“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to get more men. Only a small circle of them. A few new girls. You think you can find the girls for me?”
“Yeah. Not a problem. I know some who could use the work.”
“Good. Did you do what I asked you to do?”
“Of course. I follow her all the time.”
“I appreciate that. Never know when those might come of use.”
“They probably would now. To get Paco off your back.”
“No. I can’t do that now. I still need her.”
“So do you have a plan then?”
“I got it covered.”
“We might have another problem.” Que brought up something.
“What is it man?”
“When you were holding them captive, JT planned to confess, if anything happened to his sister.”
Tyson was silent for a moment.
“Keep a watch on him. If he brings it up again. Take him out of commission.”
“I already made that clear to him.”
“I hope so. Zamora Rivera needs to trust you. Make sure she doesn’t lose that.”
Paco and Lupe were deciding on their next move against the Jamaican Posse.
"You know they’re going to retaliate." Lupe said to his cousin.
"And we will be ready. There are only five of them. They can't take us down on their own.”
“You think that he will bring in more?”
“That would be the smart thing to do. We put them out of business. That was the objective. I warned him.”
Lupe nodded his head in agreement.
“Did you find anything else about the girl?” Paco changed the subject.
“I found what I could. She was adopted out of New Mexico to a family in New York. Someone went through a lot of work to keep her records sealed tight shut.”
“Her father wanted to keep her secret. Obviously someone was able to unseal them. Find our someone who can.”
“Why don't we just take the girl?” Lupe suggested.
“We can't just snatch up a kingpin’s daughter without cause. We have to be sure that Zamora Rivera…is Zamora Cortez.”
“That makes sense.”
“If Magnum is lying about his relationship with the girl, I'm going to make them both suffer ‘till their last breath.” Paco said with anger in his voice. An evil look of revenge in his eyes.
“Sounds good to me.” Lupe smirked.
“We should prepare for a war with the Jamaicans. We can't take any chances.”
“I agree.”
“Good. Let the others know what is going on. We need to be ready.”
“Aren’t we always?” Lupe grinned.
Paco looked at his cousin with the same facial expression on his face.
Word got back to Jamaica that Tyson was in need of more men. Many were glad to volunteer. He didn't want too many. Only eleven spots were to be filled and he wanted the best. A high ranked gangster back in Jamaica was left in charge to pick the eleven men. They had to know everything about the drug and gun businesses. They had to know or learn everything about the Jamaican Posse. Tyson also wanted them to know all about Carlos Rivera’s cartel and MS-13. The eleven chosen men were required to have already killed at least one other man as he wanted those who had it in them to kill. It took only less than a week to find the right men to join Tyson’s posse. He flew them to America and brought them all to his new place. A one story warehouse that was big enough to set up business again. Tyson also got his own luxury home on the East side, only for him and the 4 of his main men to stay. Everyone who survived the explosion.
“Welcome to America. Welcome to Utica, New York.” Tyson greeted his 11 new crew members standing before him. They were between 24 and 30 years old and highly experienced men like the way he wanted.
“You have been chosen to join us because you are the best in Jamaica. As you have been informed on the explosion to the old warehouse that killed everyone. We are forced to start over again. This time we will be taking precautions to ensure that will not be happening again.”
“MS-13 destroyed our businesses but we are going to get them back, and make those little spicks pay for what they've done!” Cassius yelled. “Paco thinks he owns this city. He's going to be proven wrong.”
“We’re going to take the king off his throne.” Tyson told them.
Tyson changed the subject.
“You all have been briefed on Carlos Rivera. His daughter Zamora Rivera is very valuable to me. If you see the girl, I want to know where. I want to know who she’s with and where she’s at. Keep me updated. Snap a few photos in the process. Are we clear?”
The men made gestures to show they understood his orders.
“Good. Cassius will fill you in on everything else.” Tyson told them.
Tyson walked away, leaving Cassius with the new men.
“Listen up!” Cassius shouted.
“What is this about Magnum? I heard you have something important to tell me.” Carlos said to Magnum who called a meeting with him. They met in the same place as before.
“I thought you should know that Tyson brought in more men a few days ago. They are very experienced men from Jamaica.”
“I figured he would. Why are you telling me?”
“Because his new crew have all been informed on Zamora. Tyson isn't going to stop. After he rebuilds, he's going to come after her again.”
“That would be a very stupid thing to do.” Carlos said.
“Also, they plan to go to war with MS-13. They plan to retaliate.”
“Maybe we’ll get lucky and they’ll take each other out.” Carlos joked.
“Don't we all wish it was that simple?”
“Thanks for the warning Magnum. I'll be sure to keep an eye on my daughter. Were you going to tell me that she came to see you?” He questioned.
Magnum thought of what to say.
“She came by without my knowledge. She showed up at the door. We talked for a little bit, and then I told her she had to go. I haven't seen her since.”
“Good. It's better that way. Paco can't find out about her.”
“There’s another thing you should be careful about.”
“What do you mean?”
“Paco is trying to unseal her adoption records. He wants to know who she was adopted to. Her adopted last name. I overheard the conversation with him and Lupe. They're looking for somebody who can get into the records. He has suspicions that Zamora and I know each other. If he figures it out…we’re both dead.”
“I will make sure that, that doesn't happen. I've managed to reseal those records up tight. No one can hack into them this time. Unless they already have a copy of her birth and adoption records, Paco will have no way of getting in. Not even the best of the best, can find them this time.”
“I hope you're right Mr. Rivera…for Zamora's sake. If the truth comes out to him, he won't hesitate, to make your daughter suffer. No amount of Rivera blood is going to matter. He’ll try to kill me too, for protecting her.”
“Would you die for her?” Carlos was curious.
Magnum thought for a moment on the right words to say.
“I would die for Zamora…if it meant that Paco would never find the truth. I would die to keep her safe from them.” He confessed.
“As would I. Unfortunately, MS-13 isn’t the only enemies that want my daughter.”
“I have no doubt that MS-13 and the Jamaican Posse is going to war. Hopefully we’ll get lucky like you said and they’ll take each other out. Now that Tyson has brought in more men, he’s for sure going to retaliate against Paco. That’s a suicide move itself.”
“I’m sure we’d all be happy if Tyson was dead. After what he did to my daughter, I’d love nothing more than to bleed him dry.”
“Believe me Mr. Rivera, mostly everyone in this city, would rather have Paco dead more. After all that he’s done. All the innocent people he’s killed. He killed a teenage girl
a few months ago, right in front of her own father. Cut off her head with his machete before revealing the wife’s chopped up body. He slit the father’s throat after.”
“I’ve done worse.” Carlos confessed.
“I’m sure you have. So has he. So have I.” He paused. “Someday we’re all going to have to pay for our sins.”
“That’s for sure.” Carlos sighed. “And personally I don’t care who goes to war with whom as long as they’re not after my daughter.”
“We can agree on that.” Magnum said before standing up. “I have to go. See you around.”
“Let me know if anything else comes up.”
“As long as you do the same.” Magnum said before walking away.
Carlos waited until Magnum left the building with his men before getting up.
All that Zamora could think about was what Tyson had done to her. The way he scarred her hand. When he used Nikkya against her. Zamora remembered everything her adopted father had taught her again. She remembered those words again.
“Prepare for what papa?”
“Someday mi amor. Someday you will understand.”
Zamora decided to herself that she wasn't going to let her enemies get the best of her again. She wondered why she had. She decided to train herself again. This time on her own. To re-practice everything she had been taught. Carlos agreed that was necessary. He even gave her the things she needed. She practiced with knives and guns. She used a punching bag to train herself all over again. Carlos provided Zamora with his own men to retrain her in her Krav Maga skills that were taught to her. Zamora did anything that she could think of. Her adopted father often taught her how to fight back in the dark. She trained her eyes to see and to use her senses. Her dad always taught her to use anger as a trigger response. So she did.
Carlos walked in on Zamora training with the punching bag. He watched her for a short moment.
“Your adopted father taught you well. Seems like he prepared you for everything.” He said admiring her.
Zamora stopped. Wiping the sweat from her forehead. She looked at him.
“He wanted a warrior…not a victim.”
“There's something that I should tell you Zamora.”
“What is it now?” She didn't want to hear anymore secrets.
Carlos walked over to her.
“I chose them to be your family.”
Zamora had a look of confusion on her face.
“What?” She questioned.
Carlos sighed.
“I wanted a father for you who could teach you the things you know now. I specifically looked for a man that had those skills and training. I asked him to teach them to you.”
“What do you mean you asked him, to teach them to me?”
Carlos hesitated.
“When I chose him to be your father, I met him the day we placed you with him. He knew who I was. I warned him that, one day, my enemies may come for you. He agreed to teach you everything he knew, but never to tell you why.”
Zamora was in disbelief.
“I also wanted you to have a mother who could teach you how to love. A woman who would nurture you. My last request to them was that you would grow up with siblings so you wouldn't feel alone. They already had adopted a son before I chose them. They told me they would find you a sister, whom you could grow close to.”
Zamora tried to keep calm but she couldn’t.
“Are you kidding me?” She was angry.
“I thought that you should know.”
“My parents are dead. My sister is dead. My brother is in prison. I had to give up custody of my nephew to keep him safe…and Nikkya was kidnapped to use against me…all because I have…Rivera blood…in my veins. All because the notorious cartel kingpin Carlos Rivera is my father.” She paused again. “I have to pay the price for the life that you chose to live.”
“That was the reason why we gave you up for adoption. We didn’t want you to have to grow up in this life. To worry about you becoming a target.”
“I guess your life caught up to me.” She said angered.
“That was never my intention.”
Zamora gave him a look of stupidity.
“What did you think was going to happen when you connected The Eye to me? “
Carlos let out a deep breath.
“The Eye is gone.”
“That’s because I destroyed it. I had to destroy it because you wouldn’t.”
“For what it’s worth Zamora…I’m sorry that my own life…has brought pain to yours.”
“For what it’s worth? Are you kidding me? Are there anymore secrets that you’d like to reveal while we’re at it?” She questioned.
Carlos tried to think of the right words to say.
“No. There are no more secrets. I just thought you had the right to know.”
“Why are you just telling me this now?”
“I know you’re angry with me-”
Zamora cut him off. “Angry? That’s really not the word I would use to describe it.”
“I should have told you a long time ago.”
“Yes. You should have. Now we have to start all over again. And I thought we were getting somewhere in our relationship.” She said sarcastically.
Carlos started to respond back but she cut him off again.
“Please leave! I don’t have anything else to say.”
They locked eyes.
“Okay. I’ll leave you to yourself.”
“Please do.” She said demandingly.
He started to turn away but then turned back to his daughter.
“I don’t regret the life we chose to give you.” He paused. “You grew up without bodyguards and violence. We didn’t want you to meet the same fate as your brother did. We couldn’t bare the pain of losing another child that way again. Placing you for adoption was the only way to ensure that you would be safe. Even though you weren’t in our lives…you were still alive. But I needed you to be prepared if your true identity ever was revealed. That’s why I placed you with a man who could prepare you.” Carlos turned and left.
Zamora stood there for a moment after her father left. A tear running down her cheek.
Tyson lit a cigar and put it to his lips. He was enjoying his new luxury home. Cassius lit a blunt and smoked it. Jamarco and Deandre entered the room like they had something important to say. Tyson noticed them.
“I hope you have come with something I want to hear.” He said to them.
The brothers’ quickly glanced at each other.
“Paco’s warehouse is heavily guarded. The same as ours was.” Jamarco told him.
“Well of course it is. Why wouldn’t it be? He is the…king…of the streets after all.”
“What do you want to do?” Cassius asked his cousin.
Tyson looked at his cousin. He sighed like he was thinking of the next move.
Tyson turned to the brothers’ again.
“How many guards?”
They thought for a moment.
“Around 20 or so. Something like that.” Deandre answered.
Tyson thought again trying to come up with a plan.
Cassius interrupted. “Why don’t we just take out the guards? Men for men.” He said.
“That could work. I like the sound of that cousin.” Tyson smirked.
“So what do you want us to do next?” Jamarco asked his boss.
“Gather the men at the warehouse. We will be there in an hour to discuss the plan further.” He ordered.
“Not a problem.” Jamarco said before leaving with his brother.
Tyson returned his attention to his cousin.
“So what exactly did you have in mind? How do you suppose we take out…all 20…of their guards?”
“Well if we all put in a little work, I think that it’ll work out perfect. Paco will never even see it coming. By the time he does. His men will already be dead.” Cassius chuckled.
“So how are you doing?” Que asked Zamora on the phone.
“I’m okay. Except for the conversation that Carlos and I had last night.”
“What happened?”
“My father was the one, who chose my birth family for me. He placed me with them so that my adopted father would train me.”
“Train you?”
“Carlos wanted a man who could prepare me for his enemies if the truth about me ever came out.”
“That’s messed up.” Que said.
“I understand his actions…but he should’ve told me when we first met.”
“Yes. He should have.”
“There’s just always one secret after another.”
“I’m sorry that you have to deal with that Zamora. I wish there was something that I could do to help you out.”
“I’ve accepted what is.” She told him.
A brief moment of silence.
“How is Braydon doing?”
“He’s doing all right. He has Annabeth as a friend. He really likes her.”
“That’s good to hear. At least he isn’t lonely there.”
“No he’s not.” She said with a sigh.
Que changed the subject to a topic of interest.
“So…are you ever going to introduce me to your birth family?”
“Maybe sometime soon.”
Someone beeped in on Que’s phone. Tyson.
“I’ll have to call you back sweetie. Someone important is calling in.”
Paco’s men were guarding the outside of the warehouse. Twenty men. Walking around the whole perimeter. Heavily armed men. Surveillance cameras were around the warehouse inside and out.
Lupe was looking up information for Paco.
“There’s just nothing. I don’t know what else to do. Zamora Cortez…just does not exist anymore. It’s like she just disappeared.” He told him.
“That’s because she changed her name to Zamora Rivera. Someone erased her. She is a sneaky little bitch.”
“There’s no proof of who Zamora Rivera was before.”
Paco got angry.
“I am looking forward to the day when I find the truth. When my suspicions are proven right.”
“You and me both. I want that bitch for killing our guys just as bad as you do.” Lupe confessed.
“I guess we will have to move on from this for now.” Paco admitted.
City Culprits (Book 1) Page 17