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More Than Life	By : Psnoo17 Category: M through R > Once Upon A Time In Mexico Views: 1900 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time in Mexico, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-More Than Life
- 2-1
- 3-2
- 4-3
- 5-4
- 6-5
- 7-7
- 8-It Begins
- 9-Double Agent
- 10-10
- 6
- 7
- 8
Ian>I first worked on the
plot, wanting to make sure that I knew what I was doing because this is really the
opener to the rest of the �intrigue� that�s going to take place, but once I was
done with that, there still seemed to be something missing. Thus, the last half of the chapter.
This didn�t make it past my betas
this time, simply because I finished writing it TODAY,
and really wanted to get it out to you all.
So, I�m sorry if there�s any mistakes I didn�t catch.
Author�s thanks at the end.

************************************************************************

The heels of Tessa�s shoes clacked
loudly against the marble floors of Winston and Harnel. The building was prestigious, overbearing,d ind intimidating. It was also cold, the
air conditioning on even in the winter. Dr. Schroeder had been the crankiest doctor
at Boston Memorial while she�d been doing her internship in general rotation,
able to make nurses �hop to�
with a single glance. The
woman was a legend.

When several minutes went by without the man addressing her, Tess
cleared her throat, lifting her brows expectantly.

�Welcome to Winston and Harnel. If you will wait just another moment, I�ll be
right with you.� Tess had to fight from
rolling her eyes at the man�s arrogance; biting back the comments her voice
wanted to make. In a place like this,
everyone was important, and everyone was rich.
This guy was probably the third son of some millionaire, and so was
therefore incapable with working with the public at all, but she was still
stuck with him.

The man finally looked up from his paperwork, a patronizing smile on his
face. �Welcome to Winston and Harnel, where our clients come first. How may I help you today, Ms. ��

�Barillo. Teresa Barillo.�

�Ms. Barillo, then. Please, how
can we be of service.�
s'>
Tess noted that the man�s eyes were already sliding away to other people
� clearly, he�d rather be doing something other than working. �I need to withdraw a hundred thousand
dollars from one of my private accounts.�
That got his attention back to her.
Quickly.

�Excuse me?�

�You heard me.� Tess straitened
her head, managing to look down her nose at the man as if she were unimpressed
with him . . . which would be the truth.
�I need to make a withdrawal of ��

�Yes, pardon me, I just wanted to make sure I
heard correctly.� The unfortunate man
assumed he was dealing with one of the bank�s more prestigious clientele, and
so therefore immediately became ingratiating.
�Please, may I get you anything to drink before we continue? Tea?
Coffee? An espresso?�

�No, I�m fine, thank you.� Tess
crossed her legs, and settled herself more comfortably. This was going to take awhile at this
rate. She certainly hoped that the
cabbie was still waiting for her when she got
done. �Is it going to make a difference
that the money I need to access is in offshore accounts?� she asked, wanting to
speed along the process as much as she could.

The man across from her froze in what he was doing, and just looked at
her for a moment. He swallowed, then murmured, �If you will wait here for just a
moment? I think I should get our vice
president.�

Tess waited for the man to come back, and when he did, it was with a
woman in an expensive business suit and alligator skin heels. �Ms. Barillo, I�m Maria Powell, vice
president of Winston and Harnel. I understand you�d like to make a substantial
withdrawal from an offshore account.�
The woman held out a hand for Tess to shake, and she did so, silently
sizing the other woman up. �Please, if
you�ll follow me to my office, we�ll get that underway for you.� She had a soft Texan accent, unlike the
cabbie, whose accent had almost sounded exaggerated. And now that she thought about it, strangely
familiar.

Worries for another time, Teresa.
Get your head in the game and pay attention to the nice lady. The sooner this is done, the sooner you can turn
your attention to protecting yourself from everyone who�s out to use you.

�Thank you Ms. Powell.� Tess
stood and followed the other woman to her office, taking a seat in one of the
armchairs in front of a large mahogany desk.
�I didn�t think vice presidents handled customer�s themselves.�

The other woman smiled. �I
haven�t been a VP that long. And when
someone is withdrawing as much as you are, then the bigwigs prefer that one of
the many VP�s handle it instead of someone like Michael.� Maria settled into her chair and logged onto
her computer. �Now, down to
business. There are some formalities to
follow. You�re going to need to sign
some papers, and I�m going to have to see a few pieces of identification.�

Tess dug her driver�s license, passport, and birth certificate out of
her briefcase, handing them over as the other woman slid several documents over
the surface of the desk.

�I see that you don�t have an account with the bank. Are you wishing to open one at this time?�

�No. I�m not sure how long I�ll
be staying in San Antonio.� But it probably won�t be as long as I would
wish to stay.

-
- - -
- - -
- - -

Tess had been right. It took nearly ninety minutes just to settle
her identity to everyone�s satisfaction � everyone being the FCC, the treasury,
and whoever else might getir nir noses out of joint by her �little� withdrawal
� and another forty-five after that to actually get the money transferred into
an account she could easily access.

Not that I know what I�m going to do with that money, Tess thought as
she thanked Vice-President Powell and gathered her things to leave. I don�t
really want anything to do with it.
It�s nothing more than blood money, a fortune amassed by the addiction
of others. It doesn�t seem right to
spend it, but it doesn�t seem right just to let it sit around forever either.

Well, you could start by paying your cabbie.

Tess looked towards the street as she exited the building, momentarily
blinded by the bright winter sun.
Surprised, she saw that the cab she�d come in was indeed still waiting
for her. And even more surprising, there
was something familiar about the way the cabbie was leaning against the
exterior of his car, arms crossed over his chest and legs crossed at the
ankles. I know him from somewhere.

Nice to see that you can be paranoid without my help, the voice
said caustically. Don�t be ridiculous. You don�t know him. Look at that grey hair. Remember his accent. You�ve never met this man before in your
life.

The voice was right. Of course it
was right. The only person she knew in San Antonio was Sands, and he�d disappeared sometime early this
morning.

Look at it this way � it saved you the embarrassment of another morning
after.

�How much do I owe you?� she asked the cabbie. As if
any �morning after� could be more awkward than the last one. At least this time I wasn�t raving mad.

�Two hundred, not counting the fare for the trip here.�

Tess nodded and pulled five one-hundred dollar bills out of her
purse. �Can you take me to the nearest
rehab center?�

�Rehab?� The man�s tone was
disbelieving.

�Yes. Rehab.�
/spa/span>What are you planning, Teresa?

What better way to spend the money
than to use it to help the very people � or at least the population � that it
came from. Not to mention, it would make
Father furious if he were still alive.
Using ill-gotten wealth to help rehabilitate drug addicts. It cuts down on the amount of repeat
customers.

�Whatever you want, lady. Climb
in.�

Tess climbed into the car, shaking her head a bit at the man�s
manners. God, he�s bossy.

-
- - -
- - -
- - -

Sands looked in his rearview
mirror, checking the traffic and on his passenger. His blissfully unaware passenger. I guess
we should have worked on disguises as well as fighting tactics and target
practice, he thought as he watched Tess as she looked out her window. He�d seen a brief glint of recognition in her
eyes, but it�d disappeared before she could follow her intuition to its natural
conclusion.

He�d been somewhat concerned that it�d taken so long for her to leave
the bank. It was still early on in the
game, but there was no proof that her family were the only people looking for
her. Minor cartels with reputations to
build or axes to grind against the Barillos could just as easily come after
her. And
la ni�a forgot to wear her surveillance gear.
Perhaps I need to stress that it�s for her own
safety as much as it is for gathering information. Still, he�d been somewhat surprised to find
himself waiting outside for her, but he�d told himself that he was only doing
his job. It wouldn�t be good for his
record if the mission folded before it even got started. And that meant making sure that Tess stayed
alive, at least long enough to get her over the border.

And part of that meant finding out why she wanted to visit a rehab
center. That and he was curious.

�Sight-seeing or checking in?�

�Excuse me?� Tess turned away
from her window to meet the cabbie�s eyes in the
rearview mirror.

�Why d�you want to check out a rehab
center?� He barely remembered not to
call her chiquita, or ni�a, or peque�a . . . the game was still afoot, and he
wasn�t ready to give it away yet.

Tess briefly wondered why the man was being so talkative now when he
hadn�t been earlier. She was also struck
by the strength of his accent again, but brushed it off. �Person reasons,� she murmured, looking back
out the window.

Too easy. �Ah.
You sure you don�t want me to take you to one of those celebrity rehab
joints? They�d cater to your likes
better ��

�I�m not checking myself in.�

This guy is too inquisitive.
Either ignore him, or creep him out. You know which one I�d prefer.

Sands smothered a grin at the defensiveness of her tone. �My mistake, lady. No need to get your feathers in a fuss.�

The rest of the ride was completed in silence, Sands thinking his own
thoughts, and Tess trying to solve the puzzle of who
her �cabbie� reminded her of. When they
reached the rehab center, Sands pulled over.
�You want me to wait again?�

�Yes, please.�

Tess got out of the car, looking around.
The neighborhood was rundown, but not exactly threatening. That would happen in a few years if things didn�t
turn around. That insight was all she
needed to put some resolve in her spine.

Walking into the center, she found that the front desk was
deserted. Which was
what she wanted, now that she thought about it. Anonymous donations were always fun.

Quickly writing out a check for $95,000, she put it into an envelope she
found on the desk, then wrote a quick note, letting whoever was in charge know
what the money was meant for. Then she
left, not wanting to be caught by anyone.

She almost made a clean escape.
At the last moment, someone came out of a back room. �Can I help you?�

�No, I was just leaving. Thank
you.� With a curt nod for the blond who
was watching her curiously, Tess fled the building, more relived to get back
into the cab than she�d thought possible.
At the last moment though, she turned and went back inside the
building. �Excuse me,� she interrupted
the desk clerk. �I know this is an odd
question, but were you raised around here?�

�Yes ma�am. Born and bred here in
San Antonio.�

�Thank you.� This time when she
left, Tess went directly to the cab and climbed in, with more than a little
relief and vindication. Relief to be
able to go back to somewhere that would be relatively safe, and vindicated on
two counts: she was helping the people her family took advantage of, and she�d
figured out who her cabbie reminded her of.

�Now where to, lady?�

�Back to my hotel . . . Sands. By
the way, I like the wig.� Tessa�s
vindication turned into disgust as she realized just how long it�d taken her to
unravel this particular puzzle. �Was
there a point for disguising
yourself, or is that how you get your kicks?� she asked, not really wanting an
answer.

Sands was a bit taken aback by the hostility in Tessa�s voice, but hnt
nt
with it. �Think of it this way, if I�ve
taught you a lesson, then this little trip was a success. If I haven�t, then it was a failure, no
matter how much money you made off with.�

�And what exactly was I supposed to learn, oh master of disguises?�

�Always be aware of your surroundings, listen to your instincts, and
never leave your room without your surveillance equipment, or I�ll be forced to
tail you. Which
wouldn�t be safe for either of us once we get this little operation underway.� He met her eyes in the mirror. �Don�t make me remind you again, chiquita.�

Bite me. Tess didn�t respond, just looked back out her
window. He was right, of course. They�d gone over the complex and shockingly
minute surveillance equipment weeks ago.
She knew exactly how to wear and disguise it, just as she knew how
important it was to wear it. The quicker she got the information the
government was sure it needed, the sooner she�d be able to go home.

You are going home.
Home in New York. Don�t try to confuse me. Anyway, the point
was, by the time she reached Mexico, slipping on the bugged necklace and the glasses with the
tiny video cameras had to be second nature.
Which meant wearing it now, even though there was no
cause for it. �I�ll take care of
it when I get back to my room.�

�See that you do.�

-
- - -
- - -
- - -

As Tess approached the door to her
hotel room, she heard the phone inside start to ring. She briefly wondered who could be calling
her. The only people that knew she was here, were the hotel staff, Sands, and . . . . Cursing, she looked at her watch, groaning
when she saw what time it was. I was supposed to call home an hour ago.

Hurriedly unlocking her door, Tess stepping into the suite, dropping
purse and tote on the floor. Jogging
across the room, she picked up the phone.
�Hello?�

�T�a!� a young voice crowed, making Tess smile. Selena had become fascinated by the phone
about a month ago, begging to be allowed to talk on it whenever she could. She would swipe cell phones if they were left
unattended, running with them, merrily pressing buttons and babbling in a
mixture of English and Spanish, nearly all of it unintelligible. �T�a!�

�Hola, baja.� Tess talked to her youngest �niece� for some
time, alternating between English and Spanish and smiling when the girl managed
to answer simple questions in both languages.
After about twenty minutes though, the girl suddenly said, �Cora wants talk
to you.�

�Ok, baja.
Be good.�
�S�,
t�a.� And then the phone switched hands.

�Tess?�

�Yes, Cora.�

There was a brief pause before the other woman said, �I tried to call
you last night. Around five this morning
for us.� There wasn�t any accusation in
the other woman�s voice, but there was concern.

Tess froze, the pen she�d been idly clicking falling from her hand. Five for them would be three for her, and she
remembered quite well what she�d been doing at three.

Tess wasn�t quite sure what she was supposed to say. Part of her said that she didn�t have to make
any explanations to this person � she was her own woman, capable of making her
own choices. The other part of her said
that Cora had every right to judge, because Tess herself wasn�t sure she�d done
the right thing by seeking Sands out the night before. The easier thing, perhaps, but not
necessarily the right thing. Best to skirt the subject then. �Why did you need to get a hold of me that
early?�

�Marcos was had just had a nightmare about the day his parents died.�

Tess closed her eyes, in shame and regret. God. I let down someone I said I�d be there for,
simply because I can�t control my hormones.
�Is he there?�

�Yes. But I need to ask what you
were doing. You�re a light sleeper,
except for when you�ve been relying on your meds to get through the day, and if
you�re doing that already, then I�m not sure you should be doing this.�

Tess nearly collapsed in relief.
Cora thought she�d been in some sort of drug induced comatose
state. She didn�t suspect that her
employer was sleeping with a man who might or might not be the enemy � the
worst person to be sleeping
with. At least with an enemy, you know that one side or the other might
kill you both for it.

And speaking of killing. . . . Tess got up from the couch and went into her
bedroom, picking up the locket that contained a tiny microphone. She�d been supposed to wear it early, but had
forgotten. �I�m fine, Cora. I just had trouble sleeping last night, is all. I, I um, went
for a walk.� The clasp was being
difficult, but Tess finally got it on, noting that her closet door was
ajar. Which was odd,
because she remembered closing it quite vividly. The latch was loose or something, so you had
to press rather firmly to get the door to stay shut. And she�d made sure that it had been, going
so far as to tug on the handle to ensure that it wasn�t going to pop open.

�Look, Cora. Can you call me back
in a half an hour or so? Or have Marcos
call me? There�s something I need to
deal with.�

Cora agreed, and Tess hung up the phone, looking at the closet
door. For a second she wavered between
opening it the rest of the way, or leaving the room and going for backup. She knew that Sands had set up operation in
another room in the hotel. All she had
to do was ask for help.

Do it from outside the room, her voice urged.

Tess nodded absently, backing out of the room. She�d started to notice that her constant
sensation of being watched had elevated.
It could be paranoia . . . but it was better to be safe than �

Before she could even finish the thought, a cord dropped over her neck
and she found herself jerked against a large body. Before she could react, the cord pulled
tight, cutting off her air supply and sending panic racing through her veins.

She struggled, trying to get her fingers underneath the cable that was
now cutting into her throat, throwing her head back to both try to do some sort
of damage to the person behind her and to loosen the pressure on her
windpipe. Neither maneuver was
successful. Her head thumped against a
rather solid collarbone, telling her that her attacker was taller than she was,
and all she managed to do with the cord was break off several nails. The room was going black around her, and even
the sounds of her struggle were having a hard time making themselves known
through the throbbing of blood in her ears.
Her lungs were screaming angrily, but there was nothing she could do
about that.

With struggles growing weaker by the moment and knees that were on the
verge of collapse, Tess tried to get her attacker to release her, but nothing
worked. Even her voice was quiet,
leaving Tess alone in her own head.

I don�t� want to die alone,
she thought irrationally, just before she was swung around by nothing more than
the pressure on her throat. Her legs
collapsed and she managed one last desperate gasp before falling to the ground,
senseless except for the extreme loneliness that�d overtaken her.

-
- - -
- - -
- - -

Sands entered his hotel room,
nearly disgusted with himself. The damn
woman was getting to him. But that was
the point. She�d been getting to him for
months now, if he cared to admit it.
Which he didn�t.

Yawning, he resisted the urge to throw himself on couch and take a
nap. Last night�s encounter with Tess
had been nice � disturbing in a sense, but nice � but it hadn�t left him with
much time to sleep.
- 6
- 7
- 8
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