Shadow Pursuit

Three

Lucien smiled for the first time in years. This smile frightened Maria Agnes, his wife. Lucien Kane's name was one many could only whisper. His great downfall brought a deep silence all around Columbia. He was known to be a cold, merciless drug lord/human trafficker. Everyone feared him. Unlike Kamal, he loved making a grand entrance. Explosions, destructions. Peace was his enemy.

The day he fell, his contact from the military division, an investigative board formed to hunt him down, called to inform him his right-hand man, Don Roberto, had betrayed him. This was almost unbelievable, since Lucien thought of Roberto as his brother, as family. When he was brought into Lucien's custody as Jordan Cross, Lucien liked his bravery and resilience. He'd undergone torture but wouldn't reveal details of his army base. Jordan knew his friends would all die if he let the words slip and he was willing to die for it.

Lucien liked that. Most of the time, his captives would begin to spill information before they underwent torture, but Jordan was different. Lucien liked that. Even when everyone was against him recruiting Jordan into his army, Lucien still did so. He gave him a new name, Don Roberto. Jordan worked for him for years and Lucien couldn't be more proud of him. If he'd ever been told the person he warmed up to, trusted and treated like a brother would end up betraying him, Lucien might never believe it. The betrayal hit him hard.

He was wrong for the first time in forever,

He trusted Jordan more than even his son, who ended up running off to be a photographer. Damn bastard. His girls were all he had now. They were all trained like men, and they delivered the job better than his useless sons. Jordan was like a family on his own. They had a secret connection and Lucien found himself confiding more in Jordan than even his wife or side-chicks. There was a time when Lucien wanted to declare war on his rival, Kamal Mukstav, for a dispute over a part of Columbia.

The drug Lords, mercenaries, Mafia kings, etc that ruled the country all had one thing in common - to conquer and be feared. Kamal crossed territories, he wanted to beat Lucien by conquering Buenaventura. This did not sit well with Lucien because he owned the city. He was willing to go to war. Well, not a serious war. Just explode one or two of Kamal's warehouses and maybe kill one of his baby mamas just to show he was never to be messed with. He told Jordan (Don Roberto) about this, and instead, Jordan advised him not to start war immediately until he was sure Kamal knew what he was doing. Lucien listened and, for the first time, decided peace over war. That was the first and only time.

In the end, Kamal decided to expand his business somewhere else. They became acquaintances thereafter, even if they pretty much hated each other. Now though, with Lucien's demise, Kamal had conquered most of Columbia. He would come back, he would reclaim his throne conquer Columbia and expand to Mexico and even the US. His return would mark the beginning of the end. The end of the other mercenaries. Lucien would be the only Mafia lord, the only one to be feared, and he would control everyone and everything, including government and legislature.

He was working on it.

And for Jordan, his end was coming, and it would not be a peaceful exit. Betrayal was a thing most drug Lords never took lightly. It sunk deeper than wound, and Roberto did the one thing Lucien never expected of him. The one thing he trusted him not to do.

Three years.

Three years in exit. He was getting impatient. All he needed was a plan, a plan to make his entry back to Columbia a grand one. A violent entry that would make everyone breathing gasp and long for air.

Bomb blasts, mass destruction. His wrath will fall on everything legal that had to do with guns. Lucien was already targeting military bases, police headquarters, and prisons. He would set the prisoners free and they would all work for him. If any drug lord wanted to oppose him, they would die. They dared not. Lucien was preparing, waiting, calculating. His time was drawing near; the beginning of the end.

When Maria Agnes saw the smile on his face, she almost gasped in shock. He never smiled. She wanted to know what was going on. Although she never interfered with his life, she loved him. Even if he was pretty much one of the top dangerous men in the world, she never thought of him as a better husband.

As a child, Maria would daydream about having one of those dangerous romance stories she found herself reading. However, when she got married to a psychopath who turned her into a punching bag, her dreams deflated like a balloon. She awkwardly met Lucien. Her husband was out of town and he came to her restaurant with a disguise. She didn't know his name but pretty much knew he had a great influence on the city. Lucien said he was visiting Medellin and when he heard about how fantastic her cooking was, he decided to come check it out. Maria was fascinated by him, how lovely he carried himself and his good looks. Even if her restaurant was often visited by important people, Lucien caught her interest. Maria decided, there and then, that she would leave her husband for him. Fortunately, they didn't have any children.

After serving him her best delicacies, Lucien ended up in her bed. When he turned to leave the next morning, she told him she'd go with him. He laughed and said she wouldn't if she knew him. When Maria told him she didn't care if he was a serial killer, Lucien smiled and told her to come with him. She didn't even take her things. She didn't even bother about her restaurant or that he had children before her. Now, fifteen years later, she saw different sides of her husband but didn't care. She loved him and he had a soft spot for her. Even his side-chicks respected her as the boss lady.

As Maria comforted herself with memories of the past, she dropped her newborn son, Lucio, and walked over to Lucien.

"For the first time in forever, you're smiling. Care to share?"

"Come here," Lucien said, rotating his chair. He brought her to his lap, running his hands through her soft breast.

"We're going back home soon, Agnes. I have the perfect trap set for my grand return. I've formed alliances with El Diablo Volkan, and I'm going to conquer Columbia."

Maria shivered. El Diablo Volkan.