Saving Maribella

Chapter 4: The Mansion

Polaris has changed a lot, the place of her past she grew up with. Now, she saw this place as much more dangerous, so she needed to be extra careful. Before she could list the gangs she knew, she had a place in her mind that she needed to visit first. A place close to her heart, but not once did she think that she would ever return to it.

She looked inside the big gate of the mansion where she grew up. She saw no one inside, yet she needed to make sure, so she climbed the fence to the side of the garden. That same garden where she had a picnic since she was a little girl until that very moment before the m******e happened.

The whole mansion is really abandoned. Nothing changed that, except for the tall plants that had almost eaten away almost half of the mansion. But the horror that happened in that area a few years ago is still visible. 

Police barricade tape surrounding the mansion. The bullet marks on the wall and the bullet shrapnel scattered on the ground, starting from outside until the very last corner of the house. Things and furniture were scattered and destroyed.

The walls were almost crushed by the impact of the heavy bullets. Traces of dried blood were on the floor. She knew who it was, she knew whose blood had spread on those floors. She can still hear the gunshots and explosions. Screams from her family almost engulfed the entire house.

She remembered herself hiding by the side and witnessing how they killed her family. Every last of them. She remembered the moments she tried to save her family, and how her sister protected her from the bullets that were supposed for her. She saw in her mind the last look of her mother before she closed her eyes, at the very last moments of her life.

She was shaken because those nightmares were forced out of her mind, but she didn't have to bring them back. Her priority is different now. Maribella is the reason she came back to Polaris and it is her mission why she is here again today.

She headed to the lower part of the mansion. In the basement where the room she was aiming for was. She pushed the large wooden frame that seemed to be part of the wall. She winced at the weight of the door. Perhaps it was the rusty roller that made it difficult for her to open it. She pushed against the wall, full of strength and, in a few moments, a door appeared leading to a stairway further down the basement.

She went downstairs, praying that the police would not ever have discovered it before. And she immediately sighed when he saw that that part of their mansion had not been touched. The RHU lab is still there, a well-known drug that only their family produced and supplied to the entire Polaris back then. There was a litter on the table, parceled ready to ship for sale in and out of Polaris before the m******e happened.

But that is not what she came here for. But the secret room behind this lab.

She opened a wall where their family’s main armory was hidden. Illegal weapons were there in that part of the basement. All of them are blank and undocumented, the bullets and the armory were exclusive to her family’s business. The Chavez Cartel, by her mother who started the distribution of illegal weapons inside the Polaris, and supported by The Fernandez Cartel, who’s her fathers’. The man behind the RHU formula.

For her to save Maribella, she would need some of these. Because she wouldn’t last in Polaris if she didn’t have the money and equipment.

She picked up the two duffle bags that were in the cabinet. Placed guns and ammunition that she thought were enough for her mission. She also searched for her father’s diary that was in a safe in the basement. That’s a copy of their family connections. Syndicate with whom they were in business with before. Names and addresses she will need to find her Bella. 

Before she finally left, she put some RHU packages in her bag for her next plan.

___

"Is this true? Is this the RHU that has long been gone in Polaris?" asked the dealer who she was talking to today. He opened the package and tasted the blue drugs. His eyes widened and he took another one to eat.

"Legit! I never thought I'd ever taste it again!" The dealer said happily.

Serene retrieved the package and held out her hand. "Stop eating it. You should pay me first before you get another one."

"Yeah, that's mine, I'll buy it!" The dealer withdrew the package and ate one again. "Where did you get it? It's been out of distribution for a long time. Since Chaves Fernando disappeared, these drugs have also disappeared. Tell me, where did you get this?" the dealer asked curiously. 

Serene grinned. "Let's just say that I have connections. So what? Are you paying now?"

The dealer looked at the package.

"20,000 Polaris dollars, that's all I can offer per gram--"

The dealer could not continue what he was about to say when Serene suddenly stabbed a bag near his hand. He was surprised by that because it was almost his hand.

"Don't make me stupid. 60,000 Polaris dollars per gram," Serene said before staring at the dealer.

"That is too much." He answered while looking at the package. Seems regretful as well. "40,000?" He tried to bargain again.

"50,000. You're the first dealer I approached. Imagine that you're my only dealer in Polaris. They'll only buy from you, you still don't want to?" Serene whispered, so the dealer stared at her.

For a moment, the dealer scratched his head and nodded. "Deal! How many more do you have there?-" he didn't finish his question as Serene put down a duffle bag full of RHU on the table.

The dealer's eyes widened. He looked back and forth between the contents of the bag and at Serene. It looks like gold is in front of him. That is especially true. Because the price of RHU is five times more expensive than per gram of gold.

"I'll just take the scales and the money. Have a seat," said the dealer. 

When he came back, he was carrying a large scale and there he poured the RHU. After computing how many Polaris dollars the RHU cost. The dealer replaced the contents of the duffle bag Serene was carrying with her money. Serene counted that before taking a chance on what she would do next.

"Who manages Polaris now?" she asked simply.

The dealer stared at her as if hesitant to tell her what he knew about her question. So she took two bundles of money and gave them to the dealer.

The dealer smiled and took the money. "The spreading story is that the cartel clans are protecting the leader, so until now the members of the Nations Acropolis Military Group have not been able to determine who is running Polaris. It looks like a big shield because they don't want to repeat what happened to Chaves Fernando before." The man looked at the RHUs in front of him. "But if you continue to give me a supply of RHU, it looks like I can now see who will next reign over the entire Polaris."

That is likely to happen. Serene also knew that when RHU came out to the masses the production of other drugs sold at Polaris could fall. However, she knew that it could also be the source of trouble. Surely the syndicates at Polaris or the N.A.M.G will know the fact that she is alive. She was declared dead at the same time as most wanted because no one had ever seen her body. 

"For child trafficking? Is the Asuncion Cartel still in charge?" she asked.

The dealer looked again at the money she was holding. So Serene was shaken and dropped the money again in front of it to the delight of the dealer.

"Yes, still the Asuncion Cartel. Regan is the protector."

Serene nodded. He already got the information she needed. She grabbed the duffle bag and left the dealer, who was excited with a few kilos of RHU in front of him.

Carrying the money she had sold from RHU, she returned to the apartment she rented inside the city of Polaris. The area in the middle of Polaris is now chaotic and dirty unlike before. Crime is very normal in this area. No one will notice and suspect her in this place, so she is sure she will be safe here.

In her room, the blinds were closed. The weapons were also scattered on the bed and table. On the wall she glued the faces of the leaders of each clan in Polaris. The locations and warehouses that she had to go through one by one, just to find Maribella.

She wrote something on the paper and put a red pin on the photo of a longtime acquaintance.

____

"Just make sure no one notices," said a muscular man with a large body. He is bald and scary.

His men nodded and left in front of him, as a loud gunshot rang out throughout the headquarters.  He was surprised and turned away to see the woman, long since he had last seen her.

"You’re alive?" The man told Serene.

Serene smiled and got closer to Regan. "Where is my daughter?"

Regan was shocked by that, his gaze filled with wonder that Serene had a daughter.

"I'm not here for trouble. I'm here for my daughter, Regan." Serene explained. “Give me back my daughter.”

"You're not going to make trouble? You killed five of my men! Then now you're going to say you're not going to make trouble?" Regan said. He doesn't agree with why she's here.

Serene looked at him boldly. It's obvious from her looks that he won't lose to Regan if he fights. "They pointed a gun at me? What do you want me to do for them? Pray?. Regan, I could kill five more, or ten, or I could kill all of your men if you didn't give me my child."

Regan laughed, "You still haven't changed, Serene. But we didn't know you had a child? And if you did have a child, how could you say your child was with us?" Regan asked her again.

Serene's fist clenched and Regan started harder. "Someone abducted my daughter the other day at the Acropolis. It's impossible you didn’t know about this?"

Regan nodded. "We don't have a schedule at the Acropolis. You also know that the N.A.M.G guards at the Acropolis are very strict. So I am now telling you that your child isn't with us, Serene."

Serene is silent, but she doesn't believe what it says until she sees their warehouse.

"Take me to where you keep the children that you got. I need to make sure that  what you're saying is true. When my daughter is there, I'll take her and no one will be hurt. If not, I'll leave quietly as well."

Regan nodded. "You know I can't do that."

"And you know I can kill you all right now." She added.

"Serene you know--"

“Will you take me there, or you will die here?"

Regan sighed. "All right, if that's what you want. But when your daughter isn't there? Promise you'll leave and no one will kill even one of my guards. Also, you can't let the children go." Regan looked at his staff. "Take Serene to the warehouse now," he commanded.

They went to the warehouse where they put the children who had been kidnapped by the Asuncion Cartel. A large container van with no windows was in front of them. One of Regan's staff opened the large lock that also had a thick chain. And when it was opened, the scarred children appeared. There are numbers glued to their foreheads. Others also had their mouths gagged and were crying.

Serene entered the container van. Her chest throbbed so fast, looking at the children one by one thinking that Maribella was there. She stopped and was shaken to see that Bella wasn't there.

She got out of the container van and Regan appeared in front of her.

"So? Is your daughter there?"

Serene didn't say a word and passed Regan.

"There are already a lot of syndicates in Polaris. We're not the only ones picking up kids. Do you want me to help you find her? I have a lot of connections. Maybe you just want to?" He heard Regan say but she ignored it.

She needs to think first. She can't just trust someone like Regan. Someone who took kids to sell their organs. Now, she has to think of another plan, and she has to hurry, because the time is running out. She needed to save Maribella as soon as possible.