Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
By
E. S. Young
Chapter Forty-Eight: Reaching an Understanding
Last week, the day right before I posted the forty-seventh chapter of this story, it was February 22. The anniversary of Lynné Sands' first debut. Or the debut of my first Once Upon a Time in Mexico fic. Either way, I can't believe I overlooked that! It wasn't like I was unaware of it, either, because I had checked the publish date of The Long Way Home several times throughout the month of February. Hectic week, I suppose, is what made me forget. Speaking of hectic weeks, this one wasn't much better. I had speech league through February 24-26, but I had Sunday off. However, I was supposed to have a meet on Monday, but it was cancelled due to snow (yay!). But it's being made up on Wednesday, so I'll be gone then and possibly Thursday if I make it to semi-finals on Wednesday. 9.9;; But! I do not have a meet this Saturday, thank the gods, so I might (and this is a pretty big might) be able to have this chapter up…uhh…soon. Sometime in the near future, hopefully.
With a hand pressed to her mouth, Zebbidy stifled a gasp as Lynné announced that Ajedrez Barillo still lived. At one point in her life Zebbidy though that she could never hate anyone other than Édouard
Poisson, but then Sands had confessed, telling her everything about his mission in Mexico. He had admitted to being naïve and how he had been deceived by a woman he had thought he could trust and possibly love. How that woman had lied to him and handed him over to her father, Armando Barillo, the very man whose operations Sands had been trying to bring to an end. How they had drugged him, restrained him by his wrists and ankles to a table, and then removed his eyes. The drill had been the last thing he saw, but Ajedrez Barillo – the way she had looked at him, so smug, so knowing, like she had just tattled to the teacher and he had gotten in trouble – and her lovely face was still prominent in his mind.
The very thought of her filled Zebbidy with loathing she had only felt towards Poisson. She recalled the same fearsome revulsion that had hit her when Sands had told her of Ajedrez's betrayal. And now that she had risen from the dead, Zebbidy's mellow yet gentle personality had vanished, only to be replaced by a searing desire that could only be hatred.
But why do I feel this way? she thought helplessly. She was never hateful, always forgiving. Only when she was around Poisson did she ever have the terrible urge to bring destruction to the ones who had wronged her. But Ajedrez didn't do anything to me! And yet she had, Zebbidy realized the moment the confused thought had flown through her head, desperate for an explanation. Ajedrez had hurt Sands with her betrayal, whether the agent was willing to admit it or not, and that infuriated Zebbidy for a reason she was all too familiar with. The very same reason she had given Sands when he had stayed awake and taken care of him instead of catching up on the sleep she was badly in need of.
'Because I worry,' she had told him simply, 'and I care.'
And that was it, too. She cared. She worried about everyone, but she cared about him, something she suspected not many people had done for Sands during his life. Perhaps Lynné did, but she wasn't open about it, and neither was her brother, yet Zebbidy had seen the way the two siblings looked at each other, and, even when they were frustrated, the concern was there. But Zebbidy herself was the only one, she imagined, who had ever openly worried about Agent Sands.
So what does this mean? she wondered, feeling lost. In her lifetime, she had never tried to shut people out. That wasn't to say that she never lied, but Zebbidy had always been as truthful as she could be when a situation was dire. Or, she realized, thinking back on it, when she was dealing with someone she cared very deeply for. She had only lied to Sands once and that was about her age, and she had been dishonest then because she had wanted to throw off Poisson. Besides, despite what the CIA's profile claimed, Sands had seen right through her lie and knew she wasn't really thirty-one. She hadn't told him about her being psychic at first, but she had eventually and keeping a secret wasn't exactly a lie. And there was only one thing being kept from him, now, and he would find out about it soon enough.
"You really did a number on the bitch, you know that?" Lynné was asking Sands when at last Zebbidy turned her attention back to the others.
"Not a big enough one if she's still alive," Sands replied bitterly.
"Still," Lynné said while Liam maintained his strong hold on her, "you did some damage." With a wicked grin she continued, "She's in worse shape than I am, you know. No legs whatsoever. She can't have kids or even…dance the forbidden dance, for that matter."
"Can't sink her claws into any more unsuspecting men, then," Sands realized with dark mirth.
"I wouldn't say that," Liam warned, thinking of how Ajedrez had managed to hoodwink Adrián. Lynné considered this for a moment, then shrugged.
"Eh. True. She's got herself a lapdog, now. I think they're engaged, but the only reason he's staying with her is because of her money."
With a roll of his eyes Sands strolled over to his sister and leaned against the crude table. Its metal edge pushed into his back, stinging his flesh with its iciness, but he shoved it to the back of his mind, wanting to get Lynné's interrogation over as quickly as possible.
"Of course. If they can't hump like rabbits, then the only other thing she's got going for her is her moola."
"And she's got plenty of that now that Daddy's kicked the bucket," Lynné continued tiredly, her cheek still pressed into Liam's shoulder.
"Barillo is dead, then?" Zebbidy asked, sitting Joséphine upon the table while she herself took up a place next to Sands.
"Oh, yeah," Lynné confirmed. "He's looong gone – something Ajedrez blames me for, by the way."
"Really," Sands said dully. "And where would she get that idea?"
"So I put the bastard out of his misery," Lynné explained in mock-defense. "And she decides to hold a grudge. Was I the sexist pig who mistreated her all her life? No. But since said pig is dead –"
"— She played the blame game and pointed her finger at you," Sands finished. He shrugged carelessly. "Hey, ya gotta vent on somebody."
"I thought that's what her 'lover' was – " Zebbidy began to mutter sarcastically when, suddenly, she stopped. Lynné had turned to better acknowledge her, allowing Zebbidy to see her fully for the first time since arriving. What she saw caused Zebbidy's breath to snag on a frail gasp.
"Lynné…" she murmured breathlessly. "What happened to your leg?"
"Oh, this?" the agent said mildly, glancing down at her missing appendage. "That happened a long time ago, Zeb."
"At the hand of the same man who did this," Sands put in with a careless gesture to his eyes.
"Although," Lynné added thoughtfully, "Cat claims removing my leg was all her idea. She's the one who screwed us over, by the way. She told Barillo about my operation and then, three years down the road, she stabbed you in the back, too. Remember her telling you anything about twenty million pesos?"
Sands' eyebrows rose with realization before narrowing in anger. "Conniving bi –"
"Language," Zebbidy scolded, pointing to Joséphine.
With another toss of his eyes, Sands turned his attention back to Lyn.
"Who took your leg, anyway?"
"Harrington."
"He just decided he'd have a little fun and yanked the prosthetic one off," Sands stated, letting his disbelief show.
"Pourquoi le ferait-il?" (Why would he do that?) Joséphine asked softly, looking awkward amid the team of black-clad agents in her nightgown of periwinkle blue. Her eyes were blank with frightful wonder.
"Because I insulted his darling Kitty Cat," Lynné explained simply. "He thought it would teach me a lesson."
"And your bruises?" Sands demanded with a threatening glance at Liam.
"Same purpose; different reason," Lyn said, leisurely tugging at Liam's ponytail. "Ajedrez thought I was puttin' the movies on her boyfriend, so she sent one of her big, lumbering goons down to rough me up a bit." She paused for a moment, as if remembering an important occurrence, before remarking, "And that's when I learned that I was a masochist.
"Well, not a masochist per se," she added, seeing her brother and Zebbidy's stunned faces. She grinned coyly. "I have a high tolerance in pain. Thing is, I'd much rather inflict it upon another rather than get the shit beaten outta me. Which is where Fusco comes in."
A slight blush tinted Liam's cheeks as he struggled with an explanation. "We, uh… we've both come to realize that…that –"
"Zeb?" Lynné interrupted. "Cover Josey's ears."
Shocked into wide-eyed silence, Zebbidy did so without hesitation. With a worried glance toward Lynné, Liam swallowed hard and attempted to regain the courage that always seemed to fail him.
"We're both…well…"
"Kinky," Lynné sighed with a disgusted look at her spineless partner. "Simple as that."
Sands and Zebbidy stared, expressionless.
"Well, it makes perfect sense," Liam said as he tried to defend his honor and make the others see the logic of the situation at the same time. "Think about it: We all know Lynné's a…a dominatrix."
"And we all know that Liam's a weak-willed mama's boy," Lynné jumped in promptly. "Without me, he's clueless."
"And without me, Lynné has to inflict pain upon others," Liam finished.
"I'd think she'd do that anyway," Sands muttered darkly.
"True," Lyn agreed, nodding.
Despite his best efforts to see another meaning to his sister's words, Sands came up empty. He refused to flat-out deny Lynné's dark pleasures; it he did, then that would make him no better than Cat, who refused to attest to her insecurities, or his father, who turned the other cheek when discussing Sands' mother.
While his resentment for Liam Fusco was still enkindled inside his body, Lynné was another matter entirely. Did she truly derive a sort of joy from pain? He supposed it was possible. And after hearing the explanation, why couldn't his sister be a masochist? There wasn't really a reason for her to concoct such a lie, at least, not one that he could fathom.
There was, of course, the possibility that she was protecting Fusco, but he doubted it. It appeared as though the pair had resolved the matter of the betrayal. And even if the panicky agent was indeed the traitor they all took him to be, then Lynné could handle herself. She had already proven that, Sands noted, when he saw the thick river of blood seeping from Liam's shoulder.
Wonder if that was his handiwork or her's?
Hers. Fusco wouldn't think to do something like that to himself.
So you're admitting that you're sister's a masochist?
Guess so, he returned tonelessly. It's not like I'll be able to stop her. If Lyn wants to partake in kinky sex-romps with her emasculate partner, then it's fine with me.
You're just…going to let her do it?
He shrugged inwardly. Hey, whatever makes her happy.
With her back pressed against the wall, Ajedrez listened intently as that ignorant whore of a woman – Lynné Sands – spill her guts, babbling on about everything that came to mind. Ajedrez waited, her rage mounting with every second, as the loca American spoke of missing legs (both Ajedrez's and her own) of Day of the Dead, and of murdering Ajedrez's father. Yes, she had killed her father. And she admitted it, the slut! And she had the nerve to ridicule her for being enraged…
"…sexist pig…"
How dare that hembra! Who did she think she was, insulting her father like that? Spitting upon his name as though it were nothing? She was nothing. Meaningless. Worthless. Completely unimportant. Yet how could someone, a human being whose price was lower than dirt, a person so insignificant bear so much value?
Because in order to obtain Sands…she first needed Lynné. And not once had Ajedrez been denied what she wanted.
"… mistreated her all her life…" What was this? The little guarra thought she knew so much. And she did, just as she had nearly four years ago. And at the same time, exactly as before, she knew too little. Ironic and highly amusing when the time was right. But now was not the case. Now, the cocky agent had infuriated her beyond all reasoning.
Pressing the side of the gun to her chest, Ajedrez continued to listen. Her teeth were clenched together with so much force that, for a moment, she thought the team of agents would hear them gritting together. But they didn't. Too caught up in their own blind arrogance, Sands, his bitch of a sister, and the other three never even sensed Ajedrez's presence.
"I just hope you know," Lynné informed Liam bluntly, "that this doesn't mean I forgive you."
"What?" her partner sputtered, his eyebrows knitting in confusion. "B-but we…y'know…and everything!"
Unable to believe what she heard, Lynné put her hands on her hips.
"Am I to understand," she said slowly, "that you can't tell the difference between a punishment and Make Up Sex?"
"Sex is sex, Lynnie," Sands intervened.
"To you, maybe, but Fusco –" she jerked her head sharply to the agent in question "—should know the difference."
Sands shook his head, soundlessly stalking over to his sister. "Now, that's not fair. Judging by his severe nervousness around the womenfolk, I highly doubt Fusco is all that experienced in the area of fornication."
Liam cringed at the harsh comment, color blooming on his cheeks, but Lynné's mouth tweaked into a smirk and she folded her arms over her chest. And she whispered softly, "I wouldn't say that."
Adrián Gallardo clutched at a stitch in his side as he careened down the sparse, seemingly pitch-black hallway. Yet despite the darkness that threatened to consume the passage, in the distance, Adrián could make out the faint outline of a human figure. A woman. His fiancée. It was the very woman who, in three short months, he would be spending the rest of his life with. Devoting all of his time, every single second of freedom…to her.
Was he really going to do it?
Yes, Adrián thought with an anguished sigh, he was. He would be wed to Ajedrez Barillo in no time and he would have to sit through her constant complaints and rants. She expected pleasure around the clock, despite her physical handicap. As a result, Adrián had had to cancel all of his appointments with Rosa Hernandez. With his wife-to-be's constant need for sexual intimacy Adrián often found himself too wore out to indulge in his own guilty pleasures.
"¡Cerrado!" Ajedrez whispered fiercely, waving frantically at him as he drew closer to her. Adrián gave a nod of understanding and slid up against the wall until his shoulder was but an inch away from his fiancée's.
It wasn't that he despised Ajedrez, merely that he no longer enjoyed spending time in her company. She could be incredibly tiresome when she was in a mood, and Adrián soon found that after spending three months with her that he had to suppress a shudder of unspent annoyance whenever his fiancée was angered. There were times when he longed to simply stand up and demand her silence, but he never carried out such an act.
Ajedrez, whether she wanted to show it or not, needed him. Her life, he knew, had been a tragic and lonely one. Her father, when he wasn't making ridiculous demands, had ignored her for the most part and her mother had been fierce and wiry, much like Ajedrez herself. She had pressured her only child relentlessly, making her swear never to give herself to a man wholly, for that could result in disaster – the sort of disaster that the daughter of a powerful man like Armando Barillo could not have befall upon her.
When her mother had passed away, Ajedrez had only been thirteen – a young, confused girl about to enter the awkward stage of adolescence without her mother to guide her. Her father had not helped her in the least, Adrián knew. If anything, Barillo had made life harder for his daughter after his wife had died.
Ajedrez had tried repeatedly to earn the respect of her father, to gain his acceptance. In vain she had tried for years to prove to him that she was the only one worthy of inheriting the family business, rather than some lazy, sniveling cousin who her father was always threatening to turn over the cartel to once he passed on.
And then, finally, she was given her chance.
The CIA, apparently, thought that the drug ring was getting out of hand and they were going to shut their business down for good. Barillo, of course, could not let this happen. So he had implored the help of his daughter of twenty-eight, his only child, ordering her to seduce the cock-sure agent from America. Eager to please her father, Ajedrez had agreed.
A decision that led to her downfall, Adrián thought distantly.
His fiancée had tricked the agent easily enough. Frankly, Ajedrez had later confided to Adrián, she suspected that Sands had been secretly longing for someone other than his insane sister to be there for him. To love him, Ajedrez had said snidely. The pathetic, scrawny, little rat… at least he had been an eye-candy. She had always said that she would have never gone through with it had he been ugly, although Adrián knew better. Ugly or not, if it mean approval from her father, she would have done it without hesitation.
"Are they in there?" he breathed, barely making a sound.
Ajedrez's only response was a single nod.
"Sex is sex, Lynnie," Adrián heard the American reply. He fought the urge to burst into the room and shoot the bastard right then and there. He doubted the agent would be saying such things if he'd ever made love to a legless woman before.
"Did you send for backup?" Ajedrez whispered suddenly. Her voice was so low Adrián scarcely heard it. Wordlessly, he bobbed his head once.
"How soon with they be here?" she pressed further, her voice betraying her and letting her impatience and eagerness to spring into action give way.
"Shortly," Adrián replied. "Very shortly."
Her face set with determination, Ajedrez gave a final nod and turned into the room.
Cliffhanger! Sorry, couldn't resist. But how'd everyone like that little glimpse into Ajedrez's head? She's an interesting character to write, Ajedrez. Although she does get annoying from time to time, what with her constant Sands-bashing and all. XO Also, am I the only one who noticed that I never mentioned Adrián's last name until now? X3 Sorry about that. I thought for certain that I had, but apparently not. :P
Author's Thanks and Review Responses:
vanillafluffy: The kinky scene has been dying to be written for ages now. So glad you liked it :D! Sands just won't admit, not even to himself, that he has feelings for Zeb. I'm uncertain if he ever will, in this story anyway. However, if I do write a follow-up to this, he'll most definitely be moderately open with his feelings for her. I'm planning on having it take place five years after the events in Paris, so things will have definitely changed a bit. Not much, mind you. ;) Ah…Lyn and Liam…two very twisted kids. But they love each other in one way or another, and, in the end, that's what really matters, right? And I am working on something lustful for the following chapter, though I'm not entirely certain who it's going to be between. Still debating, you see. Definitely going to be something, though. u.u
Dawnie-7: Like I said, I'm straight but I can't see the problem with being gay. I really can't. Some of the most talented, intelligent, and creative people I know are homosexuals and they're perfectly nice. And thanks for the compliment, by the way. :) I have been wanting to hit Cat for so long now. Probably longer than you guys since I knew she had betrayed everyone months ago. 9.6;
morph: Somebody's warming up to Liam! At last! See, he didn't want to turn against Lyn but he did it anyway because he knew it was the only way he or Lynné could ever succeed in taking down the Mafia. So, really, he did it for her. Hmm…hinting…possibly. The only hinting as far as the first chapter is concerned is the fact that Lyn and Liam are both into kink. Of course, all the way back in Chapter One, you wouldn't know that and probably wouldn't remember that line either. :) Sands is definitely not going to react well to Lyn's lack of a leg. At the moment, he's got so much on his mind that he hasn't really taken it into consideration, but when he does, his mind is not going to be a nice place to be. Not at all. And, no, Josey isn't aware of Lyn's current…state. I've got a bit worked out where she'll figure it all out, though. And I agree; good guys going bad is one of the most aggravating things in my book. ;.; But Liam's back with the good guys, now, and there he'll stay. u.u
zigzag: Aww…glad to know you're on Liam's side. :) Mostly everyone else is against him – not that I can really blame them. Thank you for the compliment towards Autobio, too! I remember you taking an interest in the idea of a student-teacher affair between Sands and his principal. Not sure if I'll be able to write one, but I'll definitely take it into consideration!
fanfiction fanatic: His face was to die for, seriously X3 It was totally worth whatever consequences may lie in store for me, too. u.u Braces, geh… Never want to go through that again. Evil, evil things. The fact that I don't like the dentist doesn't help matters, but anyway… Hope you get to see PotO soon! And I did notice that this review was longer than normal ;D
Lynx Ryder: My gods, you're hostile toward Liam! Not that I blame you, after what he's done. u.u As much as they don't like to admit it, Lyn and Sands both get their controlling ways from their father. Loud, demanding tyrants usually tend to command everything in a room, don't they? Even though Lyn and Sands aren't really tyrants, thankfully. :) Oh yes. Guevera may have sawed the leg off, but Cat was the one who gave him the idea. She definitely crossed the line in my books and will undoubtedly get what's coming to her in the end. Wresting history? XD!
Lyn: I now have this…rather…intriguing image of him in spandex. Hmm…
Liam: o.o;;; You're not thinking of –
Lyn: -.9 It's better than my original plan. I was gonna make you wear a lederhosen when we did the nasty.
Liam: O.O
Sidney: I'm beginning to wonder if I should disown that girl… anyway, Sands is a total liar because he cares about Zeb; he just won't admit it. u.u I've been wanting to get the killer inside of Sands out in the open for a while. Sorry it took so long but there was never really an opportune moment 'til now. Lyn's not about to forgive Liam; not for a good while. She may put up with him and show him small bits of affection here and there, but it's gonna be a while until he earns her trust again.
Liam: How am I supposed to do that:(
Lyn: By letting me call you 'Booboo Kitty.'
Liam: O.O?
Lyn: In public. u.u
Liam: o.o ………… e.e;; x.X
Sidney: (shrugs) Meh. He'll live. Not sure my director will, though ,after my remark. He's been getting on my nerves as of late, anyway, and then he had to go and bash homosexuals. The way I see it, he had it coming.
Zebbidy: (singing) He only had himself to blame… :D
Sands: Dear God, not Chicago… 9.9;
Sidney: Don't be so melodramatic, sweetie. Not when you're surrounded by Chicago fans! But back to the topic at hand… thank you for the compliments! You know how much I appreciate every one of them:D
Coming down to the end, kids! I'm guessing about… three chapters left if you count an epilogue. And after that, well…who knows. There may be a third story, there may not be. I'm leaning towards yes, though. :)
o