VIRGINIA IS FOR LOVERS
Part II
by
Marcus Johnston
Copyright 2011
As Desiree learned the hard way, nothing made you run as fast as being hunted. She passed beyond the outer barrier of the parking lot, unseen signals passing to the command and control center of the shopping complex. Although she knew she had passed within the mall security’s jurisdiction, the young woman refused to stop running until she reached the doors. Parking lots were not quite mall property; a strange line of demarcation marked them as optional. Rent-a-cops might defend a shopper laden with bags, but be reluctant to help a woman running in from outside.
Screeching tires alerted her to the limo’s approach, chasing her as they entered the outer barrier, charging towards her as fast as the concrete barriers would allow. Desiree reached into her purse and held onto the comforting presence of the Porcupine. Already, she could feel her strength draining, and the doors were so, so close.
The limo sped up to intercept her before she reach the lighted safety zone. Enrique slammed the car door open, ready to drag the fleeing woman right into the vehicle. As the cacique reached to grab her, his mind failed to notice the weapon in her hand.
When Desiree activated the Porcupine, its thousands of tiny fletchettes launched out at Enrique’s body, covering him with tiny needles of metal. The weapon conveyed a static charge that could floor even the largest man with just a few needles. Designed to stop an armored man with non-lethal force, it was effective at up to ten meters. Enrique was only one meter away from her. With nothing between the two of them but a nice suit, the cacique was unconscious before he could blink.
She threw the weapon into the limo, ran around the shocked driver, and bolted the last few steps to the mall doors. Desiree passed through the scanners clean, and with a flood of relief passing over her as the armorglaz doors closed, walked confidently into the Pembroke Mall.
As Feliz saw the Porcupine fly through the open door, it gave him a moment of pause. He had his stun rod already in hand, but after seeing his own weapon fly in front of him, he waited a few beats before heading to the door. The Inca peered around the door quickly and saw no sign of the girl; only Enrique down, laid out on the pavement. Without hesitation, he scanned the area with his eyes. Figuring it was safe, he dragged his deputy back inside the vehicle.
A quick touch to his carotid artery confirmed that everything was going to be all right with his friend. He knocked on the window and yelled, “Call for backup! I’m going after her!”
“Watch yourself, jefe,” the driver offered little comfort.
With his brother-in-arms safe, Feliz bounded out of the car and swung himself towards the mall. He tossed the stun rod away and walked through the glass doors unimpeded.
Desiree was ahead of him by half a block. When the doors opened, she looked back to see Feliz walking right after her. The faux redhead couldn’t resist; she taunted him with a wave, adding a wink before turning the corner.
“Damn,” she cursed under her breath, walking through the empty passage between closed shops. There were a few stores open, but Desiree knew that even the dumbest man could find her given limited options. There was only one place that she could be sure to lose him; the food court.
Feliz kept her in his sights; since she didn’t run, neither did he. He had to admire her spirit. She had to know he had resources. She had to know that she had little time before even the high security mall became a prison. Yet she kept a calm walking pace, like a lady without a care in the world… amazing, he thought, especially with him walking right behind her.
The noise level increased as she turned a corner and reached the food court. There were more people there than you’d expect on a weeknight. After all, most people aren’t looking for a new wardrobe this late in the evening. The explanation was simple; certain people just needed a place to go to after the bars at closed.
Although the sanitized and advertisement-covered public space filled that need, the need wasn’t that great. The collection of chairs and tables were only half-filled. Those seats that were filled were just the normal residents of the graveyard shift, still haunting the floor. Before Feliz could come around the corner, Desiree stepped into a nearby kiosk, one of those automated trinket dispensers that kicked out cheap holographs. She plugged her chit into the machine, and as the thing whirred and turned, it bought her enough time to change. She reversed her clothes, changed her complexion from pale to olive, and emerged out of the kiosk as an Asian girl about three years younger… with a lot less fashion sense. Her green hair and tattoos clashed harshly with the hot pink top.
When she emerged, wireless set activated in her hand, Desiree deliberately ignored Feliz’s lightning stare. Holding the cheap holograph in hand, she started chattering to a blank signal. “Would you believe it, na?” the thief said in her best Singaporean accent. “I choped this half-past-six place out on the beach, and I’m tok cork with this hot guy…” she let that hang there, while she scanned the tables for a willing partner in deceit.
Feliz was scanning the room, too, having already discounted the changed Desiree as his target. As if the phone call was real, she answered, “Yeah! Then he gets all sort of heatiness about how I’m a little red dot…” She found her mark, a white boy with greasy hair sitting down at a table, obviously coming down from one major drunken fit. The boy’s eyes were glaring like lasers at the sports feed from across the room. She walked through the tables toward him. “Can you believe it,” the faux Asian said, outraged at no one in particular, “he called me a red dot, na! So I gave him a sorry gift and came here. Yeah, I know…”
Finally, Desiree reached the boy she had spotted and sat down. “Yeah, I’ll call ya back,” she finished her ‘call’ and closed her wireless. Smiling at the boy across from her, she said quietly, “It’s your lucky night.”
“Wha?” the boy said, suddenly realizing that the sports feed was blocked by significant breasts.
“You just talk to me like I’m your girl, and I’ll make it worth your while, comprende?”
“Uh…
no.”
Desiree put her hand on his face and lifted his eyelid open. “Dear
God, what did you snort?”
“Uh… some trip-phens, phen-phens… heh heh… uh…”
She pretended to be riveted to his every mumble, while keeping her peripheral vision on Feliz. He continued to move and scan the room with his eyes, quartering the space like a killing machine. Once he passed beyond her range of vision, Desiree felt herself relax and feel better. “You really need to keep with the sauce. Those phens will rot your teeth.”
The boy startled, realizing that she was talking again, and then shrugged. “Teeth aren’t all that. Get some of those stainless implants; eat through a chain link fence, they say.”
“Enamel’s prettier with those eyes.”
“Yeah… uh, what?”
Desiree sighed. It was hard to seduce someone who wasn’t paying attention. God, I am so under my league here, she thought. “Look, hon… what’s your name?”
“My name?” Suddenly a shadow fell over the boy and the stoner’s eyes shifted their attention again. “What?”
A hundred dollars in hard currency slammed on the table. “Get lost.”
Real cash, untraceable yet legal, was worth double the same amount on a credit chit to the right people. As a junkie, he knew the right people, and quickly took the hint. The boy grabbed the cash and stumbled out of the chair, leaving a warm space for Feliz to sit down. “Good evening,” the gang leader smiled at her.
Desiree was startled, not just because her acquired persona would be, but because she was sure Feliz had already passed her by. “Hey, na! What this? You send my boy away—I ain’t no massage parlor…”
“No, you’re a thief,” Feliz replied, “and a good one. But you made one terrible mistake.”
“What you tok? I no see you in my life!”
The well-dressed man smiled; he had to admit, her disguise was perfect. “To be fair, you made two mistakes. One was robbing me. Second, you may have changed your clothes… but not your purse.”
Desiree’s eyes unconsciously looked down at her handbag, the same shiny pink that she wore at the Royal Sun Hotel. With a moan, she said, “Shit.”
Feliz choked down a laugh.
When she looked back at him, Desiree dropped the accent and replied, “Well, you can’t plan for everything.”
“Nope,” he smiled. “Now I’m going to ask you to come with me.”
“Or what?” the thief answered politely. “Or you’ll do… what, exactly? No guns past the gate, remember? If you even slap me, you’re gonna get surrounded by the mall cops. They’re all licensed to kill. And even if you get past them, VAPD will close down the entire area. They certainly don’t want trouble, and neither do I.” She leaned forward. “So I ain’t going anywhere.”
“Then neither am I.” Feliz leaned back in his chair. “Of course, I don’t have to touch you… well, no more than I already have.” He showed her one of his patented grins. “My men are surrounding this place as we speak. The second you leave, you’re mine.”
“Why should I leave? I have food, bathrooms… shopping? What more does a girl need?”
“Admit it, you screwed up. Leave with me and your dignity intact. Or you can be dragged by your hair the second you pass a gate. Your choice.”
“I screwed up?” Desiree laughed. “Oh no, lover. I did just fine. I sold your chit, got my cut, and got out before you woke up. Picture perfect night. You’re the one who had to get all touchy.”
“Touchy?”
“Yes, touchy. Most men when they get mugged, they call their credcorps. They call their insurance. They go on with their vacation. Their premiums go up a little, they go home with a story to tell, and everybody wins. You? You chase me halfway across the Tidewater and then hole me up here. Can you say control freak?”
“Comes
with the job.”
“What job?”
“I run a little interest here in Virginia Beach on behalf of some royalty.”
“Royalty? What the…” Then it clicked in her head. “Oh, shit… you’re Feliz ‘Navidad’ Castenada, the Christmas Kingpin.”
His face turned red before he could calm himself down. He closed his eyes and sighed. “I really, really hate that… title. Please—call me Feliz.” Once his temper had passed, he forced a smile. “After all, we’ve been more than acquainted.”
Now it was Desiree’s turn to blush. “Nothing like druggin’ a man to get him all lovey.”
“I’m guessing Eva isn’t your real name?”
She pointed at him like a gun and shot. “Bull’s-eye.”
“So what is your name?”
“Unh-uh. You don’t get me that easy.”
“I’ll know it soon enough. You might as well save me the time.”
“Why?” she batted her eyes. “You running out of time?”
Feliz sighed and pulled out his wireless. After hitting his speed dial, he asked, “Manuel. ¿Hemos identificado la meta todavía?” He waited for the answer. “Si. Gracias, Manuel.” The kingpin smiled wider. “Your name is Desiree Winters, twenty years old, and…” he tilted his head to the side, “no prior convictions. Since the national database came up negative, I’m guessing you’ve lived here your whole life. Pleasure to meet you.”
The blood drained from her face as shock replaced her former expression. “Wha… I… who are you?!”
“I already told you.”
“You found me,” she said reverently, almost like a prayer to the god of luck. “No one has ever found me. How did you?!”
“I have people. People who specialize in finding people. Don’t feel too upset—you just got beat at your own game.”
“But… I…” Desiree closed her eyes and forced herself to calm down. When she opened them again, they locked onto the confident Feliz. “You should have been drugged.”
The Inca shrugged. “A man in my position can’t afford to be out of contact. You sent up a red flag when I couldn’t answer my phone.”
“Ah,” she couldn’t help feeling impressed. In her experience, most men weren’t that determined; most weren’t even that bright. “Then how did you track me?”
“Trade secret.”
“Seriously…”
“Honestly, Desiree, that’s more information than I wish to part with at the moment.” He shrugged.
The thief couldn’t help rolling her eyes. “So what happens now?”
“I’m afraid it doesn’t look good. You have to be made an example of.” Feliz said with regret. “You see, my position is precarious at best. If I don’t bring you to the enforcer, the Business Committee will think me weak, and they’ll replace me. I can’t afford that.”
“Why not?”
“When I say ‘replace’…”
“You mean ‘dead,’” Desiree finished. “Same as ‘make an example of?’”
“Eventually,” he admitted, looking away from her as he said it.
She leaned forward, forcing him to stare into her brown almond eyes. “You know, you’re not giving me a whole lot of incentive to help you.”
“It’s the way it is.” He shrugged. “I thought you’d appreciate knowing the score straight up.”
“Look, Feliz,” Desiree asked, trying to keep herself from pleading, “you’re right. I made a mistake. But the Latin Kings are a corporation these days…”
“They always were,” he corrected.
“So money matters more than blood, am I right? What if I just gave you your money back, throw in some interest for bad behavior,” she winked, “and you let me leave town. Win-win, right?”
“You’re forgetting my reputation,” Feliz answered. “You didn’t just pick my pocket, you made me look like a fool.”
“Everyone makes a mistake.”
“Yes, and if it was my first, I could do as you say and accept the failure. You are amazing, mi corazon, but a man’s life must come before his desires.”
Mi corazon? “Just how many mistakes have you made?”
Feliz bit his lip; Desiree thought it was the first real emotion he had shown all night. “It wasn’t so much a mistake, as…”
“Wearing the same purse?”
There was a stunned silence between them, and then a beat later, they both laughed. “Something like that,” he admitted.
“Now come on. What was it?”
“The Mara Salvatrucha.”
“Come again?”
“MS-13, it’s the gang that currently controls the trade in most of Norfolk.”
“That’s not your gang,” Desiree was confused, “so why should you be in trouble?”
“Because my Inca died on my watch.”
“Come again?” Desiree felt like a stalled voice recorder.
“The Inca is the head of operations in a given city.”
“That’s you? I mean, that’s you now, right?” she asked.
He nodded. “I failed to predict the MS-13 takeover. I was running intelligence for Jorge when I was his cacique…”
“What?”
“I was his assistant. Second-in-command.”
“Sorry,” Desiree gave a apologetic grin. “Go on.”
“Anyway, because of my mistake, I led him straight into an ambush. They killed him right outside the Naval Yard, with the shore patrol a few feet away, cowering in their boxes. And I was powerless to stop them.”
“Then why did you take over? If it was your mistake…”
“The coronas decided to let me atone for my failure by eliminating the threat myself.”
Now she was beginning to understand. “But you haven’t.”
“No. The MS-13 are now more firmly entrenched than ever.”
Desiree might have felt sorry for him if her life weren’t in the balance. “What are you going to do?”
“I told you. Make an example of you, gain cred within the organization, and then continue my little war.”
She shook her head. “No, I mean how are you going to end the war?”
“By killing every last one of them,” Feliz replied without inflection, like he was ordering food.
Desiree repressed a shiver. “But you haven’t yet.”
He smiled. “The night is young.”
“Oh, honey,” she shook her head, “the night ain’t even started.”
The smile dropped from his face. “What?”
“You’re lovely, Feliz, but not enough to die for. I’m afraid you’ll have to find another way to keep your cred.”
“You don’t understand…”
“I’m sure it’s not personal,” Desiree winked, “and neither is this. I’m afraid I’ll just have to escape your unbreakable trap.”
Feliz blinked. “They’re called unbreakable for a reason.”
“Anything you say, sweetie.” Then she leaned forward to kiss him goodbye. When he reciprocated, what supposed to be light peck on the lips, turned a farewell kiss into a full taste test. When the ache of bending her back finally became too much, Desiree stood up and waved, “Bye, lover.”
The gang leader did nothing to stop her, simply enjoying the view as she walked away. Ay, what a woman, he thought as she cleared the food court. It’s a pity she has to die. Feliz reached for his wireless and dialed a number. “Where are you, Pablo?”
“Outside, jefe,” one of his lieutenants replied. “We’re securing all the exits.”
“How is Enrique?”
“Stable,” the answer came back. “Nothing a week in Cancun wouldn’t cure.”
“Leave one tourist trap for another? No, that’s not Enrique’s style.” Feliz sighed. “Has Manuel tapped into the mall’s sensors?”
“No. He keeps telling me that they’ve got encryption up the…”
“Fine. We don’t need it. Right now the target is a young Asian girl…”
“Asian? Jefe, we were told…”
“Forget what you were told,” Feliz ordered. “She’s a master of disguise. She could be anyone.”
“Then… uh, how are we supposed to identify her?”
The kingpin could still see the girl’s silhouette walking away in the distance. “She’s heading for Mega’s. Intercept anyone out those exits.”
“What about the other exits?” Pablo asked.
“Keep ‘em covered, she might try and double back.”
“How will we know?”
Feliz got up from the chair and started following her. “I’ll let you know if she does. Out.” As he stood up from the cheap plastic table, the kingpin started walking towards the passageway he had seen her disappear down. Sure enough, by the time he got there, there was a line of stores… and no one else. The gang leader couldn’t help but chuckle. As he leaned against the wall, he said quietly, “Run away, Desiree. There’s no where to hide that I can’t find you.”
The fake Asian girl had disappeared down a service hallway, keeping out of sight of the omnipresent security cameras. Shit, she thought, I can’t hide with these few people around. What am I going to do?! Desiree looked around and saw a fire door. No, they would have thought of that. And I doubt the mall cops are going to rush outdoors to save me. Some customers are too much trouble.
She rooted around in her purse for something that might be useful. Even if I had the Porcupine, I could take out a few guys at once. He’s probably got a whole fucking army out there! Desiree forced herself to silence the panic growing inside her and calm down. She took a quick look at her resources. Her credit chit, makeup, some accessories… nothing struck her as particularly useful. Then a lighter appeared at the bottom of her handbag; it came in useful for the exclusive clubs. Smoking was technically illegal, but so was jaywalking, and middle managers loved flaunting something naughty to their friends.
She held up her compact and took out the lighter. Looking up at the fancy decorations along the ceiling, Desiree came up with a plan and smiled. “Glad I buy the high-end cosmetics,” she said, and lit the makeup.
Feliz was roused from his sentinel stance to the sound of fire alarms blaring around him. Before panic could set in, security erupted out of hidden doors, covering every available inch of their turf. With practiced skill, they appeared from everywhere at once. With professional grace and courtesy, they quickly ushered people towards the exits. He activated his wireless. “Manuel, talk to me.”
“I just intercepted a call to the VB Fire Department. Sensors picked up a high flammable; sprinklers ain’t cutting it.”
“Don’t they have foam?”
“Sir?” a well-manicured security guard stood beside him. “I’m afraid we’re asking everyone to evacuate.”
“One moment,” Feliz tried to wave him off.
“Sir, I must insist,” the guard replied with immaculate sincerity. “It’s for your own safety.”
Feliz looked at him closely; he was pretty sure he could take him, but there were too many of his buddies around to hold his position. “Very well,” he accepted, walking towards the exit, cradling his wireless. “Manuel, tell the boys to watch for a pink handbag. You have the basic stats…”
“Si, jefe, I know the drill.”
“I know you know the drill,” a hint of annoyance escaped his lips, “let them know that.”
“Of course, Inca.”
Feliz hung up, and found his way out to the parking lot, where one of his lieutenants found him within seconds. “Tell me we have good news, Pablo.”
The man cringed. “Not the kind you’re hoping for, jefe. But security is recording ID’s, no one leaves without getting scanned. And if Miss Winters’ ID gets scanned, Manuel will get it once it gets downloaded to the police.”
“He can’t get it faster?”
“No, jefe—mall security’s servers are better than the police.”
“Well,
that solves one problem, but what about our boys?”
“Their records are clean… at least as far as their ID’s are
concerned.”
Feliz shared his smile—and then realized he had missed a key fact. “Caca! She has fake ID’s!”
“Inca?”
He quickly pulled out his wireless. “Manuel! Get Luis on the line. Tell him to download his ID database and feed it into yours.”
“Why?!”
“Because Desiree will be trying to escape! She knows she’s been tagged, but we know she’s gotten her ID’s from one of our vendors.”
“Si, jefe. For good measure, I’ll call the other fences, and feed all the ID’s into the match database. She ain’t leaving town without us knowing about it.”
The gang leader felt a wave of relief wash over him. “Good. And let me know when the police chief gets here. He owes me fifty from our last golf game.”
The decorations burned pretty, Desiree had to admit, as the chemical accelerant in her makeup turned the relatively benign ceiling streamers into perfect kindling. The sprinklers were working full blast but couldn’t touch the fire as it raced across the ceiling; they were designed to handle threats on the ground.
Once the alarms went off, she waited as security shuffled everyone out before she moved. After all, that would be the one time they weren’t watching their cameras. So she ducked out from the hallway and into an open kiosk. As she crouched there among the cheap sunglasses and disposable memory chips, Desire looked up and admired her handiwork. For arson, the thief thought it was pretty mild. Unlike a serious effort, the fire was contained; it wasn’t spreading to the rest of the stores. Thankfully for her, it was serious enough to call the fire department—she could hear the sirens coming in—and it took care of her first problem. However, she knew that the Latin Kings would be waiting the second she came outside, and even she didn’t trust enough in her powers of disguise enough to walk right past them with what she had on hand.
So now what? Desiree’s animal mind screamed at her, her muscles aching to run away, flee to safety. She told her instincts to take a hike and used her mind for a moment. She thought about simply hiding here and waiting until daybreak. With any luck, Feliz’s army would get bored, and she could slip out with the rest of the night crew. It wasn’t the best idea she had, but for lack of another one, it seemed like the best she could do.
Before she could settle her sore behind against a pile of cheap Mauritanian plush dolls, there was an almighty whoosh erupting around her. Her eyes eventually saw the streams of high-powered foam pelting the ceiling with their fire retardant. Desiree moved herself from her hiding place slightly, and through a crack in the display cases, she could see the firemen come through the mall. They extinguished her fire with contemptuous ease. Just to make sure, the firemen quartered the flammable area thoroughly, ensuring there was no lingering flame that could threaten the shopping complex.
“All right,” came a voice from one of the firemen, “I need you to spread out. Check for lingering fires, cracks, and then clear out. Copy?”
“Yes, chief,” echoed back from the muffled, masked voices around the thief. One of the voices caught her ear and suddenly her plan was changed. Once she was sure the firemen were past her position, Desiree crouched just over the lip of the counter, and took a better look. Sure enough, a couple of the firemen were not men at all. That’s my ticket outta here, she smiled, and watched as the professionals spread out. Desiree checked in all directions for anyone looking her way. Then, like a bug scattering from a moved log, she snuck out of the kiosk. As she made her way over to the hallway she had just vacated, the thief found herself right behind a firewoman who was scanning the area for any leftover flames. Before the civil servant managed to turn around, she was surprised to get a double dose of her dermal patches next to her neck.
Within seconds, the firewoman dropped like a stone. Moaning as Desiree undressed her, it didn’t take long for the thief to adjust her face to match that of the fallen woman. Then she started stripping the lady and putting the fire suit on.
Leaving the firewoman in just her underwear, the thief leaned her against the side of the hall, out of direct sight of anyone looking from the main mall passage. Putting her handbag under the fire suit, she confidently walked out again, and joined the search.
Feliz accepted a cup of instant coffee from Pablo. He winced at the taste, but drank it nonetheless. The only decent coffee shop is back in the mall, he mused. But if you’re going to keep alert, you do what’s necessary. The kingpin watched with a professional eye how mall security was scanning everyone as they left the area, even the regular employees, who were the only ones to remain. The police came to provide extra gravitas to the scene, but otherwise, looked as bored as the gangsters who remained as inconspicuous as they could in the parking lot.
However, all their careful procedure seemed to be wrapping up quickly, once the firefighters left the building. As the fire engine left, he noticed the security guards returning to the mall. Confused, Feliz picked up his wireless and speed-dialed a familiar number. “Manuel, I thought you were going to tell me when we found our target.”
“Si, jefe, but…”
“But what?”
“But no flags popped up. None of the ID’s scanned matched our database.”
Feliz felt a rush of anger enter his brain and swirl inside like a tornado. “Did we get the entire feed?”
“Si, jefe. None of them matched.”
The gang leader slammed his wireless off in a huff. Turning to his lieutenant, he demanded, “Pablo, did we catch her?”
The Latino bit his lip in fear. “Uh, jefe, you know what I know. None of the boys reported in.”
“Then how did she…” Feliz’s mind raced to consider the options, but nothing came to him. “Damn it,” he cursed under his breath, and then turned back to Pablo. “All right, that’s it. We’re shutting this city down.”
“What?”
“Wake everyone up. I want men at the docks, I want them at the bridges, I want them tied into the swamp scanners! Tie the database to the ID fix at every exit out of Tidewater. Then have a team ready to intercept this woman and shut her down for good!”
“Jefe, the amount of men…”
“We have the chinga men! Pull ‘em off the casinos, the streets, the distilleries, I don’t care! But you get them there and they stay until this woman is dead!!”
The rage boiling off of Feliz was insanely frightening. Even more so to Pablo, because as long as he had been under his command, he had never seen his boss lose his temper. Pablo quickly turned away from his wrath and pulled out his wireless. With the intensity of a mad man, the lieutenant started making calls. Soon the entire chapter was roused from their beds in the early hours of the morning. Within an hour, what the Inca had commanded had been done; no one was leaving the Tidewater area without Feliz knowing about it.
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