HE WAS TERRIBLY SICK, AND LUNA DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO TO HELP HIM.
Her father had been in bed for a week, coughing and vomiting endlessly. He had a high fever yet he was shivering like crazy, and he looked cold despite the fact that he was laying under six blankets. None of the people in the house knew what had caused his sickness, but it was bad, and everyone was worried about him. Valentín Reyes just didn't get sick - at least, not like this.
So now, as Luna carried a bowl of soup into her parents' bedroom, she winced when she heard her father begin yet another round of violent coughing. She knew that he needed to go to the hospital if it got any worse, but she also knew her father would most likely refuse. He didn't want his records to be brought up at the hospital, since it might expose him and reveal his location to the cops.
"Here, Papá," Luna said as she entered the room. "I brought you some soup."
"Ah," her father said with a nod. "Gracias, Luna."
Luna sat down beside him, handing him the bowl and a spoon. He took the bowl, then began taking small spoonfuls, eating slowly as Luna watched him - just in case he threw up again.
"There's something I need you to do for me," Valentín said after a few minutes.
Luna nodded. "Of course, what is it?"
"There's a job coming up soon," he said. "It's a big one, and we can't do it alone, so I've called for some help from the El Tigres. I need you to go there and do the job for me, since I can't do it myself."
Luna's eyes went wide. "No, Papá, I can't-"
"Luna," Valentín said firmly. "No es uno de esos trabajos. Your role is just an escort for the gang's second in command, Felix, as he goes to collect and trade information with the Reapers. I picked you for this job because we all know how good you are at driving, so you'd know how to get out of there if things went wrong. And besides, I already had Mateo go ahead and tell them that you were taking my place. So this is final."
Luna sighed, shaking her head. "Are Mateo and Jazmín coming with me?"
Valentín nodded. "Of course. I wouldn't have you go into one of these things alone."
Luna's shoulders sagged as she realized she didn't have an option. "Alright, fine. When's the job?"
"Tonight at sundown," her father replied. "No llegues tarde, okay?"
Luna nodded. "I won't."
"Good." Valentin nodded back. "Go get ready, I need you to be out and on the road in ten minutes."
Luna exhaled softly, standing up and walking out of the room. As soon as she left the room, however, her phone vibrated. So she took it out, inwardly groaning when she saw it was Miles. As much as she appreciated his friendship, right now was not the best time to talk. But still, she answered anyway, lifting the phone up to her ear and forcing a good mood as she said, "Hey, Miles."
"Hey, Luna," Miles greeted. "What's up?"
"Nothing much," Luna said as she walked into her room. "Just taking care of my dad."
"Why?" Miles asked. "Is everything ok?"
"He's just sick," Luna said, shrugging even though he couldn't see her. "Estoy bastante segura de que es la gripe. But he doesn't want to go to the hospital, so he's in bed till he gets better."
"Why doesn't he want to go to the hospital?" Miles asked.
Luna wanted to tell him the real answer: that going to the hospital would bring up her father's medical records and could possibly reveal him to the cops. But she knew better; she couldn't tell him anything. So she shrugged again, changing into her job clothes as she prepared to get ready to leave. "No tengo la mínima idea. Personal reasons, I guess."
"Well, that sucks," Miles said. "I hope he feels better soon."
"He will," Luna said. "Trust me, my dad can get through anything."
That was when Mateo poked his head through the door to Luna's room, also dressed in his job clothes and with his signature hawk bandana hanging loosely around his neck. "Vamos, Luna," he said. "We gotta head out for the meeting place."
Luna sighed to herself before addressing Miles. "Listen, Miles, I have some stuff to take care of right now," she said. "Hablo contigo más tarde, okay?"
"Oh, okay," Miles replied. "Talk to you later, then."
"Bye."
"Bye."
Luna hung up, then threw her phone on the bed, knowing she wouldn't be needing it for now. Then she wordlessly followed her brother out of her room and out of the house, where Jazmín was waiting for them by the sleek forest green Dodge Charger that served as the family's job car.
"Let's get going," Jazmín said to them, tossing Luna the keys. "We don't want to be late."
Luna got into the driver's seat, while Jazmín rode shotgun and Mateo sat in the back. Then, Luna started the car, and they drove off, heading for the meeting point for the job.
The El Tigres were like the El Dragones' "brothers", in a sense. They operated in very much the same way, and the racial makeup and style of living was very similar as well. But the El Tigres were also shady and far more violent, and used whatever means necessary to get what they wanted. So Luna's dad rarely ever did business with them.
When Luna and her siblings pulled up to the meeting point, she wasn't surprised when she saw that the El Tigres were already there. Glancing at each other, the three nodded once in mutual understanding before they pulled up their bandanas and got out of the car, then headed over to the gang members as they relaxed by their cars.
"You're early," one of the members, a short, mousy-looking Latino, said, raising an eyebrow at the three siblings.
Luna crossed her arms, putting on her gang member facade as she also raised an eyebrow. "So are you," she said.
The man smiled. "And you must be Mariposa." He nodded at the butterfly on Luna's bandana and jacket, then stuck out his hand for her to shake. "The name's Felix. Felix Moruga."
"Let's just skip the formalities and get this done, alright?" Luna said, rolling her eyes.
Felix gave a sly grin, nodding at her. "Word on the street is you're one of the best drivers in Brooklyn. That true?"
Luna nodded back. "That's right."
Felix glanced at Jazmín and Mateo. "Osa? Halcón? You can attest to that?"
"We wouldn't have brought her if she wasn't," Mateo told him.
Felix nodded again. "Well, alright then. Start the cars, we're heading out."
Luna huffed, walking back over to the car. But as Jazmín and Mateo followed her, Felix jumped in front of them, blocking the passenger side door and causing Luna to stop and look at him.
"You two ride with Max," Felix said to the two older Reyes siblings, gesturing to one of his gang's cars. "I wanna see what Mariposa can do with my own eyes."
Jazmín started to protest, but Luna quickly cut her off, saying calmly, "It's alright, Osa. I can handle it."
Jazmín met her sister's eyes before nodding, and with that, she and Mateo walked over to the other car and got in.
Luna watched them go, then opened the car door and got inside. Felix got in as well, and as he leaned back in the seat she saw the handgun sticking out of his waistband. Her pulse began to race as she eyed it, and after a moment Felix noticed her staring and let out a wicked chuckle.
"Let's go, kid," he said with a grin.
Luna gulped, but started the car and drove off, with the other cars following behind her. Following Felix's directions, she drove through the city, keeping at a regular speed as to not draw suspicion to herself. Eventually they arrived at an old abandoned apartment building, and Felix perked up, leaning forward in the seat.
"Alright, we're here," he said. "Pull around the back and wait, we'll be out in a minute."
Luna simply nodded before following his instructions, and once she was parked, Felix got out of the car before walking into the building. As soon as he was gone, Luna slouched down in her seat, sighing to herself as she pulled her hood over her dark hair.
Something about this didn't feel right. The El Tigres were known to cause trouble, and because of that, most of their alliances were tedious at best. Luna knew that something about this specific job was too simple for the El Tigres - they were up to something, and somehow Luna and her siblings had gotten involved.
After a few minutes, Luna began to hear loud shouting coming from inside. She immediately sat up straight, frowning in confusion and wondering what was going on. Then, several gunshots suddenly rang out from the interior of the building, and Luna jolted in shock - that is, until she saw the symbol spraypainted on the side wall: a cobra with a crown on its head. Luna's heart dropped to her feet when she recognized it as the symbol for the King Kobras - one of Brooklyn's biggest and most ruthless gangs, as well as the El Tigres' fiercest rivals.
Suddenly Felix and several other of his gang ran out of the building, and as Felix grew closer Luna saw the bag in his hand. Her blood boiled when she realized that Felix wasn't here to trade information with the Reapers.
He was here to steal from his gang's enemy.
Felix flung open the door to the car and jumped inside, then slammed the door and turned to Luna before shouting, "Drive!"
"¡Nos mentiste!" Luna snapped. "I'm not an escort, I'm a fucking getaway driver!"
Felix whipped out his gun, pointing it at Luna as he shouted, "Bitch, I said drive!"
Luna glared at him, but started the car and sped out of the alleyway she had parked in, not even bothering to see if her brother and sister were behind them. She had only two goals in that moment: get the hell out of there, and keep Felix from putting a bullet in her head.
Luna drove the car at a rapid speed away from the building, swerving through traffic to avoid crashing and to dodge the bullets that the King Kobras were firing from their own cars. Her pulse was racing and adrenaline was coursing through her body, but it only willed her to drive faster, and she shifted the car's gears constantly to adjust for the terrain she was driving on (and to adjust for the fact that Felix was leaning out of the window, firing his own gun at the pursuing cars).
"Get the fuck in here!" Luna snapped. "You're gonna get yourself killed!"
"Hell no!" Felix shouted back. "You may drive like Dominic Toretto, but there is no way I'm trusting you to get me out of here without getting shot!"
Luna snorted, making a hard right turn and nearly throwing Felix out of the car. But then, the man let out a cry of pain before he went limp, and dread filled Luna's body as she used one hand to pull him back into the vehicle. Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw the bullet lodged in the man's shoulder, and when he looked over at her, she saw a bit of fear behind his eyes.
"I told you, you fucking dumbass!" Luna hissed.
Before Felix could respond, however, Luna heard police sirens behind them. A few Spanish curse words slipped out of her mouth when she saw the police cars in the rearview mirror, and she quickly banked around a corner, leading a few of the pursuing cop cars to crash into each other and flip over.
"Nice!" Felix said as he pressed his hand to his wound.
Luna nodded, smiling when she heard the police cars growing fainter. But then, she suddenly heard a thwipping sound as a shadow passed over them, followed by a hard thud suddenly landing on the roof of the car, and her smile faded before she grimaced in frustration.
"Shit!" Luna hissed, speeding up the car even more.
"What?" Felix asked. "What is it?"
"Spider-Man," Luna told him.
Felix's eyes went wide. "Spider-Man?! What the fuck is he doing here?!"
"Why the fuck do you think?!" Luna snapped.
Suddenly she saw a white substance shoot out from the the side of the car and latch onto a streetlight, followed by another from the other side of the vehicle. Knowing what Spider-Man was going to do, Luna turned to Felix and shouted, "Brace yourself!"
Then, she slammed her foot hard on the brake. The car screeched to a stop, throwing Spider-Man off the roof and nearly throwing Luna and Felix out through the front window. Thankfully their seatbelts stopped them, and as Spider-Man rolled onto the ground, Luna and Felix both unbuckled themselves before throwing open the car doors and starting to run.
However, as Luna began to make her escape, something latched onto her jacket, and seconds later she was yanked backwards. She went flying through the air before landing hard on her back, but as Spider-Man lunged for her, she thrust her feet into his hips, kicking him away. Then, she scrambled to her feet and began running again - only to be stopped as Spider-Man landed in front of her and swung his fist, hitting her hard in the jaw. Luna was thrown sideways from the impact, but still managed to stay on her feet, but as she countered with her own punches, Spider-Man blocked them, then spin-kicked Luna away from him. She landed on her side, skidding across the floor, and she barely had time to react before Spider-Man lunged and pinned her down, his knees pinning her legs and one arm grasping her neck. Then, he raised his other hand, and Luna's eyes went wide as electricity began to crackle around his fingertips.
Luna knew she had to think fast. Remembering how friendly Spider-Man had been to her earlier, she figured that he wouldn't attack her if he knew who she was. So she frantically yanked down her bandana and held up her hands in surrender, looking at him with pleading eyes.
Spider-Man instantly loosened his grip, clearly shocked as the electricity faded from his hand. "Luna?" he whispered.
Luna gave him a faint nod, her heart pounding wildly in her chest. Spider-Man straightened up a bit, appearing to want to say something, but before he could, out of nowhere, a gunshot rang out, throwing him off Luna. Luna hissed in discomfort as the loud sound went off feet away from her, and her ears began to ring as she rolled onto her side.
Suddenly a face appeared over her, belonging to a very handsome boy that wasn't much older than her. He began yelling at her, but due to the ringing in her ears, his voice was muffled; however, after a few moments, his voice became clear enough for her to understand.
"Come on!" the boy shouted, grabbing Luna's hand and yanking her to her feet. "Come on, we're going to have to run!"
Luna shook her head a few times, then nodded and followed the boy over to another car. However, she stopped by the open door, her eyes going over to Spider-Man as he lay motionless on the ground. Guilt began to eat away at her as she saw him; had this boy killed him?
"Come on, Luna!" the boy shouted from inside the car. "We don't have a lot of time!"
Luna bit her lip, feeling extremely guilty but knowing that the boy was right. So, with her ears still ringing, she gave Spider-Man one last final glance before getting into the car, and with that, they sped off.
━━━━━ ◦◦◦✵◦◦◦ ━━━━━
❈ A/N: AGAIN, PLEASE DON'T HATE ME FOR THIS I'M SORRY
but just to be clear, the boy didn't kill miles, but you will see what he did to him next chapter. also, who do you think this boy is? and how do you think he knows luna's name?
TRANSLATIONS:
No es uno de esos trabajos. ━ It's not one of those jobs.
No llegues tarde ━ Don't be late.
Estoy bastante segura de que es la gripe. ━ I'm pretty sure it's the flu.
No tengo la mínima idea. ━ I have absolutely no idea.
Hablo contigo más tarde ━ I'll talk to you later
¡Nos mentiste! ━ You lied to us!