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"What you may not be aware of is that the north Cuban basin holds a substantial quantity of oil: ten billion barrels of crude and ten trillion to twenty trillion cubic feet of natural gas. This creates an opportunity for foreign oil conglomerates with offers of production-sharing agreements."
Chang took a deep breath. "You tell me things that I am already well aware of. And frankly, it does nothing to change my mind in this matter."
"I am sorry that you feel this way," Cristóbal said and pushed a button on his desk.
"I agreed to meet with you today out of respect for Clemente. But unless you have something new and profitable to share with us, I’m afraid this meeting will be a short one," Chang said.
Outside the house one of Cristóbal’s men approached Xiang Yong and motioned him for a cigarette. When Xiang Yong stood up, the man covered Xiang Yong’s mouth and shoved a knife in his stomach.
Back inside of the house. "Clemente was an old fool who had outlived his usefulness." Cristóbal removed a gun from the desk drawer and stood up. "That is why I killed him," he said and shot Chang.
Cristóbal turned the gun on Black and he hit the floor quickly and took out his gun. Hearing the shot, Kevon burst through the door and was immediately shot twice in the chest. Black fired at Cristóbal, but he was able to escape through the French doors.
In the living room, one of Cristóbal’s men shot Mei Ai Bao and started toward the office while the other went after CeCe, who had just come out of the bathroom when the shooting began. She quickly went into one of the other rooms and hid under the bed.
Black got to his feet and went after Cristóbal. When he got to the doors, Black could see him running and fired at him, but missed. Black came back inside and saw one of Cristóbal’s men standing over Kevon’s body. He looked at Black and both men fired. Black hit him with two shots to the head, but felt pain and burning in his stomach.
He kicked the gun away from Cristóbal’s man and knelt down next to Kevon. He checked for a pulse. "Goodbye, my friend," Black said and closed his eyes.
Black picked up Kevon’s gun and went into the living room. He saw Mei Ai Bao’s lifeless body slumped over on the couch, but no CeCe.
"CeCe," he screamed and went looking for her.
Black opened the front door and saw Xiang Yong’s body. "Damn." He looked around to see if he saw her and went back inside. Knowing that there were at least two more of Cristóbal’s men as well as Cristóbal himself, Black moved through the house slowly.
Cristóbal’s men separated and began going room to room looking for CeCe. One had just checked a room and came back into the hall when he spotted Black. But Black saw him first and let loose with both guns. The man went down. Black took his gun and shot him twice in the head before moving on.
"CeCe," he called again, but got no answer. Though he tried not to think about it, his mind drifted to thoughts of Cassandra. He couldn’t let another woman die because he wasn’t there to protect her. He gripped his guns a little tighter and continued his search, hoping that he wouldn’t find her dead.
Cristóbal’s man finally made it to the room where CeCe was hiding under the bed. She held her breath and tried to remain as still as possible. She had heard Black calling for her, so she knew he was coming. She just hoped that he would get there before it was too late.
CeCe watched the man’s feet as he moved through the room looking for her. She closed her eyes when he stopped in front of the bed. "There you are, bitch."
CeCe opened her eyes and saw the gun pointed at her. She shut her eyes tightly, and then she heard the shot, then another, and then a loud noise. She opened her eyes and saw the man lying on the floor next to the bed.
Black turned the bed over and held his hand out to help CeCe get up. "Are you all right?" Black asked.
CeCe got up and threw her arms around him. "I’m okay."
"Come on. We gotta get out of here," Black said and dropped to his knees.
CeCe looked at him and saw the blood on his shirt. "Oh my God! You’ve been shot!"
CeCe struggled, but was able help Black to his feet. She draped his arm over her shoulder and helped him walk out of the room.
"Where’s Kevon?"
"He’s dead," Black said as he walked. He could feel himself starting to get light-headed, most likely from the loss of blood pressure. By the time they got to the door, he felt like his legs were about to give out on him.
CeCe could feel the weight of his body increase on her shoulders. "Hold on, baby. I’m gonna get you outta here."
As they got closer to the door, they could hear what sounded like more shots being fired. They stopped. Black took a deep breath and raised his weapon. "Get behind me," he said.
"It sounded like it was coming from outside," CeCe said, and they continued making their way through the house. When they reached the door Black leaned against the wall and looked out the window. "Do you see anybody?" CeCe asked.
"No. But it’s hard to tell with all that rain. Wait here." Black opened the door and stepped outside with his gun raised. CeCe followed him out, having to step over Xiang Yong’s body.
"We got to make it to that limo," Black said. He started to walk, but his legs were giving out and he had to steady himself against the wall to keep from falling.
