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callsign-bunnie · 2 months

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Hey! Love your writing so much, I've been reading it for about a year now, and I still love it! I have one ask, though. I love the 'My Sweetest Vice' so much, but a thought popped in my head. What if Rudy was instead in the military and Alejandro was still El Sin Nombre. Again, I love your work, and have a great day :)

Hi! Thank you so much for reading My Sweetest Vice! I know that this took me a hot minute to answer but it ended up being a lot longer than I was expecting it to be!

This is ABO because My Sweetest Vice is ABO and also because none of my books are ABO (obviously) so you guys have to deal with me indulging over here!

TW: angst, perceived death, drugs, COD Typical violence

Rodolfo had known he was going to follow Alejandro wherever he went. Even when they presented and Rodolfo was an omega and Alejandro had presented as an alpha. Especially when Alejandro had asked him out barely a year later.

It was the natural course, them ending up together. Both of their families were traditional, as were they. Rodolfo had had a crush on Alejandro since fairly shortly after he’d presented, anyway, and Alejandro asking him out had been better than a dream.

So, when Alejandro went into the military, Rodolfo had followed the next day. He still remembered that conversation, too. Alejandro had taken Rodolfo out in his beat up shitty truck. He’d worked for two years to buy that truck, even though his family was wealthy. Alejandro had told him “I just want to buy something myself. I just want it to be mine.” Rodolfo had understood, he knew how Alejandro’s family was.

They were both freshly 18 when he had taken him out, driving them to this clearing that they’d called “their spot”. It was supposedly a ranch that was for sale, but he and Alejandro had been sneaking onto it since they were both 13, both for fucking and just to spend time together.

Rodolfo frowned as Alejandro turned the truck off, as Alejandro hadn’t told him why they were driving out. He’d just picked him up. “Ale?”

“I need to tell you something. I need you to promise not to yell at me.” Alejandro murmured, looking down at his lap.

Rodolfo frowned, still softer than he should be. He had lost that, eventually, but at this time, he still saw good in the world. He’d still thought that kindness was key. “Alejandro… I promise I won’t yell at you. What’s wrong? Is it your family? Whatever it is, we can handle it.” He took Alejandro’s hand, bringing it up to kiss his palm.

Alejandro was silent for a long moment before his eyes were dragging over the seat and then up to Rodolfo’s eyes. “I signed up for the military.”

Rodolfo dropped Alejandro’s hand, immediately, shock hitting him square in the chest. “You what?!”

“Rudy, please, you promised not to yell at me.” Alejandro immediately pleaded and took Rodolfo’s hand, kissing all over his knuckles and then up to his elbow and back down. “Please, mi amor… Please…”

Rodolfo took a deep breath and looked away from Alejandro, glaring out the window of the truck. “Why the hell did you do it? Is it- Is it to impress your family?? Alejandro, you’re never going to do that and this- This certainly is not how, regardless.”

“No, no, it wasn’t- It wasn’t to impress them.” Alejandro shook his head and then he was quiet, again, for another moment. Finally, he spoke again, pressing Rodolfo’s hand to his forehead. “I want to be something, I want to make something of myself. I want to fix the cartel problem, I can do that in the military.”

“No you can’t! They haven’t even succeeded in doing that!” Rodolfo exploded, yanking his hand away from Alejandro and then throwing the truck door open, getting out. He could already feel tears as they sprung to his eyes, trying to blink them away but already knowing he was going to fail.

Hearing Alejandro exit the truck only made him angrier and he started to storm away from it, unsure what direction he was even going in.

“Rudy-”

“Fuck off, Alejandro!” He cried but whipped around when he heard Alejandro run to catch up to him. “Why would you do this?? What am I supposed to do? You’re just going to end up dead or even worse! You can’t fix the cartel, there’s only assimilation or death. You know that, we’ve grown up hearing it, we’ve grown up saying it.”

Alejandro shook his head. “I can. I believe I can. I want to help save Las Almas.” He looked so genuine, he looked so determined.

Rodolfo broke into sobs because he knew Alejandro meant it, too. He knew that Alejandro genuinely wanted to save Las Almas and there was nothing Rodolfo could do about it. Once Alejandro had his mind set, he rarely changed it. When Alejandro moved to hug him, he didn’t shove him away, instead letting Alejandro pull him close and instead sobbing into his chest, trying to let the cinnamon and honey scent sooth him like it always did. “We were going to get married… You promised me that we would get married one day…”

“I know… I’m sorry…” Alejandro murmured and shook his head. “\We’ll still get married, Rudy…”

“I can’t marry a corpse!” Rodolfo cried, unburying his face from Alejandro’s chest just to look up at him. “I can’t marry a dead alpha!”

“Rudy, I’m not going to die…” Alejandro’s face became full of distress, and it soon filled his scent, too, and it made Rodolfo feel awful, but he couldn’t stop sobbing. He was terrified.

Rodolfo was now sobbing too hard to respond, burying his face again and letting Alejandro rub his back, though he still smelled distressed and almost panicked. “Rudy… It’s going to be okay… I promise, it’ll be okay…”

Rodolfo could only shake his head.

Well, Rodolfo had woken up the next morning knowing exactly what he was going to do. Omegas could join the military, but it was still seen as rather weird. Regardless, he’d marched right to the local recruiter and signed up. The recruiter hadn’t even questioned him on being an omega, in fact she was an omega as well and had simply smiled and said she was glad to see more omegas joining.

His sister was already in, herself, and she’d screamed at him for two hours, since he “should have known better after watching her suffer” and she’d screamed even louder upon finding out that it was to follow Alejandro, as he was risking his life to “chase some stupid alpha”. Even still, he’d sat through the entire thing, asking if she really wanted her leave to be spent screaming at him, which had seemed to silence her.

Then, he’d taken his papers to Alejandro and said they’d be joining the same training unit. Alejandro had been dead silent, though he’d went very pale, and the only thing he’d asked the entire time was one very quiet “why?” To which Rodolfo had simply shrugged and responded “wherever you go, I go.”

A promise he had kept. Everyone learned rather quickly that the omega that followed Alejandro around (they’d kept their relationship quiet) was a lot more deadly than would first be assumed. Rodolfo never got into fights, not in front of everyone else, but he would finish Alejandro’s. Don’t piss the omega off or you’ll find snakes and spiders in your bunk. Don’t fight Vargas unless you plan to lose and still sleep with one eye open, even after. Alejandro struck hard, but Rodolfo struck silently later.

One in their unit had made the mistake of targeting Alejandro a little too much. Sure, Alejandro’s reputation was already growing as he was aggressive but smart, hard to kill though it had been tried. No one can kill Alejandro but Alejandro. No one but Rodolfo knew why, too.

Jealousy was a hell of a drug. It had you doing stupid things and this idiot had done the worst. He’d actually tried to kill Alejandro. Rather… he’d tried to injure him beyond repair but it’d gone wrong and almost killed him. Alejandro was already on his way to moving way up the ranks, Rodolfo following close behind, and this jackass had made it clear he hated Alejandro from the start.

All of their pranks had been played off as just friendly, but he didn’t target anyone else the way he targeted Alejandro. First it was tacks in his bunk, nothing permanent, but Rodolfo hadn’t forgotten and had started to keep a tally.

Getting Alejandro’s uniform dirty so he was reprimanded and punished. Knocking into him in the mess hall and getting food everywhere. Spiders in his shoes, even though Alejandro was already well known for hating them. Hiding the items on his bunk so he was forced to look for them, ultimately landing him in trouble when he couldn’t find them. Rodolfo had remembered it all.

Then, he’d started to put rat poison in Alejandro’s food. The first time, Rodolfo hadn’t noticed, but he’d picked it up in the way that Alejandro gotten violently ill afterwards. How he’d thrown up. Rodolfo recognized it because his own go to had been rat poison. Not enough to kill anyone, but hey if someone was targetting one of his siblings or god forbid Alejandro, they might find a very tiny amount in their food.

Rodolfo had swapped food with Alejandro, just pretending that Alejandro’s looked better. Alejandro had never been one to say no to Rodolfo, ever, so he’d just shrugged and swapped food. Rodolfo had felt bad, since his portions were smaller as he was an omega, but Alejandro had never said anything and Rodolfo had forced himself to eat every bite so none of it could go to Alejandro, who would eat his leftovers if he ever had any.

When he’d gotten ill, it’d been taken a lot more seriously. Not because they cared or anything, but he’d been accused of being pregnant and then the rat poison had been found in the asshole’s bunk. Rodolfo hadn’t even intended to tell anyone, he just didn’t want Alejandro to get sick again, and had mostly planned on hiding it. He just hadn’t been fast enough to hide himself throwing up.

Alejandro had apparently had to be held back from beating the asshole to a pulp, though Rodolfo had only heard about it later on. The other had gotten in a lot of trouble, almost discharged, but had saved himself by claiming it was a prank and took punishment instead. Rodolfo still wasn’t sure how that was even allowed, since that was a clear attempt on… well, Rodolfo’s life, but apparently he had said he had only put enough to make them puke, not die. Rodolfo hadn’t wanted to ask how he knew it only made them throw up, not die, since he was unsure if he wanted to know if he’d known or not.

Instead, he’d just hoped their punishment would be enough, but was ultimately unsurprised when it wasn’t. He still remembered the sight of Alejandro’s body slamming into the tree. Rodolfo had been sent in with a few others to clear the building first.

Well, the building had actually been empty but it had been turned into a literal minefield with homemade proximity bombs that had ultimately led to them being forced to retreat out of an opposite exit. Something had also, however, jammed signals from their radios. It was clear that it had been set up to just wipe as many of them out as it could, their demolitions expert had just immediately recognized the hardware and stopped them all.

But, they hadn’t been able to get a warning across so no one on the other side of the massive building had known what was going on and not to go in. They’d been told to go all the way around and just tell them, since they had been told to wait, anyway.

Rodolfo had come around the corner at just the right moment to see Alejandro scream his name and deadsprint towards the building. He was only saved by Rodolfo screaming no, causing him to stop in his tracks before the building had somehow blown anyway, sending anyone close flying back, which had included Alejandro who’d gotten thrown into a small tree so hard it had snapped with his weight.

Thankfully, Alejandro hadn’t been too injured, just landing in med bay with several bruised ribs and some shrapnel, but Rodolfo had taken it for what it was. The rat poison had reasonable doubt, but this? This was a clear attempt on Alejandro’s life.

So, he’d waited. Someone told him that the asshole had suddenly frantically ran over to Alejandro and told him that he’d heard Rodolfo over the radio, pleading for help, which had triggered Alejandro to run into the building. So, Rodolfo had waited.

He’d waited for the day before everyone went on leave, when Alejandro would also be released from med bay. He’d played nice, he’d twirled his hair and flirted with the asshole, a little, though away from everyone else, and had lured him away from everyone else, somewhere very secluded on base.

He’d gotten him drunk, too, having gotten his sister to sneak some alcohol on base, and pretended to get super drunk as well. There, he’d revealed the grenade he’d stolen. He’d said nothing as he pulled the pin, placed the grenade in the asshole’s hand, and sprinted out of the building, just to stand back and watch as it blew up before making sure to be back in his bunk with no evidence of ever having left.

They’d ruled it a suicide and Rodolfo had pretended to know nothing about it to everyone, including Alejandro. Rodolfo had never felt guilty. He’d already shot and killed a few cartel members, so he’d just put it in the box he’d put those in, and moved on, justifying it with what he’d done to Alejandro.

Hell, he didn’t even remember his name.

When Alejandro’s military career careened towards the Special Forces, Rodolfo had forced his in that direction as well. He’d tried not to lose it when they’d ended up on different squads, trying just to be happy that he was in the same unit.

Alejandro had ended up taking a leader role, anyway, and his reputation only grew more, turning him into practically a myth in some circles. He’d also started to hang out more with a female alpha, named Valeria Garza, as they were both on the same unit.

Rodolfo had found his own friend, anyway, another omega named Jesus Ordaz, though he went by Chuy. They’d become close, very close, and Rodolfo had been so grateful to have someone who understood the struggles of being an omega in the military. It became even better when it was revealed that Chuy and Valeria had been secretly together, the same as Rudy and Alejandro, and so they’d started to all four spend more time together when off duty.

Then the raid on the Son of La Araña. Rodolfo had had a sick feeling about it, all day. Something felt off, but he had never been able to figure out why. He’d voiced it to Chuy when getting geared up, but Chuy had only told him that he was probably just nervous. Rodolfo knew what being nervous felt like, though, and this had not been that.

Even still, he’d gone on the mission.

However, everything had went south so fast. Rodolfo and Chuy’s unit had been in charge of keeping La Araña’s forces back, but there hadn’t been any. Even Chuy had thought it was suspicious. When their men had started to disappear one by one, Rodolfo and Chuy had both voiced maybe retreating against orders.

Rodolfo had seen pictures of what was done to the omegas captured by the cartel, and the look on Chuy’s face had proven that he had, as well. Even still, they’d held their position for hours until they’d gotten spoken to, on the comms. Sergeant Parra and Sergeant Ordaz, you are being ordered to retreat now!

They had very gladly done so, coming back to the base where they’d immediately been separated and Rodolfo remembered being questioned for hours. He had been dead on his feet when he’d finally been allowed to go back to his bunk, having reiterated over and over that he didn’t know anything. They’d asked him about Alejandro and Valeria and the rest of their unit, and he’d just told them the truth.

Alejandro and Valeria’s task had been to arrest the son of La Araña, potentially La Araña as well if he attempted to stop the arrest.

Chuy had came to him, later, his face grim. Rodolfo hadn’t been able to sleep, Alejandro’s whole unit had apparently disappeared, which had explained the odd questioning. So, seeing Chuy’s face had made his heart sink and he had immediately assumed the worst. “Chuy… Chuy, what happened??”

“They’re dead, Rudy. They’re both dead. Their whole unit was found, shot execution style.” Chuy had whispered.

Rodolfo remembered shaking harder than he ever had, and this sick feeling had rose in his body, leaving him hunched over and fighting bile as it rose to the surface. “How?? They’re positive??”

“Ale and Val’s bodies weren’t found.” Chuy mumbled and sat down beside Rodolfo. “But… their tags were found next to a scorched pile of bodies.”

Rodolfo had immediately started to sob, screaming Alejandro’s name as Chuy had yanked him close and both omegas had cried over their partners for hours until they couldn’t anymore.

Once the investigation was over, it’d been determined that a rival cartel had intercepted and attempted to take over the cartel, as the son and La Araña were both found dead, though their places had been very quickly taken over.

El Sin Nombre and El Zorro. Both were very secretive in their identities, and Rodolfo had never interacted with them, but they’d been known to have equal power over the cartel.

Rodolfo had just became numb, and Chuy had been in a similar state. He stayed in the military, he had nowhere else to go. But, his sister had left and started her own PMC, which meant all he had was Chuy. So, when Rodolfo had been offered the position of Colonel, he’d had no one in mind for his SIC than the other omega, making him Sergeant Major Jesus Ordaz, and Rodolfo was Colonel Rodolfo Parra.

Rodolfo knew why they’d stuck him as Colonel, too, despite being an omega. They had seen a clear path for Rodolfo to fail, which… what else could he do? El Sin Nombre and El Zorro had grown the cartel at a very steady rate, taking it from just Las Almas’ problem to one of the biggest cartels in Mexico.

Regardless, Rodolfo had taken the position, content to fail and be their scapegoat. Chuy had even seemed resigned to the idea, and so they’d both made history as both of them were omegas. His sister’s PMC had also grown very fast, and so he had her in his back pocket.

Alejandro and Valeria’s squad had been known as Los Vaqueros, and so Rodolfo had adopted the title for their whole unit, in their honor. In Alejandro’s honor.

And… to everyone, including Rodolfo and Chuy,’s shock, they hadn’t failed. Rodolfo and Chuy had both been content to fail, of course, but both had agreed that they were going to go down swinging, and so they’d both put their best foot forward. Of course, Rodolfo had been held back by the rest of the military at first.

Another omega, General Núñez, especially. Rodolfo had figured out why, later, as it had been rumored he was one of El Sin Nombre’s personal play toys, but Rodolfo had still had to go toe to toe with him for every decision, even when he should have had no say!

Then the corruption, the hold that the cartel had on the military, was revealed. Everyone had been, again, investigated and while Los Vaqueros had came back clean, no one else had, and so the military had unofficially divorced themselves from all units in Las Almas. The general military had been left to the cartel and Rodolfo and Chuy had been finally free to make any decisions they wanted.

Officially, both would still receive supplies when ordered but… that was about it. So, Rodolfo had identified gaps in their systems, and he’d reformed the entire thing. Los Vaqueros no longer was just a special forces unit, they became a family under Rodolfo’s leadership.

Rodolfo then started to really push back against the cartel. He’d instilled a sort of ruthlessness into his men. He and Chuy had similar values, so both had shaped Los Vaqueros into a killing unit. More and more omegas had joined, too, and Rodolfo had been damned if he was going to let the atrocious happen to them, so more and more training had been focused on survival and evading capture.

Los Vaqueros had come to be known as just as terrifying as the cartel. Their Vaqueros had been known to kill themselves the moment they were captured. One had even went to such lengths as bashing their own head in when captured by a sicario who had a particularly stomach churning reputation around the omegas he had captured before.

However, Rodolfo had started to gain his own reputation. He was described as quiet, off putting, and strikingly intelligent. Beautiful but far too deadly to put your knot anywhere near. It was said he listened to everything, even when you were sure he hadn’t. He’d been called every insult an omega could receive and a few more, and he’d received just as much praise.

Chuy had, of course, gained his own reputation. Chuy had never been able to hide just how strange he was, though Rodolfo had never minded it. Fuck, it had made him happy to be around someone who could comprehend him. Either way, Chuy had come to be known as “psychotic”. These crazy tall tales of him smiling and laughing while castrating alphas spread and spread, though they were all bullshit. Both were just… human. That’s all. Just… omegas.

Eventually, the cartel stopped growing. It stopped being able to expand, as Rodolfo had become too fast in stopping it before it happened. Then, both’d been captured.

Really, it was stupid how it’d happened, but Rodolfo had been slammed into a chair with a bag over his head, and it’d been ripped off to reveal two masked alphas, with Chuy at his back.

He remembered seething and snarling, threatening both alphas with everything he could think of, but he’d only been met with shock on the taller’s face, a male alpha wearing the same mask worn by bandits and thieves in children’s shows. “What?!” He’d snarled at the expression, turning to see the female appeared just as surprised, coming around from where she’d been listening to Chuy’s own threats. “Shocked the Colonel is an omega??”

“Very.” The male had snorted, finally seeming to recover. “I’d heard rumors, but I guess I didn’t believe them. So you’re who’s been making our jobs very difficult.”

The female also seemed to recover, chuckling softly. “How progressive.”

Rodolfo clenched his jaw, stopping Chuy when he felt him start to twist his hand to break his thumb. As much as he’d love to do the same to get out of the cuffs keeping his hands behind his back, he’d rather not get them both killed so fast, though he knew it was likely the end. “Neither of us are going to give you any information.”

“We know.” The male sighed, deeply. Rodolfo tried to scent either of them, but the only thing he could get was the distinct scent of alpha and nothing else. Not even laundry soap. “We can’t kill you, either.”

The female looked away and Rodolfo had frowned at what looked like guilt in her eyes, but he couldn’t see them very well and so he’d decided he was making it up. “Come on, just put the bags back over their head and send them back. The faster they’re gone, the better.”

“I agree.” The male murmured.

Rodolfo had gone to protest, had threatened them even louder as they had put the bag back on his head, but then something had pinched in his arm and he’d woken up on top of Chuy in the back of an abandoned truck, and both had been forced to walk back to the base, confused as hell as to why they’d been let go.

After that, Los Vaqueros had stopped dying. Of course… so had the cartel, because it became impossible to do anything. No raids, no arrests, nothing. The cartel had become smarter about everything they did. Raids would find buildings that had been cleared out, narcos would allow themselves to be arrested, just to be let out at the end of the 24 hours because the evidence would just disappear.

Hell, Rodolfo had tried purposely putting himself in danger the few times they’d managed to find narcos. He’d ended up on his knees with a gun to his head in front of one, and the conviction in their face had had him accepting his fate.

But, another nearby had seen the “Colonel” on his vest and had immediately started to whisper at the other. “That’s the Colonel… If you shoot him, El Zorro will kill you slow and painful…”

And Rodolfo had been let go again.

Both he and Chuy had found it odd and frustrating but… what could they do about it? Nothing. They were forced to become stagnant. The cartel couldn’t grow, but Los Vaqueros couldn’t vanquish them, either.

Nothing could be done.

“We’ve got it.” Rodolfo looked up as his second in command burst into his office, raising an eyebrow. He was holding a laptop in his arm, their unit having long made the switch to be mostly digital, so both had laptops for military business. “I told you! I told you those fools would make a mistake!”

Rodolfo blinked, surprised by Chuy’s lack of expletives, though he was still able to pick up on who those fools were. Who else but El Zorro and El Sin Nombre? Chuy never called them their titles, they were always those (insert some random insult). “Chuy,” he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, “what mistake did they make?”

Chuy had done this before, he’d burst into Rodolfo’s office with a brand new lead that would ultimately lead nowhere but Rodolfo taking a scalding hot shower and debating stepping down as they found nothing, again. “They are harboring a terrorist.”

Oh. None of the mistakes had been to that level, yet. “They… what?!” Rodolfo stood, immediately, and rushed around the desk, taking the laptop from Chuy, who grinned and handed it over.

Sure enough, they’d been informed that the British SAS would be sending a taskforce to Mexico in order to arrest the said terrorist, Hassan Zyani. This had all been relayed by Kate Laswell, a CIA agent that Rodolfo knew semi-well as they’d worked together when the cartel would occasionally overstep into the US and something had to be done, though she’d always be ordered to retreat once the cartel was back to being just Mexico’s problem.

Rodolfo knew she didn’t want to, so he’d never harbored any resentment. Regardless, she was a hell of a lot more pleasant than many of the other alphas he’d been forced to work with, and so he would give his full cooperation to her.

Chuy was beaming, and Rodolfo knew why. Because this task force would surely help them. This meant that the cartel had officially became someone else’s problem, which meant that they would help… right? “Captain John Price will be sending two of his soldiers. A Lieutenant Simon Riley and Sergeant John Mactavish.”

“...only two?” Rodolfo frowned and the sudden hope was squashed by disappointment. “No, no, two isn’t enough.” Two would be nowhere near enough.

Chuy winced. “Only two, as far as I could see. But I researched this Lieutenant, he has… quite the reputation, even in Mexico. You know Roba’s cartel? How it mysteriously disappeared?”

Rodolfo frowned but he nodded and looked at Chuy. “Yes… That was an awful year for us, we had to work double time to make sure our cartel didn’t take up where it disappeared.”

“Well… it’s rumored that he had close ties with them.” Chuy shrugged. “Rather… well, his unit went missing in Mexico and he was found months later by Texas rangers in a very awful state. Around the time that Roba disappeared, he was again spotted in Mexico. It’s rumored he wiped them out.”

Rodolfo made a face, never one for ghost stories, but he still shook it off, looking more into the message. “They’re called… Ghost and Soap? Soap is an omega?” Well, at least they had that.

Chuy nodded a bit. “That’s what it says.”

“What an odd pair.” Rodolfo furrowed his brows, unsure how he felt about the names. They were silly, but… call signs were given for a reason. “When will they arrive?”

“Next week.” Chuy hummed, as Rodolfo’s eyes found the date in the message. “Even if they can’t fix the problem, surely they can help us chip away at it? We’ve made zero progress in three years, this has gotta help us turn it around.”

Rodolfo prayed it would, though he still didn’t have much hope considering they were only sending two people. Regardless, he put together a scouting team, sending Chuy with them, and learning that the cartel was keeping Zyani in a safehouse close to the coast.

Rodolfo had not dared let Chuy attempt an arrest, still entirely unsure on how the cartel was getting information, so he’d ordered Chuy to retreat and they’d instead waited for the two to arrive.

Rodolfo had driven to pick them up from the helo, which had landed at an older base as their own landing pad was currently out of commission. Chuy was with him, of course, rambling about how he knew this was what they needed, that this would finally be exactly what would chip fully at the cartel and pull it to pieces.

Rodolfo knew it was just desperation, so he hadn’t said just how unsure he was that this was going to do anything. Instead, he was silent as always, and had tried not to laugh at the sudden intense silence that Chuy always had when meeting new people, having cut him off mid sentence as they got out of the truck and stood to wait while the helo landed.

Seeing the pair that exited the helo had put a small bit of hope back into Rodolfo’s chest, as they were certainly… formidable. Lieutenant Riley, especially, who wore a skull mask that would intimidate most, Rodolfo was sure. Maybe if Rodolfo hadn’t come to be well acquainted with tall alphas in skull masks trying to make themselves scarier than they were, he might have found himself shivering and avoiding eye contact. But… neither he nor Chuy even flinched as the alpha approached. “Lieutenant Riley, Sergeant Mactavish.” Rodolfo greeted as they approached, unsurprised that both appeared to be wearing blockers.

“Colonel Parra.” Ghost was the one to return the greeting, accepting Rodolfo’s hand as it outstretched for a handshake.

“Laswell says you’re called Ghost.” Rodolfo acknowledged, mostly to see if that’s what he would prefer, which Ghost nodded at.

However, Mactavish immediately half grinned. “Actually, I think he prefers to be-”

“That’ll do.” Ghost immediately cut the sergeant off, who appeared to pout.

Rodolfo and Chuy shared a look of confusion, before Rodolfo just chalked the interaction up to not having interacted with many Brits before and so maybe this was just how they interacted with each other. “It’s nice to meet you both.”

Ghost then shook Chuy’s hand as it was offered, before Soap was quick to follow, grinning wide at them both. “My second in command,” Rodolfo explained as Soap shook Chuy’s hand, “and my best friend. Sergeant Major Jesus Ordaz, but we all call him Chuy.”

“Pleased to meet you.” Chuy greeted, though his expression didn’t change from being utterly serious. Rodolfo knew that the other likely had to be internally imploding from excitement, but Chuy never showed it to anyone but Rodolfo. Well… not anymore. Grief had changed them both.

Soap grinned. “Pleased to meet you, as well. Gotta admit… Laswell didn’t mention that you both were uh… uh…” He suddenly seemed to falter, and it was clear from the way his face went red and the clear amusement in Ghost’s eyes that he had spoken before thinking. “Uh…”

“Omegas?” Rodolfo guessed, and chuckled as he watched Soap duck his head. He shared an amused look with Chuy before shrugging. “We both worked hard to get here. We’re just as capable.”

“Certainly.” Ghost agreed and then appeared to nudge the sergeant. “They’re just as capable as any alpha, you should know that, Sergeant.” His tone was clearly teasing, but Soap still glared at him.

Rodolfo shook his head and gestured for Chuy to get in the vehicle, which Chuy did after being polite and opening the back door, while Rodolfo did the same, letting their visitors get in first before he finally got into the driver’s seat. “The cartel is holding your target in a safehouse ten clicks from here. Laswell… mentioned that this Hassan Zyani… he is moving something, no?”

“Missiles.” Ghost answered. “Three of them.”

Rodolfo frowned and looked at Chuy, who now looked very concerned. “I do not want war in my city…” He murmured, starting to drive.

Chuy nodded, in agreement. “Las Almas has seen enough.”

“We won’t let there be war.” Ghost answered. Rodolfo wanted to believe them, he really did.

However, Soap leaned forward a bit later, resting his arms on the back of their seats. “I’ve never been to Mexico.”

“This isn’t Mexico.” Chuy laughed, finally breaking his seriousness, and Rodolfo couldn’t help rolling his eyes, as Mexico had made that very clear. “This is Las Almas. Welcome to the city of souls.”

Ghost and Soap appeared to be very confused, both sharing a look, and so Rodolfo decided to move on. “Our base is your base.” Rodolfo spoke up, and Chuy nodded. “Anything you need… ask.”

“Of course.” Ghost nodded. “General Shepherd extends his thanks for your cooperation in this issue.”

Rodolfo rolled his eyes at the formal statement, instead gesturing to Chuy, who just laughed. “I’m afraid of Ghosts…” He teased, in Spanish so their guests couldn’t understand.

Chuy turned to glance back at their guests. “You speak Spanish?”

“No.” Soap shook his head, and Ghost did the same.

Rodolfo wasn’t shocked, shaking his head and continuing to drive. Of course not. Look at them. Chuy chuckled and settled back into his seat, shrugging. “You will.”

Rodolfo also doubted that.

They continued down the streets of Las Almas, a small convoy of only a few trucks, as Rodolfo had worried more might alert the cartel. Even now, he found himself tensed and glancing everywhere, unable to relax even when Chuy touched his arm and assured him that everything would go smoothly. Nothing ever went smoothly.

His attention was caught, though, by Sergeant Mactavish suddenly speaking. “White truck, four with guns on the back-” He had reached for his own gun, but Rodolfo was quick to stop him.

“Aye, tranquilo.” Rodolfo quickly said, glancing in the rearview mirror to make sure the Sergeant calmed. “That’s normal, here. Very normal.”

Soap didn’t look convinced but did stop reaching for the gun. Chuy sighed, softly. “Guns on the street are the jurisdiction of the police.”

“Where are the police?” Ghost asked.

Chuy winced, and Rodolfo realized the size of the cartel problem must have been understated to them. “Few are left.” Rodolfo answered. “Rather… few are left uncorrupted. Las Almas has a serious problem… those who resist corruption often disappear.”

“What about the military?” Soap then asked.

“They recruit us.” Chuy answered, furrowing his brows. “The military is well trained, so the narcos were extra careful to recruit from us.”

Rodolfo snorted. Not Los Vaqueros, though.

“Why not you?” Ghost asked, and Rodolfo noted that they seemed to talk in tandem.

Rodolfo and Chuy shared an amused look. “Cartel took everything we had.” Chuy answered. “Rodolfo and I grew up here. We want to… keep Las Almas alive. Los Vaqueros, they call us… Cowboys. Rather… a squad of us was wiped out, once, by the cartel. They were called Los Vaqueros. We keep the name to honor them. All of Los Vaqueros have some reason to stay and fight. Las Almas is our home. We will die fighting for it.”

Rodolfo made a face since… that was a rather romanticized reason why. But, he wouldn’t correct Chuy, instead glancing to see that this reason seemed to have satiated the Brits, who fell silent.

Not for long, however. The sergeant had had his eyes focused out the window almost the entire drive, though Rodolfo did note that Ghost’s eyes had remained on Soap. Odd. “Kids, guns, and balloons. That’s a new one.” Soap commented, turning to look at Ghost, who just silently watched him.

“El Zorro is generous.” Chuy explained, and Rodolfo nodded in agreement. “He wins over the people with generosity.”

“El filanthropo.” Rodolfo muttered, rolling his eyes. Mexico abandoning them had given the cartel more leverage, stepping up where the government left.

Soap furrowed his brows, appearing perplexed. “Even the children?”

“Especially the children.” Rodolfo answered. He slowed to a stop beside two bodies, wanting their guests to fully grasp the situation, and they appeared to as both of their expressions turned grave.

“What is on those sheets?” Soap asked, leaning over Ghost to look out the window.

“Cartel cloths. It’s to mark territory.” Chuy explained and Rodolfo finally continued to drive. “The bricks of our sidewalks are repaved with death.”

Rodolfo glanced over, suppressing a shiver at the big red El Sin Nombre and El Zorro on the sheets, and he finally started to drive again.

“Who’s Sin Nombre? And El Zorro?” Ghost asked, his voice a bit startling when it wasn’t heard in a while.

“The Nameless and The Fox. The leaders of the Las Almas cartel.” Chuy explained, wincing.

“Where can they be found?” Soap asked, a surprising snarl in his voice. Rodolfo hadn’t known many omegas who could do that, naturally.

“You can’t.” Rodolfo explained, sighing softly. “But they’re both everywhere. It’s a challenge.”

“Los Vaqueros like challenges.” Chuy grinned and nudged Rodolfo, who couldn’t help smiling and shaking his head. “We have been working at this issue for many many years.”

Rodolfo snorted and he glanced at a pedestrian, though he tried to keep his eyes on the road, shaking his head as he noted the skull balaclava they wore. “With your mask… you will fit in well here, Ghost.” Chuy laughed at his joke, but Ghost just stared at him in the rearview mirror.

It was… unsettling, and so Rodolfo just went silent, refocusing on the road again. He slowed to a stop at seeing a checkpoint, trying not to growl in frustration. “The army…” He muttered, glancing to see Chuy was tensed completely. “I’ll just turn.” He prayed that this was a coincidence, that somehow they hadn’t been tipped off.

Chuy nodded a bit, but Soap just looked confused. “Why?”

“Most troops are in the pocket of El Sin Nombre.” Chuy explained, while Rodolfo focused on finding a new route to the safehouse. He murmured into his radio for the other two drivers to remain close. “As we said… they’re everywhere.”

“They’re hiding Hassan across the river.” Rodolfo spoke up, taking a route that would be only a few minutes longer. “We hope he will still be there.”

Rodolfo pulled them to part outside of the small neighborhood and parked, reminding his men to group on him before separating. “Where are they holding Hassan??” Soap asked as he came over.

Chuy rolled his shoulders as Rodolfo approached, and Rodolfo chuckled, softly. “Building at the far edge, this is the only way through. Cartel took this over long ago, so it’s one of their hideouts. We mostly leave it alone, so they’ve assumed it’s safe.” He explained. “Chuy will take a team around the other way while we go through.”

“Civilians?” Ghost asked as they started to approach the entrance point, Rodolfo calling Rodriguez over. Rodriguez was also an omega, which both of their guests seemed to notice immediately.

“None. As I said, cartel took over.” Rodolfo shook his head. He waited for it to be clear and for Chuy’s signal that they were on their way before signaling for entrance, staying close behind Ghost who moved in first.

They carefully moved through, taking out narcos that popped up, and Rodolfo found himself gradually starting to relax. The narcos were a good sign that the cartel had no idea what was going on, so they continued.

Rodolfo had them pause in a house, wanting to make sure his men made it, stopping Soap as he went to go through a door. “What happened to the families here?” Soap asked while all four were paused.

Rodolfo winced. “The cartel brings violence… So they leave. If they’re lucky.”

Soap frowned, shaking his head. “What about your family?”

Rodolfo hadn’t spoken to any of them besides Liliana in many years. His parents wanted nothing to do with him, and his siblings had never reached out. They’d all left Las Almas about a decade before that point, and Rodolfo hadn’t spoken to them, since. Apparently Liliana hadn’t, either. “Left.”

Soap seemed to understand, furrowing his brows and looking out the window. “Safe, I assume?”

“I don’t know.” Rodolfo answered, honestly, and furrowed his brows. “I wish I did. No, I… I have a sister. She’s helping to fight this problem just as I am. I don’t know about the rest.”

“I see.” Soap nodded, and finally Ghost and Rodriguez came into the room, having been fully clearing the house.

Rodolfo asked Chuy for a sitrep, relaxing when he heard they’d made it and nodding for Soap to continue on once he’d gotten confirmation on concealment via smoke. They moved to the safehouse, where Rodolfo gestured and Rodriguez rushed forward to breach the door.

But… it was empty. No narcos, no Hassan.

Rodolfo resisted kicking a nearby piece of furniture, hissing “attention Victors, no Hassan. Stand for attention,” into his radio with barely contained frustrated rage.

He only received a disappointed “roger” back from Chuy, which echoed his feelings. “They must have moved him.” He explained to the other two, who didn’t even look shocked. They must have expected this. Rodolfo had, too, but… it was still frustrating.

“When?” Soap asked, starting to check around the room for a clue, but Rodolfo knew that would likely not be found. The cartel was always thorough.

“I don’t know.” Rodolfo answered, frowning and touching a flag on the wall. “You recognize it?” It wasn’t the Mexican flag, that was for sure.

“It’s his country’s flag, he definitely was here. Your intel was good, after all.” Ghost answered, reaching to touch the flag as well.

Rodolfo went to snap back, but his attention was caught by Chuy’s voice over the radio. “Commander! Come in, come in.”

“What is it, Chuy??” Rodolfo quickly asked, a cold spike of panic piercing his chest.

“Núñez.”

“Fuck!” Rodolfo cried, rushing to the window to see it confirmed by the green army trucks rolling through the streets. “The army is here. Chuy, fall back. Ghost, Soap, cover my men as they retreat.”

Ghost and Soap quickly moved into position, and so Rodolfo watched as well, tensely. “You want us to engage the Mexican Army??” Soap asked, and Rodolfo rolled his eyes.

“No. These are paid for by El Sin Nombre. They’re protecting Hassan.” Rodolfo answered, not really sure he wanted to get into introducing the idea that these troops had been just as abandoned as Los Vaqueros.

Thankfully, that seemed to satiate them, and Rodolfo had them hold off fire until he was certain Chuy and the rest were safe and then he had them retreat to the mountains. “We can lose them through here!” He ordered as they ran, only slowing down once they were fully in the tree cover.

“The old route, Colonel?” Rodriguez asked and Rodolfo went to answer before he watched Rodriguez hit the ground from a gun shot, immediately rushing over and dragging him behind a rock while Soap and Ghost joined them.

“Where are you hit?” Rodolfo asked, ignoring as Soap and Ghost yelled to each other over the gun fire.

“Just my back plate, I’m good.” Rodriguez promised and Rodolfo relaxed, taking deep breaths. Rodriguez and Alvarez were their most trusted majors, he couldn’t imagine anything happening to either. Both were omegas and both could argue like there was no tomorrow, but he and Chuy adored both.

So, he took extra care to make sure that Rodriguez was really okay, glad to see there was no injury safe for a forming bruise.

So, he was quick to have them move on, ordering Rodriguez to call for extract. However, they got no response, and Rodolfo made a frustrated noise, guiding them deeper into the mountains.

“You know these trails??” Soap asked, his tone making it clear that this was from genuine worry.

“Very well.” Rodolfo reassured as they took a moment behind another rock. “I grew up running through them.” With… Alejandro. Often chasing each other or taking picnics or… other things. Both had been very horny teenagers. His heart stung in the same way it always did at the reminder of his loss.

He shook off an obvious look of concern from Rodriguez, urging him to try to contact Chuy again, but there was again no response. “Fuck! Come on.” He guided them even further into the mountains, praying they could get some response soon.

“Alright, you’ll have to jump here!” Rodolfo called, heading to a cliff he remembered very well. Alejandro had been the one to teach him how to make long jumps.

“Will we make it??” Soap asked, and even Ghost looked hesitant, which was very silly to look at.

So, Rodolfo chuckled and gestured for Rodriguez, who made the jump first. One he was safely over, Rodolfo glanced back at the Brits, half grinning. “Buena suerte, hermanos.” He then rushed forward and threw himself to the other side, being careful to roll as he landed, while Soap and Ghost followed.

He then sent Soap forward while Rodriguez crouched low and continued to try to make contact with Chuy, while looking for snipers. However, when the contact again failed, he just pushed them forward, deciding the river would be their safest bet. The water would help provide cover from bullets, and the stream would guide them to safety.

However… He knew exactly how they would have to get to the river, so he instead lied and told them that they would be running towards a bridge. He didn’t want anxiety over jumping off a cliff slowing them down.

Rodriguez, however, made a face and raised an eyebrow at Rodolfo, though Rodolfo just shook his head and Rodriguez shrugged in response.

Rodolfo had tried to say no when they reached a cliff that required carefully edging across, wanting to make sure Rodriguez made it over, first, but Ghost and Soap had insisted, and so Rodolfo had taken a deep breath and carefully made his way over, Ghost following close behind.

Then Rodriguez and Soap came, and Rodriguez was right at the other side when suddenly he was jerking and his eyes rolled into the back of his skull before he fell forward, plummeting off the cliff face.

“Rodriguez!” Rodolfo screamed, lunging forward before he could stop himself, only caught by Ghost grabbing him and yanking him back.

Soap quickly rushed to the other side, panting and staring down where Rodriguez’s body was only a speck on the ground. Rodolfo’s hands shook as he stared at the speck, he wondered what he was going to tell Alvarez.

However, like always, an intense rage overwhelmed him and he turned around, glancing around for the sniper’s glint, using his own scope to see that they wouldn’t be able to shoot them at the angle they were at. Rodolfo used this to his advantage, crouching down and to the edge before shooting the sniper down, aiming for their neck.

“Bloody good shot,” Ghost spoke, startling Rodolfo as he was right behind them.

Rodolfo looked up at him and he didn’t like the way the alpha looked at him. Recognition was in his eyes and Rodolfo could see a spotter scope in his hand. So… he had seen where the bullet would have landed. But, Ghost didn’t say anything to Soap, and Rodolfo perked up at hearing voices.

He could recognize Núñez’s, immediately, and everything in him wanted to track him down and rip him to shreds, but he didn’t, instead forcing himself to go forward. While they continued, he practiced it in his head. Major Rodriguez was shot off a cliff.

Major Rodriguez didn’t make it.

I’m sorry… Major Rodriguez didn’t survive.

Tears stung at the backs of his eyes and the only thing pushing him forward was duty and knowing that the other two wouldn’t survive these woods without him. But… he still made a mental note that he and Chuy would go back and retrieve Rodriguez, later. And any fallen soldier, not naive enough to believe Rodriguez was the only casualty.

What would he tell Chuy?

I failed… We lost someone because I couldn’t protect them.

Rodolfo stopped at the exact cliff they had to jump from, wincing as he’d completely forgotten this. “You led us to a dead end!” Ghost accused.

But, Rodolfo was unfazed, squaring his shoulders. “Jump. Don’t lose your weapon.” He then jumped from the cliff. Feet underneath you, feet underneath you. Thankfully, he remembered exactly how to jump, landing safely in the water and immediately starting to swim further until both had jumped and he had confirmed their safety.

Turning around showed that Soap was saying something to Ghost, who appeared to be nodding. Crazy had been the word that Soap’s mouth was forming and Rodolfo almost laughed, despite everything. “Not crazy, Sergeant… Fearless.” He corrected, before turning and starting to swim downstream. “This way to the bridge. Use the rocks for cover.”

He then tried Chuy again, frowning at the garble he got back, but taking that as a good sign, as that meant that they might have communication re-established soon. But… then he heard more of the voice, frowning and realizing that was not Chuy. Chuy’s voice was a lot higher pitched than this, and he certainly didn’t speak with an American accent.

Actually, Rodolfo recognized the accent rather quickly, having interacted with those from Texas quite a bit. “They… sound American?” He pointed out after informing Soap and Ghost that his radio was picking something up.

But they didn’t have much time to theorize, as fire immediately rang out, so they rushed down the river. It was slow and tedious, but Rodolfo didn’t want any more casualties. Instead, he led them to the bridge, hoping that finally he’d be able to make contact and have Chuy extract them.

However, it was soon pointed out to him that trucks were gathering on the bridge and Rodolfo cursed, loudly. “They’re not ours, get down!” He ordered, pushing up to a large rock where they could hide behind while gunshots rang around them.

God, this was hell.

“We can’t do shite with the whole bridge covered!” Soap yelled, a bit redundant as Rodolfo very much already knew that.

Regardless, Rodolfo shook his head and tried his comms again, unsurprised when he got no response. Frantically, he looked around, trying to consider some way of escape. They couldn’t swim under the bridge for a few reasons, they were surrounded on all sides… Fuck!

“This is Shadow 0-1, engaging the bridge to your front. How do you copy?” Finally came over the radio.

Rodolfo’s head whipped up and he looked at Soap and Ghost in alarm, surprised to see they both looked relieved. “Who the hell is that?!”

“Commander Graves! He works with Shepherd!” Ghost informed Rodolfo.

Rodolfo didn’t get the chance to ask more questions, as he had to duck down while explosions hit the bridge, causing it to collapse and drag down into the water.

“Good effect on target, no enemy movement detected. Good to see you boys.”

“Likewise, mate.” Ghost appeared to fully relax and Rodolfo let him take the lead, following him to shore.

Rodolfo followed them up to some trucks, furrowing his brows but rushing around to the driver’s seat. “We have a possible hit on Hassan. Two clicks north from here.”

Rodolfo knew the location, just as unsurprised as he had been that entire day. “Cartel compound, I’m not shocked.”

“Well, Colonel, if you’re ready, let’s get that hit on Hassan, now that you have eyes in the sky?”

Rodolfo shook his head. “Let’s do it.” He was ready for this to be done, anyway. Screw the help, this had already been more trouble than it was worth.

Communication with Chuy had finally been established as they grabbed Hassan, who thankfully very much was there and had been easy to get with Commander Graves in the sky. “Commander! Are you alright??” Chuy asked as Rodolfo climbed into the truck, Soap, Ghost, and Hassan hot behind them.

Rodolfo could only shake his head, and Chuy seemed to understand, nodding before driving away.

“This ought to send a message to the cartel, eh?” Soap grinned, nudging Rodolfo.

Rodolfo and Chuy both shared a grin and Rodolfo couldn’t help relaxing. “More than a message… Their reputation will be hit. We won.”

“Una victoria... Ojalá encontremos otro.” Chuy murmured and Rodolfo agreed. This was good. They’d… lost Rodriguez, but they had Hassan, this was a victory.

Their first victory in a very long time… It was bittersweet.

Regardless, they’d pushed forward with the plan, Graves eventually meeting them on the ground before they drove to the middle of the desert on Rodolfo’s orders, as the merc had mentioned wanting somewhere “private” to question Hassan, and Rodolfo had understood that this might not be fully legal.

So, he and Soap had dragged Hassan out to the dirt, while Graves and Ghost set up cameras which fed directly to Agent Kate Laswell and General Shepherd. Rodolfo took the opportunity to silently size up Commander Graves, or… Phillip Graves. An alpha, he reeked of it. His scent wasn’t unpleasant, though, a sweet honeysuckle scent. Florals were a bit odd on male alphas, usually on female alphas, but he didn’t say as such. He wasn’t sure how he felt about the alpha, yet.

“Is the picture clear?” Graves asked, stepping back.

“Crystal.” “All set.”

“Perfect.” Graves grinned and then he stood and came over.

Hassan had made audible protest when Rodolfo and Soap had dragged him out, which had had Rodolfo resisting cussing at him, instead remaining silent. But… it’d been pretty clear it was because both were omegas and Hassan was an alpha.

“Finally, another alpha.” Hassan said, and Rodolfo noted that Soap’s jaw visibly clenched. “Do you speak Arabic?”

“No.” Graves answered, his own face already showing irritation. Rodolfo wasn’t sure if it was the comment that he was irritated at, but Rodolfo found himself warming up to Graves already.

“Farsi?”

“Hmm… No.” Graves sighed.

“Of course not.” Hassan shook his head, his expression amused. “Then I will speak your bastardized medieval English. You are uneducated street dogs and whor-”

Graves cut the other off, laughing. “Hassan, Hassan… we’re getting off to a bad start here.”

Rodolfo resisted pointing out that he spoke Spanish as his first language. Rodolfo also knew four dialects of sign language, and both he and Chuy knew a fair amount of arabic, though it was entirely unrelated to this. Instead, he remained silent, watching Hassan glare at Graves. “You’re talking to a Quds force officer.”

“And you attempted to call a Mexican Special Forces Colonel a whore.” Graves shrugged. Oh, Rodolfo definitely liked this American. “You’re the commander of a foreign terror operation.”

“I could say the same to you-”

“What’s your target?” Graves asked, his tone suddenly turning irritated. “Major.” He added, with a fair amount of snark.

“What was your target when you sent missiles to my land?” Hassan fired back and Rodolfo raised an eyebrow, looking up at Graves.

Graves just clenched his jaw for a moment. “Wild guess? To nail your ass.”

“You will learn to respect me when your nation sees fire.” Hassan snarled back and Rodolfo stopped him from leaning forward.

Graves clenched his jaw, again, and he met Rodolfo’s eyes for a moment. Rodolfo had issues reading his expression, just seeing irritation there before the alpha’s eyes flicked back down to Hassan. “You are in bed with a cartel, Hassan. If you disappeared, no one will know where to look for the fucking stain.”

This time, Hassan just laughed. “I have no doubt you would take great pleasure in torturing me-”

Soap stepped forward and cut him off. “Where the hell did you get American missiles, Hassan?!”

“I don’t answer to anyone, certainly not an omega.” Hassan answered, his tone only seeming to calm more and more.

Rodolfo was then startled by the reminder of their viewers, as Shepherd spoke up. “I don’t care who they’re from. Where are they going?”

Rodolfo furrowed his brows, confused by the question. Surely an origin was good information to have? However, he knew time was sort of “of the essence” at that moment, so he knew that maybe targets would be more pertinent. Personally, though, Rodolfo might have found himself employing other means to extract this information. Were it up to him, he’d have given Hassan to Chuy and said to get the information however was possible.

Instead, Graves backed away from Hassan, making a dramatic show of looking around the desert, and Rodolfo picked up on the animal noises, looking down to see Hassan swallow, his eyes turning afraid for just a few moments. “Take a look around, Hassan. Now… you can either become part of the food chain, or you can start talking.”

Hassan snarled again. “I’m a hostage, here. This is illegal.”

“You’re a prisoner of war.” Rodolfo finally spoke, glaring at the alpha. “Interrogation is not illegal.”

“Iran has no war with Mexico.” Hassan shot back, jerking his shoulder out of Rodolfo’s grasp. “I’ve broken no laws.”

Rodolfo didn’t agree with that statement, as he’d broken several just by hooking up with the cartel. In fact, he was halfway to stating as such, when Hassan continued to speak. “These men and their commanders are the law breakers.”

Soap stepped forward, again, “you and your beloved Go-”

“You do not speak his name!” Hassan lunged forward and Rodolfo immediately yanked him back to his knees. “You do not speak his name, whore. You executed him unfairly and now you will pay for your crimes, only god can help you now.”

“I want this bastard in permanent custody or looking up at the goddamn stars, now!” Shepherd ordered.

Rodolfo had no problem complying, halfway to getting his gun out when Laswell spoke. “General. Killing Hassan would be an act of war. Keeping him is illegal. Right now, he is too hot to hold.”

Actually, Rodolfo wasn’t sure of the legality. However, he did take a moment to think about the consequences of this. Sure, killing Hassan would feel good right now. However, they didn’t know where the missiles were or where they were going, and bringing the hammer of the UN down on them would likely not lead to Mexico being very happy with Los Vaqueros, so Rodolfo sighed. “Agent Laswell is right. I will not risk war in my city.”

Graves made a frustrated growl and moved to the laptop, pulling it up and onto the truck’s hood. “Let me handle this.” The way he spoke to the General was sort of… odd. It was like a child begging their parent to be allowed to do something they couldn’t. “Let me finish this.”

Shepherd was silent for a moment. “Laswell, please tell me you’re getting something tangible.”

“I’m working on it, General.”

Graves growled, again, and shook his head. “Let me handle it! I can make this just disappear-”

“There is nothing I would love more than to let you put Hassan in the dirt, Commander. But… Laswell is right. Without proof, we can’t detain him.”

“I’m not suggesting detainment-”

Soap, however, cut Graves off as he rushed to the computer. “He’s right here, General, you can’t be serious.”

“I’m afraid I am, son.”

Graves shook his head and lightly hit the truck, backing away while Ghost stepped forward. “Did we get anything from his phone, Laswell?”

“Affirmative. We got a hit on a location.”

“Well, that’s something, at least.” Graves snorted, gesturing. “What do we do?”

“Take him back and let him go.”

Well… none of that said he had to have a pleasant trip, so Rodolfo just shoved the bag back over his head, making sure to make it seem perfectly easy as he dragged Hassan to his feet and shoved him back into the truck that Graves was driving.

Then, Rodolfo ran to his own truck and got in. Chuy was driving this time, which Rodolfo didn’t mind, ordering everyone back to base. “We got nothing. This was all for nothing.”

“No, no, commander.” Chuy smiled at him. “It was not for nothing. We won, remember? They won’t care that he had to be let go, because we still got him in the first place. Hell, we got him and then we just… let him go. That’s a clear message.”

Rodolfo relaxed at the reminder, nodding. “You’re right, Chuy… I… Rodriguez was… shot. Off the cliff… He didn’t survive.”

Chuy went silent and Rodolfo saw his knuckles turn white around the steering wheel. “His sacrifice won’t be forgotten.” That was all Chuy said, after a moment.

Rodolfo turned to look out the window, nodding. “It won’t be…” He promised.

“There has to be someone else who knows where the location of those missiles are.” Graves stated, standing in Rodolfo’s command room. The alpha had a way of just… claiming the space around him. It was Rodolfo’s base and yet Graves had this way of making it feel like it was Graves’ base, not theirs.

Rodolfo didn’t like it.

Regardless, he sighed and leaned back in his seat. Laswell and a John Price were on the laptops. For some reason, Shepherd hadn’t been bothered. He glanced over at Chuy, who looked amused as always. “El Sin Nombre and El Zorro are protecting him, so… they’re likely the ones who know.”

“How do we access them?” Soap asked, standing at the command table and looking down at a map of Las Almas. “Rather… can we?”

Rodolfo sighed. “We could likely access one of them… El Zorro… He has a casino. La Guarida Del Zorro or… The Fox’s Den. They both own multiple but he’s usually reliable to be found there. Neither of us have managed, though.”

Ghost looked surprised by this. “You two have never interacted with either of them?”

“Once.” Chuy shrugged. “They managed to grab us. But… they let us go. Never were sure why, but we decided not to try to see if it will happen a second time and steer clear.” Rodolfo did blink at his SIC, given the very blatant lie, but he didn’t correct him. He trusted Chuy to have a reason.

The other three nodded and then Soap sighed. “So… we go to the casino and arrest him.”

“Yes, we go into the casino swarming with Narcos, arrest their boss, and just… leave?” Graves pointed out, and Rodolfo had to stifle a laugh, coughing slightly to hide it. “We need a better plan.”

Rodolfo tilted his head when he noticed Soap didn’t immediately buck back against Graves. Of course, nothing that Soap had done would really lead to that judgement, but it just didn’t seem to fit when Soap, the day before, was teasing his superior officer in front of another. Instead, he watched Soap blush and look embarrassed, while Ghost notably did not look at either Soap or Graves, and instead appeared to focus on Chuy, who had stood and moved to the map table, as well.

“You’re right, Shadow.” Chuy murmured, shaking his head. “Unless… someone lured him to a quiet area. I think the roof of the casino would be best. There, we could keep his reinforcements to a minimum and then arrest him.”

“I have a helo.” Graves agreed. “What about you, Colonel? You like this idea?”

Rodolfo wasn’t blind to Soap’s behavior. Graves had a certain… charm. Rodolfo had seen other alphas with the same charm, Valeria had it all over her. She had always had this way about her, Chuy had gone crazy both for it and over it. Rodolfo could remember him ranting about it for hours, ranting about the omega attention it brought.

So, when Graves made sure Rodolfo had a say, he wouldn’t lie and say he wasn’t unaffected. It was the appropriate thing to do, to make sure that Rodolfo had a say, but most alphas wouldn’t have bothered. And Rodolfo knew that Graves knew that. He decided that maybe he shouldn’t like the alpha, as he knew other alphas like Graves, who used charm to hide their worst intentions.

He’d keep his other Vaqueros away, too, not wanting any of them tangled up with the Shadow.

Still, he smiled and shrugged. “I think it sounds like a fair idea. Chuy is usually my strategist.”

Chuy raised an eyebrow at Rodolfo, likely because Rodolfo was lying. However, Rodolfo didn’t want to appear flattered, so he’d deferred authority. The look of amusement that he got from Commander Graves showed that it had been picked up on. Despite his resolve not to like him, Rodolfo still did. He wouldn’t admit it, out loud, but he loved little games like this.

Regardless, Ghost spoke up. “Who would go and distract him?”

“One of the omegas,” Chuy answered, looking significantly more nervous. Rodolfo would have to apologize for the spotlight. “El Zorro is a… playboy? I think you would call it. It’s said he’s weak for beautiful omegas.”

Soap shrugged. “I can do it.”

“Not so fast, chiquito.” Rodolfo quickly interjected, standing and moving to the table. “No offense, but… you’re not El Zorro’s type. It will have to be one of us.” He gestured between himself and Chuy.

Soap raised an eyebrow, looking almost offended. “I’m not his type?”

Rodolfo blinked and shared a look with Chuy before looking over Soap. “No, you likely wouldn’t be.” The omega was attractive, Rodolfo wasn’t denying that, but he severely doubted that El Zorro would go for a… Scottish omega. Not to mention the mohawk. “El Zorro is traditional.” He settled on.

This seemed to satisfy the omega and Soap stepped back, nodding. “I wouldn’t fit into that on first glance.”

“No, nor on the second.” Rodolfo shrugged. “I’ll do it. I… happen to know that he has a particular interest in me for… some reason. So, it would be best if I go.”

Chuy winced but he nodded. “I’ll remain here with a holding cell ready for the arrest.”

“You’ll need to dress the part. Do you have nice enough clothes?” Graves asked Rodolfo.

Rodolfo laughed, softly. “I think I’ll have something. I’m only 32, boys, I do still go out.”

“You don’t look a day over 25.” Ghost joked, shaking his head. “I don’t own nice clothes. Not nice enough for this.”

“Neither do I.” Soap winced.

Rodolfo couldn’t imagine. Regardless, he didn’t say anything and shook his head. “I’ll have clothing. We’ll do it tonight.”

The plan was fully cemented. Rodolfo would go into the casino and arrest El Zorro by luring him to the roof where they would then silently transport him back to base. Soap and Ghost would hang out in the casino as customers to keep an eye on Rodolfo while Graves was their eyes in the sky, staying high enough that he couldn’t be detected.

So, Rodolfo was dressing himself up nice. Nice outfit, something red which was well known to be El Zorro’s favorite color, and minimal makeup because he wasn’t good enough at it to risk it.

Once he was dressed, he got himself a wire, hiding it under a blazer and in his hair. “Colonel Parra, is everything set up?”

“Positive. Mactavish and I are already at the casino.” Ghost answered.

“Shadows are in the sky.”

Rodolfo relaxed, smoothing his hands over a loose fitting red blouse. Black blazer, black trousers, and a red blouse. He had to commend himself for cleaning up so well. He wasn’t perfect, certainly wasn’t that eye catching, but he would be good enough. Chuy had taught him how to flirt a long time before that, when he was trying to make Alejandro jealous once.

Alejandro… That old familiar ache returned. He had never really tried to move on. For one… how would he try? Two, it felt wrong. He’d loved Alejandro more than anything that moving on felt like he’d be betraying Alejandro’s memory. He couldn’t do that.

Everything he had done had been for Alejandro’s memory, to honor him in every way. He’d stayed in the military and fought the cartel for Alejandro. He stuck with the title of Los Vaqueros because of Alejandro. To move on would be to untangle himself from every aspect of his current life, he couldn’t do that.

“Victor 0-1 is on route to the objective point.” He spoke before getting into the unmarked pickup truck that he would be taking to the casino, a lot more inconspicuous than one of their heavy duty ltvs.

He received a few confirmations back and so he started to drive, mentally preparing himself to do this. He had his plan, he would find a way to get at El Zorro’s poker table and get his attention. Then, he would move to the bar and pray he took the bait.

Really, Rodolfo just had to hope a prettier, flirtier omega didn’t show up but if they did, he’d just have Ghost knock him out and they’d smuggle him up to the roof that way.

Brilliant.

Regardless, he parked and then went into the casino, looking around the main game room as he entered. There, he caught Soap’s eye first, seeing he was at the bar, leaned up against it.

Ghost had somehow secured a uniform, passing out cards at a card table. Rodolfo smiled and turned to the side to talk. “I wasn’t aware Lieutenant Riley could deal cards.”

“I’m an alpha of many talents, Colonel.”

Rodolfo shrugged and moved to the bar, by Soap, where he ordered a sangria. “What will he look like?” Soap asked.

Rodolfo shrugged. “He’s tall and he wears this ridiculous bandit mask like the fox from Dora the Explorer.”

“Swiper??” Soap laughed as Rodolfo confirmed. “That’s… ridiculous. He runs things around here?”

“The mask is to hide his identity.” Rodolfo shrugged, though he found it equally ridiculous. “It’s a good thing he hides it because I would have his head if he didn’t. The moment I knew. I would kill him in front of his family.”

Soap frowned. “Why? I mean… I don’t doubt you have good reason, just… why?”

Rodolfo considered if he should tell him, looking down at the glass in his hands. “He killed my lover. Rather… he had a massive hand in it. His name was Alejandro… Alejandro Vargas. I loved him more than anything else in this world. El Zorro and El Sin Nombre killed him.”

“Oh… I’m sorry.” Soap frowned and looked down at his own glass. “No wonder you want to take down the cartel so much.”

Rodolfo snorted. “It has taken a lot from everyone. Chuy, Rodriguez… Well, it took Rodriguez, now, I guess… Alvarez, too. My sister. Everyone I know has lost something to the cartel.”

Soap furrowed his brows and then shook his head. “I’m glad I’ve never had anything to lose. I was an orphan. Hardly had a roof over my head at night, let alone anything that was mine. Never dated, though I tried. All I really have now is the military. I don’t know where I’d be without it.”

“Growing up an orphan is still awful.” Rodolfo frowned, shaking his head. “To not know what it’s like to have something to lose… I hope that you do, one day.”

Soap softened and smiled. “Thank you. Heads up, I see our target in the far corner.” He gestured and Rodolfo quickly turned around, seeing that El Zorro was, in fact, sitting at the largest table.

So, Rodolfo finished off his drink and rolled his shoulders. “Lets do this.”

Ghost visibly looked at El Zorro and so Rodolfo headed over, glad to see there was an empty seat at the table, which he smoothly slid into. This chair would put him across the table from El Zorro, who visibly noticed and looked amused as Rodolfo sat.

Something about the expression made Rodolfo want to slap him as hard as he could, but Rodolfo pretended not to notice him, instead accepting his deal. He did glance around the table, noticing how everyone else seemed to cower. They knew what table they were at.

So, Rodolfo didn’t. He wasn’t scared of El Zorro, he wasn’t intimidated by him. Instead, he straightened his shoulders and glanced over his cards. He didn’t want to win, he didn’t want that much attention. Instead, he played it cautious, putting in as low of a bet as he was allowed to before relaxing back in his seat and finally allowing himself to look at El Zorro.

“You’re new.” El Zorro spoke, staring right at Rodolfo.

Rodolfo shrugged, noticing that others immediately looked at him. “I don’t gamble much.”

“Oh? Why not? Not to your taste?” El Zorro asked, after putting his own bet in.

Rodolfo shrugged. “I’m not one for risks I don’t have a return guaranteed on.”

“Two men by the back door, Rodolfo.”

Rodolfo glanced at the back door, seeing two narcos with guns. Oh well, he had figured that would be the case. He’d have to lure him through the main building.

El Zorro chuckled, softly. “Yet you’re here, at this table.”

“I’m bored.” Rodolfo answered, accepting a drink as the waitress brought it over, glancing back to see Soap must have sent it, as Soap immediately looked away, playing nonchalant.

El Zorro’s eyes followed the glass all the way until it set on the table and Rodolfo kept his hand around it, leaning back in his seat. He played the game, making sure to play cautious and backing out when he thought he had a fair amount on the table. Even still, he didn’t win, and he feigned a pout. “Desafortunado.” He murmured before leaving, going outside to one of the balconies before he had seen El Zorro’s reaction.

“Colonel, are you sure going outside is the safest option? I can’t see you out there.” Soap asked.

Rodolfo softened, able to hear concern in the other omega’s voice. “I’ll be alright, Soap.”

“I can see him.” Graves spoke, chuckling softly.

Rodolfo shook his head, leaning on his forearms. “Ghost, is he moving?”

“He keeps glancing at the balcony you left to, but… no, not yet. Don’t come in yet, though.”

Rodolfo hadn’t planned on it. He knew El Zorro wouldn’t want to risk coming off as eager, so he instead ran his fingers over the balcony, looking out over the estate part of the casino. It had a fairly decent sized yard with a fountain, hence the balconies back there.

He smiled as he saw dahlias around the fountain, shaking his head. They’d always been his favorite. These ones, especially, as they were a dark wine color. He’d seen some pretty blue ones, once, that were fairly close to his favorite shade of blue, but he’d only seen them once.

This balcony reminded him of one of his dates with Alejandro, when both were 16. They were kids, playing at the charms and romance of adults. Alejandro had brought Rodolfo as his date to a gala that his parents were going to. It had been at this massive estate and Rodolfo remembered having to go out onto a balcony like this in order to get some cool air.

Alejandro had found him, moments later, and had apologized for how stuffy and boring everything was. Rodolfo, however, hadn’t thought it was that way at all. Alejandro had been very handsome in his outfit and they’d already danced together so many times, it was magical.

Rodolfo blinked his eyes to clear the forming tears, straightening when he heard Ghost speak. “He’s moving, Rodolfo.”

Rodolfo waited, relaxing when he heard footsteps approach and then the scent of alpha was approaching behind him. “Algo tan hermoso no debería estar aquí solo.” El Zorro spoke behind him.

Rodolfo turned around and leaned back against the balcony. “I’m not alone. I have you out here.”

El Zorro chuckled, softly, approaching the balcony and leaning against the railing. “I suspect you’re doing all of this for my attention.”

Rodolfo laughed, softly, since it was a fair suspicion. “Maybe.” He admitted, turning back around to look out at the fountain. “Do I have it?”

“Maybe.” El Zorro joked, remaining facing Rodolfo. “Did you know red is my favorite color?”

“I had a suspicion.” Rodolfo shrugged and half grinned at Alejandro. “I think the whole of Las Almas knows that red is your favorite color.”

“I don’t think that’s true.” El Zorro shook his head, chuckling again. “I don’t think my favorite color is that important.”

“Maybe not.” Rodolfo looked at the fountain, watching the water that sprayed out of it in a circle.

“What’s yours?”

“My what?” Rodolfo frowned and looked at El Zorro, who seemed to be watching him rather intensely.

El Zorro shook his head, appearing amused again. “Your favorite color.”

“Oh.” Rodolfo looked away to hide the way his face immediately went red. “Blue. The darkest part of the sky at night.”

“That’s just black.”

Rodolfo stopped, ice flooding his veins. He’d had this conversation before, once, with… Alejandro… “No… It’s midnight blue.” He mumbled and furrowed his brows, glancing at El Zorro again.

El Zorro moved closer and his hand touched Rodolfo’s chin, turning Rodolfo to look at him, and so Rodolfo did, staring into the warm brown eyes in front of him. No… There was no possible way. Right?

But, his eyes started to put the features together, started to match them up with an image of Alejandro that his mind had fought desperately to cling to. “Eres hermoso…” El Zorro murmured and the sound of it was exactly from Rodolfo’s memory.

Rodolfo couldn’t stop himself, reaching up and grabbing El Zorro’s mask, pushing it up his face and then gasping and stumbling back. Alejandro winced and closed his eyes for a moment, but he hadn’t moved to stop Rodolfo. “Rudy…” He murmured, opening his eyes and smiling at Rodolfo.

Pain. Rodolfo felt a hell of a lot of pain. He turned and marched off the balcony, no longer caring enough about this arrest to worry about if Alejandro was following him. “Rodolfo?? What the fuck are you doing??” Ghost asked and that was enough to put Rodolfo in the direction of an elevator.

He heard soft running behind him, so he carefully slid into the elevator doors, making sure the doors closed and watching Alejandro chase after him as he did so, while pressing the button for roof access.

When he made it to the roof, he reached up and slapped his forehead, unsure how to cope with the sheer amount of emotions he was handling. Grief had returned, crashing into him, but there was also betrayal and anger.

When he heard another elevator ding on the roof, he whipped around, coming face to face with Alejandro. “Rodolfo, wait-”

Rodolfo laughed, the anger swelling up inside of him. “Wait?! For what?!”

“Rodolfo, please…” Alejandro came over to him, cupping the side of his face and looking down at him. “I wanted to tell you, I did. Valeria didn’t think it was a good idea-”

“Valeria?!” Rodolfo backed away from Alejandro, just in time to see the very alpha step out of a door and approach. He was quick to back up, but then Soap was following her out, grabbing her.

“I tried to stop her as soon as I saw her follow.” Soap explained, while Valeria struggled in his grasp. “What should I do with her?”

Rodolfo didn’t hesitate to grab Alejandro’s hand and put a cuff on it, quick to get his hands behind his back to cuff them together. “Arrest that one, too. Meet El Zorro, Soap. And I’m guessing El Sin Nombre?”

“El Sin Nombre??” Soap glanced at Valeria, before cuffing her.

“E soy Valeria.” Valeria answered and she looked away from Rodolfo, her face filled with shame. “Hello, Rudy.”

“You know them?” Soap frowned.

Rodolfo snorted. “Graves, we have El Zorro and El Sin Nombre. Ghost, you are cleared to come to the roof.”

“Roger.” Graves answered and the helo started to approach the roof so Rodolfo and Soap pushed both alphas to the edge of it, just as Ghost made it to the roof.

Graves chuckled as he landed, coming out onto the roof. “Hiding in plain sight?” He asked.

“We’re everywhere.” Valeria answered and Alejandro chuckled in response. “Everywhere.”

“I like that.” Graves nodded and gestured, where two shadows started to escort Valeria and Alejandro into the helo.

Rodolfo clenched his hands into fists as he watched them, taking deep breaths to remain calm. However, he still ended up flinching as Soap touched his arm. “¿Hermano? ¿Que pasa?”

So, Rodolfo turned to Soap and shook his head. “Meet Alejandro Vargas.” He mumbled before following them up and into the helo.

Rodolfo glared at the two alphas as they were put into chairs in the holding crate that Chuy had put together. Chuy’s eyes were wide, though, and he looked at Rodolfo who just silently nodded. Chuy remained silent, as well, and quickly looked away.

Instead, Graves gestured at Rodolfo. “You know them.”

Rodolfo snorted and shook his head, unsure how much he wanted to reveal to the shadow. Had he not accidentally already told Soap, he wouldn’t let him know. “They’re… old friends.”

Alejandro raised an eyebrow. “Éramos más que eso, ¿no?”

Rage flared in Rodolfo’s chest and he immediately stepped forward, “¡Te mataré, cabron!” He hissed, though he was quickly stopped by Chuy, who grabbed his arm.

He jerked his arm out of Chuy’s grasp and shook his head. “I can’t believe this.” He muttered and shook his head, turning around and pinching the bridge of his nose.

When he turned back around, everyone was watching him and this pissed him off more than anything else. Regardless, he gestured. “Tell them.” He told Alejandro.

When Alejandro remained silent, his jaw clenching, Rodolfo could only just laugh. He looked at Valeria, who winced and continued to avoid his eye. “Unbelievable. We all served together. Same unit…”

“Different squads.” Alejandro finally mumbled, sighing and leaning back in his seat. “It was how it was done back then. Alphas and omegas usually had separate squads.”

“Your squad was always known for being wild, regardless.” Rodolfo muttered. “Until they were found execution style shot in the back of the head. All of them except you two.”

“Rodolfo, I wanted to tell you-”

“Oh, save it.” Rodolfo shook his head. “It was the raid on the son of La Araña, remember?” He went and stood right in front of both of them, leaning down to first get in Alejandro’s face and then Valeria’s. “Remember?”

Valeria glared up at him. “Mi memoria es perfecta.”

“I bet it would be. I remember that day very well.” Rodolfo backed up, glaring at both of them. “Chuy and I were tasked with keeping out La Araña’s enforcers. However… none ever came. We both thought it was odd, but… you were his enforcers.”

Both again went silent, Alejandro glaring at the floor. “We didn’t have a choice.”

“You faked your deaths.” Rodolfo hissed. “Te lloramos. Los lloramos a los dos. Te lloré hasta que no pude llorarte y entonces todavía te lloré.”

Alejandro immediately looked guilty, softening. “Rodolfo, por favor… Mi luna-”

“¡No! ¡No me llamas así!” Rodolfo lunged forward, again, but this time he was caught by Soap and Chuy, who dragged him backwards despite his struggling. Eventually he managed to shove them off and panted, taking deep breaths.

He no longer wanted to be in this crate, he wanted to be very far away from there.

Even still, he took deep, deep breaths. He ran his hand through his hair and straightened his shoulders, trying to regain some modicum of composure in front of their guests. “Their job was to escort him into the mountains. There the arrest would be made by Helo. To prevent bloodshed.”

“We did that!” Alejandro shook his head. “We did everything we were supposed to. Rather… I did.” He mumbled.

Graves finally spoke up from where he’d been silent in the corner. “What do you mean by that?”

Alejandro shot a glare at Valeria, who chuckled softly. “I was kept in the dark about our squad’s involvement with the cartel.”

“You would have never gone for it.” Valeria answered, shaking her head. “Honestly, I was shocked when you put the mask on and took over.”

Alejandro shook his head. “When we got to the mountains, Valeria started to execute our squad mates. When I asked why, she told me that they were planning to betray me, to sell me out in exchange for letting him go. She then killed him and La Araña, and then… she just… stopped. She’d done all of this and she couldn’t take over. So… I did. If neither of us had taken over, Las Almas would be in a worse state.”

“Oh, look at you…” Rodolfo laughed, angry again. “¿Afirmaste que el cártel era la muerte de Las Almas, ahora afirmas que es la vida?”

“Yo soy su vida.” Alejandro answered, his gaze softening.

Rodolfo again leaned down to get in Alejandro’s face. “Eres la imagen misma de su muerte. Apestas a eso. And us? Hmm? I mourned you. I grieved you.” He moved over to Valeria. “You left us both scared, resourceless, grieving.”

Both again looked away and Rodolfo backed up, looking over at Chuy who had again went fully stiff and formal. “So you both run the cartel?” Soap asked, furrowing his brows. “You faked your deaths and took over?”

“I did.” Alejandro nodded. “Valeria is my second in command.”

Graves shook his head. “Why are you harboring a terrorist?”

“It’s good for business.” Valeria answered. “He also was willing to pay well.”

Rodolfo made a face. “Good for business? What the fuck does that even mean?”

Valeria sighed and rolled her eyes. “¡Saca la cabeza del, Rodolfo!” She snapped and Rodolfo made a face, even as Alejandro touched her arm to calm her. “If there is a war on terror, there will be no real war on drugs.”

Rodolfo shook his head. “I can’t believe this. Give us Hassan and the missiles.”

Valeria went to speak but Alejandro raised a hand and she silenced, immediately. “Fine. I will give you the Irani, and I will give you the location of the missiles. In return, the gringos will leave. And while they’re finding everything, you will stay here with us.”

“You’re not in any position to make demands.” Rodolfo grit out, but he could see how everyone was looking at him. He felt pressure, an annoying but intense pressure. So, he sighed and took a deep breath. “Fine.”

“Commander-” Chuy stepped forward and Rodolfo looked at him. “No confío en esto…”

“Yo tampoco, pero hay que hacerlo.” Rodolfo mumbled and shook his head. “Chuy will go with Graves, Ghost, and Soap. And I will remain here with the prisoners.”

Chuy watched Valeria, Rodolfo could see him. He knew what Chuy was watching for, he was waiting for Valeria to make similar demands. But… she didn’t. Instead, she just remained silent. So, Rodolfo straightened up. Chuy was his best friend. “However, Valeria will be in a separate container. I don’t need you two conspiring under my nose.”

Valeria immediately went to protest, but Rodolfo wasn’t hearing it. “Is this going to be a problem?” He asked, cutting her off before she could speak.

However, he didn’t look at Valeria, looking at Alejandro instead. Alejandro looked up at him and then shook his head. “No, Colonel. It won’t be.”

“Perfecto. Give them the location so they can go.” Rodolfo gestured.

Alejandro shrugged and looked up at them, giving them the location. Chuy then immediately dragged Rodolfo outside. “Rodolfo-”

“They need those locations.” Rodolfo sighed. “I know that you don’t like this…”

“No, I don’t.” Chuy looked down and dropped his shoulders. “She barely looked at me… All I’ve dreamed about for the past… 9 years was to see her again and she… she doesn’t even look at me.”

Rodolfo softened and touched Chuy’s arm. “They’re in our custody. We have mountains and mountains of evidence. They’ll be put away and we’ll never have to deal with them again.”

Chuy nodded, looking up at Rodolfo, again. “I really thought they’d died… I… I loved her more than myself, more than the world… She’s back and… what am I supposed to do?”

“We’ve survived this long.” Rodolfo reminded and Chuy did seem to agree. “We’ll survive even longer, Chuy.”

“Thank you…” Chuy relaxed. “We can. I… I can and I will.”

“Once all of this leaves us and everything is back to normal, you and I should… take a vacation. Just a few days.” Rodolfo promised.

“We should…” Chuy agreed. “I’ll make sure we find these missiles fast. So they can leave and we can wash our hands of this.”

Rodolfo relaxed, trusting that Chuy would. “I trust you, Chuy. Weapons hot.”

“Si.” Chuy grinned and nudged him before he walked off, presumably to join the others, and Rodolfo went back into the crate, glad to see that Valeria had already been moved.

So, Rodolfo grabbed her chair and sat in it, settling in for a very long stretch of time.

Shockingly, Alejandro was fairly quiet for the first hour, just watching Rodolfo. Rodolfo had very quickly gotten bored, pacing around the holding crate and ignoring the way Alejandro’s eyes followed him, and the way that immediately filled his tummy with butterflies. No, he couldn’t give in.

“I missed you.” Alejandro had finally said, when Rodolfo had sat back down.

Rodolfo, however, just snorted in response.

“I did.”

“If you missed me, you would have taken me with you.” Rodolfo mumbled and leaned back in his seat, crossing his legs. He was still in the outfit from the casino and he was debating having Alvarez bring him up some clothes. “Or never faked your death to begin with.”

“I didn’t think you would come.” Alejandro mumbled and looked down at his hands. “And, as for faking my death… I had no idea it was going to happen until it did.”

Rodolfo rolled his eyes. He believed Alejandro, but it was still frustrating. “When you had Chuy and I… you didn’t tell us. You let us go.”

“I could have never killed you. Valeria… moved on from Chuy but she’d never kill him, either.” Alejandro answered, watching Rodolfo again. “I wanted to tell you, I did. But… how were you going to react? Likely exactly like this. I know you, Rodolfo… I was scared you’d do something drastic.”

Rodolfo supposed it wasn’t an unfair fear, Rodolfo likely would have. But… he still couldn’t help but be angry. “You promised me… You promised me that we would get married. You promised me that we would get married and have children and a life… You lied.”

“I wanted all of that, Rodolfo!” Alejandro pleaded, putting his hands together. “I never lied, I just… I got- Fuck!” Alejandro stood and started to pace. “I didn’t know what was going on until it was happening. All of a sudden Valeria had a gun to my head and then she was backing away and I barely even knew what I was doing until I had this entire… empire in my lap.”

Rodolfo went silent, listening to Alejandro speak and glaring at him. “At what point do you reach out to me??”

“I didn’t plan on ever reaching out!” Alejandro cried, slamming into the chair. “I wanted to leave you alone because I didn’t want you in this life. Then you were Colonel and… I was terrified you’d hate me forever.”

“I might.” Rodolfo was lying, he already knew that. Regardless, he set his chin parallel with the floor. “I loved you, Alejandro.”

“Loved?” Alejandro looked completely heartbroken and it struck Rodolfo in a completely painful way. “Rodolfo, I love you. I never stopped.”

“That’s why you’re known for loving beautiful omegas?” Rodolfo accused. “You never stopped loving me, but you moved on.”

“No! No, I have… slept with exactly one omega since and I hated it because she wasn’t you. The rest were just… acts. Paid money so they’d lie, didn’t correct the ones who were already lying.” Alejandro shook his head.

Rodolfo hated how transparent Alejandro was. He hated how hard it was for Alejandro to lie to him. Because he knew Alejandro was telling the truth. “I just wanted you to be alive… I wanted you to come home to me.”

“I’m sorry…” Alejandro moved to the floor and Rodolfo had to resist snapping and immediately telling him to get up. Instead, he watched as Alejandro moved closer to him, on his knees in front of Rodolfo.

“Get off the floor, Alejandro.” Rodolfo said, fighting to keep his voice neutral. What an image. El Zorro, the leader of the Las Almas cartel, on his knees before Colonel Rodolfo Parra. Okay, maybe it was slightly flattering.

“No.” Alejandro shook his head, taking Rodolfo’s hand. “I love you. I would do anything for you. Only tell me what you want, and I will do it.”

Rodolfo stared down at Alejandro, “I want you to take a gun and shoot yourself with it.”

Alejandro blinked up at him and then shook his head. “You don’t mean that…”

Rodolfo looked away, clenching his free hand into a fist. “I wish I did.”

“I know, mi amor.” Alejandro murmured, kissing over Rodolfo’s knuckles. “I love you… I love you more than everything. My empire, you can have it. My power, my money, my soul… It belongs to you, mi luna.”

Rodolfo hated the way his heart and body just melted from Alejandro’s words, so easily. All these years and Alejandro still knew just how to get to him… “9 years… I’ve missed you for nine years…”

“They’ve been so long…” Alejandro agreed, looking up at Rodolfo with earnest eyes. A moment later, his familiar scent of cinnamon and honey washed over Rodolfo, which didn’t help his resolve. “I salivated over hints of your scent… Just the sight of you had me mad with desperation just to be around you.”

Rodolfo took his hand away and stood, moving away from Alejandro. “I cried for days. Weeks. Months…” He hugged himself, shaking his head. “I joined the military for you! To keep you alive and I had failed!”

“No, you hadn’t failed.”

“But I thought I had.” Rodolfo turned to look at Alejandro, again. “You were gone… I thought I would never see you again.”

Alejandro looked down at the floor, standing again. “I’m sorry.”

“What about Chuy? What does he do?” Rodolfo shook his head. “Valeria is alive, great. But she’s clearly moved on. Where does Chuy go? What takes away the sleepless nights? The night terrors over what horrors might have taken you two away? What about the baby he gave up?”

“Chuy gave up a baby?” Alejandro frowned, now looking very concerned. “I… did you?”

Rodolfo was quiet and he shook his head. “No… No, thank god.” He looked up at Alejandro. “But I’ve had a total hysterectomy. Heats got in the way.”

Alejandro came over and cupped Rodolfo’s face. “I can’t make you forgive me. I don’t plan to… But I’m here. When you came into the casino, I thought- Foolishly, I thought you’d figured it out and you were there to slap sense into me and take me home. I don’t think I can convey just how happy I was.”

Rodolfo couldn’t say he hadn’t been tempted to smack Alejandro a few times. But… even still, he melted into Alejandro’s touch, closing his eyes. “I love you… I hate that I still do, but I do…”

“Oh, mi luna…” Alejandro murmured and then his lips were pressing to Rodolfo’s.

Rodolfo just melted, he’d missed the alpha more than anything in the world, and so he leaned into the kiss, meeting Alejandro with as much passion as the alpha gave him. In his heart, he had always belonged to Alejandro and he always would.

Alejandro pulled away a moment later and continued to stroke over the side of Rodolfo’s face. “I missed you, mi amor…”

Rodolfo felt tears fill his eyes and he hugged Alejandro, burying his face in his chest. The scent of Alejandro filled the air around him and it soothed him in ways he’d so desperately craved for years.

“I bought that ranch.” Alejandro murmured, rubbing over Rodolfo’s back. “The ranch we used to break into? I bought it. Cleaned it up… But… it was always missing something. Missing you…”

Rodolfo melted, closing his eyes and purring loudly. The idea of Alejandro buying their ranch had him all warm and fuzzy. “Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah.” Alejandro nodded and smiled, leaning down and brushing their lips together again. “Seeing you in this outfit… You make me so crazy…”

Rodolfo laughed, laughing more when Alejandro managed to manhandle him into a dancing position. He didn’t fight him, laying his head on Alejandro’s shoulder. “They’re the nicest clothes I own.”

“A crime… I’ll buy you more.” Alejandro chuckled, softly, and kissed Rodolfo’s knuckles again. “I’ll buy you the nicest clothing I can find.”

Rodolfo softened, looking up at Alejandro. “I don’t need any of that…”

“No, but you deserve it.” He murmured, twirling them around. “I have a lot to make up for.”

Rodolfo softened and shook his head. He went to pull away, but then the door to the crate was opening and two shadows stepped in. Rodolfo frowned and raised an eyebrow, fully pulling away from Alejandro. “Can I help you?”

Immediately both shadows grabbed him and bound his hands behind his back. “We are under orders to take you to Commander Graves.”

Rodolfo laughed with shock. “In binds?”

“You’re under arrest.”

“Like hell I am.” Rodolfo muttered but he didn’t fight, shaking his head. Alejandro looked enraged, but Rodolfo smiled at him to soothe him. “I’m sure this is just a misunderstanding… Let me find out what’s going on.”

“Right.” Alejandro nodded, crossing his arms. “I’ll wait.”

“Thank you.” Rodolfo relaxed and let the Shadows escort him out, rolling his shoulders and preparing himself. What the hell was he about to have to talk himself out of?

He was brought to the command room, where Soap, Ghost, and Chuy were all standing. And, of course, Commander Phillip Graves. He looked almost smug and Rodolfo was starting to get the feeling that they were being overthrown.

Not if Rodolfo had anything to say about it.

“Ah, Colonel, glad you’ve joined us.” Graves gestured and Rodolfo was guided and made to sit down.

Rodolfo sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. “What is this?”

“The immediate future.” Graves shrugged.

“We’ve been had.” Soap spoke up, his arms crossed. “We’re all being arrested.”

Rodolfo looked up at the ceiling, trying to think his way out of this. Graves was just a glorified lap dog, after all. “Did Shepherd order this?”

“Shepherd sends his regards. But… yes.” Graves nodded. “Clearly-”

Rodolfo looked at Graves and then he smiled, getting an idea. Alphas were all the same… so self important… So full of themselves. They get on a track and it’s all tunnel vision, but it makes them easy to guide. “You don’t have to do this… Whatever he has on you… I can help.” He kept his tone gentle, soothing.

Graves made a face. “I don’t know what game you’re playing-”

“No, it’s not a game.” Rodolfo feigned confusion, furrowing his brows. “I want to help you…” Repetitive manipulation. You insist on a lie and slowly it wears down into the truth. “You don’t have to do this.”

“I-” Graves shook his head. “Shut up. He doesn’t have anything on me, he pays me and I do what he says.”

“Like a lap dog.” Ghost spoke up and the amusement in his eyes made Rodolfo think that maybe he had caught on. “The Colonel is right… You’re in Mexico, Shepherd would have no influence here. We can help you.”

Soap, however, looked fit to ruin it, because he just looked angry. Fair… Even Chuy looked pissed, but Chuy knew better than to speak up when Rodolfo had a clear plan. “I’m calling Shepherd-”

“Why?” Rodolfo shook his head. “Don’t tattle like a child, Soap… We’re all adults here, I think we can handle this without any form of… supervision.”

“Yeah, Soap, we’re all adults.” Graves taunted and Soap’s face went completely red.

It was unfortunate that Rodolfo had to tear down the other omega, he didn’t want to, but if they wanted out of this alive, he would have to. “Ghost, get a leash on your Sergeant.” Rodolfo sighed, looking away from Soap and then at the ceiling again.

“Johnny, just be quiet…” Ghost murmured, visibly softening.

Soap did look even angrier, but he shut his mouth, his jaw visibly setting. Rodolfo sympathized with Soap, he really did. Psychological warfare was… a mastery that not many even dreamed of approaching. Rodolfo knew he was nowhere near that mastery, yet. However, for the past five years, it’d been his only warfare.

So, Rodolfo squared his shoulders and focused back on Graves. “Is it your family? Just tell me what he has… and I can fix it, okay? If it’s a person… Arrangements can be made to help them. You just have to tell me.” He turned his tone to be a bit more maternal.

He’d interacted with alphas like Graves before. Not a single one of them didn’t have issues with their mother.

Which, given the immediate release of tension in Graves shoulders… Rodolfo had found the pressure point. “It’s okay… No one will be angry with you… This can be forgiven. We all commit evil when we’re scared or threatened, okay?” He smiled at the mercenary. “What does he have?”

Graves clenched his jaw and looked away. “He doesn’t have anything.” He insisted. “This is what I’m being paid to do. Tie up loose ends.”

Rodolfo gestured his head at Chuy, indicating he wanted him to talk. Chuy made a face but then rolled his eyes and sighed. “Colonel Rodolfo is right… We have connections. We can help you. We have safe houses… An island, actually.”

“And negotiations are being made with the cartel.” Rodolfo added. “Whoever it is will be safe…”

“My wife and daughter-” Rodolfo relaxed, immediately, letting out a breath. Fuck… Thank god. “If he finds out about them, he’ll kill them both. I have manpower but…”

“You still have rules.” Rodolfo guessed and Graves nodded. “I don’t. Just… bring them here and I’ll keep them safe until you can…” Uh, do whatever needed to be done. The implications of Graves defying these orders was slowly wearing on Rodolfo, but that was an issue for the Shadow, himself, not Rodolfo. “You can handle this.” Appeal to his authority, too.

Finally, Graves seemed to give in and he gestured to Rodolfo. A shadow came over and cut the binds around his wrists, alleviating a cramp that Rodolfo hadn’t noticed until right that moment. “My wife… he’s Mexican. From here, actually.”

Oh, this was a cake walk. Rodolfo couldn’t even let himself feel proud, now. Graves was always going to give in. Fuck. “Then bring him back. I’ll keep him here until you decide it’s safe and then I promise, I will give him back.”

“Why should I believe you?”

“Because you’ve demonstrated that you can take over.” Rodolfo raised an eyebrow. “I have no choice but to give him back?”

“You don’t.” Graves agreed and then nodded. “Fine. I will bring him here… In the meantime… Valeria told us that the last missile is in Chicago. I will send my men to go after it.”

“It’s our job to retrieve them.” Soap spoke up, no longer looking as angry. “We will retrieve it.”

“Boys…” Rodolfo warned. “You could just go together. Shepherd doesn’t need to know.”

“Rodolfo is right.” Ghost agreed. “We’ll just have to talk to Price-”

“About what?” A new voice entered the room and Rodolfo turned around to see more brits were now in the room. Two of them, both tall, but one smelled like omega and the other smelled like alpha. “We’re already aware.”

Graves sheepishly grinned. “No loose ends…”

The alpha appeared to roll his eyes but came over to Rodolfo and Chuy. “I’m Captain John Price. This is Sergeant Kyle Garrick, or Gaz. It’s nice to meet you, you must be Colonel Rodolfo Parra.”

“It’s nice to meet you, too.” Rodolfo shook his hand. “I am, this is my SIC, Chuy.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Chuy mumbled, shaking Price and Gaz’s hands.

Rodolfo then turned back around, seeing that Graves was now talking into his radio. However, Ghost and Soap both came over. “I need to learn how you did that.” Ghost laughed.

“You alphas are easy to manipulate.” Rodolfo shrugged. “Just appeal to your authority and don’t let the truth show. I guess, though, I had help. He would have always caved, I just needed to keep digging.”

“Wise words.” Price chuckled. “I heard as we were approaching. Kate would be impressed.”

“Incredibly.” Gaz agreed, nodding.

Rodolfo took a breath and then shook his head. “It’s survival, that’s all it is. We’ve survived this long.”

“We’ll survive longer.” Chuy spoke up.

Rodolfo nodded. They would…

Well, everything ended up okay. Graves’ wife and child were on the way, but… well, Valeria escaped and disappeared. Rodolfo, at first, worried that he’d been betrayed, but Alejandro was pissed.

He’d spent hours pacing and growling about how he never should have trusted her, so Rodolfo assumed that everyone was equally in the loop surrounding that. So, Chuy had volunteered to go and work with a mercenary group named “SpecGru” in order to eventually catch her and bring her back.

Rodolfo had also released Alejandro from holding and they were planning to work some things out. So, now, he was seeing the absurd amount of Gringos off, as well as his second in command. Graves had left a few shadows behind to make sure his family was received, and Rodolfo had learned their names were Velikan and Mila.

“You’re always welcome in Las Almas.�� Rodolfo told Ghost and Soap, who had lingered behind. “Once this last missile is found, if you guys need somewhere to lay low, just come back.”

“We will.” Ghost answered, nodding. “Uh… good luck.” He gestured to Alejandro, who laughed.

Rodolfo turned to Soap, shaking his hand. “I’m… sorry. I didn’t mean that Ghost should put you on a leash… I wanted to keep us alive.”

“Eh.” Soap grinned, laughing. “I like leashes.” He winked.

Rodolfo made a face and Soap only laughed louder. “Even still… I’m sorry.”

“You’re forgiven.” Soap shrugged. “We’re friends now. Omegas have to stick together… right?”

“Right.” Rodolfo relaxed and softened, before jumping when Soap hugged him tightly. But… Rodolfo hugged back and closed his eyes.

“When we come back, I want you to tell me about everything.” Soap said when he pulled away, gesturing at Alejandro again. “I want to know everything.”

“I will.” Rodolfo promised, nodding. “You and Gaz, both.”

“Perfect!” Soap grinned and then held out his fist, so Rodolfo fist bumped him and then they both finally started to walk back.

“Soap!” Rodolfo called before Soap could get on the helo. “¡Manténgase a salvo allá afuera!”

“¡Nunca!” Soap responded, a word Chuy had taught him, and grinned. He threw his fists in the air before Ghost nudged him up and onto the helo.

Chuy then came over. “Are you sure things will be fine without me?”

“I am.” Rodolfo nodded. “I have Alejandro… We’ll get Las Almas evened out. Are you going to be okay?”

“I will be.” Chuy took a deep breath. “I’m happy for you… One of us has to get our happy ending.”

“You’ll get yours.” Rodolfo reassured, touching Chuy’s arm. “I am worried about losing my best soldier but… We’ll be okay.”

“I’m not your best.” Chuy laughed and blushed. “But… thank you. And… thanks for coming back, Alejandro.”

“I was stupid for not coming back sooner.” Alejandro spoke up, an arm snaking around Rodolfo’s waist. “Blind.”

Chuy snorted. “I don’t disagree. Well… I guess I should… go.” He gestured to the helo.

“Come back alive. With or without Valeria.” Rodolfo ordered. “You come back alive.”

“I will.” Chuy softened and then he, too, hugged Rodolfo tightly. “I’ll be back before either of us even notice I’m gone.”

“You better…” Rodolfo hugged back. It started to hit him just how much he was going to miss Chuy. “Eres mi hermano. That’ll never change.”

“Nunca.” Chuy teased and Rodolfo couldn’t help laughing. “I’ll um… help them with their Spanish.”

“Please.” Rodolfo laughed as Chuy pulled away. “Especially before they come back.”

“If they are not fluent, it wasn’t my fault.” Chuy laughed and backed away. He then waved and headed towards the helo.

However, in true Chuy fashion, right as he made it to the ramp, he tripped. Rodolfo immediately stepped forward, but he didn’t have to, because someone in the helo had immediately rushed over to catch him.

He was much taller than Chuy, but he had a sort of charming smile as he helped Chuy up. “Careful…” He spoke English. “Don’t need you falling on us. Is your ankle okay?”

“Yeah…” Chuy looked absolutely starstruck and Rodolfo had to suppress a laugh. “Yeah, I uh… I think it’s fine.”

“I’ll check it on the helo.” The other nodded, now looking concerned. “I can help you?”

“I’d like that… What’s your name?” Chuy accepted the offered arm.

“Enzo Reyes.” The other answered, helping him up into the helo and then Rodolfo saw him help Chuy into a seat, though he could no longer hear them speak.

However, as the ramp started to lift, Rodolfo saw Chuy turn to him and immediately fan himself and grin. Rodolfo laughed and shook his head. “I think he’ll be fine.” He murmured to Alejandro, who laughed. “I think he’ll be just fine.”

“What about you, mi luna?” Alejandro turned Rodolfo towards him. “I think… you need a break?”

“I think you’re right.” Rodolfo just melted into Alejandro, smiling up at him. “A very long break…”

“Hmm… What about the ranch… Just you and I…” Alejandro murmured, leaning close to Rodolfo’s ear and wrapping his arms around Rodolfo’s middle. “Until your gringos come back… Nothing but us and land as far as the eye can see…”

“Oh, mi amor… That sounds wonderful…” Rodolfo closed his eyes, leaning more into Alejandro. “You have quite a bit to make up for…”

“I better get started as soon as possible, then, hmm?” Alejandro chuckled and then leaned in to nip Rodolfo’s neck. “Come on, let’s go.”

“Gladly.” Rodolfo purred and then pulled away, getting into a vehicle with Alejandro. Maybe things would be alright… Yes, he had pain he would have to work through, later. Alejandro still wasn’t fully off the hook.

But, for now, he had Alejandro back. He would have responsibilities in about a day, but in that moment, it was nothing but him and an alpha who made it clear he was willing to put in long and hard work for forgiveness.

How could Rodolfo not give in to that?

So, he got in the driver’s seat and followed Alejandro’s directions to the ranch, realizing that he really would follow Alejandro anywhere.

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