The moment I came out of the water, I felt I
was being allowed to live for some more time. It had been torture to swim to
such depths in order to enter that cave, which acted as a secret hideout for
those people. They appeared to have mastered the art of diving but I had no
idea what was going to happen, so my reaction when we finally got there was
entirely comprehensible. I think that even they thought so, because they let me
cough and curse for a while, until everyone was inside the cave.
Then, as before, they drew out their guns and
pointed at me. They had kept them in tightly sealed bags and now they could use
them again to threaten my life. The crazed man that had pushed into the water
was the closest ones and water pressure had done nothing to eliminate the crazy
face he was looking at me with. I knew he was just working for his boss, making
sure everything happened according to plan. But I hated him nevertheless, for
his weakness and his lack of interest for anything else than his boss.
We started walking through the rock, the path
illuminated with small lamps pierced into the cave itself. Someone had spent
their time doing that, making the place seem like some sort of secret lair,
which reminded me of movie villains, the kind that twist their moustaches and
laugh in the most horrible and hilarious way. But this man was not one of those
villains, he was much worse and he was capable of things no one would even
imagine, things that no comic book villain would ever do.
He had used the natural caves of that region
of the Mexican coastline, to hide whenever someone came too close to his
dealing and business. The amount of drugs he sent to every corner of the world
was simply baffling. I had the chance of seeing some of the packages they were
preparing and it was simply too much to send without the authorities noticing
something strange. And yet, they managed to do it and sell millions and
millions of dollars a year with such a rentable business. It was scary.
And there I was, in the middle of all of it,
just because of a mistake. Just because I had been in the wrong place at the
wrong time, but also because I had allowed someone to take advantage of my
stupidity. I promised never to fall for that again, but those kinds of promises
are always empty and stupid, because most times people do not learn from their
mistakes and I have no reason to be the exception to the rule. This wasn’t the
first time I did something wrong, but it was the first time it had such serious
consequences. It was obvious I could be killed at any moment and why I hadn’t
was making me uncomfortable.
We finally got to a nice open gallery, where
it was very cold and humid. The crazed man ordered me to stand still while some
of the other men went ahead and checked if everything was fine. I just stood
there, dripping wet still, trying to understand it all. Because it was obvious
I should’ve been killed hours earlier but I hadn’t. Someone had prevented that
from happening and I needed to know why. It was obvious their boss was the one
who knew most, if not all, the answers and I had to speak to him.
We were given clearance and moved ahead in
moments. The next room was surprisingly lit by natural sunlight and had a pool
of blue water in the middle. It was an outstanding view. So surprising in fact,
that the crazy guy hit me with his gun because I had stopped to appreciate the
space without his permission. He made my ribs feel broken, but I had to resist
the pain and just walk on. We finally got to another illuminated room but this
one was much larger and had no water in the middle. And he was there.
Their boss was not the kind of man who I
thought would be running an operation like that one. Maybe because the boss was
not a man, but a woman. She had olive skin and curves that would have made her
into a model in the eyes of any expert. However, she was delegating tasks and
had a big gun strapped to her side. I also noticed a knife on her right sheen
and a couple of scars all over her body. The woman had seen her fair share of
battle and one would think that’s why she was fighting back.
When she noticed me, she walked straight to
the crazy eyed man and demanded her to tell him why they had taken so long.
They started arguing about thing I did not understand, and I remembered I was
in a place I didn’t fully comprehend. I
knew that they were dealing with drugs and that the man that had taken me
there, to the coast, had been working with them, but that was it. It was not
like he told me everything that was going on in his life. He had used deceit to
take me there and I had fallen for it.
She finally looked at me but didn’t say a
word, she just smiled. Then, she ordered her men to bring a present she had
prepared for me. I was very scared when I heard the word “present”. From
someone like her, it was probably something not very pleasant and far from what
a normal person would call “a present”. I stood frozen on the same spot,
looking at her looking at me. It made me nervous but, somehow, it also
disgusted me. It was as if I could feel what kind of person she was only by
looking at her. And if my feeling were correct, she was simply the worst.
Finally, the present was brought it. And it
was none other than him, the man that had taken me with him to a luxurious
vacation to the Mexican Riviera. I had been easy and stupid enough to accept,
not seeing his probable true intentions. He was beaten up, his face all covered
in bruises and cuts. But he was breathing and was apparently able to use his
eyes because he stared at me and just said my name. He must have thought I was
there to save him or something, as if I could do that.
The woman came closer and explained that she
knew everything that had happened. The man, a drug dealer, was her link to many
mafias and other criminal organizations around the world. That’s why he
travelled far and wide, making connections to strengthen their sales in other
countries. He would often get men to help him, by making them think he was in
love with them or at least very sexually attracted to him. And according to the
woman, that ploy had worked surprising well for years.
Apparently, many men had come before me, thinking
they were there to enjoy the beach and the beauty of the region, only to realize
that they were going to be used as drug mules or would be forced to work as
dealers, under threat against themselves and their families. Some of those men
were even closeted and that was another way to pressure them into doing
whatever the organization wanted them to do. And others were just junkies, that
would do anything in order to have at least some of the merchandise.
He didn’t say a word after she finished
talking about him and his men and his boys. He didn’t say a word. And he could’ve,
even if it was hard to understand him. But he didn’t say a word. I had no idea
what to do. I was trapped and would have to do whatever they wanted me to do
know. They owned me because I hadn’t been strong enough to refuse his advances.
I had been distracted by his looks and his charm. Stupidity runs wild in humans
and especially in jaded men.
She looked at me and, without saying one more word;
she pulled out her gun and blew his head off in front of me. I gasped, but did
not scream. His body fell lifeless on the floor, staining the beautiful clear
rock with the darkness of the blood. The crazy eyed man grabbed the body and
soon disappeared.
The woman walked towards me and grabbed my
face. She wanted to take a good look. For a moment, I thought I was dead, but
then she called two men and told them to escort me to the airport. I would leave
and never talk of anything I had seen there. She didn’t threaten me, she just
knew I wouldn’t talk.
