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“Is that your bike out there?” asked Mo, jerking a thumb over his shoulder.
“It is,” he nodded, smiling at the two men. “I had to order it through an anonymous name, but it’s one of the most desired vehicles in the world. It was custom-made for me. Everything, including the paint. Impressive. Yes?”
“Yes,” nodded Liffey, not divulging that it was one of their motorcycles. “I’m sorry for the death of your brother.”
“Don’t insult me,” he smirked. “Even I am not upset about my brother’s death.”
Liffey and Mo just stared at him, unsure of what to say. He took a sip of the coffee in front of him, waving the waitress over to the table.
“Can I get you gentlemen anything?” she asked.
“Two coffees. Black,” said Mo. “Oh, and one of those cookie things.” She nodded, smiling at him.
“My brother and I were raised by an uncle who was head of a cartel in South America. He wished for nothing more than the two of us to never be around drugs. But when you see someone making that much money that quickly, it’s hard to choose a minimum wage job or worse, become a lawyer.”
“We know some pretty great lawyers,” frowned Liffey.
“I’m sure you do. But that’s not why we’re here. My brother decided to branch out. He wasn’t just buying and selling drugs. He was buying and selling humans. Men, women, children. It didn’t matter. I was against that and started to distance myself from my brother.
“My brother was far more adept at technology than I am. He became interested in this new concept of artificial intelligence. People think it’s me, that it was all my idea. I assure you it is not.”
“We’re familiar with AI,” said Mo.
“Good, then you know that it has good qualities and potentially disastrous qualities. My brother used a program that he created to mimic the voices of other cartel leaders.”
“Jesus,” murmured Liffey. “For someone who was so smart, he did something pretty fucking stupid.”
“I’m aware. He went a step too far when he decided to take on Ramos and Sutton. With Ramos dead, he thought Sutton would be easy. He is not. Not only did Sutton kill my brother, he’s stolen the technology and plans to use it against the military. I don’t know how, but I know that for a while, he was working with someone on a biological weapon.”
Liffey and Mo nodded, not saying anything, just staring at the man. He could be lying, except they knew that at least part of what he was saying was the truth.
“You don’t have to believe me, but you do have to find a way to protect yourselves against Sutton. He will continue to come for all of you, not stopping until he eliminates everyone in his path. The person he desires most is his daughter. She is the secret to obtaining the mansion where he’s hidden some unusual things.”
“Why not just break into the house?” asked Liffey. He knew full well why, but he wanted to hear it from Rivera.
“Right now, Sutton has fooled the people of El Paso into believing he is a good man. A fine, upstanding citizen who helps the poor, opens new businesses, and gives back to his community. It’s all smoke and mirrors bullshit.
“If he started to tear down that mansion or try to dig up what’s in there, someone would surely notice. If he just barged in and tried to overtake it against the directives of the estate, there would be out of state lawyers and law enforcement involved. He can’t risk that. He wants to own the home outright, and he can’t do that unless his daughter signs it over to him, and then is dead. He believed that he would one day use his daughter’s pain to convince her to sign over the mansion to him, and he’d offer her freedom.
“Of course, he’d never be able to do that if Ramos owned her, and even if he did not, he wasn’t about to let her go free.”
“Why not just kill him? Men like him are assassinated every day. Why not just shoot him?” asked Mo.
“Because there are a dozen men waiting to take his place. This is not just about cutting off the head of the snake. You must kill the snake, behead him, and then kill every snake in the snake’s nest.” Rivera stared at the two men, sipping his coffee casually as they did the same. “Sutton has asked to meet with me at the end of the week. He wants to discuss a partnership. I have access to people he does not. For that, he needs me. But once he had those connections, I have no doubt that he would kill me.”
“Then don’t go,” said Liffey casually. Rivera just laughed, shaking his head.
“You really don’t understand, do you? If I don’t show, he will come for me. I’m not afraid of him, but I’m afraid for the men and women who work for me.”
“You mean your drug dealers?” said Mo. Rivera stared at him, not saying anything at first, then nodded.
“I deal in drugs. I admit that and have never claimed otherwise. My drug dealers, as you call them, are men and women trying to support their families here and in their own countries. I know that your next words will be, ‘let them get jobs.’ Which is true, but have you ever considered that these are men and women who cannot get jobs?”
“Because they are illegal aliens,” said Liffey.
“No. Because they are discriminated against for being who they are. For being Mexican, Colombian, Peruvian, Panamanian. They’re not American-born. Yet they build their homes here, send their children to schools here, they even pay taxes.
“I don’t profess to be an angel or a saint. I’m a businessman, and my business is drugs. But I do not, not now, not ever, sell humans. It’s despicable, and for that reason more than any, Sutton must be stopped.”
