In the middle of a stormy night, Carlos, in his large bed, rolls side to side, shaking his head violently while sweating like a man who just sprinted a 10 km marathon in the scorching summer afternoon.
"Noo- don't kill her. I SAID DON'T KILL HER!!" He lets out a deafening scream as he jolts up his bed, groaning for breath. He grabs a glass of water on a chair beside his bed and gulps it down in one swoop as if trying to calm down his nerves.
"This fucking dream again,"he grunted, throwing a pillow roughly across the room.
Surely, there was no going back to bed now. He looked at the clock hanging on his wall: 02:34 in the morning. He sighed. At least he managed to sleep for 2 hours or so. It's longer than usual. He picks up his phone and sees 3 missed calls from Danzo, his Italian client that he often refers to as 'The John' — a term they use to call someone who buys girls to use as sex workers/slaves. He quickly dials him back.
"Ayo, Mr Phantom,"Danzo said as soon as he picked up the call.
"What's good?"
"I've been ringin' ya up, but you weren't pickin' up my calls. What's up? Do you have anything good?
"15 girls in stock."
"You know l want special girls, not some run-of-the-mill marks, right?"
"Do you want them, or not?" His voice was direct and cold.
Danzo heaved a loud sigh. "Good grief. That tone of yours is what l hate the most about you. Anyway, bring them. Tomorrow, four thirty at noon. We'll meet at our usual spot."
"Cool."
"And uh.."
He dropped the call before Danzo could finish what he was about to say. He hates it when people drag a conversation. He opened his chest of drawers and picked out a box of cigarettes and lit one before going to the bathroom to take a bath. Once he was done, he came back to his room and glanced at his naked self in the large mirror of his wardrobe, touching a scar on his chest with his hand that has a tattoo of an Eagle with its wings spread wide - a logo for his mafia clan — The Black Eagles. He took a bandage and covered the scar. It's no longer painful. In fact, he got it seven years ago, but he still bandages it anyway to prevent himself from seeing it every day. It carries his darkest memories— ones that he wishes to forget, but they've became a part of him now. He grabbed a comb, brushed his sleek, black hair before selecting an eight hundred dollar Louis Vuitton shirt from his wardrobe that he wore with a brown leather jacket, finely tailored trousers and one of his most expensive Italian leather formal shoes. He polished everything by spraying an expensive cologne. Now he was ready for work.
03: 00,"he went out of his room, passing through a line of men, dressed in black suits, black sunglasses, and armored with M416 guns, short guns and pistols. They all saluted and greeted him, but he didn't bother responding.
He reached outside, and a three hundred and forty thousand dollars Royce-Rolls Ghost was parked, its doors wide open and ready for him. He got inside, and his guard handed him a briefcase with twenty thousand dollars before they drifted off, followed by four motorcycles, two in front and two at the back as if a president was passing by.
03: 45, they arrived at Envigado City, then took an off-road route that led to an abandoned warehouse with a dimly lit neon creepy light hanging on the front door. Its windows were shattered, and the area was dusty, but there were a lot of expensive cars and guards around. Carlos walked out of the car and put on his cowboy hat, black elastic gloves on his hands and dark shades, then proceeded into the warehouse. There was a passage that led to an underground facility, which he used, and at the end of it was a door where he got inspected by the guards before letting him in. Weapons weren't allowed inside to make sure people wouldn't fight each other during the auction.
He got inside, and a multitude of people lingered around—mainly the gangsters from around other cities in Columbia. Each Mafia gang had a city it controlled, and his territory was none other than the infamous city known for drug and human trafficking — the city of Medellìn.
He walked confidently to the front chairs and sat down, and as he expected, El Rey, his friend and second leader of the Black Eagles, quickly spotted him.
"Ayo, Phantom." He greeted, taking a chair next to him.
"El Rey." He simply uttered his name.
"I'm glad you made it in time. We have thirteen girls in the cargo already. We only need two more, then we're good for delivery."
"I hope they are clean. You know our john despises dirty, ugly girls. "
"I'm sure he'll love those ones. Now then, let's choose the two best girls in this auction and seal the deal with Danzo."
"Great." He grabbed a cigarette and started smoking again.
On the stage, a long line of girls were brought forward. They all faced down, looking scared and timid. They were kidnapped after all. Their hands and legs were tied so they wouldn't run away, and just when the auctioneer was about to start the auction, a girl, shorter than most with red hair, interrupted him.
"I suppose you're all here to buy misery, you goof balls." She blubbered, her loud, confident voice cutting through the tension in the room, making everyone gasp. The auctioneer tried to stop her, but she wasn't done. "Well... just so you know, make sure that whoever will buy me can manage misery because I've got lots of it to cause." The defiance in her eyes shocked even the girls that were kidnapped together with her.
"Wow. Now that's what you call a brave girl right there."El Rey complimented.
"She's just stupid." Carlos responded with an icy expression.
"C'mon, bro. You're always saying you want a strong girl to toy with when Valentina isn't around. I think this one might be just perfect for the role."
"Nop. l don't want any toys right now. I just want to live a quiet billionaire life.
"Mphf." El Rey scoffed. "Where's the fun in having billions of money that you don't use to have fun. One day, you'll leave all that money behind, so use it to the fullest while you still can. Anyway, since you don't want this girl, I'll buy her.
He raised his hand. "Ten thousand for the misery girl."
"Wow." The auctioneer exclaimed. "Ten thousand from the gentleman over there. Surely, a girl like her is worth more than that. C'mon folks, she's beautiful, feisty, and not sexually active yet. So, who wants to challenge the offer?"
"Fifteen thousand." A voice from the back offered.
"Eighteen thousand." The other yelled from the other side.
Surely, this had become a competition, and by nature, Carlos hates losing, either in being the best mafia gang leader in the whole country or in being the richest. He just wants to be on the top, and losing this girl to El Rey or to any other person here would shatter his pride.
"Fourty thousand!" Carlos blurted, taking everyone by surprise.
El Rey let out a smirk. 'You only needed a little push, didn't you, you idiot,' he said inwardly.
"Give me 20k from your money. I only bought 20k with me," he whispered to El Rey."
"I also bought 20k, dude. it's the money to buy more girls."
"We don't need them. We'll just deliver the thirteen we've got on the cargo, and that's final. Let's go."
El Rey couldn't contain the excitement building up inside him. A smug washed across his face.
"Why are you smiling?"
"Nothing, boss. I'm just glad you've finally purchased a girl. Your lonely days are over."
"Whatever. Let's get going." He went forward and paid the money, then grabbed the girl aggressively with his big hands and pulled her outside.
When they reached outside, he pushed her into the car. "I hope you're worth the amount of money l paid for you. If not, I'll kill you." He threatened, looking straight into her eyes with his piercing deep blue gaze that almost looked inhuman but in a disturbingly sexy way. She glanced back at him, her arms crossed on her chest, and narrowed her eyes.
"So this is it, huh? I'm supposed to just hop in a car of a guy who thinks buying me makes him my owner. You don't even introduce yourself or at least tell me what you plan to do with me, you weirdo!" She lashed out at him. "
He leaned closer to her face, making her freeze on the spot. "You talk a lot, now shut the fuck up before l mess up your face and pluck your pathetic red hair out of your brainless little head one by one." He roughly grabbed her by the chin, and she couldn't help but stare at the wedding ring on his finger, asking herself who in their right mind would marry an aggressive weirdo like him, but although he was harsh, the hot breath from his mouth sent an indescribable sensation through her entire body, and to her surprise, she kinda liked it.
"Driver! Let's drive home. I have a new toy to play with." He said in his cold and husky tone.
Tbc