Chapter Thirteen
Selena
Rain put his phone away then took his laptop from its case and set it up on the table. “We need to do some research first. I have firsthand knowledge of Catemaco. But it is full of tourists this month. It is festival time there.”
“What kind of festival?” Henry snarked. “Bullshit and Broomsticks?”
“Not even close,” Rain replied as he tapped his keyboard. “It is the Congress of Witches really. Some say it is not evil or dark. They have mixed Catholic religion and their brand of magic. In fact, the church is the focal point of that area.”
“I cannot fathom such a thing,” Henry argued.
“All things are possible in the world,” Rain told him. “Even you getting smarter.”
Carlos chuckled.
“You are just so funny, aren’t you, Ivan?” Henry snapped.
“I am. Yes, I am.” Rain smirked.
I wandered over and took a look at his screen.
I saw a beautiful image of the church he spoke of.
It was white with blue trimming. Rounded tops and just a lovely, magical looking building.
I read the caption on there aloud, “The Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church in Catemaco, Veracruz, Mexico. At the heart of Catemaco’s spiritual energy is the annual gathering of brujos and curanderos.
They don’t arrive in secret, they're welcomed. Honored. It’s not about black hats and broomsticks.
It’s about healing. Cleansing. Calling in good. Driving out what no longer serves.”
Rain nodded at Henry. “See? It is not as you think, Sir Spicious.”
Henry shook his head. “Wow mate, you just aren’t going to quit with that, are you?”
Rain didn’t even hide his smirk. “Net, as it is too much fun. But I have been there for this celebration. With bonfires lighting up the hills. The rhythmic beat of drums echoing through the trees. A circle of people swaying, chanting, not for show but for something older than language. Candles flickering in every doorway. Smoke curling up from every altar. There’s a scent of incense in the air and sometimes, there’s a full moon. ”
“Blimey! Now you are spouting poetry?” Henry exclaimed. “You really dig this black magic crap.”
Rain shrugged as he defended, “And what is so different than your knights of the realm, medieval magic crap?”
“Facts in history, Mr. High IQ.” Henry raised his chin up in defense.
“And this was where Santiago put the kids?” I asked, cutting into their arguments. “I have heard of this Catemaco. But like many… I have never been there.”
“That is where Carlos claims they are,” Henry replied with a whine in his voice. “I mean I was hoping for—”
“Yes, Belize. We know,” Rain cut in. “This location is a long ways from here as well, the plane trip alone is like 8 or 9 hours. Then we will take a rental car to Catemaco.”
“Oh crikey,” Henry grumbled. “Being with you for a whole day?” He shook his head at Rain. “I will want to throw down with ya.”
Carlos raised his hands at them. “I will not have you throw down or duke it out. At least not in the car. You two have to…” He looked frustrated. “You have to try to get along. This is a rescue. A retrieval of the highest importance. We cannot have this infighting.”
“Infighting?” Henry asked. “No, no, my friend. You got us all wrong.”
I blinked at this. All they had done since I met them was argue.
Henry nodded as he went on, “If Rain apologizes for his Sir names—”
“Apologize?” Rain cut him off. “For making jokes?”
Henry nodded.
“If I did that, then you would have to apologize to all of us for being A JOKE,” Rain replied.
“Aguas!” Carlos cut in. “You are like little chicos. Do we have to be parents to you?”
The two men stared at him, then they both leaned their heads back to laugh.
I shook my head then in a blink… I did my thing.
The men abruptly halted when my blade landed on the table between them. Handle up, with its sharp tip embedded into the wood.
The two large men literally jumped from their chairs. With hands up, they looked astonished.
“Blyat!” Rain exclaimed.
Henry agreed, “Blimey!’
Both of them stared at me. Shock written on their faces.
“We never even saw your hands move!” Henry claimed as he looked stunned.
Rain had now blanked his expression though he did nod his head.
Carlos laughed. “So, consider Selena to be your therapist. But bearing knives, not words. I would call this move. You’d best behave.”
They went quiet as they continued to stare at me.
I raised my hands and tried to console them. “I would never kill you. And I would never do it unless you got way out of hand. I mean most of it is fucking hilarious. I would just aim for what would be a little painful.” I shrugged.
Both men gaped at me now.
Henry lowered his hands to cup his zipper area as he sat back down. “Bloody freakin’ hell!”
Rain played it a bit cooler as he stared at me. But he too, sat back down.
Carlos chuckled. “Can you see it now? Why this woman is for me?”
“She has what I call the three B’s.” Henry nodded. “Brains, beauty, and bravery.”
I laughed. “Maybe it’s four B’s. I’ve been called a bitch by quite a few men.” I shrugged. “Well, they were ones I refused to have sex with.”
“Fuckers…” Carlos growled.
His two friends looked over at him and laughed.
A knock sounded on the door.
Both men were immediately up again, guns out.
I grabbed my phone with my free hand and tapped the camera screen. “A man with a stack of pizza boxes?”
“Oh, that was me,” Henry spoke up. “I ordered us dinner.” He looked over at Rain and sniffed arrogantly. “See? I was not being useless with my phone.” He tucked his gun away and looked over at me.
I nodded at him. “It looks all clear.” Just to be safe I tucked my phone away and raised my gun.
Rain did the same as we both stood on either side of the door.
Henry shook his head as he muttered something about, “Overkill and paranoia.” Then he opened the door.
The pizza guy gave him a huge smile. “Mr. Ford?”
Henry smiled as he nodded. “That’s me.”
The man swung the boxes over and handed them to him. Then he unhooked a plastic bag from his wrist. “Here is your soda. And thanks for the awesome tip! I added some sauces and extra napkins.”
“Thanks, man,” Henry replied with no Brit accent whatsoever as he roped the bag over his own wrist. “Have a great night and be safe out there.” He then shut the door. Turning, he paused as he noted we were all staring at him. “What?”
“Henry Ford?” Rain asked about the fake name of course.
“And you can drop your accent?” I added. “Anytime you want?”
Henry scoffed as he headed to the small table. “I hide just like all of you do.” He set the boxes down.
“From what?” Rain asked.
“All the factions,” he replied. “The Italian and Mexican mafias. The Bratva and even the Irish gangs as they call them.”
“But why?” I asked as I took the soda bag from him to take it over to the ice bucket and cups.
“Da, Mr. Ford,” Rain asked him. “Is there a wanted poster on your head?”
“No, indeed, there is no reward. But I imagine you would try to cash in on that. I am a bodyguard, but I stopped working for any illegal groups, so to speak. After Carlos bailed me out, I swore them off.”
I got the cups out and asked, “So are you going to share what he bailed you out from?”
Silence.
I looked up to see him going through the pizza boxes.
Henry set them apart and announced, “We have the ever popular pepperoni. Then the alpha pizza of three meats and what I call God forbid, it is just cheese.”
I chuckled at the made up name. “I like the God forbid one.” I set the 2 liter bottles down and unscrewed the top of one. I then filled four cups. I now gathered that Henry did not want to talk about whatever the event was that Carlos had rescued him from.
Henry nodded his head sagely. “Lots of women want just cheese. That was why I ordered it.”
“Mierda,” Carlos admonished. “Insulting females much, Henry?”
I brought three cups over and passed them out to the guys. “No, he is right. I was the only one that ate that style of pizza in the Diego family.”
Henry nodded at me. “I am ever so glad you brought that up. I have some questions about them.”
I grabbed a slice from the cheese pizza box. “Is that so?” I took a bite, wondering if I shared some of my story… would he do the same?
Henry nodded as he handed me a few napkins. “If you will answer them.”
“Depends.” I took the napkins from his hand. “Like if answering them gets me dead…then no, I will refuse.”
He nodded at me and said one name, “Quanto.”
I took a bite then chewed as I laughed. I should have known.
“Yes, so you know what I wanted to ask then?”
Carlos looked over at him. “Henry—”
“No, that’s ok,” I told Carlos. Taking another bite, I chewed, then swallowed and said, “Six fingers on each hand.”
“Dose Dedos!” Henry exclaimed as he laughed.
“Twelve Fingers,” Rain translated. “They call him Dose Dedos but I always thought it was a made up rumor to scare people.”
“No. But it is true that he has killed men for staring at his hands.” I took another bite.
“I just cannot understand how you could work for him?” Carlos went over to grab a piece of pizza and a napkin. “And I am not talking about his hands.”
“I had a method for that madness. I planned every move to get there.” I took a drink from my cup, swallowed then continued, “I used my savings I had for college and paid The Wasp to train me. She taught me the trick you all just saw with my blade.” I paused to raise a brow at them.
“And several others which are even more deadly, but I do not use them often. My money wasn’t really enough for a trainer like her but she said I was gutsy to even ask her.
The fact I had the balls to find her then approach her, impressed her enough to train me.
” I paused to take another bite of pizza.
“Wait, wait,” Henry interjected. “You tracked THE Wasp down? Then asked her to train you?”
I nodded and swiped my mouth with my napkin.
“I agree with her, you’ve got…” Henry paused. “...Guts.”
“So you chose the Diego Cartel on purpose?” Rain asked. “They are really deadly from what I know.”
“Si, they are,” I told him. “The main attraction for me was Quanto’s absolute hatred for Santiago. You might say it matched mine if that was possible.”
“So, how did you stomach doing the hits?” Henry asked. “If that doesn’t insult you.” Looking cautious, he raised his hand at me.
I chuckled and took another sip from my coke. “It is okay. One day in San Cristobal, an assassin got past his men to get at Quanto. So I used my blade toss…The one The Wasp calls La Corbata to stop the hitter.”
Rain shook his head and muttered, “The Necktie…”
“Quite the entrance…Very awesome!” Henry cheered as he swiped his mouth with his napkin.
I went on with the story, “I had been following his group unnoticed for weeks – another lesson from The Wasp – and that attempted hit was my opportunity to show him my skills. Quanto then refused to let me go. He had his top IT investigate me. The man was good at his job but he couldn’t find anything on me.
I figured my safest bet was to be brutally honest with Quanto.
I told him I had no record. I told him about the murder of my brother and who did it too.
How I changed my plans in life because of that.
I admitted to wanting into his organization due to two things: his successful reputation and number two: his hatred for Santiago Castillo.
I then informed him that I had been following him around for weeks to see how I could join his cartel.
He was angry that his top security men missed that.
He had two of them executed.” I sighed. “Yes, I knew then exactly what I was getting into.”
The men had finished their dinner as I told my story. They remained very quiet for a change.
I then shared a little more with them, “I told him I would work loyally for him but I had two stipulations.”
Rain blinked his eyes at me and asked, “You gave Quanto Diego stipulations?”
“Yeah, that is either brave to the point of stupidity or it means that you are nuts.” Henry nodded.
“I can see how someone would think that,” I agreed. “But I hoped that what I had been told about him would pan out. I told him I only killed if it was on equal terms. Like if my opponent had a weapon. As in, I refused to murder anyone.”
“Oh, mercy!” Henry exclaimed.
“And he agreed to that?” Rain asked me in an incredulous tone.
“After I explained my promise to my madre on her deathbed that I would never commit that sin. I could defend my life but I could not murder anyone in cold blood as that is an ultimate sin in God’s eyes.”
“Ohhh,” Carlos finally spoke. “That’s how you convinced him.”
“Very clever,” Rain complimented me.
Looking confused, Henry looked back and forth at us. “Explain.”
“Quanto's mother made him promise several things on her deathbed as well,” Carlos explained.
I nodded. “So that one was agreed to.”
“Then the second one?” Carlos asked.
“I told him that I was a wizard in investments and if I made him at least 10 million, I could one day ask him for one favor. One that he could not refuse. He at first, didn’t really believe me, so I invested for a few months and tripled his money.
After that, he promised on his madre’s soul that he would concede to my second stipulation. ”
“Well, fuck,” Carlos whispered in awe.
“And has he made that much?” Henry asked.
I nodded. “Twenty million so far.”
All three men couldn’t hide their astonishment.
“Blin, you should be called Miss Midas,” Rain stated with a laugh.
“Or Miss Swabb at the very least,” Henry said.
“So what are you going to ask for?” Carlos asked me.
I raised my gaze to meet his.
Carlos studied my face then he looked stunned as he gasped. “Your ticket out!” He guessed.
Henry agreed, “To let you walk away instead of leaving toes up, as it were.”
“Clever, Ms. Vargas.” Rain gave me a nod of his head. “Very clever.”
I didn’t bother to correct him about my real name being Gomez. Why tell him? Only Carlos and I knew the truth of that. “I haven't asked him yet,” I told him. “So save your compliment, Mr. Rainmaker.”