Unmitigated Greed

Chapter 5

“Mr. Mason, Frank Mason?”

The accented male voice brought Frank back from the past. The young man speaking to him looked to be in his late teens and displayed an air of confidence not usually seen in someone so young.

“Yes, I’m Frank Mason, and you are?”

“My name is Ronaldo Reyes, but you can call me Ronnie. My grandfather’s description of you was perfect. I’m here to take you to our hacienda in Nuevo Laredo.”

“I didn’t know Ali had a grandson or a son.”

“My dad died when I was two. He was delivering some items from my Abuela’s business when thieves robbed and killed him. The police caught and punished them, but it didn’t bring my dad back.”

“I understand completely, Ronnie. My dad was murdered when I was about your age. At least you have your grandfather to rely on. Let’s get going. I’m looking forward to seeing my old friend.” The young man took Frank’s travel bag, and they headed to the car.

Ronnie skillfully maneuvered through streets that may have once been familiar to Frank, but no longer. They stopped at the border crossing and flashed their documents to uninterested guards. The attitude would shift 180 degrees when they returned to the U.S.

They drove to the outskirts of Nuevo Laredo, making small talk as they went. Frank discovered the boy was a big Dallas Cowboys fan and hated the New England Patriots, Frank’s favorite team. It was surprising to Frank how well he enjoyed the kid’s company. Before they parked in front of his grandfather’s house, Frank asked Ronnie what his father’s name was. He responded, “Miguel.”

“And who is your mother?”

“Marisol.”

Now it all made sense to Frank. The boy looked familiar because his father was Frank’s friend and Ronnie’s mother was Frank’s former lover. They exited the car and walked to the front door.

Chapter 6

Alejandro Reyes greeted his guest with a welcoming smile and a firm handshake. The two men had talked many times over the last twenty years, but this was their first face-to-face meeting in all that time. Frank quickly evaluated his old friend and decided the aging process had been kind to Ali. The gray hair around his temples added an air of distinguishability to his chiseled features. He had put on a few pounds since their last meeting, but so had Frank.

“Welcome, my friend,” said Ali. “It’s been too many years since we’ve gotten together and we have much to discuss.”

“Much to discuss and accomplish in a brief amount of time,” replied Frank. “Fuchs wants results quickly and has given us a minimal amount of time to make it happen. Nothing new for him, as you well know.”

“I do indeed. Please come in and Ronnie will show you to your room. When you’re refreshed, we will begin.”

“No need for Ronnie, I’ll show him the way,” said a female voice from the other room. Frank couldn’t keep from grinning as Marisol entered the hallway.

“Now my homecoming is complete.” He did a quick scan of his former lover before saying, “You look as stunning as you did twenty years ago on the night we met.”

Marisol replied with a simple, “Thank you. Let me show you to your room. I’m sure you would like to relax after your long journey.” She turned and led the way down the hall, with Frank following closely behind. When they reached Frank’s room, she turned and said, “This one is yours. Dinner will be in two hours.”

As she was about to leave, Frank quietly exclaimed, “It’s good to see you again, Marisol! I hoped I would.”

“You never came back!” she hissed. “I waited, but it was as if you had died.”

“I’m sorry, I truly am. You were the only bright spot in a bleak period of my life. I needed to get away from Laredo and all the bad things that happened to me when I was here. What I’ve learned since I left is that people cause terrible memories, not places. Look on the bright side. You have a son you can be proud of.”

Begrudgingly, Marisol let some of her anger dissipate. “He is a good boy and I hate to see him involved in this type of life, but there aren’t a lot of opportunities for him around here,”

“That might change if Ali and I can get our new project up and running. We can talk about it some more later if you like, but for now, I need to unpack.”

“Later, then—if you stick around long enough, that is.” She left him alone to unpack.

Surrounded by the solitude of his room, Frank thought about what he had said to Marisol, “It’s not the place, but people who cause terrible memories.” He was living proof of that statement. He laid back on his bed and reflected on events that brought him back to a town he swore never to return to.

* * *

Frank arrived on the campus of Yale University enthusiastically ready to start a more promising chapter of his life. He located his dorm room and realized he had a roommate.

“The name’s Beauregard Smithson, but back home, I’m known as Bubba. You might have heard of my daddy, Senator Zackary Smithson, from the great state of Alabama.”

Frank extended his hand. “Frank Mason from Texas. I’m afraid I haven’t heard of your father, but living in a border town, I haven’t heard of many people. Is politics your major?”

“Politics, hell no! I’m not interested in that boring stuff. The only reason I’m here is to get my old man off my back. He says this is the best place in the country to make important business contacts. I’m hoping it’s a good place to meet rich women that like to party. Know what I mean? How about you? Did your daddy make you come here, too?”

Frank looked away before answering. “Both my parents are dead. I’m here to learn more about computers, and maybe meet a couple of rich women as well.”

Both boys laughed, then Bubba replied, “I think we’re going to get along just fine, Frank. What do you say we go check this place out?”

“I was about to suggest doing the same thing, Bubba. Let’s go!”

***

Frank returned to the present when a servant knocked on his door and announced that Mr. Reyes would like Mr. Mason to join him for drinks by the pool. Frank knew it was time to get to work. He finished unpacking and headed to the pool. When he arrived, he was surprised to find Ali had invited Marisol to the meeting. It was the first time he realized she was not just a maid but actually involved in the business. He quickly recovered his composure and took a seat next to her. Alexandro looked at the two of them and smiled.

“It does an old man’s heart good to see you two back in the same room together. Fate certainly works in mysterious ways. I thought that when you left for your big college, we’d never see you again. Yet here you are! Both Senator Smithson and Mr. Fuchs speak highly of your abilities. How did you connect with them?”

“It’s like you suggested. You never know what fate has in store. My roommate for my freshman year was the senator’s son. He was there to party and didn’t last past the second semester. The senator came to the university to visit Bubba, and that’s how I met him. He told me he knew some people who could use someone with my computer skills and would introduce me after I graduated. I thought I’d never see him again after Bubba flunked out, but he kept his word. Of course, now that he’s dead, there is a lot of competition for his position in the organization.”

“Once again, fate plays a role. You are definitely a star-crossed individual,” said Ali in a more serious tone. “So, how did you come up with this plan to use busses for product transport?”

“At the end of my freshman year, university management informed me that funding for my scholarship program was reduced and would no longer cover room and board. I needed a job that would cover a place to live and food. Even Ramen Noodles cost money. There was a charter bus company not too far from campus looking for a nighttime bus cleaner, so I applied. The work was backbreaking, but there were long gaps between bus arrivals when I could study.”

“Over the next three years, I learned the business. I moved from cleaner to mechanic’s assistant, and eventually into the office. The owner needed someone with computer savvy to modernize his booking and dispatch system, and I was his guy. It took a little time, but the work was interesting. When the program was complete, the owner patented it and sold it to the bus industry. I still receive royalties from it.”

“It sounds like you were well on your way to a successful career,” said Marisol. “Why did you leave it?”

“It’s very difficult to make a lot of money in the bus industry. The equipment is very expensive and they require constant maintenance. Big companies like Greyhound, Megabus, and Bolt Bus, along with a few large regional carriers, make it difficult for the local operator to compete outside of their immediate market. The small guy pays the sticker price for a bus, usually around $450,000, while the large operator will receive a 10% to 20% discount and a lower finance rate. It’s a business I wanted nothing to do with—until now.”

“It’s an interesting story, Frank, but I’m not sure where you’re going with it or how I fit in?” asked Ali. “I have many businesses on both sides of the Rio Grande. Some are even legal, but none of them have anything to do with busses.”

“That is about to change in a big way, Ali—a big way. We are going to purchase or partner with small operators all over the U.S. and Mexico. We will build a massive network of bus companies that will transport our products throughout North America.”

“But Frank, you just said independent bus companies don’t stand a chance competing against the big guys. Why will we be any different?” asked Marisol.

“We are different because we don’t care if we carry one passenger or a full load. What’s important to our bottom line are the products that we stash deep in the bus’s superstructure. Think of a spiderweb that stretches from Nuevo Laredo to Boston, Seattle, Miami, Los Angeles, and all the major cities in between. Our busses will operate on that web delivering products to our buyers right under the DEA’s nose.”

“Even our organization isn’t rich enough to buy all those buses. How do you plan to build your network? Where will you get the drivers for an operation this size?”

“All good questions, Ali. The simple answer to all of them is, everything already exists. We just need to pull it all together.”

“How do we do that?” asked Marisol with a skeptical tone in her voice.

“Every medium to large city has at least one bus company in it. What we need to do is recruit them into a nationwide system. We will offer them a generous sign-on bonus, plus quarterly revenue sharing based on how many units they dedicate to our system. In areas where no one wants to join us, we’ll start our own company. Having our own facilities dispersed throughout the network in key locations is actually very important. When an associate’s bus enters one of our garages, it will remain overnight for routine maintenance. That’s when the product is unloaded and the cash that was made from previous shipments replaces it. From there, they work the busload of cash back through the system to our facility in Nuevo Laredo. We remove the cash, restock the bus, and repeat the route.”

“What about the DEA and Border Patrol?” asked Marisol. “They always inspect cars, trucks, and buses when they cross the border. Then they set up checkpoints 20 to 30 miles outside of town and check again. The sniffer dogs are excellent at finding stashes. How do you plan to get around them?”

“Excellent question, Marisol. The authorities are very interested in easy targets like cars and trucks. Busses involve much more work. Normally when a bus goes through a checkpoint, it’s checked for people without visas. Agents may remove some luggage for the dogs to sniff, but rarely do they take them all off. Besides, our product isn’t in the luggage, it’s hidden in the bus. Should the process take too long, they will have 56 pissed-off people to deal with. We will modify our buses with false walls and floors in the luggage bays and a false ceiling in the passenger compartment. We’ll use an air freshener pumped through the air conditioning system to mask any scent the dogs might detect. Once the product is safe in the States, we can place it on our partner’s busses using regular luggage or boxes. Unless there’s an accident, their buses will never get checked.”

Ali scratched his chin as he wrapped his mind around the plan. “This plan won’t happen overnight. Mr. Fuchs is not a patient man. He will want to see results quickly, or he’ll want the money we use replaced. You could be placing yourself and me in a precarious position. Have you thought about that, Frank?”

“I have presented him with a timeline. He wasn’t happy with the implementation time, but if it will give us a reliable supply chain, he’s willing to try it for a short time. If the trial route works, we’ll expand the system one route at a time.”

Ali smiled. “You have apparently thought of everything. Now it’s my turn to contribute to this grand plan. I know a local man who owns a bus company. He’s getting on in years and is in poor health. No one in his family is interested in the business, so he’s talking about selling it. He only has a dozen older coaches, but they’re well-maintained, and people are used to seeing them on the Texas roads. He already has all the permits needed to operate on both sides of the border and throughout the states. The company name is Border to Border Coach Company.”

“I know that company!” exclaimed Frank. “We rode them when we went on school trips. Are you sure he’s ready to sell?”

“I’m sure of it.” Replied Ali. “I can call him in the morning if you’re sure this is what you want to do.”

“The sooner the better! We have shipments waiting to be delivered all over the country.”

Chapter 7

The three ended their meeting and walked to the dining room for a sumptuous meal. It was too early for bed and too late to work on any more business. Ali excused himself and retired to the den, leaving Frank and Marisol to themselves. Frank stood and walked to a window overlooking Alejandro’s palatial estate.

“Let’s go for a walk, Marisol. You can show me around the grounds and I can walk off that splendid meal. We can use the time to catch up.”

The two walked out into a spacious flower garden, a full moon lighting the path.

“I guess we have a lot of things we could talk about. Why don’t you start with how did the son of a cop end up in this business?”

Frank had to laugh at the question and responded, “Now that’s an interesting way to start a conversation. It is purely by chance that I ended up here. Have you ever heard of Senator Smithson?”

“I know the name, but never met the man,” she replied.

“His son was my roommate at Yale during my freshman year. Bubba’s concept of a college education was to party day and night and date as many coeds as possible. He was as much of a distraction as a friend. I wanted to study. He wanted to get high and find a different coed every night of the week.”

“Bubba introduced me to the senator two weeks after we started our first semester. He was cordial but more interested in what his son was up to. I tried to be evasive and not rat on Bubba. Unfortunately for Bubba and me, all those years of experience dealing with people in Congress telling half- truths let him see right through my story.”

“It was our second meeting, two months later, that he asked what my major was. When I told him it was computer science with a minor in communications, he became much more interested. Senator Smithson told me of several lobbying firms that could use my services once I graduated. That was the bait that eventually hooked me. Now it’s your turn. How did you become Alejandro’s right-hand person?”

Marisol stayed quiet for several minutes as her mind struggled with how much she wanted to share with a man she had only met once as a teenager. After their one-night stand, she had hoped, even longed, to see him again, but he never returned. She discussed contacting him with the other girls she worked with. They laughed and told her she was too new to understand how the business worked. A woman who had been there for several years explained, “The men who come here are only interested in one thing, and that’s not a lasting relationship. Sure, you’ll get your regular clients, but when they’re finished, they’ll go back across the river to their wives or regular girlfriends. We are merely a distraction, nothing more.”

Those words pierced her heart and would have done permanent damage if it hadn’t been for Miguel. Frank never returned, but Miguel did over and over until he finally asked her to marry him. Ali, not impressed with Miguel, eventually gave his consent and they were married. A little over a year later, Ronaldo (Ronnie) was born. Three years after that, Miguel died in a shootout with a rival gang.

“Hello, Marisol! Are you still with me?”

Frank’s voice pulled her back to the present. “Yes, Frank. I’m still here. I guess the best place to start is at the beginning. Alejandro and my father grew up in the same neighborhood and became best friends. Back then, the organization was just establishing itself in Mexico and spent a lot of time recruiting young men like my dad and Ali. The ones showing promise moved up quickly, the rest got left behind.”

“My dad was a simple man with no head for business. While Ali moved up in the organization, my father became a farmer. The two men remained close but traveled different paths. When I was ten, both my parents died in a car accident. Ali took me in as his ward.

“I developed an interest in his various businesses and he slowly let me take part in them. The night we met was my first time working at the club and you were my first man. When you never returned, it felt like my parents had died all over again.”

Her last words crashed into him like a freight train. He understood the pain generated by losing both parents and hated that he caused someone else to feel that way.

“I’m truly sorry I brought you so much pain, Marisol. You were the only bright spot in an otherwise miserable period in my life. Ironically, you were also the first woman I ever made love to. I guess not knowing what we were doing helped make it so special. I’m sure it would be just as special today.”

She gazed up into his eyes, took his hand, and said, “Let’s find out.”