Broken Kings (House of Cards Series 0)

Segundo Paso: La Espia

A/N: Pic to the side is streets in Madrid Spain. It is a lovely city despite how I depict it in this story. I am not at all claiming to know Spain outside of what google and wikipedia tell me :D

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Reaper stared at the expensive piece of equipment in his hand and wondered who his friends had murdered to get it. Unfortunately for him, that wasn’t an exaggerated question. Reaper knew that most likely whatever drug lord or pimp had owned this expensive piece of gadgetry was likely dead or ‘disappeared’, because the normal population of Madrid had no desire and no money to buy this spy shit.  Maya was wearing the transmitter, a tiny microphone that masqueraded as an earring, and the Burrio Boys had the receiver.

Sitting in Carlitos’ beat up car, Reaper and the older gangster were listening as Maya made her first attempt to infiltrate Logan and his crew. Surprisingly enough things had gone smoothly. Maya was smart enough to wait for a few things to occur before she tried slipping into the mobster’s circle. First she waited for her bruises to fade, the evidence of Detective Estupina’s attack would be detrimental to her seductive role. It bothered Reaper that this girl was willing to give herself out to the mob to get information for him, but as she had reminded him repeatedly, the choice was hers. She liked the sex and took precautions to protect herself, and he had no other argument to use to stop her, so the plan proceeded as Maya had schemed. The second thing she had waited for was a lot harder to achieve. She’d wanted them to approach her first, so that it felt like they had picked her and not the other way around.

Which is why Reaper and Carlitos were sitting in a car, slowly baking to death in the heat, listening to the scuffling sound of Maya’s hair brushing past her earring microphone and the general ambient noise of where she was; they were her backup. She had spent the last week or so, casually hanging out at the locations that Logan and his boys were known to frequent. And like the smart Senorita that she was proving to be, Maya ignored the boys when they first started to notice her. She acted like they held no interest for her, and she couldn’t be bothered to even notice them drooling over her.  After a week of being bait though, Reaper and Carlitos had stepped in more than once when someone they weren’t interested in came after Maya. She would give the panic word, tamales, and the two men would be there faster than anyone could anticipate.

Malcolm was coiled like a spring, ready to burst into action again if she said the word. Carlitos had teased him mercilessly about picking up a girlfriend finally, but the truth was that after sleeping together, Maya and Reaper had settled into a simple ‘just friends’ relationship. There wasn’t love between them, or any lust now either, just a comfortable working arrangement that had Reaper ready to spring to her defense as soon as necessary. She was an asset and a decent person, but too much of Malcolm was dead inside and he knew that it would be a long while before he could be good for anyone to love.

Surprising both Malcolm and Maya, Carlitos had become very protective of the spy, fighting with her the most over her intended role in Logan’s clutches. He had lost his love to those beasts, he didn’t want to give them anyone else to harm. Like with Reaper, Maya eventually talked Carlitos into accepting her decision, and then he had gone out and gotten the expensive equipment they were using to help keep her safe.

“Hey sexy. I haven’t gotten your name yet.” Paco’s voice rumbled out, aiming for seductive but instead achieving stalker. Through the microphone, Carlitos and Reaper both heard the others that they were after. Paco, Juntez, Nicky and Logan were the four putas that needed to be eliminated. Over the last year, the Burrio Boys had put together the events of Adrianna’s death and it had come out that these four were the ones to plan it, pull it off, rape her, drug her and dump her corpse. Just hearing their voices had Reaper seeing red, his stomach churning with acidic hate.

“Because I didn’t see the need to give it to you.” Maya’s flippant tone returned and Malcolm had the distinct feeling she even flipped her hair at them and focused on something else. Even with a cop who distinctly outweighed her, Maya had never stopped being a hellcat and that just seemed to be how the woman rolled.

“Your tough act is cute. Why don’t we go talk about it somewhere?” Paco tried again and the receiver picked out the weird sound of laughter. The microphone made everything tinny and flat sounding, but at least Maya wasn’t completely without backup.

“Why don’t you get the hint that I’m not interested in you and let me go on with my day?” Maya asked instead. When they heard the sound of flesh hitting flesh, Malcolm was almost out of the car before Carlitos’ steel grip wrapped around his wrist.

“Trust her!” he hissed lowly, not wanting to draw any attention to them. They weren’t right outside where Maya was, but instead off at an angle, not able to see it, but close enough to be useful.

Reaper was about to jerk his wrist free when they heard the sounds of laughter. Staring at the receiver, Carlitos let Reaper’s wrist go and both men stepped out of the car to see what everyone was laughing at. The sound of the slap wasn’t Maya getting hit, but instead she seemed to have slapped Paco, probably after he grabbed her ass or something along those lines. The guys were all laughing because little, tiny Maya had flounced off after slapping the man and he stared after her, dumbstruck. Carlitos had to duck out of view before any of the four soon to be dead men could see him, but Reaper still wasn’t well known and he watched with a killer’s eyes. If he had had a gun at that moment, Carlitos figured that Malcolm would have simply killed them all, to be damned with bringing them to justice. But a quick death was too merciful for these men. The older gangster needed them to suffer, a hundred times worst than what they made his Adrianna suffer in the hours that they had had her.

Settling back into the car, convinced he didn’t need to ride to the rescue, Reaper listened to the receiver again. Maya had moved farther back into the little restaurant, flirting easily with the short line cook. He was a Burrio Boy younger brother, not in the gang directly but pretty much assumed to join whenever he wanted. And while she was flirting outrageously, the four ‘dead men’ watched her, talking amongst themselves. They weren’t going to grab her, not right now but they might try it later.

Reaper could see a little into the restaurant when he got out of the car, so he forced Carlitos out so they could watch. He felt like he had to act soon, that he should go over there and just let loose all the rage inside, the pain and hurt and grief he refused to let ease, even for a moment. But they had to suffer first. That was what he knew he needed to let go of this pain in his chest, to finally sleep without the nightmares haunting his every moment.

Inside Maya seemed unaware of the men at her back, but thanks to Julian the cook, she had an allie inside. Finally she turned to face the fourmen, smirking as she spotted the glare on Paco's face. Now was her chance to get her foot into their world, she just needed one of the less disgusting ones to speak up. It would be too obvious if she went straight for Logan and so instead winked at the gentler looking man.

"Puta." Paco growled and Maya laughed at him, making a little mou face of fake pity.

"I like my men a little more civilized." Maya smirked again and leaned against the counter, knowing it displayed her body and chest nicely.

"I can do civilized." Juntez mumbled loud enough for even the microphone to pick up.

Maya almost frowned, seeing that the cute one she'd winked at was too passive to assert a claim on her, looked like she was going with the second in command. Before she could make a smart comment in response to Juntez though, Logan spoke up.

"No, none of us can do civilized. But I can fake it better than the rest of you can. Hello, I'm Logan. And what's your name?" he stepped forward and even kissed Maya's cheek in greeting.

"I'm Maya." she smiled back at him, and before the end of the day had her first invite back to their safe house.

"It begins." Carlitos stated with a sense of relief.

"It hasn't even gotten close to starting yet." Reaper rebuked, voice a dead, flat tone. It sent a chill down Carlitos' spine as he heard the deadly promise of it layered over the sound of Maya's laughter.