Chapter 12. LiveDie
“I think I’m going to vomit,” Mya says as she stares at her phone. “He’s here.”
Cisco sits there trying to find something to do with his arms. He first places them on the table, and then he crosses them on his lap, and then he decides to fold them across his chest.
“Can you guys pull it together?” I bark. “Aren’t you both professional gun sellers? This should be easy,” I mock.
Nine pours herself a second glass of wine. She looks at me and then finally downs it. She stands up, grabs the entire bottle of wine and walks past me, patting my shoulder on the way to the kitchen. She hasn’t spoken much since the table exploded earlier. I hear the doorbell ring. Mya and I both shoot up from our chairs.
“Oh, take a seat. It would be my pleasure to get the door.”
Mya sits down in frustration. Cisco shakes his head.
“We are fucked!” I hear Cisco mumble as I walk away.
I swing open the door to see a surprised young man in his twenties holding a bouquet of flowers. His mouth falls open a bit when he sees me. I’m just as shocked. I was expecting someone a little older. More seasoned from life. He’s dressed in black slacks and a black dress shirt. Diamonds in both ears. The watch on his wrists is worth roughly eight grand. The dress shoes on his feet are probably worth two thousand dollars. Behind him stands two colossal-sized men. I take a step outside and close the door behind me.
“Hi! I’m Oscar. I’m here to see Mya.” He stands there, right hand out, ready to shake.
I ignore his gesture, and instead, grab the pink roses out of his other hand, tossing them aside in the bushes. He seems unaffected by the move.
“You being here. This isn’t a date.”
“Mm-hmm. I figured that much.”
“And these two are?” I gesture behind him.
“My…drivers.”
“In this house we don’t allow…drivers.”
“They prefer outside anyway. They’ll stay on the porch. You have my word.”
He stares at the so-called drivers and nods, giving them the cue to stay put.
“Loyal. Like dogs? Perfect.”
I reach back and open the door with one hand, while I motion for him to come in. He steps in while I glance back and then glare at the two men eying me. I turn to enter and then close the door behind me. I swiftly turn to face him. My chest is just inches from his. He doesn’t even flinch.
“I know who you are, and I know what you do,” I whisper. “I don’t give a fuck about the block-heads outside. You’re going to take your fifty grand home and stay away from my daughter and my son. If Cisco owes you any money, I’ll pay off his debt in cash.”
Oscar leans in.
“Yeah. I can’t do that.”
I push him up against the closest wall with my forearm smashed against his chest. He doesn’t fight back. He stays calm and collected.
“Mya is not some whore you can just buy, and Cisco is not a toy to use in your war.”
I push my weight harder into him causing the air in his lungs to vacate. I watch as he struggles to breathe.
“I can collapse your lung right now if I hit your rib just right,” I whisper.
Oscar grabs me, and with all his force flips me around into the wall, smashing a family picture. He now has one hand gripping my neck and his forearm is now smashed into my chest.
“Listen! Offending Mya with an offer was calculated. Pissing her off was the only thing that seemed to grab her attention,” Oscar quietly argues.
I go to reach for my gun, but he smashes me harder into the wall. I groan in pain. I reach out and struggle to choke him.
“I’ll admit I may have over-flexed with fifty grand, but I genuinely do like her,” he continues. “I want to date her. If she’ll let me.”
I use all my force this time and swing him around, throwing him into the wall, and smashing another family picture. I have him pinned there, choking him out.
“A man in your position has other options. There must be plenty of desserts on the table,” I grit out, smashing his back into the wall harder. He begins to choke. He kicks me in the stomach, sending me flying back into the wood entryway table. He starts to cough and inhale at the same time. I stand up, ready to go again. He falls back against the wall, and puts one finger up as if to ask for a minute. I stand there in disgust, arms folded, waiting for his revival.
“I don’t want other desserts. I want the ulcer-inducing spicy jalapeno dip that no one will touch,” he says, short of breath, while rubbing his throat.
I scowl at him.
“And Cisco?” I ask.
“Volunteered. He’s already part of a bigger plan for the greater good. It’s too late to step out.”
I march forward and grab him by his shirt collar, but right as I do, I hear footsteps coming down the hallway. I quickly release him and step back. He takes a deep breath of air and begins to adjust his clothing as we stare each other down.
“What the hell happened here?” Mya says as she looks at all the broken pictures and several small holes in the walls. Her eyes shoot to the entryway table that is now damaged.
“Earthquake,” I say
“Mm-hmm. Earthquake,” Oscar confirms.
“Righhhhht. Okay. Well. It must have been one hell of an earthquake because both of you are bleeding.” She pauses. “Oscar, I see you met my dad.”
Oscar wipes the blood away from his eyebrow. I wipe the blood away from my pulsating bottom lip.
“Yeah. We were just getting acquainted. It is so nice to meet you. I’m sorry, what was your name?”
Oscar steps over broken glass and then leans into me with his hand out again. This time I accept it only because Mya is here. Even though she has seen glimpses, the father in me never wants her to see the full monster within me. I bottle the beast back up.
“You can call me Mr. Krackle,” I say through my teeth, squeezing his hand.
We’re now in a stare-off where no one is backing down.
“Dad! Let go! His hand,” Mya snaps.
I lighten my grip on him. Oscar yanks his hand away and turns toward Mya like nothing, as if we didn’t just try to quietly kill each other a minute ago.
“I like the dress. You look beautiful.”
She blushes. I have never in all these years seen this girl blush. She’s an icicle around guys. She gets nauseous when watching romance movies. She hates the idea of love and relationships. Here she is fiddling with her hair and grinning. She likes him. This is new, and because it’s him, I hate it.
“Are you hungry?” she asks.
He looks at her in the most inappropriate way.
“Starving,” he finally says, still eyeing her like she is prey.
I exhale in frustration.
“You got one more time and I swear to God, I’ll measure you to see if you’ll fit in my freezer.” I snap.
They both look down in embarrassment. I motion to the dining room. Mya starts to lead the way as he walks behind her. I follow behind him almost on the heels of his feet. I make a quick right and snatch him by the back of his neck into a guest room. Once inside, he pulls away, finally triggered.
“You have one more time to put your hands on me and I’ll stuff your ass in your own freezer. No measurements…sir.”
I’m not sure why adding sir at the end lightened the disrespect, but it did. I ignored it.
“What the fuck do you mean, Cisco’s part of a bigger plan?”
He looks at me and then looks away while rubbing the back of his neck.
“There’s a saying here. It goes…El poder no es ninguna bendición en sí mismo, excepto cuando se utiliza para proteger a los inocentes.”
“I don’t understand Spanish.”
“You should probably learn,” he says. “How else would you get by?”
“Death is silent. It speaks no language.”
“Mm-hmm,” he replies.
“Dad?” Mya calls out.
We both turn our heads toward her voice. She stands there with her hand on her hip, looking like a mini version of her mother. Her face obviously bothered. Oscar just stares at her like she’s the prettiest demon he’s ever laid eyes on. Her face softens when she notices his gaze.
“Mom said dinner is done and if you and our guests don’t make it to the table soon, she’ll make sure we have two tables to replace.”
I motion for Oscar to walk out first. We all reach the dining room where earlier we dragged the patio table in. It stands out, even with a tablecloth on. Oscar looks down at it and back up to Mya. Mya shakes her head as if to say ‘don’t ask’.
“What’s up, man?” Cisco says as he stands up, and shakes hands with Oscar while doing the one-armed bro hug. “Sorry about tonight,” he utters as he pulls away.
“It’s all good,” Oscar replies. “Nothing I can’t handle.”
I squint my eyes and imagine stabbing him with a fork. A pitchfork.
Everyone sits down in silence. Right then, Nine comes out carrying a dish. She puts it down a little roughly, sending juices flying onto the table.
“You guys like roast rump, right? I got some, ummmm, cob on the corn in the kitchen and some blarries..blurrys..berries, I meant.”
We all look up at her like what in the fuck is happening. Her eyes are glazed over and her ears and cheeks are red. I have no idea what the hell she even said. Nine is drunk and the dinner hasn’t even started. Fuck!
“What?” she asks.
I wave my hand toward Oscar.
“Holy Shit! Nine,” Oscar mutters.
We all snap our necks to look at him. If he knows her name then he must know mine, and if that’s the case, he knows too much. She gives him a murderous expression. She’s intoxicated, which means she’ll be unhinged and part of me is rooting for her to take Romeo out right here. The other part is concerned that the kids will have to witness it and Mya will probably throw a fit over the love of her life. A man she spent one day with. To stop Nine, or to let her be. Decisions. Decisions. She pulls the butcher knife out of the meat and begins to circle the table like a vulture. She slowly passes Cisco, then Mya, then me. She stops right next to Oscar. The kids watch with wide eyes.
“My love?” I gently press.
She waves her hand at me as if to say ‘be quiet’. I call that an attempt to stop her and settle back into my seat. I no longer care. This mother fucker knows shit and we need to know why. I’m strategic in my madness but Nine is impulsive in hers. I’ll let her toy with him for a bit before I corral her in.
“Do you know me?” she slurs. “Because you address me like you know me.”
She points the tip of the knife at him. He looks down at the table and remains silent.
“You have my son’s loyalty and my daughter’s…erm...attention, and now, for some odd reason, you know my name. So, I’m going to ask you again…do you fucking know me?”
He doesn’t budge. Nine slides over behind his chair and swoops the knife up to his neck and all hell breaks out in a split second. In unison, Oscar and I pull our guns on each other. Mya pulls her gun out and aims it at Nine. Cisco pulls his gun out and aims it at Mya. Nine looks at Mya and shakes her head. Mya quickly glances back at Cisco.
“Why don’t we all put our weapons down and talk? You have questions. Let me answer them as best as I can. I need the delivery of these facts to be done peacefully for understanding, but I can’t do that if someone is trying to kill me every few minutes in this house. Please.”
Oscar gently puts his gun on the table. I hesitate but follow suit.
“Nine?” I push.
Mya still has her gun aimed at Nine, and Cisco still has his gun aimed at Mya. This is definitely going to cause some friction in the house if we all survive the night. Sides have been chosen. Mya likes him more than I thought. Maybe even more than she knows.
Nine quickly pulls the knife away from his neck and points it in Mya’s direction. Mya drops her weapon and places it on the table. Cisco follows suit.
“One night with him and you choose him over your family? A stranger? I see where your loyalty lies.” Her words still slurring.
“It was reactive, Mom. I didn’t mean—.”
Nine stabs the knife into the rump roast. “Eat up!”
Everyone standing takes a seat and stares at Oscar.
“You have three minutes before I pick this gun up and end you. How do you know her name?”
“Five minutes...and I’ll tell you everything, Trig.”
There’s the confirmation I needed. He knows me. Everyone eyes each other.
“Asshole. Did you use me to get to my parents?” Mya cuts in.
“Mya, no.” He pauses. “Jesus Christ. Look. I like you...so far. I mean, as much as I’m capable of liking someone, which…by first impression probably in your family, will never be enough. Mya, I woke up to five grand of damage in my dining room and all I could think of is seeing you again. I’m not using you. I want to get to know you.”
“No, you don’t,” Cisco scoffs.
“Shut up!” Oscar and Mya both say to Cisco.
Mya shakes her head.
“I’ll break your heart,” she says.
“Mm-hmm. I’m okay with that.”
They stare at each other in some weird way that I’m not even sure of.
“If you two wouldn’t mind,” I snap. “Can we get back to the important questions?”
Mya pushes her chair away from the table, stands up and rushes off outside to the patio. Oscar jolts up and follows after her. He leaves the patio door wide open as they bicker.
“This can’t be the new generation of criminals. This is not the interrogation I planned. What the hell is happening?” I ask.
“Feelings. Feelings are happening,” Nine says, as she staggers off into the kitchen.
She returns with the wine bottle.
I quickly grab the bottle from her. Momma is cut off.
“Mya has feelings? That’s news to me,” Cisco adds.
We both look at him, annoyed. Their voices get louder as they argue. Loud enough to wake the dead. They’re pacing back and forth, and at some point, stop right outside in our line of sight.
“You said it yourself. I’m difficult, defiant, and what else did you say…erratic.”
“You don’t scare me.”
“Well, I should.”
“Okay. Go ahead. Give me your worst. Scare me.”
“You want it? Fine! I destroy everything. I sabotage everything. I ruin everything. I break everything,” she yells.
“Really? What exactly have you broken, with me?”
“Plates. I broke your plates. Lots!”
“Mm-hmm.” He pauses. “And if you were mine, I’d let you break a thousand more.”
They stare at each other in silence.
“You have to admit, my man out there don’t miss.” Cisco grins.
I ignore him and look down to notice both Mya and Oscar left their guns on the table. I stare at Nine and nod to the weapons. Cisco watches our faces.
“Obviously we have some feelings, as Mom put it, that have surfaced and caused an interference. We still need to find out who this guy is and how he knows us. Cisco, when it comes to your man out there, where does your loyalty lie?”
“Family first,” he replies.
I nod as I stand up and grab my weapon. I slide Mya’s gun across the table to Nine. Cisco grabs both his and Oscar”s. We all walk to the sliding door that leads out to the patio. Mya and Oscar are outside embracing each other with his back facing us. Mya’s head is laid against his chest.
“What are we doing? It’s been one night. What is this?” she says to him.
“Let’s take some time and find out.”
“We could be friends.”
“Mya, stop pushing me away. I don’t need any more friends.”
“Oh my God! One night and you think you know what you need with me?”
“No, but one night and I know what I want with you. It’s not just the sex. We talked all night. I like you. You’re different. I’m here putting my life on the line with your family. I’m putting my neck out there business-wise in ways you don’t know yet. I don’t do this family shit with women. This is out of character for me to chase.”
“Easy fix. Stop chasing,” she says.
“Easy fix. Stop running,” he shoots back.
The sound of three guns cocking sounds off. Both Oscar and Mya slowly turn to face us. Mya moves in front of him as they notice all of our guns pointed at him.
“Mya, move to the side,” Oscar commands.
“Oscar. No.”
“Move to the fucking side, Mya.”
Mya hesitantly moves to the side and tries to plead with us to put the guns down. I ignore her and walk forward, hitting the side of his head with the butt of my gun. Mya screams and Oscar passes out, falling into the grass. Let’s see what the fuck this guy knows and if I need to bury him in my backyard.
***
I toss a glass of ice-cold water at Oscar’s face. It takes a while for him to come to. His eyelids flicker open as he begins to move his neck around. I wait as he takes in his surroundings. He looks down at the chair he’s tied to. His wrists and his ankles are zip-tied to the arms and legs of it.
“Are you really gonna kill me in this nice triple-car garage? It’d be a shame.”
“I ask the questions. For every question you evade, I shoot you. Understand?”
He nods.
“Who do you work for?”
“Not for? With.” He pauses. “I work with the people. For the people.”
I point my gun at him.
“That’s a half-ass answer. I’m now trying to decide which kneecap to blow out first.”
“I work with the people on the islands. Normal everyday people. They need protection from Mapache and his men.”
“And you and your team, you offer help?” I ask. “You seem to have a lot of money to be in the business of just helping.”
“I’m no angel. I come from a long line of heisters, hustlers, and dealers. It’s what I choose to do with my money and time that matters.”
“Who is this Mapache and why do people need help?
“In Spanish, Mapache means raccoon. They call him that because he comes in the night and takes everything he wants. Your money. Your business. Your dreams. Your family. He’ll take it all.”
“And you…what do you provide? Guns?”
“We arm the people. We guard the people. We protect the people.”
“And they pay you?”
“Everyone except the elders. They have little money. We do it for free.”
“Why do any of it? Do you have a personal vendetta against him?”
Oscar looks away. I tap my gun against the wall three times to get his attention.
“He killed my parents when I was eighteen, so yeah, you could say that.”
I feel a little bit of sympathy for him as I hear the pain in his voice.
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
“I couldn’t protect them then, so I do this in their honor.”
I nod. “And Cisco? You said it’s too late. What does that mean?”
“We have a brotherhood. When we meet, and we bring you in, you have vowed to be beside us. If you leave, they take it as you are now against us. Cisco made that vow; he understood the consequence if one should leave.”
“If you don’t work for anyone, why do you answer to these brothers?”
“When I started this operation, I started it with them. They came to me needing some help for their people that religion alone can’t fix. There were rules decided on. Rules that keep the dark out of the light. We all agreed.”
“Does Cisco know everything you just told me?”
Oscar nods his head. “Everything except the vendetta part.”
“He’s young. He doesn’t understand the ending to this story and neither do you.”
“Nobody forced him. He willingly vowed without asking the proper questions.”
I growl.
“And Mya?”
“The truth!”
I nod.
“She may be working with Cisco, but she’s not part of the organization and I’d like to keep it that way. I don’t want her anywhere near these transactions, so if today ends well between you and me, she’s no longer allowed to participate through Cisco. I can keep her busy running a more legal empire.” He pauses. “I know I’m not a good guy on paper, but I do like her so far. I think she likes me despite what she says. I know that I don’t know your daughter in a way I should yet…but I want to. So, I’m asking for that type of time, and if you decline and she agrees, I just want to be clear; I won’t stop seeing her, so you’ll have to put a bullet in me.”
I nod. “Don’t worry. That’s very much still on the table. All that for a girl you barely know, huh? You sound insane.”
“Maybe I’m a little crazy but I’m not delusional. I’m not saying I’m in love or want to marry her. I just know what I want. I’ve always been that way. We have a weird chemistry and an interesting connection. I think you, of all people, would understand that. Look at you and Nine.”
I squat in front of him and burn my eyes into his soul. “Don’t compare your one-night stand bullshit with my daughter to us. How do you know our names?”
He half grins. I point my gun at his kneecap.
“Every well-known criminal knows who you two are, and they knew you were here on the islands. At least, you were rumored to be here somewhere. I used to hear stories of you two when I was younger. My uncles would talk like you guys were a myth. The savage hitman avenging his brother’s death, slaughtering everything on site until one day he met a woman whose beauty would make his heart beat again. It was a story told over and over again. They said you came here to escape from American monsters, but these monsters found you and they killed the beauty your heart belonged to. They said not even death could keep you two apart, that your love was so strong, you brought her back from the dead. It was said that on this very island, you punished the people that caused you pain by burning everyone and everything down to the ground.” He pauses. “Not a soul survived, yet the story still spread is what used to get me.”
“Sounds like your uncles sold you on a fairytale,” I say.
“You want honesty from me, but you don’t return it.” He scoffs. “My uncle Miguel was obsessed with you two. He had pictures and news stories online from Las Vegas. He showed me them every time he’d tell the story. He was convinced you two would start a war here, but to his surprise, he said you two vanished. Not a peep after the massacre. Not one story told. No gossip down the criminal line. Just silence, as if you never existed.”
“We don’t exist.” I pause. “How long have you known? Before or after you slept with Mya?”
He looks away. “Before.”
I step forward and harshly put the gun to his head. I can feel my heartbeat speed up.
“Stop. Let me finish. It’s not what you think. You think I slept with her to get to you for some weird reason. You think I have motives. It’s not like that.”
“No? What’s it like then?” I say, smashing the gun harder into his temple.
“I already had her at my house. We were…” He pauses.
I stare, waiting.
“...Talking…and my sister Letty busted in after she found out you two are her parents. Letty is a good hacker, not great, but good. She tends to run checks on anyone that I bring into the business or any ladies I bring home to…talk with. Cisco slipped through the cracks since we went to high school together. She never ran him, but Mya, she did. She’s been told the same stories growing up that I have, shown the same pictures. She’s got one hell of a memory. When she saw your newer photos under Mike and Angelina Krackle and compared it to my uncle’s old photos he sent her by request, it all fell into place. Anyways, there we were…talking, and Letty burst in. She tells me alone who Mya’s parents are. I don’t believe her. Again, to me, you two were a myth. I tell her to get out. That business hours are done and she’s evading my personal time. She quickly pulls out her cell phone and shows me my uncle’s pictures of you and then current pictures she hacked online. I still refused to accept the idea that the girl in my dining room is the daughter of my family’s criminal legend gossip. After Mya left this morning, I had some time to think, so I had Letty send me all her research on you two. I still couldn’t quite accept it. So, I called Mya, and told her I wanted to see her, and I meant it. I figured at some point, if what Letty was saying was true, I’d meet you guys and confirm it. Nothing more. Nothing less. It would be like any grown-up meeting the real Santa Claus.”
I nod. Nine opens the door and walks in. She taps her ear to say she’s been listening. I just don’t know how much she heard. She looks more sobered up after a few cups of coffee and whatever chaos ensued after I knocked out Oscar and dragged his body to the garage.
“Did he just compare us to Santa Claus?”
Oscar turns his head to look at her. He can’t look away. Nine stops next to me and stares down at him.
“Is it true you died and he brought you back from the dead?” he asks.
Nine looks at me and then back to him.
“More times than I can count,” she replies.
“Mya. She looks like you. The whole ‘beauty captured him’ thing. I understand the story now.”
Nine shakes her head. “You will never understand the story.”
I pull the gun away from his temple.
“What do you think, my love? Live or die?” I ask.
“There was a huge uproar with Mya and Cisco so I had to have a little heart-to-heart with the kids and let them know some things about us. I wasn’t fully prepared to rain down our history tonight while being intoxicated, so I’m a little pissed at Oscar. Although they were surprised, and sad in some parts, they didn’t seem too shocked. I think we”re probably cooler on some strange level now. They both said it makes so much sense.” She pauses and turns to Oscar. “Mya spent an hour crying over you. She thought you were dead. I haven’t seen her cry since she was a little girl. She thought her father took away the first person that in her words…could handle her shit.” She turns back to me. “However, I don’t like this mess. The thought of Mya dating someone within the criminal framework bothers me. Also…Cisco and Mya involved with the distribution of guns, even for the greater good, is not ideal to me. So, honey. This decision is all yours. I’ll support whatever you decide.”
We both stare down at Oscar, who awaits his fate. He remains calm as usual.
“What if I were to offer to switch places with Cisco? I join. He exits,” I ask, hopeful.
“The brothers would never allow it. He knows too much.”
“What if I were to join? Work alongside him.”
Nine whips her head to glare at me.
“You said you would support my choice. This is a way to keep him safe,” I remind her.
She throws her hands up, clearly pissed.
“Once they know who you are, they’re going to be honored to have you on board.”
I nod.
“Set up a meeting as soon as possible.”
“Are you sure? There is no out after you vow.”
I look over at Nine and then back to him.
“I think I’ve heard that line before. Set it up.”
“Consider it done. I take it, I get to live?” Oscar inquires.
“Not sure. Outside of operations, can you and Letty keep our secret? No more stories.”
“Yeah. I’ll talk to Letty. I can’t promise you that she hasn’t already told my uncle. I’ll lock everything down regardless. Can you keep our brotherhood a secret?”
“Yes, but if you fuck me, my wife, or my kids over, I’ll burn it all down.”
“I know you will. Per the stories, I understand what I’m up against.”
He has no fucking clue, but I refuse to address that statement. Instead, I stay silent.
“And Mya? Do I have your blessing to get to know her, or will there be a personal war?”
Nine leans in and gives an evil smile.
“Oh, honey. She’s emotionally invested. She’ll kill you herself if you hurt her. Shall that day ever come, you better sleep with one eye open and two hands on your gun, because you just woke up something in her that she may not know how to deal with. We wish you luck! There will be no personal war, right, Trig?”
Now that I know a little about Oscar’s operation and his intentions with Mya, my sole focus is now on getting Cisco out of his obligation.
“Yeah. No war. Unless you start one.” I pause. “Where do these vows usually take place?”
I begin to cut off the zip ties on Oscar’s wrists and ankles. He stands up and rubs his bleeding temple.
Oscar grins and looks at me. I shoot back a confused look.
“With God himself…at the church.”
I furrow my brows at him. Nine steps in closer. Her face is just as confused as mine.
“The church? You’re telling me the church is the brotherhood that appoints your men and decides their execution,” I ask, waiting for confirmation.
“Welcome to La Rebellion, Trig. Your soon-to-be organization. You better start praying.”