The Cartel

by A. K. Alexander

  “Fine.”

  "How about you? Are you all right? You seem sad," she said.

  "I'm fine. I was…" He paused and looked out the window away from her and then down at his hands.

  "That's all right, you don't have to tell me. I don't want to intrude on your privacy."

  "No, really. You’re not. I was thinking about my mother."

  Isabella rolled her chair over to him and touched his arm. "I think about mine often, too. You must miss her."

  "Very much. She was a wonderful woman. She raised me all by herself. My father deserted us before I was born. He was a wealthy man, and she worked for him. I don't know all the details, but I do know that the bastard left us. My mother suffered over the years, slaving for us to get by.”

  “I’m so sorry. How horrible for you. I didn’t know.”

  He faced her and with a fury building inside of him whenever he thought of his father out there somewhere, he said, “If I ever meet my father, it'll be a sorry day. I have nothing but contempt for him."

  *****

  The following morning, Bella and Alex took a walk down to the beach to enjoy the sunlight bouncing off the ocean. A roll of waves crept up and sprayed the rocky shoreline. Alex looked at Isabella, sitting next to him on a rock. They’d left her chair on the path and he’d carried her across the sand. She was scheduled for a therapy session again that afternoon, so Alex didn’t want to push her. Her skin glistened as water splashed against her and she laughed. He laughed with her and wiped the droplets of water from her face.

  Moments later her laughter halted and she turned to him, growing serious. "You wouldn't believe how corrupt things are down here,” she said. “I've tried talking to my father, but he brushes me off, as if I were some dumb girl. I know my family could do something to help our people, but my father concentrates on making more and more money. I think he does some good things. I'm sure of it. I don't know exactly what they are…" She hesitated. "My father is a good man. It's hard for me to imagine him as being a part of the corruption. I try to ignore what we are, but the reality of it is getting harder and harder to avoid each and every day. What do you think, Alex? Do you think there are any honest politicians anywhere? Is my father like the everybody else?"

  “I doubt it. But that doesn't make your father a bad man. It only makes him human."

  "I suppose you’re right. Can I ask you a favor?"

  Alex hesitated. “What kind of favor?”

  “I know that my brother is speaking in Mexico City in a few days and there is talk that his sermons are on the corruption and how we can change what’s happening here in Mexico. I haven’t seen or heard from him since the accident, and I really need to see him.”

  “I don’t know, Bella. I think we should talk to your father about this first.”

  “I’m not a child any longer, and if you won’t escort me, then I’ll do it on my own. You said I was a stubborn woman. I want to go to Mexico City to see my brother. Will you take me or not?”

  Alex sighed. “All right. I’ll take you.”

  At that moment a large wave crashed against the rock they were sitting on, soaking both of them.

  "Oh no." She ducked away from the wave.

  Alex scooped her up, as they started to laugh again. He was concerned by her request, knowing that Javier wouldn’t approve, but he also knew that she would find a way to get to Mexico City on her own. If he didn’t allow her to go, it might ruin what they were finally building together.

  While Bella was occupied with her physical therapist, he tried to reach Antonio to discuss the situation, but couldn’t locate him. He didn’t want to upset Javier. He contemplated his next move. He couldn’t stand Emilio, but he was Antonio’s brother and he had brought him and Hector into the operation. Maybe he should ask his advice. Instead he called Hector.

  “Shit, man, take her. They love you, those Patrónes. Even if they find out, you know it’ll work out. Plus, man, maybe you’ll get laid.”

  “Go to hell. It’s not like that.”

  “Oh yeah, cause she can’t walk and stuff. Why you want her so bad, then?”

  “I’m sorry I called you.”

  “I just teasing, Cuz. I seen her. She’s gorgeous, but be careful. Take her to see her brother. It will make her happy and I don’t think anyone would be too mad at you for making the Señor Rodriguez’s daughter happy. Good luck, Cuz. Gotta go, Emilio is on his way over. We got a meeting with some new buyers tonight. It’s getting big. Real big.”

  “Right. Listen. Don’t mention our conversation to Emilio.”

  “No problema. You do your thing.”

  Alex hung up the phone, not sure if taking advice from Hector was a good idea, but he did want to hear it from someone else that it was an okay thing to do. Even though, Alex figured it probably wouldn’t please Javier. The facts were Alex wanted to take Bella to Mexico City, away from the watchful eye of the servants. He desperately wanted to be completely alone with her.

  CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE

  More than two hundred people sat in the pews of the church where Father Miguel delivered his sermon in the city of Cuernavaca, a place of spiritual roots and more wealth than most of the places he’d spoken in, other than the seaside resort type areas where his audiences were small. However, they’d been growing with each lecture, and today the audience before him was proof that the crusade was working.

  His next stop would be Mexico City. With each town and city in which he spoke, Miguel’s convictions grew. Julio had shown him the pictures of innocent, slain victims, including women and children, all murdered in the name of money and drugs. And with each returned letter he received from his sister, his belief in what he was doing became stronger.

  “The politicians of this country do not work in the name of God. They are not trying to better your circumstances at home. They are not working for the people.” He went on to quote scripture from The Book of Romans. He then recited a list of names he believed were enemies of the people and enemies of the Lord. Javier Rodriguez was one of those names.

  After the hour-and-a-half service was over, Miguel was drained. As he lay his head down on his pillow that night, he wondered how much time he had left to live. He knew that the implications of his crusade could have deadly consequences for him. He imagined that sooner or later, regardless of his bodyguards, his enemies would catch up to him.

  *****

  Pedro rubbed his palms together, eyeing Emilio. They were seated at an outdoor café in Los Angeles. Emilio had insisted Pedro come there to see him, in order to put their plan into play. Pedro didn’t like L.A. Too many people, too many noises. He preferred the serenity his country held for him rather than the glamour of the big American city. Plus, he didn’t like Americans and their pompous attitudes. They had no culture, no history. It was with disdain that Pedro sat across from a man he would normally consider an enemy, or at the very least an opponent. But he had nowhere else to turn.

  “We’ve been struck with luck, my friend. I had one plan at first on how to deal with Alejandro, but it seems that something interesting has happened, and a new plan has been created with great ease.” Emilio winked at a buxom blonde who set their hamburgers down.

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “I’ve been told that Alejandro and Isabella are taking a trip together, while Antonio and Javier are away.”

  “I don’t know anything about this. There’s no way Javier would ask them to go on a trip anywhere. Isabella isn’t even aware of her father’s businesses. I certainly doubt he’d have her travel with one of his thugs.”

  “He asked him to stay with her and not you.”

  Pedro’s grip tightened around his cola. He snarled. “That’s because he had me ending business elsewhere.”

  “Which I can see that you’re doing.”

  “Fuck you, Emilio. You asked me here. You said that you had a plan. What is it? Quit wasting my time, because I do have business elsewhere, and the sooner I get out o
f this place the happier I’ll be.”

  “Yes, you do have business elsewhere. In Mexico City.”

  “Since when do you tell me where I’m supposed to be?”

  “Since you decided to join me in eradicating the thorn in our side.”

  Pedro looked out at the street, cars speeding by. He closed his eyes and sighed. “Tell me.”

  “Isabella misses her brother. As you know Father Diaz is causing quite a problem for us. He is working with the DEA from what our sources say, and he is vigilant in bringing us down.”

  “He’s a priest. He can’t hurt us. Leave him alone.” Pedro had always liked Miguel. In a way he understood the boy’s need for revenge. He remembered himself at that age and leaving his father’s home, only to return to kill him and find refuge in another family. What Miguel had chosen to do was not much different. Javier had banished him from the family. He’d chosen the church and his country as his new family, and hoped the death of the positive reputation of the man he once called father would thoroughly tarnish his reputation and bring him down from his throne. It couldn’t be done. Javier and Antonio retained too much wealth and too much power for Miguel to ever succeed. However, Pedro, although against the crusade and angry that the DEA was using the kid, respected him and understood him for it.

  “Can’t hurt us? The little people listen to God, and even some of the big people. He’s hurting us.”

  “What does this have to do with Isabella and Alejandro? I don’t see how Miguel is a part of the destruction of that peon with an ego too big for him.”

  Emilio lit a cigarette, offered one to Pedro who hesitated before taking it. By the time they were finished with their smokes, Emilio had laid everything out and explained how Miguel fit into the plan. Pedro shook his head, not ready to agree to it.

  “This is the best way to get him out of our lives and to get him away from Isabella. Isn’t that what you want?”

  “You have more than the motive of getting rid of Alejandro at stake.”

  “True. But, you have to admit, it is necessary that we do this.”

  After listening to Emilio and taking into consideration what he had to say, he finally nodded his head in agreement. By the following day’s end, Alejandro would no longer be a problem.

  CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO

  Alex had been able to convince the servants and others at Javier’s hacienda that he was taking Bella to see her father. He knew if caught in this lie, he could possibly be banished from the business and the family, but when he saw the adoration in Bella’s eyes when she spoke of her brother, he knew that bringing her to Mexico City was the right thing to do.

  She smiled sweetly at him as she turned from the hotel’s reception desk, a message in her hand. She rolled her chair over to him and handed him the note. “My brother received my message this morning and he’d be delighted to see us today.”

  “I’m so happy for you,” Alex said and bent down, giving her a kiss on the cheek, after reading over the message. “We better get going, though. The note says he’ll be expecting us at 1:00 and that’s only a half an hour away.”

  “Good, good.” She clapped her hands. “Can we walk? I want to enjoy the city? Do we have time?”

  “Perhaps. I don’t think it’s too far. It’s a residence only a few blocks from here. I think that’s a great idea.” He smiled at her.

  As he rolled her out into the bright, crisp day, Bella turned her head to the side. “I noticed that you brought the knife that I gave you for Christmas.”

  Alex laughed. “You notice everything. I love it. I know it’s for whittling, but for the time that we’re here in Mexico City it’s also for protection. I brought it because we’re here alone and I have to make sure that nothing happens to you.”

  “Nothing will happen to me.”

  “I know, especially since I have this knife.” He felt for it in his back pocket.

  As they crossed the street, a group of children around ten or so, clamored around them, some behind them, some in front, laughing and gawking at Bella’s chair. Alex told them to go away.

  They arrived at the home where Father Miguel was staying. A guard stood at the entrance and after they identified themselves, let them through. Following another guard, a large man dressed in black, bald and angry looking, Alex rolled Bella through the entry and down the hall leading to Miguel’s’ room. The guard’s dark eyes never met either one of theirs, and Alex found it odd that he was the one protecting Miguel. However, what Miguel was doing was dangerous, and Alex knew it was almost as dangerous for him to be here. He was in fact, a part of the group the priest was trying to destroy. He was also Isabella’s brother and Alex could not deny her this visit.

  The bodyguard said to Bella, “Father Miguel has asked that you wait here for a moment. He has something to say to your guest first.”

  She looked puzzled and turned her face up to Alex. “I don’t understand.”

  “It’s all right. I’ll go in and see him. I’m certain it will only be a moment.”

  “I suppose if that’s what my brother has requested, then I’ll wait.”

  “I’ll wait with you, Señorita,” the bodyguard said.

  Something about the way the man said it, didn’t sit well with Alex, but he went inside the door that the bodyguard opened for him and closed it behind him.

  The priest had his chair turned so that the high back of it was facing Alex. The room was a study, and Alex assumed that Miguel was looking through the books on the shelves he faced.

  Alex cleared his throat. “Father. Hello. I was told that you wanted to see me. I’m Alejandro Peña. You obviously know that I’ve escorted your sister here to see you. She’s very excited about the visit.” He paused waiting to see if he’d receive a response from Miguel. “That said, if you want to tell me what you need of me, it would probably be nice to get the anticipation over for Isabella.”

  Miguel still did not turn around or say anything. Alex brought his palms up to his face as in prayer and breathed deeply, letting out a long sigh, figuring that the priest wanted to take up the fact that Alex worked for the very enemy he wanted to destroy. He was sure that Miguel had asked around about who he was and discovered that he wasn’t simply Isabella’s friend.

  “Listen, Father Diaz, I’m only here as a friend of Isabella’s. I have no ulterior motives. She desperately wants to see you. She’s missed you a great deal, and my goal is to make her happy. The time with you means so much to her.”

  Alex thought he heard a type of gurgling sound as if maybe Miguel was clearing his throat, but it wasn’t exactly like that. Alex approached the desk and the chair. “Please, Father, what do you need from me?” Alex asked.

  When Miguel didn’t respond again, Alex hesitantly came closer to the desk. He blinked and then stared at the object on the desk, half hidden under a stack of papers. It took him almost a minute to register what he was seeing. He felt his back pocket. His knife was missing. The kids on the street. He picked up the knife on the desk. The one Bella had given him. It was his. His initials were there on the knife and it was covered in blood. He went around to the other side of the desk to the chair the priest was in. The man looked at him, his eyes filled with horror as his body shuddered and all of the life left him. Blood streaked down the front of his white cassock, looking like a sacrificial lamb that had been slaughtered. Alex shook his head and backed away from the scene, his stomach dropping filled with nausea. “No, no, no,” he moaned.

  A tap at the door sounded. It opened and in came Isabella, who saw that her brother’s throat had been slit and his tongue pulled through the back of his mouth in what was known in the drug world as a Colombian neck tie. She froze and as it registered what she was seeing, and as she looked at Alex holding the knife, she howled.

  The bodyguard plowed through the door, knocking a stunned Alex to the ground and taking the knife from his hand. Soon after, the bodyguard from outside and another man were in the room. One of them hit Alex hard across the h
ead. The room whirled and Bella’s screams resounded in his ears, as his world went black.

  *****

  Alejandro gagged from the rotten fecal stench inside the dismal cell. He wretched, holding his stomach, which contained nothing but bile. No one had brought food to him in more than forty-eight hours. After he’d lost consciousness, he found himself being slapped awake, a group of policemen standing over him. Bella was nowhere in sight and he kept asking for her, but they ignored his pleas.

  They dragged him to his feet, handcuffing him. His mind shouted, “This is all a mistake.” However, he knew that his protests would be useless.

  His body ached from the beating he’d endured. But Alex knew that the worst punishment was yet to come, the knowledge that Bella thought him a murderer and not only a killer, but the one who savagely destroyed her brother. He hadn’t cried since the death of his mother, but now it was all he could do to keep from collapsing in despair.