We Who Serve

Chapter Sixteen

The metal door screamed in protest as it was forced open. Valeria was marched into the container by Graves, followed by the others.

"Have a seat." Graves spoke, basically pushing her into the chair. "Alright, how do you two know each other?" Graves asked, pointing his finger between Valeria and Alejandro.

"Know is a strong word," Alejandro answered as he walked around the container. 

"Las palabras fuertes son importantes. Nuestras palabras valen nuestro valor, ¿verdad?" (Strong words are important. Our words our worth, right?) Valeria asked in a testing tone of voice. This seemed to trigger something in Alejandro and fueled his anger in him.

"Vete al infierno maldito hijo de puta. Te voy a matar." (Go to hell, you fucking son of a bitch. I'm going to kill you.) Alejandro yelled and marched over to her. Soap and Rodolfo rushed over to grab his arms to stop him from doing anything rash while Grimes stepped in front of him between them both. 

"Alejandro," Soap called, trying to calm him.

"Calm down, Commander." Rodolfo also tried his best as they pulled him back. 

"Yeah!?" Alejandro yelled at them both, lifting his arms out of their hold. "Yeah!?" He stepped back, grabbed hold of the top of his vest, and looked at Valeria. 

"Vamos," (Go on). He shrugged his shoulders at her, "Tell them." 

"I don't take orders anymore," Valeria told him. She was trying to push him and get a reaction from Alejandro. Grimes could see it clear as day. "Even the dogs in Las Almas know not to bark at me." 

"Mira esto," (look at this) Alejandro muttered, looking at Graves to his right. Grimes's upper lip twitched in anger, and she pulled a dagger out from her belt and spun it around several times before she grabbed Valeria by the hair and pulled her head back to expose her throat. She placed the cold, sharp steel against her thin skin as Valeria looked at her. Grimes had a deadly smirk on her face. 

"Stop fucking around, or I'll feed you to the dogs." Grimes threatened her before pulling her blade away and throwing her head back forward.

"She's ex-military. We served together." Alejandro informed everyone. Valeria leaned back in the chair and put her left arm over the back while crossing her legs.

"Different squads, same unit." She continued for him, "You were the wild ones, huh." She smirked at Alejandro. "The Vaqueros." She called them. Alejandro gave off this proud smile that nearly reached from ear to ear when she mentioned his squad. He was proud of them. 

"My squad was clean cut Señores y Señoras." She told them all proudly.

"Until the raid on the son of La Araña." Alejandro nodded to her, not taking her words for truth for a second. "Te acuerdas?" (Do you remember?)

"Recuerdo perfecto." (I remember perfectly) She told him with a nod in his direction.

"Her team was told to cordon off the city to keep out La Araña's enforcers and prevent the bloodshed," Alejandro told the story to everyone.

"That's exactly what we did," Valeria said with a pout, teasing Alejandro.

"You kept out his enforcers because you were his enforcers, huh?"

"He was escorted to the mountain without incident. Also, to prevent bloodshed." 

"He was supposed to go to prison," Rodolfo said, stepping forward. He was getting annoyed at her games now. 

"So you killed him, and you took over?" Graves asked from behind her now.

"I created a power vacuum, and I filled it," Valeria told him without hesitation. "Las Almas needs me."

"Las Almas needs soldiers, not sicarios." Alejandro answered her back instantly, his voice deep and low in volume as he stepped forward to her. "And you." He muttered with a slight smile and bent down at the hips to face her. His hands are still holding his vest. "You disgrace the army." He said to her slowly. He smirked with a quick puff of air and looked behind him.

"Y tus hermanos, ¿no?" (And your brothers, no?) He asked her with a smirk before standing up and walking back.

"Why you doin' this?" Graves asked her.

"You tell me, you're the contractor, no?" She asked him, looking around and up at him. "What you don't do, your competitors will."  

"You're a narco harbouring a terrorist." Ghost grumbled at her as she shrugged it off.

"Terrorism is good for business. It's insurance." She stated as if it was nothing.

"What the fuck does that mean?" Alejandro asked, stepping forward, annoyed at how she just shrugged off the fact that terrorism was taking innocent lives.

"¿Puedes sacar tu puta cabeza de tu culo por un segundo? Por el amor de la mierda, Alejandro." (Can you get your fucking head out of your ass for a second? For fuck sake, Alejandro) She yelled at him, and Grimes reached forward to place a firm hand on her shoulder to keep her in the chair. Valeria moved her shoulder to try and get her hand off her without breaking eye contact with Alejandro. "As long as there is a war on terror, there will be no real war on drugs." She said, leaning forward in her chair. Alejandro just glared at her with a blank face.

"To find your so-called terrorist and your missiles. You need me." She told them all; she knew she was playing the game here. And she made sure they all knew her hand. "To prevent bloodshed." 

"No. I'm not doing this." Alejandro grumbled as he walked over and picked up his rifle from the wall before walking to the exit.

"Doesn't change anything." Soap spoke to him. He was leaning against the container wall with her arms crossed.

"It changes everything!" Alejandro yelled at Soap. "Fuck!" He exclaimed before turning back around to look at Grimes. "Don't make a deal with her. It won't end well." He said as he opened the door and left. Soap stepped out to where Alejandro once stood and looked directly at Valeria.

"Looks like it's your turn, to tell the truth." He told her.

"I want the missiles, I want the target, and I want Hassan." Graves told her as Grimes placed her hand back onto her shoulder and brought her face to Valeria's ear. 

"You have 10 seconds before I show you the difference between the military and people who have no rules." Grimes threatened in her ear.

"I don't know the targets. I'm a courier. I move things." She explained Grimes wasn't sure if it was her threat or if she would tell them all along. But either way, she was talking. "I can tell you where to find the missiles. When you return, I'll tell you where Hassan is. In exchange, you will let me go. And get the fuck out of Las Almas." Valeria bargained with them Before yelling at them to leave in Spanish. Soap looked to Grimes with a nod and pursed his lips together, knowing fully well what Alejandro had just said.

"Deal." Graves said as he walked past her. "Until then, you're stayin' right here." Graves said as they all then left the container with Valeria still inside.