Southern Narco

Silas and Ebony drove into a town for an art supply store. Silas pushed a cart behind her and waited while she picked out all the things she needed to start creating. He watched her look at the ingredients of labels she hadn't heard of and confidently put in products she knew. He offered to pay but she was set on paying her own bill.

Ebony was getting more tired as the day went on. Silas said he needed to make one more stop before they went back to Willadeene's. After driving for fifteen minutes, they parked in the driveway of a cute cottage. The outside was white with hints of pale yellow. Playground toys could be seen in the backyard for children to play. A small coupe and a van were in the driveway.

"This is my cousin Addison's house. Willadeene's daughter." Ebony took off her seatbelt and jumped down from the truck on her own with Silas' supervision. Together, they wandered up to the front door.

Willadeene had suggested she introduce her to her daughters on the tour. Ebony was curious to see the kind of women Willadeene raised.

Silas opened the front door without knocking. He ventured into the house first and Ebony followed a few steps behind.

The house was bright with shades of white, light grey and yellow. The inside had matched the outside perfectly. Everything was crisp and in place.

"Uncle Sy!" A small voice called. Ebony heard small quick footsteps running and then she was Silas bend down to capture a small, dark haired little girl. He hugged the baby close and she received his welcome eagerly.

"Mi cielito—my little sky." Silas greeted.

"Qué pelota que eres!—what an idiot you are! Armando came home to me and needed three stitches—" Ebony saw the woman who spoke angrily to Silas come into view. She shut her mouth at the sight of the guest and a smile formed within a second. "Ebony?" She winded around Silas and her daughter to outstretch her arms. Ebony bent a bit at the waist and hugged her. "Oh you are beautiful! My mother is excited to have you here, welcome to Texas."

Addison didn't look like an Addison. Out of all the people in her family that Ebony had met, she looked most like someone from South America. Her mother a close second. Addison had long, butt length hair that curled beautifully from root to end. Her eyes were glistening and dark brown with tanned skin.

"This is Ebony, Nana—baby girl." Addison introduced her to her daughter. She gave a small wave from over her uncle's shoulder. Ebony offered a wave and smile of her own. "Come! I'm making drinks." Addison was cheery and excited as if she hadn't been ready to chew Silas out just a few seconds ago. She grabbed Ebony by the arm and led her into the kitchen. Ebony looked to Silas and he was unscathed.

Silas watched Ebony be pulled out of view. He could see she wanted him to follow and join her to wherever his cousin had dragged her.

Ebony sat at the white marble island counter. The late afternoon sun poured in from the open blinds and windows in the kitchen. The white interior reflected every bit of light available. The small woman walked around the kitchen gathering ingredients for her drinks. Ebony watched her slice a couple limes on a cutting board in front of her.

"So, how was your day? I heard you went horseback riding." How did she hear that? Ebony wondered. It was just a few hours ago and a few hours before that, Willadeene was her designated tour guide. Silas hadn't touched his phone the whole day.

"It was really nice. I've never been on a horse before but I'd do it again." Addison nodded to herself.

"I hate riding horses so I'm glad you enjoyed it." She went over to the icemaker and filled a pitcher. She grabbed a folded stool from beside the refrigerator and unfolded it to reach a cabinet over the sink. She took out a bottle of tequila and a concentrated margarita mix. "I like my drinks strong, by the way." She looked over her shoulder and gave Ebony a full lipped smiled. She looked gorgeous when she did.

"Fine with me." Ebony chuckled. "Your house is beautiful, too." Ebony complimented, taking in the small yellow accents and décor.

"Thank you!" She sounded genuinely flattered. "I put a lot of work into it so it's nice to get compliments." She went to work with cutting up fresh strawberries. "My sister Tabitha is working today. Mi Mamá wanted you to meet her."

"I'm sure I'll see her around at some point—do you need me to help?" Ebony offered herself up after being forced to watch Addison zip around the kitchen once more. She pulled out a plate and two of the largest margarita glasses she'd ever seen.

"You can do the rims; salt or sugar?" Before Ebony could reply she spoke again. "I usually do half and half." Ebony could see Willadeene running through the woman's veins. Her smile, cheerfulness and hospitality was all her mother.

"Half and half sounds different." Ebony smirked. Addison handed her the glasses and a lime to wet the rim.

"Go keep Ebony company for me." Silas put the little girl down. She looked up at her uncle with big doe eyes. "I think she'd be happier if she had you with her. Yeah?" She nodded and was off running into the kitchen to find the new guest.

Silas waited for her footsteps to fade into silence before he opened the closet door. There were only a few jackets inside but he pushed them aside and ran the pads of his fingers over the back wall's edges. He pressed twice and the faux wall clicked. It parted an inch from the corner and he slid it back enough for him to creep through. He closed the closet door behind him and carefully descended the small, short few steps into the hidden room.

A switch along the wall turned on the ten monitors semi-circled around a chair. The monitors booted up and Silas sat to wait.

The control room was built and ran by his cousin. Addison was practically a genius. She was a computer whiz, an engineer, a chemist—one of the smartest people Silas knew. Her role in his business was crucial.

The computers loaded and the interface she designed appeared. Silas put in the three layer encrypted authentication password and codes. It took him to the master panel only he and Addison had access to. Gael and Armando had their own passwords that each let them access certain things under Silas' permissions.

Silas scrolled down the list of all cameras, GPS tracking devices and databases available. Every property he owned had a camera at the front and back of the entrance except for his fields in Colombia and Peru.

He found the one he wanted and pulled up the screen.

He could see Gael, Armando and Tabitha standing alongside a few more of his men. A delivery was being made for his Western division. Over two tons of cocaine was coming in from Tijuana, Mexico. Over 120 million dollars' worth of product. They were in his Otay, New Mexico cell. The building doubled as a wholesale rug and mattress storage space but it was a front. Every wall slid back to secretly hide away product. The floors came up and the ceilings were small chambers.

Silas checked his watch and saw that in five minutes, the delivery would be late. Silas drew his fingers over the table with anticipation. Gael and Armando discussed something amongst each other and Silas could see the nervousness in their body language. But no one did anything. No one made a move to stay ahead of where his product was.

That enraged him.

Silas checked his watch again. Two minutes before it was late. He wanted to call. He wanted to let them know that he was watching and he wasn't happy.

But, Silas promised to let go of the reigns. He promised to let his men handle the business and he would only intervene when things went wrong. Maybe they had a plan set in motion he didn't know. Silas used his last few minutes to think of his own plan. He would have to wait.

Thirty seconds from being late, Silas picked up his cellphone.

"Bring them. I'll be there in an hour." Silas hung up.

Panic settled among the men in the warehouse and they started to whirl around the space where a truck should have been. His cousin Tabitha could be seen yelling at men who were supposed to be unloading a truck in under two minutes. Silas dialed Gael. It rang once. He looked up to the security camera.

"Go look for my shit." He hung up.

Silas watched the confused men scurry around for another three seconds before he decided he couldn't stand it anymore. He turned off the monitor and rested his head in his hand to catch his breath.

"She moves like her daddy—my poor stiff baby." Addison said over to Ebony. The two women chuckled but they both went back to cheering the little girl on. They sat on the island stools and watched her daughter Lolita dance to a song blaring from speakers overhead. The little girl was deep in concentration and was serious about the performance she was putting on.

"She has some time; don't lose hope yet." Ebony joked.

The women downed their first margaritas and were now working on the second. Ebony couldn't even imagine how much alcohol she had put into them but she knew it was more than enough.

"Bailar!—Dance!" The little girl reached for Ebony and Addison's hands and pulled them from their stools. Ebony could finally feel the effects of her drink once she was on her own two feet. Addison didn't let her find her footing before she had grabbed Ebony by the waist and hand. The small woman was strong and did an effective job of leading Ebony in their dancing.

It finally dawned on them both that they were pretty tipsy. They caught one another's eyes and burst out into a full laugh. Still, they kept dancing and once Ebony had learned the patterns, she started to get into it.

"Oh, you're pretty good." Addison eyed her approvingly. Ebony laughed in response. Addison pulled them apart and struggled to turn Ebony under her short arm. They laughed at that too.

Silas had walked in ready to get Ebony and leave. His blood was full of fury and urgency the entire walk back to the kitchen. Bu once he'd entered and seen the smile of drunken content on her face, his heart softened the slightest bit. She twirled her hips with his cousin to fast paced music. Ebony needed little instruction from her once she'd started to get a feel for the rhythms.

The song ended and Addison caught him in the corner. She saw on his face that something was wrong.

"You gotta' go?" She asked already knowing the answer. Silas nodded and gestured with his head for Ebony to get her bag.

"Bye Lola." Silas bent down to give her a kiss on her cheek. The little girl could feel the mood change and gave him a tight hug around his neck.

"Come visit me again?" Addison hugged Ebony with a grip no one would expect from her. Ebony hugged her back.

"Absolutely."

The ride back was silent. No music and no talking. Silas was dead set on driving back to the bed and breakfast as fast as the truck would let him.

The sun was setting over the tall trees and left a beautiful show of oranges, purples and golds. Ebony watched from the window until Willadeene's home obstructed her view. She went to take off her seatbelt and Silas had been there to open her door. She jumped down with the help of his hand and turned to get her art supplies out of the truck's bed. Silas gathered the bags in one hand and had the canvases tucked under his other arm.

She walked alongside him while he expertly held all her purchases. She opened the front door for him and he went up the steps to place it beside her locked bedroom door.

"Goodnight, Ebony." Silas looked into her eyes the best he could in the dimly lit hall. He turned to walk back down the steps and her heart sank. He wasn't even going to wait for her to respond.

"Goodnight." She said, toying with the key in her hand uneasily. "Silas?" She called for him, completely unsure why. He turned at the top of the staircase expectantly. "Thank you for today." He nodded with his expression nonchanging from the stone coldness he'd worn since they left Addison's.

When he was gone, Ebony opened her bedroom door with a sinking in her stomach she never thought she'd have after such a perfect day. It was as if none of it mattered if it didn't end perfectly too.