“What? Uncle’s merchandise?” asked Isaias, keeping his eyes not on Luis but on the one that had appeared after him in the brown sedan, Nathan.

Zen sighed. “He wants the necklace. I’ll have to go with them,” she said, getting out of the car. Marco pulled her back from the door and Isaias nodded towards him gratefully.

“Wait a sec, hermanita. We don’t know what they truly want yet.”

Zen glared at them. “I told you. The necklace. This isn’t the first time he’s used brute force to get it back. It’s never worked. The necklace won’t leave me. Now will you let go or will I have to get nasty?”

Marco let her go when Zen pulled out a knife and she quickly stepped out of the car. Isaias and Marco followed her and walked to her sides. The redhead grumbled but also got out from the driver’s side.

“What do a bunch of pendejos want?” she asked.

“I already stated what I want,” said Luis grinning. He mentioned for Gorito to come closer with a small case. In it were three round flat microchips. Marco’s eyes widened and he glared as they were clipped to Zen and Isaias.

Those are electric field conformers, Isaias.

What do they do?

They disrupt your body’s electric field. I can’t teleport us away

Damn! How do they know of you?

I never wiped Juaquin’s memory of me teleporting

“As far as I knew, Intergalactic crystals were GC property, not uncle’s,” said Isaias.

Luis shrugged. “Dad stole it. It’s his now.”

“He knows I can’t take it off,” said Zen.

“He said to provide some incentive,” said Luis, taking out a nine-millimeter and pointing it at Isaias who grinned. Faster than usual Luis was on the floor his gun pointed at him.

“I’m not such an easy target, cousin.”

Several guns were drawn around them and Nathan gazed cooly from his spot. “We don’t have a choice in this Isaias. You give us the necklace or…” he cocked his semi-automatic.

“Wait,” said Zen. “I’ll come with you. I can’t take the necklace off but I can follow you.”

“If she goes I do too,” said Isaias.

“Me too,” said Marco.

Isaias shook his head. We need someone who can get to Carmelo without distraction. They’ll let you go if you play along. When I say go you leave us.

But Isaias!

Marco, I can’t leave Zen alone. Not with her wound. Get to Carmelo’s. Only a Don can outclass another Don.

Fine but if you die on me…

Please! My cousin is an irresponsible brat of a boss. The most he’ll do is cut us a bit which in Zen’s case isn’t so good. Hmm, guess I’ll have to take all the punishment somehow.

Isaias don’t be a hero!

Marco, she’s my sister.

“Fine then. Hold him,” said Luis as Tortuga and Gorito came around and held Isaias still catching his attention.

Luis smirked and then punched Isaias in the stomach.

Isaias twitched before he was punched in the face. He laughed “What were those? Love taps?” he muttered before Luis gestured for Nathan to take over. He did and Isaias was groaning in pain sure he had a busted rib again.

“Stop! I said I’d come with you. Why are you torturing him?”

Luis smirked. “Incentive. You’ll give the necklace up now.”

“I can’t take it off, nitwit!”

“Tortuga take the necklace from her,” Luis commanded.

“Don’t touch it. It retaliates to foreign hands and dangers,” warned Zen.

“T-trust me Tortuga I know first hand. It will attack,” gasped Isaias.

“Fine, I’ll get it,” growled Luis and moved to snatch it from Zen. A white beam smashed him against the car he so loved.

“I wasn’t kidding,” Zen muttered to the surprise of the others.

Marco who stood calmly shook his head while Isaias snickered. GO!

Marco teleported out

Nathan raked a hand through neon blue hair and sighed. “Ok, bozo’s out. Tortuga and Gorito lead Isaias into the car while I take the other two. Wait where is the blue-haired one? Was no one watching him?” he asked as he led Zen to the car he drove. The brown sedan.

“He disappeared on me,” one of the Hormigueros said as he scratched his head and Nathan pinched his nose.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“Idiot. Let’s go. Don Bernado is waiting. We can worry about the escapee later.”

“What about the driver?”

“Shoot her.”

The redhead closed her eyes and prayed but when no bullets found her she looked around and found herself in a different spot than she had been in with the blue-haired guy.

“Which way to Don Rodriguez? He asked.

“T-that way,” she pointed to the north. “How the hell did I get out of there?”

“What’s your name?” asked Marco as he began to walk north.

“I-Isabella.”

“Well, Isabella. We have to get to Don Rodriguez. The sooner the better. He’s the only one that can free my friends,” he said. Isabella nodded and commed her sisters to get a ride.

“Now we wait for the closest one to pick us up,” she said.

It wasn’t long before a black SUV identical to the one he had been in came through the streets and stopped for them to get in. Isabella sat in the front passenger seat as Marco got in the back.

“Chica I thought you were back at the gate by now,” said a brunette.

“Sorry, Sonya but we ran into interference. We need to see Papa now. Gangsters have the girl and her brother.”

Sonya whacked Isabella. “Don’t refer to our Don so simply Isabella. At least not in front of one of them,”

“I won’t tell,” Marco sighed. “It’s actually endearing that you can call your Don that,” he said as he stared out of the window. He remembered Isaias taking a beating and couldn’t help but wonder what else he would have to put up with before something was done. At the time all he wanted to do was beat through all the gang members and teleport out of there. He could have done it. BEI training was nothing to joke about and he was an elemental as well. All it would have taken was a good tornado or two. I could have hurt Isaias and Zen. I can’t control those yet but a large gust would have done...probably.

He sighed. Isaias had been right to take the path of least resistance. At least Zen isn’t hurt but Isaias…

He thought of the purpling bruise around Isaias’s left eye and the way he had curled in slightly on himself denoting a broken rib.

They arrived at a big gate manned by another woman. Were all of Carmelo’s forces women? He must have asked that out loud because Isabella responded.

“Seventy percent of the force is like seventy percent of Guerreros are male,” she said grinning and evading Sonya’s punch.

“What? He was going to find out sooner or later. It’s Guerrero education,” she said.

Sonya shook her head. “Your loudmouth will get you in trouble one day Isabella,” she muttered, parking in a long underground tunnel where there were hundreds of vehicles similar to this one. Certainly nicer than the Guerrero busses. Marco got out and fell into step with the women. They walked up to an elevator that Sonya had a key card to. It went up four floors before stopping and opening to a bare vermillion hallway. Sonya led him down the hall to two large silver doors and knocked.

“Come in,” said a deep voice.

The women stepped inside where a man in a dark suit sat behind a desk made of pure white diamond. It glittered with prisms of light here and there. On the wall behind him was a deep black spider upsetting the wall's vermillion red under a silver net and the phrase ‘Where there is a will, there is always a way.’ The man had black curly hair and deep hazel eyes. He was tall and lithe and sat nonchalantly with two of his hands steepled in front of his face. One leg was crossed over the other yet he sat ramrod straight. Marco didn’t know what to do. He was saved by Isabella’s loudmouth.

“Sir. The only one to escape the Hormigueros was this guy. He helped me escape somehow too. They have the twins in their custody. Something to do with merchandise and a necklace?”

“That will be all Isabella. You and Sonya can have the night off,” he said, eying Marco who shuffled uncomfortably.

Isabella nodded and she and Sonya disappeared through the doors leaving Marco alone with Don Rodriguez. He tapped a pen and leaned back in his chair.

“Rosa, your children are in trouble again,” he said facing the small room to his right. From it walked a small curvy woman in brown smocks and a tailcoat. Her hair was in a bun on her head. She marched to the Don’s side waving a fist.

“What do you expect with Amagarita twins Carmelo? They are legends in and of themselves. My brother has got his hands full of trouble is what. Are we going to rescue their behinds?” she asked as she glared at Carmelo whom Marco saw fidget.

Isaias wasn’t kidding about his mom. Neither was Zen. He does bend to her.

“Yes, we shall go play political games with Bernado though you need to look the part,” he said.

“I’m only a Brownie Carmelo,” she said.

“You are much more than that Rosa.”

“I haven’t agreed yet,” she reminded him smiling.

Marco hated to intrude but he had a few things to say too. “Don Rodriguez, sir. I’m a traveler and a wind elemental. None of the Guerreros knows this but Isaias and Zen do. I may come in handy while taking them from wherever they are,” he said.

Rosa turned to him. “You were with them all this time?”

Marco nodded. “Yes.”

She turned to Carmelo. “He can come. I need to hear of my babies,” she said as a beautiful woman decked in couture stepped into the room.

“Madame? If you please? We must be fast,” she said.

Rosa glared at Carmelo. “Sneaky bastard,” she muttered following the woman out of the room.

“I knew you wouldn't put up a fight with a dresser,” Carmelo stated shrugging as Rosa left the room grumbling.

###

Isaias swore as Nathan’s sedan took the rockiest trail to wherever they were going although he had a pretty big clue by the road. It was an outhouse the Hormigueros owned for prisoners and this road did nothing for his broken rib. Beside him, Zen looked no worse. They hadn’t touched her, afraid of the necklace’s wrath. Good.

He reached into his dimensional pocket and pulled a red pill from a case. This was why he hadn’t needed Zen to heal his broken ribs back in the Deadlands. He swallowed it and felt his rib reassert itself in his ribcage. He had three cases of those as per a Guerrero's first aid packs and he’d stolen a few from the med center on the boat along with a few bone-setting pills and purge pills in case he swallowed that poison. Luis was a stupid boss. The first thing he’d have done was take away their dimensional pockets especially his with him being a Guerrero. Who knew what he had? His good fortune ended when the car ride ended and Nathan took away both of their dimensional pockets. He hunched down as if he still had a broken rib but Nathan scoffed.

“Nice try Isaias. I know you healed yourself,” he said, shaking his head. “It won’t matter anyway,” he muttered, walking to Zen’s side, careful to avoid the necklace. He pointed the semi-automatic at her back.

“Come on,” he said.

Isaias and Zen followed him up the rocky path to the shed that stood in the middle of a grassy field.

“Where are we?” asked Zen as Nathan opened the shed with a thumb slide. The door slid up on creaky hinges.

“Between here and nowhere,” he muttered as he led them to the center of the shed where two metal chairs were by two metal pipes dug into the ground. Isaias remembered digging those pipes himself. They went pretty far down. They sat Zen on the right chair and handcuffed her to the pipe. He followed on the left chair. Then they were left in complete darkness for a minute before bright strobe lights lit the entire dirt and metal construction.

“I’m not stupid Isaias. I know what you can do in the dark,” said Nathan before he left.

Isaias cursed and blinked as the light became blinding.

There wasn’t a shadow in sight.