King of All I Survey
Chapter 43: Like Scarface from the Movies

Chapter 43: Like Scarface from the Movies

The rest of the dinner passed with polite small talk. Five more courses of the chef’s best offerings, selected by Rafael with seemingly great care to make an impression on Maribel.

As they ate the final course. There was an insistent knock on the door, much louder than the waiter’s polite tapping each time he entered the room. "What is it?" Rafael called out, a slight slur in his words as he had by this time finished another three fingers of pisco.

The door opened and Luis stepped in. His hands out to the side plainly visible. "Excuse me, I have an urgent message for Miss Flores," he said stepping forward to her side.

A look of genuine alarm took over Maribel’s face as she shot a dangerous look at Rafael. If he had used this time to have his people strike, she would... His face said he was as surprised by this development as she.

Luis leaned forward and whispered into her ear in a voice too low to be heard across the table. Her eyes went wide as she listened. Luis continued for nearly a minute, giving her a succinct report of the events, and available options.

"Well," She said when he had finished and stood up straight beside her, "It seems that my message to your people has caused at least one to act precipitously. Two police officers who received our message last night, are outside waiting for your exit. They are not in uniform. In fact, they both have rifles with scopes. It seems they intend to remove the possibility that you will be caught and divulge their association with your organization. I fear I have scared them into taking action against you."

Rafael stood abruptly, he stumbled as he rose knocking the chair over with a loud retort. "Oso!" He called loudly.

Luis cut in, "Oso is not outside. He received a phone call telling him it would be better for him if he were to be absent for the rest of the evening. It came from the police commissioner in the district where his family lives."

Rafael’s eyes went wide with rage and defiance, although they remained slightly unfocused from the pisco. He stared daggers at Maribel, "Did you arrange this? Do you think you can kill me so easily?" He was shouting now.

Luis moved protectively to block his direct path to Maribel, but Rafael did not try to advance on her. "No," She said strongly. "I did not do this on purpose. I had no idea your men’s loyalty was so fragile that my simple note would cause them to react so."

Rafael slumped a little. "You two should leave first and get far away. They will not shoot for fear of alerting me to their presence before they can get a shot at me. I can slip out later."

Maribel looked at him, shaking her head with disappointment. "Rafael, will you skulk away like a beaten dog? Even if you live through the night, you will be showing weakness and that generally does not bode well for a man in your position."

"What do you know about..." Rafael paused, "What options do I have? I am armed, of course, but they are hidden in the night with long range rifles."

"Will you trust me, Rafael?" Maribel asked.

"Trust you? You caused this. What do you mean?"

"I can get you out of here and help you send a message of your own," Maribel said, "I do not like violence, but sometimes... Well, some people leave you no choice, but to return their action in kind."

"Ok, I’m listening," Rafael said, "but this better be one hell of a plan."

Maribel smiled, but it wasn’t her usual smile. Rafael almost backed away a step as the look of a predator took over Maribel’s face. She explained Luis’ plan. Actually, it was a plan proposed by Joe Torres the quantum computer AI based at the Super-Secret Planetary Leadership Headquarters Treehouse Fortress and approved by King Tim, Maribel’s forgotten son, and her forgotten husband. They had allowed Joe to relay the plan to Luis to explain to Mirabel as his own. The final decision was left to Maribel.

When she finished explaining the plan to Rafael. He laughed out loud, "My God, woman, where have you been all my life? I could rule this fu... this country with you at my side."

She laughed back, "Perhaps that could be arranged...," She responded, surprising even herself.

Luis stripped of his shirt to reveal the bullet proof vest, with his shield ring it was entirely superfluous, but still worn for show. Rafael put it on beneath his own shirt. As he donned it, Mirabel couldn’t help but notice that he was lean and muscled, his abs clearly defined, below his muscular chest. She looked away to try to stop her face from flushing red.

While Mirabel and Rafael thought it was an ordinary bullet-proof vest, Luis slipped a shield ring into its lining and powered it on as he helped adjust the fittings of the vest. The bosses had sent him a second one when they approved this escape plan. Mirabel could not know and Luis was charged with retrieving it after the threat was eliminated ’at all costs’.

Rafael, without knowing it, was not completely invulnerable to bullets or any weapon in play in Guatemala. When he was outfitted. He poured a shot of pisco into his glass and downed it. "Let’s go do this. Like Scarface in the movies, yes?" he had a manic aspect to his face now, as if moments like this made him feel truly alive.

The three of them walked to the front door, Rafael and Mirabel both ready to stare death in the face. Luis, of course, knew that they were safe, in theory, but no matter how often the bosses reassured him that the ring shields would stop bullets, it was a giant leap of faith to step into the line of fire to prove it once and for all.

As they stood by the door, Rafael commanded the host to shut off the outside lights, with a look and a tone that brooked no questions. He did as he was told. As he flicked them off, Rafael kicked the door open and strode out flanked by Maria and Luis. They began running straight at the location of one of the gunmen, as relayed by Luis. A gunshot rang out from in front of them, then a second from a position about 40 feet to the left of the first. They ignored it. Had they been watching carefully, they would have noticed the small flashes as the shield ring around Rafael stopped both bullets which had been on the mark, aimed at his chest. As they ran toward the first gunman, however, their attention was focused on their goal. A few seconds later, another shot rang out in the night, then a fourth. They were close now, Rafael reached into the waistband of his pants behind his back and pulled out a nine-millimeter handgun. He slid the chamber back and let it spring forward to ready the weapon as he ran. He had slightly outdistanced Maribel and Luis, his adrenaline speeding him forward. He reached the gunman, just as the prone figure finished readying the bolt action for another shot.

With his rifle aimed at Rafael, he looked into the barrel of Rafael’s nine-millimeter. "You can put down the rifle and live." Rafael said with a tone that made it clear that he was using the term ’live’ rather loosely. The gunman realized Rafael’s intent, and knew he had no option but to kill Rafael and hope to run from the others. He lifted the rifle barrel to aim at Rafael’s face and fired. Rafael fired in the same instant, instinctively pulling his face aside as the rifle’s muzzle flashed in front of him. He felt nothing as the bullet struck him square in the face.

Maribel screamed as the two guns fired in the same instant. Rafael stumbled and fell forward, a foot shy of the bloody, unmoving face of the would-be sniper.

Luis bore her to the ground in a rough tackle as another shot rang out from the side.