Lobo

Chapter 2- Nightmares of a Blazing Fire

"Alejandra! Wake up. I only have a few hours to-" the banging on my door woke me up from my groggy state."- I lose you."

"WHAT?! Who even let you in?!"

"Your grandma!" he yelled back still banging on my door.

"By the way, she's here!" Rico yelled making me roll my eyes.

"I figured." I sighed flopping down back on my head making Hunter look at me weird. "Give me 15 minutes and I'll head down."

I heard Rico stalk off and I quickly jumped out of my bed, making Hunter jolt up. I quickly got myself ready, deciding to skip a shower and eventually give up on taming my mane of hair. The humidity of Colombia would really make it unruly so there was no point. 

My estate was fenced with highly trained security guards, and no guard was ever let into the house unless an emergency, meaning I could wear shorts comfortably without the fear of anyone uninvited. Regardless of all the windows my house had, I was truly safe.

But even with all that security, my grandmother was able to get in unnoticed by me.

"Ahí esta mi niña!". I couldn't help but smile at my grandmother. She hugged me and held me tight. It had been well over a month since I had last seen her.

"Hola abuela." I whispered, closing my eyes and breathing in her scent of coffee beans and a hint of vanilla. No matter how far we were from Columbia, the coffee beans of her home country could be smelled on her even if we were in Mexico. "I knew I'd find you here."

"Of course you did! Look at the size of this kitchen. I was just itching to use all of these electronics!" She let me go and gestured to the size of the room. "Plus, ya te hice una taza de café para ti y para Ricardo."

I hadn't even noticed Rico in the kitchen. He was already sipping on a mug, grimacing as my grandma used his whole name.

"Doña Esperanza, it's just Rico."

She scoffed and handed me a mug of coffee. "Drink up mija. You are all skin and bones and while I'm here I won't allow that."

I rolled my eyes but smiled anyway. It hadn't been too long but it still felt like forever since I had last seen her. She looked like she had aged in the past weeks. More wrinkles formed around her dark face and her long hair braided was streaked with white hairs. All of that could not take her beauty from her younger days. It was still around her. Just in different ways.

"Well I hate to break up the reunion Doña Esperanza, but me and Alejandra here have a lot to talk about." Rico ruined the quiet and grounded me to reality.

Before my grandma sharp tongue told Rico off, I cut in. "Please abuela. Something happened this weekend and I really need to discuss this with Rico before we make our trip."

My grandma knew the things I did. Did she ever approve of them? No. Did she stop me? No. Should she have tried to stop me before I turned into a feared drug lord? Well, the answer varies on who you're asking.

 She was with me from the start and raised me too but she never wrapped her head around the idea of why I resorted to what I do now. No matter how many times I had tried to explain to her the reasons for my doings. She feared for my safety and especially after what happened near the Salvadorian border. That night my grandma woke up to nightmares of a blazing fire.

She looked at me and then at Rico and walked out of the kitchen. Her silence left me much more uncomfortable than what her yelling would have.

"I know today was supposed to be your vacation day but we got to get this out of the way," Rico said, eerily calm as he sipped his coffee.

"Let's just get this over with," I mumbled pulling a chair.

"Alright, so yesterday's meeting with the six patrones wasn't as successful as we hoped. I was watching all of them for any facial expression that would've given them away but I got a genuine surprise." I furrowed my brow's. I used Rico as my right hand. He knew many dialects around a couple countries and was the best when it came to reading faces. His sharp eye detected every subtle change in expression, useful in situations like these.

"Continue." I sipped my coffee but it didn't do much to bring me warmth.

"Well the cargo thing is still a mystery but," Rico breathed shakily. "We weren't the only ones that got hit."

"What do you mean? This happened to someone else?" Great, this was just what we needed. Things like this never lead to anything good. Then again the stuff I did, didn't either.

"Honduras had the similar thing happen a month before us. Bolivia claims the same thing. And Mexico just got hit two weeks before. All carrying cargo like ours. We were the last on the ladrones (thief's) list." Rico began to massage his temples.

I sprung out of my chair and began to pace around the room. "So it isn't just us who have a rat in the system. This could mean someone is trying to start their own drug empire and using our stuff to start off cause I bet the no good son of a gun can't even-"

"Hey calmate, we don't know if that true."

"How am I suppose to calm down when I know my people could be in danger!" I breathe shakily. "That money I would've made off of the cargo would've been enough to open another school for my people, and to help the keep kids from living on the streets! Don't get me started when things like these start happened either. I don't want anymore innocen-" I

"Look I know your mad but-"

"I am not finished." I regained my cool and lowered my voice and held his stare. I was not to be interrupted by anyone.

"I know that money was going to be mainly used for...payments, but my people come first. Yes, I have more cargos that can cover the expenses but that order was huge. It's not going to be easy to replace."

"I know that Alejandra, I know that you have a good heart and intend to do good out of the bad. But right now I'm not just worried about the school we planned on building. I'm more worried that this ladron could start a drug war. If someone else even tries to rise to power that can start a damn war. You know how fiercely land is protected for production and nobody can just waltz in like that. No one." He looked at me and paused. He better choose his next words carefully if he wants to remain in that high of a position. Rico was my right hand and my childhood friend and he knew everything I had done since a little girl to become the women I am. He knew my sacrifices I did back then and the ones I'm taking now.

I looked at him, silently daring him to say what I had done to make my empire the way it is today. But he knew me and he knew he was to keep his mouth shut.

"He stole from four of the most feared people of South America. I think that may be slightly important than making sure those kids get their education. I'm more worried that they'll get to live if this escalates."

"Ya se, (I know) but-" I sighed.

My actions all were for a reason and for every good I tried to do, it seemed that the evil in it came back twice as bad. I wish I could say the main profit from the cargos went to keeping my people safe but sadly I had payments to make. I had people who wanted that money and for things, I'd rather not even think about.

"We'll make up for those profits, trust me." He said while I merely looked into my mug.

He cleared his throat. "That's not where it stops either." I turned and looked at him so fast I was surprised I didn't get whiplash. "This isn't just a person either. At least I don't think. There had been some pueblos that had been raided." I paled.

"W-where?" My voice cracked.

"Calima."

I swore in all four languages I knew.

"Get my plane ready and tell my grandma we are leaving now!"

X*X*X*