CHAPTER THREE
CRISTOBAL'S POV
Sometimes in life, opportunity can come unexpectedly. It could be like a sudden arrival of dark, velvet clouds, billowing over a sunny horizon, or a golden ticket, luring you to risk everything on the line for that one massive cash out.
By now, if I were alone, I would just peer over my "Spy glasses" and bear witness to the busy metropolitan streets of Brooklyn and its denizens, natives of the city going about their day in crowded symphony. Their skins, kissed softly by the gleaming sparkle of the spring sun. But today was no other day, no, no, no.
Today----In my dimly lit sick room, lay the answer to all my problems---- Well, at least, half of them anyway.
AVA KOVACEVIC. Now that's a name I could get used to. It was a pity the significance of such an association had dwindled over the years. Even the position she remained now, as I cat walked over her sunken face, concurred with my observation. Her hospital gown was pale and drawn out just like the lanky figure it covered.
Her whole body from head to toe curved like a slumped L. The kind where the upward stroke leaned too far left.
She was shaking, too. Sometimes in sporadic rhythms, and yet, her eyes still held that steely determination that made me almost tear myself to laughter.
If only I didn't know the full length of what she went through last night. The emotional scars it must have left.
Her medical report stated she had lost her baby from the fall, and at that point, I wasn't even certain she knew about that, but one thing was for sure: that information was going to be handy later. Maybe if I could----
"Hey----Hey! You! Stop wasting my time and get on with whatever you want to do with me."
OKAYYY. THAT—THAT WAS A NEWSFLASH. I was so lost in thought; she must have grown sick of the inactivity between us. I even shared a little chuckle with my good old healer, who at that time still stood behind her.
She still had some fight in her, I'll give her that. Which was good. Because the last thing I wanted was someone ready to leave everything behind. I needed that spirit and ten times more.
But baby steps. I still had to introduce myself. Besides, it was the gentlemanly thing to do anyway.
"My name is Cristobal... Cristobal Mendoza." I trailed off, hoping my name would ring a bell in her head.
But all she did was stare back with no fibre of change in her appearance. Not an inkling of recollection. None except a cocked eyebrow and a response laced with sass.
"And----- I have no fucking clue who you are or anybody of that surname. Wait, did you expect me to tremble and fall just because?"
"I--Whuu--Whor—Wh—What! How, I mean, Dr Becks.... Are you believing what she just said?". My neck almost sprained twisting to ask that question.
"Uhm....Sir. When your father passed away. He kind of left the group in a rather volatile state. He..."
"Auggh! Dios mios!! I completely forgot about that", I sulked out the rest of his answer as reality painfully set in my mind.
Ava even seemed to find a slight delight in my little display. Her hollow eyes now glinted with glee, revealing a contrast of blue and bloodstains, clashing across her gaze.
(She thought this was a joke. THAT I WAS A JOKE.... ALRIGHT THEN, IT WAS TIME TO BRING OUT THE BIG GUNS)
"Why so chummy suddenly. You seem to be forgetting where you are. This is not some mansion in some upscale community. You are in my domain now, Mrs Rivera..."
I bent low, slowing my speech to a satisfying pause—Just so I could enjoy every millisecond spent on bringing myself to her level, and then, that was it, came out.
The rage.
Her eyelids flickered in quick succession. Her irises, dark as they squinted at the mention of a bloodline she was once tied to.
"You see.... The fact that your bucket hasn't been kicked yet is because of me. So, I would advise against the snarky attitude so... You know, we start on the right foot this time, shall we?
"I didn't ask for your help, or anybody's help for that matter. Did you even ask if I wanted to die that night? You have no right keeping me here and you know i-------"
Her words battered my ears so badly, I completely forgot about her current condition. It was the reason my face blushed with regret once I saw my hands clamp on her shoulders, literally jerking her to keep shut.
I could feel her flinch underneath my touch, and from the corner of my right eye, a glimpse of Dr Becks shaking his head was all it could catch.
So, I instantly ripped my hands off her and straightened up again. My mouth moving fast and muffled about some mosquito perched on her neck— all this while I paced in front of her, avoiding any glance ahead because the fuck up that was glaring at me.
It took a while and several more murmured excuses until the awkwardness partially diffused. And when she dropped her chin, eyes steel on my legs, I saw it as an opportunity to resume. This time with a ... More casual nature to my approach.
"I work with a special department within NYPD jurisdiction. Well.... loosely if you take into consideration how I do business anyway".
No response. Just a snub riddled with an unbothered silence.
"It's classified, but the main meat of the bone is simple. I am going to infiltrate his network, so a major boost on how his operation works. Who does he trust the most..."
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Again. No answer, no more back and forth as things stood currently. Even when I drawled my speech, she still made me wonder what else needed to be said to ignite that obstinate flame again.
"Look!! Hugh requires a mercenary. Someone incredibly good from what I am hearing, and that..... That is my in."
I pushed on, cranking up the decibels this time. Her eyes flicked up for a sec before they dropped again, and this time, I couldn't take the silence anymore. Between my raised voice and the concerned cries coming from the other side, a tiny whisper emerged, its cadence so feeble, it nearly passed me by.
"Why"
"What??!!"
"I said WHY WOULD YOU THINK I WOULD WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH THAT MONSTER AGAIN"
"BECAUSE HE NEARLY KILLED YOU, AVA. BECAUSE YOUR BABY IS CURRENTLY IN SOME OF WILD DOG'S BELLY... BECAUSE IF I WERE YOU, I WOULD WANT TO BURN EVERYTHING HE OWNS TO THE FUCKING GROUND."
"What---What did you say about my baby?" Her face dropped, and suddenly my chest collapsed. The words couldn't come out, it was almost like... I was terrified to relay the news to her. Luckily, my trusted doctor came to the rescue, taking the swing of the hammer blow I almost delivered.
"When we found you... wedged in that carriage, we also spotted a cadaver... or loose remnant of it, and when we decided to examine it...."
Dr Becks hitched near the conclusion, his pitch almost breaking from the weight of his next sentence, his steps slow and heavy as he sauntered beside me.
"We discovered it was a foetus, not older than seven months, with most of its organs mangled and eaten off gruesomely. The teeth marks resembled those of a dog--- Multiple dogs to be precise."
"Oh my god," She chimed in, falling apart with every word he said
"I am sorry...."
"Oh, my gawd"
"It was yours."
The flood gates opened, and the sight of it crushed the aloof armour I had worn for this occasion.
Seeing her fall into this--- ugly fit of ear-grating wails just.... crawled under my skin. Made my eyelids suddenly tired and heavy from the awful scene playing before me.
She continued like this, making me question if we should maybe lend a hand or shoulder to weep on. It didn't mean I was the best candidate for that sort of thing. That's probably why Becks kept on shaking his head every time he noticed a slight twitch in her direction.
But all that changed when her cries faltered until she stopped — then suddenly succumbed to this mighty spasm, jolting her from the waist up, holding her captive for what felt like eternity before it ripped her from consciousness.
Then, she tipped headfirst.
And we watched....