A PECULIAR BASE OF OPERATIONS

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THREE-WAY PERSPECTIVE

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I know that my profession is not what you would consider orthodox or something you can be proud of, much less something you would tell a date when they ask you what you do.

Well, although my job is often described as that of a problem solver or an executor, the reality is that everyone knows that I am just a glorified hitman because although not all of my jobs require murder, the truth is that almost all of them require a certain amount of violence,

Which translates to torture, kidnapping, extortion, or simply making sure that a corpse has disappeared in such a way that it can only be discovered by archaeologists or excavators.

– Hey I guess you're Gary, the new kid.

I choose to greet the newbie who is supposed to be my assistant in this job with a smile and a cheerful tone, although he could also be the one in charge of watching me so that I don't do something out of place.

No matter what kind of job it is, there will always be one or two observers. Although I am one of the observers by default as a leader, it is quite obvious that in my absence, the boss has been through a lot, which has made him quite distrustful.

This makes me doubt him a lot, choosing to immediately trust someone who has been away for over a year, and who at first glance doesn't seem very loyal, since the only thing that seems to keep him here is an old deal that at any moment could stop meaning anything.

– Yes, sir, it will be a pleasure to work with you.

Too excited, there are only three options for this, first he doesn't know what we're about to do, two he's pretending since it's doubtful he doesn't know what he's supposed to do in such an important job or three he's one of the psychopaths who enjoy this kind of situation.

Okay, kid, get in the car and drive. We'll have time to talk when we get to the meeting point.

The boy nods with some excitement and gets into the car in the driver's seat, while I choose to sit in the back, so I can properly review the information I was given for this job.

– Hey…..

As the new guy starts the car, I try to call out to him to remind him of something, but when I lift my head to look at him and before the words are even out of my mouth, I see that damn smile on his face, an expression of uncontainable excitement like an excited child on the way to a park.

This confirms that I was right, and the third option was the correct one, and this time I will have to work with a fucking psychopath, this will be a real nuisance, because these guys are an extreme case, since the best way to describe them would be inhuman, almost all of them are some kind of monsters, who are too competent for this type of work or simple idiots willing to do anything, but unable to control themselves, this will be a big nuisance.

– I'll tell you when we meet with the team.

In the end, I choose to keep what I planned to say to myself and continue preparing for work.

Which begins with taking out a computer and before turning it on I insert the chip that is supposed to contain all the information I will need for this job, but honestly this information is never enough or absolutely complete, which guarantees that anyone who follows it to the letter ends up carrying out a suicide process that is too long and complex.

Anyway, as I go through the information, I'm trying to think of who the informant will end up being, because I'm pretty sure my crazy little driver is out of the question, as no one in their right mind would be willing to give a job to a possibly erratic and mentally unstable individual.

Although I really wish there wasn't an informant, which would free me from a lot of hassle, at the end of the day I'm not the one making the decisions.

But this kind of nonsense makes me hate this job, because everything is always too complicated, with internal rules, unwritten rules, the code of honor and unspoken information, but which we are all supposed to know.

Surely that is why Muso is so worried, because in this type of semi-ordered environment, where violent underworld laws are applied along with an improvised bureaucracy, corruption and betrayal are things condemned to happen, the only question is when they will happen and who will commit them.

Which is why I can't really blame Muso for being so distrustful, as I've even come to distrust him at times, thinking that he's planning to get rid of me after using me, even though we're both supposed to have an agreement that ensures neither of us will ever betray the other.

And while I can speak for myself, as I know I would never break our agreement, Muso is definitely not me, so it's highly unlikely that he would decide to trust me based on my word alone.

And in a certain way he is right, because although I can speak for myself, I cannot do so for others, even when they are considered my friends and people with whom I have lived for years, and I even owe my life to some of them.

But in this job, trust is something extremely valuable, but too dangerous for anyone to be willing to give it knowing how it can all end.

And although it feels strange, this is my life now, because although it seems strange to think about it, somehow I ended up working for the mafia since my youth, when I lived through what many consider a tragedy, one that had a culprit, but that the law could not punish, and after trying on my own and failing, I ended up selling my ass to Muso, in exchange for him making it easier for me to solve my problems.

And in some strange way I ended up getting used to all the stupid unwritten rules and implicit agreements.

But I have to admit, even at that time I didn't even know what I was getting into, because to be honest I thought I was just dealing with something small, some kind of gang that thought itself too big or too important, big, it was my surprise to find out what I was really dealing with.

Well, later I would find out what I really got myself into and in the end it turns out that cartels, gangs and magic are very different things not only because of how they work, but because of how they organize themselves and how they deal with their affairs and unfortunately I chose one of the ones that is more difficult to deal with.

***

– Sir, sir, hey sir.

After being lost in my own world for a moment, I finally come back to reality when Gary taps lightly on the car window next to my seat, which is fogged up from the heat still inside the car compared to the cold weather outside the car, indicating to me that we have arrived at our destination and it's time to get in the car.

As I get out of the car I see Gary holding an umbrella next to the car, as if he expects me to just walk along while he holds it, to which I just watch for a moment, but then choose to just give in and play along.

– I really don't like this weather at all.

As I continue walking with Gary to the meeting point with Gary, I can't help but think that I just hate this weather, it just makes me feel helpless, like while this weather is happening I am incomplete.

But Gary remains silent with that smile that seems glued to his face.

At this point I wish the winter snow would come sooner, because even though I'm supposed to find snowfall and the much colder weather than the current one annoying, the reality is that I just hate rain and it's not because of the cold and the inconvenience, so I'm really looking forward to the snowfall even though this year it seems like it will come a little later than usual.

– seriously this is the meeting point

Gary asks as if he can't believe the place that turns out to be our meeting point.

– Yes, it is actually here.

And even though I don't want to do it, I have to confirm it, this is definitely the meeting place.

Although it may seem surprising, the family restaurant in front of us is our meeting place and where all the tools we will need for work are supposed to be kept.

But this isn't just any family restaurant, this is the annoying kind of family restaurant that specializes in kids, with garish decorations, children's music playing in the background, a play area that took up half the dining area, with waiters and workers dressed like clowns and children with irresponsible parents running all over the place and like any of these places the sanitation is at best questionable.

While Gary is having his doubts, we continue walking towards the back of the restaurant to enter the back area of ​​the restaurant where they are supposed to be waiting for us.

And it's easy to know that this is the right place, because right in front of us there is a big guy, 1.90 cm tall and with a rather thick back, standing in the rain waiting for us with an umbrella that seems comically small compared to his size.

– Jose, it's been a long time.

To my surprise, when I got closer I noticed it was someone I knew.

– But let's see what we have here, the missing Mr. Three, the man who returned from hell.

Jose, one of the few guys in this line of work who somehow has his own family, with a beautiful one who as far as I know hasn't cheated on him or left him yet and a little girl he couldn't stop talking about when we first started getting along better.

– and who can tell you about your life, how your wife and family have been.

It is surprising but quite good to work with someone you know, although this slightly increases the chances of success of our task.

– Very well, but lately she has been worried about the safety in this area, so she has been insisting that we move to the other side of the country, so that we are safer and closer to her family, she even went so far as to insinuate that she could be part of her father's family business.

He is still just as quick when talking about his family.

– You're telling me that you haven't really considered that idea, you know you're someone who hasn't hit rock bottom, so I'm sure the boss would let you go.

At my words, José remains silent, a silence that will become uncomfortable if I continue to insist on this subject.

– You know what, forget it, let's not talk about this subject, tell me about your daughter, how she's been, does she still remember good old Uncle Tres.

After being silent for a short period of time, Jose finally seems comfortable again and chooses to answer my question.

– Very well, she is still a lovely and cheerful girl, and next year she will finally go to school, something that really breaks my heart.

I know I shouldn't, but I'm going to do it anyway.

– You? Heart? I thought your heart had drowned in all your fat.

Jose looks at me as if he can't believe what I just said, but almost immediately, under pressure, he changes to a smile that seems happy.

– Yes, I actually lost my heart a long time ago, but of the two of us, I'm not the one who lost the most, yes, because of all this, I'm sure that while you were in prison you lost something very important to you.

…

– Fuck you, that would never happen, you know I'm the one who fucks, my ass is reserved for the person who marries me.

As I give Jose the middle finger and he laughs, we realize that we've been talking for too long and that I should go inside to meet up with the rest of the people.

In addition to putting the newbie in an uncomfortable situation, since he is listening to a conversation in which he has no place we have basically been completely ignoring his existence.

With the three of us gathered, we began to follow José. He guided us to the place and opened the doors with some keys that he had somewhere in his clothes.