Two years, nine months since Stephanie left, South America
"I wish you'd stop doing that" I huffed out as I threw myself round a corner, narrowly dodging the bullets that flew past my head. I heard laughter rolling in my ear and hissed in reply I made a move down the narrow alleyway, away from the sound of gunfire.
"You're enjoying this" I snarled to the omnipresent voice in my head.
"And you aren't?" The voice shot back immediately. It was low and teasing. Nothing like the dark menace that usually lurked there. Violence always put him in a good mood.
Especially when he got to play with his toys.
I'd reached the end of the alleyway and had no time to even check the way ahead when dark figure suddenly swung round into the tight space, knife narrowly missing my throat as I threw myself backwards, my feet almost dancing to move back quickly enough to avoid his erratic and entirely novice slashing movements.
The voice in my ear had stopped laughing. I missed the intake of breath over the line as I occupied myself with throwing myself into the attackers space, I dropped low and watched his eyes widen in surprise from behind his mask as I drew my own blades out and span round, slashing at each thigh in a circlet just above the knee as I rose.
He let out a howl of pain, his legs buckling and taking his eyes off of me completely. I knocked his wicked sharp knife out of his hand without looking. Sheathing my knives I closed my hand around his throat and forced him against the wall with my body weight. I could hear murmuring voices in my ear but ignored them in favour of watching my assailant's face crumple as I forced him to put weight on his ruined tendons.
I smiled pleasantly. "Now, how about a proper introduction?" I'm Stephanie" I offered for all the world like we'd just met in a holiday resort.
I'd let some of the pressure of his throat to allow him to speak but he used the opportunity to spit at me. "Go to hell" he choked out before I cut off his air once again. I sighed, using my left hand to wipe at my cheek.
"Disgusting" I took my eyes off my capture to look at the silent figure that was stood in the mouth of the alley where my assailant had appeared from. There was no more sounds of gunfire.
"Finished yet?" I asked nonchalantly as my prisoner ran out of the air and I released my grip and allowed him to collapse to the floor in a motionless heap.
On the off chance he was faking unconsciousness I kicked him over on to his side as I stepped back. Falling to a crouch, I planted a knee on his chest and began to search him.
"Area's secured ma'am. Should we move on?" the voice was toneless, and his face covered as I glanced upwards but I'd know him anywhere. He belonged to me. I had my very own band of merry men now. And I never left a man behind unless he deserved it.
"I don't know" I said entirely seriously, staring at the object I'd taken off my attacker-turned-prey. Holding it up to the light I saw my friend startle at the sight of it.
Time to bring back the voice in my head.
"Should we, Alejandro?"
"You're getting good" is his greeting when I make it back.
I raise an eyebrow. "You sure you're not exaggerating?"
His lips twitch. "I might be"
"I just survived a fire fight. What have you done today?" I ask him as I steal the glass from his hand, knocking it back in one.
He sighs, the playfulness leaking out of him as his head falls back to rest on his throne. I call it a throne, because that's exactly what it looks like. It's too grand to be an armchair, some kind of solid gold baroque creation. It's just begging to be called ostentatious.
I place the tumbler down on the glass table to the side, taking a few steps forward until my knees are nearly brushing his. For the first time since I've known him, he almost looks worried.
"What's got you so wound up?" I question.
He stares back at me, eyes dark and serious, mouth set in a rare frown. "People possessing things they should never have even touched"
I pull the mentioned item out of my pocket. It was a diamond, about the size of a small pebble. Nothing special, an angular uneven cut that was no good to any jeweler. But there were words carved into its surface, words that held meaning that I could barely contemplate. But it was bad. It was very bad indeed.
"Do you think he knows?" I held the diamond out to him, he took it gently, like it could break at any moment. Does he know we're coming for him?
For a moment he said nothing, then his hand clasped round the stone, its sharp corners pressing so hard into his flesh he started to bleed.
"I hope so" is all he says, onyx eyes filled with fury.
Meeting Alejandro was accidental on my part and purposeful on his. Our partnership is a foregone conclusion.
The vacuum of power left by Alejandro, the one that caused Ximenia's death, the one that gave momentum to all the gangs jostling for power, the one that led me straight into his hands was caused by one thing and one thing only.
Greif.
Alejandro is not a good like Morelli or even Ranger. There is no grey area for him, just black. But he is far from heartless and it only serves to make him all the more sadistic.
When I was in training with James, word trickled. I still don't know how but it did. Associating with Ranger paints a target on your head, but somehow I managed to take that target and turn it into something else without realising. By the time I was with Angelo, the entire game had shifted.
Angelo is a very distant cousin of Alejandro's. But familia is familia so they say. Mere weeks before I left for London, Alejandro's brother was killed.
What I eventually learned is that Alejandro's late brother was the gentlest of the three brothers (Marco the younger preferred to be involved in as little of the family business as possible).
Alejandro's family had ruled Brazil for generations, eventually stepping out of government and high up places in the sixties. Instead, they began to stick to the shadows.
Growing up their father made it very clear what their future would be. And just to make sure they understood, he didn't raise them. He shaped them. Patiently, day by day. Like a Bonsai tree, clipping a little bit there, a little bit here. Until it was exactly as he wanted.
Alejandro was everything his father was and more. Cruel, bordering on brutal. Unlike his brother, he had never shown any interest in getting married or having any kind of family life.
"He was a good man" Alejandro would later tell me, his dark eyes fixed on the diamond I had retreived. "He was no coward"
Alejandro's brother, Fernando hated what he did and he did it anyway. I think that's why Alejandro found me. Whatever he saw in me, it reminded me of his brother. A desire to do something not because you wanted to, but because you needed to. For something more important than yourself.
By the time Angelo had weeded out a few of my more compassionate qualities, Alejandro had the perfect use for me and so I came to Rio.
And Luis led the fly right into the spiders lair.
Stephanie is going down a very dark path, but I promise, she will eventually redeem herself. After all that's the Stephanie we love. Thank you to everyone for their follows and favourites!
17/6/16 - Please note this chapter has been amended to reflect later plot developments and characterisations.