C7 chapter 7

Chapter seven: Death to traitors

The Next Day

I walked briskly down the bustling streets of the city, adorned by the vivid colors of blooming flowers lining the sidewalks. My destination was a small flower stall tucked away between the towering buildings. As i approached, i scanned the surroundings to ensure that my presence would go unnoticed.

Taking a deep breath, i pushed my way through the crowd and arrived at the flower stall. There, behind the counter, stood a familiar face – Leonardo, my old friend from their days in the Cartel . I hadn't seen him since we had parted ways after my fall out from the cartel.

I greeted Leonardo with a nod, careful not to let my guard down. Leonardo, aware of our secret meeting, responded with a subtle smile that barely reached his eyes. As customers walked by, inspecting the vibrant flowers on display, i leaned closer to Leonardo, almost whispering.

"Leo, it's been a while. How have you managed to keep this place running?" I asked, my voice masked by the noise of the city and the cheerful ambiance of the flower stall.

Leonardo chuckled softly, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Well, my friend, you'd be surprised what a pretty face and a fragrant arrangement can accomplish. But enough about that, what brings you here, Jay? It's not often that old comrades pay a visit."

I didn't't beat around the bush. "I need weapons, Leo. High-powered ones. The kind that can make a difference in a war."

Leonardo's dark eyebrows knitted together, his jovial expression replaced by a serious one. "Jay, you know I can't supply weapons to just anyone. There needs to be a good reason. What are you planning?"

I hesitated for a moment, considering how much he should reveal. After a deep breath, i spoke resolutely, my voice barely above a whisper. "There are traitors among us, Leo. Those who have betrayed everything we fought for. It's time to put an end to them."

Leonardo's eyes narrowed, a mix of anger and determination flickering within them. He had always valued loyalty above all else. "Tell me more, Jay. Who are these traitors, and what do they deserve?"

I leaned in even closer, my words dripping with venom". Those monsters murdered my family, they deserve nothing less than death."

"Am sorry about the death of your wife and daughter, i hope you received the condolences flowers i sent to your home". Leonardo replied as he began to wrap the flowers in a bouquet.

"Leonardo". I called his name again, but this time more loudly this time he did not say anything else to me until he was done wrapping and decorating the flowers,then finally, he looked up and gazed at me intensely for a few minutes before he finally spoke.

"But am sorry to disappoint you, but there are no weapons available right now". Leonardo replied.

"Look, if its about the money i can afford to pay, i just badly need those weapons". i requested.

"Its not about the money ,a few days ago, some men came here, they had a lot of cash, i didn't know who they were or where they came from, but they bought all the weapons i had in store and now, am left with nothing. Leonardo replied.

"Damn it". I cursed under my breath.

" But Thanks anyway".I said as i turned to leave.

"Wait". Leonardo called after me.

Leonardo called after me," I paused and turned to face him.

"I may not have the weapons you need right now, but I assure you that they will be arriving in a few weeks or months, depending on how the security is. But for now, I've got a little something for you. Just wait," he said, holding the bouquet of flowers he had wrapped earlier. He left the ventilation room and returned a few minutes later, still holding the bouquet. He handed it to me, and I looked intensely at the flowers.

"What exactly am I supposed to do with this?" I asked, puzzled.

"Don't look at the surface, but what is hidden inside," he stated in a riddle.

I looked at the flowers again, this time with more focus. To my surprise, I saw something hidden inside - a gun. But not just any ordinary gun, it was the one I used to kill back when I worked for Vandel.

"The day you decided to quit the business, you gave me that gun and told me to do whatever I wanted with it. So, I decided to keep it because I had a hunch that you might need it one day, and I was right," Leonardo noted.

I paused, memories from the past flooding back. "Don't you have any plans of going up against Vandel, even after all he did to you?" I asked.

"I'm a business man, Jay. Things like bloodshed and power tussle aren't for people like me," Leonardo replied, returning to his original position and arranging flowers. I turned to leave the store.

"A free advice to you from an old friend, stay away from trouble now that you still can, or else one day, you're gonna end up with a bounty hanging over your head," Leonardo said before I finally left the store. He was always so mysterious, I thought to myself as I entered my car and drove off to settle the score with Fabio.

After driving for hours, I finally arrived at his house. I got down from my car and headed straight to the front door. I tried unlocking it, but it didn't open. I guessed Fabio wasn't home, that was why the door was locked. I tried looking for another entrance into the house. Fortunately for me, one of the windows wasn't locked. Using that, I entered quietly into the house.

With my gun held firmly in my hands, I began to check the rooms one after the other to make sure that there was no one in the house. After I was done searching, I didn't find anyone. I began searching the house for anything that might be useful to me. At the end of my search, I found some packs of cocaine and heroin in his drawer, four loaded guns, a ledger, a map, and bundles of money stacked in piles, all hidden under his bed.

Later that evening, I could hear the sound of a car parked in front of the house. I spied through one of the curtains - it was Fabio. He had finally arrived, and the best part was that there was no one with him, and he wasn't drunk. He unlocked the front door and entered the house. He turned on the lights and turned towards the direction I was seated. As soon as he saw me, he attempted to take out his gun, but before he could, I had already pointed mine at him.

"Try taking out that gun, and I will make sure that's the last thing you do. Now, put your hands where I can see them," I ordered. He raised his hands slowly, and I took his gun from where he had kept it and removed the bullets.

"Now, step away from the door," I ordered again, and he did so slowly.

"What do you want from me?" Fabio managed to say.

"After so many years, is this how you say hello to an old colleague of yours... but anyway, I didn't come here for that. I came because I need information about Vandel's new business," I replied.

"No way... I can't give you any information. If Vandel finds out that I've been talking to you, he's gonna kill me," Fabio said.

"In case you didn't notice, since the day you started stealing from Vandel, you were already a dead man. So it's best you start talking, or I will be forced to do this the hard way," I said, aiming the gun at his head.

"Please... please don't kill me. I'll talk," Fabio replied in fear. He took a deep breath and started talking.

"Ever since Vandel returned to El Paso, he has become more powerful and influential. But what you don't know is that he didn't come back alone. He brought the three Rodriguez brothers along with him," Fabio said.

"Rodriguez brothers as in Don Mateo, Don Alfonso, and Don Theodore?" I asked.

"Yes," Fabio replied. "I've heard a lot about the trio. It's said that they are one of the most vicious drug lords that dominate the international black markets when it comes to drug trade. But why exactly did Vandel bring them to El Paso?" I asked.

"As I said earlier, for expansion. He wants to put the three brothers in charge of running his drug syndicate. Don Alfonso will be in charge of buying the raw materials for the production of drugs from the supplier. Don Theodore will be in charge of manufacturing the drugs, and Don Mateo will be in charge of the distribution of drugs both within and outside El Paso. By forming an alliance with them, Vandel now has access to the international black market, which gives him the opportunity to launder money on a larger scale," Fabio said.

"And how does he intend to launder the money?" I asked.

"Through the connections of the trio, he is able to own shares in legitimate enterprises and launder money undetected. Not only that, another way he launders money is by converting them to commodities. That way, he can smuggle them as goods into the country and later convert them back to money. This would help ensure the easy movement of money both within and outside El Paso. And once the laundromat business is fully stabilized, the business will expand to dealing with weapons, and that is how it will keep expanding around the world, not only in El Paso," Fabio said.

"You bunch of sick bastards, how many lives will you destroy just to satisfy your endless greed for money and power? Will it ever stop?" I asked, filled with anger. But Fabio didn't reply.

"The weapons, were you the ones who bought them all?" I asked.

"Yes," he replied.

"Why?"

"We need the weapons for protection and to keep the other cartels in check," he replied.

"Bastards like you deserve to die a miserable death, but I won't kill you today because I know that sooner or later, you're going to meet your end," I said as I carried the ledger and map before finally leaving the house. I entered my car and drove off.

Later that night, at Vandel's hideout, Fabio burst in, almost out of breath. "Boss... boss, I have something important to tell you," he said.

"I thought that I might have to wait till dawn or maybe I might have to send someone over to your house to drag you here instead," Vandel said, continuing to clean his gun.

"Boss, you have to hear me out. This is..."

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Vandel fired three shots at Fabio's chest, and he dropped dead.

"This is a lesson to anyone who thinks they can steal from me and get away with it, death to traitors". Vandel threatened, raising his gun and firing in the air.

"Death to traitors!!!Death to traitors!!!Death to traitors". They began to chant.