Ashes in the Darkness

El Sin Nombre

Writers Note: things are gonna get intense here, stay with me, I have been planning this chapter for so long. It's gonna be a long one.
    TW: Main is nearly raped, predatory behavior, drug use.

There was no denying the power that a woman has when she pulls herself out of the box that society confines her in. It's a force of nature that emanates the vibrations of rage and beauty at the same time. That's what I felt with each click of my heels on the cobblestone driveway to the massive luxury compound. My arm was linked through Alejandro's, walking in stride with him. "The bouncer is an informant; he does not know we are coming but he won't tell anyone we are here."

I nodded and followed Alejandro's lead as we walked up to the large hickory doors of the compound. Two men stood in the frame, holding Ak-47's, masks covering both their faces.

Alejandro spoke to them in Spanish, which was too fast for me to keep up with but both of the men looked us up and down before nodding and opening the door. "We're in," I said under my breath as we walked into a palace-like room.

The Queen of Sheba would have swooned at the decor of the house. It had pristine white and cream walls with red accents. Marble pillars, velvet couches, beautiful open concept that allowed a perfect view of the back terrace. People milled around; drinks were flowing. There were other women dressed similarly to me around the room, holding onto various men dressed like Alejandro. We looked like we belonged there, which was a relief to me, we didn't look suspicious. There was light salsa music playing but the tension around the room was loud enough to cause earthquakes.

"Ash, Alejandro, I have eyes on," I heard Ghost say through the comms. His voice was raspy and deep, but I felt the blood pumping in my system slow down. He was there, he could see me. "Sending Soap in momentarily, get to work for both of you."

I looked to Alejandro for support, but he shook his head and nodded to the bar, yes, that would be a good place to start. "Turn on the charm, Ash. You look like a hurt puppy," Alejandro said to me. I frowned at him, but he was right... If I wanted to get out of this alive, I was going to need to do what I came here for.

Walking over to the bar I placed my hands in front of the bartender "Qué puedo ofrecerle, señorita?"

"Vino blanco por favor" I hated white wine, the only reason I ordered it was because it was going to go to waste here in just a few seconds. I took the glass from the bartender and returned to Alejandro that threaded his hand around my waist.

Leaning down to put his lips next to my ear he spoke, "floral shirt, by the leopard print couch."

I followed his gaze and saw the bald man, with a thick black goatee. He had another woman by his side who was hanging on him, while a man on the opposite couch took a long draw of a cigarette before rolling a dollar bill and snorting a line of coke.

My body turned hot; it was Coke that had been in the system of the driver who had killed Hayes. Anger radiated in me, like a furnace being turned on way too high. "He's a sicario, one of El Sin Nombre's highest ranked men."

"How do you know?"

"He's not wearing a mask, he doesn't need anonymity," Alejandro let his face fall to my neck, this was just acting, I knew that, and I reminded myself that he meant me no harm. He was blending in. He was the cartel man; I was his arm candy. Characters. "He's your man."

I took a deep breath and took a sip of the disgusting wine I was holding before pulling away from Alejandro and walking towards the couch where the man was sitting. I really didn't know what I was doing or why it worked but I pictured myself in slow motion like I would see in movies. Lifting the hem of my dress just a little and walking directly into the line of sight of the sicario.