by David Nees
“He is dead Don Hector. The desert has claimed him.”
“I would be happier if I could see his dried up body for myself. Right now he is a ghost and I’ve lost fifteen men going after him, including Ramón.”
Rodrigo knew the noose was tightening. “May I go home to change Don Hector? I have been sweating in these clothes all day.”
“Be at the restaurant at 8.”
Rodrigo nodded deeply and turned to go. He got into his Nissan and drove back to his house, watching to see if Don Hector had anyone follow him. When he pulled up to the house, he ran inside and collected his bag.
“Miranda, Solana. Come, we have to go now,” he shouted.
The two came running downstairs with their suitcases.
“Wait here,” Rodrigo said and ran upstairs to grab fifty grand in cash that was stuffed into a hole in the back wall of his closet. After retrieving the cash, he took his AK 47 and two extra magazines, his .45 automatic and ran back down the stairs. They went out to the car and put their bags in the trunk. Rodrigo slid the rifle under the bags and put his pistol on the floor under the driver’s seat. With Miranda in the passenger seat and Solana in the rear, he set out for his aunt’s house in Torreón.
Chapter 41
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D an drove into the night but by midnight the pain in his leg forced him to stop. He pulled off at a truck stop. Really just a café with fuel pumps, primitive showers, and a large dirt lot where trucks could park. He found an inconspicuous spot away from the trucks. After checking to see that no one was about, he stretched out in the back seat and opened his pants. The leg was swollen and red but he saw no sign of infection traveling from the wound. He removed the bandage and poured another dose of antiseptic powder on the wounds. Then he applied a fresh clotting pad and wrapped his leg with the gauze bandage. He drank a whole bottle of water and sighed. Everything was now in danger. Would he be able to walk in tomorrow? How was he going to get into the mansion, kill Hector and get out with a bum leg? Dan cursed his luck. He didn’t worry so much about being tracked by the police. There had been no camera in the car. After the police figured out it was not a suicide, they would not have any clues to follow. He locked his door and rolled up his jacket into a pillow. He needed rest. He lay back and his body slowly relaxed.
There were dreams of dark corridors. Dan was in a large building. He was chasing a woman who kept disappearing. There were phantoms closing in around him. He couldn’t catch the woman and he didn’t know the way out. He limped slowly. The phantoms were surrounding him. He tried to force himself to go faster but his movements were in slow motion. He tried harder to move, to escape to no avail. Dan sat upright, jerked awake from his dream, panting. Hope that isn’t prophetic!
Sunlight was shining through the windshield. The day was well along. He swore. It was going to take more time now to reach Mexico City. But he had to admit to himself that his body needed the rest after the previous day’s activities. His leg hurt like hell but the throbbing was less intense. He pulled his pants down and checked his bandages. They looked good; there had not been much bleeding during his sleep. Leave it alone for now. He drank some water and dug through his backpack for a power bar.
There were showers advertised, but Dan didn’t want to try that. Better to not be seen here, on the road, with a wound. Don’t want anyone to connect dots leading to me. He drove around to the gas pumps. Oddly there was no attendant. It was a prepay station. He would have to go into the store to pay the gas. He walked slowly across the lot, trying hard to disguise his limp. There was a dark stain on his pants. Thankfully the clerk was watching the TV and Dan got up to the counter before he looked up. Dan gave him enough to more than fill the tank and paid for a cup of coffee. He took his time, messing with his coffee, while waiting for the clerk to turn back to the television. Once back at the truck he quickly filled the tank. Should he risk another walk into and out of the station to get his change? He had thirty-five pesos due, just over two bucks in dollars. Leave it as a tip. He got in the truck and drove off.
He was on pace to arrive in Mexico City by the afternoon. He would have to find a hotel and clean his wounds. The hotel would have to be one that didn’t ask too many questions. Then he needed more rest, more time to recover. After, he would push ahead, getting ready and hoping his leg held out.
As he drove along he thought about Rodrigo. Hope he knows when to bolt for cover. If Hector Ortega put pressure on Rodrigo, his story would not hold up. The pickup would not be found and that would make Rodrigo more suspect. Hector would want some answers.
When Rodrigo didn’t show up for dinner, Hector sent one of the local gang members to his house. The man soon returned to the restaurant.
“He is not there. No one is. The house is empty.”
“You went in?”
“Sí, Don Hector. The door was unlocked. It looked like they packed clothes and left.”
“Where did he go?”
The man shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. Probably a relative, but I don’t know who they are or where they live.”
“Why would he run?”
“I don’t know that either. I know he was in a battle with Carlos over control in Chihuahua—”
“He killed Carlos,” Hector said.
“He ran for that reason?”
Hector ignored the question. “You will bring the men to the warehouse tomorrow. I want to talk to them.” He dismissed the man with a wave.
“Something is wrong here. There is no violence from the other gangs, yet the trucks get blown up. Then Rodrigo runs off.”
“Do you think he blew up the trucks?” Raúl asked.
“Maybe. Maybe one of the cartels got to him. Offered him a lot of money. Maybe one of them is behind the assassinations and Rodrigo was to sabotage the chase. Maybe that is why he survived.”
“But it was a gringo who did the shooting,” Raúl said.
“Maybe they hired a gringo so we would think it was the U.S. government.”
Hector’s mind swirled with the possibilities. He risked getting confused with the lack of hard information.
“Here is what we do,” he said leaning forward. “Raúl, you remain here. You are now in charge. I will make that announcement tomorrow. Find someone who knows where Rodrigo might have gone. I’m going to send for a sicario from Mexico City. He will track Rodrigo down and kill him and anyone in his family.”
“Who will you send?” Ramón asked.
“El Serpiente.”
“Emilio?” Raúl shuddered at the thought. Emilio, also known as ‘The Snake’ because he was thin and deadly, was someone the gang members avoided. Darkness seemed to surround him. He would walk into a room and conversation would quickly die out. His dark countenance and black, beady eyes that seemed to target you more than look at you, made everyone around him uncomfortable. It didn’t bother Emilio. He didn’t get along with people and enjoyed working alone.
Hector continued, “When Emilio gets here make sure you have some information for him so he can go after Rodrigo. I don’t want him to wait around. But first help Tariq do what he needs to do and get him out of here. Have someone take him to Veracruz. Don’t respond to anything he says. He is still angry and wants to provoke a fight. I want him out of our hair. Things are quieting down here. The police are leaving and the other gangs have not struck. Keep it that way and get the drugs moving through here again to the border. Purchase new trucks and modify them for the smuggling.
“I’m going back to Mexico City. I have to keep the other cartels from going to war with us. Hector Beltran-Levya is on our side. I must make sure Escobedo and Chacón are as well. Then I have to convince the Tijuana and Los Zetas cartels not to go to war with us. If they know all the others are with me that will make them think twice.”
The next day Hector made his announcement about Raúl being in charge. He included the fact that Rodrigo had run off and was responsible for the sabotage of the trucks.
If anyone knew where he might have gone they were to tell Raúl so they could go find him and bring him and his family back for some bloody revenge. Then he headed for the airport with the three other men he had brought and flew back to Mexico City.
The four of them, Henry, Jane, Warren, and Fred were sitting in Fred and Warren’s office.
“The bugs weren’t too sophisticated and not all that well hidden,” Warren declared. “Whoever it was, it wasn’t a tech guy and he didn’t use the company’s resources.” They were meeting in the room Warren shared with Fred.
“I’ll go through the org structure to find possible candidates,” Fred said. “That’s not hard research to do.”
“We’re looking for someone without a lot of horsepower to authorize this,” Henry said. “Someone who has to do it on his own. Can you get a read on their views from the files? We want someone who wants the company to follow a safe, non-controversial path.”
“I can get a feel from the records. It’s not exact, but it will give you a starting point,” Fred replied.
“Good.”
Jane spoke up. “Do you think you should let Roger know? His office may be bugged as well.”
Henry thought for a moment. “I may let Roger know, just to keep him in the loop. He won’t like it. But I doubt whoever did this bugged his office. Being the SAD, Roger’s further up the ladder.”
“Still he ought to check,” Jane said.
“Agreed. In the meantime our ‘recorded’ communications will consist of the fact that we don’t know where Dan is and we don’t know what he’s up to. We have to look like we don’t have any connection to him at this time. That should lower their interest in us. If they think this operation has gone off the rails since the exfiltration was sabotaged, it might make whoever did this think they won the day.”
“I still wonder how the exfiltration plan got to the cartel.” Jane said.
“Maybe our eavesdropper has a drug gang connection in the embassy. They hire locals for some work. Maybe the DEA got involved and didn’t want things upset.”
“So why didn’t they stop it ahead of time?”
“They didn’t know about it then? Maybe stopping Dan’s exit was all they could do. The plan might have been to capture him. After that they would torture him to reveal our operation which would have led to us getting cancelled.”
“So they could shut things down even after Dan completed his operation.”
“And with that information, the gangs wouldn’t go to war with one another.”
“With Ortega taking over, their plan is working even without Dan’s capture. His blowing up the terrorists won’t have that much of an effect. But if he can take out Ortega, that would cause major chaos to erupt.”
“That’s a big ‘if’. I think he’s on a suicide mission.” Henry said.
Jane frowned. “I hope not, but it sounds foolhardy,” she replied. “But if anyone can pull this off it will be him.”
Rodrigo called before he arrived at their aunt’s house. She had some food prepared and beds set up. Solana ate and quickly went upstairs to go to sleep.
“Why are you here?” Milagros asked. She lived alone. Her husband had died two years ago in an industrial accident. She had two grown children, both married. One had moved to Veracruz and the other still lived in Saltillo.
“There are some bad men that will be coming after me soon. They will kill me, Miranda, and Solana if they find us,” Rodrigo said.
“They won’t find you here?”
“Not for a while. We’ll be gone in a few days. I have to make arrangements.”
Milagros stood up and began to pace the room. “If they come…these bad men, they will kill me along with the three of you. Even if you are gone, they will kill me if they find I hid you here.”
“No they won’t,” Rodrigo replied.
“So you say, but they are gang members, no?”
“Sí, gang members.” Rodrigo hung his head. “They will think I have betrayed them.”
“So they will seek revenge, if not on you, then anyone near you. That means family.”
“I am sorry Tía Milagros. We had nowhere else to go in a hurry.”
“But you now need to find somewhere else. Somewhere that doesn’t put me in danger.”
“Tía Milagros may we stay the night at least?” Miranda asked.
The older woman looked at her niece with sad eyes. “Sí. It may be dangerous, but stay and rest. Think about where to hide and then you must go in the morning.”
In the morning they discussed where to go.
“Try Saltillo. It’s a larger town and you can easily hide there,” Milagros said.
“Maybe we should go to Monterrey. It’s even larger,” Miranda said.
Rodrigo nodded his head. “It also has an airport. We’ll go there.”
After a quick breakfast, they put their bags in the Nissan and hugged Milagros goodbye.
“Hide well. Make sure nothing happens to Solana.”
Chapter 42
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W hen Hector arrived at the mansion he went to Jorge’s quarters to clean up and change clothes. He had moved his clothes in when he took up residence. Then he went to María’s wing. He knocked on the door to her suite of rooms.
“Adelante,” Come in, a woman’s voice said.
Hector opened the door and stepped into the room. María was at her desk going through papers. When he entered she closed the folder and looked up at him.
“Eduardo, my attorney, left some papers for me to look at.”
“Do they have anything to do with cartel business? If they do, I should review them.”
There was a small hesitation before she replied, “No. I think they are all personal things.”
“Still it might be a good idea for me to review them as well.”
María smiled at Hector. “What brings you to my room?”
“We have things we must do together. Things that are important to keep the cartel together and protect you and the children.”
“What sort of things, Don Hector?”
He smiled at the honorific she gave him. “The assistant to the Sinaloa president is coming to see me. He should see you by my side so he knows that I have your blessing to take over leadership. He flies in tomorrow and will be here at noon. We must have a nice lunch for him.”
“And my being with you will make him feel everything is fine?”
“As much as it can. Everyone is nervous, including the politicians. The more quickly we can establish we are in control, the sooner we can calm things down.”
“I don’t know that my presence will have any effect on him. I suspect it is more what you say and do.”
“We must maintain an image of control and succession. Our leader has passed and you are showing support for the new leader.”
“Can you lead the cartel? I know you did much to help Jorge, but can you lead it by yourself?”
“Don’t worry about that. For one, there is no one else. For another, I know how everything works. If I have your support, it will keep others from challenging me. A revolt will not be good for you or your children.”
“How long do you want me in this role?”
María posed the question with some dread in her heart. She sensed Hector wanted so much more and she was beginning to feel trapped. She had felt that way with Jorge, but he doted on the children. He loved them and wanted only the best. He wanted María, also, as a glamorous prop and for some sex now and then. But he spent so much time with his mistresses and the prostitutes that she felt abandoned. He must have enjoyed their wilder tastes, certainly when he was drinking and taking the drugs. With his sudden, shocking death, María had begun to think about getting away from the mansion, the cartel, the life, but now Hector had put his claim on her. Had she lost the opportunity? Eduardo, the family attorney had been encouraging at the start, but now he was more reluctant and not very optimistic.
“That depends on how
well we work together. My desire is to protect you and to keep the cartel intact and dominant. That means much money for you and your children going forward. You may not have much for your own right now, but if you stay with me, I will make sure you have millions for yourself and the kids. You will live in luxury the rest of your life.”
María smiled yet her heart sank. He wants me for his woman.
“I will be there tomorrow for your meeting with the president’s assistant. I will smile and be supportive.”
“Good. This will all work out well. You will find greater security and wealth for yourself with me. Your fortune will not be mixed with your husband’s. That is your current problem. Your husband’s wealth is going to be reabsorbed into the cartel.”
María frowned.
“But don’t worry. Stay with me, help me, and I will make you personally wealthy.”
María nodded to say she understood. Hector stood. He looked like he wanted to say more. She hoped he wouldn’t. Finally he turned to go.
“Thank you,” he said on leaving.
The next day Alejandro Pérez, the Sinaloa president’s assistant, arrived at the mansion. He came in two armored SUVs with two aides and four heavily armed bodyguards. Hector met them at the front door with María at his side. Everyone was ushered into a reception room. The bodyguards were posted outside and the president’s assistant, his aides, Hector, and María sat in comfortable leather chairs. Drinks were served and Hector offered a toast.
“Here’s to our continued cooperation to keep things peaceful and keep the prosperity going.”
“To peace and prosperity. A good campaign slogan if I ever heard one,” Alejandro said.
“The president has an election coming soon, doesn’t he?” María asked.
