Redemption (35 page)

“Have you noticed, there are no kids.”

“True say. The school we saw was closed, you remember? Maybe the village doesn’t have enough kids to make a whole school and they’ve all been sent to the neighbouring village.”

“Sure, but it’s evening, they should be back by now. It’s lovely outside! Logically, there must be some kids playing outside, but there’s absolutely none here. Everyone’s white and middle-aged for the most part. Most are men, some women. Some old people too, but very few. You noticed when we got close to the ranch?”

“Yeah, it was weird how many people were wandering around there.”

“They were watching us. You know, the more I look around… it’s all fake! The village, the citizens. It’s a set-up! This village is not real!”

“Who would make a fake village?”

“I… don’t know yet.”

“Well… we gotta go, let’s get back to the car and pick up Guerra and Namara,” said Shinsaku, rising from the bench.

“Yes,
please
.”

CHAPTER 54

Ming Mei returned to the motel in the wee hours of the morning, exhausted from her night of work. The night had been once again fruitful for both her and Eduardo.

“He wants to meet you, Danny,” said Ming Mei, sighing as she stretched out on the bed.”

“Already? Did he say why?”

“Not exactly, but clearly I’m turning him a profit. He knows I’m with you and he wants to see what he’s up against, I bet. It’s been weeks since I started working for that bastard and I make him more money in one night than any other girl there. I know it, and he knows it, and he knows I know it, and he doesn’t want to share me with you. You’re a setback.”

“Perfect… exactly what we wanted. I thought he hadn’t decided yet. I’m sure there’s a link between Ed and Sauvalito, but we don’t know enough yet. He’s the key to this whole story. Only he can show us the truth. Have you found out anything about him yet?”

“He’s a closed book, remember? There’s no way to search his office, or any other part of it. He has guards that watch us constantly. There’s always at least six men flanking him. To top it off, he’s always armed. Heavily armed.”

“You’ve noticed nothing in all this time?”

“Nothing relevant. But that place is literally a brothel. There is a stripper in the bar who calls herself Shanti and she is a brunette. She could fit the picture we have for the woman seen in
maquiladoras
some years ago, but I can't really confirm it's her. You know, they’re poor girls for the most part and they’ll prostitute themselves on the spot. There are beds on the second floor. It’s lucky I make him so much with the dancing.”

“Good. Ok. It’s time for James and I to step in. We need to succeed with this guy, it’s our only chance!”

“Chance for what?” muttered Guerra sleepily.

“Chance to resolve the murders, duh. He has too like us and trust us. If it doesn’t work…”

“It’ll work,” said Guerra.

“It has to. For now, Ming Mei, keep up what you’ve been doing.”

“I’m exhausted!”

“I know. But Ed’s the door to everything.”

*     *     *

“So, this is Léa’s boyfriend. I’m glad to be able to put a face to the name,” said Ed, sizing Namara up from top to tail from behind his desk.

“I’m not her boyfriend. Léa works for me.”

“I see… she’s one of your girls.”

“The only one, for the moment. I’m new here,” he added, matching Ed’s poker face. Guerra was playing the same role by his side. Two of Ed’s henchmen stood behind him, which was making the office quite cramped. Guerra and Namara had noticed on first glance that Ed’s men were concealing a weapon under their jackets, and probably Ed too. Namara and Guerra each carried a 9 mm pistol on their belt, bringing the total up to five armed men in that room. The atmosphere was charged, the margin for error thin, and Namara knew it.

“This is my friend Arthur,” said Namara.

“Ed.”

“I know. Léa told me about you too,” retorted Guerra.

Eduardo smiled. He lit a cigarette and took two puffs, letting a long wisp of smoke hang in the air around him.

“I hope you won’t object if my friend Bobby at the back holds onto your weapons for the duration of the visit. We’ll return them to you when you leave.”

One of the armed men advanced slowly toward Guerra, who turned to look at him. The man froze. Guerra turned to Ed.

“Let me make something clear right off the bat. If your man ever tries to take my weapon, it’s the last thing he’ll do. Nobody takes my gun and certainly not today. Do we understand each other?”

“Maybe it’ll be the last thing you do too,
hombre
,” said Ed darkly.

“Maybe, but life is full of surprises,” said Guerra dryly.

The tension was suffocating. A shootout looked imminent.

“You asked to see me and Arthur. Why? What do you want?” asked Namara dryly.

Ed could tell the men before him were absolutely serious, and for some reason he also knew that they were no amateurs. If the tension persisted, he knew he would find himself with a bullet in the head in seconds.

“All right, all right. Let’s all calm down. Bobby, back up. Let mister Arthur breathe a bit!”

The man behind him retreated to lean against the wall.

“We’re all business men here, Ed,” said Namara.

“I am indeed, Rick, and the problem is… this is
my
territory, you see. Put it this way: I’m the king and master of San Matanza, get it?”

“Of course. I assure you, we’re not here to steal from you. We’re here to make money.”

“But you see, Rick… your Léa works in my bar, so she earns
me
lots of money. All the girls that work for me are mine, no exceptions. And Léa, she gets me more than any of my bitches. From what I understand, she works for you… and with that, I have a problem.”

“She’s always worked for me. I’m afraid we do have a problem. We’ll have to find a solution.”

“And what do you propose?”

“We need business allies. I’ve always advocated for partnership.”

“Yes, but I only work with people I know, and I don’t know you!”

“Fair enough. Smart. Let’s get to know each other.”

“I’m willing to pay for her. Name your price and then disappear.”

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible.”

“Oh yeah?”

Eduardo leaned back in his chair thoughtfully. He took a drag on his cigarette and blew the smoke out through his nostrils like a dragon, or a demon.

“So?”

“So… if you won’t accept money, I’ll have to kill you and your friend. And no-one will know about it.”

“Yes, you no doubt could. But if you misfire, I can assure you that we won’t. And ultimately, you will have lost everything. Your life, Léa, and tons of dough. You want cash, and we do too…”

“That’s an interesting point of view. Very well, let’s talk. Bobby, go get some tequila.”

The man left the office in silence and closed the door behind him.

“So tell me about yourself,” he started in a gentler tone.

“Why? Léa probably already told you why we’re here. What do you want to know exactly?”

“Yeah, she told me a few things. You’re on the run from Chicago… you were in what?”

“Cocaine.”

Eduardo suddenly got interested. He was in a similar business and he needed to know if he was facing down potential allies or competitors. He tried to figure out whether they were amateurs or big-time players.

“Interesting… American colleagues!” he said smiling as Bobby returned with three glasses and a bottle of tequila. Eduardo poured himself a glass and shot the whole thing back in one. He poured to more glasses for Namara and Guerra, who toasted Ed and did the same.

“We’ve been in the game a while.”

“For big players?”

“The Capignolli family, nearly ten years.”

“I see. The mafia.”

“Yes.”

“But you’re not Italian?”

“No.”

“So you must be very good. What do you do exactly?”

“We run product from Canada to the US.”

“Risky, isn’t it?”

“Very. We’ve only been caught once. Arthur and I did a prison stint in Canada.”

“Those pigs.”

“Yeah.”

“Big loads?”

“About five hundred kilos per load. Sometimes we move money… four million per trip, three times.”

“That’s a lot of pressure! And your profits?”

“Fifty thou for every successful trip.”

“Not bad, not bad. Colombian?”

“No, Venezuelan. The Capignolli’s had a contact down there and they got their kilos for dirt cheap.”

“Impressive, but why, if you were as good as you say, are they after you? You know, Rick, in my mind, when a guy runs away from his old employers, it’s probably because he tried to fuck them. Ain’t that the truth?”

“No.”

“So Léa was lying when she said you were on the lam?”

“Yeah, we ran, but not from the Italians. I killed a cop.”

Silence clamped down on them. Ed didn’t say a word, but his eyes widened as though he wasn’t sure he’d heard right.

“Are you kidding?”

“No, a mole blew the lid off the network, and the DEA caught up with us while we were transporting from Montreal to Chicago. They tried to ambush us in Chicago while we unloaded the merchandise. With what we were carrying, we would have been sentenced to years in the slammer. So a shootout erupted, I fired and ran with Arthur. ”

Ed was speechless for several seconds. Then his face suddenly softened. He burst out laughing, loudly, as though he’d just heard the funniest thing ever.

“Shit! You took down a DEA… and now you have the feds on your ass?”

“Exactly.”

“Christ almighty, Rick, you are my idol. Not content with just any old cop, were you?”

“Yes, and now we’re thinking we’re not going back for a while.”

“Those fucking cops are ravenous, and especially the DEA. They tried to corner me a few years ago in El Paso, but they had nothing on me. They had to let me go. Idiots. Well, I drink to your exploits, Rick,” he said, and they raised their tequila glasses together.

“You heard that, Bobby? These guys are incredible, eh?”

“You bet. Around here, if they find out, you’re gonna be fuckin’ heroes,” he agreed, shaking their hands. “I’m Bobby, by the way. Sorry about before, but you know how it is.”

“Eh, no problem, Bobby,” said Guerra.

The other henchman in the cowboy hat, who had stayed silent from the beginning, smiled for the first time and shook their hands.

“You think they’re ok, Bobby?” asked Ed.

“Yeah… they look like two fucking bastards and they seem to have nerve. I like ‘em!”

“I agree. I like them too! You seem to know the business and you have
cojones
. I was going to kill you at first, but I’ve changed my mind. I’m having a little party with my men tonight, would you care to join us?”

“Of course,” said Namara with a smile.

“In that case, welcome to San Matanza!”

Ed rose from his chair to shake Namara’s hand. He finally saw the tattoos on Eduardo’s arms that had led them to him. Eduardo told them to meet at the bar at nightfall, after which they would all leave together.

Danny and James found a dozen men waiting for them, all wearing cowboy hats. Ed waved them over when they walked through the door. The place was practically empty at this hour.

“Welcome, my American
compadres
! This is the rest of us. And these are the two gringos I was telling you about, Rick and Arthur!”

The group was made up entirely of Mexicans and Guatemalans, each of whom seemed more corrupted than the other. Some were marked with several tattoos and they seemed to have a particular taste for Ranchero aesthetics. They saluted Namara and Guerra with their hats. One of the men called out in a hoarse voice, “Which one of them killed the cop?”

“That one,” said Ed with a smile, pointing to Namara.

“Great work,” said the man with a snigger.

“Thanks.”

Ming Mei, already at the bar, walked across the floor to talk to Namara while the others watched in silence.

“You coming?” asked Ming Mei to Namara.

“No, go on without me, I’m going with Ed. I’ll be back late. Don’t wait up.”

“What!? What do you mean you’re not coming? You promised you’d take me out tonight!”

“Yeah, I know, but Ed’s having a party tonight. We’ll go another time.”

“No, it’s not fair! You do this every time! What makes you think I’d want to go out with you again!?”

“So we won’t, it’s simple. Do what you want,” said Namara, uninterested.

“You never listen to a word I say! You don’t care at all!” she screamed.

Then Namara punched her, right in the face. She fell backwards, knocking over a table, landing on the filthy ground. She wasn’t moving, stunned by the hit she’d taken. Namara paced toward her.

“Don’t ever talk to me like that in front of anyone, you hear me, you fucking bitch?”

Ming Mai sat silently on the ground, holding her bloody nose.

“The next time you dare to talk back, I may not be so nice. Now fuck off. Get out of my sight.”

Ming Mei’s face and shirt was covered in blood. Namara had planned the scene out with Ming Mei, and she’d agreed to take the hit. The intention was to convince Ed that he was as pitiless as any of them. He wanted to dispel any doubts as to his capacity for cruelness. He knew that the scene could be a determining factor in the coming events. He hadn’t broken her nose, but it seemed to be bleeding a lot. Apparently, the scene had worked, because Guerra was staring at Namara like he’d never seen him before. As for Ed, he was nearly doubled over with laughter as Ming Mei disappeared behind the bar. The other men laughed too, to see the fury in Namara’s face. Ed approached him and clapped him on the shoulder reassuringly.

“You did well, to not let that bitch push you around. You’re one hell of a badass, you weren’t lying. I think she’s learned her lesson.”

“Dumb skank. I don’t know why I keep her around.”

“I feel you, but don’t worry about it. Tonight, we’re partying. Come on, let’s go!”

CHAPTER 55

The spirited group had piled into three trucks and set out for the desert, leaving the city behind. They drove in single-file, leaving a huge trail of dust behind them. Namara and Guerra were in the back of one of the trucks, clutching the side so they wouldn’t fall out. After several kilometres of being bounced around, they left the road and plunged into the desert itself.