"Ms Andieta we have him," she could hear from the other side of the connection.
"Good, I'll meet you at the Country Club. Do we have the TV Station still under our control?"
"Yes, V-Vision is under our control."
"Good, I'll be there soon."
Raisa signaled the driver and the bulletproof automobile took off at great speed followed by four other vehicles. Raisa put on the sunglasses that she was well known for wearing. In a few hours she would either be on her way to unimaginable power or to sure death. She had made sure she had kept her word. That's what she told herself. She had gotten Carolyn out. Carolyn was safe she had seen to that. Now she only had one thing to focus on. She was playing to win or to die. And at this moment she didn't much care which.
~~~~~~~~~~
The military coup in Venezuela had failed, reported all news agencies. At the last minute the president had been flown out by helicopter. Said helicopter had landed at the Country Club close the Colinas Residences and then the President had somehow managed to get to the V-Vision television station. He had barricaded himself in the television station with loyal troops surrounding it.
The president had appealed to the people. Support that he did not seem to have previously from the military suddenly appeared and within a few weeks the city was once again under his control. The military had brought back order. Those responsible had been captured. Soon after it became quite obvious that the balance of power had changed. It became apparent to those that understood how things really worked that Copeco was now the major player.
Within a few months things began to stabilize. Elections came and went but that was just expected. Within a few years Raisa's control over almost everything that moved, transpired, lived and breathed was absolute. Her power was all encompassing and Copeco was the most powerful conglomerate that Latin America had ever known. Copeco and its subsidiaries grew and multiplied.
~~~~~~~~~~
A woman screamed in the night. All knew better then to try and assist. The servants had learned to not hear and not see anything. They were well paid for. Women came and went. All left better or the worse for wear but none complained. Their hands were always full of money. And if truth be told given the chance they would keep coming back for more.
It was dark and the two figures on the bed were finally still. Raisa got up and walked naked to the French doors. She flung them open and let the wind rush in. A storm was coming. One could smell the earth and the charge in the air. It was a big storm.
Raisa walked out on the verandah and let the wind caress her body. The moonlight caressed her body as her face looked up and she allowed herself to feel its caress. All she could hear was the wind swirling around her. She fed off the storm. Raisa drew deep within herself and suddenly she could hear music playing. Lighting flashed and thunder could be heard crashing loudly against the earth. She was once again surrounded in darkness.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw a shadow. She turned and stared not believing and yet yearning to touch. She heard the thunder once more. All the elements were playing a trick on her. The shadow reached out for her.
"Carolyn!" Raisa took the woman into her arms and her mouth sought lips that burned with passion and promise.
The body in her arms did not fit. The mouth that she kissed was not as warm and did not beckon. She shut her eyes tightly and pushed the body she held away. The lighting illuminated the balcony and Raisa could she the girl on the floor. As usual they all looked at her in fear in the end..
"Go back inside!" Raisa shouted. The girl got up and went back into the bedroom. Raisa looked around and felt foolish and all the anger filled her once more.
She entered the room with all her demons once more inside her. The woman was getting dressed. "I thought you might want to be alone," the young woman said softly.
The lightning flashed outside once more soon after followed by the roaring thunder "Not yet. I still want to fuck. Walk over there and bend over." Raisa walked up to her and grabbed the dress and ripped it as the thunder rang out even louder than before.
~~~~~~~~~~
Carolyn sat up in bed with a start. She looked around not knowing exactly what she expected. She then looked towards the flashing lights visible from the windows. It was a storm. That's what must have woken her she tried to rationalize. She looked next to her and saw that Matt was sleeping soundly. She lay back down slowly and stared into the darkness.
She hated waking up in the middle of the night like this. Carolyn always felt as if the darkness mocked her. The darkness that once upon a time had been cool and welcoming now felt foreign and menacing.
She got up and went out of her bedroom as she always did when waking in the middle of the night which was often. Carolyn walked through the house in the dark; first checking on Simon and then on her daughter, Amanda. Confirming that both her children were safe and asleep she went to the great room of the house and sat on the lavishly plush white sofa. She seemed to sink into its softness. Her arms went protectively around her body.
Quite suddenly she was filled with a need that she had felt so many times before. Carolyn closed her eyes and allowed her head to fall back. It hurt so much to remember and yet she was cursed not to be able to forget.
She had cursed her, Raisa had. Carolyn could still remember the words and the look in Raisa's eyes. She had cursed her to want what she could not have. Carolyn looked around her. She was surrounded by opulence and wealth. Matt needed to show off at every moment his success. This huge house was just one more showpiece for him like his wife and his children.
Her children were healthy and seemed happy she told herself over and over again. Most women would love to be her. Matt was doing well in the company; his ace always being that he was favored by the head of Copeco herself. He was admired by his colleges and had gone far within the corporate ladder. He was one of Copeco's golden boys.
Carolyn had never seen Raisa after she had left Venezuela almost 10 years ago. Raisa had kept her word. All that she had promised Carolyn had come to pass. Raisa had not tried to contact her or so much as interfere in her life. Carolyn had not heard her voice or even seen a photograph of her and yet Raisa was more a part of her than she was when they had been lovers. Raisa was under her skin and in her blood. Raisa filled her mind and her dreams.
Again in desperation Carolyn looked around the room. A heavy wind blew the French doors open and that same wind filled the room. The sounds of the storm and its passion swirled around her and Carolyn cried out in pain into the maelstrom. "Ohhhhhh......." She closed her eyes only to feel the hunger that would never be quenched. She was filled with a need to touch and feel and taste and want and want and want......"Raisa..." she cried into the darkness.
~~~~~~~~~~
Raisa felt the rush of pleasure fill her and she screamed out. She sat up in bed in the middle of the night. Her body was covered with perspiration. She felt sated and cold at the same time. Only at these moments, after these dreams that she did not know whether to call them sent from heaven or hell, did she truly feel alive. She shook her head in frustration and screamed again. She lay back down staring at the ceiling. Breathing heavily still, she tried catching her breath after making love to a memory of a woman that still haunted her even now after all these years.
It had been almost ten years to the day that she had last touched Carolyn. She had fucked so many women that after awhile she lost count and all faces blended together. Raisa realized that in cursing Carolyn that day she had cursed herself as well. Only in dreams did Raisa feel pleasure. Only in her dream world did she allow a woman to touch her and possess her. She had fought loving Carolyn ten long years. It was enough she finally told herself. She sat up and stared into the emptiness of her bedroom. She was alone. She finally acknowledged that it was by choice.