chapter 77
SEVERAL OF THE Tennessee Mexicans called an emergency meeting to discuss recent developments with the Gulf Coast load. A midlevel manager in the organization was trying to shield the initial bad news from el Jefe. Managing assets was a daily task for several of these key employees. The boss gave them plenty of latitude in managing their respective pieces of the business. This approach was good in the sense that they could make decisions on the fly, in the heat of the moment. It was a bad approach if their decisions were not good ones, which could cost dearly, in monetary and legal terms.
The normally tough-acting manager was humble and obviously nervous in the presence of his boss, the second in command. “He called about an hour ago. It was Mr. Moon Pie’s brother. He said they had been robbed and the money was gone.”
The second in command was very calm as he smoked an authentic Cohiba he had personally acquired from the Partagas factory. Rather than looking at the manger, he studied the burning end of the Lancero. “And what did you say?”
“That we will kill him and his brother.”
“I hope that’s not all.”
“No, sir. I said we wanted all of the dinero.”
“Bueno. Who do they think did this thing?”
“Us. They think we stole the moneda.”
“What made him say such a stupid thing?”
“He claims to have proof because we left a tobacco can with a gold M on it. He said the M stands for Mexico.”
“What could he be speaking of?”
“I have no idea, señor. And he says that we put the GPS device on his brother so we would know where he was all the time…to help us steal the money.”
“Has anyone been away in the last few days?” The second in command didn’t totally trust anyone.
“No, sir. He also said that Señor Moon Pie was just put in jail in Columbus, which is in Mississippi. But our tracking data shows that right now he is at a place called the Macarena Club in Aberdeen, Mississippi.”
“Where is the money?”
“A retirement home in West Point called the Henry Clay.”
“Is this place in Mississippi?”
“Sí.”
“This is not good.”
“Can you give me a few days to clean this up before you report it to el Jefe?”
“Do you know anything about this Moon Pie person?”
“Sí, he works for the Gulf Coast distributor, who has a very strong reputation, and he is a source that el Jefe wants. He told me to do this, so that’s why I took a chance.”
“I see.”
“I can fix this if you will allow. Trust me, señor.”
The second in command was disappointed with his men and the situation. “You have two days. Take Guillermo and the tracking equipment. Do what is necessary to get back our money or the drugs. And Julio?”
“Sí?”
“Your quality of life depends on success.”