Gary Ponzo - A Touch of Greed

On the screen, Secretary of State Samuel Fisk approached the podium to a cacophony of camera flashes and shuffling feet and electronic devices being switched on or off.

Fisk offered a genial wave, instructing the crowd to settle down.

“I have a brief statement,” Fisk said. “After that I’ll answer any questions you may have.”

Fisk glimpsed down at his notes, but Rodriguez knew there would be a teleprompter there as well to assist him. “The President has deliberately shied away from commenting on the upcoming election down in Mexico,” Fisk began.

“This is true,” Rodriguez said, holding up his glass of whiskey and taking a sip.

“But the recent events which occurred down in Denton, Arizona, have caused the President to favor one of the candidates and felt it was worthy of note.”

Fisk, of course, was referring to the news that a tunnel was discovered between Antonio Garza’s complex and the Chizek Mine Company and the shipment of cocaine which was confiscated in the process.

“Over the past few weeks we’ve been able to infiltrate the most powerful cartel currently operating in Mexico. The Zutons,” Fisk continued. “This organization has been responsible for over five thousand murders during the past decade and are becoming only more dangerous with every passing day. It is with this in mind which had us form an alliance with a great leader below the border. This man was able to penetrate the Zutons’ inner circle and offer confidential intelligence which allowed us the ability to find the Denton tunnel and seize the large amount of cocaine which was recently impounded.”

This was excellent news for Rodriguez. If President Salcido were known to have collaborated with the United States to undermine the Zutons’ influence, he would be considered a great traitor. Did the American President not realize the importance of patriotism within his country?

Fisk cleared his throat and took a sip from a small bottle of water. “This brave man has used his close relations with these cartels to turn over valuable information leading to numerous arrests, including the capture of one of the most dangerous assassins in the world, Antonio Garza.”

Rodriguez was shaking his head now, wondering if Salcido was aware of this press conference ahead of time. Surely he must understand he couldn’t possibly survive this announcement. There wouldn’t be enough protection in the world to prevent the Zutons from chopping his body into small pieces.

“It is the reason I made a special trip to Mexico recently to speak with this gentleman,” Fisk continued. “He was instrumental in our covert operation and will continue to be an enormous teammate in our fight against the cartels.”

At this point the screen split in half, showing the Fisk press conference on the left half and the right half showing file footage of Fisk’s visit with the two Mexican presidential candidates. Fisk was sitting next to President Salcido with a stiff back and a very formal expression common among two leaders who’d never met before.

“So it is with great pleasure,” Fisk said, “to announce that President Merrick will be endorsing Francisco Rodriguez for President of the great nation of Mexico.”

Rodriguez’s mouth hung open. “What did he say?” Rodriguez asked.

On the screen now was footage of Fisk’s recent visit with Rodriguez, sitting next to him with his arm around Rodriguez, laughing and smiling. Rodriguez would dip his head close to Fisk’s ear because of all the noise in the room, making it seem as if he was talking secretively. He suddenly remembered Fisk constantly speaking soft to Rodriguez. Too soft at times.

“No, no!” Rodriguez shouted. He stood up and found everyone in the room staring at him. “What are you looking at? He is lying.”

Fisk was now giving details of the subversive plot Rodriguez had devised to infiltrate the Zutons’ followers and gain the confidence of their lesser known gunmen.

Rodriguez felt his pulse pounding in his head, while his chest convulsed erratically.

“No, this is all a big conspiracy!” Rodriguez called out, throwing his glass of whisky at the TV and shattering the flat panel screen.

His security team observed him like a zoo animal, not knowing what to believe.

Rodriguez had to think fast. With each passing moment, Fisk was offering more evidence of his imaginary scheme.

He pointed his finger at his lead security agent. “Go get the car and bring it around back.”

The man hesitated, uncertainty on his face.

“Now!” Rodriguez yelled.

The man exited the room, leaving an awkward void behind.

The remaining occupants simply stared at Rodriguez with a trace of pity in their eyes.

Nick and Matt watched the Diamondbacks play the Dodgers from Nick’s couch; they rested their stocking feet on the coffee table and sipped beers, while Tommy and Julie played with Thomas on the floor in front of them.

Thomas anxiously crawled to Tommy with a big toothless smile and drool glossing up his lips. Julie looked on with a mother’s joyful expression as her son reached for Tommy.

“He loves you,” Matt said.

“He knows good people when he sees them,” Tommy cracked, a bandage still covering his chin and forehead to protect the stitches.

The Diamondbacks’ new second baseman lined a double to right field and scored two base runners. Thomas briefly turned his head as the crowd cheered through the TV.

Nick took a drink of his beer, then raised his bottle to receive a clink from Matt’s bottle. The two partners were taking some down time together, Nick trying to keep an eye on Matt to make sure he recovered from the loss of Jennifer Steele.

“You know,” Matt said, quietly, “she was the only woman I ever said, ‘I love you,’ to.”

Nick had been reading up on how to deal with the death of a loved one. He knew Matt wasn’t going to get professional help, so he needed to administer some of his own.

“She was special. No doubt,” Nick said. He let it hang there for a while. If it were a month from now, Nick would’ve added, “But you’re not even forty yet.” However, it was too soon for his partner to be thinking of the future. He needed to grieve and Nick was going to be there for him every step of the way.

“You want another beer?” Nick asked, getting up.

“Sure,” Matt said.

Tommy was racing in circles now with Thomas cradled in his arms, squealing with delight.

As Nick reached the refrigerator, his cell phone vibrated in his pocket. When he saw the name, he walked out the back door and pushed the on button.

“Hey, Walt,” Nick said.

“They found Rodriguez’s body in the middle of a busy street. He was naked and missing a few limbs.”

Nick shook his head in amazement. “Wow. How long did it take for the Zutons to get to him-four hours?”

“If that long.”

“Are they going to delay the election?” Nick asked.

“They’re not changing a thing.” Walt said. “By the way, Ken seems to think there’s a large amount of money missing from Garza’s compound. He says the UPF paid Garza five million dollars to move the bomb. You know anything about that?”

Nick looked over his shoulder at the house where Thomas had just screamed out a cry of laughter. He was so glad to be able to hear his son and know he was safe and in the arms of his cousin.

“Yeah,” Nick said. “I just spent three million of it on diapers and formula.”

“That’s not what I was saying,” Walt said, sounding disappointed. “I just thought you might’ve had a hunch.”

“My hunch,” Nick said, “is that Garza probably buried it out in the desert somewhere.”

“Exactly what I was thinking,” Walt said. Then his tone changed. “How is Matt?”