Hearing the muffled sobs from inside the office, the secretary also felt uneasy. He pulled out a cigarette and lit one. He had barely taken two drags when a deep voice sounded behind him.
"Ajit, is Mr. Carlos in?"
The secretary hurriedly turned and saw a man of about forty standing there, hair disheveled, body gaunt, eyes razor sharp as if piercing people's hearts.
"Mr. Quintero," the secretary said quickly.
It was none other than Rafael Caro Quintero, one of the Guadalajara Cartel's three bosses, nicknamed "Doctor."
He was a cultivation expert, born a farmer in 1952 in rural Sinaloa, "the cradle of drug lords."
Quintero loved the limelight, flaunted wealth and odd animals, and kept 17 hippos in his private zoo. After the "Camarena" incident, he fled, and no one tended those hippos.
There was even news in 2020 about a hippo overpopulation somewhere in Mexico—those were the descendants of the 17.
Perhaps to make up for his lack of schooling, his official girlfriend was Sara, daughter of Education Minister Cossío.
Luckily he hadn't lacked milk growing up, or he'd have gone looking for a dairy cow.
He got busted in Costa Rica because that woman phoned home and blew their cover.
Having a girlfriend didn't stop him from taking lovers.
Mexican traffickers aren't exactly romantics…
Quintero nodded. "Has Mr. Raúl been found?"
The secretary shook his head. "He's been killed. The body was found in a village outside Mexico City."
Quintero wasn't too surprised. A drug lord knows what kidnapping means in Mexico. If you get a whole corpse back, it means the kidnappers were decent.
"Any idea who?"
The secretary glanced at the office door and lowered his voice. "Victor, from Baja."
That name was all too familiar to Quintero!
If you picked Mexico's most famous person in 1990,
Number one would surely be Victor Carlos Vieri.
He executed Quintero's old friend Zambada by cannon in front of the whole country.
Never seen such a bruiser.
He's battling every cartel in Mexico, and now he's provoked a real power family like the Salinases.
"He's really stirring things up," Quintero couldn't help remarking.
The secretary nodded along.
Wouldn't it be fine if everyone just made money together? You want to fight drugs—who do you think you are? You're just a small-time cop. So what if you've got more men and better weapons? What else do you have?
What even are you?
Creak—
The office door opened.
Quintero and the secretary looked over and saw Carlos Salinas step out, his eyes bloodshot, veins visible.
"Mr. Carlos," Quintero said solemnly. "If there's anything I can do to help, say the word."
The secretary shot him a look. Other than the hundreds of millions in assets you've got stashed, what do you have?
The underlings who used to follow you are all bosses now. What are you going to do out there?
Mop floors and run errands?
Carlos actually stared right at him, voice hoarse. "Quintero, I really do need—"
"Sir! Sir!"
Suddenly hurried footsteps sounded, and a presidential staffer ran up, face grim with a hint of panic.
Carlos furrowed his brow. "Calm down! How many times have I told you? Stay calm at all times!"
The man stopped, took a deep breath. "Baja TV suddenly aired a recording. It's a conversation of Mr. Raúl admitting that the Salinas family had dealings with traffickers."
Carlos nearly blacked out. Quintero rushed to steady him. They all dashed into the office. The secretary quickly turned on the TV and switched to the Baja channel.
No picture, just audio.
"You're saying there was some sort of deal between the Salinases and Gallardo?" A man's voice, clearly processed.
"Yes."
Raúl's weak voice came through. "Gallardo served as bodyguard to a Jalisco governor, and that governor was a Salinas family member. We provided protection to his cartel and introduced him to Defense Minister Garaky."
"Every year we took over $2.5 billion in cuts from the Guadalajara Cartel!"
"That money was enough to connect us with even more people at the top."
"But that bastard Quintero ruined everything! He caused the Guadalajara cartel to crumble, and those new bosses have no manners. They only pay the Salinases superficial respect."
"Mexico's drug order… is out of control!"
Raúl's tone sank. "We unleashed a fiercer beast. The evil order has been destroyed. Mexico is doomed after all!"
The office fell deathly silent. Even Quintero felt a chill spreading over his whole body.
It's over…
If Carlos couldn't weather this, he'd have to step down.
The knot of corrupt officials and traffickers in Mexico was real—but you can't say it out loud. If you do, does anyone keep face?
Even when Netflix made Narcos: Mexico, in season 1, episode 9, when the kidnapped DEA agent Kiki is tortured, the Mexican officials in charge of the interrogation speak a few names that are "censored." The scene uses that drawn-out "beeeep" sound.
Why?
Because they were afraid it wouldn't pass review.
Some of those involved climbed very high later.
In Mexico, officials can sometimes be drug lords too!
"Contact Aragón and have all of Baja's satellite signals jammed. Issue a statement immediately: this is pure fiction. The Mexican government will investigate thoroughly."
Carlos still wanted to struggle. He couldn't bear to step down just like that. He intended to rely on his reputation and influence to prop this up a bit longer.
Hearing the order, the secretary moved at once.
If the boss falls, things don't go well for them either.
"Our trouble… has arrived," Carlos murmured on the sofa.
…
Even with the Aragon media family jamming all of Baja's signals at Carlos's request immediately, it was useless!
The storm brewed.
Then it broke fast.
Countless people who'd been watching Carlos pounced to fan the flames.
May 27, 1990!
10 a.m.
Gendarmerie Square, Mexico!
Crowds piled up. From above, a sea of people—at least tens of thousands!
"Ladies and gentlemen!"
A bespectacled man in distinctive Mexican attire stood on the high platform, waving his arms and shouting with fervor, his voice breaking. "We must always have courage. We cannot leave this country, this world, to the traffickers!"
"A trafficker is leading us!"
"He's a liar. Carlos Salinas is a liar! He's leading Mexico to ruin!"
"We want life. We want peace. We don't want drugs. We don't want our next generation living with a urine bag every day."
"We don't want our youth to lose their dreams. They should be healthy, happy, and full of hope!"
"Survive! Survive! Survive!"
His cry stirred everyone's emotions. People around raised flags and cursed the traffickers.
"Kill the traffickers!"
Clearly, Mexicans truly loathe drugs to the core.
Suddenly a scream rose from the outskirts. The man on the platform stood on tiptoe and saw the outermost ring of people scrambling in panic.
Over twenty… pickup trucks charged straight in!
Machine guns mounted on them opened fire on the crowd!
"Run! Run! Run!"
"The traffickers are killing!"
The man waved and shouted at the top of his lungs. His scalp prickled watching the scene.
Hearing him, a trafficker swung the muzzle up and pulled the trigger. The man fell from the platform. His glasses were trampled to bits in the chaos. He stared at the sky.
The sun, shrouded by dark clouds.
"Justice cannot be killed!"
He died with a shout!
(End of Chapter)
[Get +20 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Mutter"]
[Every 100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]