Chapter Three
Michael Rodriguez, a forty five year old man, walked down the hall of the three story stone house, purchased a couple of years ago. It had taken a day to gather his people together. Michael had taken over the cartel from his father who ran it with an iron fist. Murder and torture, along with fear, was the way he ran his cartel, making his father proud of him. Since he heard about the shootings, he waited for Antonio to contact him. After a day of no word, Michael figured that he was laying low.
Pushing open the doors to his huge office, he looked at the faces of his men that had flown in from Columbia. Manny Rodriguez, his brother and second in command smiled as he walked in. Manuel was in charge of drug production and making sure the workers stayed in line. Tim wasn't from Columbia, but his background gave Michael the means of eliminating his enemies.
Michael walked passed everyone and took his seat at the head of the table. His stare tried to ascertain the expressions of everyone there. “Tell me what's going on.”
“No one has heard from Antonio. We think the police may have him,” Manuel said. “No,” Michael said shaking his head. “He's smarter than that. My nephew is hiding out and we need to get to him.”
“What about this witness who saw Antonio?,” Manuel asked. “She saw him kill Rodgers and now she's a threat to us.”
“Michael, you shouldn't have given Antonio that much responsibility. He's so much like his father,” Manny said.
“This is not the time to talk about what I shouldn't have done. I love my nephew, but we have to talk about what we're gonna do about it,” Michael told him.
The doors opened and Tony Fernandez walked in. He was the man who had connections and could gather any information that was needed. He carried a folder with him, which contained all the information they would need to resolve the cartel's problem. Tony placed the blue folder in front of Michael and took a seat. Michael picture of a woman's face. Suddenly, his eyes filled with tears and remained silent, which concerned everyone sitting at the table.
“What's wrong, Michael,” his brother asked. “What's her name, Tony?”
“Dawn Hawkins. She's married and doesn't have any children,” Tony said.
Michael thought of his wife, who died so long ago. It moved him to see the face that reminded him of his wife and love. He passed the picture to his brother, who stared at it in disbelief at it.
“She looks so much like...” Manny's voice trailed off.
“I don't want her harmed,” Michael said, still in thought. He wondered if the woman in the picture was anything like his wife.
“What? She'll testify against Antonio.”
“I want her brought to me. I'll deal with her myself.”
“Right now she's at a motel on highway seventy five with a federal agent. They'll be leaving in the morning,” Tony told him.
“I want you to bring her to me! I don't care how!,” Michael ordered.
#
Chris stepped out of the bathroom while drying his hair. He walked over to the window and looked out at the parking lot checking it before looking up at the star filled sky. Dawn was laying in bed watching television. He wished that their first night together wasn't filled with silence, instead with laughter and friendly words they once shared. Letting out a sigh, Chris walked over and sat down in the chair. Dawn rolled over onto her side and stared at him. She remembered the romantic nights they shared. How they used to cuddle up in front of the television with a chilled bottle of wine. And after watching a couple of movies, they made love to the soft sweet sounds of love songs. Dawn wondered if he had any of those kind of moments with someone else. She was ashamed that she'd been acting so childish. Putting him through so much when all she wanted to do was love him. She figured that he was still angry at her. After all she walked out on him, just leaving him a letter. She sighed knowing that she wasn't even woman enough to tell him to his face.
Chris closed his eyes and didn't notice that Dawn was watching him. He mumbled to himself feeling a sharp pain shoot through his back as he tried to relax.
“Chris,” Dawn spoke softly. He opened his eyes and glanced over at her. She looked so beautiful laying there. “I want to know something.”
“What.” His voice was flat and plain. “Why did you let me leave?,” she asked.
“Dawn, that's something I had no control over. I wasn't there when you left, so I couldn't do anything about it,” he told her.
“So, why didn't you come after me?”
“You no longer wanted to be with me. Besides, I had to go to work,” he told her.
“That's all I wanted to know. You don't have to come anywhere near me,” she told him. Chris turned his head away and said, “You're not going to give me a break, are you?”
“Maybe.”
“Go to sleep, Dawn. We've got to get an early start.”
#
Early the next morning, the sun rose as the sounds of birds and traffic could be heard. A black van slowly pulled into the motel parking lot. A man got out and walked to the front office. The manager sipped on his coffee, reading the morning newspaper, glancing over the sports page. The bell that hung on the door rang and he looked up to see a man in a black suit and tie wearing sunglasses. A hundred dollar bill was placed on the counter. “Did a man and woman check in?” The manager's first response would have been that he couldn't give that kind of information out, but another hundred dollar bill was laid beside it. “What room?,” he was asked.
“Room 110.”
Manny sat quietly in the van while men loaded their weapons. They all had their instructions for grabbing the witness and killing the agent. Tony walked back over.
Chris walked out of the bathroom as Dawn shut her suitcase. He knew if they only made a couple of stops, they would reach their destination by the late afternoon.
“Chris, I'm hungry. I want some breakfast,” Dawn said.
He zipped up his suitcase and said, “After we get on the road, I promise.”
“Okay. As long as you don't forget about me,” she said.
Chris was surprised at her response. He expected her to be mean and spoiled, but she was nice and thought he could say something and it wouldn't upset her. “Hey, I'm sorry that you're in this mess. I will try to accommodate you, Dawn. The best I can.”
“Wow, Chris. That was nice,” she said. “I'm sorry about the question I asked you last night. I shouldn't have said that.”
Chris smiled at her, finally having a chance to say things he'd been wanting to. “Dawn, I want to tell you something.”
“Yes, Chris. I'm listening.”
He felt just as nervous as when he first met her. Looking deep into her eyes, he wanted to reach out and pull her close, kissing her deeply and passionately. “Dawn, I want you to...”
Suddenly, bullets ripped through the window shattering it. Dawn screamed as Chris pulled her to the floor. More bullets ripped into the wall and television causing the screen to explode.
Chris scrambled across the floor grabbing his gun from off the table. Just as suddenly as it started, the gun fire stopped. Chris got to his feet and pointed his gun towards the window. The curtains were partially hanging as he peeked through. Several men were walking slowly towards them, reloading their weapons.
“Come on! We've gotta get out of here,” Chris said, grabbing their suitcases. “Go into the bathroom!”
Dawn stood in fear by the sink becoming more frantic by the second as Chris shut and locked the door. “What are we going to do now?,” she shouted. The bathroom window wasn't large, but he saw that it was big enough for them to get out. Taking his suitcase, he broke the glass and climbed up clearing it. He tossed their suitcases out and helped Dawn squeeze through, when he heard the room door being kicked in. After Dawn was outside, he climbed up and wiggled his way through the window and Dawn grabbed his hands pulling him out.
Picking up their suitcases, they ran for the car. Bullets hit the ground around their feet and Chris dropped their suitcases and grabbed his gun. Chris fired a few shots, killing two men.
They left their suitcases behind and ran for the car. Dawn could barely see with the tears streaming down her face. “Hurry up, Dawn!,” Chris shouted as he reached the car. Getting in he fumbled with the keys a second before he got into the ignition and starting the car. Dawn slammed her door shut. “Go!,” she shouted as bullets shattered the back window. She cried while ducking down in the seat as the fear of death gripping her tightly. They drove off as more bullets hit the car. Chris looked in the rear view mirror to see a black van speeding behind them. He found it hard to concentrate with Dawn's loud crying, but he understood. She had never seen any violence or was involved in any until now.
Manny sat quietly in the van as they sped down the highway trying to catch up. He wanted to kill them both, instead of this foolish game they were playing. The van finally caught up speeding along side of them as the side panel door slid open. Shots exploded the driver side windows and Dawn screamed. Chris was able to move away dodging cars, but the van managed to catch up again.
An eighteen wheeler was in front of them and Chris knew that he couldn't stay ahead of them too long. Quickly swerving to the inner lane, he stepped on the gas pedal. His eyes widened at seeing a construction sign quickly approaching. With only seconds before hitting it, he told Dawn to hold on. Chris swerved out of the way just missing being hit by the truck. However, a car hit the sign and the driver screamed seeing a construction vehicle in his path. He hit the breaks, but couldn't stop in time as the car exploded on impact. The truck driver slammed on his breaks, locking the tires into a skid.
“Stop the car, now!,” Manny shouted just before it ran into the back of the truck. The van was pinned halfway underneath. Glass was everywhere and metal was crushed and crumpled.
“Yeah!,” Chris shouted as he sped down the highway. “You can sit up now, Dawn. I don't think they're gonna be bothering us anymore,” he told her. She slowly sat up in the seat. Tears streamed down her face as she continued to cry. “Why do they want to kill me? I didn't do anything to anybody,” she cried while removing broken glass from her hair.
Chris felt for her. Even though she had been a pain from the beginning, he knew she was only doing it out of anger and fear. “At the first place we come to, we'll get something to eat,” he told her.
Dawn nodded and continued removing the glass from her hair and clothes. She wanted to go home and be with her parents. Looking out of the window, she wondered when her nightmare would end.
Chris spotted a truck stop ahead and slowed down to pull into the parking lot. Shutting off the engine, he stared at Dawn a few moments. He wanted to reach out and hold her. Tell her that no matter what, he would protect her. Keep her alive.
“Are you alright, Dawn?”
“No! I could have died!”
“I wouldn't let that happen,” he told her.
“And why is that?,' she asked. Dawn wanted to hear him say that he still cared for her.
That he was still in love with her, like she was with him. “Because it's my job.”
“Damn you,” she said getting out of the car.
Chris sighed thinking that he should have told her the truth. At lease, before she went back to her husband. He got out of the car and shut the door. They walked inside the small diner looking around. The counter stretched out in front of them, from one side to the other. Small booths were lined up along the window on both sides of them. It had a sixties style about each table with jute boxes at each one. They took a seat at a booth close by the door, so they could get out quickly if they had to. Dawn looked at Chris and wondered how they found her. For a quick instant, she wondered if he had anything to do with it. She knew that he was angry with her for leaving him, but wondered if he was angry enough to let her die. Fumbling around with the fork and spoon, Chris thought about what he said earlier. He didn't mean it, but he wanted to keep his distance from her. He had to remember that she was married and he couldn't ask her to fool around, even if she wanted to.
The waitress walked over placing two glasses of water on the table and handed them menus.
“Dawn, I want to apologize about what I said.”
“Excuse me?”
“You deserve much better. I'm just trying to keep you safe,” he told her.
“I know that your husband is a lucky man.”
“What brings this on?,” she asked. “I'm trying to be nice. Don't spoil it.”
“I'm sorry,” she said twisting her glass on the table. “I just wasn't expecting this.”
“Yeah. You probably haven't heard a lot of apologies from me. Even when we were together.”
“You shouldn't say that, Chris. We had our share of good times. We just lost something along the way,” she told him.
“Yes,” Dawn said. “I'll have the full breakfast special. Also a cup of coffee.”
“I'll just have a cup of coffee,” Chris said.
“Okay,” the waitress said taking the menus. “It'll be right up.”
“So tell me, Dawn, where did you meet him?,” he curiously asked. She smiled. “In the parking lot of my job.”
“Well I'm glad you found someone who loves you,” he said.
Dawn reached over and gently grabbed his hand, examining his fingers.
“You don't have a wedding ring, so I assume that you're not married.”
“No. I dated here and there. Nothing serious. I've just been throwing myself into my work,”he told her.
The waitress brought over their coffee and left again to get their plates. Dawn noticed Chris' sat expression and wondered if it had anything to do with her being married. He stood up and dug into his pocket for change. “Where are you going?,” she nervously asked.
“Right over there to make a phone call. I have to check in,” he explained. Chris walked over to the telephone booth and picked up the receiver. After inserting a couple of quarters, he dialed his special number. He glanced over at Dawn, who kept her attention on him.
“F.B.I. Special Unit. Agent Henderson speaking.”
“Joseph, this is Chris.”
“Chris?”
“What's wrong? You sound surprised to hear from me,” Chris asked.
“No, no. I'm not surprised. It's just that I didn't expect you to stop so soon.”
“Tell Johnson that there's a leak in the bureau,” Chris stated.
“A leak? How do you know that?,” Joseph quickly asked.
“The cartel tried to kill the witness. They knew we were at the motel. Somebody had to tell them.”
“Man, are you alright? Is the witness okay?,” Joseph asked. “She's pretty upset, shaken up, but doing well.”
“I'll pass on that information to Johnson. This is something he'll want to know.”
Chris hung up the receiver and walked back to the table. Dawn was eating her breakfast while he poured sugar and cream in his coffee.
“You're not going to eat anything?,” she asked. “I'm not hungry,” he said staring into his cup.
“Chris, you don't have to play the tough guy for me. You forget that I know you better than that,” she said.
He smiled and said, “You always did.”
After eating, he paid the bill and they went outside to the car. It took them over an half hour to clean up all the glass. Dawn watched him while thinking of telling him everything. He was the man that she truly loved. She put him through so much pain all because of a spoiled attitude she had since being a young teen. At sixteen, she didn't just want to be love, but worshiped. Her father treated her that way, paying more attention to her, than he did his wife. People thought it was strange, having a relationship like that with his daughter, but he wanted her to not accept anything, but the best. He was at her beacon call and she even expected that same treatment from her the guys she dated. Dawn couldn't understand why her relationships didn't last. Why they left her, some without even taking the time to break up with her. It took a long time for her father to explain to her how wrong he was to treat her that way. How badly he spoiled her. She couldn't help how she treated men, even though now that she realized it, a part of her wanted to continue to be showered with attention and to be adored.
Even though she was nervous, Dawn made herself relax. She closed her eyes allowing the warm breeze to blow on her face, helping calm her until she fell asleep. Chris glanced over at her and remembered those nights when he would watch her sleep. He tried to ignore his feelings for their sake. He slid his hand over touching hers, feeling the soft tenderness of her skin. Dawn softly moaned and then smiled and Chris quickly removed his hand. He knew that she would be very upset if she knew what he was doing.
“I wish, Dawn, that I could go back to when we were together. I wouldn't let you walk out of my life.”