CHAPTER 28
We ate what we brought. I had protein bars and lemon water. Minutes after eating, Marissa brought out an energy drink.
"Why are you drinking that? You never drink anything that's carbonated," I asked her.
"It's mission save Jordan! I need all the energy I can get!"
Marissa was just unbelievable. Slowly but surely, she was becoming a clown.
After long hours of sitting in the plane, we finally landed.
"Mexico!" Shaun nodded, agreeing with himself.
"Why do I get the feeling this is your first time flying in a plane?" Marissa clowned Shaun.
"No, I've flown on a Phoenix!" he mockingly said.
"I'm concerned. Do you even have a passport?" Marissa was trying to get under Shaun's skin.
"Cut it off, guys! We're here. Let's get to work!" I ordered.
Good enough, we arrived just as it was getting dark. Since the selfish Indira didn't give me the map, Marissa constructed a fake map with made-up coordinates.
I called Kora.
"I have the map! Where's my son?"
"Good. I'm sending you the location where we're going to trade. Be there in the next twenty minutes."
She sent the location, and we went there. It was a spacious place. The area was completely vacant.
Lupita and Indira were the ones who went to meet Kora. We were also there, but out of her sight.
I could see her walk over to them. As usual, she wore something revealing. Shaun, who was with me, dropped his jaw upon seeing her.
I noticed it and pushed his jaw back up.
"Idiot!" I murmured to myself.
We wore wireless, very small, unnoticeable mics for communication.
"Well, well. We meet again, sisters!" Kora said, bowing down as if she had delivered a great speech.
"The captive's mother is not here. How predictable!" She laughed out loud like a hyena.
"Well, I know Brandi is probably lying on one of these tall buildings, targeting me, but if you look over your shoulder... a red light is also aimed at both of you!" she told them.
It took me a while before I could see the green dot on their shoulders.
"And I'm very sure Marissa is in a van somewhere trying to track or hack into cameras, but unfortunately, this place has no cameras, nor do we have any digital devices here. Except for the cellphones, which we won't be needing anymore because the party is about to start. See? I know you too well!" she concluded.
That's the problem. She knew us too well, but she had forgotten one thing—we also knew her.
I wasn't on any roof, nor was Marissa in any van. I was ten meters behind her. Marissa was the one on the roof with the Sako TRG.
"Target locked!" Marissa finally said.
"All this time? Are you only locking her now?" I surprisingly asked.
"Yes. My glasses had fallen down."
"Marissa, get your prescription checked. That gun has lenses or binoculars or whatever you might call them! Look through it, dum-dum," I informed her.
I couldn't believe she didn't realize it.
Just as we were talking, I heard a thud on Marissa's end.
"Marissa? Marissa?"
No reply.
Something was wrong somewhere.
I couldn't hear what Lupita and Kora were saying. Just then I heard:
"Brandi, come out. I know you're here... or I'll kill these two!"
Kora was pointing a gun at their faces.
I came out but told Shaun to stay put.
I walked toward her.
"Put your hands at the back of your head," she told me while pointing a gun at me.
I obeyed her.
I walked toward her, and she smacked me across the face.
"The map! Hand it over!" she demanded.
"Where's my son?"
"There!"
She pointed at a medium-sized cage.
He was inside it, and he was asleep. The cage was inside another cage, and the bigger cage was filled with stray, hungry dogs.
I looked at Kora in horror.
"I know, right? That cage will open in three hours from now! If you play with me or delay me further, I'll open it before the three hours. The dogs take instructions from one person, which is me."
The setup was very familiar.
"Your son will die the same exact way that you killed his father!" she whispered in my ear.
"Let the others go, and let's settle this... me and you!"
I tried to frustrate her with those words so she would make a mistake and I could take her down, but she did not lose her guard.
"Release my son, and I'll give you the map."
"Give me the map first!" she shouted, and I could see she was getting impatient.
"Give her the map, Brandi!" Lupita shouted.
I took the map out and threw it at her face. She unfolded it, and I could see a smile play across her face. I stole a glance at Lupita, and she winked at me. It was working.
She dragged Marissa, whose hands were tightly tied with a rope, using her as a scapegoat. She dragged her to the helicopter outside, and I saw Felipe inside. He had an evil grin on his face.
Kora stepped inside, and before they could take off, she pulled the trigger and shot Marissa three times. Kora's face had no traces of regret.
"Noooo!" we all screamed in unison.
The wind paused. The animals of the night all fell silent. The moon hid away in the clouds. The stars bid goodbye to the earth at that instant. It felt like we were in a time lapse.
Marissa dropped dead. Kora had hit all the vital organs.
Lupita held Marissa in her arms, weeping.
"No, Marissa, please don't do this to me. Please... No, no, no. Marissa, please... Look, Brandi's here. You can't die like this. You still have to teach Jordan how to hack. Open your eyes, please..." Lupita sobbed.
I couldn't hold back my tears. Lupita was covered in blood. One of us was gone.
Lupita gave her CPR, but nothing happened. I tried applying pressure on her wounds to avoid blood loss. I guess we were shocked and thought we could save her. Lupita was confused and in immense pain.
A pain exceeding childbirth struck my nerves. The fact that Kora had killed Marissa in cold blood had escalated everything. How could she?
I was so disturbed that I almost forgot my son was surrounded by savage dogs. I heard him scream, and I ran back to him. The dogs were barking like crazy. He kept screaming and crying.
"Mom, help me... get me out of here!" he screamed.
He was scared.
I couldn't think of any way to get him out of there. While debating and brainstorming how to get him out, I saw Shaun climb up the wall until he got on top of the cage.
"What are you doing?" I screamed at him.
"Saving your son! This is the only way."
I couldn't really figure out what he was about to do, but at that moment, the only thing I could do was trust him.
He had a rope tied around his waist. He threw the same rope into the cage.
"Jordan, grab that rope! I'll pull you up!" he said.
Jordan did what he said. He grabbed it.
"You only have three minutes before the cage opens up!" Lupita shouted as she ran towards me.
Shaun kept pulling him, even though he was heavy. He kept struggling.
The cage opened, and the dogs were freed.
Luckily, Jordan was almost out. One big black dog jumped up and caught him by the leg. He screamed and kicked. Yes, it did bite him. Luckily, it fell off with the shoe.
They got down from the cage, and we went to where Marissa's corpse was. We couldn't carry her body, so we laid her to rest in Mexico.
Jordan was heavily affected.
When we got back to Singapore, all he could do was isolate himself. He moved into Marissa's room. He had also taken her glasses and begun wearing them.
Marissa's death was painful for everyone, especially Lupita. Her blood sister was gone. I could feel her pain. I don't know how I would have taken it if anything had happened to Violet.
Jordan enrolled back in school.
In order for him to get himself back together and move on from Marissa's death, we sent him to Violet's house, and we removed Kora's name from his pickup list. Sadly, we also had to remove Marissa's.
I knew Lupita wasn't going to sit down and let Kora roam the earth freely.
Later that night, I drove to Violet's house. Jordan was already asleep when I got there. Violet made us coffee.
"So, how is he? Any nightmares?" I asked her.
After Marissa's death, Jordan had been having extremely scary nightmares. He would scream and wrestle with himself.
"I think the change of environment did him some good. He hasn't had any nightmares since he arrived here. Although his wall in his room is covered with Marissa's pictures. His computer backdrop and his phone's too."
"Marissa meant a lot to him. I don't know how he'll navigate through this, but I believe he will."
I couldn't stay for long, so I told her to walk me out.
"I don't think we're safe. Kora must've found out by now, so we are just waiting for the worst!" I told her as I walked out the door.
"I told you and the ladies to go somewhere else, but you didn't listen. If Kora comes back, it is going to be a killer show, and you know it, Brandi."
Violet was worried. I could tell by her shaking and staggering voice. I was also worried about what lay ahead.
"Take care of my son."
I gave her a slight smoldering smile as I entered my car.
In another world, maybe I would have been a perfect mother and sister, but on earth, it was impossible.
On earth, husbands turn into strangers, and sisters turn into foes.
One lonely cold night, we were having dinner when a mad shooting at our house began. The first many bullets were a warning, and we had to hide in order to survive. They shot at the house, and all the glass broke. It was mostly made of glass. There was broken glass everywhere. A lot of men stormed inside with guns, and behind them was that abomination we once called a sister, with her boyfriend by her side.
"Find them!" she ordered.
I was behind the couch. A tall Caucasian man came in my direction. I thought he had seen me, so before he could reach me, I took a handful of broken glass and threw it into his eyes. Using the couch as an elevator, I jumped high enough to place my legs around his neck and backflip him. We crashed to the ground. I was quick enough to put my arm around his neck and exert enough pressure for him to pass out. By the time others had noticed, I already had his gun in my hand. I shot a lot of them. The ladies also took down some men and were firing as well. Rolling and shooting here and there, I arrived where the ladies were.
Nothing was audible except the nonstop firing of bullets. Suddenly, the gunshots stopped.
"I know you're out here, ladies. Come out!" Kora shouted as she walked to and fro with a pistol in her hand.
Silence.
"Brandi… what a cool way to mislead me. I must say I was impressed! Bravo!" she said while clapping her hands.
Lupita was boiling with rage.
Unexpectedly, she got up and headed towards Kora. She was running so fast, and seeing Lupita that hyper meant Kora was in trouble. She also knew what was about to happen to her, so she shot her in the leg. She didn't fall but limped toward her. Kora thought she would fall before reaching her until a heavy punch landed on her face, busting her lip.
The men held her back. Kora hit her again. She spit the blood in her mouth.
"You're a lost cause, just like Brandi and Indira! Oh, I'm sorry I didn't mention your sister… oh, she's dead!" She broke out laughing.
Lupita's tears sparkled. Her eyes were like splintered glass. Her gaze was as sharp as a machete sharpened in China.
"I'm going to be the one that causes your demise. You can be sure of that!" Lupita hissed.
"That's not going to happen because I'm going to kill you first!"
She took out a knife and was about to stab Lupita when I pulled Felipe and held a gun to his head. Luckily, he was within my reach.
"What's it gonna be?" I asked her.
"You stab Lupita, and I'll blow his dumb brains out!"
Suddenly, we heard a helicopter over us.
"Interpol! Brandi Knowles, Lupita Cannon, Indira Birgundy, Marissa Cannon, and Kora Williams, you have been surrounded. With your hands in the air, come out!"
"Shit!" was all I could say. At that point, I knew it was the end. I shoved Felipe to the side.
We were now worried about how to get out of the place. The police entered, and the thugs that came with Kora started shooting, giving Kora, as she thought, a chance to escape. She ran upstairs, not knowing I was looking at her. As any normal person would, I followed her.
She ended up in my room. She was about to close the door when I pushed it, and it hit her face so hard, causing a nosebleed. I took the chance and landed a heavy kick to her ribs, sending her onto her butt. Before she could get up, I sat on her, raining all kinds of punches I knew on her. Kora wasn't that strong, so she was just an insult to my physical strength.
I held her by the collar and raised her head.
"You messed with my son, and I told you I'd peel your skin. This is for Marissa!"
I hit her again. I pulled out the small and sharpest blade I had ever had. I always kept it in my socks. I looked at her, and fear echoed through the whole room. Her fear was so loud that I could hear it.
I took her pretty hand and placed the tip of the blade on her skin. I watched it pierce her. She screamed, but no one was going to come to her aid. I was about to go deeper when the door opened, and it was Lupita.
"Let me do it… for Marissa!" she said.
Without hesitation, I gave her the knife. She examined Kora's face. I could see pity on Lupita's face.
"Look, if you're having flashbacks of the happy times we spent together, it's totally normal… I get it. Give me the knife, and I'll send her on a one-way train to hell!" I told her.
I didn't care if Lupita couldn't kill her because I knew damn well I wasn't letting her go. She shook her head and knelt before the traitor.
"I never thought it would end like this. I never thought I was going to be the one to end your life, but in the end, I'm the one who's going to end it," Lupita said sadly and painfully, with an angry edge on top.
The police were busy downstairs, and if she didn't hurry, we wouldn't be successful in killing that two-faced guttered being.
"Stop the sermon and end that miserable fool's life or they'll get us before we do it. Stab her in the eye or something… you can even cut a piece of her lungs or spleen while she's alive… just make it painful!" I shouted at her.
One cop was coming upstairs. I could deal with him, so I closed the door and met him halfway.
When he saw me, he dropped his gun. He was shaking. You could hear his teeth chatter like cutlery.
"Are you okay?" I asked, even though I didn't care.
The moment he heard my voice, he wet his pants. That was new—nobody feared me to this extent.
"Any problem?" I asked him.
He shook his head and ran back downstairs. Out of all the cops I met, that was the most useless one of them all. I asked myself how he got through police training. As a cop, you should be strong and willing to go the extra mile for your country. Did he even take the oath? I asked myself.
I went back to the room and nearly threw up at the horror decorations Lupita had made using Kora's parts. Her eyes were gouged out, her intestines were on my bed, and her heart was in Lupita's hand. She had literally butchered her like beef. Some body parts had turned into drapes in the room.
She had blood all over her hands and part of her face. She stood up and dropped the heart to the floor.