Assassin's Tears (ENG)

*+｡ CHAPTER 38｡+*

"Ah, damn!" Mauricio called, and his words immediately caught Narin's attention. "Your Berni is calling me." He looked at his companion in disbelief.

"I didn't answer him so he assumed I'm with you. " She replied and went back to cleaning her gun.

"E-eh, so he's gonna kill me." Brunet said.

"He won't kill you. "

"Where do you get that confidence?" He looked at her, raising an eyebrow.

"Because I'll protect you, pachuco, calm down."

Serrano nodded, then looked again uncertainly at the phone, which was still vibrating from the call. After a short while, the trader decided to pick up and a second later he heard Bernardo's loud voice in the receiver. The elder was shouting a lot of curses in a very loud way, which made Mauricio hold the phone away from his ear.

"Señor Torres, calm down..." He said uncertainly. "I understand your anger, but... "

"Where's Narin?! " He shouted, still nervous.

"Um, well, she's with me." Brunet scratched the back of his neck.

"I know that. " The elder snorted.

"Um, she's... busy." He said, looking at the assassin. "Narin is busy...naked, I mean she's taking a bath!" He slapped his hand across his forehead. "She can't talk to you right now." He continued, knowing that the mulatto had no desire to talk to the guardian.

"Trader." The elder said sternly, making Mauricio shiver.

"Yes, señor Torres...?" He asked with a bit of embarrassment.

Bernardo was silent for a moment, then sighed heavily and continued his conversation with the trader.

"Make sure she's safe." He said, once he had calmed down, and his words surprised Serrano a bit.

Brunet glanced surreptitiously at Narin.

"I will." He replied confidently.

"Whatever you're up to now... be careful... both of you." He added with a hint of sadness. "And I say 'both' because if something happened to you, trader, Narin will..." He hesitated, then sighed again. "She cares about you, you know that, do you?"

Mauricio looked from Narin to the sight before him, then closed his eyes, waited a moment, and then answered.

"I think I know, señor." He replied in a gentle and warm voice, which made Vazquez look at him.

"That's good. " Torres said. "Come back alive." He added and hung up after a while.

Brunet slowly put down the phone and then sighed heavily.

"He's angry, isn't he?" Mulatto girl asked and approached her companion. "Mauricio?" She glanced at the man. "Did he yelled at you that much?"

"No." He replied with amusement and looked into her eyes. "He was nicer than usual."

"Oh." She raised her eyebrows. "I wonder why. What changed his mind?" She sighed, asking herself more than the trader, then walked over to the gun spread out on the table and started checking the magazines.

"Yeah, I wonder too..." Serrano said thoughtfully, still keeping a close eye on Narin.

♦•♦•♦

The day came when the youngsters were to face Sadik Reis. Narin and Mauricio were already in their seats at the right time, and they were communicating with each other through small earphones they had put in their ears.

Serrano's plan wasn't to literally fight his opponent. The trader used his cunning and sent to meet someone Arda didn't expect at all. His daughter, Banou.

The young girl now trusted Mauricio more than her own parent, and he wanted to use that fact against the enemy. He told her many made-up, embellished stories many times, and turned Banou even more against her father. In the present time, the girl considered Arda to be an evil man who murdered Mauricio's father in cold blood. The young trader in his stories made Sadik Reis a soulless monster, ready to destroy everything that stands in his way. Banou believed him and thought her father was the 'bad guy'.

Mauricio told Banou that her father had escaped and that he would probably seek revenge. He had asked her for a small favor, and the emotions the young girl was holding back would take care of the rest of the task.

"I think you enjoy it." Narin's voice said in Mauricio's earphone. "You're enjoying this situation, aren't you?"

Serrano laughed softly and leaned back even more in his chair. He was currently sitting in the restaurant, at one of the tables outside the premises. He had his sunglasses folded and sipped cold alcohol, carefully examining the designated spot. Like Narin, he remained hidden. They decided to disguise themselves, blend in with the crowd, and watch from hiding. At least for the moment.

"What can I say, chinita?" He replied with a smile. "I persuaded the daughter to meet her father after many years. As if that wasn't enough, I've manipulated her into thinking her father is the real enemy and she'll probably want to kill him. And I'm not even going to do anything about it other than watch the show I've been preparing for many years." He took a sip of his drink. "I feel like a villain."

"Virtually anyone can be a villain in someone's story, pachuco." Woman replied. "We're only the main characters of our own stories, the others are just side characters."

"Mm, you're right, chinita." He nodded. "The choice is only ours to which side are we on. And who we want to be..."

"So now focus on your show." Vazquez said and adjusted the peaked cap she was currently wearing. Narin herself was in the upstairs cafe, on the balcony, where she had a perfect view.

"Oh, I'm focusing too much. We only need popcorn now."

"Are you stressed about it or am I getting the wrong impression? You talk way too much. "

"I always talk a lot, love." He replied, then sipped his drink again and sighed heavily.

"You're really stressed." The woman said and shook her head. "Don't be so stressed or you'll go bald."

"Don't even say that." Brunet ran a hand through his hair. "My hair is very precious to me." He wagged his finger. "If I lost them, I would lose an important asset. "

"Be glad you don't lose anything else."

"E-eh, chinita!" He exclaimed indignantly as she laughed. After a while, a waitress approached Mauricio and handed him a bottle of alcohol. "Ah, gracias señorita."

"De nada. ¿Algo pasó? ¿Una pelea marital? (You're welcome. Something happened? Marriage quarrel?)" The woman asked, to which Serrano immediately nodded.

"¡Sí! ¡Sí Sí! Exactamente. Verá, mi esposa y yo a menudo discutimos un poco, pero eso no cambia nuestros sentimientos. (Yes! Yes, yes! Exactly. You see, my wife and I often have such small quarrels, but it doesn't change our feelings.)" Brunet laughed.

"¡Oh sí! ¡Amas mucho a tu esposa! El amor es una cosa muy importante. (Ah, yes! You love your wife very much! Love is a very important thing.)" She smiled pleasantly. "Te deseo un buen día. (Have a nice day, sir.)" She added and went back to her work.

"Muchas gracias, señorita. (Thank you very much, señorita.)" Man replied with a smile.

"Do I want to know what did you talk to her about?" Narin asked after a while and Serrano laughed.

"She took us for marriage." He said with amusement.

Vazquez shook her head but didn't hide her smile.

"You don't even have a ring. Me neither." She looked at her hand.

"I can give you a ring, would you want it?" He asked immediately.

"Mauricio." She interrupted him and became much more serious. "I see them, it started."