Prologue

24TH OF NOVEMBER 2019, NEW YORK CITY

Javier Manuel was checking into his hotel room in New York City after being called to monitor Mr Roberto's boys who will bring the cocaine worth about two million dollars into New York city for a client named Miguel who was a retired Mexican government worker who embezzled a lot of money during his service and is now living the millionaire lifestyle in New York and is now a cocaine addict.

After his bags had been brought in, he went into the room which had already been booked for him and settled. He then looked at himself in the mirror as he admired his six feet height with black hair, blue eyes and the physique of a professional wrestler. He then switched on the television and loud rap music was blasting out and he immediately changed it to CBS and took out a cigar and started smoking it while watching television.

Now Javier was one of Mr Roberto's biggest and most trusted henchmen who helped him to make sure that drugs get to the clients without any unnecessary hassles, killed anyone who dared to stand in his way or tried to spoil his business and also made sure that his money gets to him.

As he rummaged through his bag, he found his flash drive but as he was about to insert it into his laptop, he heard a knock which had a certain familiar pattern but despite that, he still brought out his gun prepared to shoot. As he opened the door, he saw a man who he recognized and immediately put his gun down.

"Matteo my friend! How are you doing today? Long time no see my brother." He said as he hugged him as he ushered him into the room.

"Javier my friend, you really wanted to shoot me eh? Even after I gave the secret knock eh amico." He said as he sat down.

"You know that you have to be careful; Roberto is a powerful man and many people are looking forward to his downfall." He said as he brought out a bottle of wine and two cups, poured it and gave one cup to Matteo who took a huge gulp of the wine. He then put his gun back into his bag and sat down.

"What has been going on amico? We have not seen each other in three years. How have things been for you?" He said as he took the bottle of wine and poured more into his cup.

"Nothing much my friend; just the usual stuff you know. Mr Roberto is still angry at you for leaving the mafia and you should be careful for the safety of the two of us. How has the one million dollars helped you here in New York?" He asked him while smoking his cigar.

"Well I have managed to open a car wash in Westchester County and got a nice house with a wonderful wife and a daughter." He said with pride evident in his eyes as he spoke.

"That is nice to hear my friend. I hope that I will have the chance to meet with your family one day."

"You can meet with them but you still want to work for the man amico. Aren't you tired of this way of life and live a life free from all this like I did?" He asked with concern as Javier just gave a smile.

"For now, I don't think I want to leave the cartel Matteo. The Cartel is the only place that feels like family to me and I will never forget what they did for me but maybe one day I will retire and live a normal life." He said as he finished up with his cigar and brought out a bundle of money from his suitcase and handed it to him.

"No Javier; I cannot take that from you. You have helped me enough and I still owe you a lot for all you have done for me." He said as he refused to collect the money handed to him as he stood up and Javier stood up with him.

"I insist, my friend; I want you to have the money to yourself."

"I can't accept it; The money isn't the money I worked for and like I said, you have done a lot for me and I think you have done enough."

"Nothing is too much or enough for you Matteo; You helped me to be where I got to today and I will never forget that. Just take it as a gift rather than a favor." He said as he put the bundle of money on his hand and tapped his shoulder. Immediately, he hugged him with happiness in his heart.

"Thank you very much Javier; Thank you for all that you have done for me since we met and I will never forget you."

"A friend in need is a friend indeed isn't it? If I don't help you with the power within my capacity, what type of friend am I?" He said as they sat down. They then continued to discuss about family, the cartel, movies, sports, politics and many other issues and after about two hours, Matteo decided that it was time for him to take his leave. They then walked outside the hotel together.

"I hope to see you again amico; I wish you all the best." He said as he entered a taxi.

"Thank you very much Matteo and stay safe out there; Don't forget to call if you have any issues." He said in a loud tone as Matteo nodded his head in affirmation and immediately, the taxi drove off and disappeared into the city. He then went back into the hotel and took the elevator. A young man of about 21years of age was in the elevator with him and kept singing the music he was listening to out loud and Javier gave him a stare that showed displeasure. The man then continued singing out loud and ignored him. He then ignored him and he arrived in his floor and entered his room.

He immediately took the flash drive and inserted it into his laptop and started going over some files and while looking at them, he saw a picture of the house he grew up in and this brought memories of Zona Norte which he had been trying to avoid and he was filled with emotion as he watched pictures of his friends and family on the drive. These pictures then took him through the memory lane 15 years ago.