Amor y Contrabando

Pleasured moans filled the room as the young couple made love into the early hours of the morning. Their sweaty bodies were pressed against one another; her slender fingers roamed his back as he buried his nose in the crook of her neck and inhaled that sweet scent that never failed to overwhelm him. They were lost in the moment, lost in the precious sensations that they could only get when they were together. It was odd how perfectly their figures fit together; it was as if they were always meant to find each other in the great big world. She had always been destined to leave Pico Rivera and make her home in Trinidad, just as he was born to leave Boston and travel across the country to that small town. Fate had brought them together, a chance meeting at the post office, and although their time together would soon come to an end, Seraphina was determined to enjoy him as long as she could, to burn into her memory the way it felt to be in his arms, the way it felt when he stared at her with love and adoration in his eyes as they made sweet, sweet love.

She wanted to ensure that his touch would be so well ingrained in her memory, that in the future, when she was to meet her death, she’d be able to recall it and feel his arms around her in the last seconds of her life. Perhaps that was morbid of her, but she believed that if she could feel his presence, she would be able to find the courage to meet her death, with a head held high.

So her hands greedily explored his back, her lips hungrily latched themselves to his neck and every bit of him that was within reach. She made love to him in a manner so pure, so tender and affectionate, that he not only felt that their bodies were consummating their love, but that their spirits were doing so as well.

“Seraphina!” he cried, feeling the maddening pleasure that accompanied his orgasm, taking control of his being. “Finn . . .”

He buried his face in her dark curls, continuing to thrust deep within her, until he felt her thighs begin to quiver, until he felt her tighten around him. It wasn’t long before she was arching her back, and moaning his name in a voice so soft that had his ears not been in close proximity to her lips, it would’ve gone unnoticed. He’d always thought it was strange that she was loud everywhere except the bedroom. In fact, he’d spent awhile thinking that maybe she didn’t enjoy having sex with him as much as did with her. He never voiced that, of course, it would’ve been humiliating to do so. That was a thought he kept to himself and contemplated from time to time, but he eventually came to know that her soft moans were gifts filled with sincere love and affection. They were never to be doubted or question like the loud moans of women often are. There were no fake orgasms for her, no pretending. There were only passionate caresses and soft expressions of love.

When the pleasure subsided, Benjamin lifted his face from her hair and moved it so that it was so close to hers, that she could feel his breath on her lips. She stared at him with tired eyes, a content little smile playing across her lips as he ran a hand through her hair. She didn’t say anything. There was no point in talking, not anymore. Instead she just looked at him, admiring the way he seemed to glow in the early morning light. That was how she wanted to remember him. That’s how he would always be in her heart.

The exhaustion eventually got the best of Benjamin, and he placed a kiss on her forehead before rolling off her, and returning to his side of the bed. He opened his arms, ushering her into them, and when he felt her body pressed against his, he drifted off to sleep. It would’ve been nice for Seraphina to have done the same. She deserved some sleep after the days she’d had, but she found that an impossible task. Her eyes may have been tired, but they were determined to stay for as long as possible.

An hour and a half later, when her alarm went off at 6:30, she was still awake. Her eyes were threatening to shut off on her, but when her alarm rang out, they snapped open. She sat up on the bed, head jerking in direction of the noise, and after having silenced her cell phone, she just sort of sat there, hands wrapped around her knees and eyes staring out the window. This was it, just a little longer and everything would come to an end.

From his place beside her, Benjamin was slowly roused from his slumber. His hair was a mess, the back was sticking up unattractively, and his blue eyes were barely opened. He almost told her to go back to bed, but when he parted his lips, he remembered why it was that she’d woken up so early, and sat up. A few kisses were placed on her exposed back, they were meant to get her attention.

“Morning,” she whispered, a smile tugging at her lips as he kissed his way up to her neck.

He placed his chin on her shoulder and grinned at her.

“Go back to sleep,” she told him. “It’s still early. I’ll wake you up in a little while.”

“I’ll sleep when you come back.” He said, oblivious to what was to come. “I’ll make some pancakes and bacon; we’ll grub and then go into a food coma.”

“Sounds delicious,” she muttered.

“It will be. You know no one makes bacon as good as me. Fucking love bacon.”

“There’s a problem with that though. I don’t think I’ll . . .” she took in a deep breath, her emotions beginning to get the best of her. “I don’t think I’ll be here for breakfast.”

“Then I’ll make lunch.”

“Lunch and dinner won’t be happening either, not today, not ever again.”

He grew flustered, baffled as to why she was saying those things. “What are you trying to get at?”

“Benjamin, I haven’t been completely honest with you. I told you that we got another meeting we have to go today, but I didn’t tell you what’s going to happen.” She took in a deep breath, rallying her strength to carry on. “Daniel and I . . . well, we’re gonna tell them to fuck off.”

“You can’t do that!” exclaimed Benjamin. “They’ll fucking kill you!”

“We know. Believe me, we know.”

“Then you . . . you’re alright with that?”

“I don’t think anyone is ever really alright with being killed, but it’s better than becoming an associate of theirs and being killed later on. Look, you know how Daniel and I are. We’re not like other growers. Well, that’s a lie; we’re like every other grower up north. We’re laidback and don’t like to add to violence to the business. That’s what being a Humboldt Country grower is all about, but they want to add violence, they want us to supply them with our plants and teach them how to grow. We’re not gonna do that. We don’t want to get blood on our hands by helping them.”

“But you don’t have to die. You can run off somewhere. I’ll go with you.”

The desperation in his voice was enough to make her tears fall. “I can’t go off,” she said. “This is my business, I’ve got to own up to it and accept what’s going to happen.”

“But they’ll kill you.”

“I know!” she bellowed. “I’ve been freaking out over that for the last few days, but I don’t have a choice in this, Benjamin.”

“Of course you do.”

“No, I don’t. If I run off, they’ll torture people to try to find out where I went. I have to go there so no one else gets hurt.” She paused. “And you . . . you have to leave.”

“Leave? But I –”

“You have to get out of the country,” she interjected. “I’ve already packed a bag for you, it’s not much, just a gym bag, but it has enough clothes to get you through the next three days. You’re passports in there. And there’s also €9,999 in travelers checks. That’s just bellow the €10,000 limit so you’ll be fine. And I’ve put money in a few accounts for you. There’s about $1.5 million. Don’t look so worried. Frankie has all the information; he’ll get it to you and get you to London safely. After that, you’re gonna go with him to live with his Nan in Bristol. You’ll stay there for a few years. You understand me? You’ll stay there and lay low.”

“But I don’t want to leave. I can’t just up and go!”

“It doesn’t matter what you want. You need to get out of the country to keep yourself safe. Look, I don’t know what’s gonna happen once I'm dead. I think they might raid the houses and growing areas, that’s why the workers started leaving yesterday, that’s why we’ve given them money to get the fuck out. And that’s why I need you to leave.”

“Can’t I go to Boston? Boston’s far.”

“Not far enough.” Seraphina declared. “I need you in England. I know it’s asking a lot, but I need to know that you’re going to be alright. That’s the only way I’ll be able to get through what I have to do.”

Benjamin remained silent.

“Ben . . . Benjie, please promise me that you’ll go to England.”

“I don’t want to leave you. I don’t want to run away knowing you got killed. How am I supposed to deal with that? Did you even stop to fucking think about what that’s gonna be like? Yeah, it fucking blows that you’re going to die, but once you’re dead, you’re dead. I'm gonna be stuck here having to deal with that. And I don’t think I can. I fucking can’t. I know I can’t.”

She took his head in her hands. “Of course, you will,” she reassured. “You’re still young. You just turned twenty-nine.”

“That doesn’t mean shit.”

“Yes it does! It means you still have an entire life ahead of you. And I know it might be hard, but you’ll forget me, you’ll move on and find someone that makes you even happier than I did and marry them and have babies. And in time, I’ll just be a memory you revisit a few times a year.”

Benjamin pushed away her arms and abandoned the bed. “You’re not gonna be just some memory!” he yelled. “Don’t you fucking get how much you mean to me? I know I'm not one of those bitches that, goes around talking about their feelings all the fucking time and makes a big ass deal about everything. But don’t you think for a minute that I don’t love you as much as that dude Darcy loved that chick. I fucking burn for you. Does that even make sense? I hear them say it all the fucking time, but that’s never made sense to me, but whatever, it sounds intense, and my love is intense.” He was nearing hysterics, tears were beginning to form. “I love you so much that I got a fucking ring.” He grabbed his discarded jacket and from a secret pocket, took out a black jewelry box. “I was planning on asking you when you got back. It wasn’t going to be anything over the top, but it was going to be real, and I was gonna say that I wanted to make a life with you.”

“Benjamin . . .” she nearly choked on his name.

“Don’t tell me that I’ll forget. That’s an insult to me.” He covered his eyes with his hand, not wanting to let her see him cry. “That’s a fucking insult . . .”

She left the bed and walked towards him. “I didn’t mean to insult you.”

“I know.”

“I don’t want to do any of this, Benjie. I don’t want to die and now that I’ve seen that ring, I really wish I could just run off somewhere with you. But as much as I want to do that, I know I can’t.” The tears cascaded down her cheeks. “There’s too much at stake, too many lives that’ll be affected. I can’t be selfish. I can’t.” She sniffled. “I want what’s best for the employees, but most of all, I want what’s best for you.”

“How do you know that me going to England is what’s best? I don’t think that’s what’s best. I don’t want to fucking get on a plane, knowing that you’re gonna be rotting in some fucking ditch. Let me go with you. We’ll shoot up those fuckers.”

“And then what?” she snapped. “Do you think it’s just the five that came here? There’s an entire army! It’s the Sinaloa Cartel. They’re the most powerful drug trafficking organization in the world. They’re fucking over an entire country! They have the means to wage war against the Mexican government. If we kill some of them, if we kill the godson of the boss, then . . . fuck, I don’t even want to think about what’ll happen.”

“They won’t start a war in America. Our government wouldn’t let that happen.”

“There’s already a war here. What do you think drug dealers are fighting about? They kill each other for streets, for control. Just because you see this side of the business, the clean side, that doesn’t meant that it’s the same everywhere else. We deal to dispensaries. That’s why we’re left alone. But everyone else is fighting for territory, and most of those people have connections to cartels. So don’t act like our government wouldn’t let something happen, it’s letting it happen. And I’ll be damned if anything happens to this community because of me.”

He recognized the truth in her words. “You’re not changing your mind. Are you?”

“I'm not.”

“Then what are we gonna do?”

“I'm gonna shower, get ready to go. And you’re going to make me pancakes and bacon.”

He didn’t protest. Instead, he shot her a weak smiled and dressed himself before leaving her alone in the room. She stood there for a few minutes, staring absentmindedly at the bed, but she soon remembered what she had to be doing, and after a quick shower, and having put on clothes that she wouldn’t mind being found shot in, she went downstairs to the kitchen, where she found Daniel sitting at the table, stuffing his mouth with pancakes.

Seraphina walked over to Benjamin and wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him in closer to her so her chin would rest on his back.

“Your plate’s already on the table,” he told her, placing his hand above hers.

“Thank you.” She kissed his back, and then rested her head flat against him. “You smell like bacon.”

“Best smell in the world,” he joked.

They ate breakfast in peace, it was a thirteen minute event in which what was to come wasn’t mentioned or alluded to. They were simply enjoying a meal together, making a few jokes and being somewhat lively. But when breakfast ended, when the plates were piled high in the sink and it was time for them to drive to the beach, they were no longer smiling or wearing content expressions, their faces were adorned with serious looks that made it perfectly clear that they understood the gravity of the situation they were in.

A few of their friends, well, all of their friends that worked security, walked over to the house to bid them farewell. They were going to leave later on in the day, since they still had to pack a few things up, but they wanted to be there to say goodbye. It was a gut wrenching moment. No one cried, not because they didn’t feel like crying, but because they didn’t want to make it harder on their friends than it already was. They shared long embraces, whispered reassuring words and said how much they’d loved hanging out, and when that ended, Daniel bid farewell to Benjamin, and walked outside to wait for Seraphina.

“Benjamin Rigby O’Donnell, the most amazing man I ever met,” she whispered, linking her fingers with his. “I love you. I love you so damn much, Benjamin.”

He couldn’t restrain himself; he pulled her close to his body, and clung to her for dear life.

“Don’t do this,” he implored. “We’ll find a way.”

She ignored him and pulled away. “Make sure to do what Frankie tells you. He’s gonna take care of you for me.”

“Seraphina –”

“I love you,” she cut him off. “Now where’s my kiss.”

Without warning, she grabbed the grey fabric of his t-shirt, and pulled him down so their lips met. The kiss started off slow, they were taking the time to memorize the texture, the shape of one another’s lips, and when that happened, she gently nibbled on his bottom lip, causing him to moan and part his lips enough for her tongue to slip in. The moment their tongues touched was the moment the innocence was shed and the hunger sprang forth. His arms traveled her body, claiming every curve as his own, her hands ran through his hair, enjoying in the sensations it made. They lost themselves in each other, and were completely unaware of time; time meant nothing to them, not at that moment.

If it hadn’t been for Daniel running inside to remind her that they had to get going, she would’ve stayed there forever, but he did run, he called to her and when she didn’t respond, he tugged at her shirt, causing her to turn. There was no time to speak, but a look sufficed for both Benjamin and Seraphina. They looked at each other with such sincerity that they knew that their love would never be forgotten.

Daniel grabbed her hand and let her out the door, the entire time muttering about how if they were late he would never forgive her. They weren’t really running out of time, Daniel was just freaking out and wanted to get to the parking lot so he could smoke out and then relax, just relax as they walked to their death. Sure enough, when they reached the parking lot, he pulled out two thick blunts that he’d taken the liberty of rolling that morning, and each one of them, raised their respective blunt to their lips and lit it.

Creedence Clearwater Revival blared from the stereo as they smoked. It was their favorite band so they thought it only right that they indulge with them. They spent nearly ten minutes smoking in that car, and by the end of it their fear and anxiety had been subdued enough for them to calmly place eye drops to get ride of the redness in their eyes.

“Turn it the fuck up, man!” bellowed Daniel. “This is it. This is what we go out with.”

Seraphina turned up the volume. “Wait. Wait. Wait. Let’s sing it. Yeah. Let me start it over.” She restarted the song, and they waited for the singing to begin. “Put a candle in the window, ‘cause I feel I’ve got to move. Though I'm going, going, I’ll be coming home soon, ‘long as I can see the light . . .”

By the end of the song they were in tears, it had cut through their somewhat composed mellow selves and rendered them blubbering messes.

“I fucking love you, Neil,” she sobbed, reaching over to hug him.

He held onto her tightly. “We’re fucking Frodo and Sam. I even love you so much I’ll let you be Frodo.”

“That’s down,” she smiled into his shirt. “But there’s no getting out of Mordor for us.”

“Somehow I'm fine with that,” his nostrils flared as he continued to cry. “We’ll get to heaven at the same time, be able to fucking rock out. I bet Janis and Jimi and all them are gonna give us a private concert when we get there.”

“That’ll be rad as hell.” She pulled away and wiped away her tears.

“Yeah, it will.” He sought out her hand and gave it a squeeze. “Come on, Finn. Let’s go do this.”

Taking in deep breaths, they each opened their doors and stepped out into the morning sun. Her knees felt weak, liable to give out at any moment, but she pushed onwards. Her knees weren’t the only ones failing, Daniel found it increasingly difficult to keep moving. In the back of his mind, there was a small voice urging him to take off, that he had enough money to buy a little farm in the middle of nowhere and live a full life. That voice was so tempting, so fucking tempting, but he did his best to ignore it, and walked on.

Their progress was slow, and as much as they would’ve liked to have blamed that on the marijuana they’d smoked, they knew they couldn’t. It was fear that slowed their progress, fear that made taking every step a challenge. Needing comfort in her walk, she reached out for Daniel’s hand. He tensed at first, but her touch was soothing. He found comfort in her, just as she did in him, and their pace picked up, they found the courage to get through it.

Waiting for them at the rendezvous point was Mauricio. He wasn’t wearing the disguise he’d donned the previous day. Those clothes hadn’t suited him. There was nothing about them that distinguished him as a man of power. So on that morning when he woke, he dressed himself in his finest boots and hat, and had grabbed his belt buckle that was made of solid gold. In those clothes he felt like a powerful man, and he knew that when they saw the sun reflect on his buckle, they would understand that joining them was the only option they had.

He was accompanied by three of the men that had traveled with him from Mexico. Their clothes were not as fine as his, but there was still an air of power to them. It was in the way they carried themselves, in their posture, and had anyone been at the beach at that hour, they would’ve been frightened by the group of men that whispering amongst themselves.

“Señor, do you think the gringos are going to show or should we go find them?” asked Javi.

“They’ll come,” replied Mauricio, flicking his cigarette onto the ground.

Silence fell upon them again, and it wasn’t until Seraphina showed up with Daniel that the three henchmen began whispering amongst each other. Mauricio ordered them to shut up and go check if they were carrying any weapons. He expected to find guns on them. If they’d brought them the day before then they’d surely bring them to the second meeting, but the henchman thoroughly patted each of them down and didn’t find a weapon of any sort.

“Amigos, no guns today?” asked Mauricio, stepping towards them.

“Didn’t see the point in bringing any,” replied Daniel. “It’s not like we would’ve been able to hold onto them.”

Mauricio chuckled. “You right about that, but it’s always nice to carry around a weapon. I never go anywhere without mine.”

“That’s because you’re used to carrying it around,” spoke Seraphina. “We’re not.”

“Well when you start work with us, you have to carry gun.” Mauricio stated. “I give you one of mine.”

“I thank you for your offer, but we’re not gonna need any guns.”

Mauricio cocked his brow, questioningly.

“We carefully considered your proposition and decided it wasn’t a direction we wanted to take,” declared Seraphina.

“Not a direction you want to take?” repeated Mauricio, his eyes darkening in rage. “Who do you think you are, you gringos? You think you have choice? You have no choice!”

“Yes, we do,” growled Daniel. “And we’re choosing to not get mixed up with murderers and –”

Mauricio had heard enough. He wasn’t about to stand there and let some poorly groomed gringo insult him. In one fluid motion he pulled out his gun and held it mere inches from Daniel’s face.

“You are nothing,” spat Mauricio.

“If I'm nothing then why do you want us so badly?” retorted Daniel, his breathing becoming ragged. “Because if we were nothing, you wouldn’t have been sent out to talk to us, we would’ve been left alone.”

“Chuy, Javi, hold him down!” ordered Mauricio. “Gaspar, get the girl.”

Had the gun not been pointed at his forehead, Daniel would’ve tried to fight the men, but as it was, he could practically feel the cool metal on his skin, and all he could do was clench his jaw and narrow his eyes. Since there was no gun pointed at Seraphina, she tried to fight off Gaspar. She put up her fists and tucked in her chin, ready to fight like hell before she went out, but she was no match for Gaspar. He towered above her 5’6” frame by 7” and weighed 271 lbs. He was a beast of a man, that’s why he traveled with Mauricio to make sure he was safe. That was why, after a few punches and kicks, he was able to subdue Seraphina.

“You know nothing of respect,” Mauricio sneered as he tucked his gun into its holder. “You think because you’re American, you can say disrespect people, but no, that’s not how it works. Not with me. Look at me when I speak to you!” he growled, and grabbed Daniel by the hair. “You are nothing. You have hair like woman and come to meeting dressed in rags. You disrespect me by not looking like a man.”

“And you disrespect humanity by existing,” spat Daniel.

Enraged by Daniel’s disrespectful language, Mauricio delivered a swift stream of punches to the blonde haired man’s gut. He didn’t care if his godfather had given him strict orders to make sure they cooperated, all he cared about was teaching Daniel who was in charge.

“I'm going to teach you how a real man acts. You hear me?” Mauricio crouched down. “I will show you your place, teach you to respect a man of power.”

“I’d rather die,” said Daniel, breathlessly.

“You rather die?” Mauricio shook his head. “You know nothing of pain, but I show you, I educate.”

In horror, Seraphina watched as Mauricio mercilessly attacked Daniel. He struck him until Daniel could no longer be supported by the two men. He collapsed onto the ground, and from there, Mauricio kept beating him, he delivered blow after blow to his body, causing Daniel to cry out in agony. His screams pierced her soul, causing hot tears to stream down her face, and she began to fight against her captor, to write in his arms until she had the opportunity to elbow him in the balls. The intensity with which he struck made him relinquish his hold on her, and without wasting anytime, she launched herself at Mauricio, knocking him onto the ground.

“Fucking asshole!” she bellowed, as she wrestled him on the ground. “You come into our lives and fuck everything up and think you can treat us like shit. Fuck you!” She managed to pin him down, and deliver two blows to the right side of his face.

“Get her off!” ordered Mauricio as he bucked his hips in an attempt to throw her off him.

Chuy and Javi responded to his order. They each grabbed an arm and dragged her off him. They weren’t gentle with her, they were rough and the intensity with which they held her arm caused her to cry out in pain. As the two men held her down, Gaspar attempted to help Mauricio stand, but Mauricio wasn’t accepting any help. That woman had wounded his pride; she’d busted his lip open, and made him look a fool. She had to pay for her crime. Mauricio grabbed his gun from its holder and pointed it at her head.

“Señor, remember what Don Peralta said,” spoke Javi. “He said he wanted them alive to make sure the transition ran smoothly. If you kill her then he’ll be furious.”

“He’ll get over it,” said Mauricio through gritted teeth.

“He hasn’t found plants like theirs anywhere. He needs the merchandise, Sir.”

Mauricio hesitated, but eventually lowered his weapon. “Look at me,” he grabbed her by the chin and forcefully made her stare at him. “You and that idiot are going to give us the plants and show us how to grow them.”

“I’d rather die,” she hissed.

He wanted to tell her that that could be arranged, but Javier’s having mentioned his godfather, made Mauricio remember the conversation they’d had before he left for America. Don Peralta had given him clear instructions. They were to either cooperate willingly or Mauricio was going to have to get creative to make them cooperate. And since they made it perfectly clear that they rather die than help them, he was going to have to put his back up plan into action.