Success, Opulence and Power by Hebru Young (best novel books to read .TXT) 📗

As the convoy got closer to its destination, one of the henchmen pulled out a small pistol and handed it to Edwardo. He put the firearm in a side compartment of his backpack. The man noticed Edwardo had put some gloves on and a beanie that covered his forehead down to his eyebrows. When they arrived, the car that had been parked near Zorro’s house drove off in the opposite direction. From Edwardo’s vehicle, they could see a man sitting on Zorro’s porch. A few men stepped out of the other SUV and headed toward the house. Edwardo looked closer and saw that the man on the porch was the guy who showed up at the restaurant with Zorro on the night his father was murdered. Edwardo mentioned this to the man who sat next to him, so he sent the guy in the front passenger seat to make sure that both the guy on the porch and Zorro were brought to the van. He also instructed them that no women or children were to be harmed. The lead henchman was aware that Zorro had a wife and young children.

In less than two minutes, both men were tossed in the back of the unmarked van and sacks were put over their heads. The men had also seized duffle bags containing drugs and money from Zorro’s house. It was the drugs that Zorro had taken from Guillermo on the night of the murder. Zorro had been bagging them for resale; the money had been collected from his lieutenant. Zorro would normally hand the cash over to the cartel once a week. This week the cartel collected early.

Twenty minutes later they drove into an abandoned dockyard. Edwardo could see another SUV parked outside a building. It was identical to the others from the convoy. As they got out of the vehicles, Zorro and the other man were dragged out of the van and led into the building. As they approached the entrance, Edwardo scanned the area for anything that seemed out of place or indicated they had been followed. There was nothing unusual that Edwardo could see, only abandoned cars, machinery, and rusty old shipping containers.

He had never been to this part of Miami. In fact, he didn’t know where he was. For some reason, nothing about what was going to happen gave him great concern. He knew exactly what to do, and he knew that he was in good hands. The thought of killing his father’s murderer didn’t bother him—he didn’t feel anything at all. As they stepped into the building, Edwardo saw six men standing at a distance. When they got closer, he saw Hector Gallegos and five bodyguards. This time their weapons were not concealed. Each of them had a pistol visible in their holster, and they were all also carrying submachine guns.

“Edwardo, my main man,” said Hector.

“How’s it going, Mr. Gallegos?” Edwardo replied.

“How’s it going! It’s your show, kid, it’s your stage,” said Hector.

When Zorro heard that Edwardo was there, he knew they had been picked up for what they did to Guillermo. He knew that somehow the cartel had found out they were directly linked to the murder and the missing drugs. Zorro and the other man were still blindfolded, but they didn’t need to see anything to figure out what was going to happen to them. Gallegos ordered the sacks to be removed from their heads. The two killers were face to face with their judge and executioner. Zorro had never been this terrified in his life, as the duffle bag containing the drugs and money was placed in the middle of the floor. Hector stood in front of the bag, Zorro kneeling next to it.

“So, what made you think this was okay?” Edwardo asked.

“Listen, I can explain…” Zorro tried to explain but was interrupted.

“Shut your mouth, you filthy animal, the question was rhetorical. You took an innocent man away from his family, leaving a fifteen-year-old to pick up the pieces. You have disrespected the cartel family, and you have caused damage to our image and integrity. This is not how we operate here, and I am going to make an example of you. People on the streets will know that no one crosses the cartel and gets away with it,” Hector said.

“Mr. Gallegos, I am deeply sorry. I messed up, and I see that now. I was being greedy; this was all my plan. But I beg of you to please spare my nephew, he is his mother’s only son. He only came to the restaurant because I made him do it. It was my fault,” Zorro pleaded.

“Your nephew knew exactly what he was getting himself into! Today, you and your nephew will die, and everyone in the streets of Miami will hear of this. Edwardo, do what you came here to do. Aim for the heart,” Hector said.

“You brought this on yourself. You have no sympathy from me: you have deprived my father of living out his dream of watching his children grow up and thrive. You have taken my father away from me, and now I will take you away from the people you love… and because your nephew took part in this, I will kill him as well.” Edwardo said.

“Edwardo, wait, please…” Zorro tried to beg for his life.

Before Zorro could finish talking, Edwardo released four shots from the pistol, two shots each to the chests of Zorro and his nephew. The bodies lay motionless as blood oozed from them. Everyone briefly stood in shock. Because of how young he was, no one expected Edwardo to do it so quickly, with no emotion.

“Wow, that’s impressive. You didn’t even flinch,” said Hector.

“I came prepared for this, Mr. Gallegos. Thanks for trusting me to take care of it,” Edwardo replied.

“No problem, kid. Are you sure you’re okay?” asked Hector.

“I’m fine,” Edwardo answered.

“Wow.