Living Without
Part Sixteen
"A man was found shot and killed at the Springfield docks by the Springfield PD a little after midnight this morning. The man was Carlito Luis Julia, son of the late mobster Rigoberto Julia, who was too murdered over a decade ago. Police still have not made any arrests in that case and no suspects are known in this current Julia assassination. Oddly enough, this investigation has led to the acquisition of new evidence related to the unsolved murder of Diego Santiago. Santiago was gunned down nearly 4 years ago in his Towers apartment, in what Police have been referring to as the 'suspectless murder.' That has all but changed now that Police are in possession of evidence linking a former in-law of Santiago to the scene of the crime. The suspect is Michelle Bauer, former wife of mob prince Danny Santos, cousin to Santiago.
"Police would not comment on what evidence they were able to attain as a result of the Julia investigation, but they did stress that they only wish to *question* Bauer, and that no arrest was being made at this time."
***
Night: Tuesday, Sept 5th
Juan circled to the back of his vehicle as the garage door lowered, and pulled open the van's doors. He climbed in to uncuff Michelle from a steel trunk he had there and immediately locked her wrists back together.
"Easy!!" Michelle yelled when the she felt the tight cuffs snap against her skin, and Juan jumped down from the van and roughly dragged her out.
He proceeded to escort her to the entrance of what appeared to be some abandoned home. Well, it was more like pulling a stubborn mule by its rope. When he finally got her to the door, he dug into his bag in search of a flashlight.
"Where the hell is this, Juan? What are we doing here?" Michelle asked while trying to wiggle her hands out of the handcuffs he had around her wrists.
Juan remained in his silence. He hadn't said a word or answered any of her questions since they left the church earlier, and he wasn't planning on answering any just yet. He unlocked the door and pushed her inside, slamming the steel door shut with his foot. He continued further in with his captive, walking through dark rooms that reeked of some indescribable foul stench; going past falling wall paper; stepping on rotting floor boards and damp carpeting.
There was something about this place that rang familiar to Michelle. The lack of any visible light switches. The dampness of the cool air. The odor of deteriorated plywood. The dark, cold, damp, silent, dead room. The smell of the place alone was enough to kill a person.
"Why did you bring me back here?!" Michelle asked, her voice filled with instant panic, but the man was still mute as he pulled her along by the arm. "What is going on, Juan?! Answer me!"
Juan stopped at a second door and flashed his light at the lock to insert the key. As he was doing this, Michelle was thinking of how she was going to get the heck out of there. She glanced back at the way of their entry and remembered the maze of darkness they had come in through. She wouldn't make it to the door let alone out of that God forsaken place.
She was abruptly stirred out of her thoughts when Juan grabbed a hold of her and covered her mouth with a chloroform soaked cloth. She struggled with him to no avail. She tried not to breath in, but she couldn't stop herself from involuntarily gasping for air.
***
Wednesday, Sept 6th
His eyes barely cracked open as he pulled himself up from the bed. God, his head felt like a bowling ball. His head painfully throbbed as if he had been hit with a ton of bricks. Maybe his head WAS a ton of bricks.
What was wrong with him? He had to be coming down with some illness. The Michelle flu. The Bauer cold. M.B.D.S. = Michelle Bauer Disease Syndrome. Heck, it was one of them, he figured. After all, she was the only character in each of his dreams that night. He couldn't get her off his mind. Two days later and he still couldn't shake the enormous amount of guilt he was experiencing. Going in to SanCorp yesterday surely didn't help. His time there was a complete disaster. Then there was his attempt to make all his troubles go away with his horrible mix of liquor. That was now proving to have been a very bad idea.
This was some hangover. He's never had one like this. He's never had a cocktail like that. This day wasn't starting out the way he wanted it to.
**
"Danny?" Pilar called when she spotted him barely dragging his feet down the hall. "Danny, are you alright?" she went up to him to help. "You look like you've been hit by a truck."
"I feel like I slammed into a mountain and it slammed back," Danny replied. "Got any Advil or something?"
"Midol," Pilar said and Danny gave her a funny look.
"I'm not on my period, P. I just need something that'll at least allow me to stand without wanting to fall over. I need something stronger than your cramp reliever."
"Hangover?"
"Big time," Danny replied as he slouched against the seat. "I'm never drinking again in my life."
"Made yourself a cocktail, huh? I did that once. Bad, BAD move," she commented. "What sent you to Mama's drinking table anyway?"
"Michelle," he said as he took a deep breath.
"You've heard, haven't you? Oh my God, Danny! Don't feel bad about it. You didn't know this was going to happen."
"What? Pilar, what are you talking about? What have I heard?"
"You haven't heard?"
"Heard what? Pilar, spit it out!"
"It's about Michelle. She was on the news last night," Pilar instinctively lowered her voice. "The Police suspect her of killing Diego," she told him and Danny forced the air out of his chest. "They got some evidence that connects her to Diego's apartment. They know she is in Springfield and they've got a warrant out for her."
Danny exhaled again and held onto his head. His day just got worse. "Does Juan know? Did he call?" he asked.
"No, he hasn't. I don't know if he knows, but he's not at the Church anymore. He took Michelle and left yesterday evening. Don't ask me where they went because he told Ray and I nothing. All I know is that he somehow knew that someone was coming to the Church in search of Michelle, so they split quicker than Alejandra's skirt when she bends over. Care to guess who showed up? Mama."
"What?!" Danny virtually screamed and then lowered his voice. "What the hell was she doing there??"
"Praying for tus niños she claimed. She had Dietz and the rest of them looking around the Church while she kept us busy with her speech about how wonderful it'll be when you finally marry that Ramírez," Pilar remarked with such disgust. "She didn't find anything though. Diego and Michelle were long gone by then."
"How come he hasn't called me? Why didn't tell me he was leaving town?? Where he was going?? Why am I always the last person to know what is going on?!"
"Keep it down," Pilar warned. "Juan Carlos has his reasons for not telling you. Knowing that man, he probably already knows about the police, the evidence, all of that! You have to trust his judgment. I'm sure you do." "That's not the point!" Danny seethed. "He's supposed to tell me what he's doing!"
"Okay! I understand that, but....why are you so upset?"
"I'm not upset," he replied, purposely calming himself down. "Everything is so out of control! How did Mama know about the Church, and how did the police get-"
"Danny, take it easy," Pilar told him when he held his head in pain. "Try not to think about it," she said and her brother gave her this face that said 'let's be serious.' "Okay, so it won't be a piece of cake," she added. "But you have to give it a try. Everyone knows about Michelle now, including Escobar."
Danny sat quietly as thoughts bumped at every side of his head. Nothing was clear. Nothing made any sense. His headache made it no easier for him to think than it was for him to stand up.
"She must have been telling you the truth about Diego, Danny," Pilar whispered to her brother. "About the set up. Someone definitely wanted her out of the way then and they want her gone now. I just don't understand how Dietz fits into all of this."
"Mama is the only person who wanted Michelle out of this family more than anyone else."
"She didn't want Diego dead! She wouldn't sacrifice family! That's not her style."
"I'm just going to have to find out whose style it is then," Danny was saying as he tried to stand, but his heavy head prevented him from doing so. His sister helped him back to his seat.
"That's not a good idea, mi hermano. Ramírez, his wife, and brother are all here. You can't go anywhere," she told him. "Not with them around."
Danny cursed under his breath. "What are they doing here?! Why didn't you tell me they were here? Now what the hell am I going to do?"
"You're going to do nothing," Pilar told him. "You need to calm down and take care of yourself first. You deal with your future in-laws and then take it from there."
**
"You can't give up, honey. It's not the end of the world," Hortensia said to her daughter, who had been sulking since they got there. "You stand up with head high, dust your butt off, and try again."
Alejandra was unresponsive. Her perfect, foolproof plan was a bust. She told both Carmen and her mother about her failed attempt to seduce Danny, but had conveniently left out the part about drugging him when narrating her tale to Carmen.
"Danny! My God!" Carmen went over to her son once she caught sight of he and his sister coming into the room. "What is wrong with you? You look like-"
"The garbage man ran over me. I know," he completed her sentence as he moved his head away from her hand that had come up to his face. "I'm fine! I'm fine, alright? I just had a bad night."
"You don't look fine, Danny," Carmen said.
"She's right," Pilar added, playing along. "You look awful."
"I have this really big...hangover. That's all. I'm fine," he repeated. "I just need some coffee, or warm milk, or whatever."
"I'll go get you some milk," Carmen told him and then she disappeared into the crowd of people. "And some aspirin."
"I'll help, Mama," Pilar said, rubbing on Danny's arm before following behind Carmen.
"Your boyfriend looks like he's been having some 'fun' with illegal substances, say?" Dietz whispered quickly past Alejandra and she barely gave him a sharp glance before looking over at Danny. *
"Go away, Ally," he slurred, knowing it was her twisting at his door knob like her life depended on it. His children would've at least had the decency of knocking after they found the door locked.
"I don't want to see you. Not tonight," he said as he plopped down on the bed. "Not ever."
"Open this door, Danny!" she started to bang. "I need to talk to you. It's really important."
"I'm not looking to fuck you, so just go away...back to your room...your cave...wherever it is you sleep."
"Danny, please! It's important!"
"If it's that important, you'd be spilling your guts right where you are."
"It's something private. I don't want anyone else hearing what I have to say."
"If I come up to the door, you can whisper it to me," he recommended. "I can't do that..."
"Too bad," Danny said as he proceeded to kick off his shoes and unbutton his shirt.
"Danny..."
"What?!" he snapped before she could even finish. "What is so damn important?? Are you joining the Army? Becoming a nun?"
"No," she replied, knowing he wasn't going to open the door for anything.
"Actually, you can't be a nun. I don't think the convent accepts sluts. Hmm, so what could have you jumping so high out of your dirty thong? Have you fallen for some pathetic, sorry loser? Some other guy your father chose to blackmail this time?"
"I can't talk to you when you're like this. Good night!"
"I wanna know what it is you need to tell me!" he yelled with his glass of cocktail in hand. "Oh, come on, baby! You know I meant everything I said! I'm not sorry," he said as he went up to the door and opened it. "See, I apologized," he told her.
"Go to hell, Danny!" Alejandra shouted back at him, marching down the hall in a huff.*
"Here you are," Carmen came back with a glass of milk and she nudged at him when he hadn't tore his attention away from Alejandra who was intently staring back at him. "Can't wait to be alone with your fiancée?" Danny turned to look at his mother and took the milk from her. He raised the glass to take a sip, but he gave the drink back to Carmen when he caught a whiff of the smell.
"I'll have water," he told her, ignoring her obnoxious reference to that 'it' standing on the other side of the room. "What's going on?" he asked about the guests.
"It's a little gathering, Danny. What does it look like? These people will soon be your in-laws," Carmen was sure to remind him. "Put a smile on your face, baby."
"Daniel," Hortensia called and he looked over in the direction of the voice to find her standing with that forbidden woman he has been calling his fiancée.
The milk wasn't the only thing making his stomach churn. Alejandra was still watching him like a hawk, and it was obvious that she had been crying. Only God knew what reason she had to whine this time. Whatever it was, she must have told her mother and it must not have been good since the older woman had "time to talk him into his grave" written all over her face. Yep. Alejandra has been playing mommy's little girl again. It was time to find out what he did now.
"Mrs. Ramírez," Danny greeted.
"Don't be so formal," Hortensia said. "How are you? You don't look okay."
"I have a little headache," he replied, downplaying his ailment a large degree. "What are you doing here?"
"Do you a problem with us being here?"
"No, not at all. Any friend of my mother's is welcome."
"Friend of the family," Hortensia felt she had to correct. "Soon we will be familia! I know you two are excited."
Danny's eyes shifted to Alejandra and then away from them both. "Yeah. Excited. Whoopee," he said with no enthusiasm whatsoever.
At that moment, Alejandra left her mother's side with her face buried in her hands.
"Now what?" Danny asked himself.
"Let her go," Hortensia said, watching as Alejandra walked out of the room.
All the while Danny was staring at his future mother-in-law, wondering where on earth she got the idea that he was even attempting to go after her actress of a daughter. He didn't know what she was up to, but he sure as hell didn't like it.
"You and I have to talk," Hortensia started.
"Danny, what's wrong with Alejandra?" Carmen asked as she came over.
"Could you both excuse me a moment?" he said, immediately leaving them and making his way over to the cocktail table. One look at the drinks made him queasy and he turned away from the table so quickly that he hadn't seen who he had ran into.
"Slow down, son."
"I'm sorry," Danny apologized as he regained his balance. He opened his eyes to finally see who had saved him from falling flat on his face. "Mr. Ramírez."
"What have I told you about that Mr. Ramírez business? Call me papá!" he told him while draping an arm around Danny's shoulders. He walked him over to the other side of the room before speaking up again. "See my daughter over there?" he asked, pointing with his cigar.
"Yeah," Danny said, feeling beyond uncomfortable with the man's arm around him. He stepped forward a little in an attempt to escape him, but he was only pulled in closer.
"She's not happy," Escobar told him.
"What's that got to do with me?" Danny asked as he broke away from him and headed back to the cocktail table to pour himself a drink of water.
"It seems that you're forgetting our deal, Danny," Escobar spoke, stressing his name. "You marry my daughter and you give her plenty of love, happiness, and satisfaction. You will give her all that her heart desires."
"There's no need to threaten, Escobar," Danny smiled wryly, choosing now to be informal. "You made your point clear when you put a hit out on my children."
"I wasn't going to hurt them," Escobar said. "I was only trying to...get you to see the light. To do the right thing."
"Right. Well, let me tell you this. I don't appreciate my kids being put up for anyone's target practice. I don't give a shit about what you plan on doing to me, just keep them out of it!"
"Daniel, Daniel," Escobar started and his arm was back around his shoulders, but Danny was quick to shrug it off. "That isn't how the game is played. Your children are your heart, my children are mine. That's the only place to strike, son. At the heart," he poked at Danny's chest. "Your children are Santoses. They are a part of la familia! They're not immune to this life. You should know that better than anyone."
"Touch them and die."
"Those words rang a little too close on the threatening side. We wouldn't want to do that now, would we? You know better than that, Danny! You wouldn't want to be my enemy."
"You're already mine," Danny informed him. "I don't care who you are, Escobar. You touch my children-"
"If I were you, I'd watch the tone of my voice," Escobar cut in. "I like you, son, but you are this close to having a cap popped right through that thick skull of yours."
"Wouldn't that just make your day to see the last son of Miguel Santos go down?" Danny asked as he gulped at his water. "Don't try to pretend, because I'm pretending no more. I know you are no friend of mine and that you were never any friend of my father's. You have ulterior motives just like everyone else in this damned room regarding to this sham of a marriage you are forcing me into!"
"You better not even try to weasel out of this one! If you do, not only will you lose your children, but you'll lose their mother as well. Their REAL mother. When I find out what you've done with her, I'll have her eliminated. You need no distractions."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Danny remarked as he strolled out of the room and to the back of the house. Escobar was close behind.
"That's okay. You don't need to know, but I assure you that if my daughter continues to be unhappy and if she even suspects as much as an ounce of infidelity on your part or a lacking of love, you will live to see the day that your entire family is slowly killed right before your eyes. Literally!"
"Making threats, at me in particular, must be your forte, Escobar. I know you're enjoying every minute of this. Every minute that you make my life even more unbearable to live."
"I just want my Alejandra to be happy and to have what she deserves," Escobar told him.
"You speak as if you've got something to lose."
"My Alejandra has got her integrity! What did you think was going to happen when you took my only daughter's virginity? That you'd just walk away? That some other man would take her? In our world, fucking a virgin means that you plan on taking that woman in as your wife!"
"Well, that's what I'm doing now, isn't it?!" Danny yelled. "How virginal do you actually think your daughter was anyway? Do you really think I was the first? Trust me when I say that I wasn't."
"I trust my daughter and her word. She wouldn't lie to me. She never has."
"You're dumber than I thought," Danny mumbled.
"And I will not tolerate to have you stand in my presence and speak of her in the manner that you are. You will not disrespect my daughter." "You lay down a lot of rules, Ramírez. It's unfortunate that they won't all be followed."
"It'll be very unfortunate if all of them aren't," Escobar warned. "We wouldn't want any stray bullets accidentally hitting one of your children. Your daughter maybe? I know you hold her very dear. She bares such an uncanny resemblance to that temporary lapse of judgment you had. That former lover of yours..."
"She was my wife," Danny said defensively, his voice deepening some.
"Whatever," Escobar dismissed. "Wife. Lover. Bitch. It makes no difference to me. What does matter is Alejandra."
"You don't have to worry about the marriage. It will happen. Michelle being in town will not change anything."
"Good boy!" he rejoiced. "Now that's what I wanted to hear!" he said as he puffed on his cigar. "You're finally coming back around."
"I'm doing what I have to do," Danny remarked as he sipped of his now warm water. "I don't have much of a choice."
"You used to. In the beginning. But that all changed the moment you decided to take my daughter to bed. Now you are all out of options." "Thank you for once again making that very clear."
"No problem," Escobar gave him a huge false grin as he started for the door. "Oh, and one more thing," he backed up. "Whatever you did with Ms. Bauer, I'll find out. I hope you're smart enough to know to keep away from her."
"I told you that I don't know about Michelle or where she is, and I really don't care," Danny pushed the words out of himself. "If she killed my cousin, she'll get whatever she deserves."
"You won't even bother avenging Santiago's death? She killed not one, but two members of your family."
"I'll let the police do their job," Danny replied as calmly as he could.
"I'm sure you will," Escobar smiled. "It was nice talking to you."
Once Escobar was back in the house, Danny threw his glass of water across the lawn with such might that it shattered the instant it hit the ground. He was so consumed with anger that if he saw or if anyone even dared mention the name Ramírez, he would tear their head off with his bare hands.
He made his way over to one of the benches and sat himself down, grabbing a hold of his head that felt like it was going to explode. He had himself stuck in a corner he couldn't get out of. By agreeing to this deal with Escobar, he had signed his own death warrant and that of his children.
His children. God, his children. He couldn't continue on with this lie his been feeding them. He owed it to them to find out what truly happened between he and their mother. But how was he going to do that now? Escobar will definitely have him under close surveillance.
"Damn this! All of this!" he thought to himself. Was this how he was going to live the rest of his life? Being followed? Being watched? He walked into his own prison without even knowing it.
"Danny," Pilar came to sit next to him. She laid her head against his shoulder and soothingly rubbed his arm. "Are you okay?"
"No," he honestly answered.
"I heard some of the things he said," she confessed. "Danny, please listen to him and stay away from Michelle! You've got to or all hell will break loose! I know you need to find the truth, but if need be, let it alone. Just for a little while. I can't lose you," she cried.
"Come on, Pilar. You're not losing me," he said as he brought his arm around her. "I'll be around to see my great great-grandchildren," he remarked and he heard his sister laugh.
"You'll be pretty old," she told him.
"You and I both. I love you, crazy girl," Danny said and he kissed the top of her head. "You always look out for me."
"I love you, too. I just want you to be happy."
"As long as my son and daughter are happy, I'm fine."
"I know you'll figure a way out of this," Pilar said as they pulled away from each other. "You will."
"I'm going to take a walk. Try to clear my head."
"Want company?"
"I need to be alone," Danny told her as he stood from the bench, and Pilar nodded in agreement. "I'll be back before the kids come home."
"Be careful," she told him as they shared a hug. "Escobar has his eye on you."
"I will," he assured her, giving her a small smile before departing.
**
Later that day:
"No problemo. I'll think of something. Thanks for letting me know, Pilar," Juan spoke into his cell. "Don't worry about that. She's fine. She'll be even better once I get her out of town. I'll be in touch."
He approached Michelle, who he had tied up, while dragging chair with him. He set the chair in place and sat down directly in front of her. He stared at her for a moment before pulling the gag from her mouth.
"You know, I am sick and tired of all these antics you keep pulling!" Michelle instantly spat. "And I don't appreciate the handcuffing or your current game of Cowboy & Indian! I'm not with the chloroforming either!"
"You talk too much," Juan said as a matter-of-fact, that being the first words he had uttered to her since that time yesterday.
"Only when I'm provoked."
"That must be often."
"I wonder who's to blame," Michelle remarked. "Where is this? Your secret lair, Batman?" she mocked.
"My father's house," Juan answered.
"What, did you decide I had to come meet the rest of your demented family?"
"My wife and my children mainly," he chose to mimic her sarcasm. "You're here for your safety," he told her.
Michelle looked down at the rope that held her tightly strapped to the chair and then at him. He must've been kidding.
Juan got up and untied her, dumping the rope to the side as took his seat again.
"Not afraid I'll run away?"
"You wouldn't make it past the dog," he replied with confidence. "Even if you did, you'll have a trail of people just waiting to get their hands on you. There's the police and Carmen and Escobar-"
"Police?? Esco who? Who's that?!"
"The cops got a hold of the evidence you mentioned," Juan told her and she gasped. "It was on the news last night. You're the prime suspect in Diego's murder."
"So now you believe me."
"I suppose. That's one reason we left the way we did. I had to get you out of there. Pilar told me that Carmen came by after we left. Of course, she found no one."
"Thanks to you."
"I just did what was necessary. As for Escobar, I'll leave him to Daniel to explain. The man happens to be one of your many enemies. He hates you with a passion."
"Oh, I can just feel the love. I don't even know this guy and I still manage to get on his bad side?"
"Danny married you. That alone sent the mob into a frenzy. But like I said, Danny will explain everything."
"Great. Another war of words with my sweet talking better half," she remarked sardonically. "I'm looking forward to that."
"By this time tomorrow, we should be out of Springfield," Juan informed her.
"Where are we going now?" she asked him. "I can't keep running!"
"You won't. Hopefully, this will be your last stop."