kind of barracks. A sentry at the gate said something into a radio and then waved them through. When they pulled up outside the farmhouse, an attractive young woman greeted Cesar as he climbed out of the limousine.
“The Padre is expecting you in his office. Please follow me.” The woman turned and led Cesar inside. On the main floor, toward the back of the house, they approached a set of heavy wooden doors ornately painted with bright murals of Mexican laborers toiling in vast fields of marijuana. Depictions of men holding AK-47s surrounded the fields as they supervised the work. The woman knocked softly on one of the doors.
“Come in,” a voice called out from behind it.
“Please enter,” the woman said as she pushed open the heavy doors.
“Have a seat, Colonel,” the Padre said as he sat at his desk on the far side of the room. His immaculate black boots were kicked out across the edge of the desk. Cesar surveyed the room as he entered. The office was filled with the spoils and mementos of a lifetime spent as a drug kingpin. Large, ornate display cases with glass doors showcased collections of rare and valuable weapons. Antique firearms were juxtaposed next to modern handguns and assault rifles. The modern guns were all gold- or silver-plated, and several were encrusted with jewels. Collections of ancient Spanish swords and suits of armor as well as pre-Columbian Mayan stone daggers and Aztec war clubs and spears were displayed around the room. In one corner, a large stuffed peacock spread its colorful tail feathers. Only its doll-like black eyes gave away the fact that it was no longer alive. On the wall, directly behind the Padre, hung a portrait of Jesus Malverde, or San Malverde, the patron saint of thieves and drug dealers. Cesar sat down in a leather chair directly across from the Padre.
“An amazing collection.” Cesar motioned around the room.
“Thank you. Examples of the tools used throughout the centuries to, one might say…master this country.”
“Master, indeed. You have a beautiful home here.”
“Just one of many, but I do enjoy the quiet of the desert, especially at night. May I have something brought in for you?” The Padre removed his feet from the desk and closed the case of the silver laptop computer in front of him. “Coffee, maybe?”
“No, thank you, Padre. I’m fine.”
“Very well, then, I’ll get right to business. Colonel, you and your men did an exceptional job bringing your former commander to me.”
“Is he dead?”
“Barquero? No. Not yet, anyway. His body will turn up on the side of a highway or hanging from a bridge once Carnicero is finished playing with him. I haven’t decided yet. It might take several more days. He’s as strong as a bull.”
“And dangerous as a snake. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to watch him at all times, Padre.”
“I agree completely. As I was saying, I’m indebted to you and impressed with your work. I’m glad you accepted my proposal for a meeting on such short notice. I was hoping you would consider another proposition from me.”
“I’ll certainly listen.”
“How much do you know about my organization?”
“Considering that my unit has been trying to stop you and a dozen other cartels for the past decade, I think I understand it fairly well.”
“Stop me? More like chasing my shadow. Any success that you may have had was because I wanted you to have it. It’s important to throw a bone to my informants in the government from time to time so they get their names in the paper as heroes in the war against the cartels.”
“Of course.”
“What the army may not know about my organization is that I don’t consider myself a drug lord. On the contrary, I consider myself to be a businessman in charge of leading an organization that, if it were listed on the Mexican stock exchange, would be one of the largest and certainly most profitable. Like all corporate executives, from time to time I find it essential to reevaluate the structure of the organization and its business lines. I credit the success of my business to the fact that in the early days I abhorred delegation. I supervised every part of the business. As we have grown, I’ve had to empower others to manage different segments of the business, sometimes with great success, and sometimes not. It was hard to give up the day-to-day control, but look at my empire now. Looking forward, I also realize that several things need to change if I’m going to continue to grow the business.”
“Like what?”
“Various things. For example, I’ve recently decided to deemphasize one of our oldest and most profitable product lines.”
“Which one?”
“Marijuana.”
“Why?”
“Colonel, do you follow American politics?”
“Fairly closely.”
“Then you have noticed that numerous U.S. states either have or are currently considering legalizing marijuana. Several states have even begun to put the wheels in motion. Others are sure to follow suit soon. Obviously, legal access to drugs can be a very troubling thing for a business that supplies the same product illegally. What sense does that make? Spending billions to stop me at the border for importing something that is legal on the other side. Americans,” he said with disgust. “Even their own President admits he’s smoked it.” The Padre opened up his laptop and typed in a password. “If this trend in the United States continues, I calculate that I may lose up to thirty percent of my marijuana sales in the next two years.” He turned the laptop toward Cesar and showed him a graphic illustrating the point. “What to do?”
“Reduce your focus on marijuana and redeploy assets to more lucrative markets like cocaine and heroin.”
“Exactly, but don’t underestimate methamphetamine, Colonel. The profit margins are excellent.”
“Of course.”
“Additionally, it’s important for the leader of a corporation to understand where the main business and strength of the organization is. It’s like a corporation that builds its success manufacturing trucks and then one day ends up selling ladies’ hats because someone thought it was a good idea. Sooner or later you have to bring in bankers and consultants, and pay them ridiculous amounts of money to tell you what you already know. You shouldn’t be selling ladies’ hats. The core competency of my business is the manufacture and distribution of narcotics. You see, I’m not a soldier, but unfortunately a growing portion of my time is being spent on wars with the other cartels and the authorities, at least the ones not on my payroll. At first I thought procuring more powerful weapons was the answer. That is how Barquero came to work for me. Now I understand that giving bigger guns to my men only means a bigger mess to clean up. They aren’t trained soldiers like you and your unit. I want to outsource this problem. You’ve spent ten years trying to stop me, and you’re always outgunned in the fight or double-crossed by some government official who works for me. Besides, I hear the Mexican Army isn’t exactly always on time making its payroll. I pay much better and always on time.”
“I see.”
“Besides the men you used to help capture Barquero, who I assume are completely loyal to you, what kind of additional assets can you deliver?”
“Maybe twelve men. That would be as many as I can trust and who would be interested.”
“Is twelve enough?”
“More than enough, Padre. My unit is the most elite group of commandos in the entire Mexican Army. We’ve been trained by the best of the best from around the world, including the Americans, Germans, and Israelis. But my men aren’t bodyguards.”
“I wouldn’t expect them to be. Carnicero will continue to organize my personal protection. I expect your men to serve as the commandos they are. You will become the leader of a secret group designed to eliminate my occasional problems.”
“A hit squad?”
“If that is how you wish to look at it. I’ve done my research on you, Cesar. You’re very intelligent. I want to
