stronzo = Italian for ‘asshole’
Figlio di puttana = Italian for ‘Son of a bitch’
Cazzone = Italian for ‘Idiot’
Date = 27 June
Place = San Francisco (Grimms)
POV – Enrique
Warning graphic content!
“Anything?” Jackson leans over Jesse’s shoulder to stare at the screen, asking the same question for probably the millionth time. I’ve never seen my twin this on edge. I get that he feels responsible for his roommate. I just don’t understand why he feels responsible THIS much. He’s behaving just as crazy as he did when Mel was abducted … maybe even more so. Typically, nothing rattles him much. So this frantic behavior is completely novel.
In this situation, I should be the one to go crazy here, but instead I feel entirely depleted; drained of every inch of energy. I stare at the intricate pattern on the thick carpet under my feet. The blue color matching my brother’s wild eyes. I know something is amiss with him … known it for a while … but right now I don’t give a fig … all I care about is finding Aria … unscathed.
“Not since you asked two seconds ago,” Jesse snaps.
It’s been hours since Jackson received the voice note from Lee on his phone. He called us all together here at Grimms, saying something serious happened to Lee. We all listened to the message … a few times. I, at first, believed my brother overreacted. I didn’t say it out loud, but it sounded like a plain old butt-dial to me. Lee was calmly naming locations … streets … bridges. I found it odd, but so is Lee.
Subsequently, Garcia called. Only then did I complete the gravity of the situation. I was wrong. And Jackson didn’t overreact. Aria’s bodyguard has been shot. Fortunately his bulletproof vest protected him, but Aria and Lee were gone. Kidnapped.
My heart stopped and I sank into this chair. I haven’t moved since and it’s almost sunrise. Thus far, I’ve gone to hell and back, and now I’m lingering someplace in the middle, stuck thinking how I managed to screw everything up … and all for nothing. Despite my best efforts to help her and keep her safe … she still ended up in danger.
I’m such a stupid idiot. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Maybe if I didn’t distance myself from her, I would have been there opposed to Lee. Instead, I’m sitting here like a fucking empty robot; helpless; waiting for a miracle. I don’t even want to think what would happen if I never get to see her again.
“Did you try switching it on remotely?” Axel asks. We’ve been busy through the night. Alejandro and Jackson even went to the parking lot to see if they could find any clues … but nothing. We just know it’s the same guy that shot Brian. And the unidentified girl with the red shoes. Not that it helps much.
Jesse groans and bites his lip, “Tried that already. I’ve fucking tried everything … there’s no sign of that phone. They must have removed the battery or destroyed it.” Since Lee’s phone dissipated after the voice note, he’s been trying to ping it’s position. Turns out Lee surreptitiously provided us with clues via that odd message. Clever little thing that one. Crazy but brilliant. Resembles my twin. So, we know that they drove over the Oakland Bay bridge and took the interstate 680 North. And most importantly, that Aria is fine … or she was at that stage.
Jackson strikes out at the wall, leaving another blood smear on the gray surface. He’s like the devil possessed. He can be pretty daunting in his usual normal state, but this is a next-level formidable Jackson I’ve never experienced before and he’s fucking horrifying. He already broke the majority of lose furniture in Alejandro’s upstairs office, and most likely a few bones in his hand from repeatedly smashing it into the wall.
Then Jackson’s pocket emits a fart. It’s my sister’s notification sound, alerting an incoming message. My brother opens it and reads out loud with a tart face.
Ren: Mayday, mayday, one heart will bleed for three who died.
What the fuck? I hope it’s like an idiom and not literal.
Plurrrrttt!
Another fart sound and Jackson’s face turns even more sour. It’s a photo of Lee and Aria. At least they look unhurt. That’s something.
“I’m gonna try tracking Ren’s phone. I did earlier but it was off … now we have to try and keep it on long enough to trace. Send a message or something,” Jesse speaks fast and types even faster.
Jackson video calls the messenger but no one picks up.
“Fuck them!” Jackson shouts, his face bitter, his eyes blazing. Before my brother can do something drastic, the phone rings. He answers and puts it on speaker.
“Hello,” he says, his voice suddenly as calm as a cucumber.
“Video call … clever boy. But I’m not ready to show my face, yet. I am however tired of playing games. I don’t know what Darren was thinking with those stupid mayday messages.” A male voice speaking perfect English with a slight accent reverberates through the room.
“Who are you? I know you’re not the Old Man.” Jackson still sounds placid and tranquil, but his eyes are stormy hurricanes. I marvel how he can control his composure like that.
“I’m not, you’re right. Doesn’t mean I’m not working with him though.” The accent sounds Italian. Alejandro steps closer, his face pulled in an even worse frown than Jackson’s; hate clouding his icy eyes. He must be worried about Aria too. He’s known her longer than me, after all.
“So, if you’re not the boss, why am I wasting my time speaking to you, dick,” Jackson snubs in a condescending manner. The man on the other side snorts. And not in a good way. Leave it to my brother to aggravate the kidnappers. He’s great at pissing people off.
“Jackson Blackburn … ” he hisses out the name, clearly antagonized, “you’ll soon get to know who’s the real boss. We’ve got your girl. Come get her.” What does he mean come get your girl? Is he talking about Aria? What about Lee?
“I tempi brutti stanno arrivando al circolo,” (Bad times are coming to The Circle) Alejandro mumbles.
I hope he told the guy that his mom is a bitch … or something like that. The room is deathly quiet. Even the man on the other side does not speak immediately.
“Che ne sai, mezzosangue?” (What do you know, half-breed) The man sounds a little shaken.
“Tutto, anche gli oscuri segreti del passato,” (Everything, even the dark secrets of the past) Alejandro says with a smuck face, the hate still visible in his eyes.
“I’ll deal with you later, A. l. e. j. a. n. d. r. o,” he draws out his name.
“Figlio di puttana, I’ll wait.” A little smile curls at the corners of Alejandro’s lips, “now where is our friends, cazzone?”
“If anything happens to them I’ll fucking kill you,” Jackson is slowly losing his cool.
“Yeah, you’re great at killing innocent people,” the man spits back. “but we both know what’s really going on. Your heart is burning right now, isn’t it? But wait, this is just the beginning of your pain stronzo! Soon you will beg me to kill you.” End of discussion. The line goes dead. Was he talking to me or my brother? MY heart is the one burning right now. And if anything happened to Aria … I might as well die.
“Could you trace it?” I look hopefully at Jesse, but he shakes his head and sighs deeply.
“Fuck, fuck, FFUUUUCKKK!” Jackson screams slamming the phone onto the desk. As if protesting, the phone lets out another fart while vibrating on the tabletop. Jackson runs his injured bloody hand harshly through his hair before picking it up.
“It’s a location,” he says surprised, his gaze scanning over us.
“Send it over,” Jesse comments, “let’s see where it is.” Jackson shares it with him and Jesse gets busy, bringing up a map on the screen. He zooms in on the red mark.
“It’s a building in Benicia, just off the I-680. Looks like a port or dock or something,” Jesse explains. “Do you think that’s where they’re keeping Aria and Lee?”
“Fuck knows, but I’m going to see what’s there!” Jackson grabs his keys and heads for the door. Axel automatically follows him.
“Wait,” Uncle Alex stops them, “We’re all going. Let’s take John’s SUV … at least it’s bulletproof.” Uncle John immediately hands over the keys to his brother.
“Jesse, send us that location.” A sudden burst of energy rushes through my veins as I jolt down the stairs behind the group, a tightness pressing around my heart. Something doesn’t add up. Why would they kidnap them just to let them go again? Or are we going to pick up their bodies?
We drive the distance in mostly silence, each one occupied with his own thoughts … and fears.
“So what did you say to the man?” Jackson asks Alejandro.
“Just that we’re not afraid of him and that his mom is a bitch.” I knew it.
I swear it is the longest hour of my life, but at last we stop in front of what seems to be a warehouse.
“This is it,” Axel confirms. For a minute we all stand in one spot, staring at the building as if wondering what to do next. Jackson rushes forward simultaneously with me.
“Stop!” Uncle Alex shouts, grabbing my brother’s arm, holding him back. He shakes loose.
“Let go!” Jackson’s eyes flares with deranged insanity that will make Lucifer piss his pants. But Uncle Alex grabs his arm again.
“Fuck, Jackson,” he scolds bravely, “don’t be stupid. It could be a trap. We have to be smart and put our emotions aside. Anger won’t rescue them, it will just get everyone killed.” Jackson’s expression changes and a sudden calmness fill his eyes. I take a deep breath. Uncle Alex is right. Right now we need to lead with our minds, not our hearts. But I can’t manage to control my thoughts and moods as quickly and easily as my twin. Nonetheless, I have to try. For Aria. For Leyla.
“Follow me.” Alejandro takes the initiative and walks past, slowly opening the door, looking around cautiously before stepping inside. The place is filled with wooden crates; hundreds of them; stacked high onto each other. We string in a row behind D-boy, me between Uncle Alex and Logan at the back. My shoes stick to some gooey substance that covers the floors. I’m not eager to make any educated guesses as to what it might be. We keep in line while searching between the rows of crates.
“Shit!” Uncle Alex swears when a rat runs right between his legs and across my foot. I hop and skip awkwardly trying to dodge the huge rodent, smashing into one of the crates, dislodging the lid. The vermin disappears with a squeal under a pile of rusty metal. That thing was as big as a fucking cat!
“What happened?” Alejandro asks frantically from the front.
“Rat,” I reply looking at all the flustered faces. Clearly everyone is on edge. I suppose under different circumstances we would all be laughing right now. The line resumes. It’s only then that I notice the contents of the open box – weapons. Brand new guns; M-16 assault rifles to be precise.
“Holy fuck,” Logan whistles, “These guys must be serious traffickers.”
“No wonder Harry managed to get guns so easily,” Uncle Alex concludes, “We’re definitely dealing with The Circle. No other group would be able to stash this much cargo so comfortably and openly.” The little hope I had left evaporates. How can we fight against the biggest mafia group in the world? If I find Aria … alive … I’m going to take her away from all this as soon as Leyla is able to travel. And until then, I’ll protect her somehow, even if I have to be with her 24/7.
I rush behind my uncle to catch up with the crew, but they stop so suddenly that I impact into Uncle Alex’s back, while Logan raps into me from behind.
“What now?” my youngest brother scolds as I taut my head to see what’s the holdup. Alejandro points towards a thin, almost invisible wire, stretched ankle height across the floor, right at the bottom of the steps.
“Guys, the place is trapped. Mind your step and stay vigilant.” I’m glad they came along. My mind is such a mess I would just have ran straight in, tripping that wire and probably ended up dead.
“Noted,”Axel replies. D-boy takes a Swiss army knife from his pocket and bends down. He softly sweeps his fingers across the wire, following it from side to side, checking what it’s attached too, before cutting it.
Our journey continues up the narrow iron stairs to a loft that hovers over half the ground floor. I slowly ascend one step at a time, breathing laboriously; stress constricting my lungs with each breath. What if we find them in a bloody puddle? Like my mom. Naked, pale, raped, dead. I gag at my own thoughts. Logan shoves me lightly from behind and I take the last step.
The dust is thick in the air, making it barely possible for us to see. Beams of sunlight trickle in through the tiny windows just below the PVC roof, partially piercing the darkness. With the exception of a small office in the far back corner and a couple of leather couches in the other, this floor is mostly empty. Everything seems to be covered in a layer of grime. A strange feeling of anticipation chokes me as I look around, not seeing any trace of Aria or Lee. The man played with us. There’s nothing here.
Jackson stoops down and probes his finger into a dark substance on the ground, examining it. He turns pale and heaves. My heart stops again. I immediately know. It’s blood.
Everybody circles around the small pool of dense black-red liquid. Please let it not be their blood. Please, please, please. Axel assists my brother as his knees buckle underneath him. I think the twin bond thing is having an effect on him for the first time – he seems to experience all my emotions at a deeper level. It’s the only explanation for his behavior. He for sure doesn’t care about Aria THAT much, and Lee is just his roommate. So he feels my pain. When we were young I swear I felt him being hurt, but he always laughed it off as my imagination. I wasn’t convinced. Something dark happened to him, but he never wanted to talk about it.
Some more blood, as if something bleeding was dragged across the floor, leave a definite path to the small room. Alejandro pursues it. Me, on the other hand, hesitate for a second, fear freezing me to the spot. But then my worry for Aria overwrites the horror of what I might find and I make my way to the back, all the hairs on my arms rising as I get closer.
The broken blue door is slightly ajar, a deathly still coming from inside. It’s not a good sign. I look around at the voiceless figures silhouetted next to me in the gloomy darkness. Everyone is clearly tense; I’m more tense; Jackson is the most tense – judging by the way his hands are clenched in unyieldingly stiff fists next to his body.
D-boy slowly opens the door. It creaks queerly as if uncannily mocking us. I blink a few times to adjust my eyes to the deeper dimness of the space. First thing I notice is a wooden bin, out of place in the middle of the room. Blood soaked through the side-panel to form a puddle on the floor. I stop breathing and grab onto the arm next to me. It’s Jackson’s. He’s completely unaware … staring bug-eyed at the box.
“Holy fucking cows,” Uncle Alex swears soundlessly while walking forward to peep inside the container. He swallows harshly and wipes his hand over his mouth. I bite my lips, still holding my breath.
“It’s not them,” he says and I exhale in relief. Jackson then moves, pulling me with him, since I’m still clinging to his arm like a high-school fan girl. We stare in horror at the mangled mess that was once a girl. Fucking shit! It’s Amanda.
“Do you like my little present?” We all jolt; startled. Someone swears softly. The voice howling over the intercom is the same one that talked to us on the phone.
“I thought I’ll show you what can happen to the whores in my possession.” The voice is filled with laughter. We all stand motionlessly, just staring into the bin. The corpse glares back with dead eyes and an open mouth. She looks different. Unfamiliar. Her blonde hair caked with dried blood.
“You could say she was sexed to death.” Logan gags next to me; swallows it down. I notice that she’s naked; a bloody fleshy mess where her breasts should be; her womanly parts disfigured. I feel sick.
“She was pregnant,” I think out loud to myself. How inhumane must they be to kill a pregnant woman.
“Yeah, that. She wouldn’t have been a good mother anyway. I did the kid a favor.” Holy fucking shit, he can hear us! And these sick bastards got Aria with them.
“Take a good look. That is not even a tenth of what your little bitch is gonna go through. I’ll make sure of that.” Is he gonna torture Aria like this? The blood drains from my head and I fall onto my knees down on the floor.
A muffled groan comes from deeper inside the room and I turn my head slightly, trying to find the source. There, sprawled out on a mattress is another figure. I’ll recognize that contours anywhere … it’s Aria. I yelp her name in a tiny voice and scrabble on my knees to her side. I pick up her head and crunch it against my chest, right there where my heart suddenly started beating again.
“Aria, baby,” I mumble, biting my inner cheek not to cry. Her body is limp and cold. Jackson hurries to the mattress, then starts searching through the room like a crazed lunatic, looking for Lee.
“Where’s Lee?!” he yells into the air. He’s lost it. Completely.
“Now, you didn’t think I was going to give that little hellcat back, did you?” the man chuckles.
“I’m here, take me,” Jackson tries to bargain. Is he really that fond of Lee.
“Oh, no, no, no, you’re not getting away that easily. YOU killed my best friend and his family. Now you get to suffer in your own hell, Bruiser. Ciao.” They even know my brother’s team nickname. Not that it’s a secret … but still … seems they’ve done their homework.
Jackson charges out, demolishing everything in his path. The sound of glass breaking crashes through the air. He’s the worst I’ve ever seen him. And I know, if he gets like this, he usually destroys himself … and those that try to stop him. And then he balls up and obliterate the ones to blame. I’m not sure these people truly comprehend exactly just how dangerous my twin can be, but they sure are going to find out soon.
“Find him. We need to get out of here,” Uncle Alex shouts at the boys.
“Logan, you call 911. Report the murder and get an ambulance here.” My brother immediately complies.
“Come on, let’s go,” my uncle now looks at me.
“Aria, can you hear me?” I plead hopefully. She opens her eyes, smile lightly and wipes her fingers over the week-old stubble on my jaw. Then the light leaves her eyes and her head falls onto my chest. I pick her up, her flaccid body a dead weight in my arms. Are we too late?
I briskly walk out of the building, making sure to watch my steps, Uncle Alex and Logan right on my heels. We find Axel and Alejandro standing around the SUV. Jackson is sitting on the ground, his back against the tire of the vehicle; his arms crossed over his pulled-up knees and his face buried. He looks devastated. I put Aria softly on the ground, then I sit down next to my brother and lay her head on my lap. Jackson doesn’t move. I notice blood dripping from his fingers to get soaked up into the dirt. He’s gonna need stitches.
Axel comes over and check up on Aria. I bite my thumb while he searches for a pulse. He looks at me with a stern face and tilts his head, putting his hand on my shoulder giving it a squeeze. I sit there staring at some ships in the distance, holding her hand, barely hearing the sirens getting closer and closer.