Face Off

"Pull over there" Manúel instructed his driver, let's wait him out.

"Thought we were going in boss"

"Shut the fuck up" he sneered, "you don't want to drag the Policia into this, we wait here".

"Excuse me boss" Javier's assistant walked up to him shortly after he left the conference room.

"I got a call from someone while you were at the meeting"

"Who?"

"Said he was Manúel, and that he needed to speak with you urgently, but I told him you were in a meeting and that won't be possible"

"How long ago was that?"

"About an hour"

"Okay, get him on the phone for me"

"Right away Sir"

She went back to her desk and dialed in Manúel's contact.

"I'm forwarding it to your personal cell Sir" she echoed from her desk.

"Ok"

The phone rang and there was no response at the other end.

"Try again Claudia, if he doesn't pick up this time leave it alone"

It rang for few seconds and buzzed, there was no answer.

"That's okay Claudia, get back to work"

Meanwhile, Manúel and his crew waited just a few blocks from Javier's office, scouting and monitoring the movement on the road.

"Sure he is still there boss?" one of the crew member asked.

"Mind going in to ask politely? Huh, will you all just shut it!" he thundered.

He and his crew waited for about thirty minutes, by this time it was already 5.12 p.m. and there was no sign of Javier leaving the office. He picked up his phone to call.

The phone rang and there was no response, he tried again and this time Javier's assistant picked it up.

"Yes? How many I help you?"

"Now hand the phone to your boss you whore!" he sneered.

She felt bad but quickly dashed into her boss's office.

"He's on the line right now Sir" she handed him the cell.

"That will be all Claudia"

"Of course Sir" she turned to leave the office

"Shut the door after you"

"Listen to me carefully Billionaire boy, no one messes with my money eh in all of Mexico, you hear me? Now, you better send me my money or I'll come get it right there my way!"

Javier hanged up the phone without saying a word.

"The bastard just hanged up, what a shame".

Javier called back.

"Hey yo! Here's the deal, we meet at a place of my chosen and I hand you the package, just you, no car, no cell phone and if I see anyone, the deal is off, you in?"

"You know you aren't in a place to make decisions huh, little brat, that's my money we talking about here, you know what I did for you Dad? Heh? You trying to steal my money?

"Whatever, let me know if you agree to the deal"

"Take us back to the hood" Manúel instructed his driver.

"I will deal with this bastard myself"

Two days later he called Javier to discuss the details of the hand off.

"When do we meet? He asked

"I will let you know in a few hours"

He waited and about three hours later Javier called back.

"There is a construction site just off the city metropolis, before Coco Bango, we meet there at 4 p.m." he hanged up.

"Perez! Hey, I'm going out right now to see the bastard whose got my money, take care of business till I return eh" he instructed the leader of his gang.

"Sure you don't want support boss"? Perez asked.

"Just do what I tell you okay?, this is my money, don't want no body interfering with it" he said and walked off.

He parked his car a few blocks away from the meeting location and walked to the site where Javier and his bodyguard waited for him with the briefcase.

"Why did you come with your guys huh? Thought this was some personal meeting between me and you"

"That's what you get for trying to rip me off last time we did business"

"Really?" he puffed some smoke from his cigarette and threw it to the ground.

"So, where is my money"

"It is right here, but first, I need you to tell me something, you said you did shit for my Dad over the phone, what exactly does my Dad do with someone like you huh?"

Manúel laughed as be reached to his pocket to grab another stick of cigarette.

"You not the Daddy boy as I though huh?" he grinned.

"Why don't you ask your old man when you get home eh, perhaps you will know what your Dad does with men like me. What do you think?" he mocked again.

Javier signaled to his bodyguard to bring the briefcase.

"Here's your money" he threw the briefcase at him.

"Nice doing business with you. Asshole!" Manuel cursed as he walked off after briefly checking the content of the case.

"Is the tracker active?" Javier asked his bodyguard who monitored something on the laptop.

"Yes boss, he's moving east right now, looks to me like he's in a vehicle".

"Okay, keep an eye out for when he stops"

"Yes boss, are we going after him".

"No, not today, first, I have to hear what my Dad has to say about a despicable man like Manúel"

"They are just business partners I think" his bodyguard said.

"Manuel does not legal business here in Mexico, there are only a few things men like him does for a living." He ignited the car and drove all, sending dust off all over the site.

"Buenos norches Padre" he greeted his father who relaxed outside, sipping coconut milk.

"Where have you been Javier? I left some calls at the office but your assistant said you left about three hours ago"

"Si papà, I had to deliver your package".

"I thought you delivered that two days ago".

"I couldn't, I was busy with work"

"Oh, I see, you don't look too happy, did anything go wrong?" he sat up and stared at his son.

"No, but I do have some questions I would love to ask you".

"well, what is it about?"

"It is about your business with Manúel father, when he called at the office today, he said he did business for you"

"And?"

""And I did some findings, there's not a single recorded of a legal business Manúel does in Mexico"

His father looked straight into his eyes and saw the curiosity written all over his face.

"So, what did you find about him"

"Well, guess what father, Manúel has been arrested four times over the last two months, what does that tell you eh?"

"What does it tell you?" his Dad asked.

"It tells me that Manúel does illegal business. Want to know the charges the Policia brought against him? Human trafficking, rape and assault of underage girls, drugs and gang violence" he read from a document.

His father grinned and laid back down at if none of it was a s bad as they sound.

"You won't say anything?" Javier asked, surprised by his father's rather strange behavior.

"Does it matter what I say right now?" his father asked, as he gazed into the empty blue skies as if he sought a pin in the vastness.

"You have read all about Manúel from the internet and blogs, you have a conclusion about want he does and there is no mention of a legal occupation of his, so, what business do you think I have with him?"

"Is that all you have to say?" Javier burned with anger.

"Alright then, I'll do this my own way"

For the next few months Javier went on a solo mission to uncover his father's involvement with Manúel, a man with as many damning reputation to keep off a Billionaire like his Dad.

"What does a thug like him have in common with my father" he asked himself.

His findings would go on to reshape his life and that of his family entirely...