POV: Raphael
We were all awake all night, going over the plans over and over again, looking for any flaws. Dominic and I did not have any misunderstanding as we worked together, in fact, you will never know that we even had a fight before we started. Saving the girls is more important to us and that’s what we focused on.
We could not walk up to the front gate together because that was where she was expecting us to follow. We flew a drone over the property, and we saw that half of her security guards were stationed at the entrance, waiting patiently for us.
I’m sure that she must be expecting us to show up at her gate any moment from now. I mean, she wasn’t expecting us to back down, was she?
“Get the helo ready, we leave two hours after the ground team,” I instructed Carl. We decided to split the teams into two so one team could create a diversion while the second team sneaks into the house and saves the girls. We agreed to use a helicopter to drop a few guys on the building while the others drew her out of her hideout.
Hopefully, the distraction works as planned and forces Eloise and Allen out of the house to give the second team easy access to the girls. I volunteered to be on the Helicopter, and Miguel agreed to join me up there. I want to be the one to save Victoria, I want to lift her in my arms and take her out of that building myself. But as usual, Dominic disagreed with my idea and he almost pissed me off this time… Almost!
“I wonder if you are really that stupid or you are just trying to get on my nerves on purpose. Like, how do you even think that you would get on that helicopter and Eloise Kendall would not suspect a foul play?” He asked me angrily, pulling his hand through his hair in frustration as if I was stressing him out or something.
“What are you talking about, Dom?
Must you always try to outsmart me in everything we do?” I asked in anger, glaring up at him this time. He scoffed and chuckled at my outburst, making me look more stupid,
“I don’t even have to try too hard, you make it so easy for me to outsmart you, Ralph. I mean, if all you can contribute to this are just meaningless suggestions that could sabotage our mission, then trust me, I will always call you out and make you feel like a damn fool!” he retorted in the same tone that I used on him.
“What do you think is going to happen if we burst into Eloise’s front gate and she doesn’t see you or Victoria’s brother in our midst?” he asked me again, throwing the question at me as if I were a child.
“She knows I care about Claire, and that is why I’ll be there too. But what about you and Miguel, don’t you think she is expecting to see you there as well?
For fucks sake you are her fiance, and you are the first person she is expecting to be here. The next person she is looking out for is her brother, Miguel. You two are the main victims here; you two are her worst nightmare. You literally ruined her life as she planned it, and she is waiting patiently to get back at you and hurt you for ruining her happiness and turning her daughters against her.
So I ask you once again, Raphael Hawkins, what do you think is going to happen when she comes out of that house and sees me standing out there with the guys? What is going to happen when she finds out that her two worst nightmares are not here to confront her, don’t you think that she will panic and probably call her guys back inside and make them stay close to the girls?
What if she has a plan B? What if she reacts crazily and takes out the girls just to prove a point? Why don’t you think about the consequences of your decision, why don’t you think of what she might do if her anger is triggered?” he asked me, sounding so disappointed.
“Sometimes I wonder what happened to you all this while that we have been apart, how did you survive this long with your reckless attitude?
You make me wonder if I ever trained you well. To think that I took pride in the fact that you are my prodigy. And just when I thought that you were making me proud, you turned around and proved your stupidity had never left you. Why do you keep pissing me off, acting So dumb?” he asked me, sighing disappointedly.
To be honest, after he told me all this, I felt a bit disappointed in myself as well, like what was I even thinking?
I’m the first person Eloise is looking out for, and if she can’t find me, she would know that we have a plan B and I am part of that plan B. He said Eloise would panic if she didn’t see us out there, and that is the honest truth. In fact, she may even panic and hurt the girls before we could pass through her guards and get to them.
To be honest I understand why Dominic is always calling me out and antagonizing me at every given opportunity. I guess it’s my lack of sleep that is making me think this way. All my ideas always have dire consequences; I wonder why I don’t think it through. We had to trust Carl and a few guys to get the girls out. I personally picked the guys that would get into that building with Carl. The last thing we want is to send an incompetent fool in there that would put the girls in danger.
“The next time you call me out in front of your guys, I’ll make you regret it!” I warned Dominic sternly after we sent the guys away to go and get everything ready to leave. We assigned roles to everyone and sent them away, leaving just the three of us. I’d been holding it in waiting for the chance to issue a stern warning to him.
I can’t let go of the fact that he talks down on me in front of the guys. He doesn’t care about my feelings and that is something I have to correct now because the next time he does it again, I’m punching him in the fucking face.
“And what are you going to do if I don’t stop?” he retorted furiously.
“Why don’t you try it one more time and find out, my friend,” I told him, smirking evilly at him. She groaned within and turned away, going to attend to his own tasks. I know he won’t stop without a fight, and I’m prepared to give him a good fight the next time he tries it.
“I like you two, it is so much fun to watch you two trying so hard to outsmart each other.” Miguel laughed after he left.
“Yeah right!
It’s fun until you see us throwing jabs at each other.” I told him sadly as I watched Dominic walk away without sparing is a second glance.
“What’s the story, why are you two hiding your true feelings for each other and fighting like lovers?” he asked me. I smiled at his observations; I guess it’s still obvious that Dominic and I care so much for each other. We may fight and argue, but he remains my brother and he will always look out for me no matter what.
“He is the only friend I have, the only one I trust with my life. He taught me everything I know and taught me to defend myself. But I Screwed Up, I let my quest for justice turn me against him. I was deceived by Carlos Gonzalez and I betrayed Dominic and helped Carlos usurp him. It’s my fault we are this way, and I intend to be patient with him until he learns to trust me again.” I told him, smiling sadly.
“If you are trying to get on his good side again, trust me, you are doing a terrible job, you suck at it.” He told me pointedly, laughing at me like a clown.
“You don’t mince words, do you?” I asked in a sarcastic tone, smirking at him. He laughed at me, obviously enjoying himself at my expense. I could already tell that we are going to be great friends in the future. I think I like his humor, I like the fact that he doesn’t try to please or displease anyone. He speaks the truth and damns the consequences. That’s the type of guy that’s the kind of people I love to have around me.
“If anything happens to me tomorrow, do you promise to look after my sister and my parents?” he asks me, his eyes fixed on me.
“Hey!
Don’t do that, do to you fucking joke around with that!” I scolded him, glaring daggers at him.
“No one is dying tomorrow man, not you and certainly not me. I’ve seen you fight, and I know you can handle yourself pretty well. Just stick to the plans, and everything will be fine..” I told him firmly, giving him no room to argue with me. He smiled at my words, nodding in understanding. To be sure he wasn’t planning on going rogue on us tomorrow, I went over the plans with him over and over again, repeating his roles and asking him, not begging him to keep to the plans.
“Don’t even think of improvising, don’t you leave my side or think of being heroic. Your sister wants you alive, she would kill me if she doesn’t get to meet you when she gets out of there. That’s all she wants right now, please don’t shatter her dreams tomorrow. Stay alive for Marisol; she needs you more than you can ever imagine. I told him sternly, using her real name for the first time just to make him understand that there was no need to try to prove himself to me or anyone else.
He has been feeling this way since his sister called out to me for help instead of him. I hope he doesn’t let his jealousy and the need to prove himself to his sister cost him his life or get him seriously injured tomorrow. Now I’ll have to look out for him and watch his back always.