"So what do you think of her?"
"Margarita? She seems nice."
Aleida purses her lips as she checks her freshly curled hair and makeup in the mirror. "I guess, if she didn't steal my man when we were a thing..."
"Technically, Cesar two-timed you both." Diane reapplies lipstick. "It's like...he's the asshole. Not her, really."
"Nah, she knew that motherfucker was with me. She a ho! Why you on her side if you're one of my best chicas, yo?"
"That was wrong of her, I agree...but still, I kinda feel bad for her...she got pregnant and the father left her, then she was evicted and had to move out and live with her mom for a while before meeting RJ, and they were on the run together until Vee was found dead. She seemed to have really turned her life around, like you did, Lei."
Aleida sighs. "Yeah...at least she told me that her daughter was from Cesar. He was never able to admit that he fucked her...but she was honest. Plus, she sounds like Glo, which is kinda cool. I won't be totally chill with her, but I can be friendly...especially for my main squeeze and my gals, of course!"
Diane grins at her just before they go into separate stalls. "Thattagirl!"
For some weird reason, Blanca and Karla haven't come yet, even though Diablo and Weevil are performing soon.
Before either woman has time to think about it, though, two pairs of heavy black hiking boots clomp on the tile floor. Diane sees them under her stall. A feeling of dread settles into her stomach when the doors keep banging open. She quickly locks hers and hears Aleida do the same. She wants to text Charles, but her purse is hanging on the door and her phone is inside of it. To get to it, she'll need to stand up, undo the latch holding it closed, and pull her phone out without making a sound. That'll be impossible, so she stays seated, inhaling and exhaling quietly. Her heart is thudding rapidly against her ribcage. It can't take so much stress, she recalls the doctor telling her that after her fainting spell. She tries to calm herself from having a complete panic attack, and not only is she afraid for herself, but she is for Aleida, as well.
When they kick her door over and over, she really is unable to move. "Open up!" one of the men shout, and Diane knows that the restroom is completely empty except for her and Aleida. They wouldn't have intruded otherwise.
"Oh, ladies, come out, come out, wherever you are!" the other guy says in a creepy, childish voice that makes Diane shiver and wrap her arms around herself. "Don't challenge us! I hear you pissing!" His tone is now gruff. "Wipe yourself and then leave the stall, cunt!"
Diane can't let anything out, she's so stiff. She sucks in a breath, and so does Aleida in the stall next to hers. "Damn it, Hellman, I can't fit through..." She immediately recognizes Lee Dixon's voice. He'd harassed her enough for her to memorize his twisted southern drawl. "Do me the honors?"
"Of course!"
A bald man with dark eyes kneels down and she's so tempted to kick him in the face, but she doesn't want him to grab her ankle and pull her forward so she hits her head on the toilet. He whips out his baton and holds it over her flats. "I'm going to slam this on your feet unless you get the fuck out of this stall right now!" He tickles the patch of skin that's showing through her tights and she flinches.
Whimpering softly, she stands up and unlocks the door, just so he won't break it down on top of her. It swings open and Lee yanks Diane over Hellman's figure. He's still crouched down and now crawling to Aleida's stall.
"You are damn fine, those tits are nicer than ever." Dixon squeezes them and then pats her bottom. He's as gross as she'd remembered.
"I-I need to wash up..."
"Go then, I don't need a dirty bitch!" He shoves her toward the sink and she scrubs her hands clean and then dries them. The woman in the mirror opposite her has tears leaking out from the corners of her eyes. When she's finished, she starts begging for someone to save her and Aleida. Dixon cracks his neck as he wraps a hand around her throat, cornering her to the wall. She swallows hard and coughs a few times. "Where's the other bitch?"
"She's outside..." Diane chokes out.
"Nice try," he sneers. "I don't mean your new friend. She's got nothing to do with us."
"Charles will find you...he's a policeman, you're fully aware of that..."
Hellman gets up. "I know Aleida's in here with you, I saw you both go to the potty at the same time! Now, Gloria tried to report me this morning, but good ol' Officers Clarke and Herrmann got me and the others out right away! So, we're not really concerned with being caught by your ape fleshbag."
Behind them though, Aleida swings her bag into the side of Hellman's cruel face, but he doesn't budge. She yelps as he jerks her to him and rubs himself on her while clamping one of his large hands over her mouth and the other around her thin wrists. He forces her out the back door and Dixon cackles as he follows them with Diane in his tight grasp.
"Ouch! You dumb cunt!" Hellman hisses and Diane supposes that Aleida had bit him. He simply throws her over his shoulder and she beats her fists against his back while shrieking uncontrollably. He purposely knocks her into the side of the building so she falls unconscious.
"Oh god, help us, please!" Diane cries one last time before Dixon silences her by shoving a gun inside her mouth. She hopes it isn't loaded.
It's a quiet evening at the Mendoza apartment when Fahri and Michaela come over for dinner with Gloria and her sons. They all greet him with hugs and Gloria turns on some lively Puerto Rican music. She and Fahri make the meal together and they dance a little bit before asking Michaela and the boys to set the table. She puts a few tamales on her plate, then the children's, and Fahri gets some for himself. Gloria drizzles salsa on her food. "Do you want some?" she asks, holding it out to Fahri, Benny, Julio, and Michaela.
"Just a little, thank you!" Fahri tells her. She gives him the bottle and he shakes some on his tamales. The boys have a tiny bit, too, and then they all sit down. Gloria enjoys this feeling of relaxation and she and Fahri talk to the kids about school. She wants to tell Fahri what Hellman had made her do, so she can be wrapped in his comforting arms, but not at this moment in front of Benny, Julio, or Michaela. She'll wait until they're in bed. When the five of them are finished, they sit down for a SpiderMan marathon.
"Yay!" Benny cheers and claps his hands when it starts. His little brother and Fahri's foster daughter copy him, and Gloria and Fahri exchange a smile. They're so cute.
"Hey, just wanted to say that you look beautiful in your red dress," Fahri compliments her.
Gloria smiles at him. "Thank you."
"No problem."
After a few minutes, her phone rings and a message alert comes up. Pick up, girl, please? I don't want you to miss the latest drama going down between Lei and her rival! I gotta tell ya now before I forget, it's too long for a text. Haha. She recognizes it as Diane's number and holds up a finger as she stands. "Sorry, it's Di...I should take this."
"Should I pause this?" Fahri gestures to the television.
"Noooo," the boys protest.
"Nah, keep watchin', it's fine. I'll come back." Gloria walks into the bedroom she shares with her sons and closes the door behind her. "Hola, chica. How's it goin'?" She sits on her bed, beaming. "Besides the juicy scoop, did you want me to hear the heavy metal music, because holy shit, it's loud! So is the television over here...but there's no noise wherever you are." Her voice seems to echo, for some strange reason. She holds her phone away from her, seeing if that will fix the problem. "Um, is the sound weird on your end? It's as if you're right next to me." She waves the device in the air, trying to get service. "Hello, you there?" Since Diane isn't answering, she figures they may have gotten disconnected. "Shitty fuckin'...whatever. Leave me a message, I'm-"
"Gllllloooooriiiiiaaaaaa," the voice on the other end whispers creepily. She jumps and clutches her hand to her heart, which is pounding. Quickly, she hangs up and is about to go back to Fahri and their children, but a hand clamps over her mouth and another holds Diane's phone in front of her face before her feet can touch the floor. She's too scared to even make a sound. "Sí, I was the mysterious caller. You're gonna be quiet and leave this apartment with me. We need to do this fast, otherwise I'll have to snap your boy-toy's neck like my hero David did in Fear, and then choke your boys to death. I can kill them both. Easily. At the same time, too. Then I'll fuck the girl just for fun. We are going out the window, the same way I came in to lurk around your apartment. I fixed the floorboards while you were out, too, so they wouldn't creak. I'm getting all your friends and some of the girls together so they can see how much we're hot for each other. They don't realize it, they're blind, but I know that you feel it. You were letting them all get to your head, my pet."
She inhales sharply, close to hyperventilating. "O-okay...I'll do anything to stop you from bothering mi familia..."
"Vámanos. Verlo dormir y ducharse fue divertido, pero estar con usted es aún mejor."
Let's go. Watching you sleep and shower was fun, but being with you is even better.
"¿Puedo...puedo obtener algunas cosas primero?" Gloria asks softly, preparing to wear her rings under her gloves so she can sucessfully cut Arturo's face when she has the chance to punch him. Her gun is unfortunately locked in a safe and he'd never let her get it. "Como mis guantes...porque tendré frío y quiero usar anillos, como dices, haz que mis manos se vean más hermosas."
Can...can I get a few things first? Like, my gloves...because I'll be cold, and I want to wear rings, like you say make my hands look more beautiful.
"Agárralos. Y finge que estás hablando con Diane mientras lo haces."
Grab 'em. And pretend you're talking to Diane while you're at it.
She gives out a relieved sigh and reaches into her jewelry box, taking her time picking out some heavy rings with sharp corners and slipping them on her fingers, hoping Fahri or her little ones will come in any minute, but she has to quicken her pace when Arturo skims his gun along the side of her face. She springs to action. "Oh wow, I'm really happy y'all are havin' fun, chica!" Gloria accidentally drops a ring from her shaking hands, but he hurriedly catches it and she flinches. "Yeah, I'm fantastic! We had tamales...and now watching SpiderMan! It feels like we're a real family, even if Fahri and I ain't even dating yet!" He stabs her cheek with it just before pocketing it, leaving behind a sharp, stinging sensation. She hisses in pain and screams silently, touching her wound and feeling blood. Before she can wipe it on anything in the area to leave behind evidence, though, he licks her fingers clean. "Oh my god, yes! Girl, for sure!" She fakes a loud laugh.
Arturo's gloved fists clench. "¡Estás tardando demasiado!" he whispers angrily. He grabs her purse from her nightstand and opens it. "Cepille los anillos dentro." He exhales on her neck and she shivers, despite his warm breath.
You're taking too long! Brush the rings inside.
"Lo siento..." Tears form in her eyes as she does what he says. "Yo, but you know what they say! Mm-hm. Um, well, I guess you could fuck him whenever you feel damn good and ready! Hey...it was nice of you to call me during the intermission! Clever too, you gotta leave Aleida and Margarita alone to have their own awkward convo." Gloria's voice cracks and she slips her gloves inside of her purse, on top of her rings, and then snaps it closed. "Nah, of course you ain't bothering me, I'm trying to help my boys bond with Fahri when I ain't around anyway, it gets them to trust him." Arturo slings her purse over his shoulder and then forces her down the fire escape.
"Buen trabajo, mascota." Arturo rushes her to his car, which is parked a little ways up her street, and practically tosses her into his front seat. The windows are tinted to hide their identities. "Buckle up. Can't have you going through no windshields." He smirks and she obeys him while breathing hard and sniveling. After stepping on the gas and speeding off, he touches her open scrape and smears the blood down to her jaw, and she shrieks in agony. He bursts into malicious cackles; he'd always taken great pleasure from her suffering. "Remember, I can see you, so don't try anything funny." He pats the gun at his feet that she's so tempted to blow his head off with. "Mi sumisa."
Good job, pet. My submissive.
"Sí, master."
He drives down a deserted, windy road and it's so dark that probably nobody would see her if she alerted them out the window, begging for help. She's too scared to even try, anyway.
"Alright, got the popcorn and soda..." Charles announces as he and RJ arrive to where Margarita and Leon are seated. "My girl and Aleida didn't come back yet?"
"They've been in the bathroom for quite a while! Lei told me she and Diane finally got in a half-hour ago." Leon responds. "Yo, Margarita, you mind checkin' up on 'em?"
"The concert's about to start, I don't wanna miss it! I'm sure they're just lagging, they'll be here soon."
"'Rita, we been in line for twenty minutes. Nobody takes that long unless they're severely disabled and need help wiping themselves." RJ says.
"Or one of 'em could be constipated or have diarrhea. Also, the crowds are insane here..."
"Thing is, I just messaged Diane and she never answered me back. She didn't respond to my calls, either." Charles gives Leon a head nod. "Try reaching Lei."
"Already doin' it." Leon continues texting on his phone. "Margarita, please just go, we're worried about our girls here."
"After the way your lady spoke to me earlier?" Margarita considers Leon and rolls her eyes. "Fine."
"Thank you."
"De nada," she mutters sarcastically.
Aleida had only snapped at Margarita one time, pointing at her pregnant belly and calling her a whore, but that's all it took for Margarita to know that Cesar's ex was a bitch. "They're not even fuckin' together anymore," she hisses under her breath as she stomps toward the women's bathroom. There's a line out the door and she tries squeezing through them. "Sorry, sorry, looking for someone, I'mma be done in a flash," she informs them, despite their protests that she's cutting. She notices a woman in each stall and knocks on them. "Hey, Diane, Aleida, y'all doin' okay in here? We been waiting forever..."
No one answers, so she steps out and tries another. She gets the same result. Then, she sees an out of order sign on a third women's bathroom door. She wonders if it was just put there and Aleida and Diane are about to finish up. The weird part, though, is there aren't women waiting to use the restroom.
Margarita taps a security guard nearby. His name tag reads Herrmann. "Hey, did you see two ladies come out of that restroom like...fifteen minutes ago?" She gestures to the one she was just at. "They're like...between five-three and five-seven, one is Hispanic and thirty years old, and the white one is forty, but she looks a decade younger. She got the bluest eyes you ever seen."
"Big tits, too?"
Margarita nods. "Yeah, but I don't like commenting on women's breast sizes, it's disrespectful. Anyway, did they leave here?"
"Nope, you might wanna check again and buy yourself some glasses. They came in just before I put that sign on the door." He points to it.
"Thank you, sir," she says politely, even though she catches bad vibes from him. He could just be rude, though. A lot of the cops she knows are.
"You wanna go out sometime? I dig Hispanic chicks."
"I got a boyfriend," she says over her shoulder. "Not interested. Sorry."
He clicks his tongue and leans on the doorframe. "When that's over, you know where to find me."
It's chillingly silent when she opens the door and her heart rate picks up when she doesn't notice anyone. It's totally empty. She ignores him and searches for Aleida and Diane, practically hollering their names and even crawling around on the floor, looking under stalls. The only thing she finds are their purses and Aleida's phone on the floor. Margarita can tell it's hers, because of the leopard bag hanging on the door above it. Panting hard, she picks it up and turns it on. There's one cryptic outgoing message that was never delivered, but Aleida had meant to send it to Leon. Her thumbs must have been shaking as she was writing it.
Please help, two bastards after us!
"Shit," Margarita whispers to herself, wiping her now damp forehead.
"They in there?"
She jumps at the cop's voice. "No, um, I guess they left their shit here and got lost trying to find us. I-I'll go look for them. It's a big venue, ya know." She grabs their things and rushes out without looking back. She searches the throng of concert-goers, hoping the two women had escaped their attackers and left their belongings behind. "Aleida! Diane!" she shouts over and over, standing up on her tiptoes and looking around. She must be circling the place; everywhere she turns, it looks the same. People are staring at her like she's crazy. "Ay dios mío..." She walks backward a few steps, raking her hand through her hair, panting heavily, and then she returns to the men.
"Mister Fahri..." Benny tugs on Fahri's sleeve. "Mommy's missing the movie! It's my favorite, and she said she'd watch it with us! She pwomised..."
"I know, sport, she's just talking to Miss Diane. I can stop it and make us some dessert while we wait for her," Fahri offers. "We can even start it over if you guys want."
"Cool!" Michaela exclaims.
"Yeah!" Julio says.
"Okie-dokie!" Benny chimes in.
"How about a hot fudge brownie sundae!"
"Yaaaay!" they all shout gleefully.
Fahri checks his watch, seeing that almost fifteen minutes have passed. He knows Diane is on a triple date, and she wouldn't want to talk on the phone too long when she's with other people. He wonders what's up, and the apartment is silent when he pauses the film.
A little too silent. He'd be able to hear her murmuring on the phone from her room, and he doesn't. She could be whispering, but he doesn't know why she is. Her words wouldn't be clear if she said them out loud. She could be in another part of the place, but sound travels and he doesn't hear her anywhere. She wouldn't have stepped outside to get air; it's way too cold.
"I want yummy ice cream with it!" Benny tells him.
"Alright, buddy. Uh...shh, okay?" He puts his finger to his lips as uneasiness creeps into him. A look of worry crosses Michaela's face, but she doesn't say anything.
"Why?" Julio questions him.
"Because Mister Fahri is worried about your mommy," he says nervously. "Please come with me to explore your apartment and listen with your ears. Let's play follow the leader and make our steps nice and silent."
The kids grasp each other's hands as they walk behind him to Gloria's bedroom. Fahri opens the door slowly, as not to scare her. His heart stops when he sees that she isn't there, but the window is slightly ajar. It was all the way closed before, he's sure of it. He pushes it shut and it squeaks slightly. The floorboards don't creak under their weight, which he also finds weird, because he'd asked Gloria if she wanted them taken care of, and she'd said no, since it wasn't necessary and she kind of likes vintage homes. She'd also added that it would let her know if an intruder was present.
"Oh no! What happened to Miss Gloria?"
"Do you think a bad man got her?" Benny wonders quietly.
"I hope not, champ. Let's all yell her name, okay?"
Julio begins to cry. "I want my mommy!"
"Me too!" Benny wails along with him. "Mommy! Mommy!" he screams, tears falling down his cheeks.
"Miss Gloria, where are youuuuu?!" Michaela shrieks.
Fahri's heart breaks at their distress, and because Gloria appears to be gone.
"Gloria!" Fahri hollers as they all search the apartment, which isn't very big. "Gloria! Are you here?" His foster daughter and the boys stay close to him, clutching onto his pant legs. "Oh my god. Gloooooriiiiiaaaaaaa!" He knocks on the bathroom door and peeks inside. There is no one. His heart is racing at full speed and he's about to let Charles know that she's disappeared.
"Mommy, watch the movie with us! We're going to get ice cream and a brownie together!" Benny shouts. He stamps his feet on the floor. "Mommy, answer us, please! I'm using my nice words!"
"Mommyyyyy-he-he-he!" Julio breaks off sobbing. "Maaaamaaaaaa!"
"Miss Glooooooriiiiiiaaaaaaa!" Michaela drags her name out until she can't hold the note anymore.
Their voices echo and it gives Fahri chills. He quickly grabs his phone off the couch once he passes it. "I'm calling her." Holding Michaela, Benny, and Julio tightly, he dials Gloria's number, hoping her cell is not in the house. He sighs with relief when she answers. "Hi," she chirps, her voice tight and strange. "I just needed a break from motherhood for a while. Can you please put them to bed and give 'em a kiss good night for me? I'm not sure when I'll return, but I'll show up eventually. Maybe a day or two tops. Sometimes, I get into these moods...like postpartum depression hits me so rarely. I never told you 'cause you'd think bad of me, and I didn't think it would happen in your presence. I-I try to hide it from people...mainly you. So, just do what I asked, it's a small favor that means a lot to those little squirts."
"Uh...sure. I'm not judging you or anything, take all the time you need." Something isn't right.
"Can we say hi to Mommy?" Benny wonders aloud.
"Please?" Michaela asks.
"Of course!" Fahri turns back to the phone. "They want to talk to you."
There's a pause and it sounds like she's whispering something like por favor. She draws in a sharp, trembling breath. "I can't."
"Are you in trouble, Glo? Cough once for yes, twice for no," he tells her in a hushed tone.
"Good rhyme." She hacks two times, but he suspects that she's lying and her abductor is listening in. "Tell them they need to go to sleep. Same goes for your foster kid. One bedtime story, but that's it."
"I will, after the movie."
"No! No, absolutely not. Nothing extra, Fahri, follow my instructions, and things will be so much easier. I don't want to argue with you."
"Are you okay? You don't sound like-"
"I'm fine."
He's cut off.
"Why didn't she talk to us?" Benny asks sadly.
"Where is she?" Michaela wants to know.
Julio pouts. "Mommy doesn't love us no more?"
Fahri lovingly touches Michaela's cheek, tenderly cups Julio's chin, and gently brushes Benny's longish hair out of his eyes. "She does, kiddo. I promise, she does, it's just...a very mean person has her. I'm so sorry. He won't let her speak to any of you. I think it's Arturo."
Michaela wears an anguished expression. "The bad guy from the party?" Fahri nods. "He was acting like my mommy who's in jail."
"Nooo, he's so scary and he yells a lot and hits!" Benny whimpers. "I don't want him to hurt her..."
"Oh, neither do I, pal. That's why we have to go down to the station and I need to call Officer Ford right now."
Lourdes is straightening up the bodega and the backroom before she flips the sign over to show more customers that the little store is closed. It's only when Blanca looks out the window, does she realize it's gotten very late. She, Karla, and Alison had been helping Lourdes to earn some cash of their own, and also take over Gloria's shift, as she's with Fahri and her boys right now for a much-needed break.
Just when the owner is about to lock the door, who should walk in, but three uniformed officers. Blanca gulps and fear fills her entire being as the biggest one steps forward with two thinner men wearing baseball caps flanking him. "Hey, we're not open! Didn't you see the sign?" Lourdes points to it. "Come back tomorrow." They just roughly push past her. Blanca recognizes them as Carlos Litvack and Dean Juarez, the newest teachers at the school, and she knows they're just as dangerous and malicious as Piscatella. Lourdes takes a protective stance in front of the girls and pushes them back. Blanca squeezes her friends' hands in solidarity. "Or any other time but now. We can't serve you."
"The customer is always right, you liar!" Juarez argues. "The door's not locked and the lights are still on...I say you're still open."
"Anyway, I'm buying this for my girlfriend." Litvack reaches around Lourdes and slams a package of cherry gum on the counter. He gestures at Blanca, Alison, and Karla. "One of you ring me up."
"Hey, let's not waste our time with this, man," Piscatella grumbles and then grabs Lourdes in a rough manner. The girls shriek in unison as he drags her out of the store. Blanca covers her mouth with her hand, feeling so horrified. Lourdes is making an attempt to fight him off of her, and they quickly run at him to try attacking him all at once. Lourdes scratches at his neck and Blanca jumps on him, clawing his shoulders. She yanks his police baton out of his belt, prepared to whack it on the back of his head so he'll let the boss go, but Litvack and Juarez are way too fast for her or the others. The baton clatters to the floor and the mountain man punches Karla to the pavement so she lands on her elbows and knees. She rolls over and shields her belly and face as she writhes on the asphalt, groaning in agony.
Juarez quickly handcuffs Blanca and slams her headfirst into a brick wall, digging his sharp fingernails into the sides of her neck. "We need to get you tamed, wild one," he murmurs into her ear, making her shudder. The pain in her face is excruciating and she's sure she has a bruise somewhere and maybe some blood. She gasps in terror when she sees a few dark red droplets near the entryway of the bodega. She knows it's from her own injury. Blanca's fight is gone and she feels hopeless and weak.
"Leave me alone!" Alison hollers as Litvack rips off her hijab and locks her wrists together behind her back. She struggles against him. "I'll do anything..."
"Quiet, or I'll slit your throat and make your boyfriend and daughter watch!"
"Help!" Blanca shrieks loudly, and the rest of the girls and Lourdes echo her. Piscatella shoves Lourdes into a white van as a sobbing Karla quickly takes out her phone to make a call, probably nine-one-one. "Ay coño, I'm supposed to be seeing Diablo's band play for the first time..."
"Shut up, otherwise we'll take him into custody and throw him behind bars in Georgia!" Juarez snarls. He hoists Blanca up over his shoulder and takes her to where Karla is. He holds a gun to the petite girl's head and she drops the phone out of her shaking hands. "Move an inch and I'll blow your goddamn brains out!"
"We don't need her, just take the spic and the raghead and go!" Piscatella bellows. "I know you guys are ICE agents and they're all illegal immigrants, but this isn't our mission right at the moment. We'll take these cunts to a detention center after we're finished with the first task. We promised him." With that, he shoves Karla to the ground again. This time, her hands shoot out in front of her and she cries out.
"¡Karla, solo ve a casa y dile a todos que sabemos que hemos sido secuestradas!" is all Blanca is able to get out before Juarez throws her into the back of the van next to Lourdes. They're completely isolated, so nobody would be able to hear them anyway.
Karla, just go home and tell everyone we know that we've been kidnapped!"
"What'd you just say, bitch?" Juarez asks scarily, gripping her jaw firmly. "What was that, huh?"
"N-nothing..." Blanca mumbles, trembling under his threatening gaze.
"Tell me now, or I'll run that Mexican whore right over."
"You're not killing anybody, rookie!" Piscatella booms. "We need to torture her in prison, too, remember? We'll start by cutting her bastard child out of her."
"I-I just told her to go home..."
"Good girl." Juarez licks her and she squirms in disgust while crying out. "It's not gonna work if she tells anyone, they won't know where you are!"
Then, Litvack squeezes Alison in with them and shuts the door with a deafening bang.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"I'll break this goddamn door down, bitch!"
Daya's gasping for air, trying to get her breath back. Her baby brother and sister scream at the same time and hold onto her while crying. She always knew this day would come-or rather, night, but she hadn't expected it to happen in someone else's home.
"Shit, he found you, didn't he?" Araceli whispers as Adeola takes her machete off her door and locks it. Taystee and Araceli quickly load their Glocks and cock them, prepared to blow the men's heads off.
"Time to defend ourselves," Taystee mutters.
Daya's stomach lurches and she quickly ushers Christina and Emiliano beneath Adeola's bed. "Come on, babies," she urges them in the quietest voice possible as glass shatters everywhere. Cesar and his gang are putting bullets through the windows now and breaking into Adeola's apartment. A lump grows in Daya's throat and she starts trembling. "Hurry, get under, don't let 'em see you. Shhhh...we'll get rid of 'em."
"Don't let them in, Daya! They're really mad at you! Mister Leon isn't home! You gotta call him and Mommy, pweeeease!" Christina begs in a panicked whisper.
Daya wipes her thumbs underneath Christina's eyes and strokes her hair. She cups Emiliano's chin and kisses his cheek. "Ma and Leon won't get home fast enough. Take care of your brother, capiche? I won't let anything happen to either of you." She pecks Christina's temple and hugs both of them close for a moment. They crawl under the bed and she gives them her phone turned on. "Dial nine-one-one!" Sniffling, she rises from their hiding place.
More loud thumps sound and terror courses through Daya's veins. "Sissy will protect us," Christina is assuring Emiliano through his muffled sobs. They both start bawling hysterically when the operator answers, but somehow, Christina is able to say that bad men are storming into Adeola's place-her complex, really. They cover their ears and their wails make Daya want to dive beneath Adeola's bed with them and pretend nobody's home at all, but it won't work, since the lights are on. The teenagers all get low to the ground, seeing as though bullets can rain through walls.
"Where the fuck are you?!"
It's Cesar's voice, of course. He's the only one who's been yelling all this time. His friends are probably doing most of the shooting. Daya is surprised she hasn't gone deaf yet with all this noise.
Slowly, Adeola reaches up to unlock the door and she sets her box of tiny animals outside. "Attack!" she commands them, tipping the box over, and they scurry toward the unseen monsters.
"Ugh, stupid-aaagh! I got bit!" one of Cesar's minions holler.
"Ow, ow..." a second one groans.
Taystee crawls out of the room first, then Araceli, guns in their hands. Adeola heads out next with a machete slung over one shoulder and an axe resting on the other. She whacks Duardo in the crotch from behind and dodges a few bullets, dropping down on her stomach. Shots ring out almost right away and Daya can hardly believe it, but her friends are actually successful in getting Paco, Duardo, and Pepe down and barely moving, writhing in pools of their own blood, struggling to reach for their guns, but they can't. It's just Cesar who's left, because his fellow drug cartel members are getting cut up with Adeola's axe and machete.
Taystee, Adeola, and Araceli have a gun in each of their hands now as they hide behind open doors.
Cesar's wandering around somewhere, shouting. "I know you're here, you ugly cunt! What, are you too afraid to face me?"
Daya grabs a revolver from a drawer, she cautiously steps into the hall, the gun aimed at Cesar, who's all the way across the room. She wants to be the one to kill that motherfucker and shoot him in his eyeball and every part of his body, in fact. "Ever faced the barrel of a gun before? I have, plenty of times…and now it's your turn, you old bastard!"
However, she's frozen solid once she sees him cock his gun.
She pulls the trigger and misses. He just bursts out cackling and comes closer to her. Quickly, she squats while concealing herself from view and tries again. She considers pretending to die from a panic attack if all else fails. One of her girls has just struck him in the foot and he bellows as he falls to his knees.
It all happens so fast, though. A gun fires and Daya starts screaming as soon as she sees the gaping, open wound in her leg. Blood pours out of it like a gushing red stream and she's breathing raggedly, drifting in and out of consciousness as she sways. Cesar's body slumps to the floor as her gun slides out of her cold, sweaty, shaking hand. She collapses, but someone keeps her from hitting her head. Through Daya's fading vision, Araceli stands before the now dead man and kicks him in his side, her gun still pointed at his face.
"He dead?" Adeola wonders aloud.
"Sure as shit is," Taystee confirms.
Their voices are starting to lower in volume as the seconds pass.
"Gotta put pressure..."
"Gimme some gauze..."
"A tourniquet...use your sweatshirt!"
"Get water for her!"
"They're almost here..."
"Damn it, Daya, don't die on us!"
