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.
His eyes met mine. I let my chin fall just slightly and looked at him through my brow, lifting one corner of my mouth ever so slightly. Once I had his eyes locked on me, I began to walk towards him, never breaking my eye contact. My stomach was doing absolute backflips under my skin, but I kept up the act. He patted the couch directly next to him, then gave me the regular "come hither" finger to join him.
I made sure to walk with as much hip movement as I could, letting the flesh of my ass shake slightly as I pushed my hip out with each step. When I finally reached him I smiled and sat down, making sure to push myself as close to him as possible. "hola, flor. ¿Cómo estás esta noche?" (Hello, flower. How are you tonight?)
I faked a silky lipped smile and let my hand fall to his shoulder, crossing my leg over my knee slightly so he could see the length of my thigh. His eyes dragged along the length of my skin, zeroing in on the tattoo above my knee, groaning slightly. The woman who was already sitting next to me gave me the look of death, beginning to rub his other shoulder slightly.
I guess he didn't care for the old girl now that the new toy had come along. How very typical of a man in power. He rolled his shoulder, dismissing the girl without a word, the man on the opposite couch got up with her, leaving with a slight wobble in his legs. I looked deeply into the man's eyes, making my lips pout a little more than usual.
"I am better now, papi" I said, trying to make my voice a little higher pitched. Innocent, vulnerable... the way perverts liked it.
"An American?" His lips turned upwards, and his hand went to my thigh. I nodded, blinking my eyes innocently.
"Should have brought some popcorn to this show," I heard Soap say in the comms. I frowned but quickly caught myself, not wanting to give away any sign that I had a whole bunch of men talking to me in my head.
"Shut up Soap, get ready to move in," Ghost says quietly.
"What is an American beauty like you doing here?" The cartel sicario said to me, moving his hand up my leg just slightly. I did my best not to flinch.
I decided to go with 'playing dumb' as the best way to pull off this mission, "my boyfriend," I looked over to the bar where Alejandro was watching me intently, "he said there was a party happening at a fancy house."
"Oh, did he?"
"Yes, but he said he has to go and talk to his boss tonight. So, I guess I am all alone," I said, pouting my lips even more. His hand on my leg began to stroke the skin like he was petting a dog. It took every ounce of self-control not to punch him.
"Sending Soap in now," Ghost said from the comms. I nearly responded but held my tongue between my teeth just as the words were reaching my lips. I looked at Alejandro and winked with my eye that was facing away from the sicario, letting him know that I was good. He nodded back to me and began to head back to the entrance of the house, where Soap would be found.
"So, tell me, senorita. What shall we do while your boyfriend is away?" His words were filled with perverse ideas. I could feel him scoot closer to me and I nearly shook with disgust.
"I've never been to a house like this before," I said. I was telling the truth, but large and fancy houses were not something I envied of the rich. I liked the coziness of a small and intimate home.
"You are impressed by my house, yeah?"
I turned up the charm a little more, pretending to be more excited about that fact than I actually was, "you own this whole place?"
"Si, senorita."
"It's so beautiful, how many rooms does it have?" Here we go. Gathering intel. Doing what I need to do.
"You're doing great, Ash," I heard Ghost say to me. I nearly turned to face the cliffside that I knew he was doing overwatch on. Even though I knew that he was trying to be encouraging, he was just adding to the same numerous men who were scrambling together in my brain. It was hard to concentrate on being seductive when I had the man who gave me goosebumps talking to me in that voice of his.
"There are twelve on this floor, then my room in the penthouse," he paused and bent his head down to kiss my hand that was on his shoulder. Ew, gross.
"You have a penthouse?" I said, raising my eyebrows, blinking my eyelashes again.
He smiled again and leaned a little closer to me, he smelled like sweat and cocaine. Spice was mixed in there as well. His breath smelled like tequila and weed. I had to swallow to keep my mouth from gagging right there. "Would you like to see it?"
Oh no. All thoughts in my head turned to slush, if I went with him I would no longer be in the sight of Ghost, and Alejandro would not be able to find me again. But I could see the layout of the house better if I did go with him. "Don't do it Ash, stay in my line of sight."
That was an order, and I was going to disobey, "yes." I said, lifting myself from the couch and taking the Sicarios hand. "What is your name?"
"Deigo," he said with a smile, "what is yours?"
"Jazmine," I lied. I felt a chuckle in my chest, that was such a good alter ego name for me.
"God Damit, Jamie," I heard Ghost say in my head, "I said stay in my line of sight." I contemplated responding under my breath, but Diego's hand found its way to my backside, squeezing lightly at the flesh. I felt my neck cringe slightly with disgust, trying as hard as I could not to show my discomfort. Looking down between my breasts I could still see the tip of the hypodermic needle that Ghost had given me.
We entered the inside of the compound, heading for an elevator. An elevator in a house? Wow, the cartel here must have been doing really good for themselves if a simple sicario was able to afford something like that. The thought made me sad, how many lives had they ruined from the drugs that they were pushing, among the thousands of lives they had taken physically. I tried not to show the sadness on my face as the elevator doors opened and the most glorious apartment led before me.
It was incredible, the architecture was beautiful with a wrap-around balcony and marble pillars that were Greek style. The floor was perfect red oak with red and gold accents. This guy liked leather, because as we passed through the multiple doorways and rooms of his suite, I could see leather and leopard skin in every single room. He also liked to drink, because there seemed to be an endless amount of alcohol in each room. "Ash, you need to get back downstairs where I can see you," Ghost said. I ignored him.
He led me through the various rooms until we reached an outdoor pavilion and my heart almost dropped from my chest. Sitting on the other side of the roof was a medium sized commercial helicopter sitting pretty on a white helicopter pad. It was sheltered by the side of a roof, out of view from Ghost's point of view. Exfil fucking secured.
"I would spend hours up here," I said, and I was telling the truth, the view was beautiful from this side of the cliff, looking down on the city of Las Almas. I couldn't help but enjoy it for just a moment, before Deigo's hand reached around my waist once more.
"This way to the bedroom," I heard Diego whisper into my ear. My heart skipped a beat as I looked down at the little needle between my breasts. I was going to have to fucking use it. I allowed him to walk me towards the bedroom, asking questions about certain art pieces or certain bottles of alcohol as we walked. Trying to give Alejandro and Soap as much time as possible. I had not heard from Alejandro in some time, I hoped they had not been compromised.
"Hendricks, do not go into that room with him," I heard Ghost's voice say, his tone was different this time he was much more breathless than before. "I repeat do not go into that bedroom with him."
I wanted to scream at him to shut the fuck up while I figured out what I was going to do next, but I was running out of ideas. Upon entering the bedroom, I was horrified to find that his bed was not made, and an open condom wrapper was on his bedside table. Anxiety arose in my heart, looking down at the needle for more time. I needed to prepare myself for what was about to happen. I took a deep breath as he grabbed my hand harshly, "come here."
I took another deep breath, trying to relax and keep my thoughts straight, but it was the sound of a vibrating phone that caused his body to freeze as it touched me. Groaning, he dug around in his pocket and pulled out a flip phone. It must be untraceable. "El Sin Nombre," he answered. My eyes hit him with anticipation, El Sin Nombre was on the other end of the line. I couldn't hear the voice, but Diego's face turned pale as he was silent for a long time, eyes flicking to me and then away from me. After a few moments, he flicked the phone closed and released me from his grip, pushing me away slightly. I tried to seem calm and happy to be with him, but my heart was somewhere outside of my body screaming at me to run away. I was about to panic; I was about to scream.
"I have to go and check on something, stay here," he said with a huff. He exited the room in a flash. I immediately ran to the bathroom and splashed water on my face. I didn't care if it meant my mascara was going to run. It was the only thing I could do to not go into a fight or flight panic.
Once I had calmed down, with soaking cold water on my face. I turned and leaned on the bathroom countertop. "Alejandro, I've got a planned escape route. El Sin Nombre just called that Sicario I was with. I think he's he tonight."
"Copy," Alejandro said. "Soap is being brought up to the second floor now, everyone gets ready."
"Ash, get back outside, now," Ghost's voice was vengeful. It sounded like he had not breathed in minutes. Force once I followed Ghost's orders and made my way to the door, pulling on the knob that wouldn't turn. Fuck, I was locked in.
"No, no, no, no, no..." I tried the door knob a second and third time. But I was stuck because there was no getting out. Panic set in as I began searching the bedside tables and bathroom cabinets, looking for a sign of a key or pick. But there was nothing. "Oh my God."
I ran to the other side of the room that had a minibar and television, going through the drawers there as well. But I came up empty. There was a safe under one of the desk drawers, I twisted the knob a few times trying to hear for any kind of click but I wasn't a locksmith. "Jamie, we are heading to the penthouse, where are you?" I heard Alejandro ask.
"Uh, occupied..."
What's wrong?" Ghost said, fear laced in his words.
"Bedroom door is locked," I breathed a little heavier as I looked for a tool, I could use to pry the door open. "I can't get out."
There was no response, only static as my words were left unfulfilled. I hurried to the balcony of the bedroom, looking down made me nearly sick to my stomach, it was a three story drop to cement. Both my legs would be gone if I tried it, but I looked up to the cliffside. "Ghost, can you see me? Far left of the building, balcony."
"I can see you," he said. I caught my breath and my heart rate slowed. He was still there; he was still with me.
"What do I-" I heard the key in the door, and the thick wood wing opened with a hiss.
"Senorita, thank you for waiting. Now where were we?" He walked up to me like he was a predator, and I was prey. Putting his hands on both sides of my body, trapping me in. I writhed against him as his hands went for my backside again, pulling me into him harshly.
"Ash, do we need to come get you?" I heard Alejandro say, but I couldn't respond. Yes, I could use some backup!
"No" I said. My chest was locked against his chest, so I wasn't able to get to the needle between my breasts. My hands went to his shoulders in an attempt to get him off of me, but he didn't seem to like the mild discomfort that I was showing. "Don't tell me you didn't want this?" He said through his teeth. His hands forcefully turned me around and I could feel the back of my dress pulled up.
I looked up into the cliffs where I knew Ghost was watching. I tried not to look panicked, but I was running out of time and options here. Now that my chest was free, I pulled out the needle and unscrewed the top as I heard the sound of Diego's belt being pulled off and the sound of his zipper being undone. I took a long and deep breath. Turning back to the sicario, I hid the needle behind the flesh of my wrist and wrapped my arms around his neck. "Give it to me then." I said, trying as hard as I could not to sound absolutely terrified. Diego growled as I prepared to stick the needle in his neck, opening my legs just enough for him to lose focus on what I was doing to him.
That's when I heard it, the sound of a gun going off in the distance. Warm liquid splashed upon my face as the body that was nearly inside me fell to the ground, half his head falling in a separate direction. Ghost had shot him. Holy shit.
The needle was still in my hand, ready to be used. It took me a moment to get over the shock of what had just happened in front of me, watching as blood began to pool on the floor. I breathed a few times before rushing to the bathroom a second time and scrubbing the length of my face again, refusing to look at the blood that was on it. "Ash, we are in the penthouse. El Sin Nombre is posing as a sicaria." That was Soap's voice. My heart leapt with relief as I heard him speak, he was alive, but he sounded shaky like he was scared.
"Sicaria? El Sin Nombre is a woman?"
"Yes," Soap confirmed. "She's guarded in the penthouse meeting room."
"Once you get her RV with me at the roof pavilion, how copy?" I said. My adrenaline was in the clouds, making me stop thinking about the man that was just killed between my legs and making me focus on the mission at hand. For some reason, Soap and Alejandro's life depending on me to get them out felt right, I felt like a leader. Even though I could feel the disgust and disturbance of what had just happened take up residence in the back of my mind, it wasn't like the feeling I had during the missions before. I wasn't as scared, I didn't feel a layer of blood on my hands, I didn't feel the shock. I felt the darkness that Ghost had given me blossoming, I was harnessing it, pulling it to the forefront of my mind, picturing it cloaking me in a veil of night.
I know it shouldn't have, but it felt good, it felt powerful. I felt powerful. Everything about tonight should have felt wrong, I should have felt like a terrible person, I should have been disgusted with myself. Instead, I felt like a warrior, like a soldier.
"Good copy, Ash," Soap confirmed. I slipped my heels off and took them in hand, running as hard as I could out the bedroom door and down the hall. I heard some commotion at the end of the wrap around balcony of the suite and then gunshots. I stood still as I waited at the pavilion door, taking a fighter's stance behind one of the giant marble pillars just in front of the pavilion door. I hoped that it was Soap and Alejandro shooting and not the other way around. I needed to be hidden if guards burst through that door.
The door to the meeting room was nearly knocked down, a woman with short dark hair was running with a gun in her hand. "She went this way!" I heard a Scottish accent scream. The woman's footsteps got closer as I prepared my body for what happened next.
Adrenaline is one hell of a drug, because if I had been on any other kind of high, I would have never been able to pull off what I did. Once she was directly beside me, I threw myself at her. Putting my entire body into her waist, tackling her the same way that football and rugby players did. I heard the sound of guns being fired around me, but I was too high on my adrenaline rush to feel if one hit me. I grabbed a hold of her wrist that was holding the gun and slammed it into the ground as hard as possible, "drop the gun, punta!"
"Holy shite, did you see that!" I heard Soap scream in the chaos.
The sound of metal hitting marble told me that the gun had come out of her hand. I opened my eyes and the haze of the adrenaline in my system faded, Alejandro was above me without a mask on now. He wasn't looking at me though, he was looking at the woman I had in a wrist lock. I rolled off of the woman and lifted myself from the floor. "Valeria?" Alejandro's voice was nearly a whisper.
I ripped the woman off of the floor by her arm, she seemed to be distracted by Alejandro to care as Soap put a pair of handcuffs on her. "El Sin Nombre. Hiding in plain sight."
"Hiding? I am everywhere," she spat at Johnny. But she didn't take her eyes off of Colonel Vargas. There was a distinct moment of silence before we all heard the sounds of alarms blaring.
"We have to go this way," I said as I heard voices coming from the wrap-around balcony. Pushing through the pavilion door I scrambled to the helipad and into the Helicopter seat. It was a smaller helicopter, but I would fit all four of us.
"This is your escape plan?" I heard Soap scream as the blades began to chop the air.'
"It's faster than a car" I said as I began mashing the buttons on the dashboard, testing the flexibility of the cyclic between my thighs. "Ghost, we are about to exfil, how copy?"
"Good copy, you have El Sin Nombre?" He was angry, I could hear it in his voice.
"Affirmative," I said. I began to ascend as the pavilion door burst open and guards dressed in black formal suits began to take fire. Visions of that medical evac, the one where the British officer died on my watch flashed in my mind. I wasn't losing anyone today.
I turned the helicopter as gunshots rang on the side of the bay door, taking off much faster than a helo like this was supposed to ascend. But I didn't care, I wanted to be as far away from this place as possible.
"Hermano, what's up?" I heard Soap say to Alejandro.
"Nothing," Alejandro said, but he was stunned at the woman sitting next to him. All I heard from her was a chuckle and then silence. But I knew there was much more between the looks of those two, I had seen it before. Between Ghost and I.