“Do we have enough money to leave all this behind and move to Milwaukee now? You’ve been planning on moving there for years. I don’t need to attend college in Miami, or even Florida, for that matter,” Edwardo said.
“It is okay, son, it hasn’t come to that yet. Listen, this is not the life that I planned for you, so forget about all of this and focus on your studies. You hear me?” said Guillermo.
“Sure thing, Pops, I understand,” Edwardo said.
“Good. Look, I am expecting someone to do a collection from the restaurant tomorrow evening. So, I need to make sure that I’m the only person left in the restaurant after nine o’clock.” said Guillermo.
“Okay, Pops,” Edwardo replied.
Edwardo knew all about his father’s side business with the cartel. His friends Christopher and Alexander’s parents were also business owners who had ties to the cartel. Unlike Guillermo, Christopher and Alexander’s parents didn’t do a good job of shielding their dodgy dealings from their children. The two boys often bragged about their parents’ connection with the cartel and the amount of money they were making. Even after Edwardo figured out that his father’s business was also connected to the cartel, he never spoke a word of it to the boys. He simply told them he didn’t know anything and that he never asked his dad any questions.
Around closing time, Guillermo sat in his usual spot towards the back of the restaurant, sorting out the sale figures for the day, while Edwardo was busy tidying up the kitchen. Suddenly, Zorro Loco walked in with another guy, and Edwardo heard their voices. He decided to walk over to the door that led back to the restaurant and peeked through the small circular window in the door. He saw the two men. He knew who Zorro was, because he had seen him on a couple of occasions. However, he didn’t recognize the man with him. Edwardo also knew that Zorro was involved in the drug trade in his district—Christopher and Alexander talked about him from time to time. They heard rumours about how ruthless Zorro was and how he was responsible for the deaths of a couple of drug addicts that had lived in the district.
“Hey, my friend, what’s going on? Your collection day is tomorrow, is everything okay?” Guillermo asked Zorro.
“Yes, everything is fine, we just dropped by to say hello, you know. No big deal,” Zorro replied.
“I see. Welcome, please have a seat. Would you gentlemen like something to drink?” Guillermo asked.
“Yeah sure, why not, thanks. A couple of beers, please,” replied Zorro.
Guillermo sensed something was off—he could tell by Zorro’s demeanour that he was up to something. The fact that Zorro turned up with a stranger also raised a few flags. He had a feeling, things would go south. He went into the kitchen and quietly told Edwardo to hide in the cellar on the right side of the storeroom. He told him to remain quiet and not to come out until the coast was clear. He rolled the metal rack over the cellar Edwardo was hiding in but rolled away the rack from the cellar containing some of the drugs. He grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge and walked back to the table where Zorro and the stranger were sitting. He put the beers on the table.
“So, how’s business?” Guillermo asked.
“Business is going well, as a matter of fact, business is about to be very good,” Zorro replied.
“Oh really, that’s good to hear,” said Guillermo.
“Guillermo, are you here by yourself?” Zorro asked.
“Yes, I sent the family home early today. Why do you ask?” said Guillermo.
“Well, it’s probably best that you are here by yourself, we wouldn’t want to drag anyone else into this,” said Zorro.
“Wait, what do you mean, what’s going on?” Guillermo asked with a sudden look of worry.
“Where are the drugs, Guillermo? We want all of it,” said Zorro.
Zorro retrieved a fifty-calibre pistol from a holster tucked underneath his jacket, and the other man drew a firearm as well. Zorro planned on taking the drugs and selling them to a dealer he knew in Tampa. The cartel didn’t have strong ties there so he would be able to off-load the drugs without raising any suspicions from the cartel.
“Okay, the drugs are in the storeroom in the back, I will get them for you,” Guillermo replied nervously.
“Get up, show us!” said the gentleman that came in with Zorro.
“Okay, okay, just take it easy,” Guillermo said.
As he was leading the two men to the storeroom, he told Zorro that what he was doing wasn’t sensible. Being sensible was the last thing on Zorro’s mind. The only thing he cared about was making a lot of money, and Guillermo and his drugs were the key.
“So, you’ve known me for this long, and you are willing to do this to me?” asked Guillermo.
“Hey, it’s a cold world, my friend, you do what you have to do to get ahead in this life. If it means killing someone you know, then so be it. Don’t take this personal, Guillermo, it’s just the nature of business,” said Zorro.
“What I don’t understand is that you know that I am protected by the cartel. Do you really think that you will get away with this?” Guillermo asked.
“Okay, that’s enough, where are the drugs?” Zorro said in a more aggressive tone.
Edwardo could hear the entire conversation between his father and Zorro. He also heard the squeaky door from the other cellar open. Although scared at that point, Guillermo summoned the courage to climb down the steps. He retrieved the green duffle bag containing eleven bricks and holding it
