Blood is Black in the Moonlight

William J Manning
Blood is Black in the Moonlight
A Detective Devora Lobos novel
Chapter 1
                                   Juarez, Mexico. 2005
I’ve infiltrated the Vargas Cartel in Juarez.  I rose through the ranks, killing people for them. Some of them bad, some of them good. I glance down at my forearm and see the black Santa Muerte tattoo.  I’ve sunk too deep. Something is wrong; my handler should’ve pulled me out by now. He usually makes contact with me by now, but he’s been MIA. It’s been weeks since I heard from him, and he is not answering his cell. I’ve been trapped in this hell for two years living a life that is not mine. But today it’s going to end. I had to break protocol and contact HQ in Miami. Now three days later, Navy Seals and DEA are prepping for the assault to take down Juan Vargas. They’re positioned one block over.  It’s time I wake from this nightmare and peel off the mask I been wearing.
I march into the bathroom and slip on a Kevlar vest and my green T-shirt down over it. I tie my straight brown hair back into a ponytail, and pull out a baggie of my beloved white gold and sprinkle a bit on the edge of the sink. I fish a dollar out of my pocket, rolling it up into a straw and snort two lines. The coke hits my brain like a freight train. My heart thumps like war drums surges of adrenaline pump through my body like an electrical current I’m riding the lightning. I stare into the mirror, slapping the side of my head. “You’re not Cortana anymore. You’re not Cortana anymore. You are Special Agent Devora Lobos of the DEA.”
This is a ritual I do after every undercover operation to surface from the abyss.
Juan is a stupid son of a bitch. He bought a mansion in the middle of the city. He may as well placed a billboard on the top of his house, saying, a drug lord lives here.
My cell pings with a text.
Operation Sledge is commencing.
Stepping out of the bathroom, I rack the slide on my black Sig Sauer P226. My handler bursts into the bedroom, carrying two gym bags filled to the brim with greenbacks.
I train my gun on him. “Where the fuck have you been! I hiss. “I've been losing my shit, wondering where the hell you are. Do you realize it’s been fucking weeks since you made contact with me?”
He drops the bags and puts his hands up. “Agent Lobos, I’m here to pull you out.”
He’s lying, just like he lied about not letting me get too deep. Now I am a goddamn enforcer for the Vargas Cartel, probably on my way to capo.
I grit my teeth. “Don’t bullshit me! All you care about is ripping off Juan.” I growl.
He puts his hands up.  “Easy, Lobos. We talked about this. When this operation was over, you know, where you and I go our separate ways with Juan’s money, remember?”
My fingers tighten around the grip of the gun as I stare at this backstabbing motherfucker. “Yeah, I remember, but I thought it over and realized if we take this money, we will have a giant blinking target on our backs. We’ll be looking over our shoulders. That life won’t be worth a shit! I will have to send my family into hiding if I take this money. Plus, the shit they did to make this money: human trafficking, illegal arms dealing, and drug trafficking. If I take this money. If we take this money, we become them. We profited off their evil.”
He shakes his head, tossing my half of the money at my feet. “You’re overthinking this, Devi. There’s enough evidence to put Juan Vargas away for an eternity.”
I refuse to take my cut of thirty pieces of silver.
“That’s why I’m still alive! Thanks to you, I barely recognize who the fuck I am anymore! When I close my eyes, all I see are dead faces staring up at me.”
He smiles, pushing back his dirty blond hair. “Agent Lobos, you said you would do whatever it took to bring these people down… and you did. Now, it’s time you’re properly compensated for it.”
My eyes swell with tears as I grit my teeth at him. “You son of a bitch.” I snarl. “I meant to undermine their organization, not blacken my fucking soul! Now because of you, these monsters are calling me boss, and I have money dripping with blood. I have murdered innocent people for these pricks for fuck sakes! We swore to bring these assholes down, not become them. You turned me into a goddamn monster, Jimmy!”
He glowers briefly and then drops his head and exhales in frustration. “I know. Which is why you deserve this money. Now pick up that goddamn bag and let’s get outta here.”
“I don’t want it.  Too much evil was done to earn it. Besides, I called in the cavalry.”
His eyes widen, and his nostrils flare. “Are you fucking stupid! Why the hell did you do that?” he screams, grabbing a clump of his hair.
“Because I am tired of this fucking hell. I just want to wake up.”
His jaw spasms with fury. “Okay, I get it. You’ve been through hell but listen to me.” his voice goes soft.  “We play this right, and we will get a big payday here.” He points at the bags, smiling. “All the work you put in, all the shit you been through, and you’re going to stand there and tell me; you don’t deserve all this cash? You help me, and I’ll help you. Now pick up that fucking bag and let’s go!”
Fucking bastard is blindfolded by the almighty dollar, but I saw this shit coming the moment he saw Juan’s money storage.