(This is not authorized or endorsed by Ozark, it's producers or actors.)
(For Entertainment only, not for commercial use or sale.)
(All characters are property of the show Ozark and Netflix)
By P.C.
The sun was beginning to set over the rolling hills just outside of Mexico City. It was another oppressively humid evening which made the air feel like nothing more than additional weight when trying to get around.
An eight thousand square foot compound was tucked neatly into the side of small incline near the base of a larger mountain. Fifteen soldatos strolled lazily within the walls of the compound, most of them with a lit cigarette hanging from their mouth and an AK-47 slung over their shoulder. The two that did not carry the AK carried a Dragunov 7.62 mm sniper rifle mounted with night vision optics. They all stopped moving at once upon hearing the incoming helicopter.
One of the men with the Dragunov raised the rifle and quickly scoped the descending Sikorsky. After a few seconds he radioed all was well and to allow the craft to land within the walls. They all watched as the black object continued its approach and just before touching down all the lights were switched on. The near-by guards shielded themselves from the rotor wash as a single man stepped out of the back of the helo and strolled casually toward the main residence. The guards who could see him recognized him, even in the dark, and none of them breathed a word.
The newly arrived guest walked through the double doors and down a long hallway toward the dining room. He knew exactly where he was going as he had been here countless times over the years. Stepping into the dining room he spotted her sitting on a sofa along the wall, a glass of wine in one hand and a cell phone in the other.
"Helen, good the see you," he said. It was a lie.
She nodded and raised her glass slightly, "Always a pleasure Del", she said.
He knew that was a lie as well.
Del walked over to the chair across from Helen and sat down. He didn't like Helen. It was one of those things he couldn't pinpoint, but she annoyed him. Maybe it was just because she was an attorney.
The two sat in silence, Helen alternated between looking at Del and looking at her phone. She viewed Camino Del Rio as a thug who cleaned up well. He rarely could be left alone without it ending in violence and he was notorious for speaking without thinking. Del, more than anyone else kept her busy cleaning up messes.
They both looked up when a door on the other side of the room opened. A man walked though and stepped to the side, leaving the doorway clear.
"Hello Nelson," Helen said.
He nodded but said nothing. Del just ignored him all together.
A few seconds later Omar Navarro walked into the room, he moved much like Del did. He had purpose but seldom ever seemed rushed. He stopped in front of Del and slapped him on the shoulder.
"Good to see you back from Chicago my friend."
"Good the be back, I hate the place," Del answered.
"Helen, I trust you had a good flight?" Navarro asked.
"Yes, of course," she said.
"Good," Navarro's monotone voice washed over the room. He sat down between Del and Helen and slapped his legs, "well, I'm waiting to hear about Chicago."
Del cleared his throat, "we had a little problem with the cleaners, but I took care of it."
Helen shook her head, "no, you made a huge mess. You don't think anyone is going to miss those 4 people? Then this Byrde guy gets away from you. I checked this morning and there are already missing persons reports out for two of them."
"I took care of it. No more thieves Helen. We can not allow people to steal." Del said in almost a whisper. His annoyance with the attorney was showing.
"Marty Byrde?" Navarro asked Del.
"Yes, Marty Byrde." Del said.
Navarro exhaled, "So, you have my five million you were looking for?"
"It was eight million and not yet. I will have it tomorrow when I go back to Chicago."
Helen rolled her eyes and took a sip of wine.
"Omar, this guy Marty he is smart. He was the only one who found the thief the first time and he has been good for us the last ten years. I don't know if he was involved, if I thought he was he'd be in a barrel with Bruce."
Navarro said nothing but kept looking at Del prompting him to continue.
"He is going to move the operation to this place called Ozark, more shoreline than the state of California," Del smiled. Navarro did not.
"So, he is going to get me our eight million back and set the operation up there. He promised to clean five hundred million in the next five years."
Helen laughed and put her empty wine glass of the table, "five hundred?"
"Sounds crazy I know, but he's motivated."
Navarro reached over and refilled Helens wine glass. Del was smart, charismatic, and he could read people well. Camino Del Rio had been with him for the better part of twenty years and was the best cell boss he had. This might be a stretch though. Navarro was tempted to just send Del back up there to kill the entire family and move on. This could be an additional headache they didn't need.
"What do you think?" Navarro looked at Helen.
"It's a huge risk Omar, that's a big chunk of the business to trust one person with."
Del said nothing, he knew she was right, but he knew it was a risk worth taking.
"He has been consistent over the last ten years," Del said.
"Minus eight million," Navarro said.
Del didn't respond. There was nothing to gain from it.
"This is your deal Camino, are you ready to hook your future to the Byrdes?" Navarro finally said.
"I'll keep tabs on it, if I see it's going bad, I'll pull the plug and clean it up." Del said.
Helen chimed in, "good, because the last place I want to end up is the Ozarks."
Helen worked directly for Navarro so Del had no authority over her, and she had no authority over him. She did not give orders, only advice to Navarro, and he decided if he would take it. Consequently, Helen and Del had a mutual respect that off-set the mutual dislike. Helen knew he was an earner, and dangerous, so while she would speak her mind, she would never push too far. She knew that Navarro could only protect her to a point.
"I'll tell him to reclean the eight million when he gets it to me tomorrow, as a test," Del said.
"You know that's just wasting money, right?" Helen said confused.
"It will be worth it, if he fails, I'll get us out. If he succeeds, we start piling on more."
Navarro stood, "Ok, let's go have dinner."