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“Something wrong?” I asked as she stared out the window.
She shook her head. “No, no, it’s fine.”
I tilted my head but decided to let that slide. I stepped out onto the sidewalk and headed around the car as Mona climbed out. Ambrose followed, and the three of us walked up along the sidewalk, through the large gap in the black fence, and headed down along the asphalt.
Families lounged about in the sun, kids played on the swings, old men gathered around the chess tables. There must have been an intense game going on, because the crowd was heavy around one of the tables. I tugged Mona’s arm, pulled her against me, and walked along with her close. Ambrose followed at a little distance, and he gave me a nod when I looked back over my shoulder at him.
We made a slow circuit around the park like we were out for a stroll. Really, I wanted to see if I could spot any of Diego’s men trying to blend in. Nobody stood out, which didn’t mean all that much, but it was worth checking at least. I walked back down along the main path and slowed when I spotted Diego himself sitting on a bench right in the center of the park, surrounded by children playing on the grass nearby and pigeons eating a discarded hoagie on the ground.
I nodded to him and he narrowed his eyes as we approached. I felt Mona tense next to me and Ambrose stayed a few steps back.
“Diego,” I said.
“Vincent.” Diego tilted his head. “You’re late.”
He was a small man, stocky and heavy in the middle, with dark hair, tan skin, and dark eyes that were perpetually squinting. He wore a white and blue striped polo shirt tucked into a pair of tight jeans torn at the knees. He looked like Euro trash, except I knew that was just a front he put on.
Diego was the representative of his entire cartel up north of the border, and was one of the most dangerous men in the country.
I smiled like time meant nothing to me. “Had to make sure you really came alone.”
He spread out his hands. “You know me, Vincent. When I say something, I mean it.”
I nodded again and gestured to Mona. “This is Mona,” I said. “And Mona, this is Diego.”
“Nice to meet you,” Diego said. “Take a seat, if you don’t mind. I always hate when people loom over me.”
I pulled my arm from around Mona’s shoulder and took a seat next to Diego. I patted the bench and Mona sat on my other side, her back straight, her hands in her lap. Ambrose lingered for a second then sat down on the next bench over, a little too far away to be a part of the conversation. He glared at Mona for a second then shoved his legs out, ankles crossed, hands behind his head like he didn’t have a care in the world.
“Ambrose told me about your little proposition,” Diego said.
“Yeah?” I asked. “And what do you think?”
“I think it puts me and my people in a dangerous situation,” he said, his face neutral.
“I can see why you might think that,” I said. “But I believe the risks are smaller than you realize.”
Diego crossed his arms and shifted his bulk. “Go ahead and explain then,” he said.
“The Jalisco are strong in Mexico, there’s no doubt about that,” I said. “Down south, they run shit, and there’s no getting around it.”
Diego inclined his head. “That’s true,” he said.
“But we’re not down south. They’re not as strong here, and although they’re growing at a rapid pace, they haven’t built up strong networks in this city. There’s no reason to think they could win a war here, not with all the wars they’re fighting on their own home turf. I hear they’re expanding into Sinaloa territory, aren’t they?”
“That’s their goal, anyway,” Diego said. “The Sinaloa aren’t exactly rolling over.”
“But it means they’re busy elsewhere,” I said. “It means they don’t have the men to send up north to fight for some little city they don’t care about. You own New York, so why not own Philly, too?”
Diego stroked his chin and jutted it out for a moment. He grunted and shook his head. “I don’t know,” he said. “You make it sound easy.”
“It won’t be easy,” I said. “You’ll piss the Jalisco off and they probably won’t ever forget about it. But we’ll help you take this city, and when it’s all done, we’ll be your biggest buyers. You’ll double your income in the span of a week.”
“Here’s the problem with your plan,” Diego said. “It puts all the risk on our shoulders. We fight the Jalisco, we bring the drugs, we incur their wrath.”
“We’ll fight on your side,” I said. “We’ll provide men, guns, whatever you need.”
