Part 2: The Next Couple of Months.
Written by Mandingo1234
Edited by kenjisato
Chapter 7
It had been several weeks after their night out on the town. Most of it was spent at Jason's house. With no job prospects, or a need to earn money; all Jason had to do was try to find ways to fill in the hours of the day. One of the main things he did was buy all the components for his homemade computer, and a server system. The computer would be in the room that would be the study, and the server would be down in the basement. He also upgraded his internet service to a fiber-optic line that gave him the fastest speed imaginable. He needed something that would allow him to track all the accounts and assets that Mrs. Carlile gave him. He could have hired a money manager or an accountant to do all of that, and in the future, he probably would. But with everything that happened to him, trust was something he could not afford. Especially when he had a half billion, in money and assets. He also needed to protect himself from outside attacks from modern-day hackers. Luckily, since he had a degree in software engineering, he knew how to protect himself, and he had kept up with modern security protocols while he was in prison.
Setting everything up, was a bit of a cathartic experience for Jason, he was doing something that he used to love before his life was turned to shit. And the satisfaction of turning on one's new computer was an exhilarating experience.
As for Lila, her time at Jason's place had been rather monotonous. All she did was sit around and watch stuff in the living room, and answer phone calls and emails from various reporters, and law firms. They would on occasion go out, like the time Jason went back to Dominic to make a few more suits and a special-order leather jacket. As usual, Dominic did a great job tailoring Jason's jacket to fit him perfectly. Lila did try to make them dinner, but she was a subpar cook. After making two meals, Jason took it upon himself to cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Begrudgingly to Lila, Jason was a good cook, and she enjoyed every meal he cooked for them. Then one day, an unexpected visitor came to see them.
Lila went to the door because Jason was down in the basement working on his home server. Upon opening it, a short Latin man dressed in a sharp-looking zoot suit and flanked by two large, scary-looking men.
"Hello, young lady; by chance, is this the Solace residence?" the short man asked, with a thick Mexican accent.
"Yes it is, and may I ask who you are?' Lila asked, while trying to steady her nerves. These men were sending out the danger vibe.
"Please forgive me. We mean you no harm. I am here on the behalf of a friend of his. My name is Luis Sinaloa. It is a pleasure to meet you," Luis said, with a bow.
"Let them in Lila," Jason spoke from behind with an air of authority.
Doing what she was told, she escorted Luis and his men into the house. Jason led them towards the basement and directed them to the poker table. Lila took a spot in the corner, away from the big, scary men, and Luis' two guards took a spot by the bar.
"Mr. Solace, it is a pleasure to meet you," Luis said, as he stuck out his hand, to which Jason accepted. "I must say it is something to meet El Quetzal in person. My brother has told me a lot about you."
"And how is Lobo doing?" Jason asked, when he took his seat
"He is doing well, all things considered. He does say he misses his chess partner. No one can seem to match your skill level."
"Oh well, tell Lobo that I would like to see him, but at the present moment, I would like to keep my distance from that place."
"He figured you would say that. Anyway, he wanted me to bring you something. A gift for your recent release." Luis said, to which one of his men came forth and placed a box between them. It was a bottle of Barrique de Ponciano Porfidio, one of the most expensive tequilas on the market. "I figured we share a toast for your release," Luis said, as another man brought two shot glasses in front of them.
Luis poured them each a drink, and they both raised their glass, "Salud," and they both drank up.
"You know you are a tough man to find," Luis said, as he poured himself another shot, "Imagine my surprise that you live here now. Care to explain how this all came to be."
"I guess god finally took pity on me," Jason said, as he poured himself another shot.
"I guess so, from rags to riches in a few short weeks," Luis joked, and they both toasted again.
"You still haven't told me how you found me here," Jason spoke to Luis, as he poured him another glass.
"Information my friend. Today we live in a world where everything is an open book. All you have to do is know how to read it," Luis said, as he took another shot. "You know I heard you had a little run-in with one of our men a few weeks ago. That was how we caught onto your scent."
"Yeah so, you want payback" Jason retorted, and upon hearing this Lila tensed up, afraid for her life.
"No no, far from it. I also came here to apologize for that. You see, Jesus is a bit of a hot head, always strutting like a damn peacock, I want him gone, but he's family."
"Nephew?" Jason asked.
"Worse, cousin-in-law. My cousin married a woman with a kid already. And now she wants him working for us. I'll tell you one thing, the kid is more trouble than he's worth. We call him La Boca, 'The Mouth', because he was all bark and no bite. But when I heard what happened to him, we almost sent someone to deal with you. Luckily, one of our former associates saw the whole thing." Then Luis took one more shot and leaned in. "You know, I heard stories about you, stories on how nobody should mess with you. I thought my brother was crazy or embellishing his tale. But when I heard what you did at that restaurant, I knew the stories had to be true. Jesus was a pushover, but the two men he was with, Hector, and Chucho, were some of our top soldados."
"They didn't seem that tough. Maybe you're losing your edge," Jason quipped, after taking one more shot.
"Maybe, but as I said, I should be thanking you, if that situation had gotten out of hand, that would have pulled some serious heat on us. And to put your little friend at ease," Luis said, pointing to Lila who was practically trembling, "we, the Sinaloa family, would not seek revenge against you, or any of your compatriots; you have my word."
"Good to know," Jason said, but Lila was still trembling.
"Well, I must take my leave, but before we go, I have one more gift to give."
Luis signaled one of his men to go bring something down. It took a moment, but the pitter-patter of paws could be heard running down the stairs, then a big black dog came forth, and stopped in the middle of the room wagging its tail.
"Lobo told me that you used to work as a dog trainer for a few years while you were locked up. I figured that a dog might help you with your transition. Her name is Shae, short for Shadow, for her midnight-black fur. She is a mixed breed of Belgian malinois and German shepherd. I know a guy that breeds and trains dogs for the police and military. She was supposed to go to the police department, but she has a problem with following commands. We even had a hard time getting her in the car, before we got here. Maybe you can do something about it," Luis informed him.
Jason took one look at the dog, and with an authoritative voice, he said, "Zitten, Verblijf."
Shea then immediately sat down and didn't move from that position.
