The Facilitator’s Betrayal

Tony J. Lucero

Description

A fast paced thriller that traces the journey of The Facilitator from the perilous illicit drug business to the opulence and legitimacy of Beverly Hills.
The stakes couldn't be higher in this sequel to THE FACILITATOR - VOLUME I
Life was good but was now being threatened by a commitment made years ago to a notorious drug lord.
Follow The Facilitator's perilous journey as he traverses between the worlds of opulence in sunny Southern California and the darkness of a crime plagued Mexican drug cartel.
Can the two worlds be reconciled and, if so, at what price?

Sujets

• Thrillers
• Suspenso
• Suspense
• Thriller
• Fiction
• Action

Informations

• Publié par: AuthorHouse
• Date de parution: 31 mai 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9798823008891
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

THE FACILITATOR’S BETRAYAL
JOURNEY’S END
VOLUME II
TONY J. LUCERO


AuthorHouse™
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.authorhouse.com
Phone: [phone]
 
 
 
 
 
 
© 2023 Tony J. Lucero. All rights reserved.
 
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.
 
Published by AuthorHouse 05/31/2023
 
ISBN: 979-8-8230-0890-7 (sc)
ISBN: 979-8-8230-0889-1 (e)
 
 
 
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
 
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
CONTENTS
Dedication
Introduction
 
1A Way Out
2Beauty and the Beast
3Arizona Heat
4A Mexican Excursion
5Reflections
6Dog Days
7Sojourn
8The Mission
9The Getaway
10The Aftermath
11Goodbye Old Friend
12The Betrayal
 
Epilogue
About the Author
DEDICATION
To Ruth Ann, Trisha, and Juanita for their love and unwavering support.
INTRODUCTION
Life was good but was now being threatened by an unexpected phone call he had just received from his friend and handler, Pablo Mena, an employee of the Mexican drug lord known as El Jefe . After a tumultuous number of years that had seen him go from high school student, to undiscovered killer, to soldier, to college student and drug entrepreneur, to assassin, and now an established and legitimate real estate investor, Anthony Cordoba’s misdeeds and reckless past were coming back to haunt him.
It had started years ago, when still a high school student in West Texas, he had killed an illegal alien, a mogado , at his granddad’s ranch. He had justified the killing as an act of self-defense because the hapless intruder had threatened to steal his horse and had acted menacingly toward him. He had disposed of the body and his crime gone undiscovered.
He had felt little remorse for taking a human life and had actually felt an adrenaline rush and a sense of excitement after committing the act. He had followed this incident with a reckless shooting at an empty Army recruiting center in El Paso to send a message to a recruiting official he felt had deceived him.
After a tour in Vietnam in which he had been involved in fierce combat and mercilessly executed two surrendering enemy soldiers, he had settled in the Los Angeles suburbs and enrolled at UCLA. He had befriended a young woman, Donna Royce, and had inflicted a severe beating on a street thug named Jimmy Q to avenge a beating the thug had previously given Donna.
He had also become involved with a young bartender named Dino Bartolini and both had started a small drug distribution business. They had been introduced to the business by a conman named Johnny Fratelli who wanted them to expand his drug distribution business to other college campuses in Southern California.
Anthony had spotted an opportunity and had made the brash and decisive move to personally eliminate Johnny and divert blame to other local drug dealers. As a result, his and Dino’s small business expanded, and they prospered financially.
His association with a notorious Mexican drug organization, run by an ex- federale policeman named Arturo Chavez, and known as El Jefe , now appeared to have led him into the uncomfortable position of having to comply with a commitment he had made to the wily El Jefe many years ago. He had eliminated a rival, small-time drug supplier in East Los Angeles who was posing a potential threat to the ruthless El Jefe’s lucrative operation, and most directly to his and his partner, Dino Bartolini’s drug distribution business at UCLA and West Los Angeles.
He had also methodically planned and executed a plan that had successfully eliminated an East Los Angeles street thug named Joey Ochoa, nicknamed El Loco , at the behest of the crafty El Jefe . Anthony had completed the deed alone and had acted as both planner and triggerman. In return for completing this horrendous act, he had been handsomely rewarded by the old man, and had been welcomed into the middle ranks of the drug organization. El Jefe had been so impressed with his loyalty that he had also entrusted him to keep an eye on his daughter while she attended college at USC in Los Angeles. It had also been made clear to him at the time that if his services were ever required in the future, it would be in his best interest to comply and not refuse to do whatever was asked of him. He had completely understood this veiled threat and had agreed, although he had felt under duress at the time, but knew better than to refuse.
Now, several years later and well into his mid-twenties, he was still running a drug supply business with his partner and close friend Dino Bartolini. They had wisely founded a real estate investment firm to launder the vast sums of money that came pouring in from their illicit business. The insatiable appetite for drugs in Southern California was so great in the middle 1970’s that his and Dino’s drug supply business had prospered. Additionally, their real estate investments in the lucrative Southern California market had also been hugely successful. Anthony and Dino were not yet thirty, but they had already become closet, secret millionaires.
The war on drugs, launched by U.S. President Nixon in 1971, had proven to be ineffective in halting the influx of drugs into Southern California and the entire nation. Mainstream America had become addicted, the flood gates opened, and by now had made millionaires of the risk-takers who had ventured into the business and had managed to live long enough to reap the huge profits it provided. The illegal drug trade was now estimated to be about a two-billion-dollar business and was only getting larger.
The authorities kept incarcerating the small-time growers and lower-level distributors and suppliers, but there was always a fresh crop of newcomers, lured by the dream of making big money, that were willing to replace the unfortunate who had been arrested, prosecuted, and put behind bars. This was the reality that had evolved due to the permissiveness of the decade. Illegal drugs had become symbols of youthful rebellion, social upheaval, and political dissent.
His relationship with his longtime girlfriend Donna, and his best friends Dino and Carlos Martinez had only grown stronger over the years, and they were in constant contact with each other, often attending social functions together. Dino and his longtime girlfriend Cecilia had gotten married two years earlier, and he and Carlos had been ushers at the wedding. He and Carlos remained single, but both had steady girlfriends with whom they now spent most of their non-working time.
His visits to his hometown and grandad’s ranch in West Texas were now infrequent. His only contacts back home were his childhood friend Billy, and his always dependable Uncle Mike, who was now well into his sixties. His Uncle Mike had inherited the El Escondido ranch from his father, and Anthony’s granddad Juan Esquivel, years earlier and was still running the large, sixteen square mile spread. Anthony’s relationship with his three remaining aunts and numerous cousins on the Esquivel side of the family had cooled during the last few years, mostly due to petty grievances about how they should have been entitled to a larger inheritance after their father Juan’s passing. Their greed knew no bounds and they had harassed Uncle Mike endlessly about why he had been left in charge of the ranch and any profits generated by its operation. Their jealousy and anger were so intense that his Uncle Mike had long ago given up trying to reason with his siblings. He had once told Anthony that he was so disappointed with their ignorance and thick-headedness that he now just ignored their constant complaints and harassment. He had advised Anthony to do the same and he had heeded his uncle’s advice. He would only visit his friend Billy, now a successful farmer, on his now rare visits to his hometown and the cherished El Escondido ranch. The old, trusted horses , El Zorrillo and Candy, had died and had now been replaced by younger horses by his uncle. He took a liking to a black quarter-horse, filly mare that his uncle just called La Negra . He persuaded his uncle to change her name to Bandida , and she became his favorite whenever he went saddleback riding.
On his last visit, his Uncle Mike had also shared some bad news with him that he had not yet revealed to his sibling sisters. He had been diagnosed with first stage prostate cancer and was now secretly receiving treatment by specialists in the nearby large city of El Paso. Anthony was very unsettled on hearing the news and had noticed that his uncle did appear a little more tired than before, and that he had lost a bit of weight. He told his uncle to continue the treatment and that he would help pay for what he knew would be very expensive medical bills.
Yes, the prior years had been an exciting time compared to the more tranquil life he had now settled into. Now everything was about to change. The phone call he had received earlier in the day from Pablo asking him to return a favor owed to the drug lord had unsettled him. He was pissed that his comfortable life was being interrupted and felt uneasy about why he was being contacted by Pablo for something that he just knew