Devil Awaiting

Prologue

All I could think about was the SEARING pain surging from my shoulder and through my body as I fly face down onto the pavement. I couldn’t feel the pool of hot blood suffusing on the cold street. I couldn’t think about why my partner would sell me out. I couldn’t feel the cut on my head from when I hit the ground. I couldn’t worry about them killing Alexandra. BOOM Then a second bullet hit my back like a sledgehammer and everything went black. No sound, just a voice in my head. Time to die, Adam. Don’t want to keep the Devil waiting.

- 1 -

My eyes open wide and I jolt upright. I’m still alive and I’m in a hospital bed. Hell wouldn’t look like a hospital. I take a look around. Where are the cops? They must be curious about who put a bullet in my… wait, no pain… I feel my chest and stomach. Scars. How long have I been here? I start looking for a calendar. There isn’t one, so I lean forward and grab the chart from the front of my bed.

Date admitted: 01/19/2009
Name: John Doe
Address: ____________
Insurance No.: ____________
Phone: _______________
DOB: __/__/____

So they don’t know who I am. I wonder if anyone knows I’m missing. Anyone who would have reported me is either dead or tried to kill me. With friends like these. Fuck it. It doesn’t matter either way. They should have finished the job, because NOW they’re ALL going to DIE.

“01/20/2009: Patient was admitted for multiple gunshot wounds to the torso. He was suffering severe internal bleeding of the stomach and kidneys and heavy external blood loss…”
Blah blah blah… How long have I been here, goddamnit!!! I flip the pages to get to the end. There were a lot of pages. Finally I get to the last one and read the last vitals report. August 26th. Seven months. Seven motherfucking months I’ve been in a coma. They all think I’m dead. Surprise, surprise, motherfuckers.

I pull the IV out of my arm, pull the catheter out (this might have been as bad as getting shot), and rip off all of the electrodes they have me hooked up to. It’s four in the morning. Graveyard shift. Perfect. I sway a little as I climb out of bed. There was another empty bed in the room. I peek my head out and see that the hallway is empty. It must be my lucky day. I pop out into the hallway. Nobody is around so I walk one direction. I find a fire-escape plan and study it. To the left, at the end of the hallway, down the stairs to the ground floor, through the side parking lot and onto freedom.

-2-

I make it to the parking lot with no trouble. Now, to get out of here and get out of this fucking gown. It’s a warm, quiet night but the breeze is blowing the hospital gown all over the place. I sneak around the corner to the side near the entrance. Two cars are in the patient lot for the ER. I sneak up to one of them, a red Mustang. Locked. I try the big black Navigator next to it. Jackpot. I climb in the back and look around. No keys, no wallet. SHIT. I look into the window for the waiting room and see two guys in there. Both dressed pretty well. I sit quietly behind the seat for at least an hour, then I see them shake hands and one of them heads toward the exit. Get in this one, you bastard, get in this one.
He passes the Mustang and goes toward the driver’s side of the Navigator. I duck behind the seat. He gets in and starts the car, and puts on some god-awful hip-hop music. The car starts backing out, Thanks for the ride. Get me the fuck out of here.
The drive doesn’t last long and he pulls into a parking lot. I have no idea where, but at least I’m not in the hospital anymore. He puts the car in park and turns the keys to shut off the engine. That’s when I spring up behind him and wrap my arm around his neck, cutting off the blood circulation to his head with my bicep and forearm. He has a look of absolute shock as he struggles hard, but a moment later he is slumped down on the seat, limp and unconscious. I keep the hold for an extra second or two to make sure he stays out.
“Wrong place, wrong time, buddy.” I say to him as I hop up to the front and start taking his clothes off, “Nothing personal.”

-3-

His clothes are a little baggy but I make them work. At least the shoes are my size. I get out of the car and take off. I’m about three blocks away before I realize where I am. It’s a Frat house, only a few blocks to downtown. Perfect. I slow my pace and pull the wallet out of the back pocket of my newly acquired blue jeans. Travis Candler is the name on the license. Inside I find a credit card, two pieces of paper with girls’ names and phone numbers written on them, a blockbuster card, and $183.00 cash. This I can deal with. I head toward the 24-hour waffle house and Travis treats me to a Denver Omelet with coffee, OJ and a big side of bacon. I grab a newspaper and read the headlines. Today, apparently is the first day of Student Welcome Week at the University. No classes and a week of wild partying. College students drinking all night. Perfect if you want to make someone disappear.
After breakfast I head toward campus. It’s after seven now. The sun is up, and the buses are running. I take a bus over to the mall and go into the sporting goods store. I make a bee-line to the hunting section and scan the knives. All I can think about is how I would do it with each knife. I pick out a small lockblade knife and a big hunting knife. I grab the pocket cases and head toward the counter. Down to $100.
I buy a black hooded sweatshirt, black skull cap, black sweatpants, black gloves and a cheap black gym-bag before I leave the mall. It felt strange. I didn’t really think about what I was doing. I just kept moving. I hardly even thought about what I needed. It was like I had been planning this for the entire seven months. Then I walk a few blocks to the hardware store. I buy a swiss army knife with a lockpick and a pair of sunglasses. I throw everything inside the backpack. $10.00 left.
Back on campus, I head to one of the dorms and walk through to the bathroom. I duck into one of the stalls and pull the knives out. I stick the lockblade in my shoe. The hunting knife I leave in the bag. Then I cross the street and buy coffee, a bottle of water, a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. And I’m down to $0.23.

-4-

I step back to the dorm, sit down at a picnic table and light one up. It is excellent, relaxing my whole body in the first drag. I sip on the coffee. It wakes my mind up and thoughts come flooding into my head. I close my eyes and think hard for the first time in seven months. She must be dead. If they killed me, she would have made them take her out. She would have been after them like I am. I could feel a pit forming in my stomach as I realized I would never see my fiancée again. We’ve lived together ever since we graduated. We should have been married that June. Sami. You mother-fucker. Best-man my ass. The sad thing is it doesn’t surprise me. Sami’s a good liar with a sociopath’s conscience. That’s what made him so good at scams and that’s why he was my partner. So I find Sami. Sami sold me out and he’ll tell me exactly who it was he sold me out to. I can always tell when Sami is lying. Almost always, can’t forget the time he had me killed.

-5-

Time to head over to Sami’s place. I hop on the campus bus. I know Sami lives in the penthouse of the apartment right on the corner of campus. Before all of this it was our penthouse on the corner. Soon it will be nothing but a crime scene. With three stops left I start to get excited. With two stops left I can feel myself becoming focused. My mind locks on where I am and what I need to do. With one stop to go I can barely contain myself. When the bus comes to a stop I rip a cigarette to calm myself. It doesn’t help. I sit down on the bench and focus. I clear my mind, letting all of my senses collect themselves. I inhale the cigarette and blow the smoke out, like blowing the clouds out of my mind. I take in a breath of the warm summer air and breathe slowly. I keep my mind clear of thoughts until I finish my cigarette.
I drop the butt and twist it out with my foot. I look up at the building next to me and from there to the top of the building caddy corner. Right there it is. The big round penthouse overlooking the edge of campus that I used to call home. I cross the street and head down the alley two houses behind the corner. I cut behind them and cross the street toward the back stairs of the apartments. The units all have a walking balcony that connects them all in a horseshoe shape spread around a parking lot down in the middle. I cut around the end of the horseshoe and climb the stairs two at a time up to the third floor. Once there I peer out down the hall. No one there. I walk down the hall trying to look casual. This is harder than it sounds because the intense, burning rage and the indurated, unyielding determination made me feel like I was the goddamn Cloverfield Monster on a march of destruction.
I stop outside the penthouse and put my ear to the door. Silence. I slowly twist the handle and it isn’t locked. Sami you dumbass. I thought I taught you better than that. I push on the door and it creeks open. I close it as quietly as I can behind me and walk down the entrance hall. Standing in the entrance, I take a look around my old home. There is the kitchen to the right, and the huge open living room in front of me with the giant TV in the corner. The second level is a balcony overlooking the living room and the bedrooms are upstairs behind the balcony. Sami is up there. It’s hard not to just drop onto one of the couches. It feels like just yesterday that I lived here. The months being fed intravenously feel like a second to me, and I start to feel relieved as you do when you get home from a hard day at work (not that I would know what that felt like). It’s hard to accept that I’m only going to stay long enough to get what I need. I know Sami is still here though. We had already signed the lease to rent it for another year before he decided our time living together would end. Enough of this nostalgia shit. Time to get down to business.

-6-

I set my gym bag on the table and open it. I put on the baseball cap with the bill down over my eyes. I carefully pulled the gloves on and pulled the hunting knife out of my bag and attach it to my belt. Time to face the music, Sami. I walk to the far wall with the spiral staircase. I go up slowly, deliberately. I walk down to Sami’s room. Third door on the left. Same as always. I open his door slowly and walk inside. There’s the bed, right in the middle of the room. Two bodies are under the sheets. I walk up to the side of the bed and there’s a sexy little blonde spooning my old roommate. I kick the side of the bed. She stirs a little. I put my hand on her shoulder and push little. She wakes up and slowly turns over. When she sees me she lets out a little gasp. It would have been cute under other circumstances.
“Get out.” I command with a face as serious as death.
“What?” she says looking confused, scared, and embarrassed all at the same time.
“GET OUT.” I don’t really raise my voice, just emphasize my words. I sound dangerous. I sound powerful. I sound pissed. Blondie immediately gets up and throws her shirt on and looks around for her pants. I grab some shorts off the floor and throw them at her and point to the door.
“What the fuck?” comes a groggy voice from the bed.
“OUT!” I yell to the girl as she staggers out the door like a rabbit scurrying away from a dog.
“What the fuck?” The voice says again as its owner turns over, a bit more quickly.
“Howdy, partner.”
He starts to sit upright but I throw my hand around his neck and slam him back down on the bed. I hop onto the bed with one knee right on top of his bicep. He puts his other hand up and tries to push me off, but I just grab his wrist in a joint lock and twist. Hard. It takes longer than it does in the movies, but if you want to break a guy’s arm you’d better do it right. He starts yelling a second or so before I hear the snap, then he really lets loose. I have to push on his trachea until he shuts the fuck up.
“You’re a loud hindi piece of shit, aren’t you?” I say calmly, once I’ve cut off his airflow enough to sufficiently shut him up. I let off for a moment to let him collect himself.
“Fuck! My arm! You broke my fucking arm!” his agonizing yells boring into my head. I’d never done anything like this before. Then I see his eyes widen in shock.
“Adam…” he says weakly, “what the fuck… you’re dead…”
“Not quite as dead as you’d think.”
“Wha…”
“You can shut up now. I need to ask you a few questions.”

-7-

My voice sounds like icy steel but there’s an air of mocking conversation in it as I continue.
“Who helped you set me up? I know it wasn’t those stupid fuck coke dealers we were meeting at Smallwood so WHO THE FUCK WAS IT?”
“Goddamn, Adam I didn- AAHRG” He sputtered as I punched his broken arm with my free hand.
“No bullshit you fucking Judas! Was it Cameron or was it that spic Castillo?”
“Get the fuck off me and I’ll tell you goddamnit!” He begged. I decided I had caused the scum enough pain for the moment so I got up and stood over him. I spy a half full bottle of Grey Goose on the dresser so I grab it and hand it to him. He grabs it and takes a long pull from the bottle.
“Now who was it?”
I wait a second and he just sits there cradling his arm.
“Look, Sami, I don’t give a shit about you. You don’t have the balls or the brains to pull off replacing me and I want to know who was behind it. They killed Alexandra. I need to know who and I need to know why. I need to get them back, and I need your help to do it. I’m not going to kill you, because I need your help.”
“How’d you find out about Al?” he stammered back.
“You just told me. But I already knew. She would have raised hell and maybe taken someone else out if they didn’t. They knew it. She was in on every deal and she didn’t mind breaking some skulls or tearing shit apart.”
“I didn’t know they’d get her too, I swear I didn’t.” he says desperately.
“I know you didn’t. Here, have a cigarette.” I say as I take two out and light them, then hand one to Sami.
“Thanks.”
“Now,” I say, “Who the fuck set me up? Why did they do it?”
“It was Castillo. He said you were taking too much of the action, said you were getting too big.” He said, shaking and nervous and almost in tears as he sucked on his cig. “He said I could take your cut out of the sales if I flipped you. All he wanted was the chemists and he said in exchange I could have the whole Jew market once we moved that stuff to Smallwood. They were his boys that ambushed you in that alley.”
“And the girls?”
“He said someone else was going to take over the girls. He said he’d buy Al out once you were gone. I told him he was nuts to try and deal with her without you but he said he could do it. I didn’t know he was going to kill her, Adam, I swear.” He says it so pathetic and pleadingly I almost feel sorry for him.
“Allright,” I say, looking satisfied. “Where’s the stash?”
“Same place it always was, the humidor in your room.”
“Okay, let’s get it,” I say as I grab his good arm and stand him up. I start moving him toward the door when he pulls away from me and reaches down to his nightstand and grabs for the drawer.
“Sami you stupid Hindi fuck!” I yell as I grab the hunting knife off my hip and jam it into his thigh. I let go of the blade and grab the vodka bottle as he screams. One of the many benefits of sound proof walls, I think as I whip the bottle into the side of his head. He flies sideways and hits his face on the bed, then rolls off the side and falls face down on to the floor, unconscious. Blood spatters all around as I pull the knife out of his leg. He’s knocked out and bleeding from his leg and his head. I check his pulse. It’s very weak. Don’t even take a chance. They left you for dead and they won’t live to regret it. I reach down and pull his head back by his hair. I pull the knife across and make long slit diagonal across his throat. See you in Hell, partner.

-8-

I stand back up and take a deep breath. I step over Sami’s body and open the drawer he was reaching for. Inside was a prescription bottle, a wad of bills, and a Smith and Wesson .357 revolver. Sami, since when are you a cowboy? I grab the money and the gun and notice that there are a few lines chopped up and ready to go on a mirror sitting on the nightstand. I roll up one of the dollar bills and bump a line. Immediately I feel my head start rushing and it is amazing. I just killed a man. I’ve never done that before. And it was my old partner. Nothing can stop me. I’m like the fucking Angel of Death. You’re next Castillo, and there’s not a Goddamn thing you can do about it. I have no idea where to find the bastard. I have no idea how many wannabe gangsta spics he was using as bodyguards and dealers. I have no idea what to expect. But I’m fucking ready.
I pick up the bedsheet and wipe the blood off of my gloves. My clothes are covered in blood spatter. I turn and open up his dresser. I take out a white T-shirt and a pair of blue jeans. I grab the Aviator shades off the dresser, and then go over to the closet. I get a black button down shirt off of a hanger, and grab the black leather jacket hanging on the rack. That piece of dogshit stole my jacket! I wash up, change my clothes and clean my knife in the bathroom and then walk into my room. It’s almost exactly like I left it, except it looks like Sami had looted it for all it was worth. I open my humidor and pull out the large cigar box inside. I open it and examine the contents. Sami had left me about three ounces of pot, a half ounce of blow, thirty or so ecstasy pills and most of a sheet of acid. I put it all back in the box and head downstairs. I throw all the bloody clothes in a plastic bag from the kitchen, tie it up, and throw it in the bag, along with the box of drugs, the murder weapon, and the .357. I throw the bag over my shoulders and walk out the front door.

-9-

I make my way a few blocks away to the Starbucks. It’s only about eleven in the morning and I could use some more coffee. I order a large coffee and a couple of donuts, grab a newspaper and take them to one of the tables outside. I sit there for a while, eating my donuts, drinking my coffee, smoking a cigarette. How to find Castillo… No idea where the prick lives, no idea who his contacts are (aside from Sami), no idea.
I’m lost in thought with no idea how long I’d been sitting there when I hear a girl’s voice.
“Adam?” asks a cute little blonde. She was clearly excited and had a manic look on her face. I look at her for a moment before I realize who she is; Denise, Alexandra’s younger sister.
“Denise.” I answer, not having any idea what else to say to her.
“Oh my God it is you! Where’s Al?!? Are you guys okay? They said…” I cut her off there.
“Not here, Denise. Bring me to your place and I’ll tell you all about it there.”
“What are you talking about? Where have you guys been?”
I look directly into her eyes. “Denise, not here. Let’s go to your place.”
Fifteen minutes later we are parking outside some apartments. She kept pelting me with questions the whole ride. I told her to wait until we got there. Then I was silent. We go into her place and I breathe a sigh of relief. Safe for now, and a place to plan.
“Okay, we’re here!” she says crossly.
“Do you have any roommates?” I ask.
“No, now where the fuck is my sister?” she shouts back.
“Look kid, I don’t know what you know and what you don’t. It’s best if you stay in the dark until this is over.”
“FUCK THAT! WHERE IS AL?”
I realize that there’s no sidestepping this one.
“Did you ask Sami?”
“Duh. I went to your place when I couldn’t reach Al. He told me you and her took off! Left town! He said you were in trouble. What the fuck did you get her into you sonofabitch!” She screams at me. She’s in tears and she looks pissed. Maybe I should have stayed at the coffee shop. If she’s anywhere near as crazy and violent as her sister was I might be in trouble.
“Denise, you’d better sit down for this.”
She sits.
“Look, when we disappeared… We didn’t leave town, and we weren’t in trouble. Sami sold me out. She and I did everything together… you have to understand I had no way of knowing…”
“Where the fuck is Al?”
“Denise… she’s dead. Alexandra is dead.”
Silence. Bleak and pure and terrible silence hangs in the room. She seems frozen in a state of terror and disbelief. Her eyes are empty and haunted. She doesn’t move.
“They shot me twice, in an alley behind Smallwood. They walked up pretending to be customers. Sami and I were waiting them and when they got there they shot me. Sami had set me up. They left me for dead. I just heard about Al today. Sami told me.”
“She’s d-dead?” she whimpers.
“I’m sorry.”
She stands up slowly and walks around the corner to her bedroom. “Denise?” I say, but it’s no use. She’s in a trance brought on by sudden shock. She closes the door behind her.

-10-

I grab a bottle of olive oil from her pantry pull three rags from the kitchen drawer and sit down at the table with my bag. I open it up and pull out the revolver that I took from the penthouse. The thing was huge. I always favored the big revolver because it was scary as shit. No one is a badass when they are looking down the barrel of a canon. I open up the chamber. Six Bullets. Sami always used a .22 before. At least the bastard did something to preserve my legacy. I dump the bullets on the table and tie one of the rags around the firing mechanism so I don’t ruin it. I roll one of the rags up so that it is long and narrow and push it through each of the cylinders and the barrel. Cleaning guns is like meditating for me. I could do it blindfolded. My mind clears as I douse one of the rags with the oil and rub it all over and inside the barrel and chamber. This should be done with gun oil but I’m fairly certain that Denise is fresh out. I wipe the oil off with the dry rag. As I’m inspecting the barrel and chambers, memories of Alexandra begin to flow into my conscious. I spin the chamber to make sure that it is well lubricated, untie the rag and snap the chamber back into place with a twist of my wrist. I point it straight up and pull the trigger. Click. Perfect. I open the chamber and tie the rag back into place. I completely zone out as I begin to clean the gun for a second time.

¬-11-

“You know that thing is just a metal penis.” Alexandra chides from the bed as I pull my .357 revolver out of its case on my dresser and shove it into the front of my jeans.
“And I figured I’d get the biggest, baddest one so that it matches mine.” I quip back.
“Riiiight,” she laughs as she rolls her eyes, “I don’t know why you need that thing anyway, Castillo would never dream of fucking with you.”
“Only because he knows that you’d come after him like an unholy Hell-storm if he ever tried any shit with me.” I walk over and stand close in front of her as I say this.
“Fucking right I would.”
I put my hand on the back of her head and pull it in for a long kiss.
“I’ll be fine. Castillo is a dangerous Maricón, but he’s not stupid enough to fuck with me. I make him too much money. I’ll see you later tonight okay?”

***
“So I’ve been thinking a lot these last few days.” I tell Alexandra as I take a big sip from my Pinot Noir.
“Oh, NOW you start thinking, six hours AFTER you graduate.”
She looked beautiful with her dark red lips in a devious , sexy smirk. Her bangs hid a small part of her face and her eyes were bright green. Her green dress showed just enough of her neckline, her back, and her incredible breasts.
“I didn’t have to in college, I had you to do my homework for me, but don’t distract me, I have something to say. I’ve been working hard, and this new thing with the chemists is going to make us a ton of extra money.”
“Oh yeah, that reminds me. Since you’re going to have access to all this LSD, we should definitely go to a music festival this year. We can move a ton of it and trip our minds out for the shows.”
“That’s actually a great idea. But I wasn’t finished. Business is going great and I got you a little graduation present.”
“Aww, that’s sweet, you know you didn’t have to.”
I reach into the inside pocket of my dinner jacket and pull out the small box. I get out of my chair and take a step so that I’m right in front of her. Then I drop to one knee. I open the box in front of her and show her the gold ring with diamonds and a jade green emerald.
“Alexandra, I want you to be my partner in crime forever. I want to be with you for the rest of my life. Will you marry me?”

***

“Are you fucking serious?” I ask, shocked and incredulous.
“Dead serious.” She answers.
“Let me get this straight… you’ve been setting up a racket ever since the beginning of the semester, without my knowing, as a pimp?”
“That’s insulting. I’ve set up perfectly legitimate escort service. Sometimes the lonely college boys need some company, and all the little college girls need to make money. All I’m doing is bringing people together.”
“Are you fucking serious?” This was a little too much for me.
“In the first month the lowest price girl was pulling $150 a trick.”
“And how many tricks were there?”
“Fifty-one! I paid all six girls $1500 for the month and we still made over three grand! Isn’t it awesome?”
“Well, you certainly are putting that MBA of yours to good use aren’t you?”
“I learned from the best.”
“Well, do me a favor and set up Sami with one of them. He’s been off his game lately.

***

“I’m telling you it just doesn’t feel right!” she protests as I pull the .357 out of the drawer.
“And I’m telling you that it’s fine!” I retort, “Sami set it up. I gave him the money and he’s meeting me at our place with two ounces of blow. We go and meet his buddies in Smallwood, make a quick grand. It’s just a simple deal.”
“Something isn’t right about it. Don’t go. Tell Sami to handle it.”
“You know I have to be there and you know why. I’ll be fine. I’ve got my buddies Smith and Wesson with me.”
I take a step toward her.
“I’ll be back in a few hours. Don’t worry.
I grab the back of her head and pull her in for a kiss. She doesn’t let me off this time. She pulls me down on top of her, reaches down pulls the gun out of my pants. The revolver was on the dresser. I slide her panties down from under her nightgown. I tease her a little. She grabs my hips and pulls me into her. She lets out a moan of pleasure and drags her nails up my back.
“I fucking love you.” She whispers.

***

“Where the fuck are these guys, Sami?”
“They said they would be here at 2:00. What time is it?”
“It’s two fucking fifteen, and I’m getting sick of waiting.”
“Wait, I think I hear them coming.”
We hear footsteps coming down the alleyway. Two of them, walking slowly, deliberately. As they come around the corner I see that they are dressed in baggy clothes, and one of them is wearing a huge gleaming pendant on a silver chain. One of them is wearing a backpack. As they approach I can tell that they are both very big and both very Mexican.
“How are you boys doing tonight?” I ask them warily.
“We’ll be doing better once we unload all this cash we’ve got.” Says one of them with a thick accent.
“Well, I think I can help you with that problem. May I see it?”
The one with the backpack takes it off and unzips the front pocket, revealing two wads of bills standing in the pouch inside.
“Thirty-two hundred.” He says as he tosses the bag at my feet.
“Excellent. Sami, the bag please?”
CLICK
I turn to look at Sami and find myself staring down his .22. I didn’t have time to think, I knew if Sami was pointing his gun at me the other two would soon draw theirs. I throw my arm up quickly and spike Sami’s hand down so his gun is pointed elsewhere. It doesn’t go off. As I’m doing this I pull my revolver out of my pants and turn it on the Mexicans. I squeeze one round off and hear the deafening sound echo through the alley. I just miss as they both dive in opposite directions out of the bullet’s path. I try to aim at one, but I’m blasted off my feet and crash down onto the ground.

-12-

“How did she die?” asks a weak voice.
I turn from the table to look at her. She had obviously been crying, and she looks just a little pale, but the expression on her face isn’t grief. It’s something else. Something I’ve seen before. My gut feels like it’s tied in a knot as I realize. She looks EXACTLY like Alexandra when she’s pissed. That face is dangerous. I stare at her for a moment. Her features are set in stone and her eyes are pure green ferocity. She looks like she’s going to erupt burning rage and lava.
“How did she die?” Her voice now much stronger.
“I wish I knew.”
She stares at me a moment.
“When?”
“January. When we ‘took off’.”
“Then where the fuck have you been?”
“Dead.”
“Goddamnit Adam! This isn’t a fucking joke!”
“YOU DON’T THINK I FUCKING KNOW THAT?” I spring up out of the chair, almost knocking it over.
She isn’t fazed at all. She looks me dead in the eye. The silence is deafening. I don’t know what to say to her. She has too much she wants to say to me. So we just stare at each other. It seems like an eternity. Finally she breaks the silence.
“Tell me what happened,” she commands me, “I deserve to know.”
“Greed. Some people got greedy. They wanted what we had. So they killed us. Or at least they tried. I was shot twice. I survived. I’ve been in a coma in the hospital since that night in January. I came out of it today.”
“Bullshit!” her eyes and nostrils flare dangerously.
“It’s the truth.” I say firmly and look her in the eye.
More silence, then…
“Who?”
“Sami, for one…”
“Sami? You’re fucking roommate?”
“Yes.”
She holds my gaze, still with the same look, piercing my gaze and drilling into me. But then she looks away. Her features soften and she sits down on the couch and buries her face in her hands.
“Look, I know that’s a lot to digest right now, but I’ve been living this all day. The last thing I remember before waking up in a hospital bed is falling onto the street after getting shot.”
Silence. I sit down next to her and put my arm around her shoulder. I don’t blame the kid. This is heavy stuff. I’d be in a poor state too, but I have things to take care of before I can let it sink in.
“Look, I have to go somewhere and try to figure things out. I’ll be back in a little while. I’ll tell you more when I get back.”
“Are you going to your place?”
“I’ve already talked to Sami, it wouldn’t do much good going back there.”
I get up and walk over to the table. I grab my bag off the table and head toward the door.
“What did you say to Sami?” she asked just before I grab the doorknob.
I turn back to face her.
“You don’t need to know about that.”
“I’m going over there. I’m going to fucking kill him.”
“You’re not.” I say flatly, “Do not go over there.”
And I walk out the door.

-13-

After a twenty minute walk I arrive at my destination. I walk up onto the porch. There’s music inside. Loud music. I knock on the door. No answer. I bang on the door hard.
“Open up, you damn hippie!”
The door opens. I see Nick standing there. For the last year or so, Nick, along with his roommate Jamie, was my supplier for all things mind-altering, mood enhancing, or memory erasing that could be made with a chemistry lab. Molly, Doses, Angel Dust… If it required chemistry they were the best. They were two chemistry majors (and damn smart ones) who loved their hallucinogens, and they decided that combination of these two was their calling. I met them in a bar when they were freshmen. They both had fake ID’s, and had just taught the barmaid a new mixed drink. We got drunk and then went to a concert. They had some acid and we all dropped. I ended up buying them all the supplies for drug-making and put them to work in my basement laboratory until they moved out of the dorms. These guys were my biggest project and they were the closest thing I had to friends. They would mix their potions and put out their pills, and I could sell them to Castillo or Cameron for 350% of the cost and still charge 25% under the market price. Cutting me out of the equation is probably saving Castillo about five large every month, more if he’s taken some of Cameron’s business.
As Nick sees me he cocks his head back slightly and raises an eyebrow in mild surprise.
“Adam! Come on in, boss.” He recovers quickly.
“Thanks.” I was a little confused. It felt like I was here yesterday, and now he was asking me in without even mentioning me being dead.
“Jamie! Adam’s here.”
“Adam who?” Yells Jamie from the other room.
“I’m the only Adam you know, or did you forget about me already?” I ask him as we walk into the living room.
“HOLY SHIT ADAM!” yells Jamie from the living room.
Jamie is looking at me like he can’t believe his eyes, and I detect a very subtle nervousness. After a pregnant pause the edge of nervousness seems to disappear and the silence is broken.
“So you’re back from the dead now?”
“You know it.” I can feel myself starting to grin.
“Who did it? I hear it was Cameron.”
“That’s why I came over, actually. I need to know where I can find Castillo.”
“Castillo? But we’ve been selling to Castillo ever since.” says the puzzled Nick.
“And Sami wouldn’t let him near us if he took you out.” Continues Jamie.
“Unless he didn’t know.” Answers Nick
“He knew.” I put in.
“Then he must have…”
“Been in on it?”
“No way…”
Both of their mouths open and eyes open wide when they see the light and the full weight of this revelation came down on them like an avalanche of implications, unknown details and stinging betrayal. Jamie’s face darkened as he collected his thoughts and Nick still looked bewildered, grappling with all the ins and outs of the situation.
“I killed Sami this morning. I’m going to take out Castillo. Maybe tonight. I need your help to find him.”
They both stare at me for a moment, almost expressionless, but the very lack of expression radiates the innumerable emotions and thoughts that have to be going on inside of them. Finally Nick clears his throat.
“How did you kill him?”
“With a hunting knife and a bottle of vodka.”
“You never half-ass anything, do you?” He jokes as his face slowly resumes normality.
“One of my many talents. What do you got for me?”
“One of his boys was here earlier picking up. These guys don’t pay as well as you did. He was talking about some DJ who was going to be at Jake’s Nightclub tonight. You can probably start there.”

-14-

Now for the hard part. Castillo won’t be alone. He never leaves without his little séquito. Reconnaissance should at least be easy. Crowded club full of people. I’ll bring Denise and I’ll blend right in. I need a disguise though. Funny, I come all the way back from the dead to wreak vengeance on my killers and I have to do recon at fucking Jake’s. Garbage.
My thoughts snap back to the present as I approach Denise’s apartment. I turn my head as I walk past a big black Cadillac. It’s sitting on huge chrome rims and all its windows have a heavy dark tint. It looks out of place. I look in through the windshield. The dark tint makes it difficult but I can make out the interior. It’s spotless. Nothing suspicious at all, so why does it still bother me? I’m about to turn around and forget it when I see the auto tattoo on the back windshield. A capital R with a crown around the top. I know that symbol. It’s the symbol for Los Reyes. It’s the symbol for Castillo’s crew. FUCK.
I run up to the door as stealthily as I can. I pull the Magnum out of my pants and stand with my back to the wall next to the door. I turn the handle slowly, quietly. It turns, it’s unlocked. I push on the door. FUCK I HATE DEADBOLTS. I can hear them struggling inside. He’s hurting her. I can’t let this happen. Not Denise. I got Alexandra killed but I’m not going to fucking lose Denise.
I square up and face the door. I lift my foot up and blast it next to the lock with all the force I can muster. I can see sharp wood shards fly off the frame as the door bursts open. I dive forward and roll across the living room into the kitchen. I stay on my belly and pop my head and my gun around the corner. He’s got a gun pointed in my direction but I fire two rounds before he gets a clear shot. The wall behind him is sprayed with blood as the second shot grazes his shoulder and he drops to the ground. He’s behind a sofa and I can’t see him. Then I hear the girl shriek.
“Let go of me!”
“Come closer and I’ll kill this puta,” yells an accented voice from the other side of the sofa, “you stay there and we go out.”
“Not gonna happen, maricón.”
He stands up and he’s got his arm around Denise’s neck and she’s in front of him, blocking my shot. He’s also got his gun in her ribs. Give me a clear shot, you fuck. Just for a second. One wrong move and you’re a dead man, just give me the shot. He’s using his wounded arm to hold her. Then I notice Denise’s shirt was ripped and he had scratch marks on his face. This dirty bastard was going to rape her! You’re already dead motherfucker, you just haven’t realized it yet. He backs around toward the door, carefully keeping his eyes on me and the girl between us. She looks at me with eyes that aren’t terrified or panicked as they should be. She looks pissed. If that look was for me, I’d let her go and take my chances against the Magnum.
As they get near the door, more of my body is exposed. I start to worry about this for just a moment when he pulls the gun up and points it at me, trying to get me to withdraw. It would have worked, except in the same instant Denise reaches up behind her and grabs hard on the exact spot where the guy was hit, and immediately spins out from in front of him, breaking his weakened hold as he cringes and yelps with pain. You messed with the wrong girl, motherfucker, I squeeze the trigger twice and watch his chest explode with blood as he is knocked back against the wall. As he hits the wall he slumps down in to a lifeless heap on the floor, leaving a smear of blood trailing down the wall behind him.

-15-

“Are you okay?” I ask as I stand up.
“Now I am,” comes her icy reply as she kicks the body on the floor, “fucking piece of shit bastard!”
“It’s all over now.” I hug her and she wraps her arms tight around my back. She’s starting to cry.
“It’s over now, you can calm down.” I do my best to comfort her.
She holds on to me for about a minute, then let’s go.
“Okay, I’m all right now.” She says as she dries her tears. Her makeup is smeared all over her face, her shirt is torn, and she has blood on her hands and shoulders and cheek. But for all of that she doesn’t look scared or rattled at all. She’s steady and the expression on her face was dispassionate. This is one tough little girl.
“That’s good. But now we have to get out of here, the cops will be here soon.”
“I doubt that. The walls here are super thick.”
“Yeah, but this gun is loud as hell. Go wash up and change quickly. Grab some clothes and anything else you’ll need. We’ll go stay in a hotel for a few days. Hurry though, I don’t feel like explaining a dead Mexican to the boys in blue.”
While she does all that I take a closer look at the corpse on the floor. I recognize him but can’t put my finger on who he is. I take out his wallet. Chris Guerrero is the name on the license. That’s no help. Who the fuck are you? I take another look at him and start to get frustrated. Where the fuck did we meet? I figure he’s probably just one of Castillo’s goons that I had seen him with at some point, but for some reason he seems more familiar than that, like someone you just meet but forget their name right away. I’m so frustrated I actually kick the body in the face. I feel the jaw crunch and teeth break under the weight of my foot. The corpse was in a sitting position and my kick knocks it over sideways. As he hits the ground a long silver chain with a gleaming, blood-spattered silver pendant of the Los Reyes symbol slides out of his jacket. When I see it my eyes open wide and my heart jumps in my chest. You shot me! You were the one that fucking shot me in that alley! Payback’s a bitch, isn’t it, cabrón?
As I stand up Denise comes back into the living room, with a new outfit and her face washed. She has a big bag with her. How did she pack all that stuff so fast?
“You ready to go?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. Let’s be about it.” I say as I throw Guerrero’s wallet and gun in my bag and sling it over my shoulder.”

-16-

The drive is short and silent. Neither of us speaks the entire ride. We arrive at the Hilton Garden Inn, park the car, and walk inside. We check in under a phony name (Mr. & Mrs. Eric Michaels), and pay for two nights up front in cash, which my most recent victim so providentially supplied us with. We head up into our room.
It’s about five o’clock, so we have a several hours to kill before we go to the Nightclub to look for Castillo. When we get settled in I suggest that we go down to the hotel restaurant, Coach’s, for something to eat.
“So where did that guy come from?”
“He followed me. I went to Sami’s. I know you told me not to but I sort of lost control after you left.”
I know the feeling.
“But when I got there, he said Sami didn’t live there anymore. I said that was bullshit, and that Sami and I had a score to settle. He looked at me strangely for a minute and then told me to get lost. He must have followed me home because I was only inside for a minute or two before he came in. I left the door unlocked so you could get back in.”
Never leave the door unlocked.
“So then he came in and he hit me and started asking me what I knew about Sami. I told him that Alexandra was my sister and that she was your girlfriend and you were Sami’s partner. Then he told me told me that he killed both of you, and I tried to attack him, but he was so much stronger than me. He threw me on the ground, and then he said he didn’t get to fuck Alexandra before he killed her, but that he wouldn’t make that mistake again, and he started tearing my clothes off and throwing me around. That’s when you came in.”
Adam saves the day. Some hero.
“Look, Denise. The reason that guy was there instead of Sami is because Sami is dead.”
“I thought you said that you talked to him today?”
“I did. I went to his penthouse, and asked him why he set me up. I asked him who helped him. There’s a gangster named Castillo. The guy at your apartment worked for him. He’s the one who planned the whole thing and set me up.”
“Wait, you killed Sami?”
“Yes, and tonight I’m going to kill Castillo.”

-17-

After we finish we head back up in the room. I finish up getting ready to go out and Denise is still in the bathroom. I decide to clean Guerrero’s gun. It’s a .22 caliber Beretta 21 Bobcat. It is super light-weight with a short stubby barrel. Perfect for concealment and not nearly as loud as my Magnum. Not long now, Castillo. This is your judgment day. Nothing can change that now. You can’t stop what’s coming.
I’m sitting on the bed, cleaning the gun on the nightstand when Denise comes out of the bathroom and walks toward me. I’m still concentrating on the gun but I can see from my periphery that Denise is standing right in front of me. I look up at her and suddenly I feel a jolt deep in my gut.
She is standing in front of me in a short, tight green dress that matches perfectly with her bright green eyes. Her curly blond hair hung down in front of her shoulder on one side in front of the strap of her dress, and for just a moment I forget everything and I go speechless. I’m looking at Alexandra again. I feel like I’m staring so I stand up to face her. She gazes at me with the same emerald eyes that I fell in love with. I’m trying hard to restrain myself from kissing her. She’s not Alexandra, no matter how much you want her to be.
But then she reaches out. She puts her arms around me and pulls me in. I put my hands on her hips and our lips touch. We kiss for a long time. After a minute we fall onto the bed, still in each other’s arms. She rolls on top of me, straddling me, and whispers into my ear.
“Tell me this isn’t wrong.”
“This can’t be wrong.”
She reaches down and unbuttons my pants. I kick them off as I unzip her dress. As I slide it off of her, she reaches down and pulls the covers over us.

-18-

“It’s time for you to go back to the hotel.”
It’s about two o’clock in the morning, and we’re standing by the bar right next to the dance floor in the club. Castillo and his cronies have been sitting in the huge VIP booth. A few of the cronies had been down to the dance floor to bring girls back, and the server had brought them all their drinks. Castillo hadn’t had more than a shot or two. This was a good thing, even though it would make my task more difficult. I get you with all your senses. You’re going to know your dead. You’re going to feel every bit of pain you get.
“I’m going to stay with you!”
“The hell you are. It’s way too dangerous. Go back to the hotel, and I’ll wake you up when I get home.”
“But what if something happens to you?”
“Nothing will happen to me. When I get back this will all be over, and we can move on. But I have to do this. I have to do it alone.”
“No you don’t! I can help.”
“I don’t need any help.”
“Well I’m coming and I don’t…”
“NO!” we’re both surprised by the vehemence in my voice. Not because I had shouted, but because of the way I did. It wasn’t dispassionate like my usual commands. It was full of emotion. It was anxious, worried, troubled.
“Adam… I…”
“I’m not going to lose you the way I lost her,” I say with the same emotion, “I’m not going to get you killed.”
“Adam,” she says as she takes my hands in hers, “It wasn’t your fault. It was Sami’s fault, it was Castillo’s fault, but it wasn’t yours.”
“Denise, go back to the hotel, please. Don’t ask me to put you at risk. I can’t do it. I’ll be fine and in a few hours this will all be over, but for now you need to go back to the hotel.”
She looks at me with misty green eyes full of worry and compassion and understanding. After a long time she pulls me close and gives me a long kiss.
“You better fucking come back to me.”
“I will.”
“Then I’ll go back. Go give that sonofabitch what he deserves. I’ll be waiting.”
She kisses me one last time and then turns and walks out. I watch her as she goes, relieved. Time to get down to business. I turn back to look at Castillo. He and two other guys are the only ones left in the booth. Come on motherfucker, let’s get this show on the road.

-19-

I slow Denise’s car down a bit as Castillo’s car pulls into a driveway after a short drive from the bar. I go past as they get out of the car. The driveway is underneath a huge patio on the side of a big brick house on the corner of 11th street. So this is where you live… funny that it’s going to be where you die. I drive around the block and pull onto the side of the road about half a block away. I get out of the car and then get back in the back seat. I open my bag and pull out the outfit I had worn when I killed Sami; black hoodie, black sweatpants, black gloves, black skull cap.
Once changed, I get out of the car and approach the house and walk a lap around. It is on the corner of the intersection with the front door facing one street and the driveway and patio facing the other. There are three levels including the basement, which had a door that led to the under deck garage. The deck is on the first floor and has a sliding glass door, and the basement door is big and heavy looking. The front door is up a few steps from the ground on a small front porch, and made of some kind of wood with a window in the middle, and door-height windows on the side of each door. The lights are on in the main living room and kitchen (which is the only room I can actually see into). Only one light is on in the basement and none on upstairs. I decide to wait a while until I’m sure everyone is in bed.
I go and sit behind a bush on the corner between the front and side doors. I sit there for a long while. My mind is focused and sharp. I keep looking around the corners to see when the lights go out. They aren’t. Then I hear the front door open. I look and see one guy walk out on the front porch.
“Yeah, I’m just going to smoke first.” Says the guy.
I hear somebody saying something inside.
“Okay, goodnight jefe.” Says the guy on the porch.
I can see the guy clearly as he lights his cigarette. He sits down on the top of three steps. The front porch is about two feet off the ground and had a built on brick railing about two foot above that. The steps are in the middle directly in front of the door, with brick pillars on either side. I put my back against the outside of the house and sneak silently toward the porch. I get there, and face the side of the porch. I put my hands, palms down, on the wide railing. I pull myself up and climb over it noiselessly. I’m right behind him. I pull the knife out of its holster as I move toward him cautiously and lower myself to his level. I wait until he takes a drag of his smoke and lower his hand, and I strike.
I put one knee into his back and pull his head back with my right hand, and simultaneously drag the blade across his throat. He makes a horrible gargling sound as he reaches back helplessly, but the movement slows rapidly and in a few short seconds he falls back, dead.

-20-

I clean my knife off with rag that I brought just for that purpose. One down, no alarm yet. I might just get out of here without having to fire a shot. I open the front door with extreme caution. All the lights on the main level are off, but that doesn’t mean there’s no one there. I open it only enough to get in, draw the .22 out of my sweats, step inside, and close the door carefully behind me. I scope out the downstairs quickly. The wall to my left is mostly a half-height wall with a doorway to the living room. The stairs are on the far end of the living room and the sliding door is on the wall to the far left. To my right is the kitchen and a breakfast nook, also empty. A bathroom is at the end of the hall to the right and stairs to the basement across from it.
I decide to check downstairs first. I go down the stairs stealthily and make sure I stay low, with just my eyes above the railing (which was an extension of the wall). It looks like another empty living room, so I stand up when I get to the bottom. There’s a door on the wall in front of the stairs that I recognize as the garage exit. There is also a door on the wall opposite of that. I walk up and examine it. The door is extremely heavy looking and has a hooked metal door knob, like one you’d see in a warehouse. Above that there is a heavy dead-bolt, and a steel surface-mount lock with a heavy padlock above that. Found the stockroom. I wonder how much money all the drugs in that room are worth. I shake myself mentally. Doesn’t matter, that’s not what I’m here for.
I turn around and head back up the stairs. All the bedrooms are on the top floor. At least I know where they all are. I climb warily up the stairs, and about half way up I can see a light coming from the room at the top of the steps. I continue slowly up the stairs until I reach the top and see that the light is coming from a bathroom. The hallway has three doors on the left side, including the bathroom, and two on the right. The door next to the bathroom is the only other door that is open, but the light is off. There is no light coming from under any of the other doors either. I peak around the door of the open room and see that the bed is empty. That must be the dead guy’s room. I turn around and am about to check the other rooms when the door at the end of the hall opens, pouring light into the far end of the hallway as its resident steps out. We lock eyes for a split second and I turn immediately around and bound down the stairs as I hear him shout.
“WHAT THE FUCK?”

-21-

So much for the element of surprise… FUCK.
I can hear the first guy banging on doors and yelling to his roommates. I open the sliding glass door and slam it shut, and then run across the living room through the open doorway. I holster the .22 as I move toward the front door and pull out the magnum with my back to the wall. I flip around and duck down a bit, and stick the gun out across the half-height wall, using the top of it to steady my shot. A second later I hear them running down the stairs.
“I heard him go outside,” a voice says as the first one reaches the bottom of the stairs, “let’s get this pandejo!”
The first one down the stairs throws open the sliding door and waits for the two others to catch up. The darkness hides his face from me. Which fucking one of you is Castillo? The other two make it down the stairs and they all begin to run out the door. Only one of them makes out of the house.
Six thunderous explosions deafen me as I unload every shot I have as quickly as I can pull the trigger. Then several things happen simultaneously. The glass door shatters and the figure outside on the deck spins around as he falls to the ground. One of the men inside is thrown against the wall by the force of the huge bullet colliding with his chest, and the other covers the white wall in dark blood as his head is blasted into a bloody pulp.

-22-

I duck down and pull out the .22, then stand up and run quickly to the bodies. I recognize the body that still has a head as the second one who was in the alley the night I was shot. I look at the other dead man. Not much left of you is there? I don’t think even his mother could identify him now. I look out at the man on the porch who was crawling toward the stairs, leaving a trail of blood.
“CASTILLO!!!” I yell.
He turns his head to look at me. That’s him. I step over the headless corpse and scan the deck. No gun. It must have flown over the edge when he dropped it. He continues to crawl toward the stairs. I step up behind him I deliver a kick to his hip, just below the bullet would. He shrieks in pain as he falls to his other side.
“LOOK AT ME PUTO!”
He looks up at me with a look of pure hatred. Then he recognizes me. His eyebrows ascend his forehead and his eyes seem to gape out of his head as his expression changes to obvious terror.
“What’s the matter, mother fucker? You look like you’ve seen a ghost!” I sneer.
“No…You’re dead,” he cried, “you’re DEAD!”
“Get up!” I yell. “Get the FUCK UP!”
I grab him under the arms and lift him to his knees. Then I kick him directly in the chest, which sends him rolling down the stairs. He crashes in a heap on the ground. I step down the stairs slowly, heavily. He starts crawling away again. You’re not getting away from me. I come up behind him and kick him directly in the ass and he falls flat on his face. I step to the side of him and roll him onto his back with my foot. I put my foot just below his left shoulder, holding him in place. I cross my right arm under my left, resting the left forearm on my right wrist to steady my shot as I aim the .22 directly between his eyes. I let him stare down the barrel in silence for a minute as I hold it over him like the Sword of Damocles. You feel that you piece of shit? That’s terror. I can taste the sweetness of victory as I savor the moment. My heartbeat pounds in my chest so loud it’s deafening. My eyes narrow as I decide that now is the time.
“This is for Alexandra. Time to die, Castillo. Don’t want to keep the Devil waiting.”

BANG

-23-

I was just about to pull the trigger when I feel a sledgehammer hit my shoulder and I’m knocked sideways onto the ground. This time the pain doesn’t block out my thoughts. I’ve failed. Alexandra won’t be avenged. Castillo will live to kill again. I’ll never see Denise again. I see through blurry vision that someone shot me from up on the deck. Someone with a bloody chest is leaning with one arm through the rail, and a gun in that hand. I lay there for a while, the SEARING pain of the bullet pumping through my body and the CRUSHING weight of defeat consuming my mind. Then I see Castillo standing over me, aiming a huge silver .45 caliber handgun directly at my face.
“You will stay dead this time, Cabrón.”

BANG

Epilogue

There was something about this girl that Luis Castillo liked. He’s brought a few perfect tens home from the bars in his day, but something about this one was different. She shoved him onto the bed and climbed on top of him, straddling her legs over his torso. She leans down and kisses his neck. She sits up and stares down at him.
“I’ve got a surprise for you.” says the girl seductively as she reaches into her purse.
“I love surprises,” he answers as he stares up at her.
It’s those eyes, he thinks to himself, those wild, green eyes.
She pulls what looks like lipstick out of her purse, and then she steps back onto the floor, and kisses his chest, moving down further and further. She slides his boxer’s down around his ankle.
“This is for Adam!” yells the girl as she pulls the top off of the disguised knife and slices it across his genitals.
He screams loud enough to wake up the dead as he reaches down and curls into a fetal position, in more pain than any man should ever endure.
“And this is for Alexandra.” Says Denise coldly as she calmly takes the other knife out of her purse, pulls it out of its case, and thrusts it into Luis Castillo’s heart.

The End