“Cat and mouse…it’s my favorite game to play. Especially since I’m always the cat.”
Thursday, February 15, 2024
“Do you think she’s caught on that you’ve been watching her, jefe?” asked Antonio Zapata, leaning back into his seat and glancing over at his lieutenant.
Santiago sneered, meeting Tony’s gaze lazily. “No, but she will tonight,” he explained, turning his attention back to the barbershop across the street.
For months, Santiago had been watching the blonde woman only days following the accidental death of her brother and she was none the wiser. Her schedule was committed to memory. He knew where she lived, where she worked, where her nephew went to daycare, the usual stores she shopped in, the restaurants she ordered from, and the people she spent the most time with.
Yes, Santiago knew practically everything about Beverly Williams.
“You think she has the money?” Tony asked.
Santiago waved a finger lazily at the building. “That’s hers,” he stated. “She can pay.”
Hours later, Santiago took a moment to text his wife.
I love you, ---.
Tony’s hand grabbed onto Santiago’s jacket, shaking him a bit. “Jefe, that’s all of them. Everyone left the shop. She’s alone,” Tony said, his eyes on the barbershop and not looking at his lieutenant that he just angered.
“You fuck,” Santiago said, swearing as the angry texts from his wife started pouring in.
Tony’s hit had made Santiago misspell baby, autocorrecting it to Abby.
I love you, Abby, the text read.
The phone continued to vibrate as her texts poured in though Santiago had no time to remedy the solution.
Sidestepping his anger, he stepped out of the vehicle and slid his handgun into the waistband of his jeans. “Don’t fucking leave the car,” he said, pointing a finger at Tony. He closed the driver’s side door and crossed the empty street.
Santiago stood in front of Locke Studios, hands in the pockets of his jacket. Watching her through the window, the blonde woman busied herself with shutting everything down alone. He didn’t say a word nor did he move, at least, not until she turned around to see him.
Ten seconds, she held his gaze. She didn’t move nor did he see the rise in her chest. She was holding her breath and he knew he had succeeded. The broom she had been holding in her hands clattered to the floor. Santiago gave her a nod, took a step back, then gave her a wink before heading back across the street.
Santiago climbed into the driver’s side and closed the door, pulling the handgun out of his waistband.
“What was that about?” asked Tony. “She saw you! You didn’t even get the money!”
In a split second, Santiago had the firearm pressed against the side of Tony’s temple. “Question me again. Go ahead,” he warned.
He allowed thirty seconds of silence to pass between them before he lowered the weapon and stowed it in the driver’s door.
“Today was just a scare. You know I like playing with my food before I kill it,” said Santiago, eyeing the shop as Beverly emerged.
“You’re going to kill her even if she gives you the money?” asked Tony.
Santiago’s jaw ticked. “You really are a dumb fuck, aren’t you? You don’t allow anyone to live. Ever. That’s you get fucking caught,” he warned. “Don’t fucking talk the rest of the way or I’ll put a bullet in your head too.”
Tony did as he was told, remaining silent and sinking into his seat like a scolded child as they drove away.
That is an impressive WIP list! I had been tagged earlier today, so here's my post (it's late here, so I hope that link works 🤭)
I would love to know more about Two Sides of the Same Coin, please and thank you.
My WIPs are as numerous as my ideas, plenty but a little dodgy. 😎
My dear...you picked golden goose. 🪿
As such, it's only right I add @for-a-longlongtime and @legendary-pink-dot here as well.
I had a goal for this year of our double P (Pedro Pascal), 2024.
To write an M/M fic. I am working on meeting my goal rather early. It's in bullet point form but it has cargo pants, a cat/mouse chase, reference to knees and zip ties. A curls cameo also takes place.
The Pedro Boy: Dave York (he's taken over last month and this month, I don't know why)
The second gentleman: Santiago "Pope" Garcia
A daunting combo, can I make it work? Will it even flow? No idea. But I'm gonna try and will enjoy the ride.
Chile's most overcrowded prison has turned its cat infestation into animal therapy, said Paola Alemán. The michis, as cats are known in Chile, were introduced to Santiago Sur decades ago to hunt disease-carrying rats but quickly evolved into a health scourge in their own right.
Without litter boxes, the hundreds of cats defecate "wherever they want in the prison, turning the place into a source of infection for everyone." Yet the michis have worked wonders on the nearly 4,500 inmates, who are crammed into the facility nine to a cell. These criminals, many of them hardened gang members, play and cuddle with the cats, tend to their wounds, and even feed them from precious rations. When authorities recently carried out a three-day operation to spay and neuter the prison's feline inhabitants, the prisoners sprang to help, catching and handing over their own cells pets. Some of the inmates "paced outside their cells for hours, waiting for the return of their cats, so they could take care of them in their post-operative process." The behavioral benefits are so remarkable that officials have now begun allowing inmates who've served their sentences to take their kitties home with them. The prisoners' "commitment and love for their pets" have put many "on the path to reintegration."