Clair is Not at Home (Years Before Part I)

The Weekend We Met Clair:

That evening, the sky was brighter than usual. It was like one of those rare nights when the temperature in the mountains of Puerto Rico drops below sixty, and Clair Aleta came into our lives, like breathe of fresh air, and took our breath away with her laughter and delicate and simple beauty. But what made her so charming and pretty was her kindred heart and kindness towards everyone, from children to grown ups. I was much younger than her but she addressed me like an equal, nor her ears of traveling overseas and life experience, not her social status of socialite, not our age difference made her act superior to me or any different at all. And I was mesmerized by her, my new mentor, teacher and role model. We became fast friends and confidant to each other. Until the day she went away, or disappeared, and no one ever heard back from her.

I remember looking up from my coffee and rum as she made her grand entrance into the bar. I was sitting with some friends eating, drinking, reciting poetry and rehearsing our next karaoke song.

Clair was loud, with a hippy wild and a sort of flamboyant look.

“Puerto RICO is my refuge!” Clair announced to all the tourists gathered after a heavy rain at the Red Parrot’s Guesthouse and Grill, in the mountains of our small island. She had shouted those words just as she came in, strolling as if she was the lead model in the catwalk, and she made her way through the crowd and onto the bar area, “Hey, J.C. give me my special, that is if the coffee is freshly brewed, and please heavy on the rum! I feel a story coming on the tip of my tongue that needs to be told, and I need reinforcements.”

I gasped and immediately remembered Rita Moreno in one of her earlier movies, about a woman who was always at a bar seeking sailors to date and go out with and who drank too much. Obviously I didn’t know anything about her, about Clair, just her family’s name and some old acquaintances, that I used to befriend years before. I immediately noticed that she was a regular there. I’m f I had my camera I would have taken some shots of her and her contrast with the surrounding areas at the bar. I had my phone with my but my battery was low and the photo quality on it was not the best.

Meanwhile at the bar, J.C. motioned to her to get closer and seat. He loved seeing Clair. She was the life of the party. Her high pitch girly voice and dance moves was something people were always looking forward to see. Jason Cortez, the young handsome bartender, happily served her usual drink. I agreed with what he had just said. I knew the minute I arrived back in Puerto Rico, I knew that it would be my happy place and my refuge…

“It gets too dark so early, too early and so dark!”, Clair said to herself as she looked out to contemplate the starry night through her Bungalow bedroom’s tall window.

The shimmering stars, and the imminent darkness outside truly mesmerized her. Such a small island and how large it seems. Truth to be told, Puerto Rico and its Creole, Native, Black, Spanish, American, European people residents all, like a melting pot, of this Enchantment Island, how locals calls it, were larger than themselves, and very proudly so, carrying its flag displayed everywhere for everyone to see. Almost every town has a huge flag painted on one of their buildings. Something that attracted tourists to the islands to see. That same thing and the insistence of some friends, we both shared, made her come to Puerto Rico, for the Holidays. That, and her need to be away for a while and maybe stay there to begin her new life, if she was lucky enough to do so.

Her mind returned to her peaceful, yet festive surroundings as she heard a music like sound outside her window, it came from the nearby lake. Somehow their sound reminded her of crickets mating at night, but she knew there weren’t crickets, they weren’t as loud and annoying as crickets are. Their sound was softer, as if these tiny frogs called coqui were serenading their mate. The coqui were native to this tropical Caribbean land, Puerto Rico, where she’d gone to hide herself, or find herself and live a new life. She felt connected to them. Their song soothed her spirit.

She took a deep breath, feeling the fresh salty air outside, and opening her eyes she looked at the dark mountains ahead of her. They were covered with very few lights, dancing and twinkling in the distance. She was sober that night, yet this place made her feel a bit enervated and with a bit of a cooked feeling, as if she had spent the afternoon smoking the local pot and drinking her favorite drink, Kahlua coffee and rum, which she hadn’t. Not that night.

She finished drying her hair, forming soft curls with her fingers. With full disregard to the wide open windows, she let her white blanket fall off over the floor and walked stark naked across the room. Her shadow formed a Venus de Milo figure on the walls. Ignoring her own majestic beauty, she went to dress herself to go out. It was a beautiful and fresh full moon night. She wanted to join the other resort’s patrons on the newly built bone fire by the bar. Telling stories to them became one of her favorite past times.

It seemed as if time has freeze up on the town hills. This particular small town, hidden almost in the mountains, had a unique name, Rincon. It meant hidden corner in Spanish. Clair had fallen in love with the town and its flashy but humble people the minute she arrived at the Aguadilla International Airport and saw a tourist flier depicting the town and the things tourist could do in it, like surfing, horseback riding, hiking and so on. It was in fact her favorite hidden corner from the rest of the world. Her wold, and its many troubles.

She slid on a tight black t-shirt , her perfectly torn jeans, and her usual black leather jacket and made up her dark brunette hair into a ponytail. She looked at herself in a small mirror and smiled thinking how beautiful she still was on her late 30’s and how much she resembled her favorite actress Penelope Cruz, both with white as snow fair skin, full lips, and huge brown dreamy eyes. Clair was French-American, her mother grew up in the island when her parents moved there from France, during the banana trade booming years. And her father was a wealthy commercial boat chain owner from Philadelphia, who had purchased few banana plants in the mountains of the North West side of the island, the country side, and who fell in love with Maryanne, Clair’s mom the moment they met. They soon married and had Clair but her mother could no longer have more children, so they raised her like the son the always dreamed of having and couldn’t.

Clair looked at herself in the mirror, the looked more like her father, yet she had her mother’s eyes and hair. She felt she needed more make up, since her sprayed on tan was already beginning to fade. So put a little makeup on, so she wouldn’t look so pale, and put on some fake eyelashes, as if she needed them. But she already had a long full set of playful eyelashes on her own. She walked down stairs, looking her best. She walked into the guest’s lobby/ rest area of the Bungalow B&B as she was admired by the other inns guests. Clair smiled at everyone she made eye contact with, spreading a ray of sunshine on her path.

She leaned on the veranda listening to the sweet voice of someone singing beautifully out at the beach, she found herself a cozy spot on the outdoors bar near the wood beach houses where she was “vacationing” at and listened for a bit. Then she decided she would introduce herself to the few people there and join her friends that had been waiting for her, ready to hear some of her exciting travel stories. They considered Clair to be a hippy nomad, since she was never long in one place. Always traveling with her free miles card and always returning to her friends, wherever they were to share her most recent adventure or fling stories.

This time around Clair didn’t traveled alone, I noticed. She had brought her younger aunt, Lola, with her. Lola Dragotti was a retired school Principal, who had moved with her husband to Honolulu after they both retired seeking calm and peace, but after losing her husband, Lola moved in with Clair to share the living costs, and few yrs. later they decided to move even farther from their home town in Philadelphia, PA. and ended up retiring in Florida, and making frequent summer or holiday’s vacation trips to Jamaica, Cuba, and Puerto Rico.

Lola loved Honolulu. But like in any big City there is always crime committed, and there were rumors that a gang of criminal local young boys were robbing the stores and breaking into foreigner’s homes to rob them, and even kill them if they try to fight them off. That’s how Clair’s grandfather and uncle died, like heroes, fighting out the criminals as they did back home. Clarence Dragotti, Lolita’s husband was a retired Sheriff, and his burial and service had been a very private one, but sweet, filled with all his friends and family members saying great things about Clarence and his father Clarence Sr. Lola would never forget the day her husband for 45 yrs. was taken from her, and Clair either. She loved her uncle as much as she loved her now estranged father. She was even sadder for losing her grandfather so tragically and undeserving.

It was a slow Saturday at their jewelry store. Lola, a tall and curvy brown skin woman had left her father-in-law and husband discussing new project for the store, around noon, to go do her hair and nails. Clarence, his father, and a recently hired young store clerk stayed helping the few customers that were walking in on that gloomy day. Since it was slow, after few more hours they were ready to close up the store earlier than usual to go have some drinks with the guys.

They finished their inventory soon. Then went on to organize and clean all the displayed shelves and the whole store. Once the store was ready with everything stocked for Monday, Clarence, along with his dad, the new clerk, and his loyal old friend, John, headed all together to the nearby local bar to have few beers and then head home to their wives and families as they usually did most weekends or on rough days. John wasn’t to much of a family guy even though he was married and had three small children. He was still a frat party boy at heat, and liked, women, drugs, and buss a little to much. That usually got him into fight, that Clarence always ended up getting involved in to break it off or defend his troublemaker mayhem of a friend he had. But they were like brothers since childhood and they swore to each other to be friends forever. So they did.

Right at the time that they were closing the store’s gate, the local and rough “Hearts 13” gang got into the store demanding money and the jewelry too. Clair’s grandfather didn’t waste time and grabbed his gun to defend himself and his property but there were to many of them and too quick for him and someone shot him first, killing him on the spot. Then they shot the clerk too, and Clair’s uncle and his best friend John who was stopping by to pick them up, just in the wrong time. He was in the “wrong place at the wrong time”. And died later at the hospital. Both, Clair’s grandfather and uncle died on the spot. Only the store clerk survived, but was badly wounded.

The gang did not end up there. They went ahead and killed and robbed few more people in another part of the town too. Some of them known and friends to Clair, as well as her family. She cried for hours when she heard the devastating news. Her life as she remembered it would no longer be the same. An anger and hate she never knew was rooted into her heart, turning it black as coal.

Later on that night, standing at the porch of their rented beach house, with tears falling down her eyes as she stared at the darkened sky Clair swore to her grandma that she will avenge her family for their dead. She swore to herself that she would not rest until these gangsters and criminals were rotting in jail. She repeated the same promise to her aunt Lola and her uncle’s grave.

Few weeks later, she and her friends were hanging out at the beach, trying to go on with their lives, enjoying the summer and getting surfing lessons when something unexpected happened. Two of her old friends left early to some girl’s party in town, a party that she wasn’t invited to, but her two friends did asked her to go along nevertheless. Clair drastically refused to accompany them at first. She told them that she wasn’t in the mood for parties after what happened to her family. And they didn’t insist. They understand how she felt, they were also sad and angry too.

She didn’t feel at home anymore, and didn’t felt safe going out at night, even with her most trusted friends. She was doubting even herself. That’s how much the tragedy had changed her, each day that passed she was turning inwards, distant, quiet and very serious. She had lost her sense of humor and her strength to live a normal life.

“Are you crazy Lilly, how am I going to go to a party after what happened to Grandpa and uncle Clarence? I can’t even go out at night! It’s just too much.” Clair yelled at her friend.

“C’mon Clair” begged her friend Lilly,” It will really do you good to go out and not think about it. You can’t just luck yourself in the room for the rest of your life!” Clair rolled her eyes and stayed quiet.

“Yeah Clair. I agree with Lilly” one of her best friends added.

Finally she agreed to go with them. Her friends insisted so much, and she really need to get her mind out of things. Her friend Carl had a crouch on her since the moment they met, and he asked her to go out with him. She refused, gave him a kiss and then walked with him to his jeep. He gave her a surprise kiss on her lips. She smiled and blushed, like a teenager again, even though they were on their twenties. She blushed and ran back to the rest of her friends still hanging around at the beach. She had a good time and went back home before dark.

But that evening was another tragic night for her. It seems as if the “Hearts 13” gang had it out for her. On her way home, she got stopped by two masked guys. She got beat up badly, robbed, and stabbed, but she survived. And one of her friends found her bleeding to death and took her to the hospital saving her life, but not her dignity, she had been raped by two of the gang members who later left on the side of the road bleeding to death.

At the Emergency Room she watched as they brought in her friend Lilly, bleeding from her neck, and everywhere. Someone jumped her and their friend Carl, at the party they were and simply cut them during a fight that no one knows who provoked. Clair cried when she saw them in that stage near her Emergency Room bed, she grabbed Carl and hugged him and kissed him on the mouth and cheeks as they tried to pull her away. And also tried to hug her best friend Lilly but Carl held her tight, she needed rest.

They stared at each other’s eyes and when he took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a minute, that was the last thing she saw. Clair fainted and had to be admitted in the Hospital for a couple of days. When she woke up, she got the good news that both Carli, as she called him, and Lilly had survived. But he had moved away that week, back with his parents in Maine.

Clair had been in a coma for two days and Carli and his parents could not take it anymore, so they moved to N.Y. where they had some relatives and their home. Carli went to say goodbye to Clair, but she was still on a half-coma and didn’t see him, nor his tears running down his cheeks. Carli loved Clair, but he couldn’t stay there without his parents. He loved his life and his lifestyle more. So, he kissed her on the eyes and forehead and still crying, he took off, only leaving her a yellow note.

“I love you. Sorry Clair. Good bye!”

The months after Clair woke up out of her coma were hard for her. Her mind was foggy, and she couldn’t remember much, she could only remember pieces of what had happened to her.

“Why has all this happened to me? What did I do to deserve this? What the hell I did to them?”, She cried referring to the gang’s attacks on her and her friends.

Then she remembered one word they spit on her face as they beat her,

“snitch!”.

She thought they had said a different word since she was confused with all the kicking and beating, she was getting. But now she remembered it. But she hasn’t snitched on anyone. She only told her cousins that one of the gang members that took her brother’s and grandfather’s life went to school with her, but she had no idea if he was there when that happened because she wasn’t at the store when it all went down.

But now things began to make sense to her and now she had a face for one of her attackers. Again, she swore to avenge every single victim of this gang, including herself and her friends.

She also remembered that at the funeral someone had pushed her on her shoulder not after whispering in her ear the same word.

“snitch”

Clair grabbed a burning candle next to him and threw it at him. The candle’s fire was off in the air, but the candle hit him right on his head and back. It was a wide candle, but she had only thrown the candle not the candleholder, so he survived the blow. But before Clair and her cousin got to him, he had run off the place into his fancy red sports car and drove away.

“That was Mike Torres”, Johnny, Claire’s cousin, said to her, “I know where he lives”. The next day the news announced Mike’s disappearance on the news. He was the son of a well-known Doctor and a nurse, both retired soldiers in Hawaii and everyone knew him, but not everyone liked him, as he was rude, mean and was always looking for trouble.

Clair and Johnny both interrogated Mike, military style, in an old house, near by the storage place that Johnny kept as his man cave. Mike was terrified at Johnny’s loaded gun pointing at him, and quickly confessed all in a video while Clair took down all the names of the gang members, the victims, and specially the name of his accomplice that had attached her, along with him. Clair wanted to hurt him, not just scare him up, but Johnny did not let her. Instead they kept Mike hostage for 2 more days until the police found him. They immediately arrested both Johnny and Clair, with the evidence they got. But somehow all the evidence blaming her was lost. Instead they found evidence to put The Disciples gang members in jail. Someone had helped them covering up for their crimes, but who could have done it and why?

Clair and Johnny where freed. She said good-by to him and flew alone to N.Y. She wanted a new start away from all the pain and all the things she wanted so badly to forget. Not Johnny nor Mike ever mentioned her name in the interrogations, that followed, as if she never existed. No one really knew what had happened to Clair or of her whereabouts after she left. And no one knew either, that she was the one who managed to get all the terrifying gang members in her small town, arrested and thrown in jail for good.

She rather feed him poison, but she was a Christian and she wasn’t going to rot in hell for such an insignificant person as that man. So, Ms. Dragotti, blind with hate and pain, watched after him the best she could, to prevent Johnny from doing something crazier than that. Then, the police came knocking on her doors to arrest Johnny and rescue Mike, the criminal who’ve destroyed her entire family. Somehow, they’d found out where he was being kept. She used her late husband’s connections to get free, and along with Clair she helped the police in the arrest of the gang members including Mike who was their leader, and with the powerful judge that was her husband, she also made disappear the evidence against Johnny and Clair, releasing them of any wrongdoings.

After Clair left, Johnny enrolled in the local police Academy. Clair thought about doing the same by joining the N.Y. State Police but she knew she had to run away. It wasn’t over for her. Her nightmare wasn’t over. She asked her friend Lilly to go with her, where they could be simply strangers in the Big Apple. As they both drove to the airport Lilly blasted the radio with an old song “People Are Strange” playing on her car’s radio.

Song here: http://youtu.be/X6Tto1JnLXc

Next Chapter:

6 Months Before;

Johnny met with Clair and their friends Lilly to visit Clair’s old boyfriend Carl Umaru and take a trip together to N.Y. Carli was 25 and had his own apartment on New York. He was now living the life, thanks to his wealthy parents, though he was getting himself in trouble with some bad drug dealers to whom he owed lots of money. Think he rather keep a secret from Clair. But Johnny told Clair regardless.

Johnny and Clair knew what to do with Carli’s problem, and they did it. There was now no one bothering Carli over some drugs or drug money. He was free to do what he wanted and whenever he wanted until the day that he got in trouble again and was with another drug dealer friend as the late one shot and undercover police and both ended up in Jail. Carli made a plea bargain and a deal. The policeman was not dead. He got shot on the arm. And Carli wasn’t the shooter. So, in the end Carli got only two years in prison, with a lot of commodities thanks to his parent’s money and status. Carli’s mother was a Vanderbilt heiress, her family was one of the oldest and richest family in New York and at that time their name and “old money” status still meant a lot. Why Carli was such a revel and a disappointment to them, only he knew.

Chapter 3

BARS was reunited as always. They suspected there was a mole in their force. Johnny found out that the reason why the police or the FBI were not acting against this band of criminals in NY who were all former members of the “Latin Kings” was because one of their leaders was an FBI and somehow the FBI Was benefitting from their unusual crimes. But they had hurt Johnny and Clair when they killed one of their closest friends and had sent Carli to the hospital from a gunshot to his leg.

Carli would be on a wheelchair for a while not being able to do any of his usual duties in BARS their team of vigilantes, and that represented a problem for Johnny who would have to trade places with Carli, letting him runs things from office, while he was cleaning the streets Batman style. And that became he street nickname “batman”. Carli’s secret handle was “cash” and Claire’s handle became “mom”, following the 1950’s mobster’s rules.

“Mom” took time off from her school and returned to Hawaii and there she recruited the best members for BARS, lots of them with military experience and much older. Surprisingly Mrs. Triana’s helped with money and contacts due to her guilt for what her son had tone to little Claire as she used to call her. She now called her “mom” to out of respect.

Chapter 4

Back in Cash’s loft in NY, Johnny was interrogating Billy, the suspected FBI/ criminal but was interrupted with the arrival of “mom” and her younger brother Jasper. Jasper and his Grandma Mrs. Brown had come to visit them and see how they could help with BARS. Soon Johnny brief them and gave them their assignments. Mrs. Brown simply got accounting and office work duties, while Jasper would be train for their street “cleaning” team. He was only 15 so he would be with Johnny at all time to protect each other’s back, until he completed his formal training and was ready for “war” and “ground combat”.

“Sargent” Peter Triana, Mrs. Triana’s brother and a retired young soldier, with an artificial leg, was going to train Jasper and all the other recruits, the training and skills they need, plus give them all the info they needed to have about their “targets” and people they needed to “Anonymously” and efficiently bring to justice. But soon the house was filled with not only recruits but with few enemies who came to take Bill, one of the men they had recently detained.

They all got into a room to talk and Johnny instructed Clair and Jasper not to look Bill into his eyes or let him see clearly their faces since Bill was very dangerous and he never forget a face. But it was too late. Bill had noticed Clair commanding figure standing on one corner of the large dark room, where he was being interrogated and questioned one last time before he was to be released. He could tell that she was very young and very pretty regardless Johnny’s demand, he kept staring at Claire, and she stared at him.

She got his full attention when their eyes met. And Claire felt a rush of fear and energy running through her body and spine with the intensity that Bill was staring at her. His stare was firm and extremely intense but soft, almost sensual, and erotic. He was trying to seduce her, make love to her, and undress her with his big dark eyes. But she returned the coldest glance she could fathom at that moment and firmly kept eye contact with him, until he smiled knowingly. She was in control, not him.

He then stood up and spit blood on the floor because of a punch in the mouth he received by a new member , William, “Sargent” , Triana who felt jealous of him and kicked Bill on his groin. He got held by Jasper and Johnny before he could attack Bill again as Bill spat on his face. Clair ordered them to release him. They let Bill go and after confirming a short arrangement with some big shot who negotiated Bill’s release, they had to let him go.

Clair herself took the handcuffs off Bill, threatening him that if he hurt one of her BARS brothers or her, she would personally shoot him in his groin. He slowly caressed her hand as she released him, and channeling Hannibal Lecter gave her his best stare and smile making her knees soft and weak, and her mouth part in surprise, thing that he noticed and enjoyed, laughing hard as he walked out.

“What’s wrong with you woman. That’s a criminal mind there staring at you? Undressing your soul with his eyes, and you liked it? She murmured a little too loud.

“Yeah what’s wrong with you Claire” said Jasper teasing his sister and laughing at her. “So, you liked the “Jaco Wako” dude. Don’t you! And don’t say you don’t because I saw you so softy with him and you are not like that.

“I’m not softy you “babyface”. Now that’s going to be your handle for making me angry, “babyface”, Clair replied with a half smile on her face.

Sargent Triana was behind them and laughing he said, “Common let’s have a drink with “batman” /”babyface” and leave the lady alone. Miss “mom” here obviously lost it and dropped her marbles and her panties over that scumbag”

“Yeah, Bahahaha Claire dropped her panties for “Evil Wako” there!” mocked Jasper

“Go to hell you guys. You made a deal with him Triana not me!” “Come closer and I can give you the kick on your bells that I stopped him to give you, you jerk!” Clair said defending her dignity and hurt ego.

The two new friends laughed letting an angry Clair stomping on the floor and throwing a bunch of books at the door as they left. “Jerks” “Dammit. I’m late for night school!” “Johnny can you drop me at the Campus before you go out with those two dumbbells?!

“Sure baby! Let me tell “Mom 2″ to close before she leaves. ” Johnny aka batman replied from the other room.

“Ok.” Said Clair. “Say goodbye to grandma. And tell her not to stay late with you guys. And watch her not to drink much, because I know she has a crush on Triana and with few drinks on these two horny monsters you have no idea what could happen. And I won’t tolerate office romance under my watch.”

Johnny laughed and hugging his cousin he said, “Are you sure, cause Triana and I have a bet on who you would go out with first him or me?” He said pretending to kiss his cousin on her lips. Clair punched him on his strong abs. “You little pig. I’m your cousin. Even if I wanted to, which I clearly don’t, I would not date you and Triana is like 20 years older than me. He is an old guy. Yuck!”

Johnny held his cousin tighter. “So is “Wako” Bill and you clearly drooled for him. Everyone in the room saw you guys had a connection. There was a sick sexual tension in the air between this two that I can cut with my knife. I felt like cutting his balls off for being so disrespectful to my little cousin.”

“Well, you don’t have to go that far. You know I only have eyes for you my little “bat”. Clair said that in a very seductive voice as she kissed his cousin on his chin and his nose. She then let herself loose from him, who has still holding her close to him, and she ran out the door laughing. Johnny laughed too running behind her. He loved his distant cousin in all the ways possible and there was not a thing he would not do for her.

He wished that one day she would love him back, even if he needed to fight Bill of her mind, for her to end up with him….

TO BE CONTINUED

(Message from me the author. If you read this far you liked my story so, please do leave me your comments and liked and share or re-blog. This is important to me, because it is a story, I’ve being working on for so many years giving it form, trying for it all to make sense, to fit in these pages. This story is all fiction with blood shots eyes glances of reality in between. This is the story of Claire from the time she lived in an island to the time she moved to America. And before the Part I of Clair is Not at Home began, is as if Clair had jumped into a time machine herself to tell us her life experiences that got us where we got on Part I and here… Continue reading for more and please do share it. Thanks! Eve)

Clair is Not at Home (Years Before Part I)

Meet Clair:

On one of those rare nights when the temperature in the mountains of Puerto Rico drops below sixty, Claire Alette came into my life and took my breath away with her laughter and beauty. I remember looking up from my coffee and rum as she made her grand entrance into the bar.

“Puerto RICO is my refuge!” Clair Alette announced to all the tourists in the Red Parrots guesthouse and Grill as she made her way through the crowd and to the bar. “J.C. give me the special if the coffee is freshly brewed and please heavy on the rum! I feel a story coming on that needs to be told.”

J.C., the young handsome bartender, happily served her usual drink. Not only was I besotted by this raven hair beauty, but I agreed completely. I knew the minute I arrived that Puerto Rico would be my refuge…

Earlier that same day, before Clair and I crossed path to become the best friends we were, from the brief time I met her, she was taking her time taking a refreshing sea weed and salts bath to remove all the dryness from her skin, so not used to a 100 degree Tropical weather, and bring out her natural beauty and glow. “It gets dark too early in Too early and too dark”, Clair said to herself as she looked at the sky through her Bongalo bedroom tall window. The few sky stars and the imminent darkness outside, mesmerized her. She heard a similar sound to crickets mating at night, but she knew there weren’t crickets, but tiny frogs called coquis, native to that new Caribbean land, Puerto Rico, where she had gone to hide herself in and live a new life.

She took a deep breath feeling the fresh salty air outside and opening her eyes she at the dark mountains ahead of her with few lights dancing and twinkling in the distance. She was sober that night, yet this place made her feel a bit enervated and with a bit of a cooked feeling, as if she had spent the afternoon smoking the local pot, which she hadn’t. At least not that night.

She let her white blanket fall on the floor as she walked naked across the room, she went to dress herself to go out. It was a beautiful full night then and she wanted to join the other resort’s patrons on the newly built bone fire. It seemed as if time froze up on this town’s hills. The small town hidden almost in the mountains had a unique name, Rincon, which it meant hidden corner in Spanish. Clair had fallen in love with this town. It was in fact her hidden corner.

She slid on a tight black t-shirt and her perfectly torn jean and her black jacket and made up her dark brunette hair into a ponytail. She looked at herself in a small mirror and smiled thinking how beautiful she still was on her late 30s and how much she resembled her favorite actress Penelope Cruz. She put very little makeup on, so she wouldn’t look to pale and then as she walked down stairs into the guest’s lobby/ rest area she admired the sweet voice of someone singing beautifully out at the beach, she found herself a cozy spot on the outdoors bar near the wood beach houses where she was “vacationing” at.

Clair had brought her aunt Lola with her. Lola Dragotti, was a retired school Principal, who had moved with her husband to Honolulu after they both retired seeking calm and peace, but after losing her husband there Lola, moved in with Clair and few yrs. Later they decided to move even farther from their home town in Philadelphia, PA. and ended up retiring in Florida and making summer vacation trips to Cuba and Puerto Rico.

Lola and her husband Clarence had loved Honolulu. But like in any big City there is always crime committed and there were rumors that a gang of criminal local young boys were robbing the stores and breaking into foreigner’s homes to rob them and even kill them if they try to fight them off and that’s how Clair’s grandfather died, like a hero, fighting criminals as he did back home. Clarence Dragotti was a retired Sheriff, and his burial and service had been private but sweet filled with all his friends and family. Lola would never forget the day her husband for 45 yrs. was taken from her, and Clair either.

It was a slow Saturday at their store. Lola had left around noon to do her hair and nails. And Clarence and his young store clerk stayed helping the few customers that were walking in on that rainy day. It was slow so after few more hours they were ready to close the jewelry store a bit earlier than usual and go have some drinks with the guys.

They finished their inventory and organized and cleaned all the displayed shelves and the whole store. Once the store was ready with everything stocked for Monday, Clarence, and his loyal employee and friend, John, headed together to the bar to have few beers and then head home to their wives and families as they usually did most weekends or on rough days.

But right at the time that they were closing the store’s gate, the local and rough “The Disciples” gang got into their store demanding money and the jewelry too. Clair’s grandfather didn’t waste time and grabbed his gun to defend himself and his property but there were to many of them and too quick for him and someone shot him first, many shots killing him on the spot. Then they shot the clerk too, and Clair’s brother who was just stopping by in the wrong time. Both her grandfather and her brother died on the spot, the store clerk survived but was badly wounded.

The gang did not end up there and killed few more people in another part of the town too. Some of them known and friends to Clair and her family. She cried for hours when she heard the devastating news. Later that night standing at the porch of their rented beach house, with tears falling down her eyes as she stared at the dark Summer sky Clair swore to her grandma that she will avenge her family.

Few weeks later, Clair and her friends were hanging out at the beach, trying to go on with their lives, enjoying the summer and getting surfing lessons when something unexpected happened. Two of her old friends left early to some girl’s party in town, a party that she wasn’t invited to, but her two friends did asked her to go along nevertheless. But Clair drastically refused to accompany them. She told them that she wasn’t in the mood for parties after both her grandfather and brother were gunned down on a store robbery. And they didn’t insist. They understand how she felt, they were sad and angry too.

“Are you crazy Lilly, how am I going to go to a party after what happened to Grandpa Bill and Rob? I can’t even go out at night! It’s just too much.” Clair yelled at her friend.

“Yeah Clair. I agree with Lilly” one of her friends added.

Clair agreed to go with them. Her friends insisted so much, and she really need to her mind out of things. Her friend Carl had a crouch on her since the moment they met, and he asked her to go out with him. She refused, gave him a kiss and then walked with him to his jeep. He gave her a surprise kiss on her lips. She smiled and blushed, like a teenager again, even though they were on their twenties. She blushed and ran back to the rest of her friends still hanging around at the beach. She had a good time and went back home before dark.

But that evening was another tragic night for her. It seems as if “The Disciples” gang had it out for her. On her way home, she got stopped by two masked guys. She got beat up, robbed, and stabbed, but she survived. And one of her friends found her bleeding to death and took her to the hospital saving her life.

At the Emergency Room she watched as they brought in her friend Lilly, bleeding from her neck, and everywhere. Someone jumped her and their friend Carl, at the party they were and simply cut them during a fight that no one knows who provoked. Clair ran to Carl’s Emergency Room bed hugged him and kissed him on the mouth and cheeks as they tried to pull her away.

They stared at each other’s eyes and when he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, that was the last thing she saw. Clair fainted and had to be admitted in the Hospital for a couple of days. When she woke up, she got the good news that Carli, as she called him, had survived, but he had moved away that week, back with his parents in Maine.

Clair had been in a coma for two days and Carli and his parents could not take it anymore, so they moved to NY where they had some relatives and their home. Carli went to say goodbye to Clair, but she was still on a half-coma and didn’t see him, nor his tears running down his cheeks. Carli loved Clair, but he couldn’t stay there without his parents. He loved his life and his lifestyle more. So, he kissed her on the eyes and forehead and still crying he took off, only leaving her a yellow note.

“I love you. Sorry Clair. Good bye!”

The months after Clair woke up out of her coma were hard for her. Her mind was foggy, and she couldn’t remember much, she could only remember pieces of what had happened to her.

“Why has all this happened to me? What did I do to deserve this? What the hell I did to them?”, She cried referring to the gang’s attacks on her and her friends.

Then she remembered one word they spit on her face as they beat her,

“snitch!”.

But now things began to make sense to her and now she had a face for one of her attackers. Again, she swore to avenge every single victim of this gang, including herself and her friends.

She also remembered that at the funeral someone had pushed her on her shoulder not after whispering in her ear the same word.

“snitch”

“That was Mike Torres”, Johnny, Claire’s cousin, said to her, “I know where he lives”. The next day the news announced Mike Torres’ disappearance on the news. He was the son of a well-known Doctor and a nurse, both retired soldiers in Hawaii and everyone knew him, but not everyone liked him, as he was rude, mean and was always looking for trouble.

Clair and Johnny both interrogated Mike, military style. He confessed all in a video while Clair took down all the names of the gang members, the victims, and the name of his accomplice that had attached Clair along with him. Clair wanted to torture him, some more, but Johnny did not let her. Instead they kept Mike hostage. Until the police found him and arrested both Johnny and Clair, with the evidence they got. But somehow the evidence was lost. Instead they found evidence to put The Disciples gang members in jail.

Clair flew to NY. as soon as she got the chance. And not Johnny nor Mike ever mentioned her name in the interrogations, as if she never existed. No one really knew what had happened to Clair or of her after she left. And no one knew that she was the one who managed to get all the terrifying gang members arrested and thrown in jail for good.

But one more person aside from Johnny knew of Clair’s involvement and the person who knew everything was Mrs. Dragotti, Clair’s and Johnny’s grandmother. She had been the one who facilitated her old house’s keys to Johnny where they had kept Michael Torres hostage for close to two weeks. She also provided the food and care for him as the good woman that she was, even though she knew well that he was one of Clair’s attackers, and her husband’s and grandson’s murderer. She rather feed him poison, but she was a Christian and she wasn’t going to rot in hell for such an insignificant person as that man. So, the watched after him the best she could until the police came knocking on her doors to arrest Johnny and rescue him, the criminal who’ve destroyed her entire family. Somehow, she used her late husband’s connections and along with Clair she helped the police in the arrest of the gang members including Mike who was their leader, and she also made disappear the evidence accusing Johnny and Clair of any wrongdoings.

Clair and Johnny were both in the local police Academy, and Lola wanted them to follow her husband’s footsteps, but Clair knew she had to run. She knew it wasn’t over for her, so she went with her friend Lilly to NY. where she could be one stranger more in the Big Apple. And as they both drove to the airport Lilly blasted the radio with an old song “People Are Strange” playing on her car’s radio.

Song here: http://youtu.be/X6Tto1JnLXc

Next Chapter:

*After 6 months,

Johnny was able to fly to New York and meet with Clair and their friends Lilly and Carl Umaru. Carli was now 25 and had his own apartment on New York. Together they formed a “superhero/vigilante” organization. BARS was created. Johnny suspected there was a mole in their force. He also found out that the reason why the police or the FBI were not acting against a band of criminals in NY who were all former members of the “Latin Kings” was because one of their leaders was an FBI and somehow the FBI was benefiting from their unusual crimes.

But they hurt Johnny and Clair when they recently killed one of their closest friends and had sent Carli to the hospital from a gunshot to his leg in the process. As a result of that gunshot wound Carli would be on a wheelchair for a long time, not being able to do any of his usual activities, or complete his job at BARS, their team of vigilantes. That represented a huge problem for Johnny who relied on Carli too much and would have to trade places with Carli, letting him runs things from office, while he was cleaning the streets Batman style.

And that became Johnny’s secret street nickname “batman”. Carli’s handle was “cash” and Claire’s handle became “mom”, following the 1950’s mobster’s rules.

Chapter 4

Back in Clair’s loft in NY, Johnny was interrogating Billy, the suspected FBI/ criminal but was interrupted with the arrival of “cash” and Johnny’s brother Jasper. Jasper and his Grandma, had come to visit them and see how they could help with BARS. Soon Johnny brief them and gave them their assignments. “Mrs. Brown” simply got accounting and office work duties, while Jasper would be train for their street “cleaning” team. He’s new name was “The watcher”. He was only 18 so he would be with Johnny at all time to protect each other’s back, until he completed his formal training and was ready for “war” and “ground combat”. “Sargent” Peter Triana, Mrs. Triana’s brother and a retired young soldier, with an artificial leg, was going to train Jasper and all the other recruits in gunmanship and all the other skills and give them all the intel they needed to know about their “targets” and people they needed to “Anonymously” bring to justice.

But soon Cash house was filled with not only recruits but with few enemies who came to take their leader Bill with them. They all got into a room to talk and Johnny instructed Clair and Jasper not to look Bill into his eyes or let him see clearly their faces since Bill was very dangerous and he never forget a face. But it was too late. Bill had noticed Clair commanding figure standing on one corner of the large dark room, where he was being interrogated and questioned one last time before he was to be released. He could tell that she was very young and very so regardless Johnny’s demand he kept staring at Claire until he got her full attention and their eyes met. Claire felt a fear and energy running through her body and spine with the way so intense that Bill was staring at her. His stared was firm and extremely intense but soft, almost sensual, erotic.

He was trying to seduce her, make love to her, and undress her with his big dark eyes. But she returned the coldest glance she could fathom at that moment and firmly kept eye contact with him, until he smiled knowingly. He then stood up and spit blood on the floor because of a punch in the mouth he received by “Sargent” Triana who felt jealous of him and kicked Sargent Triana on his groin once. He got held by Jasper and Johnny before he could attack again. Clair order them to release him. They let Bill go and after confirming a short arrangement with Bill’s cronies who negotiated his release, they let him go. Clair herself took the handcuffs off Bill, threatening him that if he hurt one of her BARS brothers, she would personally shoot him in his groin.

He slowly caressed her hand as she released him, and channeling Hannibal Lecter gave her his best stare and smile making her knees soft and weak, and her mouth part in surprise, thing that he noticed and enjoyed, laughing hard as he walked out.

“What’s wrong with you woman. That’s a criminal mind there staring at you? Undressing your souls with his eyes and you liked it? What’s wrong with me? She murmured a little too loud.

“I’m not softy you “babyface”. Now that’s going to be your handle for making me angry, “babyface”

Sargent Triana was behind them and laughing he said, “Common let’s have a drink with “batman” “babyface” /”robin” and leave your sister alone. Miss “mom” here obviously lost it and dropped her marbles and her panties over that scumbag”

“Yeah, Bahahaha Claire dropped her panties for “Evil Wako” there!”

“Go to hell you guys. You made a deal with him Triana not me!” “Come closer and I can give you the kick on your bells that I stopped him to give you, jerk!”

“Sure baby! Let me tell “Mom 2″ to close before she leaves. ” Johnny aka batman replied from the other room.

“Well, you don’t have to go that far. You know I only have eyes for you my little “bat”. Clair said that in a very seductive voice as she kissed his cousin on his chin and his nose. She then let herself loose from him, who has still holding her close to him, and she ran out the door laughing. Johnny laughed too running behind her. He loved his cousin in all the ways possible and there was not a thing he would not do for her.

He wished that one day she would love him back, even if he needed to fight Bill for her to end up with him….

TO BE CONTINUED