<< Discuss this fan fiction
EMPTY EYE SOCKETS CHAPTER 13
Salvador stretched out his arm and a pigeon landed on its master's hand chirping happily. It caressed the man's bony fingers with its beak and stood still as Salvador took the message that was attached to its leg.
"Good to have you back, my friend," he said to the bird that replied with a small flap of its wings. Some people thought that Salvador's habit of talking to his winged messengers was very strange, but he didn't mind. He was the head of LSA after all, and cared deeply for his birds.
Just a moment ago he had been very worried. Meche the pigeon had been quite long on its last trip and at first he had thought something had just slowed it down. But when time flew on and he got neither the bird nor Manny's message he had started to fear that something might have happened.
He had worried for both of them, one of his messengers and Manny who was both an important agent and his friend. He knew the man was sailing on dangerous waters and he didn't mean the Sea of Lament.
Manny's intention was to find Mercedes Colomar, a woman who was involved with all this and Salvador knew that if he managed to do that, he would find out many things concerning Hector LeMan's plan. And if that happened Manny would be in trouble for sure, Hector's men were everywhere and no one was safe anywhere.
Salvador had to congratulate himself for that; the robbery had made things much easier for them. Now the LSA had more fire weapons that they needed and Hector had lost a great fortune.
"Would you give Meche something to eat?" he asked Eva when he walked into the small room where they had all of their cameras and radios. The woman lifted her gaze from the radio she was repairing -- Salvador thought she never did anything else than repaired or read something -- and looked at him in slight surprise.
"So Meche came back. I though that would never happen," she stated stopping her work and taking the bird. Meche chirped quietly, it liked Eva almost as much as Salvador.
Salvador watched as Eva fed Meche some bread and then he opened Manny's message. He was curious to find out what the man had been up to.
Hola, Sal,
Sorry for not writing in a while, I don't have time to do it now either. Had an accident with Lola and found myself in an underwater mine lead by -- who else -- Domino Hurley. I found Meche and freed everyone there. Good news ends here, because we didn't get rid of Domino and Meche has developed a crush on him. I tried to tell her how things are, but you know women.
I am on my way to Rubacava. No need to write back, I'll see Toto there and hear the news.
Manny
Salvador tapped his cheek with his finger. It was surprising to hear Manny had found Meche after all these years. Salvador had never seen her and he hadn't known what to think of Manny's quest. Of course it had been noble to help a woman who was completely unfamiliar to him.
The other surprise was that Hector and Domino had a project that far away. Salvador couldn't have told what was going on, but he had suspected that something was wrong. Firstly, Domino had just disappeared and Salvador didn't like that he didn't know where his enemies were.
According to Manny Meche was an innocent and honest woman who always did what was best for the others. How could a person like her feel anything towards a corrupted criminal like Domino?
Salvador shook his head. Maybe Manny was wrong.
"What does he write?" Eva asked putting Meche in a cage to rest. The man handed the letter to her and she took it and spent a few moments reading it.
"What do you think?" Salvador asked then.
"About what?" Eva wanted to know.
"Any of those things."
Eva thought about it a while and shrugged.
"Now that Manny has solved his problems with Meche he can either join us or do something else. The Manny I knew would have left, but who knows how much he has changed in these years? It would have been better if they had got rid of Domino; losing his right hand man would have made Hector much weaker. That would also have been better for Meche," she said.
"So you think that Manuel could be right and Mercedes indeed has feelings towards him?" Salvador asked. He couldn't really believe that even if he had seen many things after his death.
"I don't find that strange at all," Eva stated.
"But according to Manuel's words she is innocent. Someone who deserves better," the man insisted.
"Only nice girls fall in love with crooks, bad women never do that. Or have you ever heard of a slut who blushes when a criminal walks by? No, opposites attract each other. Bad women fall in love with heroes, nice with crooks," Eva said.
"You are not in love with Domino," Salvador pointed out.
"Maybe I am not as innocent as you think. And maybe there is a hero for me too."
---
Klarhet slowed down when it reached some sharp rocks. It was a very fast demon, but its skin was sensitive and the demon didn't want to risk hurting itself.
Its two passengers were feeling quite uncomfortable in the tight hold of its tentacles. The creature was slimy and the ride it offered was very unstable and rough. If they had been alive both would have felt very sick.
Meche shook her head a bit and tried to make the world stay in one place. It was difficult after the trip and mainly because they were underwater. A soul could not see very far under the surface so she had to settle with a strange mixture of grey and dark.
If she didn't want to stare at the octopus's slimy skin, that was.
Or to turn to look at Domino.
Meche didn't remember when she had last been as shocked as when she had seen the man in Klarhet's tentacles. She had been terrified and grabbed the first item that had met her eye sockets, with no hesitation in order to attack the demon.
She still didn't quite understand what had happened, Domino hadn't wanted to explain and it disturbed her. Klarhet hadn't said much during this trip, but every time it said something it addressed them as them, not as separate persons.
And the creature’s few words sounded strange too, almost amused. Meche hadn't known that such a creature could even have a sense of humour, but apparently she had been wrong. She just didn't understand what was so funny.
"Will we be there soon?" she asked Domino now that she had the chance. Once Klarhet increased its speed they would have to concentrate in holding on and nothing else. That of course meant no talking.
Not that they would have said much to each other anyway.
"We should be in Puerto Zapato pretty soon," Domino replied. He didn't know what to do once he got in the city, he had only thought about getting away from the island that had turned into his own prison.
To be honest, that had already happened before the Manny-fiasco.
Domino didn't understand why Hector LeMans hadn’t given him anything important to do in one of his cities, like Nuevo Marrow. He could have done much more there and it most certainly would have been more useful than keeping an eye socket on some slaves in the middle of nowhere.
He had mentioned his desire to leave that job a couple of times, but Hector hadn't paid him any attention. If almost felt like the man had wanted to keep him away.
Domino almost believed that Hector wanted to forget everything about him.
But why would he have? Domino knew he was the man's most important man; he had been there since the very beginning. He and Don Copal had been Hector's first partners and without them the man wouldn't be what he was now.
So why didn't Hector let him come back?
Well, whatever the reason was, it didn't matter for the time being. Hector would find out about the situation on the island sooner or later, and after that it would be better for Domino if he was very far away from him. He knew that there was no safe place for him in the whole Land of the Dead so he had only two options.
He would have to get back into Hector's pocket or to get rid of him. The later didn't interest him, Hector was too valuable as a boss and Domino wasn't stupid enough to turn against him. No, there had to be a better way.
If he found Manny and brought the man and his lover in front of Hector he would win the man’s attention again. Domino was sure that Hector knew he would try that and would give him some time before sending anyone to ask -- or shoot -- after him.
He would just have to be clever and use everything to his advantage.
In fact, the woman who had been involved with Manny was pretty and there was a chance Hector would like her. Domino knew the crime lord had the hots for Olivia Ofrenda, a strange woman in his opinion, but he had never heard of a man who didn't want to try something different at times.
He also had to admit that Carla looked nice and maybe she was his type too, but something told him that he should never try his luck with her. Maybe it was that Manny liked her and she returned his feelings. Failures were meant for each other.
Okay, so, what would he do in Puerto Zapato?
First he would have to find a place to stay. Manny had probably left to Rubacava already, so if he ever wanted to catch him he would have to be fast. But the problem was that a trip to Rubacava wasn't free and he had no money.
That was only one of his problems. He believed he would get rid of the second soon, because Meche would probably wander off after they got ashore. The woman must have stayed on the island because she couldn't stand looking at Manny and his woman, but in Puerto Zapato she could go anywhere she wanted.
And whatever it was, it would send her to her doom.
Domino knew Meche had grown from that naive woman that she had been after her death, but she still lacked the skill to survive in the cruel Land of the Dead. She didn't have to be afraid of many Hector's men in Puerto Zapato, but everything else was another case.
Especially Wet Jacques was pleased with pretty and innocent women and if he got a chance to do it he would add Meche to his collection. Either by promising a better afterlife, threatening or just forcing.
Domino noticed that the thought disturbed him the a little. Meche had been his personal secretary for over a year and she had been a good one too. It would be a waste of her talents if she became just another faceless woman who criminals abused. In his opinion Meche was even better than Eva had been before her disappearance and he would have liked to keep her.
If he ever needed a secretary again, that is.
Klarhet swam away from the treacherous reef and increased its speed forcing its passengers to hold on again.
---
Maximino was furious.
No, he was more than furious, he was ready to explode.
He had sent a group of loyal men to capture Hector's load of guns and take care of the men, but they had done nothing. The road had been covered in sprouted souls and the load was nowhere to be seen.
So someone had done it before them and it was no mystery who that someone had been.
At first Maximino had been unsure and hadn't known who to blame. For a moment he had even thought that Hector had found out everything. Or that Nick had betrayed him after all and collected everything in his own pocket.
But then Chowchilla Charlie had sent him a message and told that the whole Nuevo Marrow knew that Salvador Limones had attacked Hector's men with his forces and stolen five trucks filled with weapons.
Maximino was relieved for that Hector had no reason to blame him and furious because of the lost load. He could have been so much closer to his goal with it.
Now he would have to do it the hard way and order his own weapons in the black market of Puerto Zapato. It was twice as expensive as using real connections, but the only way to do it without Hector knowing.
He sighed as he wrote the fake name on the message that one of his men would take. The man would have to travel to Puerto Zapato to make sure everything was alright. This would be expensive, but that couldn't be helped. He would get it all back after he had got rid of Hector.
He would probably have to do something to Salvador Limones and LSA too. He didn't want such a dangerous organisation to be alive when he was in control. He would have to take care of Salvador, without him the whole LSA would wither and die.
There was a knock at his door and he lifted his gaze from the desk.
"Yes?" he asked. The door was opened and Lola stepped in making Maximino feel much better.
"I was told you are here," Lola said stepping in and closing the door after her. She was wearing the same blue dress that she had worn in her first evening in High Roller's Lounge. Toto hadn't wanted to make her a new one, though she had asked.
"I am usually here. Do you have something to say?" Maximino asked. Lola lowered her head.
"No, I just wanted to see you tonight," she said quietly.
Lola had never felt that happy during her afterlife. She thought the dead and depressing Rubacava had turned into a beautiful town of light, just like she had always dreamed.
And yet she felt so guilty. She knew that she had fallen in love with Maximino again, being with the man had revived her old feelings and while she knew it was wrong she couldn't help it.
She should have gathered information for the LSA, but instead of fooling Maximino he had fooled her. Now she had to choose between two sides and had no idea of what to do. At times she wanted to stay with him forever, but she always returned back to her home and to see Toto's disappointed face.
Lola knew that the man was aware of what was going on and it made her feel so cheap.
Maximino then, he was just happy for that she had come. When Olivia had left he had thought he'd never be able to care about someone like that. He had been wrong. Though the mere mention of Olivia's name still hurt him, but seeing Lola always made him feel better.
He snorted softly.
"That is sweet, my dear. Do you want to drink something?" he asked.
"No thank you," Lola replied and Maximino nodded. Lola walked to him and glanced out from the huge window. Right now there was no race at the Cat Track, there had been fewer and fewer since everyone had moved to Nuevo Marrow.
The Cat Track was still lit by glowing lamps though, and somehow the deserted scene made it all seem so stunning and beautiful.
---
Hector LeMans sat behind his desk and tapped at it with his bony fingers. It was time since he had last had serious problems and now he had those two.
First Salvador Limones had stolen his load of guns and now this.
He had sent one of his black birds to Domino some time ago and the man hadn't replied yet. If it had been someone else than Domino he would have let it be, but now he was truly worried. He had made him understand that he had to reply within three days if he didn't want something bad to happen, and until now Domino had done that.
So why was he late this time?
It was always possible that the raven had encountered trouble on its way, but Hector didn't believe that. He had raised the birds himself and was sure of that they knew their job. So something else had to be wrong.
Hector LeMans didn't like that he wasn't informed of the situation, but he liked it even less when it was concerning Domino. The man was powerful both physically and mentally and he could be a powerful nemesis. Domino wasn't as intelligent and sly as Hector, but the crime lord never underestimated anyone.
That was why he always kept an eye socket on Maximino and had decided to do something about Salvador Limones.
But first he had to find out what Domino was up to on his little island. And the only way to do that was to send someone there to see.
There was a knock at the door and Hector told his men to get in. He was sure of that Pedro and Meré were loyal to him, he had employed the two right after their death and no one had managed to ruin them with moral and other rubbish.
"I have a job for you. Travel to the Edge of the World and see what is going on there. If you see anything suspicious, remind Domino of who he should be loyal to," Hector said. He didn't have to say anything else; both men immediately knew what was going on.
Pedro nodded.
"We will leave right away, mister LeMans," he said.
"The trip might take some time, but you know who to contact once you are in Puerto Zapato. And Maximino will naturally make sure that you are given the best boat in Rubacava,” Hector continued.
He gave the men some more advice before making sure they had everything they needed. Then he sent them away and leaned back in his chair.
Maybe he was worried for nothing; maybe everything was fine after all...
To be continued...
<< Discuss this fan fiction
|
