Disclaimer: Chuck Norris, Aaron Norris, CBS and others own the characters of "Walker Texas Ranger" and "Sons of Thunder". Any new characters and story lines that come into play are of my own creation. No copyright infringement is intended. This is a fan fiction intended for entertainment purposes only and I am not making any money from it.
Chapter 20:
Carlos coughed as he turned his head, wishing he could wipe the blood that was running down into his right eye from a cut that he had received from a ring on the fist of his tormentor, Oswald.
Currently, he was alone in the dark room, trying to figure a way out, but he had been straining against the ropes that encircled his wrists and ankles and all that did was make the ropes tighten and cut into his skin.
He recalled that Oswald had begun by punching him in the stomach, demanding to know the location of the flash drive. Carlos had told him the truth, which was that he didn't have the flash drive, but that hadn't stopped the blows that continued.
Oswald had stopped and had left the room after an hour, his face an impassive mask.
Carlos had struggled to take some deep breaths, feeling as though he had either a cracked or a broken rib. He hadn't known what to expect next, but he couldn't prevent his mind from imagining various tortures that Oswald could do to him.
About ten minutes after the beating, Daisy had sauntered into the room, went right up to Carlos and stood before him, that flowery perfume that she had on mixing in with the smells of his own blood and sweat.
"Oswald has told me that you continue to deny that you have any knowledge of the flash drive." He recalled, at that particular moment, when she had paused, her dark brown eyes had burned with such vile and heated intensity, he had felt a shiver of fear going up his spine. She had leaned in towards him that intense flowery perfume overwhelming Carlos and turned his stomach. Her dark red lips had parted and had released an angry hiss. "I want the truth. You must know where he would've put it."
"As I've said, I don't know where the flashdrive is," he had answered, and winced at the fresh streak of pain from his bruised jaw.
A knock at the door prevented Daisy from saying anything else. She gave an exasperated sigh as she spun around, pulled the door open, exited and slammed the door shut behind her.
Carlos had actually been impressed that she had kept herself in the shadows while allowing Eli Parker to be the figurehead of the business. Since Daisy was still looking for the drive, Carlos figured must have evidence on it the proved she was the real boss, not an escort and he wished he knew what Tony had done with the evidence.
. He snapped back to the present when he heard arguing voices, and he titled his head to see if he could hear any bit of the argument, but unfortunately, he couldn't make out any of the words. The angry buzzing diminished and a door slammed.
About thirty seconds later he heard a car turn over and tires squealing. He wondered if he was alone, but then he heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps on those squeaky stairs and his body tensed up. He took a few deep breaths, trying to relax his body and his mind, but he couldn't prevent his vivid imagination from imagining what was going to happen next.
He didn't know how much longer Daisy was going to keep him alive and he hoped his friends would arrive before she decided that he didn't have what she wanted.
It wasn't long before Carlos heard footsteps coming up to the door and the door opened allowing a light from the hallway to stream into the dark room and he could tell by the silhouette just who had left in the car and who remained in the abandoned house.
When the light turned on, caused Carlos to blink his eyes a few times to get his eyes to adjust from the darkness to the searing bright light.
The first thing he noticed was the gun in Daisy's hand and the second thing that Carlos noticed was that her forefingers had ladybugs painted on them, while the remaining fingernails had daisies on them. He was surprised he hadn't noticed that before when she had slapped him.
His eyes locked on the gun, he saw cold determination in Daisy's face, and he braced himself.
Daisy lifted the gun, aimed it at him and pulled the trigger.
Eli was annoyed. Oswald and Daisy had vanished. It had taken him nearly twelve hours and several thousands dollars in bribes to discover someone who could discover just where they had gone, but he had to wait for the location.
He glanced at the gun and ammo on the passenger seat. He knew Oswald was dangerous, but he knew Daisy was more than she seemed. Many people had underestimated the beautiful woman with her bright smile and deciduously pouting lips, long eyelashes and delicately manicured hands. No one had realized the cold-calculating, deceitful and clever woman beneath the exterior because she had been good at playing the innocent damsel-in-distress.
It was true that she usually had Oswald do her dirty work, but Eli knew that she enjoyed killing as well and without mercy. She had been good at hiding her true self and it had surprised him when he had seen the monster come to the surface.
Once, he had seen Daisy casually wield a gun and when she had fired the bullet, she hadn't flinched. It had surprised him when she had looked at him with a smile, ignoring the body of the man, a man that had confessed that he had been stealing from the business, had fallen to the ground, a bullet in the center of the man's forehead. She had set the gun aside and had returned to discussing business as though there wasn't a dead body bleeding onto the rug.
He knew that he couldn't pull out of the business without getting a bullet in him, so he had remained, learning to be almost as ruthless as Daisy and Oswald.
It was a few years after when he had been at the club he had gone up to the bar and ordered a drink. When he turned, he had bumped into Pilar and when he had first looking into Pilar's chestnut-colored eyes, had been captivated and had wanted to know everything about her. He had wined and dined her, enjoying her laughter and her beauty.
He learned, after dating her for a month, that she was an escort for the business. He had been surprised but hadn't allowed that to deter him from a relationship with her. He had pulled her out of the escort business with a price that he had dutifully paid to Daisy.
.
He discovered that Daisy and Pilar had been friends for several years but he had had never revealed to Pilar his connection to Daisy.
Months later when Pilar had broken up with him, he had been angry and hurt and when she had returned to the escort business, he hadn't been surprised. A few months later, she had left the escort business, seemingly on her own; he had become concerned for her safety, knowing that Daisy would never have allowed Pilar to leave again without having to pay a heavy price.
He had been shocked when Daisy hadn't sent her pet to dispose of Pilar. No one ever left the escort business of his or her own free will. After a while, he had begun to suspect that Pilar had something incriminating on Daisy.
He suspected that Pilar had somehow discovered that he was just a figurehead that he didn't have any real power, and that Daisy that was the real boss. He didn't know what evidence Pilar had, but he knew that Daisy wouldn't allow anyone to blackmail her.
When he discovered that she was dating another man, he could feel the green-eyed monster rise within him. He wanted her back. They belonged together.
He had gone to speak with her, but she had slammed the door in his face and had blocked all of his calls. He knew that if he waited, she would come back to him. He hadn't expected Pilar to be murdered but he knew who had been involved in Pilar's death.
Eli's thoughts returned to Daisy and Oswald and checked his watch, wondering when his contact would give him the location. Eli may have been the figurehead of the organization, but he wasn't stupid. He knew that one day, that he may be betrayed and offered up to the police on a platter, but he had enough on Daisy O'Mara that would guarantee his freedom while Daisy would be locked up in chains.
His cell went off and when he read the text, a smile spread across his face. He knew that the opportunity to exact vengeance for the death of his beloved Pilar had come and he wasn't going to miss it. He checked his weapons and extra ammo before he started the car and took off, following the directions on his car's GPS.