Unfinished Business

Col. Edwardo Alonzo Lopez, Army of Guatemala, stared approvingly at his reflection in the mirror of his luxury suite at the Oro Verde Hotel and Conference Center.

The sweaty, beefy face with its black eyes, prominent nose, and fleshy lips stared back. He put on his mirrored aviator-style sunglasses, and noted the infinite reflections of himself. He checked the heavy Rolex chronometer on his thick wrist.

He still had time.

The meeting with the Cartel men to negotiate the safe smuggling corridors was still an hour away.

He pulled on his dark trousers, but remained shirtless. He took one last admiring look at the thick black hair spread across his powerful chest, and sprouting from his broad shoulders, then turned his attention to the 16-year-old prostitute, a slim dark-haired girl cowering nude in the corner by the bathroom door.

“Ah Maria,” the colonel said, reveling in his deep, rumbling voice. “I have given you love and discipline.”