Crimson affairs (Hiatus)

Chapter 5

"Two weeks...She's still at it after two weeks..." If I was anyone else, that bitch would have crippled me... all the years of sweat and blood to get where I am now...and she comes in like a hurricane.

I cover my face partially with one hand and stare silently over my desk. The window's been drawn and a steady flow of moonlight streams in from behind me. My night office was bare as usual. The world had a duller outlook tonight, less... fun. I could feel annoyance swell in my chest, bubbling like a pot of oil. I know it's getting the better of me, but I choose to hold down my anger. Losing my head would mean the end of Jupiter Cortez and Mr. Crimson would only get sloppy.

Chief White has been such a thorn in my side over the past two weeks that I can barely sleep. Raids on my warehouses, arrests on my extended family, surveillance equipment discovered in every one of my family homes. She's turned the entire police force in a complete spin with their guns aimed at my head. The mayor has kept his head down, but I know she's gotten to him as well. She's not afraid of anyone or anything I can do to her.

It's infuriating how much changed. Every day there have been police trailing my every trip and passing. There was even a faint buzz on one of my personal calls in the beginning. She got lucky with being able to intercept it for a moment. She's a damned natural disaster in terms of resources and efficiency. I should have killed her when I had the chance. Now I have to explain all of this to the main family; to explain how I let a bitch slow me down.

~

The drive into town wasn't long, but it felt like days. Today was the only time that I didn't drive alone during the day. Rule of thumb was no weapons other than your own two hands could be brought into the main branch home. Josh drove and I sat in the passenger seat, no one spoke.

Once I arrived at the isolated mansion, the gatekeeper looked me over. "Name?"

"Cortez."

"Pleasure to see you again, Jupiter. How's the city burning?" The gatekeeper, Alfanasii, looked friendly enough, but I knew he had a rocket launcher under his chair; in the case of emergency. The questions were a formality.

"It's got some new resin to burn through somehow. I'm hoping to catch an extra match or two today to help with that." Alfanasii nodded and let me through. Josh parked and followed close behind. We made our way into the main building and through the gilded corridors. I found the main room after five minutes of twists and turns. We entered to find the rest of the family already seated. Tall and well-built men in Kevlar vests and black hooded jackets stood along the circular room's walls. I motioned for my twin hands to go and join the rest. Then all eyes turned to me.

"Jupiter Cortez!" a voice at the head of the roundtable boomed. "Sobrino! I'm glad you reached out after so long!" my uncle Alejandro Diaz was as lively as he'd probably been for the last forty years. The two dozen men and women that sat around the table represented the presence of my entire family in the country. A few of them had to fly to get here, yet the person who summons the family can't arrive before everyone assembles. It's the reason I've waited weeks before making the trip myself.

I took a seat at the only empty chair and folded my hands on the table. These were relatives that I barely knew. Some married into the family, and some were barely out of their teens, but all were the head of the operations in their home area. I didn't see any reason to beat around the bush. "There's someone new in New York. A black woman named White. She's taken over all police operations in the city and managed to turn them against me. She's been in town for at least a month now, but she laid low at first. A couple weeks ago, she came into my office and declared war on me and everything related to the family.