To Catch an Hombre – Part One
by Stephen M. Wolterstorff
"Would somebody please just frickin' hit him?"
It was hard to find good help these days and this help was not getting the job done. All the same, El Titanico resisted the urge to interfere. His leadership books had explained how he needed to trust those under his supervision. They talked about providing your people the tools they needed to succeed and then allowing them the opportunity to succeed, not continually interfering with them. El Titanico was doing his best to give them the opportunity to succeed but it was difficult to restrain himself when they were very obviously getting their heads handed to them by El Hombre de Silla.
El Hombre de Silla spun around the punch from Bo, grabbed onto that outstretched arm and flung Bo into one of his companions, Jesse. The third underling, Luke, swatted at El Hombre, but El Hombre scampered away, up a nearby crate and jumped down at Luke, knocking him down with a missile dropkick. Before Jesse could stomp him into the ground, El Hombre rolled out of the way, spun onto his back and kicked at the back of Jesse's legs, causing him to collapse. Bo charged at the rising El Hombre, but El Hombre ducked back down and pushed Bo in the air, where he flipped over, crashing back first to the ground.
El Titanico decided he could hesitate no longer. He had done his best to let his men succeed, but now they needed his help. The fact that El Hombre de Silla was currently sucking wind and had his back to El Titanico had nothing to do with this decision at all. He raised his hands high to smash El Hombre in the head.
There was only one problem with this decision. When El Titanico's fists crashed down, El Hombre was no longer there. He had spun to the side, avoiding the contact. When El Titanico turned to deal with this, El Hombre elbowed him in the solar plexus, driving the air from him and doubling him over. El Hombre slapped a side headlock on El Titanico. "Nice to know that there are some things that remain constant in life," El Hombre noted as he began to regain his breath. "Even in the ring you stomp your feet so loud a deaf person could hear you. Is that why you went part-time? Just due to the fact that you cannot sneak up on your opponents?" El Titanico gurgled in response. "This protection angle doesn't sound like something you would come up with on your own. So, who are you working for?" El Titanico gurgled again. "Oh, is the headlock too tight? I am sorry, but I really do not think I should relax it. You can surely provide me with a hint at the very least, hmm?"
Luke combined his fists to smash into El Hombre de Silla's back. His fists made contact with El Hombre's back, but El Hombre managed to hold onto the headlock. Luke smashed El Hombre a second time and that caused El Hombre to release the headlock as well as stagger away from El Titanico. Luke moved quickly to take advantage of the situation, grabbing El Hombre's right arm and flinging him towards the crate El Hombre had leapt from earlier. El Hombre tried to spin and take the impact as flat as possible to spread the damage, but was unable to rotate properly and caught his side on the edge. A stabbing warm pain shot through his side, but he fought it off and kept his footing, staggering back towards Luke.
Jesse intercepted him, staggering back to his feet and uppercutting El Hombre, who didn't even see it coming. El Hombre left his feet and bounced to the ground. Jesse and Luke started kicking El Hombre. Bo slowly climbed back to his feet and joined in the beatdown while El Hombre desperately attempted to protect his most vital areas from severe damage.
El Titanico laughed at this. He turned to the crowd that had formed to watch the fight. "Do you see this? This is what happens when you mess with us! No one can defend against us! El Hombre de Silla is paying for his interference. The shopkeeper that hired him will pay for his interference! If we demand something of you, you give it up. If we . . . what?!?"
A young man with an unruly mop of brown hair had been tapping him on the shoulder. At his side was a pretty blonde woman. The man spoke. "We've been watching all this and we think you're being very mean."
El Titanico just stared. "What?"
"The teams just aren't fair," the young lady noted. "We've decided to balance them somewhat."
El Titanico shook his head. "Look, I don't know who you two are or what you think you're going to accomplish, but this is none of your business." He waved his hand dismissively. "Go back to Utah."
The female stared blankly at her male friend. "Utah?" she echoed, obviously confused.
"One of the states of the Union at this time, located in the Southwest part of the country," he replied. "I have to admit I have no idea what that has to do with anything right now or why he thinks we're from there."
"It sounded like an insult."
"It certainly did."
"Should we start with him? I really don't like him now."
"Let's knock a couple of the guys off of El Hombre first. He looks like he's getting the crap kicked out of him." She nodded.
Calmly they stepped around El Titanico and approached the trio stomping a mudhole into El Hombre de Silla. The young lady tapped Jesse on his shoulder and gained his attention. "We think you should leave him alone."
Jesse looked her up and down. Jesse smiled. The young lady standing before him was highly attractive. She curved in the spots where you'd want curves, was robust in the spots where robustness was prized and faded away in the places where fading away would be a good thing. Her blonde hair was past her shoulders, neatly framing a pretty face with bold blue eyes. Her expression emphasized the sincerity of her words. Jesse could only find one word to describe her.
"Damn!"
Her expression didn't alter with this statement. "Will you leave him alone?"
Jesse grinned lecherously. "Why? Are you offering to occupy my time instead?"
She shook her head very slightly. This was getting them nowhere. Her stance changed, but her eyes remained locked on target.
Suddenly, she lept, releasing a sharp yelp. One foot snapped out, connecting solidly with Jesse's chin. Jesse dropped like a rock to the ground. He was unconscious.
This got her a great deal of attention. The crowd watching 'ooo'ed in appreciation. Bo and Luke stopped kicking El Hombre and stared in surprise. El Titanico's jaw dropped. Her shaggy haired friend merely grinned.
Luke shook off his surprise and stepped towards the young lady. Her friend intercepted Luke with an elbow to the stomach. Luke doubled over in pain. The young man's hand flipped up, hinging on the elbow and smashed him in the face. Luke staggered back, holding his face in pain.
Now it was Bo's turn to try something, but he got no further than a step. The brief respite had allowed El Hombre to catch his breath. As Bo stepped forward, El Hombre spun and kicked, tripping Bo, who crashed to the ground.
There was a time for everything, El Titanico considered, and this was a time for a strategic withdrawal. He managed to get Jesse semi conscious and to his feet. He sneered and said, with more boldness that he felt, "This isn't over El Hombre! Twelve!" He and his thugs closed their eyes as El Titanico dropped a flash pellet. The flash of light that came from the pellet blinded those who were unaware that 'Twelve' was code for this tactic, in other words everyone else around. By the time they'd blinked it away, the gang was squealing away in a car.
El Hombre dragged himself to his feet as the crowd applauded for him, despite the fact that the crooks had gotten away. He politely acknowledged their appreciation before approaching the duo that had come to his aid. "Are you two okay?"
"Yes, I think so," the young man noted as his companion continued to blink.
"Thank you for your help. I am El Hombre de Silla." He extended his hand towards the young man.
The young man took his hand and shook it. "I'm Ric Marter." They exchanged a pleasantry.
El Hombre politely shook the young lady's hand as she introduced herself. "I'm Lori Thompson."
Ric's eyebrows shot up in reaction. "That's it?" he questioned teasingly.
She continued to smile but did so through gritted teeth. "That's my name," she said cheerfully.
"Are you two registered?" El Hombre questioned.
"Registered what?" Ric countered.
"Vigilante detectives. I know that it's technically a contradiction in terms but that's what people generally call them."
"No, we're not," Lori responded.
Ric frowned slightly. He whispered to Lori "What if we are?"
Lori leaned towards him and whispered back "Then we would have been told."
"I dunno, he can be pretty forgetful."
"True."
El Hombre politely cleared his throat. "The only reason I ask is that the police are likely to be here soon and they are not generally very fond of undocumented detectives."
"Won't we have to give a statement?" Lori asked.
"As a card carrying detective, I already took your statements. Go, enjoy your visit to the city. Have fun. If you see me around again and I'm not being kicked around, I'll buy you beers."
"Deal!" Ric exclaimed. They shuffled off into the crowd. El Hombre sat on the crate and tried to get comfortable. His right hand brushed his side and he winced. So, when he crashed into the crate earlier he had hurt himself. That is something he'd have to investigate. The sound of distant sirens distracted him. It was something he could investigate later.
* * *
The clouds separated and allowed a few rays of sunshine down on the city. The warmth they spread felt grand. He looked up into the sky and let the sunlight play over his face for a moment. It had been years since he had visited Milwaukee and he was beginning to regret the delay. Lovely spring days like this were rare in this city and he was determined to enjoy this day as much as possible. He sipped at his tea and sighed. Life was wonderful.
"That guy was so cool," Ric enthused as he and Lori came around the corner, headed in his direction. "So calm and collected, especially after the fight he had been in. I can understand why he's seen as a hero."
"He's seen as a hero for many reasons my young friend. Underneath the calm exterior he works to project, he is a man with failings and worries like all of us."
"Traveler!" Lori exclaimed. "You're still here?"
"Evidently. I can order more tea if you care to join me." Ric hopped the short fence surrounding the perimeter of the outdoor cafe, while Lori walked around to the entrance and entered the cafe properly. Both, once reaching the table, sat down. The Traveler waited until they had both gotten comfortable before speaking again. "You met El Hombre de Silla then?"
Ric nodded enthusiastically while Lori sipped at her tea. "Everything went as you expected."
"Excellent. I'm glad that's over and done. Now we can really enjoy ourselves, hmm?"
"How did you find out we needed to be in this time and place again?" Lori questioned.
"A note in a diary I recently found. It was just one of those things I wrote down as a younger me and realized now must be the time to take care of it."
"And helping El Hombre in that fight was the extent of things?" Ric checked.
"It's all the note pointed to."
Ric smiled at Lori. "Excellent."
She smiled back. "Excellent."
* * *
He locked the door behind him. Quickly he slipped to the windows, peeking out of the corners without moving the shades. He could see no movement in the street below. El Hombre sighed and began to relax. Another day done and another day without getting tracked back to his apartment.
Now, was anybody already in the apartment waiting for him? He glanced around the living room, in his bedroom closet, under his bed, in the bathtub. All clear. You can never be too careful.
After all that, he finally felt safe. It was time for injury check. He removed his shirt and looked for new wounds. There were a few new bruises, but they were no big deal. He had some nasty road rash on his left arm from a slide on the sidewalk. The biggest concern he had was the cut on his right side. Luckily it wasn't as deep as he originally thought. Carefully he washed it off and doused it liberally with antiseptic. A minute later, when the pain had faded enough for him to be able to see again, he bandaged himself up. It should hold him together for the time being.
* * *
The speakerphone crackled as it attempted to replicate the sound of exasperation from the source. "Let me make sure I understand this," the speakerphone continued to crackle. "You didn't collect my money."
El Titanico fidgeted despite the fact that his boss was at the other end of the phone and not in front of him. "No sir."
"Because of El Hombre?"
"And his help. We were expecting El Hombre, not his help."
"This is unexpected." There was a pause while options were considered. "In order for our venture to be successful, El Hombre de Silla must be dealt with. Our intelligence regarding El Hombre is spotty. He is hard to find. Therefore, I think we should go after his help. Perhaps they will be easier to locate."
"Sir, I must note that they didn't seem to be connected in any way. His help just seemed to walk by and . . .help. Do you really think El Hombre will be affected by anything we do to these people?"
The speakerphone buzzed with laughter. "El Hombre is a hero. He will definitely be affected by anything we do to his 'help'. Capture one of them and bring them back to base. When El Hombre learns of what has happened, he will contact the remaining 'help' and look for us. When he finds us, well, I've prepared a little surprise for him."
"So, we will allow him to find us?"
"Now you understand. I'm sending Panthra to assist you in locating the 'help'. I don't believe you will require any other assistance."
"Panthra?" El Titanico smiled. Panthra was dangerous, but also very attractive. "I'm sure Panthra and I will be able to take care of this."
"For your sake, I should hope so." With a click, he hung up.
* * *
"Is that it?" Lori questioned.
Ric looked at the note they'd been given by the Traveler. Then he looked up at the building before returning his attention to the note. "No, I don't think so."
Lori sighed. "I suppose not. He did say this museum would be well labeled and this isn't."
"I like the brick though."
"I do too. You don't see it often in my time."
"Nor mine. It's especially odd considering this city was long known for its cream coloured bricks."
"Really?"
"Yup." Lori hmmmed thoughtfully as they strolled along. "Of course none of that helps us at the moment."
"True. I wish the Traveler could have just taken us there himself, he knows the way."
"He's a busy man."
"I know. It would be more fun with him along."
As they continued to chitchat, they walked past El Titanico and Panthra's hiding spot. Panthra looked at El Titanico. El Titanico nodded. Panthra adjusted her mask and indicated her readiness.
El Titanico muttered into a communicator. "Well spotted Jesse. Keep the car ready." He nodded to Panthra and they slipped out of the alley."
"Well, at least it looks like we're on the right street," Ric mused as they looked up at the street signs. "We shouldn't have far to go now."
"We'll tell you where you're going," El Titanico declared as he slapped a full nelson on the unsuspecting Ric. "We'll even make sure you get there safe and sound."
Lori stepped towards them, intending to break them up. Panthra stepped in front of her. "Not so fast. You've got your own playmate." Panthra threw a punch, but Lori, instinctively, blocked it. Panthra smiled and threw the punch again. Once again, Lori blocked it. Panthra's grin grew wider. "Oh, this could get fun now."
"Glad you think so." Panthra continued to throw punches and Lori continued to knock them away. She backed away slightly, giving herself a moment or two to get a feel for Panthra's fighting style. She brushed away another punch and then a kick before seeing her opening. She dove and spun with a leg sweep, knocking Panthra to the ground.
Before Lori could begin to ask what was going on, Panthra had bounded back to her feet. She snarled and flung herself at Lori. This maneuver was one that Lori was unprepared to defend against. Lori's eyes bugged with surprise as Panthra crashed into her, knocking them both to the ground. Once on the ground, they continued to tussle, working to gain leverage over the other in order to gain a clear advantage.
Despite his current captive state, Ric smiled. "I love a good catfight. Don't you?" El Titanico merely grunted in reply; his attention was too tightly focused on the fight to form words, let alone sentences. "Good to hear you agree." It was also nice to hear that El Titanico's attention was no longer solely on him, but Ric decided not to verbally add that at the moment. Even with a loosened grip, Ric didn't believe he had the leverage or raw strength to break El Titanico's hold. On the other hand, Ric had determined a way out. Quickly, violently, he stomped on El Titanico's foot.
This worked like a charm. The full nelson was released and El Titanico hopped up and down, holding his pained right foot. Ric took one last lingering look at the catfight before him, sighed and returned to his own struggle.
El Titanico was good and ticked about the damage done to his foot. During his wrestling career, his lower limbs had often been a target of attack as his opponents would try to chop him down to size. His ankles and knees had often been damaged to degrees that had kept him from the ring. He should have had more anger due to the fact that Ric had attacked in such a sensitive area but El Titanico's fear that this time the pain wouldn't fade away was too strong.
It didn't help that Ric's next strike was aimed at his right knee. El Titanico didn't know whether Ric was working to 'chop him down to size' or if he was merely continuing his previous attack. El Titanico didn't care what his reasoning was on this matter. What was important was that El Titanico had expected such an attack and grabbed Ric's foot as it approached. El Titanico twisted around, rotating his body, as he held onto and stepped over Ric's foot. Ric quickly lost his footing and fell, managing to break enough of his fall so that he didn't land on his face. While that was a plus for him, El Titanico still had Ric's foot and had it curled back in a hold called a half crab. As El Titanico gripped Ric's foot and crouched over Ric, it applied pressure to Ric's back, a surprisingly high amount of pressure. Ric was instantly in pain and looking for a way to remove it.
Lori managed to fling Panthra from her, watching as Panthra landed awkwardly and didn't immediately pop back to her feet. She glanced in the other direction and spotted the trouble Ric was in. Quickly Lori scampered to her feet and ran towards El Titanico. He saw her approach, but didn't break his hold on Ric quickly enough. As El Titanico started thinking how nice it would be to have his hands free at the moment, Lori had snapped off a kick to the side of El Titanico's head. That made him release his hold on Ric, as well as moan, fall to the ground and hold his head in pain.
For his part, Ric groaned, winced and held his back. "Are you okay?" Lori asked.
"I think I will be," he answered and then groaned again.
Lori wanted to say something encouraging but she decided to focus on the fact that Panthra was once again charging at her. Lori waited, spun away from the attack and kicked Panthra in the back of her neck when Panthra paused to adjust her position. Panthra stumbled, tripped over Ric and fell next to El Titanico. Once Panthra recovered from the impact with the concrete, she opened her eyes only to find El Titanico staring at her. "Now do you understand the problem I had yesterday?"
She inhaled sharply as she discovered her right shoulder was scraped from road rash. "They are definitely tougher than they look."
"I had the guy in my Titanlock for quite a while before she could break it up. He's vulnerable."
Panthra sat up and nodded slowly. "Then we will collect him. Prepare our ride and follow my lead."
Lori was doing her best to help Ric to his feet but his back was not helping speed the process any. "C'mon Ric, they're getting up. We've got to find a policeperson or some other help fast."
Ric yiped in pain. "I'm trying. Gah, what did he do to me?" He was able to get to his feet but unable to stand or walk properly.
Panthra pulled Lori from Ric. Lori spun, gained control of the spin and used the momentum to direct a kick towards Panthra. Panthra, for her part, brushed aside the kick."
El Titanico used this moment to grab the less mobile than normal Ric. He lifted Ric in the air with Ric's back parallel to the ground. He then drove Ric towards the ground. However, Ric didn't reach the ground, El Titanico's knee in the small of Ric's back saw to that. Ric gurgled and passed out while draped over El Titanico's knee.
"Ric!" Lori tried to push past Panthra but Panthra was not distracted by Ric's state, as was Lori. Panthra cuffed Lori in the back of the head. Lori dropped to a knee, her head spinning. A car screeched to a half next to them. Ric's limp body was tossed into the back seat. El Titanico and Panthra quickly jumped into the car. Jesse punched the gas and they sped away. By the time Lori had shaken the cobwebs, they were gone.
* * *
Stopping the mugging should have been easier than it ended up being. It was just his luck that the mugger had enhanced strength and thought he was bad because of it. El Hombre had disabused him of that notion. In the process, he'd ripped the wound in his side back open again. He was not pleased. El Hombre sat in his comfy chair trying to relax, not really wanting to look at his own blood just yet. He sighed and rubbed his mask tiredly.
There was a knock on his door. El Hombre froze. He'd done the check and all had been clear. Cantiflas knew he didn't like visitors and would call if he wanted to book El Hombre in a match. There had been that feeling he was being watched as he'd come home but he had checked more than once and mixed up his path. No one had been following him. So, who was it? He peered through the peephole and the moderately nervous young lady standing in the dimly lit hall. He thought about the situation for a moment, hesitated and the opened the door. "Hello Lori."
Lori smiled but shuffled nervously on his doorstep. "Hi El Hombre," she said energetically.
"How did you find me?" El Hombre's eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"My friend, the Traveler, knew your address."
"How?"
"I don't know. The Traveler knows a lot of things."
El Hombre decided to accept that fact and move on. "New question. Why are you here?"
"I need your help."
He stared into her blue eyes. In her eyes he saw nothing but innocence. He had been lied to many times in his life. He'd been lied to by promoters, wrestlers, villains, heroes and especially women. He saw no lies in Lori's eyes. He held the door open a bit further. "Come on in."
She walked in, scanning the interior of El Hombre's apartment. For some reason, this made him feel self-conscious. "I know it's not much, but it's comfortable."
"I think it's very nice."
"Thank you. So, where's Ric?"
"That's why I need your help. He was captured by El Titanico and some woman. You know El Titanico and you know the area and there's two of them and that's why I need your help."
Lori's eyes shone with truth again. He might be a sucker for a female in trouble but at least she seemed truthful with her problem. Ric seemed like an okay guy, and besides he owed Ric for his help with El Titanico and his gang the other day. It would feel wrong not to help. He sighed slightly. Really, why had he bothered to think about this? His answer was never truly in doubt. "I'll help. I've got a couple things I need to do, but I'll help."
She smiled and bounced with joy. "Oh, thank you."
"It's what I do."
"So do they have a hideout that you know about?"
"No. I've got a couple of leads regarding that gang that I've been looking into, but nothing concrete as of yet. We'll dig around a little and see what we can find."
"Great!" She bounced again, excited.
"I'm glad you think so." Idly, he continued to fidget with the bandage on his side. He found a sore spot and winced slightly.
Concern flooded Lori's face. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Let me go deal with this. I'll only be a moment."
"Are you sure?"
El Hombre turned and headed for the bathroom. "Yeah, yeah, I'm okay." He pulled his shirt up slightly to peel the bandage off, wincing slightly as it pulled at his flesh.
"You're bleeding." There was a hint of surprise in her voice, but mostly disappointment, as if he'd lied to her. "You're not okay."
"Honestly, this is nothing."
She bounded to his side. "If you are bleeding, it is something. Let me see."
"What? No."
"Let me see." The sternness in her voice was matched by a sternness in her eyes.
El Hombre was surprised by this. "Ok. If you really want."
She lifted his shirt to look at the wound. "Oh my gosh." The cut itself was nothing, but the scars. . . If this brief area was anything to go by, his body was a mass of scars. She looked up at him, any momentary sadness in her eyes dispelled. "I going to need to wash this cut."
El Hombre sighed. "If you want to play nursemaid, so be it. Over here." He wandered to the open bathroom for a washcloth. Before he could wet it, Lori snatched it from his hand. El Hombre sighed exasperatedly. He didn't understand what was going on, he wasn't even sure he liked it, but he was tired of fighting her. He didn't like fighting women.
Carefully Lori dabbed at the dried blood clustered around his wound. She allowed him a moment or two of silence to deal with the situation before she spoke again. "Do you always wear your mask at home or is this because you have a visitor?"
"I always wear my mask. I rarely have visitors. Years go by in- between visitors."
"Why? No friends?"
"I don't tell people where I live. The fewer people that know where I live, the better. It's safer that way. I have a lot of enemies."
"You wear the mask to protect yourself against enemies then?"
"In part."
"Then why?"
"It is who I am now."
"Huh?"
"It is the face of El Hombre de Silla."
She frowned at him, not really grasping his point, but trying. "So, when you said you always wear the mask," she said slowly, "you meant that literally?"
"Apart from bathing and shaving, I wear my mask. I take it off, wash up, shave and put on a clean mask. That mask stays on until the next day."
"You sleep in your mask?"
"Yes. It saves me from having to find it if I need to dress in a hurry in the night."
"You're not uncomfortable like that?"
"I'm more uncomfortable out of my mask."
She gestured for the antiseptic and he passed it to her. "So, if you go grocery shopping, you wear the mask?"
"My investigator's license allows me to wear my mask in public so, yes, when I leave here, I'm wearing my mask."
"You're never out in public without your mask on," she checked.
El Hombre winced slightly as the antiseptic hit home. "That is correct."
"But why? If you always wear the mask, wouldn't your normal face be the best disguise? No one would recognize your normal face but the face of El Hombre de Silla stands out."
"For my family. They do not know I am El Hombre de Silla. They think I live in California. I send them letters via a friend in order to get a California postmark on them. If they knew I was El Hombre de Silla they would worry too much."
"Are you worried that, if you went out in your normal face, that someone who knows your parents would see you and tell them that you're in Milwaukee and that . . ."
El Hombre exploded before Lori could finish her question. "Why do you keep going on about my 'normal' face?" He gestured at his mask. "This is my normal face!"
"Fine then!" she snapped back, "your original face then, how does that sound?"
He took a moment to compose himself. "It sounds like a more accurate statement. I apologize for yelling at you."
"I apologize for yelling back at you. Hand me the bandage and the first aid tape."
"Certainly."
There was another moment of silence while Lori figured out how to work the first aid tape dispenser. "So what's your first name?"
"El Hombre."
"Ok, I asked the wrong question. What's your original first name?"
He paused. "I can't tell you that."
"You don't trust me?"
"The last time I allowed someone into my apartment was a year and a half ago. I let you in. I believe I have demonstrated my trust in you."
"But you don't trust me with your first name."
"I have not used my original name in some time. It is not so much that I do not trust you with it so much that I do not wish to burden you with it. The fewer people that know my name, the fewer are the people that can be harmed for that information. It is a protection for my friends and my family at the same time."
"I can understand that. I did only ask for your first name, not your full name," she noted.
He considered this briefly as she finished taping him up. "I'll make you a deal. I will tell you my original first name if you tell me what 'Lori' is short for. Ric implied it was a nickname. In other words, I'll tell you my original name if you tell me yours."
She stood up and looked him in the eyes. He looked very serious about this. She smiled and nodded. "Ok. You're on. What's your original name?"
El Hombre inhaled deeply and drew himself up to his full height. "Ned. Yours?"
Lori inhaled deeply. She exhaled, looked down at her feet nervously and then back to El Hombre. "It's Lorelei."
"Lorelei," El Hombre repeated. There was no trace of emotion in his voice to indicate his opinion of this information.
"Yes. Lorelei." She stared at him. He looked back at her. "Well?"
"Well what?"
"Everyone else has a question at this point in the conversation. Don't get me wrong, I like my name, but I get tired of the same question over and over again."
"What question would that be?"
She clicked her tongue loudly as her face took on a look of intentional simple mindedness. Evidently the question involved a bit of mockery. Quoting, she stated "Lorelei? Why did your parents name you Lorelei?"
El Hombre shrugged his shoulders. "Because they knew their pretty daughter would need a pretty name?"
Lori beamed at him. "Thank you!"
"I speak only what is truth in this respect."
"That's so sweet."
"I am glad you think so." He shuffled uncomfortably and forced a change of subject. "I will change my shirt and then we will go speak with some 'friends' of mine. Hopefully one will be able to provide us with some information regarding Ric's location."
She continued to beam at him. "Okay, sure."
He nodded politely at her. "Then you will excuse me for a moment." She nodded and he stepped away into his bedroom. El Hombre was glad that his comment had brought Lorelei such joy. It made him feel better about lying to her about his name.
* * *
"…weren't for him around I could take my mask off."
"If it weren't for him you'd take your mask off? Why?"
"Because it's uncomfortable to always have a mask on. Besides, you'd be the only other person around them. We work for the same boss. Why would I worry about you seeing me with my mask off?"
"Well just that . . . that would be weird."
"Weird because I would take my mask off? Are you one of those people that just takes your mask off at home?"
"No."
"Then why not take your mask off here?"
"I dunno. Maybe because we just met. I only know you by reputation."
"El Titanico, are you afraid of me?"
Ric decided he must be alive. He found it hard to believe that heaven would have conversations this tedious. It crossed his mind briefly that this could be hell, but the conversation wasn't that tedious.
Quickly he checked in on the status of his body. His back reported in as still sore. His hands and feet appeared to be tied to the chair he was sitting on. This thought displeased him. As his brain seemed to be clear now, he decided to try opening his eyes a bit, but not completely, as he didn't want his captors to realize he was awake just yet.
Legs. He saw legs. Legs covered in some sort of stretchy dark fabric that he had no clue how to identify. He liked the look of these legs standing before him. Ric sat there and enjoyed the legs for awhile before shifting his gaze upwards. He saw curves. Curves were good, especially when covered in dark, stretchy fabric. These curves started off nice, got a bit better and then ended on a high note. Ric was very pleased.
He opened his eyes a bit further and looked up. As he guessed, he was looking at the young lady that had attacked with El Titanico. Despite the fact that a dark purple mask covered the majority of the upper part of her face, she looked like she was quite pretty. Dark Black hair poured out from the back of her mask down to her shoulders. Ric approved of all of this. Mentally he declared her hot and moved to end this line of thought.
She looked at him, providing him with an opportunity to see her blue eyes. Her eyes were surprisingly cold. "It looks like our little friend is awake."
Having been discovered, Ric blinked and did his best to look as if he was just coming to now. "Where am I?"
"Under lock and key," El Titanico answered as he walked into view.
Ric tugged gently at the bonds on his wrists as if he was just noticing them now. "Is this really necessary?"
"Yes," answered the female. "Why, not enjoying yourself?"
Ric smiled. "You know, I really hate this."
She blinked. His upbeat tone and smile didn't match with his words. "Really?"
"Totally."
A door banged open in the distance. She smiled. "Luckily your opinion doesn't matter. The 'secret weapon' is here." She walked off.
Ric may not have been completely sure about what was going on in general at the moment but he seemed sure about one thing: the sound of 'secret weapon' didn't sound like a good thing.
* * *
"This is the place?"
"This is the place Milton told us about."
Lori looked at the warehouse again. In the light it probably looked shabby. In the dark it was rather creepy. Windows were broken, paint was peeling, the roof crumbling; it was a picture of decay. A few dim lights lit the exterior of the building. "I don't like it."
"Luckily we don't have to like it. We're not looking to buy it."
"That's not what I meant. It's just too obvious. Milton gave this address up too easily, this place looks like a crook's hideout, the whole thing just screams trap."
El Hombre nodded. "It is possible. However, at the moment this is our only lead. If Ric is in there, the only way to save him might be to trigger a trap."
"If you say so."
"I do."
Lori said nothing further. She quietly followed El Hombre as he led the way into the warehouse. They kept to the shadows, hiding behind boxes and other containers. They avoided the few cameras they spotted despite the fact that the camera didn't appear to be active. A broken window provided access to the building and, carefully, they slipped inside.
Inside was dark. They waited for a moment to allow their eyes to adjust to the lighting conditions before continuing. They kept to the shadows, sneaking along aisles of boxes, heading for the section of the warehouse that was lit. It seemed logical to believe that, if anyone were here, they'd be in the lit section of the warehouse. It took a few minutes and some patience, but they were finally in a position to see El Titanico, Panthra and Ric. El Hombre smiled slightly and nodded at Lori. This was the place.
"Hey!" a voice shouted from the nearby stairwell. "El Hombre de Silla! You might as well come out. I saw you sneaking around five minutes ago."
El Hombre stiffened slightly. He knew that voice. He also knew that the voice wasn't kidding. El Hombre gestured towards Lori and then stood up. Calmly he walked from his hiding place and walked to the edge of the open lit area. Lori followed him, a bit surprised at all this. El Hombre was focusing on the voice, ignoring all else. "Show yourself," he demanded.
A figure emerged from the shadows on the stairwell across from them. He was of average height and looked muscular beneath his tight black short sleeved shirt with yellow cuffs. His face was covered by a black mask with yellow wing-like shapes on it. All that showed from his face were his eyes and mouth. The mouth was smirking.
Lori nudged El Hombre. "Who is that?"
El Hombre cleared his throat. When he spoke, his voice sounded deadly serious. "My greatest enemy. Buff Mysterio Jr."
-To Be Continued-
