Ch 1 - You Must Love Your Business More Than You Hate Epifanio!
"You must love your business more than you hate Epifanio!" The Charger said in his heavy accent pointedly looking at Camila, almost challenging her to deny it.
A shadow of consideration crossed her face and she said thoughtfully: "Maybe you're right!", which sentence made James feel a chill take over him. He couldn't read anything specific on her face, but he could feel his pulse quicken and realized that he wanted to punch The Charger in the face right then and there.
As Camila stared at The Charger and then dismissed him with her silence, James caught himself thinking that she better not warm up to the idea of selling Teresa to Epifanio for $5 mln despite he himself having suggested that not returning her to Mexico was a mistake that had antagonized Epifanio. That had been just at the end of the previous week, a few days after her arrival.
Now, he couldn't believe he had said such a thing to Camila! And that he had actually believed it!
Hiding Teresa and saving her from Batman's hands had saved the girl's life and might have been merciful, but James doubted mercy was a motive for Camila. He had known her for too long from too close a distance to believe anything else but a grand scheme in which they were all pawns.
One thing was more certain than anything: It had been hectic every day in the warehouse as they were fighting to keep their heads above water but were swallowing so much of it in the process that the salt was leaving its distinct unpleasant taste! And Teresa Mendoza had been paired with him almost every day and had passed all tests of loyalty and reliability that the idea of selling her to Epifanio sounded like betrayal. And James hated betrayal!
Getting $5mln cash would solve their immediate problems, this much was true! They would pay the Colombians, whom they owed this sum for the seized product that they lost, and Camila's statement that Epifanio was sending another shipment tonight didn't bring up the level of assurance at all because James was certain they were in the mess exactly because of Epifanio.
"He hasn't been very reliable recently!" He knew his words would put salt in Camila's wound, but they were losing customers to Eric and the Jimenez cartel, and he couldn't sugarcoat things for her. He called things with their real names! And the real name was WAR!
Her precious husband, the newly hatched politician, had declared war on them.
James had no proof, but he had been in the business long enough to know that two seized shipments in a week, one from Mexico and one from Colombia, on top of a shipment that just never arrived from Culiacan, was not a coincidence. The person who had most to gain from destabilizing their operation was the person who was most vocal about Camila Vargas tucking her tail and going back by his side to help him win an election.
No, no way Camila would send the girl back because it would mean accepting defeat!
The girl had followed instructions to the letter, and he appreciated that. The only time she hadn't had been to come back for him after the last bust, a move that had been so unexpected and touching that it had left him almost angry.
"I used the time I could see to get YOU out of the cave!" she had said in a defiant voice and had walked out on him. He was angry with her for taking the unnecessary risk as his life had not been in imminent danger, but he couldn't crush the warm feeling it gave him! And he realized it was because no one else had ever done such a thing for him!
That was on top of having grasped his words about the darkness of this Life that often descended on his soul and made him believe he lived in a damn cave! And he couldn't even begin to imagine sharing his thoughts about the cave with Kim, who slept next to him at night! What had possessed him to open up to Teresa on the way to the drop point, he couldn't say, but now he somehow felt closer to her, and the idea of selling her to be killed felt unacceptable!
James was ready to call it a day as he lit a smoke and inhaled deeply before getting in his car. Then he realized someone else had also stepped out for a smoke behind him.
The second his eyes caught sight of The Charger, James couldn't hold himself: "So, now you're …ahh…consiglieri? Giving high level advice?"
Although Camila spoke to most men directly, to the Charger on matters of the coke cutting and purity most of the time, Charger, just as all the men, were James's responsibility and worked under his command.
James couldn't hold his tongue as obviously the situation had affected him more than he cared to admit: "I brought you here! You still work for me…So, stop coming up with bright ideas, got it?"
The Charger was caught by surprise and took his few seconds to stare back at James, then to light his cigarette and only after he had exhaled two times, he said in a voice that seemed too light for the warning James had just given him: "Why?...Interested in the girl, are we?"
"Mind your own business!" James snapped. "Just cause your Spanish is better than mine, doesn't make you qualified to…ahh…talk strategy with La Jefa!"
"Yeah…well…it might be so, but you sound …ahh…too pissy for the fate of a girl… that you don't care about! What's with the redhead? Is she out of the picture?", The Charger knew of James's girlfriend and liked to tease.
As James kept silent and didn't respond to the joke, The Charger added: "It's not like Camila listens to anyone, guey!...Let alone me!"
James threw the cigarette butt on the ground and squished it with his shoe in an angry manner as if it was at fault for his upset: "Like I said…Mind your own business! And use your brain! I mean giving in to Epifanio won't stop there…Teresa won't be the only victim. Got it?" and without waiting for an answer or looking at The Charger, he headed towards his parked vehicle.