Thanks to everyone who took the time to comment on the chapters and favorite the story! I appreciate the gestures. Yet again, this chapter took me more time than I had planned for, and it probably came down to me struggling with dialogue. I unfortunately don't have a lot of experience with dealing directly with Cuban drug lords! Then to top it off, I got a bit under the weather after Christmas, but hey, at least it was after the holidays and not during! :D Do you ever read or write something that's supposed to be serious, and somehow it just makes you chuckle? Like you're able to make something dark and serious seem so hilarious in your mind. Yeah...I do that a lot. Especially when typing words like 'carcass', 'corpse', 'gaping hole', and 'shaft'.
Chapter 22 - Into the Hornets' Nest - Part 2
Soap found the bend in the hallway he had journeyed down and rounded the corner to immediately see the image of the sitting area Echo had informed him of. It appeared to be more of a scene of decoration instead of a currently operational sitting area; the one loveseat, and the two finely upholstered arm chairs that sat around a mahogany coffee table showed little wear and tear. His brow flattened as he returned with his stride and passed up the furniture just in time to spot the opening at the end of the hall revealing a set of spiral stairs.
Reaching the foot of the steps, Soap began his climb. He lowered his voice and spoke. "Echo, is that tango still present at the top?"
"Affirmative. And he's still screwing around on his phone. Take him out." The man working the radio for Echo replied. "There appears to be a closed door before him. We have no active feeds coming from that space, so it's most likely a closet."
"Copy that." Soap responded while he continued up the stairs.
Reaching the top, he paused and sat silent momentarily as he heard the man on the other side of the threshold chuckle at the screen on his phone. Soap exhaled calmly and walked through the opening and immediately spotted the man. Before the man with the phone even had a chance to glance up, Soap palm thrusted him in the nose and followed through with a chop to the left side of the neck. The artery in the man's neck sent a wave of pressure and stress through his veins and immediately caused his vision to go black.
Soap quickly caught him from his impending tumble to the floor and hooked his arms under the man's armpits. He peered up slightly and spotted the small door Echo had mentioned. Using his strength, he effortlessly dragged the man for the door and reached a hand out to land it onto the doorknob.
Suddenly, Echo spoke in his ear. "We got movement in the main hallway that the library extends from. It looks like one of Vasquez's men making a patrol route. I highly advise finding cover."
Cursing quietly, Soap opened the door and revealed its hidden interior; it was a utility closet. Sighing with relief he tossed the man in and swiftly joined him within the confines. He had to crunch up his nose in mild annoyance at the lack of space and lighting.
"Good. Stay in there until we say otherwise. It looks like Vasquez's guard is making a turn down that wing of the hallway. Be careful. He's armed." Echo spoke.
Soap nodded in understanding and slowed his lungs into steady, rhythmic breathing. The patrol outside made the turn and began his stroll down the left wing of the hallway Soap had been visible in moments before. Instantly, the man furrowed his brow in confusion and spotted the empty space his fellow comrade had occupied before. He abruptly increased his pace and found himself scanning the area, just before walking past the threshold and gawking down the spiral stairs.
Immediately, he brought a radio up to his mouth. Seeing the guard bring up the radio caused Soap to flinch and peer down at the unconscious man next to him and spotted a walkie-talkie. Leaning over quietly, he find the volume dial and turned it down completely just before any words exited the speaker.
"Alguien sabe donde Mario se fue? Él no está en su puesto. (Anyone know where Mario went? He's not at his post.)"
After a short wait, a voice buzzed a reply. It was scratchy enough so that Soap could barely make out the dialog. On cue, he had to gaze down yet again at the man he had placed into an unconscious state. The man appeared lifeless.
The guard outside the door had to exhale heavily. "Mario es perezoso . Es probable que esté fuera tener un humo o coquetear con los invitados. (Mario is lazy. He's probably outside having a smoke or flirting with the guests.)"
It wasn't long before the man looked towards the closet door before sighing and returning with his patrol. He shook his head in mild annoyance.
After a brief wait, the man working for Echo spoke into Soap's ear. "Alright. The coast is clear. That tango returned to his patrol and is now nearing the end of the main hallway the library is located on. Make haste."
"Copy that." Soap exited the closet quickly, but quietly and strided for the turn in the hall.
Reaching the end, and passing up eloquently dressed windows with thick curtains, Soap placed his back against the wall and slowly peeped out from around the corner. Many ways down and passed several rooms, the man making his patrol was nearing the end of the hall that met back up with the stairs that led from the foyer. Noticing the opportunity, Soap paced from behind the wall and crept up softly with hasty speed. He kept to the left side and maintained a sneaky posture.
The small ear bud in his ear suddenly produced a sound. "Alright, MacTavish, there's nobody present in the library. It'll be the second door on your left."
Soap nodded and looked up towards the ceiling to see a set of security cameras; one pointing towards him, and the other angled in the opposite direction. Looking back down and noticing the door to the library, he increased his speed just in time to realize the man at the far end of the stretch was now turning back around to face the way he came.
Widening his eyes, Soap spun around the outside door frame, and entered the library. The vast room was lit dimly by recess lighting located within the confines of the openings in each of the shelves. He let the door close just slightly behind him, still allowing for some of the light from the hallway to send a beam of light through the crack.
Looking around, he noticed very little signs of evidence, but knew what to look for.
"That was a close one." The man in Soap's ear commented. "So, now that you made it, your gear should be located above the tin ceiling tiles to your right and by the second system of shelving near the window."
On command, Soap walked towards the far, right-end of the room and gazed up towards the ceiling which reflected a shiny, bronze finish down at him. They were high above his head. Grabbing the rolling ladder, used to reach books high off the ground, he brought it before the second set of shelving and paused momentarily as he heard the guard's footsteps nearing the door. He listened in and waited to hear the footsteps pass up the entrance and pace down the hall.
Once he felt it was safe, he began to climb up the ladder until he reached the ceiling. Pushing up on the tile, he poked his head through the opening and looked around through the dark space. Wiring and ductwork filled the area as he waved dust from his vision. A duffle bag finally grabbed his attention, causing him to outstretch an arm and snagged its straps.
He brought himself down the ladder and quickly found the desk which lay parallel to the windows and took cover behind his broad legs and top.
As he began to unzip the bag and dig through the confines, the voice returned in his ear. "Well done. You'll notice a loaded M9 Beretta, an extra 9mm magazine, a USB, an external hard drive, and a few other electronic components to use at your disposal for extracting files."
Soap verified all of the contents before nodding in approval and speaking. "Right. Got it. So where's this information I need to extract? I see one Asus desktop on the desk and that's it. Surely there's more to it than that."
"Yes. There is. When Talon and your team member, Derek Brown, were in there the other night, Brown managed to tap into the security cameras as well as the Vasquez computer. In addition to that, he had scoured through some of the files in the desk and some documents located on the shelving throughout the library. He's already done you the courtesy of putting all of the hard copy files into the desk drawers for you. Simply take a picture of the pages using your phone. Then, after running some codes with what time he had, he discovered some potential password options." Echo replied.
"And what may those be?" Soap questioned softly.
"The one coming back with a 82% probability was 'SanctiSpiritus92'. No spaces, with 'Sancti' and 'Spiritus' being capitalized."
"Any reason why that one seems most probable?"
"Fernando Vasquez is a huge fan of Antonio Rodriguez Salvador. A lot of his works are located in that same library. Mostly his poetry." Echo affirmed. "Sancti Spiritus is the location his poem 'Quiero que me desanudes' was publish in 1992."
"Well...that seems like a fair start." Soap stated lowly.
"Right. And if that password happens to fail, we'll figure out a way to get you in."
"Copy that…" Soap spoke with quiet words as he turned over onto his knees to raise up and access the computer.
He waited patiently for the monitor to warm up and load the login screen. After a brief wait, the screen showed the blue Windows startup screen and three separate user accounts. "Which one is Fernando's?"
"His should be 'Fernie' or 'Tiburón'...some call him 'The Shark'."
"That's cute." Soap stated with a mildly amused tone. His eyes panned over towards the first user and quickly noticed 'Fernie'. Clicking on the small icon and opening up the empty bar for a password, Soap began to type. As he entered the password he froze at the sound of voices raising with irritation. Reacting quickly, he turned the monitor off and ducked behind the large desk.
"Echo. What's going on out in that hallway?"
Echo was swift to inform Soap of an update. "That guard from before met up with another one of Vasquez's men. It appears to be they're rather annoyed about the man from before leaving his post."
"Right...let's just hope they don't find his corpse in that closet."
The men from the hallway began to reach an agreement after one sighed heavily and rested his back against a wall.
"Ok...the new guy just filled in the missing man's spot. When you go back the way you came, a new guy will be standing by those spiral stairs." The man working for Echo announced. "And now the guard from before is resuming with his route. He's returning to the hallway you're in. Wait for him to pass."
Soap sat silently, with his back pressed against the desk, while he waited for the man's footsteps to near and disappear. As he waited, he shook the water in the supplied suppressor and began to screw it onto the end of the M9s barrel. The footsteps eventually became inaudible as they passed up the jarred library door.
He rose up once again and waited for the monitor to boot back up. It wasn't long until the login screen reappeared. Finishing up the password code he had started, he hit 'enter' and was immediately denied access. Furrowing his brow, he re-entered the password and was quickly granted access onto Fernando Vasquez's account.
"Alright, I'm in." Soap stated.
"Good." The man replied. "Put the USB in and let it install its software. Once you give it administrative access, it'll immediately go to work and extract all of the files onto the external hard drive you have been provided. It's wireless and sets up via bluetooth connections. So you'll want to set that up as well."
Soap nodded. "Sounds easy enough."
"It is. All you'll need to do is wait while everything is extracted from the C:drive. Afterwards, it'll automatically uninstall the software it had installed moments before, and eject itself from the system, signalling its completion."
"Right...and now I'm curious with how long this process will take. I'm sure Mr. Vasquez doesn't keep his file usage down to a minimum."
"Well...that may take awhile. You'll have to run on the software's schedule." Echo answered, with an almost nervous tone.
Soap had to shake his head with annoyance as he established the bluetooth connection onto the computer and external hard drive while the software from the USB installed. "I don't think I personally have the time to wait for this damn thing."
"Do what you can. We have our eyes on the foyer. If we see one of the brothers taking the stage, we'll let you know so that you can return swiftly."
Soap could only exhale smoothly as he let the software run its course. He began to search the desk for anything of value and came by several files; most seemingly showing little importance. Opening up a file with written text saying 'Havana Shipment (La Habana envío)', he had to raise an eyebrow in thought as he noticed a receiving address located in Africa.
While Soap was contained within the library and absorbed within some documentation, Rico was forced to keep Arsenio distracted with conversation and dance.
"...So, I must ask, how did one of Danbury's henchmen come about meeting such a fine señorita from Germany?" Arsenio asked with an intrigued smirk and with a hand intertwined around Rico's fingers and an arm behind her back.
She flashed a lovely smile. "Vell, ve met vhen he vas facationing in Berlin. He vas such a charmer."
He nodded at her and had to peer off into the crowd. "I'm enjoying our dance, but couldn't help but notice how long your husband has been gone." His sienna, brown eyes returned to her. "Surely a man with such a beautiful wife would enjoy showing her off under his arm more often."
Maintaining her flattering stare, she replied. "He had to take a call vith Danbury. You know how monotone that man can be. Let's not forget how he can drag a conversation on."
"Ah yes...Danbury and his notorious boring ways." Arsenio's eyes intensified. "Do you do any dealings or business trades yourself? Or do you simply look good for all of the men?"
Rico let her expression relax as she sensed the tension creeping up her back. "I usually just vatch. I try to stay out of the vay. A typical uninvolved vife to a gang member."
"Oh, nonsense. Surely you can work some wordy magic and seal some deals better than old man, Danbury or your burly husband. Sometimes charming works better than threatening."
"Oh, and I'm sure you're the charming type then, ja?" Rico asked with raised brows.
Arsenio had to chuckle lightly. "Sure...we can go with 'charming'."
"But vhat vould you prefer?"
"One may say I'm more of the assertive, violent one. But I'd rather just go with 'aggressively charismatic'."
Rico forced another flirtatious smile. "Now, vhat vould classify someone as being 'aggressively charismatic'?"
Arsenio chuckled and shrugged and he glanced from her chest and met her eyes. He slowly brought himself next to her ear and whispered. "I've found many wonderful ways to dispose of a body. Pigs will eat anything and everything. Starve them for several days, and you'll find that they serve as a wonderful disposing technique." He brought himself back and smiled. "Now, how does Danbury get rid of threats? Burn them alive? Dissolve them in chemicals?"
Rico stared back with a blank expression and relaxed eyes. "He usually does the old 'toss them into the ocean off a boat, vith veights on their ankles' trick."
"Danbury would be unimaginative that way. Very old school." Arsenio pulled her in closer. "Maybe I can show you some creative ways to get rid of a body, that way you can go back and teach Danbury how to be a better businessman."
She couldn't help but narrow her eyes at him. Soap and Echo listened in closely through their radio pieces.
Arsenio continued with his speech. "Or better yet, maybe we can provide him with an example."
"I'm...I'm sorry?" She questioned.
"I don't like it when business proposals and deals go down the drain. So let's make sure tonight ends happily for both parties, sí?"
She blinked at him in thought, but before she could reply he flashed an amused grin. "I kid, I kid. It's a joke. I make a funny!" He let a loud laugh exit his throat. "Ease up, señorita. Keep that smile on your face."
Rico had to let a relieved snicker pass her lips. "Oh, Mr. Vasquez. You sure know how to make a person's heart race."
He nodded with entertainment as they spun to the music. "That is the art of the trade." He commented. "But in all seriousness, your husband's absence is making me concerned. I sure hope Danbury isn't backing out again or changing the deal on me behind my back. I'm in no mood for a change in negotiations."
"Mr. Vasquez," she began softly, "I think you need to relax. Your dancing quality has begun to slack."
He had to smile brilliantly at her as he bit his lip. "Please, 'Arsenio' works just fine. And I apologize for letting the señorita down."
While they smiled and danced, Soap was some distance away and a floor above them. Hearing Arsenio's words in his ears caused his heart to beat harder against his chest. After having taken several pictures of some invoices and files, while the external hard drive received the digital copies, Soap peered up from the desk at the sound of a voice returning from outside the library. He turned the monitor off once again and waited silently.
"Cualquier persona encontró Mario todavía? (Anyone find Mario, yet?)" The guard in the hallway asked. After a reply came, he continued to speak. "Follar seguir buscando. Tengo otros hombres compensar su ausencia. (Fucking keep looking. I have other men making up for his absence.)"
Soap had to slow his breathing in anticipation as the man once again passed up the slightly ajar door. After feeling the coast was clear, he warmed the monitor back up and saw that he still had 53% to go on his download.
"God damn it." He whispered softly and was abruptly cut from his annoyance at the sound of Rico's voice in his ear.
"Soap. Arsenio went off to get his brother. You need to return quickly."
He slowly rose up from behind the desk and paced towards the door at the sound of more voices returning down the hall. "I know."
Finding cover within a shadow behind the opened library door, he gripped his M9 tightly and waited patiently. Suddenly, the two voice stopped just shy of the door.
"Ir buscar Mario. Voy a ver tu post. (Go find Mario. I'll watch your post)." The man's voice from before returned from out in the hall. "(Maybe start by looking through the rooms. Mario has had a tendency to fall asleep on a couch…)"
"(Alright.)" The second guard spoke. "(Figures Mario has to go off and inconvenience the rest of us.)"
The two different set of voices and footsteps broke away from each other as they went separate ways. Soap could make out little of their dialogue, but knew the situation was beginning to worsen. He glanced back at the computer and realized he had forgotten to shut-off the backlighting of monitor. Furrowing his brow, he froze as he witnessed a figure slowly block out the light coming from the crack between the door's hinges and the frame.
"One of Vasquez's men is stepping into the library." Echo said into Soap's ear.
"Mario?" A voice came silently. As predicted, the man began to completely enter the room and scan the space. He paused momentarily to observe the back of the computer monitor before continuing with his entry into the library. Soap watched him steadily become visible and, on command, rose up the suppressed M9 and took aim at the back of the man's head.
The guard looked to a shelf. "Mario?" Then blood shot from the newly found hole in his head at the sound of the muffled bullet exiting the barrel. Soap quickly followed through by snagging onto the back of the man's suit to prevent him from fumbling towards the hardwood. Bringing him back towards him, Soap let the man's rear find a cozy spot behind the door. The man's stare was blank and glassy as it fixated onto the distant furniture.
Soap gazed from the dead man and back towards the monitor and quickly went for it to check the download progress. It had finally reached 77%.
"Thank, God." He mumbled to himself. He knew he was running out of time and could feel the tension creeping up his back and into his shoulders.
Back in the foyer, Rico was still forcing a smile and faking a German accent as Arsenio introduced his brother to her.
"Lovely, Agatha, this is my older brother, Fernando." Arsenio spoke with a smirk.
"Vell met, Señor Vasquez." She extended a hand for the man to accept.
He glanced down out it with disinterest. "Right." He shook it firmly and peered off towards the guests. "Let's speed this along and get to it. I don't have all night to dwell on matters that haven't even transpired yet."
Rico took a step back and held her hands together before her pelvic bone as she stared directly into Fernando's face. Arsenio shot a glare in his brother's direction.
"What is with you tonight, Fernie? Got something stuck up your ass?" Arsenio jeered.
Fernando sent the glare back towards Arsenio. "You and I both know we don't have time for pleasantries. We're lucky papa is dead, otherwise he'd be wringing our necks right about now."
Arsenio waved him off. "And we're not going to set up good business relations with new people if we act like cocksuckers."
"It's our job to be assertive."
Arsenio raised a finger into the air. "A cocksucker is different than an assertive businessman."
"Whatever." Fernando looked towards the crowd just before glancing at the stage. "Let's give our toast before we begin with our transaction." He peered back towards her with a grim expression. "Are you Danbury's representative? Why the hell would he send one single woman to do his bidding...quite the character, that one."
Arsenio was quick to speak before Rico could even open her mouth. "Oh no, she's simply the wife to Danbury's strongarm he sent. That would be Michael Blair you're looking for." Arsenio sent a quizzical stare in Rico's direction. "Which appears to still be absent."
"Where the hell did he go?" Fernando inquired intrusively.
"Apparently to take a call with Danbury himself." Arsenio answered.
"Is that a good or bad thing?"
"Depends. He has been gone for quite awhile so I hope he brings back good news and not bad."
Rico swallowed hard and gawked into their eyes. "If anyone understands how dealings transpire, it's the successful Vasquez brothers. My husband must make sure all things are in line before sealing any deals."
"Right...I wouldn't call us successful considering we've been trying to handle a current thorn in our sides." Fernando spoke flatly.
"Oh, yes. I heard about the misfortune…"
"Hardly a misfortune. Some fucker is trying to sabotage us-" Fernando's voice began to rise as Arsenio landed a strong hand onto his shoulder.
"Not now, Fernie. Let's address our guests." Arsenio said assertively causing his older brother to nod with contempt. Arsenio quickly sent Rico a hardened expression. "We'll discuss matters shortly, my dear."
"Of course," Rico replied.
She waited for the two men to vanish into the crowd before exhaling heavily. "Jesus...Soap, please get back here." She said softly into the radio.
Before Soap could reply, Echo continued with the dialogue. "It appears the two brothers are approaching the stage to give a toast. You may want to wrap up what you've started, MacTavish."
Soap nodded while before the computer. It was finally nearing 96%, signalling him to clean up the small mess he had created. While the download process was nearing completion, he returned the hardcopy invoices and documentations to the desk drawers. He found a few things of significance within the pile; only things they already knew or proved of little importance. He returned the empty duffle bag to the ceiling and hid away everything into his interior coat pockets.
Finally, the downloading was complete. On cue, he removed the USB and disconnected the bluetooth frequency from the external hard drive and headed for the door.
"Give me an update on Vasquez's men, Echo." Soap ordered calmly.
"A new guy returned to cover the position by the spiral stairs you ascended and the previous man from before is back to walking his route. He's just passed up the library door and is heading back west towards the foyer stairs. Now's your chance to book it." Echo replied.
"Copy that."
Soap peeped out from the library to truly confirm his clearance as he peered off down both ends of the hallway. Spotting the patrolling man's back, he broke from the library's chambers and hurriedly came back the way he had ventured from minutes before. Rounding the corner, he instantly noticed the new guy at the end of the hall, who was now covering the notorious Mario's post. Noticing the movement, the man peered up with confusion as he brought himself up from his lean against the wall.
"Hey, hombre-" A bullet to his face silenced him quickly.
Soap jogged for his body and did a double tap to his head, right before shoving him into the closet allowing him to join his friend. But Mario was missing. Freezing in mild distraught, Soap began to ponder events and swiftly realized the first guard must had regained consciousness and was now wandering around somewhere. Cursing quietly, he tossed the dead man in and closed the closet door.
He spun on his heels and ran for the stairs at the sound of the Vasquez's toast ringing from down the hall. Who knows where this Mario had stumbled off to. The fact that no other guard appeared to had noticed yet only irked Soap more somehow. Perhaps it had to do with the unknown whereabouts of this now aware guard.
Finding himself back on the first floor, Soap fast-walked down the hall and hid his gun into his coat.
"Echo, where the fuck did that first guard go?" Soap asked as he stopped just before the bend in the hall.
"Uh...one second." Echo replied. The two men watching the camera feeds glanced at each other in bewilderment, right before scanning the screens before them.
Soap had to shake his head in minor annoyance. "Thought you lads were my eyes in the sky."
"Yes...we apologize-wait-" One of the Echo members announced before trailing off. "There's a man who just rose from a sitting position just around the corner. He's holding his head...that might be him-"
"Copy that." Soap replied as he spun around the corner and immediately noticed the slightly delirious man not too far off. Soap peered off further down the hall to see the commotion in the foyer as the partygoers gazed towards Arsenio's voice on the stage, which was out of sight. He flattened his brow and moved for the staggering man. Landing a broad hand on his shoulder, Soap spun the man around to stare down into his face. He immediately recognized the man.
The guard's eyes widened as he began to open his mouth to emit a scream. Not wanting to see the cause of the man shouting out, Soap punch him in the throat and immediately silenced him. He grabbed his throat and gasped for air as Soap locked him into a choke hold. Looking up towards the opening in the hall, he realized the motions had gone unnoticed by the guests who stared towards the stage.
Soap began to drag the man backwards, lifting his feet slightly off the ground causing the man to tap the tips of his shoes against the smooth, tiled surface of the hall. The man gripped Soap's flexing arm and struggled to regain his breath. Disappearing around the corner, Soap tightened his hold around the man's neck.
"Nice try, wanker." Soap said lowly by the man's head.
Grunting, the guard squirmed and gritted his teeth together. Soap managed to wrap his leg around the man's knee, just before taking his weight out from under him and slamming him against the hard floor. The man's head cracked against the tile as his vision blanked. Removing the Beretta from his coat, Soap shot a bullet through the man's forehead, leaving a lovely, gaping hole in the man's skull.
Soap sighed and looked up to face the empty hall in search of a new hiding place for the third corpse he had created. The couch in the sitting area proved to be the only option; thick curtains hung behind its back and touched the floors. Bringing the dead man's body forward, he moved the couch out slightly, just enough to toss the man's lifeless carcass behind the cover of the finely dressed couch and curtains.
He brushed sweat from his brow and hastily returned with his course. Finding himself strolling as casually as possible back towards the party, he reached the end of the hall and met up with the rope from before, and stepped over it silently while guests smiled and gazed at the stage.
Arsenio rose a glass of champagne into the air. "...and to those who have supported us through the bad and good times, you have my thanks. Especially now that our father is no longer with us, and with the disappearance of our youngest brother, Esteban, we need all of the support we can get." He suddenly let a cunning smirk pull at his lips. "With the presence of all of our close friends, family, and comrades, it only brings a sense of hope to my heart…"
Soap's eyes moved away from Arsenio and his glaring brother, and began to search for the back of Rico's curly, haired head. After a short search and weaving in between the guests, he spotted her with her arms crossed and her concerned eyes locked onto Arsenio giving his speech.
His hand gently landing against her bare arm and caused her to flinch slightly. Once she looked over her shoulder and noticed it was Soap she sighed with relief.
"Oh, thank, God...I thought I would never see you again." She whispered.
He stepped in closer. "I know. Sorry about that. But at least it sounded like you held your own out here against the brothers just fine."
"Yeah, let's hope...I couldn't help but feel they were analyzing me with such skepticism." She looked back to the stage. "I think the new rule should be, 'no more going separate ways'. This isn't Scooby-Doo."
He flashed an amused smirk as he panted lightly. "You won't find me objecting."
She lowered her brow at him. "Are you alright? You seem slightly flabbergasted."
"I'm fine." He peered over his shoulder and looked for a new location they could congregate to. "Let's head to the back of the crowd. I'll explain things there."
She nodded in agreement and followed him through the crowd of people, who were all standing in dimmed lighting as a spotlight casting onto the stage proved to be the main light source to the room.
Once they found a more spacious and private location near the back and by the front door, they faced each other.
"Alright, I managed to retrieve what I was ordered to obtain." He lowered his voice even more and decreased the distance between the two of them; the smell of their cologne and perfume became more distinct as he neared. "Listen. I had to shoot three of them."
"Of Vasquez's men?" She asked with an awed expression.
"Aye. So we need to fake this transaction as quickly as possible. We just need to give them some plausible bollocks and high-tail the fuck out of here." He glanced towards the stage an exhaled through his nose. "The outcomes of this business deal don't affect us. It's the information we need. We have to find out why Hernandez backed out and why the hell they're now dealing with an addressee in Africa."
"Right." She replied.
They both noticed Arsenio completed his toast with a smile on his face as the partygoers began to applaud softly.
"Alright...that's our cue." He said quietly as he began to stride back for the crowd.
Rico nodded and stayed close to his side as they disappeared into the sea of people, with Arsenio and Fernando in their sights.