Ecstasy

Cat and Mouse Chase

"All around the mulberry bush

The monkey chased the weasel 

The monkey thought 'twas all in fun

Pop goes the weasel."

- Excerpt from Pop Goes the Weasel

LORENZO ANTONOV

I look up and down for Brielle. Every single room... twice. However, I can't find her. At all.

Where in the world is she?

The massacre is long over with. It's fairly quiet and people are taking the bodies to bring them somewhere else.

I'm allies with a lot of mafias but the most important one is L'ira Di Satana. They are an Italian group who specializes in organ harvesting and selling. Both our headquarters are in California. Mine in Los Angeles while they are in San Diego.

In exchange for being allies and being peaceful with one another, I give them bodies. I need quick disposals and doing this can benefit the both of us.

I get some cash for doing so as well.

I arrive at the last room with a piece of bread on the bed and a glass of water on the bedside table.

Nothing.

Cai is outside and he's ready to alert me if he sees Brielle's... body. If she got caught in the crossfire.

I get a call from Elijah through the earpiece.

"Yeah?" I ask. I'm irritated but hopefully he has some good news. Like she got out or something.

"Shit, finally man I reach you. The connection between ours was being shitty," he informs, "Anyway, I have good news and bad news."

"What, Elijah," I seethe. I don't like information being kept from me especially since Eli sometimes has ridiculous ways of telling me.

"Brielle is alive but she's not here. Through the security cameras, I saw two men drag her into a car and they seem to be driving to the border."

I lost her.

Again.

"Thanks," I grumble and turn off the earpiece. I run a hand through my hair. It's sticky because of the blood and I walk out of the room. I go down to the late boss' office where two men are gathering papers and putting them in boxes so we can sort through them to see where Brielle could've gone.

We have to translate from Spanish to English and maybe to Russian. Only 25% and maybe more only speak English, you have to learn the basics of Russian to be in the group but you don't have to be fluent. 15% are bilingual, for example, me. Everybody else speaks Russian and knows the basics of English.

They really seem to have crossed the Mexican border. They have no other place in the United States but now we have to pinpoint where, which is much easier said than done.

I walk outside and notice that it's very humid. It's a bit disgusting.

I need to find her. No matter what.

Cai walks up to me, "I didn't find her-"

"I know where she is," I grumble and walk to a black van. I enter inside to see Eli eating take-out.

"Really?" I ask.

He shrugs.

Cai closes the door behind us and files into the driver seat and begins driving away from whatever is happening back in that now abandoned warehouse.