Fire In The Dark
1441 Words
David pulled a small black phone from his pocket, hit record, and held it close to Ramirez’s swollen, bloody face.
“Names,” David said and slapped him to keep him awake. “All of them. Start talking.”
Ramirez whimpered. “Okay… okay… I’ll give you everything.” He started slow, voice cracking with pain.
“First… Carlos Mendoza. He handles the port shipments and ensures coke comes in containers labeled as fruit. He’s the one who pays customs.”
David stayed silent.
“Next… Elena Torres. She launders money through three nightclubs downtown, she’s more wicked than Carlos. She takes cash from the girls, mixes it with legit receipts.”
“Keep going.”
“Victor Salazar… runs the street crews. He’s the one who sent the men to the supermarket that night I gave the order.”
“More.” David said when he wanted to pass out.
Ramirez swallowed blood. “Luis Ortega. Arms dealer. Supplies the guns we use, AKs, pistols, even the RPGs, name it. He’s got a warehouse in Little Havana.” Ramirez coughing
“Javier Cruz. He recruits the girls, finds them at bus stations, and promises jobs, then they disappear into the trade. And there is Maria Delgado. She’s the accountant. Tracks every dollar, hides it in offshore accounts in Panama.”
Ramirez swallowed and continued
“Pedro Ruiz is a corrupt cop, he is a lieutenant in Miami PD. He kills investigations before they start. Antonio Gomez, a politician and city councilman. He takes bribes to look the other way on zoning for our safe houses.”
“Felipe Navarro. This guy moves the people via trucks from the border, boats to the islands. Specializes in kids.”
“Sofia Ramirez has no relation. She’s the fixer, she ensures crime scenes are clean and she pays off witnesses.”
“Ramon Castillo is an enforcer. He does the beatings, the examples. Loves his work too much.”
“Who else! Hey, we aren’t finished damnit!” He pressed Ramirez fingers, he screamed
“I’m still talking, please don’t do that again. Ga... Gabriel Herrera the hacker. He wipes security footage, hacks phones, tracks rivals. Mateo Vargas, no, not Raul Vargas. Mateo is Raul’s cousin. He runs the Venezuela side and coordinates shipments from Maracaibo. The gangs there are vast.”
David leaned in. “That’s eleven. One more.”
Ramirez coughed. “And… Isabella Montoya. She’s the recruiter for the higher-ups. She finds the politicians, the judges, she is the one who introduced me to the governor. Please that’s all I know, nothing more” he whimpered.
David’s eyes narrowed. “What do you know about Raul Vargas?”
Ramirez’s voice dropped to a whisper as if saying the name scared him. “Raul Vargas… he’s untouchable. Governor of Zulia, he controls everything from the ports, the police, the military. He’s got money in Swiss banks, villas in Miami, private jets, nobody crosses him and lives. He ordered the hit on your wife personally and said she was a loose end because if she talked, it would reach him. He’s the top, the very top. You go after him… you die.”
David stared down at him for a long moment. Then he raised the pistol. “I will make him low. Sadly you won’t be alive to witness his fall from power.”
Ramirez’s eyes widened. “Wait... please! I gave you...”
Instantly the gunshot echoed once. Ramirez slumped as his skull open and blood pooled on the floor. David pocketed the phone and walked out.
.
He returned to the warehouse before dawn.
Scott was still tied to the chair, leg bandaged. Micah had called a street nurse David paid off. The woman had stopped the bleeding, given him painkillers, and left without a word. Micah sat on the floor, knees drawn up, staring at nothing.
David crouched beside her. “We’re leaving.”
She looked up, eyes red. “You killed him?”
“Yes. You won’t have to worry about Ramirez anymore.”
She swallowed. “You didn’t have to hurt Scott like that.”
“He took my daughter. I had to.”
“He’s still my brother.”
David didn’t argue. “Come with me. Your brother can take care of himself. You’re not safe here.”
She stood slowly. “Fine. But I’m not hiding forever.”
He took her to a quiet hotel on the beach, and paid for one room having two beds.
That night she paced in the room, feeling uncomfortable. “I can’t just sit here. I have work tomorrow, my bills will not pay themselves.”
“You’re in danger Micah.”
“Ramirez is dead. Who else knows about me? No one!” she gestured, “I helped you because I had no choice, and because I needed Scott to be safe too. You know Scott’s my brother and I’m mad at you for what you did to him. Besides, I’m not a prisoner.”
David exhaled. “If you go back to the club Micah...”
“I’m going. You can’t stop me.”
David let her knowing arguing would waste time.
The next night, Micah walked into the Club like nothing had changed. Everything was normal to her because the lights still pulsed, music played loud, men looked enticed. She took the stage and danced trying to forget.
She didn’t see the six men dressed in black as they slipped in, spreading out through the crowd. They waited until her set ended before they moved.
Micah stepped off stage, heading to the dressing room. A hand clamped over her mouth from behind she started to fight but they dragged her to head toward the rear exit.
Gunshots exploded inside the club, people began to run screaming, tables overturned, bottles shattering, people trampling each other for the doors. David burst in through the side door holding two pistols in his hands, knife sheathed at his belt.
He’d followed her to ensure her protection quietly.
The first gunman turned. David fired twice, the man dropped, the second gunman raised his SMG weapon. David rolled behind the bar at the DJ booth, glass exploding above him.
“Get her out! Kill her!” the third shouted.
David popped up with his dual pistols firing, he got a headshot kill. The third man fell backward over a table.
Two more rushed from the hallway, releasing automatic fire that chewed the wall behind David. He stayed low, and slid across the floor, quickly coming up firing four rounds, two bodies fell slowly. A fourth man who grabbed Micah was now by the corridor, knife to her throat.
David sprinted and got close in seconds, he tackled the man, knife flashing so quickly the blade sank into the man’s side, he screamed, knife clattering away.
Micah stumbled free, “Micah.”
David grabbed her and pulled her behind a flipped table.
More gunfire came at them from three additional men entering from the VIP section. David pressed behind the bar, bullets wasting into wood and bottles.
He leaned out with both hands, his pistols blazing. He dropped one with bullets to the chest. Another spun and got hit in the shoulder but kept firing.
David rolled, came up with a fresh magazine reloaded, he dropped the wounded man with a headshot. The last two flanked, David tossed a smoke grenade from his belt, thick white cloud filled the room.He moved through it like a ghost, his pistols were up, he fired two quick shots. Two more bodies hit the floor.
Silence fell, and only ringing ears and distant sirens was heard. The club was empty now. Micah lay on the floor amid shattered glass, she had a shallow cut on her arm that was bleeding. David came to his knees beside her, and lifted her head gently.
“You’re safe now.”
She stared up at him in shock, fear and relief all together. Then she threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tight, her body trembling against his. He also held her tight until after a long moment she pulled back a little and their faces were inches apart.
Their eyes locked, their breaths mingled and her lips parted slightly. His gaze fell on her mouth. The air between them stopped, they felt the adrenaline and undeniable desire for each other
His thumb brushed her cheek, they forgot the dead bodies and distant sirens. ...neither moved away.
Two men walked in quietly, "FBI, don't move! Hands where I can see them!" One yelled, gun pointed at David and Micah.
- Writer
