“Didn’t you hear what I said? Chingatelo—fuck him over!”
Damian realized that he had gotten away with protecting Rafael all this time because El Charro had allowed it, because this was the test El Charro had set up for him—to kill Rafael, the only person he’d grown close to in the whole group. El Charro wanted to empty him of all emotions, all entanglements. He didn’t want his sicarios to flinch or hesitate or question his orders. If Damian did this now, if he killed Rafael, he would prove himself to El Charro. He would get close enough to avenge MaMaLu. And that was the only thing that had kept Damian going so far.
Damian raised the gun. Tears were streaming down Rafael’s face, but he held his ground. He knew Damian had no choice. If he didn’t do as El Charro commanded, they would both lose their lives.
“Rafael.” Damian stared down the barrel of the gun. “How many grams of cocaine can I get for a thousand pesos?”
Rafael looked at him, confused.
“Answer the question,” said Damian.
Rafael quoted a number.
“And how many grams for a thousand U.S. dollars?”
Again, Rafael answered.
Damian repeated the question for euros, yens, rubles, rupees . . .
Each time, Rafael shot back with a figure.
“Is that right?” El Charro asked Comandante 19.
“I don’t know. Let me check.” Comandante 19 got out his phone and started punching numbers. His jaw dropped open. “He got them all right, El Charro.”
“Well, what do you know?” said El Charro. “The boy is no sicario, but he has a knack for numbers. We can use someone like him.” El Charro lowered Damian’s hand. “Well done, Damian. You managed to save your friend and impress me. Sicarios!” He turned to the boys who had made it, his arm still around Damian. “You too, my little whiz kid,” he said to Rafael. “Congratulations! This is the beginning of a new chapter. Come. Let us celebrate.”
Damian followed El Charro out, the horrific images of black garbage bags, and mangled body parts, and blood-splattered walls etched forever in his mind.
Yes. This is the beginning of a new chapter, El Charro. The beginning of your end, he thought. Because I won’t stop until I have destroyed both you and Warren Sedgewick.
DESTROYING EL CHARRO TOOK TIME and careful deliberation. Damian knew he would only get one chance, so he had to make it count. Even if he managed to kill El Charro, the other members of the cartel would come after him, and Damian wasn’t ready to call it quits without taking Warren Sedgewick down. Not only did Damian have to plan his attack, he also had to put together an escape plan.
Two things worked in Damian’s favor. The first was that El Charro kept him clean. After Comandante 19 perished in a shoot-out, Damian slowly took over as the explosives expert, too valuable to waste on the streets. El Charro consulted him when he needed to obliterate rival safe houses, evidence, bodies—Damian had El Charro’s complete trust. The second thing Damian was grateful for was that El Charro sent Rafael to a private school outside of Caboras. El Charro needed more than muscle to run his organization. He saw the value of investing in young professionals, early on in their careers. Damian knew that Rafael would have to work for El Charro, but he intended to finish the capo off long before it was time to collect.