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Authors: James Carlos Blake
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mask is placed on her. The spike-haired man tells her itâs all right, thereâs nothing to fear, but she must keep silent, does she understand?
Yes, she says, yes, Iâm sorry.
Huerta sits down again and takes out his Sig 9 pistol. Espanto removes the dark glasses and holsters his gun and exits the car. He walks out into the light of the lampposts and scans the sparsely occupied parking spaces of the nearby rows and spies the vehicle heâs looking for, a silver Grand Cherokee, two men silhouetted in the front seat.
A man gets out of the Cherokeeâs front passenger side and comes to the Town Car. He is tall and lean, his movements fluid. His cream suit superbly tailored. A fedora shades his face above the trim mustache. In his professional circles he is known as El Galán.
âTodo bien?â he asks. Espanto says all is very well.
Espanto gets back behind the wheel and Huerta gets out of the car. Galán assumes the passenger seat and shuts the door and turns to face the masked captives. He tells them his name is Mr. X and that he is responsible for their circumstance. He regrets their discomfort but says there was no other way to do this. His voice has a pleasant timbre and his enunciation is precise.
Mr. Belmonte starts to say, âPor favor, señor, donde estánââ
âSilencio,â Galán says without raising his voice, and Belmonte falls silent.
Galán apologizes for his rudeness but says that in the interest of time he will do the talking and they must listen carefully.
To ensure that you understand, I will frequently ask you if you do, and you will respond by nodding or shaking your head. If you shake your head I will clarify my point and then ask again. Do not speak. If you speak, your spouse will suffer. Is everything understood so far?
They all nod.
Very good, he says. The state of things is this. The groom and the bride and the other eight members of your party are in our custody. Your three sons and two nephews, Mr. Belmonte. Your three daughters and your niece, Mr. Sosa. And of course the American girl. They are all safe and will be treated well during the short time they are with us. To regain them from our custody, you must pay a total of five million American dollars in cash. Am I clear, gentlemen?
The two men nod.
Excellent. Your people are being held in two separate groups in two different venues. I will not tell you which persons are in which group, only that there are five persons in each and there are Belmontes and Sosas in both groups. You will pay two and a half million dollars for each group, first one and then the other. The money will be in bills of one-hundred-dollar denomination. Iâm fairly sure that you gentlemen do not personally handle cash of any great amount yourselves, so you may not know the physical size of this sum. It will fit handily in the gymnasium bags we are going to provide, two bags for each of you. With the money equally distributed in the bags, each bag will weigh roughly twenty-seven pounds. The bags have padded shoulder straps, but still, twenty-seven pounds on each shoulder can be a burden. However, you both look strong to me. Do you believe yourselves capable of such a burden?
Both men nod.
Good, Galán says. You have until four oâclock tomorrow afternoon to obtain the cash. Do not request more time. It will not be granted to you. Understood?
The men nod.
It should go without saying that it would be a regrettable mistake for you to contact the police, and ifâ
All four of them shake their heads vigorously.
No, certainly you will not. Still, it is possible that the police might in some way learn of the situation and insist on becoming involved. Should that happen, you must rebuff their assistance and immediately inform us. Besides, you cannot be sure that the police who come to you are not in partnership with us. It should come as no shock to you that we have such accomplices within all levels of
Yes, she says, yes, Iâm sorry.
Huerta sits down again and takes out his Sig 9 pistol. Espanto removes the dark glasses and holsters his gun and exits the car. He walks out into the light of the lampposts and scans the sparsely occupied parking spaces of the nearby rows and spies the vehicle heâs looking for, a silver Grand Cherokee, two men silhouetted in the front seat.
A man gets out of the Cherokeeâs front passenger side and comes to the Town Car. He is tall and lean, his movements fluid. His cream suit superbly tailored. A fedora shades his face above the trim mustache. In his professional circles he is known as El Galán.
âTodo bien?â he asks. Espanto says all is very well.
Espanto gets back behind the wheel and Huerta gets out of the car. Galán assumes the passenger seat and shuts the door and turns to face the masked captives. He tells them his name is Mr. X and that he is responsible for their circumstance. He regrets their discomfort but says there was no other way to do this. His voice has a pleasant timbre and his enunciation is precise.
Mr. Belmonte starts to say, âPor favor, señor, donde estánââ
âSilencio,â Galán says without raising his voice, and Belmonte falls silent.
Galán apologizes for his rudeness but says that in the interest of time he will do the talking and they must listen carefully.
To ensure that you understand, I will frequently ask you if you do, and you will respond by nodding or shaking your head. If you shake your head I will clarify my point and then ask again. Do not speak. If you speak, your spouse will suffer. Is everything understood so far?
They all nod.
Very good, he says. The state of things is this. The groom and the bride and the other eight members of your party are in our custody. Your three sons and two nephews, Mr. Belmonte. Your three daughters and your niece, Mr. Sosa. And of course the American girl. They are all safe and will be treated well during the short time they are with us. To regain them from our custody, you must pay a total of five million American dollars in cash. Am I clear, gentlemen?
The two men nod.
Excellent. Your people are being held in two separate groups in two different venues. I will not tell you which persons are in which group, only that there are five persons in each and there are Belmontes and Sosas in both groups. You will pay two and a half million dollars for each group, first one and then the other. The money will be in bills of one-hundred-dollar denomination. Iâm fairly sure that you gentlemen do not personally handle cash of any great amount yourselves, so you may not know the physical size of this sum. It will fit handily in the gymnasium bags we are going to provide, two bags for each of you. With the money equally distributed in the bags, each bag will weigh roughly twenty-seven pounds. The bags have padded shoulder straps, but still, twenty-seven pounds on each shoulder can be a burden. However, you both look strong to me. Do you believe yourselves capable of such a burden?
Both men nod.
Good, Galán says. You have until four oâclock tomorrow afternoon to obtain the cash. Do not request more time. It will not be granted to you. Understood?
The men nod.
It should go without saying that it would be a regrettable mistake for you to contact the police, and ifâ
All four of them shake their heads vigorously.
No, certainly you will not. Still, it is possible that the police might in some way learn of the situation and insist on becoming involved. Should that happen, you must rebuff their assistance and immediately inform us. Besides, you cannot be sure that the police who come to you are not in partnership with us. It should come as no shock to you that we have such accomplices within all levels of
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