The Snake Charmer
.:Angelgrl185:.
The Second Installment
Of
The Silver Snakes Trilogy
((I don't own Sailor Moon or any of its components))
Chapter Two: No Where You Can Hide
Sweat glistened on his brow and his dark locks were moist and matted against his head. Breathing heavily, he dived out of the way of a bullet as a loud shot rang out. Hitting the hard dirt, he grimaced in pain but continued to roll under the cover of a shrub. Gunfire echoed in the air as bullets pelted into the trunk of the tree next to him raining bark. Little bits of brown splinters attacked his face. Whipping out from under his cover, he narrowed his cobalt blue eyes and fired two shots hitting his opposing enemy. He smirked rather arrogantly feeling rather proud of himself and stood up. More fire rang out causing his eyes to widen considerably and his body to dive back under his shrub.
Pulling out two new clips, he inserted them quickly into his twin silver magnums. Aiming with newly trained eyes, he fired off a few shots — which missed. His enemy had dodged away from the fire and was almost completely hidden from his sight in the woods. A smile tugged at his lips when he reached to his back and slipped the sleek black sniper rifle off of his shoulders.
Setting the gun firmly in his hands and on his shoulder, he peered out of the neon scope looking for his prey. A slight movement in the brush caught his attention. The figure was illuminated by green light in his night vision. Targeting his opponent, he aimed the red beam in the gap between his prey's cold black eyes. Tightening his grip on the trigger, he waited for the perfect moment before squeezing it fully. A silent bullet torpedoed towards his target, drilling itself in the flesh between the eyes. With a satisfied grin he lowered the sniper rifle and hoisted it back onto his back. A crackling of branches behind him alerted his attention to the presence of another.
He whirled around; pistols ready in his hands and found himself face to face with the barrel of a gun. A set of cool eyes and a sneer peered into his face. Closing his eyes he waited for the bullet that would end it all, but it never came. Cracking open an eye, he noticed his enemy had completely disappeared. Standing in his place was his sister with her hands on her hips.
"Raye!" he groaned, sitting back on his heels. "I was just about to beat the level." Raye raised a perfectly tweezed eyebrow.
"What you were about to do was get your head blown off," she observed.
"You're no fun," he muttered.
"Darien, grow up," she said, rolling her violet eyes. "Let's go. Serena has called an urgent meeting. You don't want to keep your wife waiting now do you?"
Darien immediately perked up at the thought of his wife. It still seemed like a strange dream, him being married and all. Never in a million years did he think that would happen and especially not to a hauntingly beautiful assassin.
It had been two months since they were married, three since he proposed. They couldn't wait that long to do a normal engagement. Darien and Serena knew they were in love, loved each other more than life, so what was the point of keeping them apart for an extended amount of time? Darien had proposed at the Crown Arcade. Sure it wasn't the most romantic place, but the look on Serena's face when she went to get a gumball and received an engagement ring from the machine instead was priceless. She never failed to get a gumball from that machine every time they visited. Afterwards, however, he had bent down on one knee and asked her to marry him amid cheers and whistles. Then he had taken her to Chez Antoine where they had first eaten together.
Being a girl meant Serena cried a lot, but through her tears her aqua eyes had been shining with love and she had never looked more beautiful. Darien smiled happily, but tumbled out of his memories when Raye clamped on his arm and began dragging him out of the Gauntlet.
Darien and Raye were the last ones to walk into the conference room. It was slightly chilly; the air conditioning must've been on full blast or something because Darien found himself wishing he had warmer clothes. Serena greeted them as they came in giving Darien a special smile. She waited patiently until they had all settled down and spoke when she had their full attention.
"I'm glad you all could make it," Serena began, shuffling around some papers. "We have a lot of information to go over."
"Where's Seiya?" Raye cut in, looking around the room.
"He's still in London settling some last minute affairs with Lord Thriarfield," Serena answered. "Now, since we blew open Crystal Empires operation last year, the United States Government has been very eager to work with us. Seiya and I have decided that the Silver Snakes and Crystal Empires will now work hand in hand with the Government." Serena held up a hand as whispers broke out in the room.
"You mean our entire purpose is changing?" Lita asked. "Serena, you guys can't do this! The Silver Snakes is all most of us have ever known. The only thing we know is how to be assassins, is how to kill. You can't go all legal on us now."
"We're not going all 'legal' as you so delicately put it, Lita," Serena replied. "The Government has decided to turn a blind eye to our operations in exchange for our help on a certain case."
"Why do they need our help?" Mina inquired. "That's what they have the CIA and FBI for. We're just killers."
"Yes, well they seem to think differently," Serena said. "So there are going to be some changes around here, but I'll get to that later. First, I want to talk about the Rodriguez brothers."
Serena opened a folder sitting in front of her and took out a handful of papers. She passed them around the room and waited until everyone had a copy before continuing.
"When Seiya and I were going through the books and trying to get Crystal Empires finances in order, we stumbled across something pretty interesting," Serena said, as she turned her packet to the third page. "If you look on page three you will see a detail account of our banking records. There have been significant amounts of money given to a club in Mexico. Since we thought it was rather strange that Crystal Empires would be sending hundreds of thousands of dollars to a meager club, Seiya and I looked into it. Next page please."
The sound of paper scraping against itself filled the air as pages were turned. A photo was revealed of a building with the words 'Tequila Rose' in bright neon lights. Darien flipped through the next couple of pages that had images of the insides of the club. He let out a low whistle. It was a pretty fancy establishment.
"Club Tequila Rose, we discovered, it owned by two brothers," Serena said. "Their names are Miguel and Ennardo Rodriguez. Now the interesting this is that these men are rumored to have a heavy illegal arms operation that the Mexican Government has been trying to crack for years now. What it boils down too is the fact that Alexander Gracin has been funding the Rodriguez brothers' operations for sometime now."
Darien turned to the pages past the club pictures and found the faces of two men staring up at him. Miguel Rodriguez had the look of an ox. His body was large and muscular. His neck seemed to be thicker than a tree trunk and black hair curled around his head. Dark brown eyes glared out of the page and a small black mustache was nestled above his lips. Ennardo was the complete opposite. He was as skinny as a stick with dark brown hair that flowed past his neck and honey brown eyes that held a glint of anger.
"What does this have to do with the Government and us?" Mina asked skeptically.
"Our working together with the Government is a symbolic relationship," Serena answered. "We both benefit from it. The Government benefits by stopping two powerful arms dealers and we benefic by getting Alexander Gracin."
"So the U.S wants us to bring down these Rodriguez brothers?" Andrew asked.
Serena nodded. "Yes. That's where the changes come in to play. I will be going down to Mexico tonight with Raye and Lita to check out Club Tequila Rose and get information about Gracin. We're not going to do any hardcore digging, just make some friends and see if we can get an address of Gracin. My thinking is that he fled to Mexico and the Rodriguez brothers when his operation was taken down."
"Wait, how come I don't get any action?" Mina protested.
"Because, Mina, I placed you in charge of Crystal Empires security, for now," Serena emphasized when Mina looked like she was about to object. "I really need someone to keep a firm grip."
Serena turned to face Andrew. "Drew, thanks for the offer to help. You were a huge asset to us last year. I'm placing you in Security for now. Unfortunately you need more training before we can place you as a field agent." Andrew nodded in acceptance.
"Darien," she said, turning towards her husband. "You still have your training to complete as well and since I'm going to be giving Amy complete control over all technical aspects of Crystal Empires as well as Silver Snakes, I need you to take charge. I don't want to have to deal with running a big energy corporation, that isn't what I'm cut out to do. You on the other hand are quite capable to run things on your own so good luck."
"Amy, as I just told Darien, you will be working as the head of all technical projects here and at Crystal Empires," Serena said, turning towards the blue haired girl. "Lita, when you are finished on assignment you will be in charge of all combat training since Diamond is no longer with us."
"That should be all for now, but if you have any questions do not hesitate to contact me or Seiya when he returns. Dismissed."
Serena gathered up her papers as the rest of the team filtered out of the conference room. Darien hung back waiting to approach Serena. When everyone was gone he came up behind her and pulled her against his broad chest. She smiled and turned to bury her head in the crook of his arm.
"You smell like sweat," she said after a moment, wrinkling her nose.
"That's because I was training," Darien answered with a laugh.
"Well if I didn't think it was so many you wouldn't be within ten feet of me right now because you kind of smell," Serena added. Darien smiled and tousled her hair.
"Serena?"
"Hm?"
"Why are you leaving me here?" he asked.
"What are you talking about, Darien?" Serena questioned, pulling away from him.
"I want to come to Mexico with you," Darien explained.
"No," Serena answered firmly, shaking her head.
"What if something happens to you?" he pressed.
"Darien, I have been doing this kind of stuff all my life and you know I can take care of myself," Serena replied. "You need to finish your training. Once it is complete than you can come on assignments with me. This stuff is dangerous, Darien, and I'm sorry, but you're not ready."
"Serena, I'm your husband," Darien argued. "I should be allowed to protect you."
"You can't even protect yourself right now, Darien," Serena replied softly. "How can you expect to protect me?"
Darien didn't answer, but let go of her. His eyes narrowed and he looked away as if hurt. Serena let out a sigh and reached out a hand. He moved away from her and without a glance left the room. Serena sighed again before exiting herself. She had too much work to do right now to worry about Darien's wounded pride.
"This place is a total dump," Raye commented dryly as she looked around their new hotel room in Las Nieves. Once white walls were now stained yellow and the wooden floor cracked and rotting. Plumbing pipes hung across the ceiling dripping sewage water.
"Lovely," Lita remarked, placing her bags on one of the beds. The bags sank immediately into the bed as a cloud of dust kicked up. Lita poked it with her finger and grimaced. "Do they even clean these rooms?"
"Get over it," Serena ordered. "We have things to do. Get dressed, we're going to the club now."
Raye grumbled about Serena's attitude, but followed her orders. Lita looked despairingly at the bathroom and shook her head in disbelief at the state of it. An few hours later they were showered and dressed.
It was a couple hours flight from Washington DC to Las Nieves in one of the Government's Concord jets. Night had fallen upon them as they flew and few stars now twinkled in the gossamer sky as the threesome left the rundown hotel. Using the holographic bracelets, they had each changed their appearance.
Raye was no longer the dark temptress she was before having opted for dirty blond hair that cascaded down her back. Bright blue eyes and heavy eye make up enhanced her new features. A tight hot pink leather dress clung restrictively to every curve of her body. One could say she looked like a Barbie doll.
Lita on the other hand was more subdued. Soft auburn hair crowned her head in shiny waves that reached just below her shoulders. Her eyes were still a vibrant green, but now contained small flecks of gold. An emerald green silk halter-top enhanced her breasts while a short black mini skirt showed of her long legs.
Serena opted to keep her silvery blond locks, but they were much shorter and flared out around her chin. Bright aqua eyes still shone, but her cheekbones were no longer high nor her lips as full. A silver sequined dress hugged her body, tapering off near her thighs. They were a dangerous trio in more ways than one.
Serena parked their rented silver sedan in the parking lot of Club Tequila Rose. Tossing their hair over their shoulders, the three women walked confidently into the club. The sound of music was dull in the lobby of the club where they waited patiently for the large bouncers to clear them. Raye winked at the bouncers as they walked past through the double doors. Loud music immediately flooded their ears as they moved through the sea of grinding bodies. Their eyes were alert on the look out for any men they recognized from the files they went over earlier. The Rodriguez brothers had a very large circle.
"Dance with me," a deep voice whispered in Serena's ear as she felt a body press up behind her. She looked to Raye who was studying the man. Raye gave a slight nod before moving away from them, Lita following. Serena complied with the man's wishes and began methodically moving her body. Hands scaled her body, settling on the curves of her waist as they urged her to move faster. Serena circled her hips slowly at first before grinding harder into him. She slid her hands up along his arms and locked them in the back of his head and pulling him harder against her. The music pounded around them as bodies twisted and crashed to the hypnotic beats of the club. As the current song died down Serena slowed the rocking of her body.
Twisting in the man's grasp, Serena leaned back to get a good look into his face. He was young, in his early twenties with light brown hair and hazel eyes. A thin scar ran across his right cheek. Serena gently raised a hand and caressed the scarred tissue. It was Ramón Chasez. He was one of Miguel's flunkies. Worked on the shipments.
"Come with me," he said, in such a way that Serena knew he was demanding more so than asking. She nodded shyly and let him lead her through the mass of young people dancing. Serena noticed Lita shadowing her from a far and quickly caught her eye.
She nodded towards the back hallway of the club. Lita nodded in return and disappeared.
Ramón was leading her to a booth in the back corner where some of his companions were sitting. Serena stopped walking, forcing him to jerk back. She shyly raised her head and beckoned him closer. Ramón obliged and took a step closer. Serena snaked an arm around his neck and pulled his head to hers, capturing his lips in a kiss. Breaking it immediately, she winked at him before heading towards the back hall. Ramón watched her amused before following her into the back. Serena led him to the back door of the club and opened it. Once they were outside, the cool night air swirled around them. Ramón shoved Serena up against the wall of the club and went in for a rough kiss.
A hand grabbed the collar of his shirt and dragged him off of Serena. Lita raised her fist and planted it straight into his face. Ramón's head jerked back with the force of her punch as a surprised look crossed his face. Lita grabbed a handful of his thick hair and held his head up. Raye appeared out of the shadows and delivered a quick kick to his stomach. Ramón grunted and dropped to his knees. Lita's yanked his scalp, holding his head back up. Serena walked closer to him and stared into his eyes.
"You have information that I want," she said coldly. "I'll make you a deal. You tell me what I want to know and I'll consider letting you live." Ramón watched her through narrowed eyes and let out a string of curses in Spanish.
"I'd watch your tongue if I were you," she threatened. "You wouldn't want to lose it now would you?" Ramón glared at her, but shook his head.
"Good, now tell me where Senor Gracin is," Serena demanded.
"I don't know who you are talking about," Ramón denied.
"Don't play games with me, Ramón," Serena spat. "Yes, I know who you are and I know what you do and who you work for. You're in a very dangerous business, Ramón."
"I told you I don't know who this Senor Gracin is," Ramón repeated.
"You know what else I know, Ramón?" Serena asked coyly. "I know that you have a wife and two little boys. I also know where they live."
She swooped down at his eye level and grabbed his head.
"If you don't tell me something that will lead me to Alexander Gracin, I'm afraid they won't live to see tomorrow."
Serena could see the war waging in his eyes. Loyalty, fear and duty to his friends and the love for his family. Even harden criminals knew how to love. Ramón hung his head in defeat.
"You promise you will not hurt my family?" he asked, a pleading note in his voice.
"I promise," Serena said, firmly.
Ramón nodded. "Senor Gracin has been helping us for a while now. We owe a lot to him so when he got in some trouble in America he came here to collect. Miguel has him stashed away somewhere."
"Where?" Serena demanded.
"He's in one of Miguel's houses — the one in Las Nieves. It's about forty minutes away from here."
"Thank you, Ramón," Serena said. "Unfortunately you are now a liability to us. We cannot risk you telling your friend Miguel that we've come calling."
"No, you promised!" Ramón pleaded.
Serena threw him a cold look. "I promised that I would not harm your family, which I won't. I'm sure your buddy Miguel will make sure they are cared for. I said I would think about not killing you. I thought about it and well, you are dispensable."
Serena nodded to Lita who wrapped her slender fingers around Ramón's neck. With a quick twist she snapped his bones and his body went limp in her hands.
"Throw him in the dumpster with the rest of the trash," Serena ordered. Lita nodded and with Raye's help, dumped the lifeless body in the Club's dumpster. Serena pulled out her satellite phone and dialed a number.
"Cobra," Amy's voice rang out.
"Cobra, it's me, Viper," Serena said, quickly. "I need you to get me an address of a house in Las Nieves that is owned by Miguel Rodriguez."
"Sure, Viper," Amy replied. "Let me hunt that down."
The sound of keys on the computer keyboard drifted through the phone. A few minutes later Amy gave a sound of triumph.
"Viper, I've got that address for you," Amy said.
"Great, Cobra, thanks," Serena said, after jotting down the address. She hung up the phone and looked to Raye and Lita. "Let's roll."
Thirty minutes later, after speeding recklessly along every highway, the silver sedan shut off its headlights and parked a block away from the house. The girls had switched their disguises back to their normal appearances and had changed into black leather body suits. They climbed out of the car and walked silently down the block toward the house. No lights were on in the house as they approached. Either they were asleep or they were not home. Serena hoped they were just asleep. Raye dropped her black backpack to the ground when they reached the house and pulled out a pair of tweezers and some pliers. Going over to the security box she deftly unhooked the silent alarm. Next she dusted the security keypad with a thin, white powder before shining a black light over it to reveal the fingerprints. She punched in a series of numbers until a small beep sounded and the side door to the house unlocked.
The three women pulled out pistols from various holsters and covered all corners as they slowly entered the house. Night vision goggles were pulled over their eyes so they could see in the dark and not have to shine flashlights for the risk of getting caught was greater with them. Raye crept silently toward the first room, her gun raised. She peered through the doorway than signaled to Lita and Serena. They continued in this way, checking every room in the house. No one was home.
"Someone definitely lives here," Raye observed, as she took in the amount of clothes strewn across the Master Bedroom.
"Coral, you search this room for anything that might help us," Serena said. "Python, come with me. We'll hit the office on the first floor."
Raye nodded and began searching through nightstands. Lita followed Serena out of the room and down the stairs. Taking out a lock pick when they reached the office door, Lita efficiently jimmied the lock and it sprung open. Serena walked in first.
A bookcase lined the entire left wall. Lita made a beeline for it and began searching through the titles for any book that seemed suspicious or any papers hidden in the pages. A desk sat in the middle of the room drawing Serena's attention. She walked over to it and ran her fingers lightly along the smooth cherry wood. A picture frame sat in the right corner. She delicately picked up the silver frame and studied its occupants.
Her father stood proudly in the back, his aqua eyes glinting and his arm draped possessively around the waist of a woman. She had flaming red hair that curled in soft tendrils down to her waist and cool emerald eyes. Her full blood red lips were curved in a haughty smile. This woman was beautiful and judging from the expression on her face — she knew it. Serena's eyes drifted down to the third figure. A young man glared up at her. He was maybe in his late teens with a shock of thick dusty brown hair crowning his head, the light from the camera highlighting the red tints. His eyes were sharp and alert. Their aqua tint is what really captured her attention. She studied the picture a little while longer before placing it back and leafing through some files.
"There's nothing here!" Lita exclaimed angrily, after an hour of searching through the entire office. Nothing seemed suspicious or hinted of illegal activity. Raye had come down a while ago with the same report. Nothing.
Serena sighed and threw a folder back down on the desk. "I didn't really expect Miguel or Gracin to leave evidence of their dealings lying around in such an insecure area anyways, but it never hurts to look."
The sound of a door unlocking alerted their attention. All three women froze in their positions. Serena pulled out her pistol first and silently crept out of the room, Lita and Raye on her heels. She peered around the corner into the living room and watched a tall figure dump a bag on the coffee table, collapse on the couch and flick on the TV. Serena waved two fingers at Lita and pointed to the man. Lita nodded her head and snuck around behind the couch and on Serena's signal, placed her gun to his head.
"Don't move," she warned harshly. His body tensed when he felt the cool metal barrel touching his temple.
"Get up," she ordered. The man complied and got off the couch slowly. Raye walked over to them and stood in front of the man, her hands on her hips.
"Where is Dr. Gracin?" she asked.
"He's not here," the man answered.
"Obviously," Raye replied dryly. "Now answer my question."
"He's on vacation," he answered.
"Where?" Raye asked impatiently.
"Barbados."
"Why are you telling us this?" Raye asked her eyes narrowed.
"Um, because you asked me?" he replied. "Look, I'm just not happy with the old man right now so whatever vendetta you have against him will serve him right for being an old ass. Go to Barbados, get your money and then leave us the hell alone."
Raye chuckled at his naivety. "We're not here for a payment with money, kid, we're here for a payment in blood."
He jerked his head up. "You're going to kill him? What for?"
At this it was Serena who answered with a cold smile. "He murdered my family. Destroyed my life. Tried to blow up the world and take away the only people left that I have. You're father is a bad man. He deserves to die."
"You'll never find him," he spat. "I may think he's an ass, but he's still my father and I won't let you kill him. I'll tell him your coming and he'll leave."
Serena leaned back her head and laughed, a cold, emotionless sound. Her cool aqua eyes stared hard at the young man. His own eyes were steeled in defiance, his head held proud. Serena moved quickly to stand in front of him. Grabbing the hair at the back of his head she pulled him roughly toward her.
"Give your father a message for me," she whispered, chillingly in his ear. The man tensed at their close contact and tightened his jaw, fixing his hard gaze straight ahead.
"Tell Alexander Gracin that his time has come," Serena hissed. "Tell him that there is no place he can hide from me. Tell him that the Viper is looking for him and when she finds him — he better be prepared to die."
Serena shoved him roughly back against Lita's firm hold. The kid was now glaring at her in hatred. She could feel the heat of it burning out of his aqua eyes so hauntingly familiar to her own. Lita inclined her head toward Serena asking permission to end her prisoner's life. After a moment she shook her head to both of her companions' surprise.
"Tie him up," she ordered Lita. "Someone will find him eventually."
Lita dragged him over to a chair and pushed him into sitting position on it. Raye took out a long piece of rope from her bag and proceeded to tie him tightly. Serena though for a moment before unsheathing one of her many knives and placing it on the coffee table a few feet away. Raye looked at her questioningly. Serena shook her head slightly to signal that now wasn't the time. Lita gave the young man one last shove before the three of them deftly exited the building. Once outside Raye began to question her.
"What gives, Viper?" she asked. "First you let him live and then provide him with a knife so he can cut out of his bonds?"
"It could have been days before someone found him," Serena defended herself.
"Who cares!" Raye said, throwing up her hands. "He should have been dead already! He's a liability because now he knows what we looks like and now he's going to tell his father that we are coming. Don't tell me you're getting soft."
Serena's eyes narrowed. "Don't question me, Coral. I have reasons for everything I do. You're just going to have to trust me. We've wasted enough time here. Let's go."
She stormed past the two, leaving them to follow confused in her wake. Serena looked over her shoulder one last time at the young man tied to the chair. The young man who was in the picture on the desk. The young man who was her half brother.
What is this? Chapter Two? Hmm…yeah…about that…it's been a while. But here it is! I've been working on two other stories right now and since this one is a sequel, it took the backseat. Hopefully I will be updating more frequently now. I hope you enjoyed it though! Please, please review and tell me what you think!
.:Angelgrl185:.