Page 92 of No Questions Asked

He reread the note in his hand.

We’ve received some disappointing reports of additional government involvement in your area. Our understanding was that you’d prevent such activity. We’d like to reaffirm your commitment to preventing such activity in the future, per our agreement. If mistakes have been made, we want to know how they will be corrected so they will not happen again. A person of authority will meet with you at five in the afternoon on Tuesday at the old Odebrechthangar. Do not be late.

El Esqueletohad a reputation for not tolerating mistakes, or at least repeat mistakes. He racked his brain trying to identify any failures on his part that would be of concern to the cartel. He couldn’t think of any. His single biggest problem at the moment was how to slow or prevent the resumption of the vaccine project, but that was for a different client. He was comfortable that the cartel didn’t know he’d used their men to disrupt and steal from the project. Even if they did, he could point out it was in their interest to stop the outsiders who were straying into the new cartel region of operations.

He calmed himself by noting that the cartel’s representatives were good businessmen. Besides, he was an important man in an important position, one they could utilize in many ways, including business expansion. So, he hoped that meant this meeting was less about mistakes on his part, and more about figuring out how to use him more effectively.

Still, he wasn’t foolish. Negotiating with the cartel was like negotiating with a scorpion. They could suddenly decide he was a threat and with one jab of the stinger, he’d be dead. He’d definitely have to tread carefully. It would be important to take careful measure of whomever they’d sent to talk with him.

He glanced at his phone and saw it was two minutes before five. Time to go. He hadn’t seen anyone approach the building since he had arrived a half hour ago. But there were entrances on the back that faced the runway. They might have come in that way.

Inhaling a deep breath, he grabbed the handle of his briefcase that contained his Ruger automatic gun that he’d placed there fully loaded last night. He was sure they would search him for weapons and microphones before they let him in.El Esqueleto’scartel didn’t survive by being careless. But he wasn’t going in unarmed, and he could say he had the gun to protect himself from the lawlessness of the area. Putting the weapon in his briefcase rather than on himself was hopefully a good compromise.

As he walked toward the building, he angled his approach so he could see behind it. He expected to see a car, but instead he saw an empty airplane parked on the concrete apron close to the building. Whoever he was meeting with had come from out of town. It looked like the plane could seat three people besides the pilot, so undoubtedly he’d brought some muscle along with his contact.

As he approached the door, it swung open, startling him. A large man with black hair and a well-trimmed moustache that angled sharply down at the edges of his mouth waved him inside. Striding forward assuredly, Martim stepped into a small entryway. The man asked him for the briefcase, set it aside without opening it, and then asked him to spread his arms and legs. He’d never experienced a pat down before, but the actions went beyond thorough, in fact, stopping just short of oral surgery.

His briefcase was similarly inspected. The man removed and carefully inspected his gun, the spare magazine he carried, as well as the other contents. Then without a word, he put everything back in the briefcase, including the loaded gun, and gave it to him. Noting his surprised look, the big man replied in accented Portuguese, “If you make the slightest attempt to retrieve this gun, I’ll have already emptied an entire clip into your body and reloaded before you even popped the case opened.”

Martim gulped, having absolutely no reason to doubt him.

He was ushered through another door and into a larger room that was dimly lit by the light streaming in from two dirty windows at the far end. An unusually thin man in an open-collar suit sat at a small card table with two chairs. His face was in shadowy contrast to the backlit windows.

Martim resisted the urge to tug at his tie to loosen it. The heat in the building was suffocating. As he got closer to the man, he was struck by his unusual hair. It was white, not like an albino, but brighter than the silver gray that men get when they age. The eyes on his face were sunken deep into his sockets, their color impossible to determine in the dim light. The man stretched out a hand, and Martim realized the man was not just thin, but gaunt, almost skeletal.

Martim realized with a surge of adrenaline that he was facing the cartel chief himself,El Esqueleto.

“Do you know who I am?” the man asked him in Spanish.

Martim didn’t dare say anything, so he just nodded.

“Good, we use no names here. Sit down and let’s talk. Please tell me what has been happening here and what you’ve been doing. I’ve been doing my research and have my sources, so I urge you not to leave anything out.”

One sentence into his explanation, Martim found himself babbling as he began explaining everything he’d done, from bribing a “friend” to have the representative from the Ministry of Health removed and replaced by himself to better oversee operations in the region, to keeping the Americans and their vaccine research disrupted and out of the cartel’s new operation area as much as possible.

El Esqueletodidn’t interrupt or ask any questions, just listened intently while his hired thug watched every move Martim made.

After a few minutes, he felt like he’d regained control of his confidence. By the time he got to the point whereEl Esqueleto’smen had been captured after the boat debacle, he was back in full control, and able to express his sincere disappointment in their failure for not kidnapping the researchers and stealing part of their valuable supply of vaccines. Regardless, a stroke of luck with a native kidnapping one of the scientists had shut down the vaccine operation for several days, so his work had been indirectly successful.

When he finished, he paused and waited for a response fromEl Esqueleto. The man didn’t say anything for what seemed like a very long time. When he finally spoke, he asked a question that caught Martim completely off guard.

“What about the recent federal police raids into the tribal regions that targeted my property? Why didn’t you warn me they were coming? I lost some valuable men, an entire research facility, and my lead biologist. Those raids have set me back several years. I was counting on you to prevent that from occurring.”

Martim stared at the man in shock. He didn’t know anything about the raids or the fact thatEl Esqueletohad lost men. He’d heard some helicopter traffic over the past few days, but he thought they’d been out looking for the American. How was he to know?

Sweat started sliding down his temples. This was catastrophic.El Esqueletowouldn’t just walk away from this kind of mistake, and he wouldn’t be here in person either if it weren’t a very serious situation.

Martim realized his next words were going to determine if he lived or died.

“I promise you, sir, I knew nothing about the police raids. This is the first I’ve heard of them. My sources failed me horribly, but I promise you, I’ll rectify their errors. They’re paid far too well to have failed so miserably.”

He considered begging for a second chance, but knew it would make him look weak. No, he had to use his full powers of persuasion to explain how he could fix this. “I can’t recover your men or bring your biologist back, but no one is better positioned in this area to help you succeed in the long run than I am.” He hoped his voice carried the right amount of indignation and earnestness. “I have important contacts and well-positioned men who understand how a proper business relationship works and who can turn this whole region over to you by the next election. If you start fresh with someone else in the government, you’ll run the risk of even more interference in your operations. Iwillfind out who failed me regarding the raids, and it willneverhappen again.”

El Esqueleto’ssilence stretched on for what seemed like an eternity. Martim’s shoulder blades were uncontrollably tightening, as if that would help stop a bullet from behind him.

At last,El Esqueletospoke. “Tell me about your contacts within the federal police. It’s important to me to make an example of who failed me, if it was not you. If I’m satisfied your resources within the police remain sufficient for our current business arrangement, then you’ll explain exactly how your other contacts will help me gain full control of this region in order to dominate the next election.”

Relief swept through Martim. He was saved. “Of course, of course. Everything you want to know. It’s important that you trust me.”

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