Chapter 400 - In check? - four meters
Patricia
The celebration was going wonderfully, our nephews were stealing the show, dancing to everything on the floor. Liam had danced with all his cousins, and boy, they were doing great.
"Roland and Veronica’s blood runs through their veins, you know they’re magic on the dance floor, just look at them," my husband commented.
The parents joined the dance floor, it was beautiful to see them dancing the merengue: Dante dancing with Dayana, Victoria with Sebastian, Milena with Liam, Enrique with Andrea. Isaac, Demetrio, Ezequiel, Sergio, and Augusto were dancing with some friends, Gregorio with Daniela, and Cristofer with his seven-year-old sister Cristal.
"Do you think something will come out of that?"
Alfredo was holding our son. I don't know if he’s trying to make up for the time he wasn't around, but he holds him every chance he gets. He adores his little Oreo ice cream.
"No, wife." I looked at him. "You’re my wife. In private, I'll call you Big Butt, but to everyone else, I'll proudly call you my wife. And to answer your question, in that mix of dancers, the way the pairs are formed, I’d say only one has potential. The rest just look like siblings and cousins. But there’s more than one interested."
"They’ve all danced with Liam."
"Yes, he’s doing great."
"Yes, he’s been the only one to ask the girls to dance, did you notice? Eloisa, Grace, and Ines."
The celebration continued. I had changed outfits, and soon we would be heading to Colombia where we’d spend a week in the Coffee Region and another in a cabin Rata owns in Coveñas.
My son would stay with his grandmothers, my in-laws would stay at my mother’s house, as they get along wonderfully. We started saying our goodbyes. When we reached Alfredo’s siblings, who were happily chatting with Maximo and my brother-in-law Cooper, his phone rang. While he shook hands to say goodbye, I handed out kisses.
"What are you saying?!" The men stood up, looking at my brother-in-law whose hands were trembling. "I don’t care about that shit," he said. "Yeah, we’ll see you and bring his body."
He whispered and looked completely devastated. My sister ran over when she saw something was wrong with her husband.
"What’s going on?" Roland asked.
"They killed Any."
We fell silent. He looked at what had been sent to his phone and passed it to Roland. Standing beside him, I read the message attached to an arrow.
We killed your Queen, now you’re in checkmate, damn King.
……
Roland
I don’t know how to process what just happened. My ears are ringing, everyone’s waiting for me to speak, but this time I’ve been checkmated. I walked away, not knowing what to do. Any died because of me, because of me...
I’m not sure if Veronica saw me, felt it, or someone told her. But it was her arms that grounded me. She cradled me, trying to calm my trembling body. For all these years, that relentless woman has been a pillar in my recovery. Long hours talking with her. I clung to my wife’s body.
From the dance floor, I saw Dante watching what was happening. I can’t ruin my brother’s wedding, they killed her, sent a message, "In check." Damn it! I will find you and whoever it was, I’ll screw them over.
"Sweetheart." Her hands cradled my face. "You’re the best at this, but don’t go back on your promises. Your team is waiting for you."
"This was a declaration of war, Veronica. Whoever it was knows about me."
"And you’ll find them, but don’t lose your head," I kissed her forehead. "Or Any’s ideals," I looked into her eyes.
"I have to work, Beautiful."
"We understand."
She smiled at me. I looked up, they were waiting. My sister Luisa was being hugged by Simon; Any was her mentor.
"Alfredo, you have a flight to catch."
"Boss..."
"Nothing, I’m not going to attack recklessly. I need to know everything. I can't make a move if I don’t know I’ll win. For now, go on your honeymoon. We’ll see you in fifteen days, just be careful." I hugged him. "Stay at the cabin, there’s an arsenal there just in case. We’re watching over you."
"Yes, sir." They said their goodbyes. I looked at my team, everyone next to their wives.
"Let's get to work."
I kissed my wife again, and we headed to Gustavo's office. Once at the headquarters, everyone took their seats. Cooper was still dazed.
"Who called you and gave you the news?"
"Moore. They were about to board the agency's plane when the arrow hit her in the heart."
"Are the recovered girls and the kids safe?" His gaze remained lost. "Listen to me, Cooper! Now you're the queen piece in my game. Focus, we need answers and to think. We need to see who betrayed us."
"I understand they were handed over to their families yesterday. Why are you talking about betrayal?"
"They were at the airport. Not just anyone can get in."
"She was killed with an arrow, which means the killer was within a maximum distance of two hundred and fifty meters if they're a professional archer with the right bow," Rata responded.
"Now we have rats in your team again," Cebolla said.
"And that crap is pissing me off," I said. "I want everyone watching the Sao Paulo airport cameras second by second. Rata, hack everything and check if any footage was deleted. We’re not leaving until we identify the bastards who killed Any. And you," I pointed at Cooper, "you'll take charge and from now on, you won't discuss anything with anyone except us."
"I don't trust anyone outside this room, except Moore," he said. I looked at Cereza, Zombi, and Lobo. They understood they were on a mission and stood up.
"Cebolla, get them nameless flights to Colombia. They'll be watching Alfredo from a distance and bringing back four of our workers who were in the learning pyramid."
"Do you fear..." Any's second-in-command still looked dazed.
"We're in checkmate! They know there was a wedding, they know one of us will be alone, and how do you destroy a structure?" My friends looked at me. "By bringing down the pillars. We won't leave Rino alone; we'll protect him, and only we know they won't reach the Coffee Axis." I looked at Cebolla.
"The itinerary will continue. They'll drive to the cabin," Miguel said.
"Churrusco," I said, looking at the black man.
"I'll leave traces and payments that show they're in the axis."
"Perfect." Cooper looked at me.
"In fifteen days, you'll have new loyal personnel. From those four, you'll choose your second-in-command, and three will be around you."
"They're not from the agency."
"You're the new negotiator! Take the damn position and face it. For years, Any trained you. Follow the protocol. We need to find out if any of your directors are colluding with the mafia or if it's just individual agents seduced by money. You'll talk to them and negotiate. The United States is getting all the credit; they attacked a U.S. agent. Do you understand that? It could be anyone who knows I'm alive."
"Moore..."
"Leave him out."
"But..."
"If he's loyal, he'll understand and wait. If he's the traitor, he'll get desperate without access to information. For the next couple of weeks, you'll be on your own. Then you'll have four eyes and us."
"Guys, pack clothes for fifteen days. Your priority is to find Felipe, German, Roberto, and Rene. We've worked with Rene and Felipe before. They're all trustworthy and from our school. They'll come with you once they finish watching over the honeymoon and hand over their desk jobs." The three left.
"You're not going to attack... you're not going to respond, right?" I looked at Arnold and shook my head.
"No. They expect me to panic and make more mistakes. They're the ones who will panic and make mistakes, and they'll go after one of ours who seems alone. Now I need images, possible suspects, altered itineraries, anything." My team started working.