Hey you guys. Again I'm so sorry it's taking me so long to pump out these chapters. BTW, the movie comes to DVD July 20th. So excited! Please bare with me as I try to update this story. Thanks!
Murphy's Law
It's been two weeks since the incident with Max and the children. I felt...different. I felt lighter, more excepting, but not better about what Max had done. I would never be alright with what Max had done. What he was doing still. He would pay.
(Hey, sweetheart! Why don't you come over here?) "Hey, cariño! Por qué no vienes aquí?" I try to hold back my smile and look over at the man calling out to me. I roll my eyes and quickly cross the street, which consisted of dirt and dirt alone, and hopped up onto the broken sidewalk.
"Afternoon Clay." I greet, studying that he sat on a crate playing cards with two other familiar faces, "Playing cards again I see."
"Nothin' else better to do round here." Pooch comments and lays down a five of hearts.
"You can say that again." I nod my head slowly and look over at Clay's hand.
"Where were you heading off to?" Clay asks and picks up the five from the discarded pile with a smug grin lighting up his face.
"To see Cougar and Jensen. Why?" I narrow my eyes, but my look of suspicion is overturned by the bright smile fluttering onto my lips. Clay shakes his head, mumbling 'nothing' and sets down a seven of spades on the discard pile.
"Your turn Roque." Clay leans back on the crate a little and looks over at me, giving a small laugh.
"What?" I ask again, unable to hold back my own laugh. Roque places a king of clubs onto the discard pile and picks up a new card, cursing under his breath.
"Just going to see Cougar and Jensen, huh?" Clay asks me while he stares down at what was going on with the game he was in. I look around at all three men and see that Clay was the only one smiling.
"Why the hell is he grinning like that?" I ask Roque and Pooch, whoever would answer me. Pooch gives me a shrug and slams down his cards on the table.
"Look at that boys! Four queens and seven, eight, nine. Rummy." Pooch gives a laugh and pulls the little treats the boys had bet away in the game. Roque and Clay both throw their cards down, Clay's grin dispersing.
"I'm gonna leave now. See you all later." I give a small wave and turn around to leave, but the small laugh that escaped Clay made me turn around again, "What is it? Alright, this is creeping me out. So what?"
"What?" Clay laughs and leans forwards so his elbows rested on his knees.
"He's just happy to see you up and smiling." Roque speaks up for the first time, drawing my attention to him. I arch and eyebrow at his statement, not believing a word of it.
"What's the bet?" I ask, crossing my arms over my chest and letting the bagged lunches rest against my side. All three of them look at each other and Clay waves a hand at me, another smug grin on his face.
"Told you she knows all." Clay gives another laugh and pulls the cards together into a neat stack. I look around at the three of them again and narrow my eyes.
"Why do I get the feeling I'm part of this bet?" I ask sarcastically, awaiting to be told what the bet was.
"What would give you that idea?" Pooch asks with a smile. I nod my head and then turn around, walking away.
"Stay out of trouble!" I call back to them and continue down the opposite broken sidewalk of the small town we had set up shop since our 'death'. It was, after all, supposed to be us on the helicopter when the missile hit. To the United States of America we were all dead and gone forever.
I walk up to the familiar entrance to one of the only places to work in town and step inside. I could smell the faint scent of oil and plastic as I walked further, workers glancing at me every now and then.
"Rosa!" I smile the best I could at the woman with dark brown curls as I walk through the toy factory. It was a crap hole like most the town, but it was a place to work and when there was hardly any work you take what you can get.
"Hola Maria." I reply and walk passed her further into the factory. I switch the paper bags I carried with me to my other hand as I walked passed conveyor belts. I walk passed several tables until I spot the two I had been searching for.
A familiar blonde with glasses elbows the dark haired man to his right and then nods towards me. I smile softly and continue towards them, tucking the bags behind my back though I knew they had already seen them.
"Ah, look Cougar! It's an angel come to visit us in Hell!" Jensen smiles as I walk up. He sets aside the doll he was working with and slaps his hands onto the tops of his thighs. He wore a white sleeveless shirt and had sweat rolling down in long beads on the sides of his face, "Haven't seen you for a while."
"I know and I'm sorry. After..." I stop and lick my lips, "I haven't felt myself since the incident."
"Understandable." Cougar speaks up and passes Jensen the doll he had in his hands. Cougar didn't look much better then Jensen. His hair, though dark, had become slightly greasy from sweat and he hunched over tiredly from a long day of work.
Jensen takes the doll and dresses it, making me give a small laugh. I shake my head and close my eyes, trying to hold back the rest of my laughter that had randomly built up in my system.
"This is sad. Grown men literally playing with dolls." I crack a grin at them both and then laugh once more.
"No, we're working with dolls. Actually on the dolls, but you get it." Jensen tosses the dressed doll into the pile he had accumulated beside him.
"Have you taken your lunch break?" I ask nonchalantly as I watched them work.
"Do we ever?" Jensen scoffs and fights with a dress that just won't go over the dolls head right.
"Because I brought you two lunch." I announce and lift the paper bags up for them to see. Cougar and Jensen look to each other and then Cougar turns to look behind him.
(Jensen and I are taking our lunch break!) "Jensen y yo estamos tomando nuestra hora de almuerzo!" Cougar calls back to Maria, who only nods and waves them off. Jensen and Cougar throw aside the dolls they had and stood up from their seats, coming around the table.
"Here." I hand each of them their paper bag lunch and fold my hands before me. Cougar looks down at the paper bag and smiles, looking back at me.
"Let's go to the clearing." He places a hand on my shoulder and nudges me towards the open doors of the factory. I follow in between the two and down the street till we hit the start of the Bolivian jungle. This had become, as Clay now called us, 'The Losers' meeting spot for when we didn't think our affairs should be spoke of in town.
I sit down on the fallen log, crossing my legs at the ankles as Jensen sits down on the ground beside me. I watch Cougar sit on a tree stump, opening his bag and peeking inside.
"So, what do you want?" I turn and look down at Jensen, confused by what he meant. I shake my head and narrow my eyes before I shrug, "You have a complete meltdown, you stop talking to all of us, and then suddenly you wake up one morning and decide to make Cougar and me lunch?"
"Oh," I start as realization sets in on me, "no, this is sort of more like an 'I'm sorry' then an 'I want something'."
"Nothing to be sorry for." Cougar speaks up and takes a bite out of the sandwich I had made.
"Are you always this laid back and understanding?" I ask with a laugh. I had noticed out of the entire squad that Cougar was the quietest and easiest to talk too. It was a blessing, especially when you had a motor mouth like Jensen around.
"Only with pretty girls. Right Cougar?" Jensen laughs out and earns a sideways glance from Cougar. I laugh along with Jensen and then stare out at the trees circling the clearing. The air falls quiet between the three of us as the two boys eat their lunch.
"Tell me something Rosa." I look over at Cougar and wait for him to continue, "Why do you blame yourself for your brother and your niece?"
I look down at the grass beneath my feet and think about the question. I knew that I had no reason to blame myself. There was nothing I could have done for them, but that didn't change me feeling like I should have.
"Coug your timing sucks." Jensen speaks up and crushes his paper bag into a ball. I shake my head and then lick my lips, preparing myself to answer Cougar's question.
"No it's okay." I reply and look back at the grass again, "I blame myself because...I feel like it was my job to protect them. They were my family. The only one I had and I...I wasn't there when they needed me. I should have been, but I wasn't. I just feel like I let them down or betrayed them or something."
I look over at Cougar, wondering if he understood what I meant. Cougar stared back at me and then nodded slowly, looking away at the paper bag in his hand.
"Who was older?" Cougar asks after another moment.
"What do you mean?" I ask through a small, uncomfortable laugh. Cougar looks back at me and nods to me.
"You or your brother?" He clarifies, confusing me more. What did it matter who was older? Or maybe he was just curious?
"My brother was. By six years." I reply softly. I watch Cougar nod his head and look down at the ground. I look down at Jensen, silently asking him what was wrong with Cougar. Jensen shrugs and looks at his friend in question. I soon follow his gaze and stare at the quiet sniper.
"It was not your fault." Cougar speaks after a long moment, earning mine and Jensen's attention once again. Cougar shakes his head as he drifts further into his own thoughts, "Older brother's are supposed to protect their siblings. Not the other way around. There was nothing you could have done."
Cougar's expression seemed to darken as he stared out at nothing. I continue to stare at Cougar, something clicking in my head. It made a little sense as to why Cougar was acting this way, but I wished to God I was wrong.
"Okay...that wasn't creepy." Jensen speaks up sarcastically and then stands from the ground. I ignore him and lock my eyes on Cougar's hunched over form. His grieving form.
"Are you an older brother?" I ask softly, my eyes never leaving him. Cougar lifts his gaze from the clearing floor and stares at me. His eyes burned with guilt and wrath and I knew instantly I was right, "You lost a sibling too."
I sense Jensen's eyes move from Cougar to me and then back again, unsure of what to do now. It was strange for me too, but somehow with Cougar being the one to tell me it wasn't my fault it actually made me feel like it wasn't. It sort of felt like my brother was telling me for himself that it wasn't.
"Whoa...this is starting to feel like the twilight zone." Jensen's knack for useless and meaningless comments kicked in, reminding me that we weren't alone. I blink a few times and look up at Jensen, who shrugged an apology at me. I shook my head and stood from the log I had been sitting on.
"Thank you Cougar." I look back at the cowboy hat wearing sniper. He nods his head and stands from the stump, walking over to where Jensen and I were. A thought sparks in my head and I grab the boys before they could walk away.
"What is it?" Jensen asks, looking at me through his shaded glasses.
"You know I've been working over at the Lagarto cojera right?" I ask quickly, feeling embarrassed for even thinking the idea now.
"Yes." Cougar replies and turns around to face me fully.
"Why haven't you come to watch me with the others?" I feel my face heat up and my mouth become dry, but it was to late to turn back now. Jensen's head snaps to Cougar, his eyes asking the same question. He crosses his arms over his chest and stares at Cougar.
"You want to tell the nice lady that made us lunch why we haven't seen her sing?" Jensen asks like he was scolding a child. Cougar looks at Jensen and then back at me.
"I thought you wanted space. To be away from all of us." Cougar answers honestly. I chew on my bottom lip for a moment and then nod my head.
"Well, would you two come watch me sing tonight?" I look between them, wondering what was going through their heads. They look at each other and Jensen gives Cougar a shrug, acting as though it wasn't a bad idea.
"Yeah why not? It's not like we've got anything else goin' on." Jensen replies for him and Cougar, making me grin.
"Really?" I ask, not believing what I had heard. I mean, yeah I kind of guessed they would say yes, but a little part of me screamed it would be no. Jensen and Cougar both nod their heads, "Okay great! Uh, I go on at eight, but the others should be there around seven-thirty. See you then! Bye!"
I rush passed the two and out of the clearing. I hit the sidewalk and head into the center of town, heading towards the Lagarto cojera.