A Touch of Blue - 20. Madrecita de mi Amor

Zafiro

I was not joking when I said I would wait for their killers to come back. You would think that after making such kills, they would come back for the bodies.

At first I waited two hours, waiting for possibly a giant group of Arturo’s men to come over.

There was a moment where I thought that maybe I should not bother waiting. I immediately shook my head and decided to wait some more.

I had gone into the backroom. It was where Piggie and Vero kept all their weapons.

If I was ever the case that I lose my pistols, they had some spares for me to grab whenever needed.

Since I pretty much lost everything, I got a new pair for myself and another metal baton.

Obviously by this point I realized that Piggie and Vero’s killers would not be returning.

I was not going to just leave them here, however. Most would have either done that or burned their bodies. I was not going to do either of those things.

There is a shovel out back that is always seen laying against the wall. Looks like I will be putting it to use today.

Before I will work on that however, I need to check my room.

My babies are in there. I am really hoping they are alive. Hoping that Arturo’s men were not heartless enough to kill a dog and cat.

Quickly, I jog up the flights of stairs.

The reason I suspect it was Arturo’s men is because of all the ones that were running around outside.

Who else would have done this by now? Cody?

He was busy growing wings on my body. He would not have done that would he? That sounds like too much work for him to handle.

Arturo has been looking for me. He probably wanted to question and torture Piggie and Vero but of course they would not go down without a fight.

I slow down when I reach Piggie’s floor with his office.

The door is closed but that does not mean someone didn’t break inside.

Twisting the doorknob, I find it is locked.

Yeah, I guess nobody went inside.

Extending the claw on my thumb, I push it into the screws on either side of the knob. I twist my hand a few times until the each of the screws clatter onto the floor.

I knock the doorknob off and then I open the door.

Everything looks untouched. Nobody has tried to find all the money that should be stocked in here.

Lucky for me, I know where Piggie hides it.

It feels weird taking money from him. I have done it a few times before without him knowing, but I always paid him back.

Now there isn’t a reason to pay him back and it feels weird. It honestly makes me feel a little sick too.

There are about sixty envelopes full of money. They are all hidden underneath a hidden latch that sits under his desk.

I am pretty sure Piggie would have told me to take the money if he were to die. We were that close.

However, we were never close enough for him to tell me that he had about six million dollars in this room alone.

That is not even counting the stuff he has not sold yet or even anything else he has stashed.

Looks like I will have a lot of money to divide.

I grab one envelope to take with me. I will sort out the rest at a later date.

Honestly, I am not too bothered about the money for once. I do not even bother fixing the door when I leave.

If someone wants it, they probably need it.

It feels wrong even with only taking one envelope. I even took some money out to lessen the hurt it brings.

Still leaves me with a million to spend.

I should be set for a good while. Not like I could find something else to sell anyways. Sadly, that means that I would have to find another fence.

Scoffing at myself, I shake my head.

Here I am, already thinking about finding someone to replace Piggie.

No.

Not to replace him. Nobody could replace him.

Dumb choice of words.

Still, I know he would have scolded me for being all sad and mushy. He and Vero always said that if something were to happen to them, I should not wallow in my anger or sadness, I should move on and try to rise up.

It is not exactly easy when their bodies are two floors down from me now.

This just feels like wave after wave of bullshit.

Why is this happening to me of all people? So much has happened and it feels as though it happened over night. It only keeps getting worse and worse.

Losing so many people...Soul, Piggie, and Vero. Who will be next? It feels like everyone I am close to are just on a ticking time bomb now. They are all waiting for their time to end with me.

I shiver and hug myself. A chill running down just from thinking about all that has happened.

How do I go from having blue wings to having dead friends? Is that not the opposite of what most people say? You become an angel and then you are in paradise?

Yeah that is some actual bullshit.

Fucking Cody. How could he have done that to me? Over some damn papers talking about Augments? That is ridiculous.

Oh if I ever see him again, he will pay. First he tricked me, then he tried to force himself on me, and then he forced an augment on me?

Forget about payment. Cody will die the next time I see him.

Obviously, I can’t go after him now. I am alone. What use would running into a base full of his men be if I can’t even get past his first wave of assholes?

Sighing to myself, I rub my temples with my fingers, trying to massage the headache that has started to grow.

I can’t think. Everything downstairs is too much.

It is getting really hard to pretend that what I saw was just a figment of my imagination.

The thing with Soul was rather creepy. What is this red vision I keep seeing?

A chill runs down my spine again at the thought of it.

Finally I reach my room.

I was walking rather slow honestly. All my limbs feel sore and weak now. This day is awfully tiring.

As soon as I reach for the door, I hear the pitter patter of Laneer running up to the door. His legs too excited to calm down.

When I open the door, my nose is assaulted by the smell of pee and dog shit.

I cough and cover my nose with my hand.

That does not stop Laneer from jumping up and trying to lick my face.

Peering past him, I see Yinx in the kitchen, his head buried in the bag of cat food. It has fallen over and the little bits and pieces are scattered all over the floor.

How long have they been in here? I thought the murders were recent. As in, last night.

Frowning, I squat down and hug Laneer’s giant head, running my hands through his fur. His tail wags back and forth on the floor.

He whines and rubs his face against me, trying to lick me again.

I just hum in response, my throat a little too sore to speak. Crying and screaming downstairs did not help me at all.

They can’t stay here. I sure as hell won’t be staying here.

Where do I take them?

I don’t know where Ama is, so that will be a no.

Tin Can? Would that even be alright?

Perhaps I should call him.

That means having to grab Piggie’s phone. That probably means going downstairs.

Closing my eyes, I hug Laneer even tighter.

I really don’t want to go down there. There definitely isn’t a reason for me to stay in here though.

With a sigh and a small squeeze on Laneer’s head, I stand up.

When I walk to my room, the smell dies down a bit. Even then, I decide to open all the windows.

Pretty sure they made a mess in the bathroom. Lucky for me, I do not need to go in there at all.

I do have other things I need to bring with me.

My sleep darts, some extra sets of claws incase one falls off, more lines for grappling, and another baton just incase.

Guess that should be everything.

Well, I still need the phone.

Fuck.

Plus I have to bury the both of them.

Ugh!

Why is everything so hard today? Why did this even have to happen? What did they do to deserve this?

Something tells me there was something else that pushed Arturo to do this. Or Cody.

How the hell can I tell who did this?

I still think it was Arturo because Cody was busy with me. He had me in his hands so he had no reason to touch Piggie or Vero.

I might as well get to work on the holes. I’ll bury them out behind the building. It is completely full of dirt and dead grass. It is pretty much the only place like that, that is closest to the building.

All the nice green places are over on the Rich Side unfortunately. I sure as hell won’t be burying them there.

Since he clearly needs to get outside, I bring Laneer with me.

I don’t even bother with the leash. That is more for show honestly.

“Vamos, Laneer,” I whisper, my voice still too hoarse.

The big ol’ fur baby follows me anyways. He keeps close to my leg, almost as if he is afraid to lose me again.

Yeah, I don’t blame him. He and Yinx probably felt abandoned while I was gone.

Grabbing the shovel as I walk down into the club floor, I glance once at Piggie’s body and then quickly turn to the back door.

I ignore Laneer’s whines. He watches Piggie and looks over at me.

I snap my fingers and he comes to my side at once.

~~~
~~~

Roy

As soon as Zafiro left, I just decided to workout since I was already outside.

I am a bit annoyed that he took the dogtags off my neck without me knowing. I am not too sure on how I didn’t notice honestly.

My grandfather had given them to me when I was younger. He used to take care of me when my parents had to go out of town.

That happened quite a lot.

I believe when I first realized that I was only interested in guys, he was the first person I came out to. He simply smiled and hugged me.

Obviously I was crying my eyes out but that stopped as soon as he hugged me.

I felt like I was the most disgusting thing. That I was unnatural and that there was something wrong with me.

For years, he would constantly tell me that I have nothing to worry about. That I should just be happy by being me.

Having someone tell me that was great. More than great really.

Constantly hearing how your life is dishonorable and shameful really gets into your head.

Three years after telling my Grandfather, he had died from old age.

It hit me hard when I realized that I lost my only source of freedom and happiness.

I was only thirteen. How is a thirteen year old supposed to take on the world alone?

If only I knew then that my parents were not the world. If only I had known that I would be moving out soon and I would feel more free.

Or at least, I thought I was free.

Thanks to Zafiro, I am starting to realize that maybe I still have been living in my parent’s shadow.

As much as I would like to deny it, I have still been following their choices for me.

I don’t date anyone because I was told not to. Well, not guys at least, but I sure as hell won’t be dating any girls.

It is nice that I found Avery though. She is pretty open minded and doesn’t seem to care about my preferences.

She also has hinted to me that I might be doing what my parents have been expected of me.

It is strange to think about that.

Did I want to be in U.U.P.P? I know I worked my ass off for that organization, but was it truly what I wanted?

There were times when I wanted to quit. Quite a bit actually.

Avery always said that it was up to me and that I could quit whenever I wanted. I would always her tell that she was being ridiculous and that I wanted to be there.

Now I am wondering if it was really me saying that, or was it just me repeating my parent’s wishes.

Strange how you slowly start to realize things that have been happening to years. Things you should have realized sooner.

It is a bit funny that Zafiro was able to point it out before I could. He doesn’t even know me that well.

The fact he has kissed me a few times now has really brought these thoughts out.

Yesterday, I wasn’t dating and didn’t even think about dating. All of a sudden, I am getting kissed left and right by the thief.

Honestly, the worst part is how much I am enjoying those kisses!

Is that the worst part though?

What have I done to keep myself from enjoying those things? I should be thinking about what my Grandfather has told me and I should be listening to his advice.

I should be myself and that can be whoever I want to be. Not some edited version of myself that my parents want.

So when I kissed Zafiro’s cheek, it was a huge leap out of my comfort zone.

It was very weird, but a good kind of weird. A really good kind.

Honestly, I wanted to do it again, maybe even kiss him myself on the lips but he had run off. Still, everything about him makes me feel so uncertain about this.

Zafiro is a criminal. I can’t be doing any of this with a criminal! What if someone were to find out?

If they haven’t, that is...

Apparently the gangs know where I live. Surely if they saw Zafiro, they already know about everything else that has been happening.

Does that mean that this is ok? I mean...it’s Zafiro! He practically lives like a ghost, right?

No, I should not be thinking like that. He’s still a criminal.

Ugh! I don’t know what to do.

My phone starts ringing on my bed.

I guess I could answer that.

Dropping the weights, I run over and flop onto the bed. I pick up the phone and see that it is Avery.

That could be a good distraction!

Pushing the green button, I answer.

“Hey Avery, “Anything from the goon you brought in?”

Now I realize that my bed smells like Zafiro at the moment. It is something both sweet and something else a little bitter. I realize then that it’s blood, but the sweet thing...he smells like that special chocolate that Avery brings sometimes.

I smelt it a bit before when I was close to Zafiro but I thought it was my mind playing tricks on me.

Avery’s voice pulls me from my thoughts.

“Yeah, we learned quite a bit,” She says. “I was hoping to stop by and speak with you about all I’ve learned. Obviously I can’t do it over the phone.”

“Ah,” I say. “Yeah come right over.”

I get up because I should probably get to cleaning.

“Wait,” Avery stops me. “Is Zafiro there? Is he awake yet? Or is he still sleeping?”

“Sorry,” I say, “He woke up today and left rather quickly.”

A slight pause is all I get in answer.

“Did he say why he had left?” She asks.

Nothing really comes to mind. All I know was that nobody was answering his calls and he was getting worried.

“Probably to check on someone,” I say. “They were not answering his calls.”

Another pause.

“I will be right over then,” She says. “Mind preparing the meat for me?”

“Yeah sure,” I nod to myself. “It’ll be ready when you get here.”

The call ends and then I drag myself into the bathroom.

I think I’ll clean, prepare the meat, and then take a shower. Yeah, that’ll be good.

There is not much to clean honestly. My room is pretty much the only mess in my house.

Some of the bed sheets have a couple of red and pink marks of dried blood. Looks like I’ll just be throwing those away.

There are my dirty clothes piling up so those will go in the washer.

Some extra bandages that were left incase I needed to replace the ones on Zafiro’s back. Those were pretty much useless.

A cup that was filled with water is empty now. I am guessing he drank it when he woke up.

Did he ever actually eat? He made a sandwich but I do not think he actually ate it.

Keeping that in mind, I get to working on all the chores needed to be done in my room.

Once that is over, I make my way to the kitchen downstairs.

Ah yes, he did not eat his sandwich. It has been left on the counter.

I find it a bit funny that he casually goes through all my food as if it was his. It is also rather annoying since Avery does the same thing.

I open up the fridge and pull out the bag full of thinly sliced meat. First I wash my hands, and then I wash the meat under the sink water.

Grabbing some limes and salt, I get to marinating the meat.

Since it will just be the two of us, I only prepare about eight cuts.

Just as I finish the last one, Avery lets herself in through the garage door.

She sighs and sets her purse on the counter next to me.

I wrinkle my nose in disgust.

“There was meat sitting there earlier!” I exclaim.

She chuckles and shrugs. “I have another at home anyways.”

She grabs a wet towel and scrubs the bottom of her purse.

“I’ll get to grilling,” She says. “Oh, and nice to see you too!”

Rolling my eyes, I wash my hands.

“Taking a shower,” I say as I walk for the stairs.

She hums as she walks out the back door for the grill.

~~~
~~~

Zafiro

I huff out as I dump the last pile of dirt over Piggie’s grave.

Laneer whines next to me, trying to rub his face against my hip.

Pushing him off, I toss the shovel to the side and wipe the sweat off my brow.

Well, that is done.

Piggie and Vero are side to side. I decided to bury their favorite rifles together since they went out with them.

I walk into the nightclub and reach into the bar, pouring out two shots of vodka into two glasses.

Making my way back outside, I stand before them and raise the shots up.

“For family,” I say, still a bit tired.

Then I down both shots. One for the both of them. I then place the glasses upside down on both piles of dirt.

Laneer steps close to the one on Piggie’s and sniffs around it.

“Quítate,” I say and lightly swat Laneer away.

I call him to follow me and we head back upstairs.

Preparing myself to enter my nasty apartment, I take a small breath and walk back in.

Yinx meows as soon as he sees me. Laneer hobbles over to him and tries to lay on top of him.

I smile at the sight and move to the kitchen to grab some cat food, dog food, a box, and some cat litter.

Once I pile everything into the box, I grab another backpack to carry Yinx.

He is quite used to being shoved in there so he does not fuss much when I place him inside.

When he is comfortable enough, I call for Laneer and we walk back down to the bar downstairs.

I grab Piggie’s car keys and then I go outside to the building next door.

It has a garage that Piggie locks down to keep his car safe.

A special monitor lights up as I hold a keycard up to it. It is attached to the keys.

The garage opens and a beat up car lights up.

Piggie taught me how to drive a car. I personally would prefer my bike, but I can’t exactly fit a giant St. Bernard on that.

Opening the side door, I place the box with all the pet supplies in and then I open the backpack, letting Yinx out to wander around the back.

When I open the driver’s seat, Laneer hops inside and moves over to the passenger seat.

I smile at that because Piggie sometimes would take Laneer for rides to his dealing with buyers. Not necessarily for a ride. Laneer has a pretty nice bite when the need arises.

I put the car in drive and slowly make my way out to the road.

So...I never really called Tin Can about bringing my babies. I really didn’t want to touch Piggie’s phone. This will probably be a nice surprise for the handsome man anyways.

The streets have emptied out now. Nobody is out in the Poor Side. That’s good for me. Easier to make my way around the pot holes.

Once I reach the Rich Side, it is a lot smoother and far less bumpy.

The roads look a bit empty right now so I am a bit sad I couldn’t bring my bike.

With a sigh, I decide to travel south and then make my way to the west. Arturo’s gang ran straight from the tracks, I would rather stay out of whatever business is going on there.

It takes about fifteen minutes to speed down to the bottom of Sector Four. The streets are that empty! It is great! I even have the windows down to let the wind blow through my hair.

Laneer has his head hanging out, his slobber spinning webs out behind us. Yinx seems to hate it and hides in the backpack.

Since the streets are so empty right now, I reach Tin Can’s house in record time. I got there in about forty minutes total.

I see there is another car sitting out front. A silver one that looks expensive. There is a number over the bumper.

That means it belongs to a U.U.P.P. Officer.

Shit.

I should be fine right? Surely I can just dump Laneer and Yinx here at least. I have my suit on so I know this officer will never catch me.

Just incase, I line the pouch on my belt with darts.

Can’t be too careful, right?

“Wait here,” I whisper to Laneer before leaving him in the car.

I’ll just dart the Officer, tell Tin Can about Laneer and Yinx, and then I will probably have to run off.

No biggie!

Climbing up a wall, I glance into the kitchen window.

There is a woman with her back to me. She is wearing a tan work suit. The sleeves are rolled up to her elbows.

Her hair is tied up into a lazy bun. She has brown hair with grey stripes running in different places. Her roots are darker than her hair so i’m guessing her hair is dyed.

A shame she isn’t turned in a way for me to see her face.

I climb the rest of the way to the third floor and enter Tin Can’s room.

It smells like he showered earlier.

The shampoo smell is still in the air.

Oh god. I haven’t showered in awhile have I? I should take one before I leave.

Tin Can’s voice can be heard downstairs. He is talking to the lady in the suit.

Preparing three darts in my fingers, I slowly inch my way down the stairs. My footsteps do not make a noise.

Tin Can is still talking. From what it sounds like, he is talking about Arturo’s men being in the city.

Now I am on the ground floor. I have my back against a wall, preparing myself to throw the dart.

Closing my eyes, I try and remember the layout of the kitchen from my position.

Should be a clear shot.

Raising my hand to throw, I pull myself from the wall and throw. However, as I do, I see something that causes my aim to falter.

The dart flies and lands on the wall above the stove.

Tin Can jumps and turns to me, standing in a way as if he is ready to defend the woman.

The woman stares after me in shock. Her brown eyes are wide as she stares me down.

I’m pretty sure mine are just as wide at the moment.

“Zafiro?” Tin Can says in warning. “She’s a friend. Calm down.”

She places her hand on his shoulder to move him aside.

I let out the breath that has been stuck in my throat this whole time.

“Mamá?”