BROKEN BOARDS, CHAPTER 3
BROKEN BOARDS, CHAPTER 3
A Jake Jansen Mystery
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CHAPTER THREE - THE ORGANIZATION
Salvador watched the warehouse floor and the busy activity. He glanced at his watch, then at the calendar on the desk. He tapped the desk emphatically. He clicked on a button on the console on the desk and spoke into the speaker.
“Jose, please come up to the office.” He watched as the man monitoring the worker activity on the warehouse floor turned, glanced up at the office, and acknowledge the request with a wave. Salvador motioned for him to come upstairs.
Salvador sat down and waited for a couple of minutes when the man arrived and entered the office.
A tall, lean, and muscular man dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, wearing a white baseball cap, entered the office. He closed the door behind him and removed his hat.
“You want to see me, boss, yes?” he asked.
“Good morning, Jose. Please, sit,” Salvador said, motioning for the chair in front of the desk. “I have another job for you. This is a big one. Maybe our biggest yet.”
Jose leaned forward in the chair and listened intently.
“Hawai’i. Everything is arranged. Paperwork is handled. Contacts have been made. All you need to do is make the flight. Take the new person we just brought on, your friend, Rodrigo. I know he’s inexperienced, but I think he is capable.” Jose nodded. “This is big, Jose. You are my best man. You know what I expect and how to make it happen. Delivery will be made in multiple parts. Once all deliverables arrive, meet the contact, then meet bank man and receive payment. I’ll be there for removal and return you home.”
Jose nodded. He thought for a moment as a puzzled expression slowly came across his face.
“Is there a problem, Jose?”
“Time frame, yes?”
“You’ll leave immediately. I need you on the island with no delay. Customs and arrival have been arranged. Again, all your papers have been handled and completed,” he said, leaning forward, pushing an envelope across the desk. Jose reached forward and took the envelope.
“Papers for both and enough money for everything. The process will work the same as always. Boards will be checked and moved.”
Jose nodded again.
“That is all, Jose,” Salvador Santos said.
Jose stood and left the office. Salvador leaned forward and clicked the console button again and spoke.
“Gabriel, please go to the guard shack and relieve Juan and Diablo and send them up to my office.” He sat back in his chair. He spun around in the chair, stood up, and went to the window again. Salvador watched the warehouse as his efficient machine worked smoothly, starting with the packaging of his product, carefully measured and sealed, then placed inside the deconstructed surfboards, then re-sealed. He watched in silence for about 10 minutes when the sound of footsteps came up the stairs and into the office. Juan entered the office with Diablo at his side.
Salvador started to speak without turning around.
“Please, Juan, have a seat.”
Juan sat down in the chair as Diablo lay down at his feet. Salvador turned around and smiled. He looked down at Diablo and smiled. He then walked around the desk as Diablo sat up and watched him. He moved to the office door and closed it.
“Juan, you’ve been with me for quite some time. You and Diablo have been loyal, yes?”
“Yes, sir,” Juan said, nodding.
“When I pulled you from the drug enforcement police force, it was with the intent to provide security and monitor product movement. I can’t always trust everyone who works for me. But you’ve proven to be resourceful, attentive, smart. And you haven’t complained. It’s time I give you more responsibility,” he stated as he returned to the desk and sat down as Diablo laid back down.
“I know you know the nature of this business. But I have a greater use for you on the inside. I’m going to continue to use you as security. But I’d also like to give Diablo greater responsibility. Think of it as a partnership. Actually, that’s exactly what it is. I know you depend on each other, but we’re going to give Diablo a promotion.” Mr. Santos smiled.
Diablo’s ears perked up.
“On the inside, I want you both to monitor all personnel and their movement, activity, as well as the product movement. I want you to watch everything closely. But I have an even more important use for Diablo,” Salvador paused, then continued, “We can use him to test product, so to speak.”
“How so, Mr. Santos?”
“He’s a drug dog, is he not?” Salvador asked.
“Yes, sir,” Juan replied.
“Well, in our distribution and creation of final products, we can use Diablo to test all final boards. As we get ready to expand overseas, I want a product that I know can pass airport security, customs, and drug dogs.”
“And if Diablo can’t identify or determine product in final package, then it passes?”
“You are correct,” Salvador said, smiling. “So, let’s get started. We have product that needs to be tested right away for immediate movement,” Salvador said as he stood up. Diablo watched him intently again. “I respect his loyalty.”
“I’ve had him since birth, sir. He sleeps at my side. I go nowhere without him,” Juan said. Salvador Santos smiled. He looked down at Diablo.
“Good boy, Diablo,” before returning his glance to Juan. “Everyone should be so loyal, Juan. Come, let’s head to distribution release,” Salvador said as he motioned for them to follow.
***
Jose Silva and Rodrigo Ferreira were standing in the parking lot, discussing the orders given to them by Mr. Santos. They had grown up together in one of the favelas, though Jose had been a member of Mr. Santos’ organization for a longer amount of time. His friend’s lifestyle or money had not swayed Rodrigo. At least, not in the way most would expect.
Rodrigo’s mother had been dying for a long time and was unable to receive quality treatment, let alone see a doctor who could adequately diagnose her condition. It wasn’t until Jose coerced him through the reasoning that he would be able to properly care for his mother that he relented and decided to join the Santos organization.
Rodrigo had no illusion about the nature of their business but also had not seen friends or family fall at the hands of drugs or gang bloodshed. He didn’t see working for the powerful drug cartel as a demonized way of life. He also didn’t know the extent of Jose’s involvement in the organization.
Jose Silva was a product of the harsh streets of the favelas. He had been a poor student and had long been prone to violence. Rodrigo had been familiar with this side of Jose since they were little. Rodrigo, being shorter, heavier, and less than athletic, had been the victim of Jose’s bullying throughout their youth until one day, he snapped out of rage and punched Jose in the face, knocking him out cold and forever gaining his respect. Due to his propensity for violence, Jose became an enforcer for the Santos organization. He was a collector. He would go into the harsher neighborhoods and collect protection money or act as a product delivery man. Even as the Santos cartel spread down the coastal seaboards of South America and up through Central America, Jose was the one who inspired fear everywhere he went. Many had been on the losing end of his temper. Some had even lost their lives. He became known as a man whom you did not test.
Jose’s loyalty was continually rewarded as he rose through the ranks and became a vital member of Salvador’s organization. Mr. Santos treated his trusted workers very well. He rewarded their loyalty with large sums of cash, expensive vehicles, and lavish homes. Though Salvador was not a true believer in violence as a means to an end, he turned a blind eye to Jose’s methods, tolerating it as a way to further the business and deliver an occasionally necessary message. It wasn’t a message to the people of the streets but a warning to the gangs and businesses who felt they could challenge the kingpin. Jose’s methods kept the rival organizations living in fear.
“Rodrigo, this is a good opportunity, yes. Mr. Santos is showing great faith in you, yes. So, just do as I say, and all will go smoothly, understand, yes?” Jose asked.
Rodrigo nodded. “We go to Hawai’i, yes. Product will arrive in separate shipments. Mr. Santos has paid the appropriate authorities. We will be well protected.” Rodrigo nodded again. Jose took off his baseball cap and wiped his brow before placing the hat back on his head. Rodrigo looked up at Jose with a bit of concern. “We will be safe, Jose, right? I’m just nervous,” he said, scratching at his face.
“No worries, my friend. Once we are there, we make contact. Product will arrive. We pick up, then meet for pay. Then back home, yes.”
“Okay, Jose. I trust you,” Rodrigo said with nervous apprehension. Jose patted him on the shoulder and smiled.