Aragua Must Fall

Hearts Laid Bare

Xavier stepped out of the house into the warm morning sun with his jacket worn over one shoulder and his keys already in hand. David followed him to the driveway where the black SUV waited. Xavier turned and looked at David with a steady expression. David worrying,

"Be careful on this operation," David said quietly. "Watch Riley and Marcus's backs. I don't want them getting hit from the side."

Xavier nodded and opened the car door. "We'll be fine. The mission is clean. I'll make sure of that. There’ll be no loose ends."

David's eyes stayed serious. "Still. Take no chances."

Xavier clapped him on the shoulder. "What's more important is you take care of yourself and that girl Micah. And get that arm healed fast. We need you back in the fight soon."

David gave a short nod. "I will."

Xavier climbed into the SUV and drove off with the engine humming smoothly. David watched until the car disappeared around the corner. The street felt quiet now with just the sound of birds chirping and distant traffic.

Micah came out then stepping onto the porch in a loose shirt and shorts. She saw David standing there and walked to him. Her arms wrapped around his waist in a gentle hug. He held her back feeling her body press against his. They stood like that for a moment before walking inside together hand in hand.

In the living room David sat on the couch and pulled Micah down beside him. She curled her legs up and leaned into his side. The TV was on low showing some news but they ignored it.

"You remember that night at the club?" Micah said with a small laugh. "You came in like some action hero. Bullets flying. I thought the world was ending."

David chuckled low. "You held your own. Most people would have frozen."

She poked his good arm playfully. "Yeah well I had no choice. And you? Walking through all that like it's nothing. What are you some kind of machine?"

He grinned faint. "Just trained."

They joked like that for a while laughing about the chaos in the warehouse and how Scott had looked so scared. Micah mimicked her brother's wide eyes and they both cracked up leaning into each other. But then David went silent for a minute. His face turned thoughtful.

"Tell me about your life," he said softly. "Before all this. The club. The job. How did it feel being there?"

Micah's smile faded. She looked down at her hands twisting her fingers together. "It wasn't always like that. I started waitressing at eighteen. Tips were okay but bills kept coming. Scott was always in trouble borrowing money I couldn't afford to give. One night the club owner saw me and said I could make more dancing. I laughed at first but then I tried it. The money came fast. Hundreds a night sometimes."

David listened without interrupting. His hand rested on her knee steady and warm.

"But it felt dirty," she continued her voice getting quieter. "Men staring like you're not human. Some nights were good the crowd clapped you felt like you owned the room. It felt powerful even. But others were bad. Hands grabbing when they shouldn't. Whispers offering extra for more. I hated that and I started to fear it would become normal."

She paused wiping a tear. David squeezed her knee gently but stayed quiet letting her talk.

"And the p**********n," she whispered. "It started slow, I never wanted to go into it. A regular customer asking for private time. I needed it to bail Scott out again. Scott was always dragging me in. He was always stealing and getting beat up, running from debts. I loved him though. He's my brother. The only family I had left after mom died. But it broke me inside. I started feeling used and empty. Wondering if that's all I'd ever be."

Her voice cracked. David pulled her closer wrapping his arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him with tears flowing freely now.

"I dreamed of escaping," she said softly. "Saving enough to leave Miami. Start fresh somewhere quiet. Maybe open a small shop or something normal. But it never happened. The money went to Scott or rent or food. Until you."

David held her tight. His chest ached for her pain. He kissed the top of her head softly.

She wiped her eyes again. "That's my story. A big mess. You should know the details of what I went through in the hands of other men."

He shook his head. "It's not a mess. It's strength. Surviving when everything's against you."

She looked up at him with her eyes shining. "You think so?"

"I know so," he said quietly.

They sat like that for a moment silent and close. Then Micah shifted in his arms. "What about you? Your past?"

He pulled her fully into his lap facing him. "Enough for tonight," he said gently. "We'll talk about mine some other time. For now let's just hold this. Your story's heavy enough."

She nodded understanding. Their faces were close now eyes locked. She leaned in and their lips met soft and slow. The kiss deepened with her hands sliding up his chest fingers tracing his collarbone. He groaned low pulling her tighter his hands on her back pressing her body against his. She shifted her hips feeling the heat between them. His mouth trailed to her neck soft kisses turning to gentle bites making her gasp. Her fingers tangled in his hair pulling him closer. The air grew thick with desire breaths that kept quickening them, their bodies moving together in rhythm.

But he stopped breathing hard his forehead against hers. "Not yet," he whispered. "Micah, not like this."

She nodded flushed and breathless. He lifted her in his arms carrying her to the bedroom. They curled under the covers clothes still on, his arm around her waist her back to his chest. He kissed her shoulder softly.

"Sleep," he murmured.

She felt safe in his hold. Warm and protected, she trusted him even more and felt he was truly different from other men.

He lay awake a little longer thinking of her words. Her strength. It drew him in deeper.

In the morning Micah woke to the smell of coffee. David was in the kitchen pouring a cup. She walked up behind him and hugged his waist.

"You up early," she said.

He turned smiling faint. "It’s a habit now."

She looked up at him. "Tell me about your past now?"

He set the cup down and pulled her close. "Soon. I promise."

She nodded accepting. "Okay. But don't make me wait too long."

He kissed her forehead. "I won't."

.

Xavier called Marcus Hale and Riley Chen from the car heading to the field office.

"It's me," he said when Marcus picked up. "Meet me at the usual bar in thirty. We've got a mission. Playing anonymous. We aren’t having any logs and no reports too."

Marcus's voice came through with a grin. "Off-books? My favorite. Riley's with me. See you there."

The bar was a dim hole-in-the-wall in Little Havana. Marcus and Riley sat at a corner booth beers half-empty. Lena arrived with Xavier sliding into the booth laptop open.

"Alright," Xavier said pulling up a chair. "Lena's got the play. Talk Lena."

Lena spun her screen around showing blueprints of the five-star hotel. "Javier's in suite 1204. Deal goes down at 2200. Three buyers for coke two hundred keys. He's selling three women too fresh grabs from last night. Security: six guards two at the door four roaming the floor. Elevators locked to keycard but I’ve got a spoof ready."

Marcus leaned in studying the map. "Breach point?"

"Service entrance rear alley," Lena said. "We pose as maintenance. Suppressors on everything. We hit during the meet and buyers will be distracted. Then we grab Javier's devices first. Run a data dump on site before we extract."

Riley whistled low. "Tight window. What if they have countermeasures? Jammers? Panic buttons?"

Lena's fingers flew. "I've got an EMP pulse for jammers. Panic buttons route through the hotel system. I’ll loop the signal. Worst case we go loud but keep it contained to the suite."

Marcus chuckled. "You make it sound easy. Remember that bust in Medellin? We had a 'clean' plan. Ended with half the block on fire."

Riley laughed. "Yeah and you blamed me for the grenades."

Xavier smirked. "This time no grenades. We move in and out fast. Lena's on comms guiding us. Marcus you take point on entry. Riley cover the hall. I grab Javier."

Lena nodded. "We do this right we cripple their recruitment and have no more kids in the pipeline."

Marcus raised his beer. "To clean hits and bad guys down."

They clinked glasses. The mood shifted, they were focused ready.

Xavier looked at Lena. "You good?"

She smiled. "Always."

Inside she thought They're buying it. Javier goes down I'm clear.

They finished planning wrapping the map and stowing it. Then they geared up with vests suppressors, ropes for rappelling if needed. Grappling hooks coiled tight.

They moved out in two bulletproof SUVs engines low heading into the night.

Micah's voice echoed in Xavier's head. *Trust is fragile, Xavier.*