Caged: Retribution

Chapter 15

Abram made a lot of noise.

His barking brought the neighbor to Sylvia's house and when she went to the back door, she was surprised to find it wide open. She returned to her own house and got a baseball bat she had for just this kind of emergency. She went back to the door and listened. The alley was clear, the morning sunny. The rains had stopped. The noise was coming from upstairs. She had seen the dog many times. Black and dangerous-looking, but friendly to friendly people. She walked the steps with her bat raised. At the top of the stairs, she could tell the barking and mad howling were coming from a closed bedroom door. When she turned to the other room with the propped-open door, she saw the barely-dressed young man on the floor. He was gasping for air and shaking, a lot of blood beneath him. The neighbor, a friend of Sylvia's for many years, ran to him and pressed a hand hard on what looked to be a serious wound to his head. To her shock, the man's eyes flew open and he screamed like nothing she had ever heard before. And then he stilled and stared at the neighbor, his hands now on her dress. Silent now. His breath barely there and quiet. Then he let go and lost consciousness.

The neighbor called the police, y los medicos.

The dog kept barking and barking.


Todd had left Sylvia's place around ten o'clock in the morning. He had stopped at a place for coffee and then went to get a haircut. The barber knew MK well, was an ally. He often dealt with the brothers and was close to Pedro. Todd had sat in the old-school barber chair and dozed as he got shaved neatly, approving of a goatee, losing the thick beard. Then he got his hair cut. He was going home, yeah? Had to be more recognizable to the little ones. No reason to scare the shit out of them looking like a caveman.

How short?

Not too short. I like some length. No… on second thought, leave the length… trim it only.

They still had to recognize him. So yeah, keep it long. The grey hair that mixed into his brown was surprising to him. He didn't look at himself too much. The barber even joked that lesser men get rid of it. Todd laughed and then didn't. The silver was put there by fate, by his… good goddam fortunes. End sarcasm. A flash of Rico running his hands through Todd's hair made him shudder, Téa kissing him at the same time. Saw himself rolling over, watching them kiss as he slid on top of Téa and rolled over again, Rico on top of him…

He was going home. Tap those ruby slippers...

By eleven o'clock or a little after, he was headed to the hotel where Jedediah and Kenny were staying, thinking he'd connect with them and then talk to Benicio Juarez. He patted his bag unconsciously. Had a ledger he was going to turn over to Jedediah for safe-keeping, to give to Juarez when Todd gave the go-ahead. Everything Caro did was in there other than any references to MK or Pedro. THAT Caro kept safe. Every pornographer was listed, every film, every deal he arranged. It even had carefully printed URL addresses and passwords. It had goddamn pictures of KIDS pasted like a fuckin' scrapbook. Rico had stolen it at some point, bringing it to Blanco like a cat with a prize. Who the fuck writes this shit out? The thing was a matter of pride, yeah? Proved Caro was insane. He truly thought he was doing good works. This would be the last bit of evidence they needed to end Caro's business, to end the ring. When Juarez got his hands on this, all hell would break loose en La Habana. He hoped to be on a plane by then.

He was also going to tell Jedediah the key to unlocking another encrypted thumb drive Todd had in his bag. The drive Juarez had was bullshit - the only encrypted part was a typed note that said, "Fuck you." This one, the drive in the bag… was the real fuckin' deal. Everything THERE tied Pedro directly to Caro. Invoices and bank records Todd had been filching over the past six months. Doing his own thieving. THAT was going to Todd's lawyer. THAT was the insurance for Pedro behaving.

Lastly, he needed to get to Mingo, the munitions guy. Was the house set up? Were the charges there? How would things go in the morning? Yeah, he needed to know what the fuck was going on. He had a number, just needed a public phone. He decided he'd yank the big show after all. Just turn these guys over. He'd go with Rico's first thought - killing is nice, but ending the entire system through police action will be better.

Right?

He had to stop, panting like a horse, to grab the wall, fingernails digging into plaster because the hate bubbled to life and stabbed him behind his eyes, all the way down to his gut, black and bloody. The taste of Caro made him sick, pictures of kids on websites bursting in on a sudden loop right along with the voiceless scream of Alicia as she was raped on camera by Ivan.

Kill them. Kill every last one of them. Be the KING of Hell.

He turned into an alley and puked the coffee into a planter. He spat and coughed and sweated. Voices screamed at him, demanded he show up and take care of business. The loop, the fucking loop of those kids, another of Caro on top of him, the restraints on his wrists cutting into his skin. God help him...

But home! Think of the love! Shake the retribution off! They'll be in prison and they'll be made good and dead. Prison justice. Remember Horenda.

RIGHT?!

He had forced the images away, digging deep for a better loop, other children's voices. He reached for them, desperate for them. He reminded himself that he was going home to his babies, to his sister, to his life. Love wins, yeah? Calm inched back into him. He stood straight and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Glanced around for witnesses. He almost laughed to himself as he walked out of the alley, mopping his neck with his hand. Home, home, home. Almost laughing. He passed the cafes and the happy people and tourists out in the sunny morning. He almost skipped. Yeah, Hell will wait. Almost skipping. It would always be there. Hell is eternal.

Tap those slippers...

He was so wrapped up in his plans, he didn't see Rolon slamming out the front of the hotel. He had barely hit the entrance when Rolon stepped hard in front of him and asked where the FUCK Téa was?

Bristling mad, Todd growled, "I got her, she's fine! The fuck?!"

"Listen to me, maricon! Pedro is just waking up from being jumped this morning by that cabron, Caro!"

The words weren't registering. He shook his head, feeling so much heat from Rolon with no context, no reason… "I don't understand… what?"

Rolon shoved Todd, iron hands on his chest. "Caro attacked Pedro then ran! He's got some dark shit goin' on. I called your pinche place but there was no fuckin' answer! Why aren't you there?! Where the fuck are you going?! Who else is at that house?! Why the fuck aren't you with Téa?!"

The words still weren't registering, too much noise in his own head. Todd grabbed Rolon by the shirt, his face lit now, his heart racing. "What the fuck are you talking about?!"

"You made it crystal that you're gonna kill Caro, yeah?" Silence from Todd confirmed it. "Well he fuckin' jumped Pedro and escaped! Are you listening?! Do you HEAR me?! He's after YOU! So where is TÉA?!"

Now… NOW… it sank in. Todd's eyes grew kinda glassy and dark… he started walking towards la casa particular, thinking now, the full picture forming.

"At Sylvia's place," he said, half to himself, half to Rolon. "She's with Rico… and Abram… Raquel and Sylvia are there… they're safe…"

"Safe? SAFE?! Nobody is safe with YOU, ya' bastard."

Todd's own words. There was a whole lotta hate coming his way and Todd sniffed, head back, full appreciation. No, no, no… he got it, but no. "If Caro wants me, he's gonna have to look. He doesn't know where I am. It would take time…"

"Your fuckin boy might have told his sister-whores where he's at. It's a goddamn small circle with those fuckin' hustlers."

They were walking fast now. Chances were slim though. No way would Caro find Rico so fast. But then… there was the tight world of Havana hustlers. Those fancy leather shoes Rico had been wearing. Todd had thought someone brought them because he had never seen them before. And that meant… someone knew exactly where Rico was. Todd stopped, Rolon turning noisily on his heels when he noticed.

"What?!"

"Even if he learns where Rico is…. he doesn't know Rico is… WITH me. Rico doesn't mean anything."

Rolon couldn't believe the absolute innocence on his brother's ragged face. He choke-laughed and then got in that face, the heat clear and unquestioning. He growled, "Oh yeah? How fuckin' stupid are you?! You have not hidden your affections, bitch! Everyone knows you're with Rico. Everyone knows the Mambo Kings KING fucks who he likes, no matter who the fuck they are, men, women, and probably everything in between… and Rico is your current. Caro might be a sick fucker but he's a smart one. Where Rico is, you will be. And now… you… YOU brought your WIFE to your goddamn bed, to where Rico is! You stupid…"

Todd was breathing hard now… "Well he doesn't know who Téa is!"

Rolon just walked now, not even bothering to dignify the last thing. Téa Delgado had made a name for herself already with MK legal defenses of soldiers… she had already been presented as Blanco's wife… she had danced with Rico… here in Havana… of course Caro would know her. Rolon could barely breathe. Jesus fucking CHRIST. He was going to Sylvia's house, alone or not. He prayed hard as he walked, he rattled off all his childhood prayers. He prayed mostly that Todd was right. That Caro wouldn't know her, wouldn't care… would just off Rico or take him or what the fuck ever.

Just leave Téa.

Todd stood for some seconds in the horrible reality he alone had created before sprinting to catch up to Rolon. The taste of Caro in his mouth was sharp and dirty. He never, not once, thought Caro could be a threat to him. He had been so complacent in his glorious plans of hellfire because he believed HE had all the power in this game. And now? He had no idea what Caro would do with Téa. He could guess with Rico… but Téa? No fucking idea...

He only knew one thing for sure.

Love had fucked him once again.


Todd sat next to the hospital bed with his head in his hands, his knee bobbing up and down as Jedediah ranted in the room to Kenny. They'd been arguing about the various places Caro might have gone, but the thing took a slamming left turn to Jedediah blaming Todd, loudly and definitively.

"Shut UP!" Todd finally yelled, his upset beyond his nerves, his ability to think, to even verbalize thoughts in his head. All he could say was… "SHUT UP!"

"This is all on you, Pops."

"Yeah! I got that! Now shut your fuckin' mouth… before I fuckin' shut it for you."

"Oh yeah? Why don't you do it, you fuckin' bastard…"

Ken threw himself in front of Jedediah just as Todd turned his head to do exactly what he threatened. "Whoa... that doesn't help, Jed," Kenny spat. "Get out… get out... let's go." He pushed the kid out the door and into the hallway where Jedediah finally devolved into panicked sobs because…

...Téa was officialy missing.

Cops were swarming Sylvia's neighborhood, and in and out of the hospital room. An American missing in Havana was a public relations nightmare, but a pregnant American missing? No words. The local police did not want this to be a kidnapping. They insisted that maybe Téa ran away with Caro, a love affair. When that suggestion came up, Benicio Juarez and another cop had to physically restrain Todd. An American killing a Cuban police officer, a captain no less, would be an even bigger public relations nightmare as well as a diplomatic one.

The real double-edged sword here was the withholding of information.

Local law enforcement was in charge at this point. The captain was suspicious though as to why an American FBI agent of Juarez's import happened to be in town, and more so, why the higher ups at the Ministry of the Interior didn't seem to care. The locals had no knowledge as to who Manuel Caro was, who Todd Manning was, no idea about the operation to bring down the biggest child trafficking and porn ring in the last five years. THAT was still high-level, need-to-know only, and THAT actually worked against Juarez controlling the search AND Todd Manning... and an unleashed Manning was a very dangerous thing.

Rico Macias in the meantime… was a goddamn miracle. He lay in the hospital bed with the Mad King keeping vigil.

The bullet had burned right across Rico's skull, scratching bone but not piercing through to the brain, causing him to collapse with the surprising power of the pistol. Plenty of blood at the surface, so his whole body went into severe shock. He now had a serious concussion, stitches. When he regained consciousness, he screamed bloody murder under the lights of the examining table. He was consumed with terror for Téa. Nothing could calm him. He didn't make any sense. Once the medicine hit his blood, he finally managed a few coherent words in Spanish that sounded like...

He's going to take the baby.

The words had been clear but nobody quite knew what they meant. They all had ideas though. Juarez certainly had one and it was goddamn ugly. A strange, sickening calm had come over the room. Doctors, nurses, hushed. But the worst quiet came from Manning himself. The kind of quiet that Juarez did not like. Not one bit. He tried to get him to look at him, to talk to him.

Manning, you gotta let us do this. You gotta wrangle your crazy shit. Do it for Téa, for this kid here. Hear me? Look at me! Help us find her, Manning…but don't you lose your shit.

His efforts were rewarded by the Mad King retreating to Rico's side, head down, a hand on Rico as the kid drifted in his medicinal relief. That knee bouncing and bouncing. He may have been silent but the knee told Juarez that a lot of shit was going on in that head. Juarez was just glad Manning didn't kill any Cubans there on the hospital floor. But there was still plenty of time for that to happen. He got on the phone to the other leads to start looking for Caro.

This was a goddamn mess and it needed cleaning up FAST.


It had been nearly two hours estimated since Téa was taken. Todd refused to leave Rico. He knew everyone thought it was that love thing but in truth, he needed him awake and talking. How'd he know about Caro's plans? Did he say where he was going? What the hell HAPPENED? The hate was alive and well, and kicking its boots deep inside and there was no specific enemy. The world was the enemy. So much hate was kicking up and down that he didn't even see Rico as Rico anymore. He was just a thing on the bed with locked-up information. He kept his hand on the thing's arm, kept rubbing his thumb on his silky skin. Kept rocking with his head in his hand.

When Rolon approached Todd, Todd growled without changing positions, "Bring Pedro to ME."

Another thing in front of him. Rolon, Jedediah, Juarez, doctors, nurses, cops. All useless fucking things. An animal sound rumbled in his throat as he rocked and breathed bedside. He kept going over his work over the past months. Yeah, notes, all those notes, where the fuck would Caro go? His apartment and the Old City house were too obvious. What other places? He's going to take the baby. If that meant what it sounded like, that called for cutting. So where would cutting happen? Movie places had to be. Where they shot movies and murdered kids. Yeah, the sites of the snuff films. These locations he did not know.

The ledger… maybe it was there…

He pulled it out of his bag and flipped through the pages. Fuck. He couldn't read. The words blurred and twisted like he had goddamn dyslexia. He slammed it shut and shoved it back in the bag. Went back to breathing and rocking to try to think… to try to make sense of shit. He was full crazy now. Card-carrying crazy. Couldn't even talk through the madness in his head. He needed heroin. That would help. One small shot would bring the clarity he needed. He banged his head hard on the edge of the mattress, the thing not stirring. It took everything in him to not shake the FUCK out of the thing to wake him up.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

He emerged from the hospital room to surprised faces and clapped eyes on Jedediah who was sitting on the floor, back against the wall, like a lost waif-like thing.

"Get me Kenny," he managed to bite out.

Police had scattered. Only one remained and he was lounging at the nurse's station watching Todd like a hawk. Kenny had split with Juarez to work on finding Téa. Jed sniffed and got to his feet, expecting some reaching out, something, anything from his crazy dad. He dragged his gaze from Todd's boots to the ragged jeans to the black knit shirt, and when he landed on Todd's face, he had to take a step back. Todd wasn't Todd at all. Jed had never seen this person before, not even in Statesville. Deadness stared back at him, a kind of endless empty he felt through the air. He shuddered. The terrifying pit in front of him brought Jed to himself. Cleared his head of everything he knew about Todd. THIS man… was not his father.

He stood firm on his feet and asked calmly, "Tell me what you want from Kenny so I can be clear with him."

Todd looked right through him, long seconds. Dark eyes took Jed in from head to foot and back up again. He hissed, "Ken interviewed Rico about his time...with Caro… acerca de los peliculas… adonde-"

"Pops, English."

That same dead stare met Jed. He rubbed his mouth with the back of his hand. "Movies. The dead kids. Where were they filmed." No questions. Statements. "Get me addresses."

It was good, gave the screaming thing something to do. Todd dug into the bag and handed Jed the ledger. "Maybe addresses are there."

Jed took the black leather ledger into his hands, looking back up just in time for Todd to smash the kid up against the wall as he said low and deadly, "Do NOT give this to Juarez. Do you hear me?"

Long ago, Jed had been done with Todd's roughing him up. This time, though, he took it and heard the words. He repeated them… "I'll keep this to myself, for mine and Ken's eyes ONLY."

Todd let him go and stood still again. He dug into his jeans. Handed Jed the thumb drive but just as Jed took it, Todd pulled him into a boxer's hug, tight, tight, whispered thickly into his son's ear, "Get this to my lawyer. Tell him it's insurance on Pedro. Lock it up. Code is 'Lower-case-a-b-r-capital H-2042."

Jed took a last lingering look at him before briskly walking down the hallway, shoving the ledger into his backpack. The cop leaned back on the counter and watched Todd who just ignored him and returned the room, satisfied that he'd get places soon. He resumed his rocking vigil, resumed the smoothing of the thing's skin to wake him up. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe "taking the baby" meant something different. Maybe it was the drugs talking. So he rocked and breathed and smoothed and swallowed the hate that stabbed him from the inside out. Kept everything contained, wrangled...

At some point, Rico awakened and burst into tears, crying out, No, no, no! It was all he could say and the bed shook with his terror. Not enough consciousness to draw Todd's attention. A nurse came in with a syringe and Todd got to his feet, cursing in Spanish that essentially meant, "You touch him and I will strangle the fuck out of you." The woman left in a hurry. No more drugs.

The thing settled down again, the medicine seeming to activate without assistance and he closed his eyes, sleep washing over him once again. Another thirty minutes passed and Rico stirred once more.

The drugs were heavy and his head hurt. He felt a steady rubbing of his arm and he glanced down at it, foggily trying to place that hand. When he found Todd's dead-eyed stare, such dark light eyes, Rico recognized El Diablo Blanco, the one who beat him and tied him to the bed. He was afraid of that man and he groaned aloud. Wondered if maybe...

"What… happened," Blanco growled.

Rico struggled with the question. Confused. He checked for the rope that Blanco had used at the beach house, finding none. Settled back onto the pillow. He licked his lips, just knowing his mouth was swollen from Blanco punching him for leaving. He shouldn't have left. He knew this new customer was different from others. Pedro Moreno had told him as much. Wait, wait… things had changed. Fast forward. Blanco had softened, had shared himself. Rico gasped a little at the speed of the fast-forward…

...Téa Delgado.

He was shaking like a leaf, vomit at the back of his throat. A burning pain on his scalp. Thoughts ran through him, Téa, Téa, Téa, …Abram is barking, why is he barking, Téa, Téa, let's pretend we are the lovers, we are the just-marrieds, yes, it needs to be just us right now, what does the dog want, you feel so good, I'm going to come, God, God, shhhh… don't talk anymore… what is happening, no, no, no, what is happening...why is Abram so upset...

They'd made love in the morning, after Raquel and Sylvia left. Long after Todd had left.

"Téa, I will leave him to you. I have a family to learn about."

"Stop…"

Téa had climbed on him after the joke of pretending to be newlyweds. After Rico chased the dog into the other room. She smiled and laughed when he returned, when he jumped back in bed, and he joked more, kissing her wildly, playing at lovers, but then it wasn't playing anymore. She touched his face, tender caresses, and looked at his body with an art lover's expression.

You are so beautiful, she said.

But then…eyes on his…

No wonder he likes to fuck you.

The way she said that…the rawness of it, the knowledge of Todd fucking him to where Rico thought he would diegot him hard almost immediately. He looked down and then back up, finding Téa with a sad smile, his cock waving in the air. He turns you on, just thinking about him. He was reluctant to talk of it, shy in front of her, and then she said, I want to know you more, I want to see what he sees, I want to touch what he touches... just us…I need it to be just us right now. Similar words he used the night before on her.

She climbed on top of him, sank onto him, wet already, moved on top of him, his hands on her ass, her breasts swaying, her nipples stiff and large, and Rico thrust up inside of her, their eyes clapped on each other's, getting to know each other, but there was more to it, something deeper, different, something unsaid, a test maybe of their ties to him, he guessed. Do they exist outside of him? Do they live and move and fuck beyond him? Do they have their own connection?

Téa said something of it, ragged, breathily, are you thinking of him? Are you inside of me or are you inside of him? Right now, right now. To his surprise, he shook his head, no, no… I'm fucking you, Téa, I'm inside you, Téa, inside your tight hot cunt. He used the English word, knowing its shock to American women, but she didn't show shock. She grinned at his crassness, her eyes shiny, glistening. And she called him a liar, a beautiful goddamn liar, but he couldn't answer because he was lost in her, lost in the keen sense of her unique and absolutely-owned madness. Her husband wasn't the only insane one.

We're crazy, yeah? The world makes everyone crazy, yeah?

Rico hadn't been with many women and found her body exciting, the curves so different from the straight lines of men, the immovable planes of Blanco, the scent of her different and new like he was a virgin and he grew more and more excited as he felt her heat and slickness, thrusting harder and harder and Téa closed her eyes as he did that, asking, did he fuck YOU, Rico, did he get inside of YOU, Rico, and he was back with HIM again, with the memory of every touch and kiss and fuck, with every word between them, with every emotion they ever experienced, from joy to fear to heat to love, saying in Spanish, yes, yes, he fucked me, Téa, he got behind me and he was big and stretched me until I cried and he fucked me until he came hot and wet in my ass, and she said, I knew he would…I knew he'd fuck you… God, I'm going to come, oh my god, and Ricothrust until he was bursting into her and she was moaning his name, Rico, Rico, and it was surreal like they were drunk and they wanted more later, los tres, los tres en la cama… the three once more...

...but the dog was barking.

Rico had rolled away as Téa used a towel to clean up and he pulled on some underwear from a drawer, Todd's boxer briefs. Téa smiled curiously, thoughtfully, when she realized it, saying she was undecided if it was naughty or nothing at all. She threw on her party dress and dug all over for her underwear and shook her head, laughing suddenly, "I can't find them! My father would have killed me for that! Coming home with no panties!" She was a girl in that moment, her voice light, her eyes wide, fingertips on her kiss-blushed lips, and Rico saw what Todd loved about her, her ability to move between personas, her ability to be so free and unworried, no horrors haunting her, no nightmares, no evidence of the hell that people endured and couldn't forget. Just her freedom. It was… addicting.

They hunted and hunted and never found her silk panties.

And then he felt bad, wishing he could change things for her, save her family, suddenly thinking that he needed to leave them both, needed to leave Blanco to his wife.

Why do you feel bad?"

"The obvious, no?"

"Rico… you are his choice! I don't blame you. I don't even blame him. I shot him. If it wasn't for me, he wouldn't be here...you wouldn't be here."

"Yes but… I feel like I am confusing him. I see it."

He cried now in the hospital room, wishing he was dead, "Mátame ahora, mátame ... por favor, mátame."

"Rico! TALK! What happened?!"

He woke again to dark light eyes and he murmured, "What happened? He was at the bedroom door. Caro. A gun. I tried to stop him because I knew as soon as I saw him. He tried before. It didn't work. God, god… I remembered and I knew it..."

The horror came again, a gasping terror, incoherent words intermingled with Téa and no, no, no, but Todd grabbed this thing by the throat. All air cut off to shut it down. Brown shocked eyes on Todd's.

"Fucking control yourself! What are you talking about? Explique!"

The violence of Todd woke Rico up a little more. He nodded, breathing hard, hard hands letting him do that, letting him breathe. They didn't know, they didn't understand, the words were jumbled in his head, pictures screaming at him, nightmares that wouldn't stop, the dream of fucking in the light of that room not stopping. He moved his hand to Todd's loosened hand on his throat, just enough for him to breathe, to talk. He did understand that Blanco was insane with fear and grief and guilt, same as him, but he couldn't talk, the words stuck, the words from the deepest part of himself.

I could love you, Rico Macias, I could do this, the three of us, we can be something… fuck me, make it real, let's not pretend… he will be happy, he will be full… he will know love like he's never known in his whole life...

but maybe us too.

He groaned, the deepest agony.

Kill me, please kill me, I didn't save her, I couldn't save her, the love of your life, the one thing you loved, the thing you needed to keep you here, alive, breathing, kill me, kill me, kill me…

"Rico! Habla!"

Rico jerked awake again with shock and he nodded, "I am here, okay, okay." Said carefully, careful with the words. "C-C-Caro has always wanted a… baby. To use. In his way. Fresh. He tried to take them from two women. The babies died. The women died."

Todd heard the words now, again, clearly. It was exactly as he thought first time he heard the words. He licked his dry lips. He was empty inside… the madness morphing into something even more animal-like, less human.

"Where would he go to do that?"

Fresh. Cutting to get to the fresh.

Rico huffed and caressed Todd's hand still tight on his throat. His eyes watered, tears rolling down his face and every muscle shaking from pain and hurt.

"Mátame, mátame ... por favor, mátame …"

"Where would he go?!"

"Many places, Blanco. I have to think...the words… the words are stuck..."

Fresh.

Todd dipped his head, breathing like a monster, squeezing his lover's throat unconsciously or consciously, he didn't know. Either way, he was going to give the thing the gift he wanted. Mátame, he said, so then Todd would do just that. He was going to kill the thing on the bed. He readied himself to stand and strangle him, to see the light go out of the thing's eyes because nobody deserved to live like this, nobody should have to see such horrific crimes every day of their lives. Nobody should be a living witness to such hell. He squeezed and Rico held his wrist at his throat, the air cut off, his body fighting the strangulation instinctively…

… but instead of standing and placing both hands around his throat to do the job right, Todd broke.

Fresh.

He dug his head into the mattress edge and cried, moaning raggedly, the sound muffled. It is HE who wants to die. It is he who SHOULD have died. He waited too long. He let love get in the way and now Téa will pay with her life, Esperanza will pay. He released Rico and pulled the sheets into his fists as Rico shakily and desperately gulped air.

After some moments passed, Rico weakly reached over and held his lover's head in his arms, his lips on his hair, murmuring useless words in Spanish.

"I am sorry," he whispered, "I could not stop him. I tried, Blanco, I tried."

Todd only groaned, unable to move in his grief. How would they ever find his Téa? Would he find her dead? Would Esperanza die inside of her or would she see the light of the world before disappearing into another kind of light? Would Téa be calling his name to save her? Would she see him in her last moments? Would she… be hating him and damning him to hell as she takes her last breath? I fucked up by not killing you dead on my kitchen floor. How will his children ever forgive him for what he's done?

Kill me, kill me, kill me now now now nownownownow…

"Come back to me, mí mari...mí mari precioso…," Rico cried as he nuzzled his destroyed lover, the depth so clear, so unimpeded. He kissed him one last time and settled back. Todd was paralyzed with sorrow and fear now, the sound coming from him barely human, barely here. All that hate and anger turned to dust in the face of Téa's possible death. Blanco disappeared and Todd Manning was left there… dead, dying, nothing without his love, Téa Delgado.

It made what Todd and Rico had...into gossamer, so easily vanquished with a swipe of a hand.

When the noise silenced, Rico adjusted himself up on the pillows. He studied the monitors and saline being pumped into him. He saw a bag across the room. He hoped it was clothes. He hurt but… when he thought on it, he did have a place to go. He had an idea of where Caro was. He could see it in his head. The same place where the first little girl died. A basement at one of the few still-abandoned buildings on the far side of the city, where the docks were. There were other places but Caro had an emotional tie to the place.

His first death.

"I think I know," Rico said softly, his voice scratchy with the effects of Todd's hold of him.

Except Todd didn't move. Small grunts came from him… it seeming he had sunk into that deadly kind of immovability that had so often gripped him where he and Gloria could not wake him. So it was up to Rico, yeah? To get out of bed. To take care of this himself. Yes, it was what he had to do. It was the least he SHOULD do for failing to stop Caro, for being someone Caro knew and understood and… loved.

He pulled the tube's needle out of his arm and ripped off the heart monitors. The machine made a noise but he hit a button and it shut off. Todd still did not move, could not move. He would need time, the weight of someone on him like Gloria would do sometimes, because Rico had seen this before, lived it, Todd still as a statue... with silent, all-consuming grief.

"Lo siento, amor," he said.

Rico hobbled to the paper bag on the hospital table, and yes, there were clothes. Someone must have brought them. Funny, how he thought Téa did… but of course, it was probably Raquel. He slowly got dressed. Put his leather shoes on. He glanced at his reflection in a mirror, and saw his ravaged neck and bandaging. He unwrapped it, his black hair covering bloodied stitches on a shaved strip on his scalp. Dropped the gauze to the floor. He took a long look at Todd on the chair, head on the bed, sheets tight in his fists. Unmoving.

And all at once he realized the meaning of Téa fucking him…

Would they, could they, live without him in their lives at all? Would they survive his death?

Rico didn't know the answer. He stood with his hand on the door. Ready to leave. His love, Blanco, Todd, would die without Téa. He had to save her because there was no TODD without TÉA.

He gripped the door and turned the handle.

But the door stayed shut and he felt the monster behind him, saw the hard hand on the door, flat and fingers spread. He felt the heat of Blanco, heard a low rumble that reverberated throughout his body. No words, just noise.

"Blanco…," Rico breathed.

"Where…the fuck… are you going?"

Rico turned in place and was pressed against the door. The movement had been too quick and he closed his eyes, dizzy from the drugs still moving through him. He sniffed and glanced directly at the man in front him. They were almost as tall as one another so Rico just cooly eyed him. El Diablo Blanco. This was not his lover, this was not the man who cried with relief, and fucked so desperately, and said he loved him with the taste of come on his tongue. This wasn't even the man who fell to pieces bedside only minutes before.

"A basement," Rico said softly, his words ever so tinged with a slur. "At the eastern port. She is possibly there." A pause. Then in Spanish, "I do not know. I am hoping."

Swallowing hard, Rico touched his throat. Blanco had tried to do what Rico asked of him, to kill him, to strangle him. He wondered if the monster would have continued to do so if TODD had not broken through. Thinking on Téa, he wished Blanco had continued his work. His eyes welled and he pressed his lips tight to keep from weeping beyond his control.

"I am sorry," he whispered.

The monster only grunted and his lip raised slightly at it. Like Abram. He glanced down Rico's body, then back up, and glared at him. "And what were you planning on doing once you got there?"

"Eat him, piece by piece."

Rico had his head up, his features breaking, brown swimming eyes on the ceiling, rolling and fighting emotion. The monster stood stiffly, face drawn, muscles strained. Noise banged inside of him, black images, real fucking memories scraping at him… eating Caro… yeah, this he heard. He licked his lips, the tangy taste of bloody, sweaty skin in his mouth. The soft giving feel of fatty skin between his teeth made him tighten his jaw. He watched a heavy tear roll down Rico's cheek and he knew that he himself had just been crying at the edge of the bed, that some part of him had woken up and broke to pieces, that he screamed inside for Téa, for her to hang on, to wait for him.

But that was weak. That was spineless bullshit.

He needed to end Caro now. He should have done it when he had the chance. And now Téa will pay, Esperanza will pay. He tasted blood in his mouth, his own. He swallowed the tang and knew he made a sound deep in his throat that shook him. He stared at the tear about to fall off the thing's cheek and reached for it. Caught it on his fingertip and looked at it and stuck his finger in his mouth. Closed his eyes as the salt of a wounded soul settled on his tongue and he heard TODD crying again, moaning in such boundless agony… heard Rico's pain too. It was loud and grating and sounded like...

...Mátame, mátame, por favor, mátame.

He opened his eyes and caressed Rico's face with his knuckles…"I would do it," he said, "I would kill you like you want… but I fucking NEED you to show me where Caro does the cutting."

The coldness in his voice frightened Rico to the core and he wilted, Blanco grabbing him by the arm to keep him up, grabbed so hard there'd be a bruise. The drugs were stronger than he thought, his own impotence powerful at his feet. How little fight there ever was in him. Years and years of no fight. Just doing to stay alive. Just complying to keep breathing.

"Blanco…" he gasped.

"Stay on your fucking feet, Macias."

He nodded and gripped the front of Blanco's shirt. "Blanco…," he repeated, "Blanco…" There was no Todd here. His... lovesu amor, was not here, not in any way. God, how right he was. There was no Todd without Téa… and it was Todd he loved. He almost laughed at this painful awareness. He loved TODD with Téa, he loved his mad love for that woman. Loved how dependent he was on her to make him human. This he knew… now. She made him human. Even when she was far away… her being in this world, alive, and well… made him human.

Téa, Téa, Téa….I could do this, the three of us, we can be something… fuck me, make it real, let's not pretend...

Rico looked at those dark light eyes and swirled the smallest bit of saliva in his mouth. "We need weapons, yes?"

A couple of moments of consideration. "Yeah. I'll get them. Now walk. Like you said, she might be there, she might not. We got some goddamn hunting to do."

Rico turned and pulled open the door. The cop outside stood straight up and demanded in Spanish, "Where are you going? He's injured, he needs to speak to me, first. I need his statement."

Blanco turned on his feet, a hand on Rico's arm, looking more like a kidnapper than a relieved lover. He tilted his head in that dog-like way, his face lined with hate, and his gaze dark and daring. Responding in Spanish to the officer's surprise, "We are going to find my wife. If you have any arguments, call Pedro Moreno. I think you know him well."

Rico saw the cop's face relax and his eyes searched the hallway for listeners. He nodded casually, thoughtfully… his eyes never leaving Blanco's. Then suddenly, eyes widened and he cleared his throat. A visual awareness of a truth he had been slow to understand fell down his face. The officer grunted softly and put his hand up defensively. "My god," he said, "I am so sorry. Señor… Manning… Manning…" He choked now. "El Diablo Blanco... my god, my god… go, please, yes, of course. I will advise… my god… the Mambo Kings… have done so much for my family. Yes, yes… Señor Moreno is a good friend to all of us… and I heard, I understand you now… that you….oh my god… please forgive me, I did not know. I did not make the connection."

He only now realized he was staring at the Mad King of the Mambo Kings who had a very real reputation for business brilliance, no fear, and being perfectly unkillable. The babbling continued and there was no more objection as Blanco pulled Rico along the corridor, past rooms, doctors, nurses, patients… as the white of the hospital faded behind them, as La Habana swallowed them up.


The water crashed, the ocean wild. Téa could hear it. Over and over… the sound relentless like her own insistent heartbeat. Esperanza kicked her hard in the bladder and she whimpered at it. She'd woken up here. A dank room, no windows. But she could hear the waves. She was tied up, a gag across and in her mouth. She was on her side and she hurt all over. God, GOD! Rico! That Caro… Manuel Caro… had shot him and she worked to not scream in terror at the sight of the blood, at his beautiful self falling back onto the floor, so hard he fell, his hands out to stop that bullet. Caro had dragged her down the stairs, Abram barking like mad, howling and throwing himself against the closed bedroom door.

Caro threw her into a car of some kind… an old one… a Chevrolet from the 50's, she remembered now. Blue, blue like the sky, she had thought. As soon as she hit the worn seat in the back, a sting at her neck made her raise her hand to stop the pinprick and then… darkness came. She woke up here, to Esperanza kicking, to her needing to pee…

"Rico…," she cried now. They'd been happy, experimental, testing each other out. He'd then looked so sad, so worried…

I feel like I am confusing him. I see it. Téa, I will leave him to you. I have a family to learn about.

It wasn't fair that he should die like that. That CARO should dispatch him like so much garbage! She groaned on the cold concrete beneath her, the hurt so very deep. She could not imagine then Todd… my GOD… what hell he would have come back to. She was terrified for him, now. She had no idea what this might do to him. When the tears stopped she breathed and pressed her head hard on the floor.

Get angry, she told herself, get really fucking angry.

She sat up and studied the room. It was large and black and no goddamn windows. There was one lit bulb high up above her. It didn't swing on its cord. There was no current of air coming from anywhere. She listened now, carefully, now. The water… the breaking of waves… drip drop of a loose faucet… noise, city noise… she wasn't far out then. Maybe still in sight of Havana. Maybe?

She heard something else in the dark.

Breathing. Then… now… a chuckle.

"You are awake. I am so glad."

Manuel Caro.

He stood up from a chair maybe. The thing groaned as he did. He stood now over her. The light was above them both and he was mostly shadowed. In English now, he said, "My god, you are a beautiful woman. You have no underwear on…," he giggled. A strange light giggle. "You were fucking, yes? I could smell him on you. The smell of my Rico. Does your husband know this about you? Oh maybe he knows… maybe he likes watching Rico fuck you. I bet he does. Rico… was always beautiful when he was in flagrante delicto. From the very days of his first learning… six years old and he fucked like a swan."

Téa said nothing.

He got down to her level. She could see his face now. Pock-marked. He was older. His face was full from decades of living well and safe and satisfied with his perversions. He reached for her and she jerked, kicking out.

"Don't do that... I don't want to kill you. I need you alive."

A muffled, "Fuck you," flew back at him.

He giggled again. "Oh you're very enthusiastic. I understood that. I bet Rico liked you. He always enjoyed a person who fought back."

Téa lifted her head, pained at thinking of Rico.

"He would get so excited when he watched someone fight off a sexual encounter. I loved that about him. He didn't want to but he did." Caro laughed as if remembering a high school memory, "His cock would stand out, a great sword even when young… and he'd breath a little harder and it wouldn't take long when I took him in my mouth."

"You're sick…" She said the words but they weren't clear. Rico… Rico…

"Let me see the baby."

Téa gasped and moved back but she hit a wall. There was no where to go.

"Stay still, cariño… I don't want to kill you. I told you that."

He had a gun and it was ready. She eyed it. He came close and lifted her dress. She cringed with repulsion.

And he groaned aloud, moaning, now, "My GOD… it's so perfect. I have to get close to you."

She turned away and she knew he was rubbing on her, holding her still, the hand with the gun on her arm and then her hair, as he kept going and moving and jerking against her exposed belly. He kept talking, clearly talking to the baby and she stiffened with sickness but kept watch on the pistol to make sure he wouldn't accidentally fire it. She didn't dare fight because of that. She grunted with the restraint.

Focus… focus… stay calm.

Then… Esperanza kicked and seemingly rolled and that did it to Caro. He groaned and laughed and shoved down his pants now to get direct contact. "Yes, yes, my darling, I am coming soon…" And Téa had to stop the gagging in her throat and begged her girl to settle…

When he was done, a violent dramatic end, he was sweating, and she could smell him and it was all she could do to not vomit. He rubbed her dry, massaging her as if it was oil on her belly, saying, "God, god... I cannot wait to meet your child… I cannot wait to love this angel."

He stood up and sniffled and rubbed his face and grinned like an animal. Then he didn't.

"Rest now... prepare now… I am going to find my equipment. I will be meeting this little one very soon." Téa mumbled something and he didn't care what it was. "Nobody is going to find you," he said. "The only one who knew this place is Rico. And he is dead. The beauty of him was how he kept my secrets. He loved me, I loved him. He had his own secrets and I knew them. I kept them. I share them with you because… it makes no difference any more. I like talking about him… it makes me feel like he is still here."

He sighed heavily, recalling a lost sad love.

"We spent time here together. In this very room. Many times. Reliving moments in our lives. He was so special. But he grew up, too much. I cannot be with… adults… and he was thirteen… fourteen… too strong for me. Too… developed. He was eager to live separately, to be independent to some degree. I had to let him go… I could have ended him… but I adored him. I adored his smile, his laugh, the way he performed for me… and my clients loved him… and new ones loved him. I trusted him and he did everything right, until today, when he was clearly going to fight me for you. I didn't want to kill him… you have to understand that."

He paused and then bent down once more. "He loved you, you know. I saw it. The fear on his face… I have never seen that before. Not so… plainly. Uncovered. Today was the first time I saw him fight me. He always let me do what I needed to. Always. But not today. So I grieve him. Today."

Téa had turned her face. She did not want Caro to see her cry. Rico did not deserve Caro's treatment of him. He did not deserve such an ending as that. She dismissed every description of him by Caro. She promised Rico that…

His words are not you, precioso. Those are the rantings of a sick, demented man. I know the truth. The ONLY truth. You were fighting every day, every hour, for your life and sometimes… defense looks like consent. And baby, you got that life. You did it. You survived Caro. You did. And that last instant… was absolute proof of it. He no longer had anything on you. You were free to FIGHT.

Rico… Rico...

Caro stood up and straightened his clothes. "I will be back, my love."

He walked into the darkness and slid open an old elevator door. Meaning there were no stairs. The control was probably in the elevator itself meaning there was no way to call the thing down. She was trapped in this bottom-room..

And he meant to take the baby.

Jesus Christ… oh my fucking god.

She breathed and caressed Esperanza.

"We are not going to consent, mijita. For your father and Rico… and your beautiful, beautiful brothers and sisters… we are going to FIGHT."

The waves crashed and crashed… and she settled against the wall. Time to wait.

To be continued….