Chapter 218 - I found you - mdtres
Aníbal
He was checking the sugarcane, avocado, and mangosteen plantations. The income from exporting the "food of the gods," as it was known, had been very successful. In three weeks, we should be harvesting, so I could only attend the weddings and baptisms of the Boss's children, the annual gathering, and then return to supervise the fruit collection.
The sun was mild, and it wasn't even noon yet in Mariquita Tolima. I was riding Salpicón next to Armando, the foreman of the orchard, as we headed to the farm. I kept in touch from a distance with the headquarters to contribute to the investigations, now that the guys were already on their missions in the different mafias.
"Boss, are you staying overnight today?" I nodded.
I had to check the accounts. We were approaching the stables when I saw my Darling. God, sometimes I can't believe that such a beautiful woman would be interested in this black man. I have my charms, but the truth is that Shirly is divine.
"My wife is here, of course, we're staying."
I got off the horse, smiling, and walked toward the smiling woman. Something good must have happened to make her so happy. All the Boss's estates had the same security scheme, and we had our room in each one.
Shirly ran to me, I lifted her, and she wrapped her long legs around my waist. I looked around to see if anyone was nearby, and seeing we were alone, I squeezed her buttocks. My penis, as if it had a Wi-Fi signal, received the wave from her vagina, making it tense instantly.
"Baby, you have a tool that drives me crazy, but not now. I came for something urgent." I pulled her away, my erection already celebrating.
"What's up, Darling?"
"We need to leave for Chocó right now."
My heart skipped a beat. Since we fled the violence caused by the constant disputes among the illegal groups trying to impose their control over illegal mining, my parents worked in that and were killed, along with my older brother. That's why an uncle took my sister and me out of Condoto.
He left me on a street in Bogotá when I was fifteen, asked me to wait, and left with my ten-year-old sister. I never saw them again. I had no idea what to do or where to go. I spent the whole night and the next day in the same place, crying at night, not even having money to buy bread.
The next night, around nine, a car stopped, and Rata got out. I have no idea what he saw in me, but at that moment, he became and still is a paternal figure, though later I learned it was because the Boss saw me. By Roland's order, I was saved. I remembered that day again.
"Do you know how to work, kid?" I nodded.
"I only know how to farm, sir, but I've been taught to work on anything."
"The job I'm offering pays well. You should study, learn a new language, exercise, and obey."
"Who do I have to kill to get all that?" At that moment, I said it as a joke; I didn't imagine it would be literal.
"The people I tell you to. I guarantee they're scum. Are you up for it? I only ask that you follow my rules and protect the Boss's life with your own."
"What are the rules?"
"Don't kill women or children, never rape them, honor friendship and hierarchy, and when we have our wives, respect and care for them."
"That's not so hard. Is there food?"
"As much as you want, kid. Do you have family?" I nodded.
"Only a sister, and now I have no idea where they took her."
"We'll do whatever it takes to find her."
"Baby! Are you listening to me?" I nodded. My Darling's shout brought me back—"I don't want to get your hopes up, but a few days ago, several children from Chocó arrived at the V&R foundation. Yesterday afternoon, a girl who looked a lot like you arrived." I looked at Shirly.
"You told me you never saw your sister again. I don't know if it's her, but I have all the details. It's worth a shot. She came because her two older children were taken from her, and we have them at the foundation. She has two more children."
I cradled my wife's face. I searched for my sister for a long time. Over the years, I let it go and didn't think about her until Shirly asked me to share something painful in my life, and I told her my story. Only my friends knew it.
"Shirly..."
"Baby, it's a possibility. The reason it's so hard to find her is that she doesn't have an ID or anything. She only completed fifth grade, and that's the record you have. She came for her children, but we couldn't give them to her because of how she lives. I spoke to her and asked her to leave them with us for a while. She's very humble and has also been abused by her husband."
The more she talked, the angrier I got, but her name is Karen Grueso. At that moment, my lip trembled.
"Was that your sister's name?" I confirmed. "Let's not waste any time. If we leave now, we can be in Quibdó by night. She lives there. I have the address."
I organized my trip in less than half an hour. Shirly packed a change of clothes and one of mine. We loaded the things into the car. I had kept Cereza's SUV; she had asked me to take care of it until she returned, though it seemed complicated for her to come back anytime soon.
I set the GPS to guide us, and we only stopped twice on the way. My heart was racing, and my woman's hand stroked mine to calm me, but the truth was nothing could calm me at that moment. Karen was alive. What could have happened? So many questions... Why did they leave me?
"Aníbal, stop the nonsense and be strong! No crying," I told myself, but my chest felt like jelly. I was driving at a high speed, reducing the seven-hour trip to five. It was six o'clock when we entered Quibdó.
My co-pilot entered the address, and the closer we got, the more I realized she lived in the most precarious conditions. At one point, we had to leave the car in a parking lot. I activated the anti-theft button; anyone who dared to take something from the car would get a big scare. According to the phone's information, we were three blocks away.
I had my gun tucked into my waistband and took my girlfriend's hand. It was already six in the evening. When we got to my sister's house, I recognized her voice as soon as I heard her scream, filling me with a thousand conflicting emotions and an immense rage.
In that precarious house, lit by candles, two children were crying—a four-year-old girl and a two-year-old boy. The street was lit, and the houses on either side had electricity, which led me to deduce that my sister either had no services or they had been cut off. The front door was open, with the children crying in what was a living room, and an argument could be heard from the only room.
I looked at my woman, and she took my nephews by the hand. I entered the room, and Karen's face was covered in blood. At that moment, the rage transformed me into the killer I was. Several things happened at once. The guy looked to see who it was, my sister's eyes met mine, and at least the four candles that lit the room with two old, deteriorated beds showed me the face of the bastard who hit her.
"Is that the guy you saw yesterday? You damn bitch!" the man shouted. If I shot him, it would be too quick a death. I shook my head. Despite her obvious injuries, Karen recognized me.
"Aníbal?" she lamented.
"Get your hands off my sister," I said so calmly it seemed ice was coming out of my mouth.
"This bitch is my woman!" I walked up to confront the guy. We were the same size.
"Karen, my woman is in the living room. Go to her."
My sister stood up, and the guy grabbed her by the hair. I couldn't take it anymore. I took out my gun and shot him in the foot. As soon as he let go, I pulled her close to me, her face... I gently caressed her cheek.
"I've been looking for you for years. We have a lot to talk about, sis. Let me take out the trash."
"Aníbal," she managed to say. The man was screaming, and I kept pointing at him. "They took two of my children," I detected agony in her voice.
"God is perfect. They are in one of the foundations we run. I'll take out the trash, and we'll go get them tomorrow."
It was clear everything hurt her; she was holding on by sheer willpower, but I still saw a bit of happiness in her eyes.
"Thanks to that, I found you. Answer me something, Karen. How important is this scumbag to you?"
"Nothing, but don't carry the weight of a worthless dead man."
"Go to the living room, go with my woman, and get out of here."
Once my sister left, I tucked my gun back into my waistband. Now the guy was really scared. I punched him in the face, then again, and again.
"Does it hurt, you piece of shit?"
I wanted to kill him, but our promise to avoid a death at all costs, Inés's words. "Those who don't know God are ignorant, but when you know Him and still sin, you're disobedient." I grabbed him by the hair and dragged him to the living room after giving him three more punches, breaking a tooth and fracturing his nose.
"Apologize to my sister!"
I looked at Shirly; I needed her to take the kids out. The synchronization between us was incredible. I pulled the silencer from my pocket.
"I haven't heard what I asked for."
I spoke coldly again. The guy was trembling while I felt everything was happening in slow motion.
"Forgive me, Karen, I won't do it again."
"I'll make sure of that myself."
"Forgive me, God, for what I'm about to do. I hope I'm doing the right thing," Karen's hand lowered the gun.
"Let's take him to the police station. I've reported him before..."