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Emmanuel looked amused. “I’ve been compiling the list for years, Dante, and to answer your question, I’ll ask one. Do you remember the Cold War?”
“Technically, no, but I’ve heard stories.” I tried to keep the irritation from my voice.
“The Death Squad as you call them now arose from the hatred of communists back in the fifties. It was initially comprised of the kind of powerful men who could snap their fingers in the United States and have anyone they wanted killed. Times and things have changed, members now including those from several countries, a solid ten nationalities. But they all have one thing in common. They’re well connected and extremely wealthy.”
“And what are their goals?” I asked as I took the list from Dante’s hands.
Emmanuel took several puffs from his cigar. “To exterminate as many of their enemies as possible.”
I glanced at the list. I wasn’t necessarily surprised at the dozens of names and as I’d expected, Desposito’s name was also on it, along with the mayor of Sitka. I’d look through the rest later. “And let me guess. The Santos regime has become public enemy number one.”
“It would seem so,” he said.
Dante glanced at me. “Why?”
“Because as an initiation into the world of the Death Squad, certain actions must be performed.”
“Like erasing an entire family and their wealth by death or by persecution.” It was an age-old action used by various intolerable organizations and crime syndicates. However, if what Emmanuel said was true, the scale was significant and more powerful than I was anticipating.
“Precisely,” Emmanuel answered. “What I don’t know for certain is which one of our organizations is really under attack.”
I’d briefed Dante on what had been discovered and what I believed prior to the meeting. He took it upon himself to ask about Desposito. “Carlos Desposito.”
Emmanuel hitched his eyebrows. “What about him?”
“You had him killed, his nephew as well.”
He grinned and chewed on the end of his cigar. “Only after he helped confirm what I suspected about the group. Of course that took providing him with certain incentives. His nephew included, especially since the kid became a member of the squad years before.”
“What is the reason for the sudden need to remove us from this earth?” I glanced at the list again. I knew how these things worked. There would be no way of proving who was involved. Just glancing at the list, it would seem there were several prominent upper echelon law enforcement officers from several countries, so there would be no sense in leaking the information to any one of the agencies, national or international. The men and women involved were the legitimized mafia. While not new, it would appear they were hungry for additional political clout.
“If I had to guess, I’d say it was because you are currently controlling the strings of the next president of the United States.” Emmanuel had a grin on his face wider than usual. He was perverse in what he found amusing, a trait both Dante and I shared with him.
“So this all boils down to the fact Michael Crawford is being groomed by not only the American people but also by the highest-ranking members of the Death Squad. Michael now becomes the puppet whether he understands that or not.” I drilled my fingers on the table, glancing over at Ivan. Every man in the room was fascinated by what they were hearing.
“Very good.” Emmanuel looked from Dante back to me. “He’s nothing but a pawn, but up to this point, these members have yet to have that kind of control even if they’ve managed to bring senators, judges, mayors, and five-star generals into their opulent club. They are dangerous.”
“No more so than any crime syndicate,” Ivan offered, cursing in Russian a second time.
Emmanuel turned his head. “It is those who work both sides of the law who can slide under the radar, which means they are potentially even more dangerous than the likes of us. However, what they don’t know about is the Brotherhood. Have you mentioned this to them?”
“Yes. They are also gathering information on the organization that could prove to be helpful in the future.”
“Good. You might need it.”
Dante shifted on the desk, narrowing his eyes as he looked at me. “What do you have to do with this and why was Desposito in South America?”
“Let me guess. To rekindle his group of soldiers to act as a strong arm for the Death Squad.”
“Yes and no,” Emmanuel answered my question. “He came to warn me, or that’s what he said. Unfortunately, I believe that was a ruse to meet me in person, which I refused to allow.”
“You think his test was to kill you in person.”
“I do, especially since I found a single, very dangerous pill on his person.”
“Cyanide?” Ivan asked.
“No, from what the scientists in my employ have determined, the most lethal fentanyl created.”
