Chapter 20: Drug Lord

**J O S É**

Back in Miami Beach, José Hernández García paced in front of his penthouse windows as he smoked a cigar. He was the leader of the Sonora Cartel, and lately, his patience had been wearing thin.

José was a stocky man at 5ft 6in, with a semi-horseshoe mustache. What he lacked in height, he made up for in appearance. There always seemed to be a scowl present on his intimidating face. His nose was slightly crooked, proof that it had been broken one too many times. When he smiled, one could not help but be drawn to his two upper canines that were pointed solid gold teeth.

The Cartel boss was in his early fifties and had been running drugs within Mexico since he was a teenager, working his way to the top by the time he was in his late twenties. A position that he had managed to keep decades later. Having lived most of his life as a criminal, José was as sharp as they came, with a reputation to match. He was well-respected and equally feared in Mexico, and had his hand in many different illegal activities that extended into the North American territories.

"This pendejo Calvetti is becoming a pain. He's way more efficient than I anticipated. So far, he has managed to thwart every shipment that I've tried to smuggle into his city. He's way smarter than I gave him credit for. It seems that his reputation wasn't a bluff," José cursed, as he addressed two of his lieutenants, Miguel and Roberto.

The tall, beefy, dark-haired Fuentes twins were nicknamed Caras de la Muerte, or the faces of death, back in Mexico. It did not help that they both had hideous scars along their cheeks, reinforcing their terrifying presence.

Having decided to follow in their father's footsteps, they had moved from Tijuana to Sinaloa when they were eighteen, and had worked their way up the ranks. They had been serving José for almost two decades now, and had proven themselves in more ways than one.

"Perhaps it's time to make a visit in person? If things don't go well, we can always make a call to a few of our friends near Aelbank City?" Roberto commented as he sat next to his brother.

"It's been a while since we've gotten our hands dirty and caused some chaos!" Miguel added, his dark eyes glowing wickedly.

José laughed as he blew out a cloud of smoke, his gold canines gleaming, "We all know that I don't need friends to see things through, I have more than enough guns to get what I need done. Set up a meeting, I want to see this pale-faced freak in person."

"Sí Patrón!" the twins answered simultaneously.

"That silver-headed fool won't know what hit him!" Roberto added.

"I still can't believe that he's Italian, much less human. He looks so bizarre, he seriously gives me the creeps, looking like a real life pishtaco!" Miguel shuddered at the thought.

Scoffing, his brother said, "Don't be silly! He's not a vampire! You were always so superstitious! Calvetti is nothing but a pale-faced, weird looking man with a skin condition. He is human, just like the rest of us, and he will bleed all the same if the boss chooses."

José suddenly laughed out, the exchange between the twins amusing him. But he had to admit, when he had seen pictures of the man for the first time, he had been surprised by his pallid appearance. The fact that his silvery white eyebrows gave the illusion that he had none, made his face seem even more strange, reminding him of creatures in those spooky stories that they

were often told as children.

Pushing the thought from his mind, he refocused on the conversation at hand.

"I won't underestimate Calvetti again. I must admit that I respect the reputation he's established for himself, so I hope that we can do business together. Men like him, it's best to keep them at your side rather than have them in your way, works out better for everyone in the long run. It's less messy too!" José stated, running a hand through his black, shoulder-length hair.

Miguel nodded as he added, "Too true! But there's not a city that you've wanted that you haven't been able to get into. It's like you've taught us, everyone has a price; we just need to find out his."

"Agreed, and we best discover it quickly, for I'd hate to level his city..." José grinned evilly, his dark brown eyes focusing out the window once again as he asked, "What's been the latest feedback from our ears on the ground?

Have they found anything else that might be of use for us as yet?" Shifting in his seat, Roberto replied, "Calvetti runs a tight ship. He doesn't let anyone near him, and getting access to his residence and all its inhabitants is almost impossible, unless we drop a bomb from the sky."

Miguel smirked at his brother's words.

"But our contacts have assured us that they will continue to work the assignment that they have been given. They are positive that they can infiltrate the organisation, but it's going to take some time," Roberto said, his eyes remaining focused on the Cartel boss.

Puffing out another ring or smoke, José grunted, "I know that the other mob bosses who work with Calvetti won't betray him, we've already tried that approach. But what about those two orphans that he took in, Jade and Quintin. They're still young and inexperienced, do you think they can be bought? I'm particularly intrigued by that pretty little piece and how she fits

into the organisation. Is she Calvetti's submissive? I know the type of things that he's into."

It was no secret, especially as the Cartel boss had sent some of his own girls to work at the brothels that he knew Dominic frequented. Unfortunately, they had not managed to extract any information from him.

According to the girls, they were not allowed to touch the mafia boss, much less speak as they were bound and gagged. They say that you can tell a lot about a man by the way he fucks, and José was no closer to figuring out Dominic than he was before he got this new information.

Obviously, the more details they gathered, the more complex Dominic's character became. However, the Cartel boss would not give up. He would figure the man out one way or the other. After all, the most intriguing puzzles tended to take longer to decipher, but the reward at the end would always be worth the extra work.

The sound of Roberto's voice pulled José from his thoughts.

"From the intel we've received so far from our scouts, it does not seem like he's in any sort of relationship with Jade. He acts more like a big brother to her and Quintin, and they're both fiercely loyal to Calvetti. I don't think we stand any chance of turning them unfortunately, they would die before betraying him," Roberto commented as he leaned forward a bit.

A small smirk formed on his lips as José said, "Then I guess we'll just have to do things the old-fashioned way."

"I was told that she's a handful, might even be crazier than the pale-faced freak himself. Got a mouth on her too and won't hesitate to draw her weapon and shoot someone either. Although, that Korean body-guard of hers is never far from her side, so it won't be easy to grab her," Miguel

added, clearly getting excited at the prospect of getting his hands dirty.

José remembered Jade's face; he had spent a while looking through the photos.

From her eyes, he could tell that she had been to the gates of hell and back. Her unique beauty only added to her allure, and the Cartel boss liked collecting beautiful things. There was no doubt that he would not hesitate to snatch Jade from Dominic, especially if it meant using her as leverage to get what he wanted.

The young woman had to mean something to Dominic, she would not have been so heavily guarded if she did not.

José refocused and looked at the twins, "She's a feisty one yea? They're always the most fun to break, but hopefully it won't come to that and Calvetti and I can come to some form of agreement."

With a nod, Roberto said, "If anyone can get that freak to fold, it would be you Patrón."