"You know you've really got to stop thinking with your dick." A gorgeous dark-haired woman said as she twirled a lollipop in her hand. It was large, cherry, and extremely sour, but that's how she liked it. "Look, if I had a dick, I probably would've wanted to fuck her too. But you have to be smarter than that. As a member of this family, I can't have you running around the streets like a fucking idiot."
Anthony sat in silence, nervously nodding. He didn't know how to respond or if a response was even warranted. He was already in a precarious situation and didn't want to make things any worse.
"You've been selling drugs for a long time, right?" She asked, but Anthony didn't answer, and that irked her. "That wasn't a rhetorical question. I'm speaking to you. We're having a conversation right now."
"Yes, sorry, my bad," Anthony quickly apologized. He was jittery under her gaze, and even though the office room was chilly due to the a/c, he was sweating profusely. His white t-shirt was soaked and soggy.
"From what I know, you've been selling weed since you were fifteen, and you're what? Twenty-four now?"
"Yes, I turned twenty-four in February. Margarito was there at my birthday party."
"Ah, yes, I remember. Actually, a lot of our guys were there that night. Fun times," She rambled as her mind began to wander. "But anyway, like I was saying, you've been in this business long enough to know certain things. You don't trust women, and you certainly don't invite them into your car to smoke in the middle of a random neighborhood at night. That's stupid. You're smarter than that; you should know better."
Anthony swallowed hard. Was this finally the moment he'd been dreading? She spoke so softly, never once raising her voice, but her words oozed with venom. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath, quietly waiting for the inevitable, but it never came.
"You really think I'm going to kill you? Relax. I'm not my dad."
Anthony slowly opened his eyes and thanked his lucky stars. He was relieved to see the young woman sucking on her lollipop. She was annoyed, yes, but she wasn't angry. If anything, she was saddened by Anthony's perception of her. She frowned and scratched her temple.
"Seriously, is that what all y'all think of me?" She sighed and leaned back, using her hands to prop herself up as she stared at the ceiling. She was seated on a graffiti-covered metallic desk that emphasized just how short she was; her feet didn't come close to scraping the ground.
"I can't lie; you have one hell of a reputation." The words were blurted out unconsciously, and as soon as they were uttered, Anthony regretted them. He placed a hand over his mouth, but by then it was already far too late.
The woman shifted her gaze to Anthony and laughed, genuinely. It was unexpected and very disorienting. "You're one of the few people who've actually been honest with me; I really appreciate that," the woman said sincerely. She abruptly hopped off her desk and landed in front of Anthony. His heart started beating so rapidly he almost swore she could hear it. This was the closest they'd ever been to each other.
Her scent had lingered throughout the room, but now up close, Anthony was practically doused in it. She smelled wonderful. It was an aromatic fragrance that Anthony couldn't adequately describe, but it was undoubtedly expensive. Her navy-blue tracksuit wasn't brand-name but was high quality nonetheless, and its design seemed retro-inspired. Red and white bands across the chest made the tracksuit reminiscent of eighties athletic gear.
Her sneakers were white and completely unblemished. Her soles somehow remained stain-free even as she paced the dirty concrete floor. She was short, barely five feet tall, if even that, but her confidence was massive, and her demeanor was relaxed but authoritative. She strutted around with her hands stuffed in her pockets.
"Those bruises are a lot worse than I thought," she said as she leaned down to inspect Anthony's face. He was seated in a wooden chair, and she was still barely taller than him, and he was only average height. "Those guys fucked you up real bad." She took another lick of her lollipop.
Anthony scowled but made it clear who his ire was directed at. He was furious about what Asia had done to him. She'd been a loyal customer for months, and they'd even hung out on a few occasions, but she'd still set him up to get robbed. It was the ultimate betrayal of trust, and to add insult to injury, one of her fuck buddies was responsible for the deed.
"It must have been a .50 cal, huh?" The woman asked as she swiveled Anthony's head around. He had no way of truly knowing what weapon had hit him, but the damage spoke for itself. Multiple bright red bruises dotted his forehead along with bits of dried blood. "Don't worry, I'll make them pay."
The words sounded reassuring, but they didn't calm Anthony's fears. He was still fucked regardless. The product he'd purchased to sell was gone. Sure, it had been stolen, but that didn't matter in the criminal underworld. He owed his supplier money, and without any product to sell, he wouldn't have the funds to pay his debt. He was deep in the hole, and his options were limited.
"I swear I'll make this up to –"
"- No, it's okay," She cut Anthony off. "You fucked up. You made some awful decisions, but hopefully you've learned from them. You were stupid, incredibly stupid, but I have to commend you for one thing: even after you got robbed and beaten unconscious, you still called Margarito. That was a true showcase of loyalty and trust."
Anthony wanted to object, but realized that it was wiser to remain silent. On the surface, her words were true, but they weren't completely accurate. He'd only called Margarito out of fear. Anthony would've never dialed his number if he'd known that she would answer the phone instead.
"After something like that, most people would've tried to cover it up or make excuses, but you were honest with us, and your honesty is why I'm not particularly angry. Obviously, I can't allow fuck ups like this to be a regular thing, but unlike my father, I'm not just going to go around killing people for mistakes that can be fixed."
"I know I've said it a lot, but I really do mean it; I'm so sorry. I promise nothing like this will ever happen again!" Anthony swore as he summoned tears in a desperate attempt to appeal to her empathy, but she just blinked, unimpressed.
"Oh, I know it won't happen again," she leaned forward and looked Anthony dead in the eyes. "Because if it does…." Her words trailed, and she walked away laughing. The side door to the room suddenly swung open, and Anthony's boss, Margarito, barged in. He was a tall, buff, imposing Hispanic man with multiple facial tattoos and short, jet-black hair. The rest of his body was oddly devoid of ink, except for the red tattoo on his right arm: three snakes converging on a triangle
Anthony's heart dropped as soon as he saw Margarito. His white tank top and blue jeans were speckled with blood, and his hands were gloved in black latex, which only meant one thing: someone was going to die. Three unfamiliar men shuffled into the room after Margarito. They were dressed in black from head to toe, and only their eyes were visible from their ski masks.
The last man to enter the room arrived with Asia, who was gagged and bound in his arms. She looked worse for wear, even worse than she'd looked after the robbery. Anthony still couldn't believe she'd taken a beating just to help stage the mugging. The lengths of her duplicity truly knew no bounds. The man tossed Asia on the floor, and she landed hard, eliciting a muffled cry of agony as she hit the concrete.
She landed near Anthony, and he took a moment to inspect her. Both of her eyes were black, several shades darker than her caramel skin. Her hair was frazzled and torn, and her once beautiful face was filled with bruises that would take an eternity to heal. But she wasn't bleeding at least. Margarito had likely cleaned her up before bringing her here.
"Patrona, I'm pretty sure she's told us everything she knows," Margarito said as he took a knee in front of the woman in the tracksuit.
"Get up!" She demanded. "And stop calling me that; it's weird. Sure, I'm your boss, but we know each other on a first-name basis. My name is Idalia, you can say it."
Margarito's face scrunched. He looked at her apprehensively but ultimately complied with her wishes and stood up. "Okay, if that's what you want, Idalia."
"See? How easy was that? Much better." Idalia clapped whimsically and gave him a fist bump. "You can continue now."
"As you can see, we fucked her up. I'm pretty sure she's told us everything she knows, and when I say everything, I mean everything." Margarito emphasized his words. "She even told us about shit that wasn't even related to the robbery."
Anthony listened as Margarito explained in graphic detail what he and his men had done to Asia. In another room, they'd tortured her mentally and physically. It hadn't taken Asia long to squeal, but Margarito and his men had gone the extra mile to make an example out of her. Just because she was a woman, it didn't mean she would get a pass. Idalia applauded Margarito and his squad for their ruthlessness.
"Shit like this is why you're one of my favorite employees," she smiled, and with the cherry lollipop stuffed in her mouth, it looked like her gums were bleeding.
"Do you still have her cell phone?"
"Of course, why?" Idalia asked as she pulled Asia's cell phone from one of her pockets.
"I just want to confirm something," Margarito said as he grabbed the phone. He entered the passcode and scrolled through several apps until he found what he was looking for. "We might be in a little bit of trouble."
"What do you mean?" Idalia asked, but things became clear in a flash. She spat out her lollipop when Margarito handed her the phone. "This is some bullshit!" Idalia glanced at Asia, the phone, and then back at Asia. "You're a criminal, and you have this app downloaded on your phone?"
Anthony squinted hard, but he couldn't make heads or tails of what app was open on the phone. Idalia walked over to Asia, leaned down, and ripped the duct tape off her mouth. She yelped as the friction reopened a large wound on her busted, swollen lips. Idalia held the phone directly in front of Asia's face.
"What's this all about?"
'I-I-it's just an app I downloaded. A-a-almost everyone I know has it on their phone," Asia stuttered. She gulped and received a backhand from Idalia.
"Lots of people have this app on their phone, but not too many people have a fucking paid subscription. You're one confusing ass bitch. You commit crimes but then have the strong arms of the law watching over you just in case shit goes bad?"
"That's not.... I'm not a criminal. I-I-I usually don't do things like this. I-I've never done anything like this before tonight. It was just a one-time thing, I swear. I was desperate and really needed the money. I apologize to you, Anthony, your whole crew, and family!"
Idalia shook her head in disgust. "It's way too late for apologies." She snapped her fingers, and the wound on Asia's lips doubled in length and depth. Blood started pouring like a faucet, and Asia screamed, writhing on the floor in anguish. Idalia walked away as if nothing had even happened while Anthony gawked at her, horrified.
"People in this city really need to pick what side of the fence they're on. You can't be a criminal and a civilian at the same time. We have rules for a fucking reason." Idalia vented to Margarito, but all he did was nod like a bobblehead. "How do you think we can handle what might come our way?"
"I don't know. That really depends on her subscription plan."
"Remind me to find whoever created this app and kill them," Idalia grumbled. She turned, pointed at Anthony, and said, "What do you know about this app?"
"Well, uh, I don't even know what app you're talking ab-" Anthony started to say, but his words were left trailing when Asia's phone was suddenly launched at him. He juggled the phone between both hands before finally securing it. When he saw what was on the screen, his eyes widened.
"This is HeroPoint."
HeroPoint was an older app that had recently experienced a massive surge in popularity due to new ownership. Its core function was emergency assistance. HeroPoint allowed civilians to request a Hero's aid during disasters, violent crimes, Aberrant attacks, and other high-risk situations. The app featured a built-in GPS emergency ping and a Hero proximity map. The higher your subscription level was, the faster a Hero would respond to your crisis, but the paid subscription feature divided public opinion.
In many people's eyes, it was immoral to charge for Hero assistance. A Hero should've ideally been incentivized by the greater good, but reality was often the opposite. The United States was a free-market society, and capitalistic greed was just the way of the world, but HeroPoint wasn't the only app of its kind. There were several other Hero help apps, including government-sponsored ones, but HeroPoint was the best. They had the largest inventory of Heroes, and they were seemingly always available in times of need.
"I can't believe this bitch," Anthony grumbled as he skimmed through the settings of the HeroPoint app. Asia's subscription plan was one of the highest. She paid $155 per month for a tier-three plan. Someone who could afford that wasn't in desperate need of money; she'd lied again. Anthony gave her a nasty glare, but she never saw it; she had passed out from the pain of her wound.
"She set an alarm. If her GPS location isn't near her home by six a.m., an emergency distress signal will activate, and that will alert the nearest Hero." Anthony's mouth trembled as he finished speaking. Things had gone from bad to worse.
Idalia grimaced. "We should've destroyed the phone instead of sending those texts and making that call, but hey, you live, and you learn." She shrugged and seemed oddly at peace about the whole situation.
"So, what now? What do we do? What time is it?" Margarito asked with grave concern.
"It's 5:57," Idalia responded, and for once, she looked flustered. Her eyes were wide with fear. She needed to leave immediately, but before she exited the building, she asked Anthony a question. "Who's the closest Hero to our location?"
Anthony checked the Hero proximity map in the app and answered with a lump in his throat. "It's Palisade."
Idalia bolted out the door.