear!" he demanded in a cutting whisper.
"Fuck you, this is mine!" she said harshly.
"Once we come out the other side, until then, back of the line!"
The other two men pass Delia and she takes her place bringing up the rear. This didn't sit well with her
but she was after all on the same page; this had to be a success! No room for error. The ends would certainly
have to justify the means on this outing.
It was cool, almost cold at this time of morning. The desert was weird like that. Darkness led them through
and out of that canyon and Delia started in with those butterflies again. She was never the anxious type but
she wanted this, bad! The lead man stops and motions for the others to follow suit. Delia jogs up to him.
"Fifty yards, straight ahead." he said pointing to the tunnel.
Delia and the others stood there looking but couldn't quite see it. They begin their advance when bullets
come whizzing past. They fall back against the edge of the canyon walls and drop into crouching positions.
"This is gonna set off alarms!" he barked.
"Well we can't just stay here!" the second man replied.
"You two come with me!" he said to Delia and the second man.
"We'll go first and open the path." said the third man. He and the fourth man leapt into action.
The driver, the second man and Delia stood at the precipice. Shots ringing out in all directions. Delia looks
at the driver, then to the other man. Her blood pumping, she was ready. The driver looked at her and smiled.
"This is what we came for!" he said as they all three charged into the gunfire.
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The time drew near. There was a reckoning at hand…
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The first two men lay down cover and Delia’s team shoots their way into the battle.
It was stacked against them but they came to win. No other option existed. Sanchez must die.
“Argh, I’m hit!” man three cries out.
Driver points in their direction and man two runs to assist. Now it’s just him and Delia.
“You ever been this deep?” he asks.
Delia throws him a serious look.
“We’re not even in it yet!” she says before surging forward.
Driver quickly follows. They put down adequate fire to inch their way close enough to get a visual. Three men
at the opening. They’d have to assume there were at least a dozen more between them and the exit.
Daylight was crawling onto the horizon, its warmth blanketing the world in a soft radiant glow.
The other three rejoin the assault as Delia and the driver continue picking off Sanchez’s men. Delia lights up a man
to her right; down! Driver puts two more on the ground. The second man takes one out with a head shot. Man four
keeps a close eye on man three. That thigh shot wasn’t serious but it slowed him down. They had to be all in today.
Even if it meant dying in that tunnel.
Delia was on fire, every shot a kill. Driver and man two as well. Delia and the fourth man neutralize the guards at the
tunnel entrance. No hesitation. They file in with speed. Two more men jump out and are both killed.
It’s dusty and dimly-lit; every several yards there dangles a single forty-watt bulb. Another man - Delia lays him out
with a head shot. They press forward. Delia and driver lead and can both see the promise of light seeping through
from the exit. Not far now.
A man suddenly emerges from the right, holding a teenage boy with a gun to his head.
“Dejame ir o se muere!” he screamed in desperation.
They hold steady. Delia’s hands are rock solid. She could take him. And she does.
“Jesus Christ!” driver yelled as the man’s body hit the ground.
The boy was frightened; in tears. “Por favor, NO! Por favor!” he cried, putting his hands up. His face marked with the
blood of the man who would’ve killed him.
They lower their weapons. Out of nowhere, a bullet passes through his head and his body falls onto the dead man.
Driver gives chase into the side tunnel and Delia is right behind. Several shots exchanged before driver sinks two in
the man’s right leg. He falls and loses his gun. Delia is now standing over him.
“Don’t! We’ll need him!” Driver calls out.
“What the fuck for?” she belted loudly.
Driver now standing beside her.
“Safe passage.” he says calmly.
[Full disclosure - This was just written in Text Edit, not on-thread as usual.]
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So I recorded a soundtrack for the following passage:
Quote:They put down adequate fire to inch their way close enough to get a visual. Three men
at the opening. They’d have to assume there were at least a dozen more between them and the exit.
Daylight was crawling onto the horizon, its warmth blanketing the world in a soft radiant glow.
The other three rejoin the assault as Delia and the driver continue picking off Sanchez’s men. Delia lights up a man
to her right; down! Driver puts two more on the ground. The second man takes one out with a head shot. Man four
keeps a close eye on man three. That thigh shot wasn’t serious but it slowed him down. They had to be all in today.
Even if it meant dying in that tunnel.
Delia was on fire, every shot a kill. Driver and man two as well. Delia and the fourth man neutralize the guards at the
tunnel entrance. No hesitation. They file in with speed. Two more men jump out and are both killed.
It’s dusty and dimly-lit; every several yards there dangles a single forty-watt bulb. Another man - Delia lays him out
with a head shot. They press forward. Delia and driver lead and can both see the promise of light seeping through
from the exit. Not far now.
But I did it earlier today, BEFORE I actually wrote it! lol
I knew how I wanted it to play out, roughly, so I just went on vibe alone.
https://soundcloud.com/something-else-is...ll-inherit
Free download if you wanna punish those ears. ; )
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That ringing tickle in his ear. He knew they were close…
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EDITS to post #235 - Wording and clean up. Minor stuff.
Also corresponding changes to the quote in post #236.
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"Buenos dias amigo!"
Alex turns to find Sanchez glaring at him with his trademark smarmy grin. He is flanked by two of his
well-armed men. The day was off to a perfect start.
Driver gets the man to his feet and marches him back to the main tunnel.
There he is met by man four, his face telling a tragic story.
"He's gone."
Driver and Delia look over to see man three on the ground. Amidst the wild shoot out he was the unlucky
recipient of a round to the neck. Quick and painless was what he deserved. Hopefully that's what he got.
"Fuck!" driver shouts, pushing their captive against the wall.
"We need to split! Federales en route!" man two exclaims.
"I'm not leaving him!" driver shouts.
Delia hustles over to the man, throws off her weapon-filled duffle and gets to it.
"We're not leaving him! We're sending him Home!" she yells.
That rocket launcher she so dearly loved was too much for the black bag; but these C4 charges weren't.
Driver grabs the captive and begins walking him out.
"You got thirty seconds!" he informs Delia.
Her hands scrambling to set the charge, sweat dripping from her face; she was in her element.
The men burst from the exit at a gallop. Delia crosses from darkness to light just as man three
gets the send off he would've wanted. The blast scattered dust and rubble wide. Not one of them
stopped or turned until they were a safe distance away. Delia looked back at her handiwork.
One less tunnel in Juarez.
They spot Alex's truck about a hundred yards away next to a small brick building. Driver looks over
at Delia and his men.
"Our chariot awaits."
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I know exactly how it ends... *evil laugh*
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