Maria's First Adventure
by Arby 



Maria Elena Garcia sat staring at her computer. She was checking her financial
records and was quite pleased with what she saw. She had quite a little nest
egg building up, especially for someone so young. She was 31 years old and was
listed as Director of Special Projects for Bolton Security. Maria had been
born into a Cuban family with a Caucasian father and a black mother. Both of
her parents had been athletes in Cuba, her father an outstanding soccer player
and her mother had been an Olympic medal winner in the heptathlon. They had
defected and gotten married in Miami. Maria was their first child. She had a
sister and a brother. Her sister had gotten married right out of college and
her brother, Jose was a pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals. Maria had
discovered rowing as a child and had diligently worked at it. She had been the
stroke on the University of Miami's NCAA championship team. Maria was tall at
5'10" and had obviously spent much time in the weight room. However at her
height all of the muscle looked good, and although she was very muscular it
did not show as it would have on someone shorter than her. She had started her
work career at one of the big local banks. However, her thirst for adventure
had quickly taken her away from that and she had become a bounty hunter. She
had done that for four years when she had been "discovered" by Jeff Bolton. He
had hired her to bring her unique talents to work for his security firm. She
was used in a variety of very difficult assignments where the average Bolton
agent would not have been successful. Maria was also allowed to take outside
clients from time to time. That was what she was contemplating as she stared
at her computer.

Suddenly, that special phone that she kept just for outside assignments buzzed
softly. She answered and immediately recognized the voice, her old boss at the
bank. "I have an job for you if you will accept it" he said. "Tell me about
it" Maria replied. "We have a man who embezzled a rather large sum of money
from us. The police have made no headway in 3 months so I am ready to use
other methods. I know you can be very effective in this kind of situation."
Maria said "You know what my fee is" "Yes, I will give you 30% of what you
recover" was his answer. "How much did he take?" "Six million is what it looks
like according to our forensic accountants" was his response. Maria did the
math quickly in her head. $2.4million. That much to track down an embezzler. I
couldn't be more difficult than some of the bail jumpers she had tracked when
she was a bounty hunter. "Send me everything you have on him. Employment
history, vehicle information and last known location. I'll take a look at it
and let you know if I can help you or not" Maria replied coolly. "One more
thing. I want this son of a bitch to suffer, I want him punished severely. I
know that you have demonstrated that you are very capable in this area, and I
want the max for him" Maria replied, "That costs extra. Make it a round
million and we can talk. Also how far do you want this punishment to go?

"Well, you can't kill him but anything just short of that would be perfect."
Maria grinned. She had not had a physical confrontation with anyone in quite a
while. "What if I can't recover the money?" was her next question. "What if he
has spent it or given it away?" If you can't recover it I'll pay you $300,000
to carry out the punishment phase," "Send over the info and I'll be in touch"
Maria said and then hung up the phone.

Maria considered the options just offered to her. If she could recover the
money she would make a cool million. That would look good on the bank
statement. Even if she didn't recover the money she could make $300,000 just
for beating up the thief. She could not lose. She picked up her special phone
and call the banker back. "I'll take the job" she said. He chuckled, "It was
too lucrative to turn down, wasn't it?. I want pictures and I want the
bastards teeth in an envelope. I know how you work" he said. "Just make sure
that I get the packet I need" she told him. She looked at her calendar. She
had a bodyguard gig coming up with a visiting senator, but that was 23 days
away. She should have plenty of time to devote to this project. A driver from
a courier service walked into her office. "That was quick" she said. "Pardon?"
the driver said. "Never mind" she replied. Maria dug into her purse and came
out with a ten dollar bill which she handed to the driver. "Thank you" she
said to him by way of dismissal. The driver muttered his thanks for the tip
and left.

Maria opened the packet. On top was a picture with a name printed across the
top.

Roberto Alvarez. His picture which was a head shot, showed a good looking
Hispanic man, in his middle 30's, according to his employment record. He had
worked at the bank for 11 years, working his way up to Vice President. Then he
had disappeared along with the 3 million dollars. Maria quickly checked out
everything on him, address, phone, cell phone, etc. She very quickly had a
clear picture of who he was, but she had no clue why such a valued employee
would suddenly turn thief. His record was spotless right up to his
disappearance. Maria did everything she could from her office, prior to
instituting a personal search for him. She talked to former co-workers, who
had been instructed to fully cooperate with her, and friends, a list of whom
had been developed through her conversations with his co-workers. Maria spent
two days trying to run down leads with no success what-so-ever. Then she
noticed something odd. She had been told by one of
Roberto's friends that he owned a cabin in the North Carolina mountains, but
when she started checking it out, the cabin was owned by an offshore
corporation. She immediately booked a flight to North Carolina. After renting
a car, she drove to the site of the cabin. She slipped a pistol out of her
purse, which she had arranged to pick up after arrival in North Carolina, and
knocked on the door. No answer. She started looking around. Some cabin, she
thought as she walked around. It was a two story house, with decks off the
back on both levels. The top level also had a screened porch and the lower
level held a hot tub. She tried the door on the lower level, and was able to
pick the lock. She entered the house. There were signs of very recent
occupancy. Whomever was there had departed in a hurry and not too long ago.
There was a half eaten sandwich and a partial glass of tea still on the
kitchen table. "Shit! I just missed him!" she shouted in frustration. Maria
went out to the car and got her laptop. She sat at the kitchen table with the
left over food and started a search. At last she found another corporation
with ties to the first that owned a condo in Costa Rica. "That must be where
he is going" she thought. Maria called Jeff Bolton and told him she was going
to Costa Rica, and that she would be back in plenty of time for her bodyguard
assignment.

The condo was located in the capitol, San Jose. She booked a flight leaving
first thing the next morning. Maria studied her material on the flight. When
it landed she rented a car, a Toyota Camry. Although she was fluent in
Spanish, she found that most of the service personnel in both in the country
spoke English. She knew that the condo was in Puerto Viejo, about 130 miles
from San Jose. She acquired a map and set out on her journey. Almost 3 hours
later, she arrived at her destination. Puerto Viejo was the center of the
surfing industry in Costa Rica, and a great deal of sport fishing went on in
the general area as well. She found a small, local hotel and checked in. She
had a grand view of the Caribbean, just outside her balcony.Now she would
begin her search for the condo and the elusive, at least until now, Roberto
Alvarez. She had the address of the condo, so she purchased a local map. It
did not take her long to find the location.

She found a parking place across the street, and took out her binoculars and
waited. The day wore on but no sign of Roberto Alvarez. Finally she drove back
to her hotel and got a recommendation for dinner. She ate the local fish,
grilled, with a salad and a nice Pinot Grigio. Maria then returned to her room
and turned in early. She was determined to get an early start the next
morning.

She was up with the sun, getting in a run along the beach to help her wake up
and get her mind cleared. She began planning the day. She would stake out the
condo for the entire day if necessary. Maria finished her run, showered and
dressed and ate breakfast. She drove back to the same parking spot that she
had used the day before. Now to wait. Maria had brought along reading material
to help pass the time. It was a long and unproductive morning. Just as she was
about to give up and go have lunch, she spotted Roberto driving out of the
condo parking area. She waited until she was sure he was gone, then slipped
through the auto gate and quietly approached his apartment. Maria quickly
picked the lock and let herself inside. Maria quickly searched the condo for
any information regarding the money, but her search was fruitless. She did,
however find a Glock 38 caliber pistol hidden in a desk drawer. She unloaded
it and slipped the bullets into her purse. Next, she turned on his computer and
searched for any kind of financial records. She found an account in a bank in
the Cayman Islands. She took a blank cd from her purse and copied the data
onto the blank cd. Almost all of the money still seemed to be in this account.
Either he was stupid or never expected anyone to find him because all of the
financial data was right there in that file. Maria sat down and decided to
wait for Roberto's return. She must have dozed off because the next thing she
heard was a key in the lock, She got herself to full alert before Roberto
entered the room. "Hello, Roberto" she said still seated on the sofa. "Who are
you?" he asked. "You know who I am" she replied. "No I do not" was the answer.
"I think you do" Maria said. "You had to know that I or someone like me would
be here eventually. The bank doesn't like it when you take their money and
disappear like you did. If you just give the money back there won't be any
trouble, no arrests, no prison time or anything like that. Simply return the
money and I'll go back to Miami and that will be the last you hear from us".

Roberto was having a difficult time comprehending how she found him, but he
assured himself that he was not going to give back the money. He had come too
far to give up that easily. While she was talking he had eased himself over to
his desk. "What if I refuse to give it back?" he asked. "Then it is my job to
convince you to do so." Maria replied. Roberto slid the desk drawer open
slowly and reached in and took hold of the Glock. "Then I guess it is up to me
to convince you that you will never get that money back? he was almost
shouting as he lifted the pistol and pointed it at her. Maria knew that it was
not loaded, since the bullets were in her purse. "Put the gun down and tell me
how to retrieve the money and you won't get hurt. Other wise you will be very
sorry and you will still tell me how to get the money" Maria began to move
toward him. Roberto could not help but notice how beautiful she was. "Too bad"
he thought as he raised the Glock and pulled the trigger. "Click" nothing. He
squeezed the trigger again. "Click" once more. Maria was now right in front of
him. "I found your little play-toy there and unloaded it" she told him.
Roberto threw the useless pistol at her. Maria ducked out of the way. Roberto
ran for the door, with Maria right behind him. She had dressed for the
occasion wearing shorts, a wife-beater shirt and running shoes. She caught him
as he was trying to open the door. She slammed here shoulder into his back,
smashing him against the door. He was stunned momentarily. Maria put her left
hand on his shoulder and spun him around. She then blasted her hard right fist
deep into his unsuspecting belly. Roberto thought he was going to be sick as a
wave of nausea over came him. The big woman repeated the blow, this one even
harder. She left her fist in his belly for a few seconds before withdrawing
it. Roberto dropped to his knees and was sick, throwing up all over his new
white carpet. Maria smiled at him. "I'm glad that you didn't tell me." She
said. "Please don't hurt me anymore" Roberto pleaded. "You tried to kill me.
Twice" Maria snapped. "You have to pay for that, and before I'm through with
you, I will have the password to that account in the Caymans. Yes, I know
about that. In fact you will beg me to take the password just to get me to
stop beating you, but it will be in vain. I am going to beat you until you are
just an unrecognizable piece of shit on this floor, Then you will tell me what
I want to know before I knock you out. That is the only way you will be able
to relieve the unbearable pain you will be in"

Maria hauled Roberto to his feet. He just now recognized how big she really
was. Maria grinned and flexed her biceps for him. It look like a cannonball
under here caramel colored skin. "This is why I was selected to find you,
dumb-ass" She made sure he got a real good look. Now Robert felt real fear. He
knew that he had no chance against this modern day amazon. He also saw the
look in Maria's eyes that told him that his time to face the piper had come.
Maria pinned him against the door and began to rip vicious punches into his
already hurting stomach. Ten ripping, tearing times her big, hard fist buried
into his gut. Roberto passed out sometime during the barrage, but Maria had
not noticed until the tenth punch. She stopped and let him slump to the floor.
She sat down and waited for him to come around. It took over 20 minutes. He
started to stir around then opened his eyes. When he saw Maria he started
whimpering like a baby. "I'm not even going to ask you for the password yet"
she said. "I have more punishment for you first" Roberto pathetically began to
crawl towards the door. Maria quickly got there first and was waiting for him
when he got there. "Let me help you up sweetie" she said once more lifting him
to his feet. "Please, no more, I'll tell you what you want to know, just
please don't hit me any more" "I haven't even gotten started yet" she said.
That caused such fear that Roberto pissed his pants. Maria waited patiently
until he was finished. Shook her head and smashed her left fist into his nose.
CRACK! It gave but didn't break, so she followed it up with her right fist.
CRRRAKKK!! This time it definitely broke and blood spurted out and then began
to run down his face. Now two vicious left hooks to his right eye, and two
with her right fist to his left eye. Soon both would be swollen shut. SMASH!
her left fist crashed into his cheekbone just under the eye breaking it,
BASH!! Her right fist landed on his jaw, breaking it and knocking him out.
This time Maria had no patience, She got ice-water from his refrigerator and
dumped a pitcher of it on him. Roberto awakened with a sputter, The water
washed some of the blood off him and onto his white carpet. This time Maria
just got him to his feet before she said anything. "It is time for me to
complete my assignment, then it will be time for you to give me the password."
Before Roberto could comprehend what she said, her iron fist smashed into is
mouth. His lip split wide open and he could feel his teeth give. Again that
battering ram slammed in, This time she was rewarded with the sound of his
teeth breaking off. Three more times she blasted that piece of concrete that
was her fist into his mouth. Now both of his lips were torn badly and blood
was now pouring out of them. "Open up and spit them out" she ordered him.
There were two that were already on the carpet. He spit our five more. Maria
held him up and took her left hand and forced open his lips. Roberto screamed
from the pain. "Sorry, but I need a few more" she told him Once again she
exploded that big fist into his mouth. Three more savage smashes, produced
four more teeth. "I guess that is enough" she said. While Roberto watched her
through his rapidly closing eyes, she produced a baggie from her purse and
scooped up the nine teeth and put them in it. She turned back to Roberto. She
grasped his bloody shirt in her left hand and cocked that lethal right fist.
"Now it is time for you to give me the password. If you do, I'll knock you out
and when you wake up I'll be gone. If you don't or if you lie to me, I'll not
only take the rest of your teeth, I'll break both arms and legs. It is your
choice" Roberto started to say something but his lips and mouth were in such
bad condition, she couldn't hear him. She got a pad and pen and said "Write it
down". Roberto wrote on the pad. She looked at it. "bluemoon" Finally he got a
few words out. "Blue Moon is my favorite beer" Maria almost laughed. For once
he did something right. He did not use his birthday, his employment date, or
any of the common things that people use for passwords. She knew she would
never have figured it out. "Well I promised you some pain relief, so here it
is" she said. Once again she grabbed his shirt in her left hand pushed him up
so he was standing upright. She dropped her right fist almost to the floor,
rotated her shoulders and hips and drove up with her big legs. Her fist
smashed under his chin like a rocket blasting off. His feet left the floor,
and he sailed back several feet before landing on his back. He would be out
for quite a while. Maria opened up his computer, and pulled a file out of her
purse. She carefully entered the password and it worked. She entered the
bank's account number and transferred the money back to the bank. When she was
finished, she opened up here cell phone and placed a call. Her old boss at the
bank answered on the first ring. "Check the account you set up for me to use"
Maria said. He quickly checked it and found. She had transferred $5.7 million
to the bank. She closed the computer, and prepared to leave. She took one last
look at Roberto. His face was indeed unrecognizable, with both eyes now
swollen completely shut, his lips swollen to about at least twice their normal
size, and his nose squashed flat with both cheekbones sunken in. "I do good
work, brutal but effective" Maria smiled to herself. She left the apartment,
drove back to her hotel, showered changed and had dinner. The next morning she
checked out, purchased a ticket for Miami and was back home that afternoon. As
her flight circled over the Everglades preparing to land she wondered what
further adventures might wait for her.