The Next Day-
"Hey. Where you been?" I ask Robert as I hop off the purple mustang. I woke up today, went to eat with Melvin, and then I drove for the rest of the afternoon. I just rode around, got to know a little bit more of Ascension.
"Places. Driving is therapeutic." I say nonchalantly. Rob nods as we stay outside for a while. I tell him about Eve and her problems; he says he has been trying to help her but nothing works. We somehow end up the long conversation talking about Alice and Chris. He also disagrees with my decision to meet with La Sangre which I of course am going to do no matter who says anything.
"Well, at least let us come with you." Robert says as I walk inside the motel.
"Can yall please let me do this alone?" I say as I keep walking to to reach the stairs. Melvin is sitting in one of the couches on his computer. He looks up and then quickly looks down again.
"I guess. But Simmons will get mad." Robert says sitting down next to Melvin.
Felix told me to meet up with him in a couple of minutes, so before I leave, I will talk to Sean. I haven't seen him all day today. I texted him but no response, I guess he is mad at me for meeting up with La Sangre.
I walk up to his room, the one he shares with Melvin, and knock on it lightly. The door is open, but there is no one inside. I walk back out. There can only be one place he's in, and I am not going to like this. I walk to Eve's room.
"I just can't anymore..." I hear Eve say in between sobs. I eavesdrop for a bit hearing her whine about her life.
"It's okay Eve. Listen, you are beautiful." Sean says and I really want to barge in and smack the shit out of him and her."You need to stop doing all this damage to yourself."
I can't believe Sean ignores me all night yesterday and all day today to be with Eve. I know she needs help, but Robert, Melvin and Maggie have offered to help her. How about me? My brother and my friend have been kidnapped, I am going crazy little by little. Where is my help?
"I know Sean. You are so sweet thank you." Eve says and that's all it take for the jealous nerve to be pulled. I kick the door fiercely with my foot and find him hugging her. The break away and look up surprisingly.
"Rosie, it's not what you think." Sean says standing up quickly and making his way to be in front of me. I just shake my head.
"Really? It's not what I think!" I say sarcastically. "My boyfriend ignores me all day to be helping my cousin."
"She needs help, you don't understand." Sean says trying to calm me.
"We all need help." I say shifting my gaze from him to Eve. "You just need to fucking learn how to not cry about it so much. Like what the fuck Eve? Simmons sent you to help not for you to be drowning in pain." Eve looks away and I know I hurt her in some way.
"Rosie!" Sean says with a warning tone in his voice. "When will you learn compassion? We know Chris and Alice have been kidnapped, we all are worried. I was just trying to help her for god's sake." He did not just pull that tone on me.
I stay silent for a minute. I look at him. "And when the fuck where you going to help me?" And with that I make my way out the room, storming past Nina and the crew who have crowded at the door.
"Rosie." I hear Sean following me. I need to get out of here fast. I walk to my bedroom and grab a backpack.
"I didn't mean it." He says as I put some clothes and shoes inside my backpack, quick.
"I don't care Sean." I lie to make him go. I have tears pooled in my throat, but I'm not going to cry. Maybe I got a little carried away with the jealous act, but now I will use it to my advantage. I will pull Sean away so that I can go and meet uo with this gang.
"Rosie, I love you. You can't leave. I'm not letting you leave." Sean says as I crouch on the floor to open the last drawer. He crouches next to me. I shake my head as I pull out two guns and a lot of money in cash. He puts his hand over mine to stop me.
"Please. I was just trying to help Eve." He repeats over and over. I pull away from his grip and I stand up to close the backpack.
"Great. Keep helping her." I say as I walk to the closet to take out one of my leather jackets that I haven't used since the mission in Europe. I put it on and tie up my hair up.
"You really are acting like this? You are jealous..." He says with a grin. I spout and sarcastically laugh. I put the backpack over my shoulders. I look to the nightstand and see my ear device and watch. I turn away, I need to be completely alone.
"Rosie." He pleads, and I prepare to say something I totally don't mean.
"If you love me so much, let me go. Stay with Eve. Do whatever the fuck you want. Im leaving to find some answers, and you won't stop me. Drop it Sean, I don't care what you say." I say heading out the door.
"Oh, so you don't care about how I feel?" Sean says and I stop at the door. "Because I'm going to be okay knowing that the person I love is making deals and what not with a gang group."
"I will be okay. Don't you know me?" I say turning around.
"I thought I did, but this is not my Rosie." He says and it breaks my heart into pieces but I know he probably doesn't mean it. I turn around and head out the door and run down the stairs. My heavy boots stomping on every step I take.
"Rosie." Nina says from upstairs.
"I'll buy you a new door." I say not turning my head.
"No, I don't care about that." She says following me downstairs. "Are you sure you want to leave?"
"I've never been more positive. Now can everyone stop babying me around?" I say rolling my eyes. I search in my leather jacket for my sunglasses but instead, I find that picture of mom and I. Susan gave it to me and then I lost it and Chris found it. I forgot all about it. I look at the picture for a while. Even if it doesn't show moms face, it does show her bent down with me in front of her.
"Don't do this to your friends." Nina says coming closer and interrupting my moment. She stops next to me and looks at the picture in my hand. I quickly put it away.
"Where's Felix?" I ask.
"Its just dangerous, and we all care about you." She says ignoring my question with a sad expression.
"I don't care about danger. It excites me." I say and she shakes her head in disbelief." I will not sit around for two more days with no answers. I need to find my brother and my friend." I continue as Felix walks inside the motel.
"Ready?" He asks and I nod. Suddenly my phone rings, its an unknown number. I drop my backpack and answer the call. Nina walks to be behind the reception desk.
"Hello?" I say with no tone in my voice.
"Rosie what are you thinking?" Deckard says with his heavy British accent and I let out sigh.
"I don't know, but since ya'll ain't doing nothing, I'm taking this in my own hands."
"You will stay there. This isn't a joke. The cartel is big and dangerous." Deckard warns me and I ignore what he says. "Plus, Simmons will put you in probation if you disobey any more of his orders."
"Let him, it's not like I'm not trained to be in jail cell after boarding school...The world doesn't scare me. I'm going to find Chris, Dad. I can't stay here anymore." I say and with that I hang up and leave the phone at the reception desk in front of Nina. She looks at it and continues to plead for me to stay. Sean makes his way downstairs but by the time he tries to reach me, I have already picked up my bag and hopped inside the car alongside with Felix.
"You got the weapons I asked for?" I ask Felix and he nods. I throw my backpack to the back seat. Sean runs to my window and pleads for me to stop what I'm doing . As much as it hurts me I completely ignore him and speed off.
I love him, but in order to help us all, I have to sacrifice myself and do this alone.
An Hour Later
"I still think you are crazy for doing this." Felix says handing me a loaded clock gun. I put it inside my leather jacket. I also put the stack of money in a another bag, but I will leave it inside the car. We got to the place after an hour. It's a dark ally-way.
"A little." I sarcastically say. "Where are they again?"
"From what I hear, they all hang out inside there." Felix says pointing to a door to a back of building. I nod and hop out the car.
"Stay put, if there is any movement, you are free to use any of the guns." I say closing the door. I breathe in for a second before walking.
I walk to the hard, metal door and knock on it. After a few seconds someone opens it. A girl with piercings asks me what I want in spanish. I recognize her from a day ago or two when we saw La Sangre walking around town. I tell her in Spanish I want to see the leader of the group.
She escorts me in and I follow her. The smell of marijuana hits me and I grimace. I see a couple of teens and adults talking, some smoking, and some making out. We walk up the stairs to a room full of more teens, they are on the floor, and they all look high as hell.
The girl with piercings stops and checks me up and down, she finds my gun and takes it. I was thinking of fighting it off her, but I rather not waste my time. The leader of La Sangre, who's name is Chugo, is this tall, young, guy with tattoos all over him. He looks at me up and down.
"Oh the American." He says laughing. He speaks with a heavy accent like the girl with piercings.
"I came to make a deal. As much money as you need." I say with a serious tone. Chugo stops laughing and studies me. He whispers something to the girl with piercings and he then escorts me to another room. We walk there with the girl with piercings, two girls and this other guy.
"What do you want?" Chugo asks and I tell him I want to find the place where Ralph's cartel keeps all the drugs and the humans he transports. He stays silent for a minute before laughing. He doesn't take
me serious. He thought we were going to talk about buying drugs or something?
"Does it bother to ask why?" Chugo asks after his laughter dies down.
"I didn't introduce myself. I am Rosie Shaw." I say and all their expressions change. They stare at me weirdly. I had to pull the 'my last name is Shaw' move.
"Guey, es la hija de Ralph? (Dude is that Ralph's daughter?)" The other guy says to Chugo.
"No, I'm his granddaughter. But he's dead now, I'm here to find this damn cartel to find my Brother." I say. "So? Can y'all help?"
"Human trafficking?" Chugo says nodding with a solid expression. "That's how I ended up here."
"Where you from?" I ask feeling a little sympathy for him.
"I don't know, I was really young." He says lighting up a cigarette and smoking it right in the middle of his sentence. Really, right now? "But, this is going to be hard. If the cartel finds out we helped you, they kill us. How much money you have?"
"Don't worry, the cartel won't exist for long." I say and he suddenly drops his cigarette, walks up to me and holds me by the throat. Talk about mood change.
"Are you with some kind of federal police?" He says screaming at my face. I struggle to let go. I turn my face to the side as he continues to scream all this nonsense. My lungs hurt after a while, but I manage to kick him in the gut. Right away, the girl with piercings points a gun at me.
"The cartel is what keeps us alive." Chugo says in pain, his friends help him stand up. He curses under his breath.
"Well Ralph died so who's going to take over?" I argue with him, I don't feel intimidated by the gun pointed on my face. "The cartel is going down, so if ya'll want to survive, I advice tall to leave it behind." I say and the girl with piercings drops her aim.
"Aren't you his granddaughter? Why are you against him?" Chugo ask and I can give him so many reasons, but instead I turn tables.
"Why aren't you?" I ask and he stays silent. "His business separated you from your family, and look at you know." I point.
"I could've left a long time ago. I chose to stay." He says finally standing up on his own. Even if he doesnt want to show it, he knows that kick in the balls hurt.
"Are you sure about that?" I ask and he looks away. It is obvious he was forced into this lifestyle. They all look like they were. After a moment of silence I throw the offer on their faces. "$50,000" I offer.