Elena is a young journalist from Spain. When she is assigned to spend a year in Colombia to uncover truths about Escobar, she is to work alongside the DEA. What will happen when womanizer Javier Peña catches her eye?
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ELENA'S HEADACHE had already started to develop at the beginning of the flight, when a baby sitting on its mother's lap behind her had broken down into sobs. She hadn't turned around to whine to the distressed mother, of course. Only silently cursed the universe for gifting her such a way to start her new job.
After a few more minutes of listening to the baby's wails, Elena decided to try and distract herself, grabbing a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird from her bag.
"I love that book!" whisper-yells the woman sat beside her, pointing at the novel.
Elena turns her head to see a blonde woman, with bright blue eyes, pale skin and a warm smile.
"I've read it about ten times, it's one of my favorites." she continues.
"It's one of my favorites too." Elena offers the woman a smile, grazing the book cover.
"I'm Connie."
"Elena."
"Are you visiting family?" Connie asks.
"No, I'm here for work."
"Oh? What're you working in?" Connie seems surprised to hear Elena's response, not many people were avid about moving to Colombia in this time period.
That's the moment when Elena realizes she needs to learn how to keep her mouth shut.
"Uh... janitorial services."
Elena obviously wasn't working in janitorial services, but when she had last spoken with the DEA ambassador, she had been told that if anyone that wasn't DEA- or really anyone the DEA doesn't trust- were to ask her about her job, to simply reply with "janitorial services". Of course, Elena knew that the woman didn't believe her, but lying to her didn't mean that she'd right off the bat suspect she worked for the US Drug Enforcement Administration. Connie then interrupted her overthinking.
"Really? My husband is doing the same thing!" Connie should also learn how to keep her mouth shut.
AS THE FLIGHT TO COLOMBIA CONTINUED, the two women continued their conversation. Once the plane arrived, Elena was dying to get to her apartment and sleep. She had been flying for nearly two days. Beginning in Spain, where she took a train from Vigo to Madrid; spent 10 hours in Madrid, and then flew to Miami, where she had to wait 8 hours to board the plane that would take her to Bogotá. When they landed, and the passengers were told to grab their luggage, Connie and Elena smiled at each other.
"It was a pleasure talking to you, I hope everything goes well." says Elena, putting away some things she had taken from her bag throughout the flight.
"Same to you! Good luck with your 'janitorial services'." Connie winks, and the brunette next to her just smiles awkwardly. She couldn't possibly know what she had meant, but, then again, her husband might be involved in the same thing.
The two women grab their luggage and say one last goodbye to each other. Elena steps off the plane, sighing. Once outside, she breathes in the fresh Colombian nocturnal air. Despite the country currently being a mess, she enjoys the breeze that hits against her skin. Without rushing, she walks over towards the taxi stop, and knocks on the window of one. The taxi driver rolls down the window.
"Buenas noches, puedo entrar?" she questions. Elena isn't convinced on the idea of taking a taxi. She's aware of the many dangers in Colombia at the moment, but she can't walk all the way to the apartment, and there are no buses that make a stop nearby, nor does she have anyone to pick her up.
"Sí, sí, adelante, señorita." replies the driver. He doesn't look like a notorious drug dealer who could be capable of turning around in his seat and killing her, but then again, nor do most narcos, so here we are.
She gives him the name of the street before the one she is to stay in, just for precautions, in case he is one of Pablo's sicarios, this way he doesn't know where she's staying. Elena knows she is overreacting, but fear sometimes makes people think of the unthinkable, and in a situation like this, it's normal to fear the worst, so, she prepares for everything. The drive towards the apartment is silent, except for some cumbia playing softly on the radio. She sits in the backseat, windows slightly rolled down. Once they arrive, she thanks the taxi driver and hands him the money. He smiles at her and she pretends to be fixing something in her bag as she waits for the cab to disappear. Elena starts walking towards the street the apartment the DEA provided her, and as she does, she can't help but feel uneasy. The streets are dimly lit, there are a couple of bars open, where she spots a few drunks, some laughing amongst each other, and some singing terribly out of tune. Some are even throwing up on the sidewalk.
As she takes out the keys to open the front door of the building, Elena hears footsteps behind her. She quickly turns her head to see who it is.
"Connie?"
"Elena! What're you doing here?"
Connie has a suitcase in her hand, along with her bag and a carrier. Beside her stands a tall, blonde man. Elena can't really make out a lot of his features in the dark, but as the two get closer she notices his blue eyes and mustache.
"I'm staying here, for work. What're you doing here?" Elena already knows what's going on, but she doesn't give in to tell the truth yet, just in case.
"Well, so are we." says the blonde man. His gaze on Elena seems off, like he's suspicious of her. Elena can't really blame him, though. She's been feeling the same way since she boarded the plane from Miami to Colombia.
"Alright, well, Elena, this is Steve, my husband." Connie smiles awkwardly, breaking the silence.
"Nice to meet you," the brunette nods her head politely at him, he does the same.
Elena opens the front door, the couple walking into the building behind her. After walking up the stairs to the floor where the three coincidentally are staying. Connie and Steve say good night to the younger woman, and walk into their apartment.
From the moment Elena opens the door, she's welcomed with a chilly night breeze. The windows are open. The cold sends shivers down her spine, but at the same time, it's the uneasy feeling of having the window open. She tries to make herself believe that whoever was there, which most likely had been DEA, had accidentally left the window open, but her brains was telling her something had happened that would harm her safety.
She closed the door behind her, placing the luggage in the foyer and hesitantly continued walking inside, closing the window. After checking all the rooms, making sure that no unwanted visitor was lurking around, Elena brought her baggage into the bedroom, opening a suitcase and taking out her pajamas.
Elena walks over to the window and closes the blinds, moving away to change into her nightgown. She places her belongings on the floor and throws herself onto the bed, falling into a deep sleep.
