Nash finally made it to the designated spot. The alley was quiet, almost too quiet, except for the distant sound of traffic bleeding through the streets.
He unfolded the small note again under the dim streetlight, squinting at the messy handwriting.
"Provoke my driver?"
He lowered the paper slowly and looked ahead. Parked near the curb was a long black limousine, polished enough to reflect the neon lights around it.
Beside the vehicle stood a massive white man in a black suit, arms folded across his chest like a nightclub bouncer.
Nash stared for a moment.
"Is this a joke, or am I getting punked?"
The driver remained motionless, chewing gum while glaring around the area with the kind of attitude that begged for trouble. Nash scratched the side of his neck and sighed.
Though Nash knew he could take him easily, provoking people for unnecessary bullshit was never really his thing anymore. That version of himself had already died years ago.
"Hmmm..." Nash muttered to himself before shrugging. "Screw it."
He shoved the note into his pocket and casually walked toward the limousine. The closer he got, the more the driver's eyes narrowed.
"What are you looking at, black-ass?" the white driver spat out immediately.
Nash stopped right in front of him, slowly looking the man up and down with a mocking expression.
"Honestly? I was impressed by your build," Nash replied. "Until that white pig-ass motherfucker ruined it the second he opened his mouth."
The driver's jaw tightened.
"You got a problem?" the driver growled as he stepped forward.
Nash tilted his head slightly, unfazed.
"You're begging for a problem."
Without warning, the driver lunged at him with a wild punch.
"Wow, temper much?" Nash mocked while leaning away from the swing.
The fist barely missed his face. Nash quickly drove his elbow into the man's ribs before shoving him backward. The giant stumbled but roared angrily and charged again, trying to tackle him with brute force.
Nash sidestepped at the last second.
The driver crashed shoulder-first into the limousine door with a loud bang.
"Damn, you really are stupid," Nash muttered.
The driver swung again, faster this time, but Nash blocked the hit and answered with a hard punch straight into the man's nose. Blood sprayed instantly.
"AGH!"
The giant staggered backward, clutching his face. Nash didn't let him recover. He kicked the man behind the knee, forcing him down before grabbing his collar and smashing his head against the hood of the limousine.
Under three minutes, the fight was already over.
The massive driver groaned on the pavement while Nash stood over him, breathing heavily but calm.
"Come on, pendejo," Nash taunted, crouching slightly near him. "Call me black-ass again. Come on."
"I knew it..."
Nash froze.
"...you're Nash from eight years ago."
Nash slowly turned around. Standing near the limousine door was the same woman from the store yesterday. She leaned casually against the car, arms crossed, completely unfazed by the fight.
His eyes narrowed immediately.
"Who are you?" Nash asked coldly. "And why the hell did you want me to provoke your driver?"
The woman smirked faintly.
"Well, I wanted to see if you still... got it goin'."
"Excuse me?" Nash said with visible confusion.
The woman removed her sunglasses first, then her hat, revealing her face properly under the streetlight.
"Hello there, Nash," she said calmly. "I'm Vegra Zalasar. Remember me? Back at that mansion eight years ago?"
Nash stared blankly for several seconds.
".....Nope."
He immediately turned around and started walking away quickly.
"Are you interested in vengeance?"
His footsteps stopped.
For a brief second, Nash stood completely still. The atmosphere around him suddenly felt heavier.
Slowly, he turned his head back toward her.
"Woman," Nash said quietly, "the only reason I'm still alive is because of my confession."
"True. True," Vegra replied while folding her sunglasses and slipping them away. "But for how long? If Torhec finds out about your release, he'll go full Astala zista on you." She paused slightly before adding, "And honestly, you should thank me for that."
Nash frowned deeply.
"You?"
"I was the one who hid your release records from Torhec," Vegra answered. "Don't believe me? Here."
She opened the limousine door and pulled out a thick file before handing it toward him.
"I have proof inside."
Nash hesitated. His instincts screamed at him not to trust her, but curiosity slowly got the better of him. He walked back cautiously and took the file from her hands, flipping through several pages.
His expression hardened.
"I'm still confused," Nash admitted while lowering the documents slightly. "Why would you wanna hide my release forms from Torhec? He's literally the mayor of Mexico City."
Vegra's expression became more serious.
"Because I need you," she said. "You're by far the most talented man Torhec ever had."
Nash immediately scoffed and closed the file.
"Flattering," he muttered. "But I don't give two fucking shits. I'm not that guy anymore. I don't want anything to do with the cartel."
"So you don't want revenge?"
Nash suddenly laughed once in disbelief before glaring directly at her.
"Asking for death? Are you crazy, woman?!" he snapped. "Torhec has connections to their connections and so on. What kind of idiocy inside your simple-headed puta brain makes you think I wanna chase revenge against a god-like piece of shit like Don Torhec?!"
Silence followed.
The street suddenly felt quieter than before. Even the driver on the ground stopped groaning for a moment.
Vegra looked down briefly, her confident attitude finally cracking. When she looked back at Nash again, her eyes carried something heavier.
Pain.
"Because I want him dead more than you do," she answered quietly.
Nash's anger slowly faded as she continued.
"I once had a happy family... until that man came into my life." Her voice trembled slightly. "He killed my husband and took away my two children."
Vegra swallowed hard before continuing.
"My twins. Caleb and Cira." A faint, broken smile appeared on her face for only a second. "They're twelve years old this year."
She looked away afterward.
"But it's getting harder and harder to even see them now."
Nash stayed silent.
For the first time since meeting her, he actually looked at Vegra properly instead of treating her like another manipulative stranger. Deep down, he remembered hearing stories about her years ago from his deceased friend, Paul.
A dangerous woman.
But now, standing in front of him, she simply looked tired.
"We exchanged looks once out of greeting back then," Nash finally said. "But why come to me?"
"Torhec talks about you a lot," Vegra said quietly. "Before you went to jail... and before your betrayal."
Nash scoffed lightly and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Yeah? And?" he replied. "That old man likes being the bigger picture."
Vegra studied him carefully beneath the dim city lights.
"Then you already know why I came to you now," she continued. "I heard everything from him. How he picked you up. Raised you."
Nash's expression immediately darkened.
"Put the pity aside, Vegra," he said coldly. "Speak clearly. What exactly do you want from me?"
Vegra inhaled slowly before answering.
"I want you to get my children back."
The blunt confession made Nash's eyes widen instantly.
For a moment, he simply stared at her like she had completely lost her mind.
"Now you're literally begging for death."
"That's not all," Vegra added quickly.
She opened her handbag and pulled out a small black pendrive, holding it tightly between her fingers before handing it over to him.
"Here. Something that might help you."
Nash hesitated before taking it carefully.
"All information regarding Torhec's activities," Vegra explained. "Cartels, drugs, kidnappings, human trafficking, narcotics, murders, blackmail... all of it." Her voice became lower. "Including files of confessions, owned estates, hidden land properties, financial routes... everything."
Nash looked down at the tiny device resting in his palm.
It suddenly felt heavier than it should.
"You brought a ticking time bomb straight to me, you know that?" Nash muttered.
He looked back at her with disbelief.
"Let me guess," he said sarcastically, "you want me to go to the police?"
Vegra didn't laugh.
Not even a little.
The seriousness on her face immediately erased Nash's smirk.
"Mierda..." Nash cursed under his breath while pinching the bridge of his nose. "And here I thought I could finally turn my life around."
He stared at the pendrive again for several seconds before shoving it into his pocket.
"Give me some time," he said. "Let me think about it."
Vegra nodded slowly.
"Okay. You have two days." She lowered her eyes briefly. "If you don't want to do it... I understand."
A faint bitterness appeared in her voice.
"I thought I finally found the right person again."
Nash caught the last word immediately.
"Again?" he asked.
Vegra leaned lightly against the limousine.
"There were many people I secretly reached out to before," she admitted. "But the moment they heard the name Torhec Zalasar..." She let out a weak laugh. "They all turned me down."
Her eyes met his again.
"I'm not forcing you, Nash. It's your choice."
She hesitated afterward, almost struggling with her next words.
"And..." she muttered awkwardly, "I'm willing to be your... sex obje—"
Before she could even finish the sentence, Nash immediately covered her mouth with his palm.
"Oi," he said calmly while frowning at her. "Don't talk nonsense."
Vegra blinked in surprise.
"That would make me worse than Torhec."
Slowly, Nash lowered his hand away from her lips.
"Give me a day," he continued. "Here."
He grabbed a small piece of paper from his pocket and scribbled something onto it before handing it to her.
"My apartment address."
Vegra accepted the paper carefully.
"And make sure you're not being followed," Nash added seriously.
The playful attitude from earlier was completely gone now.
Vegra looked at the address for a moment before nodding quietly.
"Okay..." she said softly. "Just... think about it."
With that, she stepped back into the limousine.
The bruised and beaten white driver painfully dragged himself back into the driver's seat, glaring at Nash one last time before driving away into the night.
Nash remained standing there for several seconds after the limousine disappeared from sight.
The cold wind brushed against his face.
Slowly, he reached into his pocket and touched the pendrive again.
His expression became troubled.
Not long later, Nash returned to his rundown apartment. The moment he entered, the silence of the tiny room immediately surrounded him.
He sat down heavily on the old couch and placed the pendrive on the table.
For a long time, he simply stared at it.
The tiny object looked harmless.
But Nash knew better.
That thing could destroy empires.
Or get him killed.
"Sigh..." Nash leaned back and closed his eyes briefly. "Why the hell was I born like this?"
He chuckled bitterly to himself.
"Either I blame my mom... or my dad's kindness."
His expression softened slightly afterward.
"God rest their souls."
After several minutes of silence, Nash suddenly stood up and grabbed the pendrive.
His mind was already made up.
Soon, he headed toward the police station.
The bright lights inside the station irritated his tired eyes as officers moved around busily. Some barely glanced at him while others recognized him immediately.
Near the front desk, a familiar man spotted him.
"Yo, Nash," the officer greeted casually. "How can I help you?"
Nash walked directly toward him.
"I want to speak to Marco."
The officer, Zes, immediately laughed.
"Hah, good luck with that. Man acts like we ever—"
"Torhec Zalasar."
The name alone instantly killed the humor.
Zes froze.
A visible chill ran up his spine as his expression hardened immediately. He slowly glanced around the station before leaning closer toward Nash.
"Courting death?" Zes asked quietly.
Nash stared back at him without flinching.
"Well?"
Zes remained silent for a few seconds before finally sighing.
"I'll let him know."
Nash crossed his arms and waited.
Ten minutes later...
Zes returned from the hallway with a much more serious expression than before.
"Okay," he said quietly. "You can go in, Nash."
The conference room felt suffocatingly silent.
One bright ceiling light illuminated the table while the rest of the room remained dim. Cigarette smoke floated lazily through the air, creating a stale haze that smelled like nicotine and exhaustion.
Sitting across from Nash was Marco.
The same man who had put Nash behind bars eight years ago after his confession.
Marco leaned back in his chair, one arm resting lazily on the table while a half-smoked cigarette burned between his fingers.
"Hello, Nash," Marco greeted calmly. "Life must be treating you very nicely."
Nash pulled the chair out and sat down without breaking eye contact.
"Marco."
Marco smirked faintly.
"Word from Zes says you're tired of living." He took a slow drag from his cigarette before exhaling upward. "You got some balls. Balls of an idiota bitch, but still balls."
Nash remained quiet.
Marco's expression slowly lost its amusement.
"Give me one good reason," Marco said coldly, "why I shouldn't put a bullet through your fucking thick-bald headed black face."
Without responding verbally, Nash reached into his jacket pocket and placed the pendrive on the table.
Marco stared at it.
"The fuck is this?" he asked. "Gay porn? I'm too old for that fucking shit."
Nash leaned back slightly in his chair.
"It's information on that one idiota bitch that makes your dick go hard twenty-four seven."
He slid the pendrive across the table toward Marco.
The room became quiet again.
Marco stared at the device for several seconds before speaking.
"Damion," he called out lazily. "Check this shit out."
A tall officer standing near the corner immediately stepped forward.
"And if it's actually gay porn," Marco added while pointing at Nash with his cigarette, "find the biggest black motherfucker available to traumatize his pee-brained ass."
Nash rolled his eyes.
Damion took the pendrive and left the room.
For nearly half an hour, only silence remained between Nash and Marco. The sound of the ticking wall clock became annoyingly loud.
Marco smoked through almost two cigarettes while Nash sat patiently.
Finally, the door opened again.
Damion walked back inside carrying a laptop underneath one arm. His serious expression already answered most of the questions.
"All checked out, sir," Damion reported. "No gay porn."
Marco clicked his tongue dramatically.
"Disappointing."
"But yeah..." Damion continued carefully. "This information is massive."
That immediately caught Marco's full attention.
Damion placed the laptop onto the table and opened several files.
Photos.
Documents.
Bank transfers.
Drug routes.
Human trafficking operations.
Confessions.
Property ownerships.
Secret accounts.
Corrupt connections.
The deeper the files went, the uglier it became.
Marco slowly lowered his cigarette.
For the first time since Nash entered the room, Marco stopped joking.
"Well..." Marco muttered quietly while staring at the screen. "Now your balls are made of rwal steel, shithead."
He looked back at Nash.
"You walked into my station and handed me enough information to blow half the underground world apart." Marco narrowed his eyes. "Why?"
Nash crossed his arms.
"Because that Zalasar woman wants him dead more than we do, Marco."
Marco's eyes sharpened instantly.
"Vegra," he said quietly.
Nash nodded once.
"She gave me everything." He leaned slightly forward. "And she wants her children back."
Marco stared at him silently while smoke drifted between them.
Then he spoke again.
"You trust her?"
Nash immediately answered.
"No."
"Smart answer."
"But..." Nash glanced briefly at the files on the laptop. "I trust what's inside that pendrive."
Marco slowly leaned back into his chair again, rubbing his chin while thinking deeply.
"This kind of information..." he muttered. "If this gets leaked, Torhec won't just kill people."
His eyes shifted toward Nash again.
"He'll start a fucking war."
"True," Nash said bluntly. "But the only person willing to confess is under twenty-four-seven surveillance. My main concern right now is getting her kids out safely, Marco."
Marco stayed silent for a moment, staring at the files displayed on the laptop.
The tension in the room grew heavier.
Finally, Marco leaned back and let out a long sigh.
"There's not much I can do immediately," he admitted. "If you haven't kept up with the news since prison, Torhec basically has full immunity now."
Nash frowned slightly.
Marco rubbed his forehead tiredly before continuing.
"I'll try whatever I can." His eyes hardened afterward. "But I'm only doing this because of the children."
He pointed at one of the files on the laptop screen.
"New rumors are spreading that Torhec has started taking interest in child trafficking too."
Nash's jaw tightened instantly.
"I understand, Marco."
Marco nodded once.
"Give me three days," he said. "I'll locate the kids and get back to you."
A small sense of relief settled inside Nash.
"Thanks."
He slowly stood up from his chair before pausing.
"And one more thing," Nash added awkwardly. "How much do I need to pay to get my confiscated stuff back? My driving license is in there."
Marco immediately gave him a deadpan stare.
"...Five thousand pesos," he answered. "And another three hundred to renew the license."
Nash froze.
".....Mierda."
Marco smirked faintly.
"I'll pay," Nash muttered painfully.
Not long later, after dealing with paperwork and paying the ridiculous amount, Nash finally got his confiscated belongings back.
Walking out of the station, he stuffed his renewed driving license into his wallet and sighed heavily.
"There goes my remaining money..."
The city streets were quieter now as the night deepened. Neon signs flickered around him while passing vehicles occasionally illuminated the sidewalks.
As Nash walked back toward his apartment, something suddenly caught his attention.
A car dealership.
Bright showroom lights reflected against several polished vehicles parked behind large glass windows.
Nash stopped walking.
"Hmmm..."
After thinking for a moment, he walked inside.
The moment the door opened, a woman in a professional outfit approached him with a welcoming smile.
"Buenas noches, estimado cliente," she greeted politely. "Soy Licinia Rio."
"Hola, soy Nash," he replied casually while shaking her hand.
The second Licinia heard his name, her expression suddenly froze.
"Wait..." She blinked several times. "Nash? Like... that Nash? From eight years ago?"
Nash raised an eyebrow.
"Have we met before?"
"Yes!" Licinia said excitedly. "You remember the bullet shell? My twelve-year-old daughter? At that restaurant?"
Nash looked confused for several seconds.
"You gave me a wad of thousand pesos for her studies and upbringing!" Licinia reminded him.
Nash thought hard before realization finally struck him.
"Mierda..." His eyes widened. "You're that sexy Latina MILF!"
Licinia burst out laughing loudly.
"And you're still banging hot!"
"Puhaha! What a small world, Nash." She covered her mouth while laughing. "Honestly, I was shocked when I found out who you really were from the news."
Her expression softened afterward.
"But I'm surprised you're already out of prison."
"I served my time for eight years, Licinia," Nash replied calmly. "Now I'm just taking things one step at a time. Trying to live normally."
He looked around the showroom briefly.
"No cartel. No bullshit. Nothing."
Then he looked back at her.
"What about you? How did you become... this?"
Licinia smirked knowingly.
"This?" She placed a hand on her hip teasingly. "You mean becoming an even sexier Latina MILF?"
Nash groaned.
"Mierda, don't tease me, Licinia. You got bolder."
He chuckled slightly before asking,
"How's your daughter?"
Licinia's smile faded a little.
"She's..." Licinia paused awkwardly. "How do I put this? Completely out of control."
Nash frowned slightly.
"I'm honestly ashamed to admit it, but she works at a nightclub now as a pole dancer."
Nash blinked.
"And if you're wondering about my husband, Julius..." Licinia sighed deeply. "I divorced him last week."
"What?" Nash asked immediately. "Why? What happened?"
Licinia let out a long exhausted sigh and brushed her straight black hair aside.
"Julius..." Her voice became bitter. "I think he got bored of me."
Nash stayed quiet.
"And..."
Licinia hesitated.
"And what?" Nash pressed carefully.
Licinia looked away before speaking quietly.
"I think he has an interest in younger girls."
Nash's expression darkened.
"And one of them is..." Licinia swallowed hard. "His own daughter."
"Puta..." Nash muttered in disgust. "What kind of father looks at his own daughter like that?"
Licinia folded her arms.
"Well, I blame her too sometimes," she admitted bitterly. "She's twenty years old now and walks around the house half naked in nothing but underwear no matter how much I scold her."
She quickly shook her head afterward.
"Anyway," Licinia said while forcing a smile again, "you came here to buy a car, right?"
"Yeah," Nash replied. "Just got my license renewed. I want something black and cheap enough for my low budget."
Licinia hummed thoughtfully.
"Hmmm... I think I have exactly what you need."
She gestured for him to follow her.
Licinia guided Nash toward the back of the showroom before stopping beside a compact SUV.
"This," she said proudly while placing her hand on the hood, "is a black Jeep Renegade compact SUV."
Nash inspected it carefully.
"It costs twenty thousand pesos," Licinia continued. "But for you... maybe I can lower the price for something a little more... requestful."
She slowly stepped closer toward Nash.
Her finger gently hooked around the top button of his black shirt, fidgeting with it teasingly while feeling the firmness underneath.
Nash stared at her silently for a moment.
"What exactly are you suggesting...?"
Licinia bit her lower lip faintly.
The tension between them became noticeably hotter inside the empty backroom.
Nash understood immediately and decided to play along. His hand slowly rested against her waist while pulling her slightly closer.
Licinia's breathing became heavier.
"Mmm... Dios mío," she whispered softly. "You know how to make a woman weak."
She slowly turned around and leaned herself against the SUV, gripping the open door frame lightly.
Her tight mini skirt hugged her figure closely as she looked back over her shoulder at him with heated eyes.
"Take me, Nash..." she whispered breathlessly. "Make me forget everything tonight."
---
Chapter 4 — End.