Imperatrix

chapter 46

Sweat trickled down Jack’s back as she shifted uneasily in her seat. The white crop top she wore was sticking to her skin and it was irritating her. But nothing irritated her more than Angela’s continuous whining.

“God! This place is so hot,” Angy complained tugging at her singlet as she sprinkled some water on her face and arms.

Jack agreed for the umpteenth time. She was one to complain. Angela was wearing short khaki shorts, a cropped singlet, and flip flops. Jack was wearing plain black cargo pants, a white long-sleeeved crop top and black combat boots.

She was going into the desert, and as much as she would have loved to wear shorts and go riding, it wasn’t practical. The desert was hot and she didn’t want sunburns, hence the long sleeve.

She sighed as she looked at people passing by. They were seated under a huge umbrella in front of a café close to the edge of the town. Jack rested her elbows on the table and looked at Angy fanning herself with her hands.

“Its two, I should start heading there,” Jack said and got up as she walked to the alley where she parked her motorcycle. Angy left the shelter of the umbrella and followed Jack.

“You are really going there yourself?” Angy asked incredulously as she watched Jack swing one leg over the bike. She sat on it and wore her helmet, lifting the visor so Angy could see her face.

“I am not going alone Angela, besides, you will be able to hear me through the earpiece. Just stay with Jose, okay?”

Angy noticed the pink helmet strapped to the seat and she asked, “What’s this helmet for?”

Jack smirked, “You’ll see.”

Angy nodded and Jack flipped down the visor as she switched on the bike zooming out of the alley. About two miles out, she went off the tarred road and followed a rocky trail into the desert where she knew a rundown warehouse stood.

It had once been a drug house belonging to Ramirez, but it had seen better days. She was to meet him there. The roof came into view followed by the rest of the building. She stopped beside a car and pulled off her helmet. Jack sat for a moment, her mind moving fast.

From her point, she could see three men already watching her through the windows. She took out a bottle and drank deeply while watching the building discreetly. Sonora desert was hot, and she was feeling dehydrated. Jack closed the bottle and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand before getting off.

A crop top wasn’t exactly meeting material, but hell, she wasn’t about to get roasted in the desert for nobody. The door opened as she approached, and a man stood waiting for her. Jack stood still and raised her hands above her head as the man searched her. He took her gun and knifes, including the one in her boot.

Too bad he didn’t feel the one she had hidden up her ass. Kidding! He didn’t see the one hidden in the heel of her boot.

When he was sure he had collected every single weapon she had, he let her go in. Another person was there to lead the way. That was five men now. They continued with their walk and Jack noted each escape route.
Dust and debris covered the ground, some windows were broken, and the roof looked like it would fall on them any minute.

Of course it will, but not just now. They walked into a huge hall, a huge crack in the wall was the main source of light. The dirty windows were there for fancy. They didn’t stop walking until they were a few feet away from the end of the hall. Eleven men in total.

“You wanted to see me Stefano, here I am.”

Of course she knew who it was all along. She’d had her suspicions. The guy was just too predictable. A dark chuckle escaped him as he slowly came into the light surrounded by his goons. Such a dramatic entrance, Jack thought as she rolled her eyes.