Mayor José López sat behind his desk wiping sweat. He'd called everyone but no one answered. When he called the local garrison hoping they'd send troops to maintain order.
They directly hung up on him.
Did you hear what you were saying?
What would we use to maintain stability?
You mean rely on soldiers?
Sorry, they're currently being chased around outside.
This was Mexico's culture - soldiers by day, drug dealers by night. They took their weapons and joined various drug trafficking groups' conflicts. Win and get bonuses, lose... and let the garrison demand compensation from security departments.
Bet you didn't expect that?
In 2007, the second year of Calderón's drug war, he suddenly wanted to see the military's casualty list, planning to pay respects or tell citizens many people were sacrificing for the country.
The result...
Over 60,000 casualties in 2006.
What the hell!
All of Mexico's military was only about 200,000 people, and you'd already lost half.
And where the compensation money went was unclear.
This incident made Calderón realize for the first time that Mexico's drug war had no future. You fight drugs, but can you fight corrupt officials?
His own ass wasn't clean either.
So garrison quotas everywhere were never full.
José López was frantically worried, finally getting angry, "Damn Victor, wouldn't it be nice if you just stayed holed up on Guadalupe Island? Why did you come to Ensenada!"
"Sir, talking behind people's backs isn't good behavior." A voice came from the doorway, startling José López. He looked up to see five people enter, the leader too familiar.
"Victor!" He immediately stood up.
Victor smiled, "Don't be nervous. I'm very peaceful. Mr. Mayor, I heard drug dealers were causing trouble. I came to help."
José López had "known of him" for quite a while.
Those drug dealer corpses that had washed up on shore were still in the morgue - nearly overflowing!
"May I know why your Ensenada... hmm?" Victor organized his words, frowning, "performs so uselessly!"
"Drug dealers, thieves, robbers - you can't handle any of them? Can you tell me why?"
José López stammered, his fat face going numb.
"Are you making deals with drug dealers?" Victor suddenly asked coldly. The other's eyes widened as he quickly shook his hands, "No, no, absolutely impossible."
Victor nodded, picking up the cigar box on the desk, "Gurkha Black Dragon?"
"This doesn't seem cheap - about $400 per stick, right?"
"Can your salary afford this?"
José López quickly explained: "I have other part-time jobs, my wife does odd jobs, my son is a teacher... Ah!"
Victor grabbed his hair and slammed him on the desk, picking up the cigar box and smashing it on his head, "Fuck! If you're corrupt, you're corrupt. What do you take me for? An idiot?!"
The cigar box instantly deformed. José López's face was covered in blood as he wailed.
"Expensive stuff just doesn't break easily."
Victor grabbed the ashtray and knocked him unconscious with one blow.
In his eyes, this José López was no good.
He'd been mayor here for 7 years, originally supposed to be elected, but this guy colluded with Tijuana drug trafficking group, directing them to kill other candidates.
One candidate who posed the greatest threat had exposed him as a drug group lackey at a campaign rally, then...
His whole family was killed and flushed down toilets!
The methods were simply horrific...
Victor pulled out a tissue, wiped the blood from between his fingers clean, and casually tossed it, covering José López's face.
Taking the cigarette Casare handed him, he put it in his mouth.
The former pulled out his pistol and emptied the clip into José López on the ground.
"Boss, the drug dealers were too brutal. They actually killed a mayor. I think we should sweep all drug trafficking groups in Ensenada!"
Victor glanced at Casare and nodded.
You've said it all - what should I say?
But having a proactive subordinate was still quite nice.
"Boss, should we offer them surrender terms again?"
Casare was addicted to military deception, planning to use the Guadalupe Island trick again.
"This place is different from the island."
This was mainland with more informants and a more complex environment. If you killed them after surrender, you'd definitely be on the news tomorrow. Guadalupe Island was different - surrounded by sea, you could say they slipped and fell.
What about the bullet holes?
Maybe sharks could shoot.
Dogs could be drug dealers, so why couldn't sharks shoot?
"Tell the officers to protect themselves. We can't stay in Ensenada long."
The power base still had to be on the island.
Casare nodded, having someone drag José López away.
"Oh, bring those cigars for me. Don't waste them." Victor at the doorway pointed to the cigar box on the ground.
Casare had another news headline in mind.
"Shocking! Mr. Victor is so frugal he picks up cigarettes to smoke."
...
José López had been killed by drug dealers!
This news was broadcast overnight.
All ordinary citizens waiting by TVs and radios panicked, then heard the host's tone shift, "But don't worry, the situation in Ensenada is controllable under Mr. Victor's leadership!"
"The gentlemen from Guadalupe Island Police Station are eliminating rebellious drug dealers. Our city is safe - please trust us!"
They directly labeled drug dealers as rebels.
This made operations much more convenient.
The host removed his headphones, looking at the officers before him and the guns in their hands, smiling awkwardly.
"Very good. Your safety is assured - nothing will happen with us here." The masked officer nodded with satisfaction.
The host smiled bitterly inside.
Were you police or bandits? Coming in and directly controlling the TV station.
Fighting continued until dawn the next day.
All of Ensenada was in ruins.
Drug dealer corpses lay scattered across the streets. Few pedestrians were on the roads, and even those brave enough to go out carefully hugged walls, hiding at the first sign of trouble.
And it must be said that the Mexican government's response was really slow!
Ensenada had been turned into a battlefield, and for a whole night there were no reinforcements from other cities. Only after 8 AM did slow-moving convoys finally enter the city.
All police from surrounding cities.
They looked at corpses on the ground, nervously gripping their guns tighter.
But these officers' weapons...
Were incredibly outdated, even equipped with French Mas Mle 1936s - WWII-era products.
Fight drug dealers with these?
As soon as the convoy entered the city, Victor sent word inviting them to city hall for a gathering.
To discuss aftermath arrangements.
He planned to hold a meeting...
To see who could be won over and who were enemies!
(End of Chapter)
[Get +20 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Mutter"]
[Every 50 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]