There was momentary silence when Miguel saw the woman in front of him. He tried his level best at the curvaceous Latina, and he was panicking fast. He didn't have his mask so as to not gather attention as it would cause a big misunderstanding. While he was standing there regretting his life decisions, the silence was broken by the sudden scream from Gloria.
"José, Mariah... son sus hijos, han vuelto... oh cariños, ¿están bien?" {" Jose, Mariah....it's your kids, they are back.... oh, darlings are you alright?"} Gloria was filled with excitement and tears in her eyes. She gently took the little girl from Miguel's hand. The sound of running footsteps echoed from inside the house, and the children's parents instantly embraced and kissed their little ones, unable to hold back their emotions.
Gloria held Mateo to comfort him. The scene that unfurled in front of Miguel made him content and emotional. If he had mixed feelings about saving the kids and killing the traffickers, now he knew it was worth every effort. He didn't want to interfere in the family reunion and was about to leave. But suddenly the father of the children, Jose, came forward and hugged him.
"We not know…. thank how…" the man was very emotional and was trying his level best to put together words. His wife too was looking at Miguel with a thankful and grateful look.
"No hay necesidad de agradecerme... fue Dios quien me guió hacia esos niños y fue su deseo que estos pequeños fueran salvados. Simplemente fue una coincidencia que los encontrara."{ "There's no need to thank me... it was God who led me to those children, and it was His wish that these kids were saved. It was just a coincidence that I found these kids."} Miguel said to the emotional couple in fluent Spanish. That surprised the couple and Gloria, because Miguel didn't look 'Latin'.
The couples were like they opened a dam of words and emotions when they knew that there was no language barrier. They thanked him more than what he could keep track of. Miguel could just smile and just asked the families about Mateo's parents. They just informed him that Mateo was a boy who lived with his aunt. His parents were killed in Columbia and he had to fled the country with his aunt for survival. His aunt worked as an escort and she had no choice but to go to her work even if the child was missing. That really shocked Miguel. It seems that life was not exactly fair to everyone.
He had to come up with a very convincing story about how he had found the kids. He invented one about seeing an abandoned building and discovering the kids inside when he explored it. They seemed to believe him for now, but Gloria had a suspicious look on her face. She didn't voice it, but that didn't mean that she believed him. Miguel just chose to ignore it.
After politely declining the family's hospitality for the umpteenth time, he turned to leave. He had to get back home as soon as possible. Gloria, who had been sitting quietly on the couch, also stood up and announced that she had to go home too. Miguel did not notice the determined look on her face as he walked out of the house and headed towards his car. He was absorbed in his thoughts, wondering if his story had been convincing enough, when he heard Gloria call out his name from behind.
"Miguel… Wait for me!" She shouted in her accented English. Miguel stopped in his tracks near the car and turned to see Gloria walking hurriedly towards him. Miguel looked at the woman with a confused look. 'What does she want?' he just thought with a bit of wariness.
"Can you give me a ride back home?" she asked with an expectant look. Miguel just pondered the question, but decided to help her eventually.
Gloria thanked and got in his car. She had a weird look on her face when she smelled the interior of the car but she didn't say anything. Miguel just started the car and just started to drive. For a minute or so there was just an awkward silence. But then Gloria spoke again. "Why did you lie to them?" she asked in a low voice in English.
Miguel was taken aback by her question and why she chose to speak in English rather than Spanish. "What do you mean I lied?" Miguel was a bit nervous.
"You say you find the keeds in the house by accident. But I know this is not troo. I know you save them." Gloria said in a matter of fact manner in her heavily accented English.
"I really don't know why do you think so Gloria. I was just there at the right time at the right place." Miguel tried to weasel out of the situation by denying again.
"I know you are lying, Miguel. Your eyes show me that. Also, you have a small wound on your neck like someone choke you. I know the signs of a person who was in a fight when I see one." She stated with confidence. "Tell me trooth Miguel, what really happen. I come from a long line of smugglers. I know how to keep a secret."
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Miguel was conflicted. He knew she wouldn't drop this matter until he gave her an explanation. But there was something that was telling him to confide everything to someone. But the question was if Gloria was that person.
"Sigh… let's just say the house wasn't empty when I got in Gloria. The kids were taken by kidnappers for harvesting their organs. That's all I can say Gloria… that's all that anyone needs to know." Miguel in a solemn tone.
'Adiós a los míos, los ha matado a todos... ni siquiera parece tener diecisiete años. '{'Adios mios, he killed all of them… he doesn't even look seventeen.' } Gloria thought while letting out a gasp. She was speechless but soon she was angry.
"Those hijos de puta, they keed-napped those poor cheel-dren for organ harvesting? How could theey eeven do that those keeds?..." Gloria started to curse the kidnappers in some more colourful language. The more she became angry, the more Spanish she spoke.
After a while Gloria calmed down. Miguel just released a sigh in relief and had a small smile on his face. Gloria is one of those pure hearted people who are more genuine and express their emotions in a more direct manner.
"How do you know their families Gloria? You seemed to be pretty close with them." Miguel asked while taking a right as per Gloria's instructions.
"Oh, I was the one who helped them get a house in America. I used to know their family back in Colombia. They were so terrified and saad when they lost their cheeldren and they couldn't go anywhere asking for help. So, they called me and I went over to support them." Gloria said while having a smile on her face.
She then talked about how their lives were difficult back in their motherland and how they are slowly turning it all around. After a while of conversation, they arrived at Gloria's house. It seems that Jay and many were not at home. But before Gloria got out, Miguel's stomach made a gurgling noise. Gloria heard it and just laughed.
" Ooh…somebody is hungry. Come on inside. I am sure that we have food in this house to give." Miguel was embarrassed. He forgot to have lunch as he was concentrated on the mission. He tried to talk her out of it. But he knew that Latino women, once have set their mind on something is hard to persuade.
He finally just decided to have something to eat. He followed the woman into the large mansion of Jay Pritchett. He sat down in the counter while she just put some food in the microwave. After waiting a few minutes, she served him a normal yet very tasty lunch that included grilled chicken salad with avocado dressing, served with arepas (corn cakes) and queso fresco (fresh cheese). He was quite hungry that he gobbled it up pretty fast.
After he finished his lunch, he just washed his hands and just decided to head back home after having a talk with Gloria. He waked towards the woman who was cleaning up the counter. When he approached the woman, she looked up.
"Gloria, there is something else you should know, I live nearby and I am very well acquainted with the Dunphys. There is a big chance that we might meet again, so when we do act like we are strangers and we haven't met before. I am really not supposed to be going around like I should. So please Gloria, keep it a secret." Gloria was surprised to hear that he lived nearby and was a friend of her extended family members. She just reassured that his secret was safe with her. After looking at the very genuine expression on Gloria's face, just chose to believe her. Afterall she came off as a very trustable person in the series and in reality. But of course, he asked the AI to put a surveillance bug on her. Just in case.
Miguel stepped out of the house and just drove his car to the park. He made sure that there was no one watching and proceeded to store the car inside his space. He then just cleaned himselves a bit and headed back home. When he reached back home, his mother was speaking to someone on the phone and he took that moment to disappear upstairs and he heard her tell him to change his dress. He just went inside the bathroom to take a shower.
While he was in the shower, he just summoned his AI to check his mission status.
Mission Alert.
{Main Mission} As a responsible citizen, it's your duty to keep the country safe from the clutches of human organ traffickers. Neutralize the criminals, and save the people captured from their clutches. Location clue can be obtained from the AI. On completion the host shall be granted 3000 mission coins.
{Status: Completed. Credited 3000 mission coins}
{Side Mission} Letting the human organ traffickers being caught by the police will not be a solid solution. Eliminate them and remove these dregs of society once and for all. The host will be given a mystery item for the completion of this mission.
{Status: Completed. Do you wish to receive the mystery item? Yes/No}
He just converted the entire mission coins as before and he heard the AI notify that he was 19,421 dollars richer. He just smiled as he got more than fifty grands in a day. He just cast it aside and proceeded to receive his mystery prize.
There was bit of a bright light from his interface. When it subsided, there was a text on his interface.
[The mystery prize received; Experience Transfer Card. Do you wish to use it now?]
He just looked at the prize with a bit of suspicion. He just decided to get out of the shower before using whatever the Experience Transfer Card was. He dried himself with a towel and put on a new pair of shorts and just sat on his bed. He instructed the AI to use the card. Suddenly his surroundings seemed to be falling apart and he felt as he was pulled by his navel. Suddenly everything turned black.