And Back Again

Chapter 2

"Pop?" Letitca called out as she and Zara stepped into the house. "It's me and Zara," she added.

"What are you two doing here?" He asked, shuffling out from the kitchen with a towel over his shoulder.

"We brought dinner," Zara presented him with the pizza box. "Hope you don't mind the surprise."

"I love the company," he smiled. "Come, sit," Felipe motioned to the dining room table. "What do I owe the pleasure?"

Zara placed the box down and tossed her purse in the corner. "Boys had work," she said by way of explanation.

Felipe gave Letti a hug and kissed her cheek while Zara grabbed plates and napkins. "How's school?"

"Boring," she rolled her eyes.

"I heard that," Zara laughed.

Felipe had become somewhat of a grandfather to Letti as she became a much bigger part of all of their lives. It was only through Angel and the club that the people they loved most became a sort of family, and support system, themselves.

They all sat and Felipe reached to open the box with a smile on his face. "So, what's on the menu?"

For them, it was pizza with pepperoni and onions but dinner for the Mayans would be much different. They were meeting in the dress shop, on fje main floor after all the seamstresses had gone for the day, for the first time since the new pact had been made.

Photos of the literal fire Miguel needed help extinguishing were passed around and Angel couldn't help but laugh.

"Holy shit," he chuckled, covering his face, as the pictures made their way to him and EZ. It was a satellite shot of one of his Poppy fields burnt for miles.

"How?" Bishop asked angrily. "Don't you have guards? Obviously have eyes on your fields."

Miguel nodded. "A drone."

"Commercially produced," Nestor added, "Sold on Amazon."

"And that means you can't trace it," Tranq huffed.

"Cheaper and readily available makes me think small time, but the idea, the explosives," Miguel shook his head, "That is not small time," he said.

"Ideas?" Bishop asked.

"None that look obvious," Nestor shrugged.

"We have the Rebels," Miguel said, "And the Mayans, in addition to our numerous resources. If it's anything to worry about, we'll hear from one of our corners. I trust we'll bring it back here, as well," he said expectantly.

"We will go to the other side," Adelita finally spoke up.

"We'll talk to the usual snitches and street crews," Bishop nodded. "We'll reach out if we find anything."

—

*Two Days Later*

"I really want to thank everyone for coming out," Zara said as she spoke to the crowd of about 20 parents. "I know this is when the hustle of the holidays begins but school is really only just beginning."

Zara first went over the PTA's proposed holiday plans and fundraising with her newest volunteer, Letti of course, sitting behind her taking notes throughout the meeting.

"Excuse me," a voice called out a moment before Zara ended the meeting. "I apologize for my tardiness." Bastian appeared from the back of the auditorium. "Time zones and jet lag are a very dangerous combination."

"I'm sure," Zara said with feigned amusement. "I didn't get your name."

"I didn't introduce myself," he laughed. Waltzing up to Zara he smiled, disarming her momentarily, and turner to the crowd. "Bastian Botha."