How much ti had passed?
The door leading into the underground tunnel suddenly creaked open, revealing a man’s face.
The mont he saw , Manager Ma, and the ard rcenaries, his expression stiffened.
“What are you doing? Get up here.”
At my words, the man hesitated before climbing out first.
“Who are you?”
“.......”
When the man stayed silent, Manager Ma slowly approached him.
A massive fist slamd directly into the man’s face.
With a loud crack, his body rolled violently across the floor.
“Answer him. The Boss asked you a question.”
“......I’m El Chapo’s lieutenant.”
The man barely managed to pull himself back up before answering.
Despite all the commotion, nobody else had co out yet.
I asked again.
“Where’s El Chapo?”
“.......”
“Manager Ma. Tenderize him until he opens his mouth.”
“Yes, Boss.”
Manager Ma gave a light nod before getting to work.
Each swing of his fists sounded like a drum exploding, accompanied now and then by faint screams.
I turned to one of the rcenaries behind .
“Shout into the entrance. Tell them if they don’t co out imdiately, we’ll collapse the tunnel.”
“Yes, sir!”
One of the rcenaries hurried to the tunnel entrance and shouted loudly.
“If you don’t co out imdiately, we’ll collapse the tunnel! I repeat, if you don’t co out now, we’ll bury this tunnel!”
At my slight nod, the rcenary stepped back.
But no sound ca from underground.
After checking my watch, I spoke again.
“Collapse it. Contact the committee too and tell them to find the tunnel exit and destroy it.”
“Understood.”
While the rcenaries prepared explosives to destroy the tunnel entrance, Manager Ma dragged over the bloodied lieutenant.
“Who’s inside the tunnel?”
“......Chapo and Mayo. Just the two of them.”
“Any other exits?”
“There aren’t any.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
His speech was slurred from the damage inside his mouth, but communication wasn’t difficult.
I continued asking him questions, and he answered every one obediently.
“Keep him alive for now. He might be useful later when we clean up the Sinaloa Cartel.”
“Yes, Boss.”
The mont ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ I finished speaking, Manager Ma struck the lieutenant in the back of the neck, knocking him unconscious.
If there truly were no other exits, collapsing the tunnel and starving the two of them to death didn’t sound so bad either.
“Start collapsing it.”
“Yes, Boss!”
Just as one of the rcenaries moved, soone peeked out from the tunnel entrance.
It was El Mayo.
“What are you doing? Co up.”
After cautiously scanning the surroundings, El Mayo slowly climbed out.
El Chapo followed behind him.
At last, I was finally seeing the faces I’d only known through photographs.
“Seeing your face really was a pain, El Chapo.”
“......Who are you?”
“Who else? The person you tried to kill.”
As I answered with one corner of my lips curled upward, El Chapo glared at .
Looking at the two n standing stiffly in place, I gestured with my chin.
“How long are you planning to stand there? Kneel.”
Even after hearing , they didn’t move.
In the end, the rcenaries slamd rifle stocks into their legs before they were finally forced to their knees.
El Chapo glared at like he wanted to kill while I sat in my chair.
anwhile, El Mayo looked as though he had already given up on everything.
“I told you. If you’d agreed to et back then, none of this would’ve happened.”
“.......”
“Chapo. No, Joaquin Guzmán.”
The mont I spoke his real na, El Chapo ground his teeth and shouted,
“It was you! You frad , didn’t you?”
“Frad you?”
“You killed Luna, didn’t you?”
“? Why would I kill Director Luna?”
“Because that bastard Luna gave your information! So you killed him and pinned it on , didn’t you?!”
So Director Luna really had been the one who leaked my location to El Chapo.
Still, I pretended ignorance and asked instead,
“What? Director Luna gave you my information?”
“Stop pretending! You leaked it intentionally so I could trace him!”
No wonder it had been so easy to catch Luna’s trail.
“Why make things so complicated? Luna was your last remaining connection.”
“That bastard’s greed had no limits. The more cornered I beca, the more he’d demand everything I had. Killing him was better. I just never expected you’d pin it on . If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve kept him alive.”
Guzmán seed completely convinced I would kill Director Luna.
And he’d planned to exploit that.
The absurdity of it made laugh.
“You really thought I’d collapse over sothing like that? Comparing to people like you is insulting.”
Before Luna died, I had already finished all the groundwork.
There wasn’t a single piece of evidence linking to his death.
And the ones who actually killed him weren’t , but the drug cartels.
“I know. Every connection tied to started looking down on . That’s when I realized things had gone wrong. So I decided to take revenge another way.”
He really must have been furious.
eting Guzmán’s venom-filled eyes head-on, I spoke.
“Hand over every weakness you have on xican politicians and businessn. If you do, I’ll let you die painlessly.”
“What? Hahahaha!”
Guzmán burst into loud laughter.
After laughing for a while, he raised his eyes and shouted,
“That’ll never happen! Just kill ! You think I’d beg soone like you for my life?!”
Yeah. This one wouldn’t crack easily.
Swallowing a sigh, I turned toward El Mayo.
“Mayo. What about you?”
“......Is there no option where we survive?”
“Hey, Mayo! What the hell are you—”
“Chapo. We need to survive first. If it ans living, I’d even sell my soul.”
To see them turning against each other right before death.
How pathetic.
Curling the corner of my mouth upward, I answered,
“Unfortunately, survival was never an option. Who knows what you’d start saying if I let you live? The only difference is whether you die in agony or cleanly.”
At that mont, the farmhouse door opened and several people entered.
They were the cartel leaders belonging to the committee.
All of them radiated hostility, but Javier — who had lost his brothers because of El Mayo — looked especially murderous.
“El Mayo. I’ve missed you.”
“.......”
El Mayo started to say sothing but imdiately shut his mouth.
The mont he saw Javier, he seed to abandon all hope of living.
“So many people here hold grudges against you two. Hand over the information, and I’ll send you off cleanly. I promise.”
El Mayo slowly looked around at Javier and the other bosses.
Not one of them objected.
Only then did El Mayo fully realize that I held all authority here.
“......There’s a bribery ledger in one of my safe houses. It contains detailed records of paynts made to politicians from both parties, as well as police and military officers.”
“Where’s the safe house?”
El Mayo revealed the location.
I called out to El ncho, who stood furthest in the back.
Quick to catch on, El ncho answered imdiately.
“I’ll contact my n and have them confirm it right away.”
“How long?”
“We already have people nearby. It won’t even take an hour.”
“Contact the mont it’s confird.”
“Yes.”
El ncho stepped back again.
Realizing the end had co, El Mayo let out a small sigh.
“It’s real. So send off painlessly.”
I nodded.
Then I called out to Javier, who had been glaring murderously at El Mayo this entire ti.
“Javier.”
“Yes, Charlie.”
“How would you like this handled?”
“Hand him over to .”
“Even after I already made a promise?”
“......Then let be the one who finishes it.”
He clearly disliked the idea of not being allowed to torture him, but at the very least, he wanted to personally deliver the killing blow.
That much, I couldn’t deny him.
“Fine. Take him away for now. Once everything’s confird, we’ll decide what to do.”
“Thank you.”
Javier gave a slight bow.
“Javier. Leave Teodor here.”
“Yes. Understood.”
Javier left with his subordinates, dragging El Mayo away.
“Now only you’re left, Guzmán. What are you going to do?”
“Just kill . I’m not afraid of dying.”
“Really? Hmm.......”
Guzmán looked at calmly, though rage still burned in his eyes.
This one definitely wouldn’t break easily.
After thinking for a mont, I called for Teodor.
“Teodor.”
“Yes?”
“Was your nickna the Butcher of the Tijuana Cartel?”
“.......”
“What do you think of El Chapo’s skin? Would it peel nicely?”
“If you leave him to , I’ll make him tell us even the things he doesn’t know himself.”
The calmness of the answer pleased even more.
I nodded and stood up.
“Then I’ll wait outside. Just keep him alive.”
I walked out of the farmhouse with Manager Ma and the other cartel bosses.
“El ncho. How’s the farm side?”
El ncho approached .
“They just finished cleaning things up.”
“Good. Then now all that’s left is taking over the Sinaloa Cartel after losing its leadership. Manager Ma, wake him up.”
At my order, Manager Ma woke El Chapo’s lieutenant.
“El ncho. Use this man to clean up the remnants of the Sinaloa Cartel.”
The other cartel bosses imdiately protested.
“The division of the Sinaloa Cartel should be decided by the committee.”
I turned toward Vicente, Amado’s younger brother.
“This has already been discussed with Amado.”
“We haven’t received any such ssage.”
“Then contact him. El ncho will clean things up first, and afterward the territory will be distributed among the organizations belonging to the committee. Or would the Juárez Cartel or another cartel prefer handling this role instead?”
The mont they heard the territory would eventually be divided afterward, the other bosses backed down.
Even Vicente retreated a step.
“No. That won’t be necessary.”
Seriously, every last one of them was greedy.
Clicking my tongue inwardly, I looked back at El ncho.
“El ncho. You can do it, right? Your organization is the weakest one here. This is your chance to prove you deserve a seat in the committee.”
“I’ll carry out your orders. Thank you for trusting .”
El ncho bowed his head with a firm voice.
Then he disappeared with the now-awakened lieutenant.
Even while we spoke, El Chapo’s agonized groans and screams echoed from inside the farmhouse.
* * *
In the end, El Chapo revealed the location of his safehouses before eting his death.
El Mayo ended up the sa way.
After confirming the ledger, I told Javier to handle the rest himself and bring the bodies to xico City.
Without its leadership, the Sinaloa Cartel was systematically crushed by El ncho.
El ncho was ruthless.
Every mber holding a high-ranking position was killed.
Any mber who resisted was killed too.
Even the committee was horrified by his brutality and ordered him to tone it down.
But El ncho never stopped.
In the end, it took him less than a month to seize all Sinaloa Cartel territory.
Absorbing the Sinaloa Cartel’s organization and territory far faster than expected dramatically elevated El ncho’s standing within the committee.
El ncho renad the organization from the Milenio Cartel to the Jalisco Cartel and replaced the cartel leadership entirely with his own friends.
The report concluded with news that tomorrow’s committee eting would determine how the Sinaloa Cartel territory would be divided.
After attending that final eting, I planned to leave xico.
“Ramos. Your role becos important from now on.”
I took Ramos with to visit Chairman Carlos Slim’s ho.
“Welco, Charlie.”
Clearly in a good mood, Carlos Slim personally ca out to greet us.
“Chairman. You know this man, right?”
“Of course. Isn’t he a DEA agent?”
“As of today, he’s resigned and will serve as an advisor to the committee. It wouldn’t look very good for you to attend committee etings personally.”
“Hmm. I see.......”
“Or would you rather send soone else as your representative?”
Carlos Slim thought briefly before shaking his head.
“No. Let’s leave it to him. If Charlie trusts his judgnt, then I can trust him too.”
Carlos Slim extended his hand toward Ramos.
“I look forward to working with you. I can trust you, yes?”
“My role is to prevent the committee from running wild. Leave it to .”
Satisfied, Carlos Slim nodded and led us into the dining room.
During the al, we discussed many things.
The next day.
To attend my final eting in xico, I departed for Nuevo Laredo, where the committee summit would be held.
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