Amor y Contrabando

The following three weeks were spent training and planning. There wasn’t a day that passed in which Seraphina didn’t go out on long runs designed to test her endurance or hit the gym with her friends. Her body endured grueling weight lifting sessions aimed at transforming her into a deadly machine, and she spent hours at the shooting range, mastering different weapons so that when the moment came to strike, she’d be lethal. It was strange for her to use firearms, she’d spent her entire life avoiding them, but now she was familiarizing herself with shotguns, pistols, assault rifles. She spent so much time practicing with them, that even when she slept, she dreamt of herself in the shooting range, rifle in hand, letting the target have it.

And as they prepared their bodies, they also stocked up on weapons. They used the legal methods to attain some of their supplies, but more often than not they found themselves turning to the criminal underworld to procure the necessary items. Seraphina tried not to be involved in that side of the planning, so she let her friends handle it. They were the ones with the connections, the ones that new how to speak the language and carry themselves appropriately among that company. All she did was take care of the financial aspect, so they could buy bazookas, rifles, mortars, grenades, and anything else deemed necessary. She didn’t keep up with everything they said they needed, all she did was hand over stacks of money, and tell them to get whatever they thought crucial to make sure the job got done correctly. She didn’t want anything going wrong once they were out there in Mexico, she wanted to be able to strike, get Daniel and Benjamin, and then pull out.

Seraphina wanted to minimize potential casualties on her side. Her friend’s safety was of the upmost importance, as was the safety of the men that her fellow growers had loaned out to her, which was why she purchased top of the line protection. The same vests and helmets, the same goggles and masks that the United States military had, were the ones they were scheduled to go into battle with. Those were, surprisingly enough, harder to get a hold on than the weapons, but with the money she had at her disposal, they managed to procure everything she needed, and all that was left to do was train and strategize.

Her contact at the DEA had given her all the info that the organization had on the Sinaloa Cartel and its known affiliates, and the bugs that had been strategically placed on Daniel and a few of his belongings, gave them a clear location of where they were. They could even see the strip of land from a satellite, it looked like any other house in the region, the men that worked there didn’t carry around rifles on them or dress in a particularly flashy manner, it looked like a regular ranch home, but inside that house was one of the most dangerous men in the world, and he had the two most important men in her life, captive. She would show him no mercy, nor would she show mercy to the men that had beaten her and Daniel. They didn’t deserve it, not after what they’d put her through. And as much as it terrified her to admit it, she was looking forward to being in the same room as them, she owed them an ass kicking, and after the training she’d been undertaking, she’d be able to deliver it.

With everything fully underway, it was crucial to keep things as quiet and secret as possible. Seraphina went to great lengths to not let a single weapon be seen on her property, and whenever they went to the shooting range, they had to drive up to Russell’s land where his men had a range that they entertained themselves on since they rarely saw action. Seraphina’s men made sure they were never followed there, that no unwanted eyes saw what they were doing, because if word got out to the Cartel that they were learning how to shoot and stockpiling weapons, then Daniel and Benjamin would end up in a ditch with their heads chopped off.

They’d be just another casualty in the Mexican Drug War, and Seraphina refused to let either of them get hurt. They both needed to be safe, if anything were to happen to them, she . . . well, she wasn’t exactly sure what she’d do, but it’d be impulsive, reckless, and more likely than not, it’d probably get her killed. That was why she worked so hard to keep up appearances, her and her men tended to the fields, they planted more seeds in the warehouse to build up their crop again, and on Sundays, when Don Peralta allowed her to talk to Daniel for ten minutes, and to Benjamin for three minutes each, she promised them that time would fly by, and that soon enough Don Peralta would let them return to California. She made it seem like everything would go according to the Cartel’s plan, when in reality she was scheming how to take them all out.

The men were surprised by the ease with which she lied to Don Peralta and the others. She’d always been a shit liar, but the severity of the situation had done away with the nervous tick that struck her whenever she lied. Now she was calm, collected. Even they would’ve believed her bullshit had they not been in on the plan.

“The months are gonna go by quickly,” she reassured Benjamin. “It won’t be long before you’re back, and we’ll take that trip to Boston that you’re always talking about, finally go meet your mom.”

“She’ll love you.” A tired smile made its way onto his face. “She was always asking about you. Nagging me about why I hadn’t taken you around. I guess she always thought I was stingy and keeping you a secret.”

“I won’t be a secret anymore though. I’ll be out there for all your family to see.”

He nodded and then paused briefly before asking, “How you holdin’ on?”

“I'm fine. Just worried about you and Niel, but they seem to be taking care of you both really well. You look better than that first day.”

“That’s cuz I haven’t gotten beat since then.” It was a poor attempt at a joke. “Sorry, that was meant to be funny.”

“You know you’re not funny, Benjie.”

“I know, but you’re always so good about laughing at my shit jokes, that sometimes I think I am.” His smile vanished at the memories of all the times she’d laugh at his poorly constructed jokes. She was always good enough to humor him, to stroke his ego a little. “I miss you,” he found himself saying, averting his gaze from the laptop screen.

“I do to, Benjie.” She grew closer to the screen; he could see her hazel eyes swimming in tears. “But this’ll be over soon enough. And who knows maybe they’ll let me visit.”

“That won’t happen.” Mauricio declared from his place beside Benjamin.

Seraphina shot him a nasty glare. “Aren’t you meant to stay out of our conversations?”

“Not when you talk bullshit.” He retorted. “And the time is up.”

“It hasn’t even been three minutes yet!” she protested.

“If I say time is up, then time is up. Now say goodbye, gringo.” Mauricio smacked Benjamin on the back of the head, and then walked out of the camera’s range. “Hurry up!” he yelled after Benjamin had taken the time to rub the back of his head.

A quick goodbye was uttered by Benjamin, but before Seraphina had even started to say hers, Mauricio had ended their connection. Seraphina pounded the desk with her fist annoyed that that bastard hadn’t even let her say goodbye to her boyfriend. She only got to talk to him for three minutes on Sundays, and that asshole didn’t even let her tell Benjamin that she loved him or that she’d be looking forward to talking to him again. He’d just turned off the camera, and he’d undoubtedly done it with that stupid smirk that always seemed to be on his face.

“Fucking asshole!” she cursed, eyes narrowed in contempt. “Thinks he can do whatever the fuck he wants, just because he’s in the Cartel. Well fuck him!” She logged out from Skype and turned off her laptop. “We’ll see who’s laughing when we show up over there. Oh we’ll see who’s fucking –” There was a knock at the door, a knock that took her from her heated rambling. “Who’s there?” she snapped.

“It’s Josh.” He said, hesitantly. “You have a call.”

“A call?” she repeated to herself. “Alright, give me a minute, I’ll be right there.” She took in a deep breath and walked towards the door. “Who’s on the line?”

“Frederick.” He informed her, his hand covering the bottom half of the phone.

“Did he say what he wants?” she asked softly, not wanting Frederick to hear her.

“Don’t know. He just said it was important. Should I tell him you’re not in?”

She shook her head. “Nah, I’ll answer. Thanks.” She took the phone from him. “Fred?” she spoke into the receiver. “How are you? Everything alright over there?” she asked, making her way towards the leather armchair.

“Everything’s fine.” He replied.

“Glad to hear it. I thought something had happened.”

He chuckled. “Nothing much ever happens here, you know that. I was just calling to ask if you’d spoken to Daniel lately. I was with Linda and the kids, and Harper asked why Daniel hadn’t come around lately. I told her that he was visiting his mom.”

“Great save.” She nestled into the armchair. “Does she still have her little crush on him?”

“She’s had it since she was eleven. I don’t think it’s going away any time soon.” He paused, the smile on his face dropping. “How . . . how are you doing?”

“As well as I can, given the circumstances,” she replied, her voice tight. “And as for your question, I, uh, actually spoke to Daniel today. I got a chance to talk to him and Ben. They’re both alright. Daniel says that he feels like he’s on vacation. They’re treating him really well.”

“That’s good to hear. We’ve all been worried about him. You know how we feel about you two.”

“I know, and thank you for calling to ask about him.” She cleared her throat. “How are Linda and the kids?”

“They’re doing great. They’re in the backyard right now. She’s putting some pieces they worked on earlier into the kiln. I swear they all took after her when it comes to creativeness. They get out there, make sculptures and other ceramic work, and I can’t even make a pinch pot right.”

“Neither can I. I remember Harper and Jackson laughed at me when I tried making one.” She smiled at the memory. “Those were better days.”

“There’ll be days like that again. Just give it time. Time will sort this all out.” He could tell she needed to be distracted, the planning and training was draining her of her energy. She needed a different environment. “Are you busy this afternoon?”

“Not really, I'm gonna go to mass later on, but that’s pretty much it.”

“Since when do you go to mass?”

“I’ve always gone to mass. Not regularly, but often enough, now I'm going every week though,” she couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Why do you ask?”

“I was wondering if you’d like to come over for an early dinner. The kids would love to see you, and you know Linda and I are always happy to have you here.”

“I . . .” she didn’t want to go out, she was planning on sulking, but then she remembered that that was all she did whenever she had a spare minute, she sulked and looked through her photo albums. She needed a distraction. “What time should I go over?”

“Come over right now. We’ll make it an early dinner. That way you kids don’t have to drive back so late or if you like, you can spend the night. We’ve got an extra room and there’s a pull out in the den.”

“That’s really nice of you, but I think we’ll drive back today. We have gardening to do early in the morning. But thank you. We’ll see you in a bit then. I’ll be taking two of the guys with me. Is that alright?” she asked, not wanting to seem rude.

“That’s fine. We know you have to travel with your security. We’ll see you then.”

Seraphina hung up, placing the phone atop her stomach where it lay unmoved for a few minutes, but then she realized that she had to bathe, to actually put effort into her appearance, so she emerged from her basement office and made her way up the stairs to her bedroom. Josh sat waiting for her in the living room, when she walked in, she immediately told him that she would be going to Frederick’s for dinner, and to please ask the men, which of them wanted to be a part of her two man protective service for the day. He immediately volunteered to take one of the positions, and then walked next door to ask who would go with them.

As he made the necessary inquiries, Seraphina scrubbed her body until no smell of marijuana or alcohol lingered on her. She then got ready to spend the rest of her day with the family of Frederick and Linda. Linda was a kind woman, who cared deeply for her guest; she always greeted everyone with a friendly smile and endeavored to be a good hostess. She was Frederick’s second wife, and was a few years older than him. Linda and Frederick had two children together, Harper and Jackson. And from a previous relationship, Linda had a son named Timothy, a strapping young man of 17. Frederick cared for Timothy as if he were his own son. He’d never had any children of his own, so when he first started dating Linda, it was an adjustment, but they eventually became a family.

Seraphina loved spending time with them. They were a welcoming, warm family that always made her feel at ease, and given the current state of her life, that was precisely what she needed, if only for a few hours. In no time at all, she, along with Josh and Sergio, made the drive over to Frederick’s home. His house was more modern than that of Willow and Howard. It looked like a country estate that one might find in the South. It had a large open space for his children to play in, and had a garden filled with vegetables and fruits in the backyard, along with a small barn that housed a few animals. Frederick thought it important to live in harmony with the earth, and endeavored to do so.

When she arrived, Timothy was sitting on the front porch with a book in hand. He was lost in the world of Middle-earth, but when he heard the car approach, he set down his book and shouted at his parents that Seraphina was there. They greeted her with the warmth that she’d expected, and they were as attentive to her friends as they were to her. The dinner was a joyous occasion; there was laughter, something that had been missing during her meals for weeks. In her home, all they ever talked about at the table was the upcoming mission. She couldn’t remember the last time she and her friends had joked around. It felt like an entire lifetime ago. But in Frederick’s home, the jokes flowed, and everyone laughed heartily, even when the jokes weren’t particularly good.

“Is Danny gonna come back soon?” asked Harper while they ate their desert. “Or is his mom like really, really sick?”

The inquiry caught Seraphina off guard, she’d just stuffed her face with a spoonful of cheesecake, but as she chewed the desert, she remembered Frederick’s lie. And when she swallowed her food, she was ready to tell a few lies of her own.

“I'm not exactly sure how long he’s gonna be gone. He said a few weeks, since his mom’s getting some knee surgery done, but you know how those things are, sometimes people recover quickly, other times they take a bit longer, but hopefully he’ll be home soon-ish.” She took a drink from her coffee. “If you like, I’d be more than happy to pass along a message to him.”

“Oh, n-no, I don’t want to . . .” Harper’s cheeks flooded with color. “I was just wondering. You know? Just curious is all. You don’t have to tell him anything. Yeah. Don’t tell him. It’s . . . never mind. Mom, this is really good,” she complimented her mother, changing the subject like any other teenager would. “This is vegan right? It doesn’t taste vegan . . . so good.”

Noting the young girl’s embarrassment, Seraphina changed the subject. “I'm thinking of expanding on the house, maybe adding another room in the back to start a library.”

Everyone else followed suit, they discussed the home improvements that Seraphina had absolutely no intention of carrying out, and left the teenage girl alone to mentally scold herself. By the time the plates had been cleared away and the coffee had been finished, Seraphina had grown quite sleepy. She was feeling like turning in early, but then Frederick asked if she’d take a drink with him in his den.

“Thank you for that,” spoke Frederick as he poured their scotches.

“For what?” she asked, taking the drink he offered her.

“For changing the subject when Harper got all red.” He took his seat. “I honestly don’t even know why she was embarrassed, it’s not like she said anything wrong, but ever since she got into her teens, she’s been getting worked up over every little thing.”

“That’s just how teenage girls are.” She sipped the scotch. “I like to think it’s the hormones. She’ll settle down eventually.”

“I hope so, because the other day, I bought her a shirt from some band she liked, but it turns out she hasn’t liked them in weeks and she was upset and yelled because according to her, I don’t even know her anymore.”

Seraphina fought back a laugh. “Sorry, sorry, I know it’s not funny, but sometimes they just get a little crazy.”

“Were you like that?”

“Me?” she thought back to her years as a teen. “I don’t think so. I know for a fact that I never shouted at my mom, she would’ve fucking smacked the shit out of me if I did that.”

“You were beaten?”

“Not beaten. That was just discipline. You know? I know this probably sounds strange, but for Mexicans, when you fuck up, you get spanked, you really fuck up, you get smacked. That’s just the way it is. It’s discipline. It’s not done maliciously, and I never resented her for it. We even make jokes about it. The comedians from our communities always talk about being smacked with a wooden spoon or a random flip flop if you were acting up. But you shouldn’t try to bring smacking into the equation. You’ve already raised them one way. It would fuck with their minds if you tried to bring that into practice.”

“I don’t think I could ever physically hurt them. I'm an old man with a soft heart.” He smiled to himself, but then noticed the dark bags under her eyes that the make up she’d put on, hadn’t been able to conceal. “You look tired.”

“I'm always tired.”

“Seraphina . . .” he was using his fatherly tone.

“I'm fine.”

He cocked his brow.

“I’ll be fine.” She reassured. “It’s just the training, and now that we have a set date in mind, we’re doubling up on it, so that’s . . . that’s taken a toll. It’s fucking hard work. And I'm not a marine like them, sometimes I think they forget, but it’s for my own good. I’ll be better off this way, and it’ll all be worth it in the end.”

“I pray it will.” He smiled weakly, uncertain of what the future held. “You said you have a date in mind?”

She nodded. “We’re thinking of making the move in two weeks. Nothing’s set in stone yet. We still have a few things to look over, that’s why I haven’t called the meeting with you and the others, but I think be Tuesday afternoon, we’ll settle on a date, and then be able to go from there.” She drank the rest of her scotch. “I really do hope we can do it sometime in the next two weeks. It’s been long enough. I need my boys back. We need this to end.”