Scenes
left in order to avoid confusion.
Mexico City: Nicolás
talked with Victoria about his fears that Roberto would end up hurt.
He asked for her help.
Michelle wanted to talk to El
Gringo alone at her place that night so that his people would not be
around. He agreed, but looked as though he was lying.
Victoria told Nicolás that she
and Roberto were somewhat on the outs so she was unsure of her
influence. He was aware of the state of her relationship with
Roberto but also that she knew Roberto better than anyone else and
that he had always respected her opinions. To the extent that he
thought she was the only person who could help. She agreed and he
was grateful.
San Diego: Manuel and
Juan met with Gabriel, a friend of Jorge's. He agreed to help
without hesitation.
Mexico City: Ricardo,
Gustavo, and Sofia concluded that if guards were corrupt, that also
explained why the police were useless in this investigation. Gustavo
said that it had to be El Gringo because
only he would have the money and
influence to do this. As to what they had to do, Ricardo said that
for the moment they had to proceed with Benjamín's case. Gustavo
cursed the corruption. Ricardo got upset, too, saying they needed
names of who was involved. Sofia told them both to calm down and
reminded them that they needed to get all the evidence together to
build their case with the objective of sending the criminals to
prison for the rest of their lives. Ricardo added that they could
not trust this investigation to anyone else.
San Diego: Adrián met
with Jorge's parents. They had letters from various people,
including Jorge's first boss. Armando mentioned that he had wealthy
relatives in Durango they could go to for money; he and his wife were
on the brink of selling their house to pay whatever it took to get
their son free. Adrián explained that this isn't what it will take.
Since the US law sees this as an issue of national security his job
was to demonstrate that Jorge had done a humanitarian act. Juan and
Manuel arrived to tell them that Gabriel would testify. Cecelia was
relieved, as Gabriel was Jorge's best friend. Armando pointed out
that Gabriel was also a Nordamericano, which would help even more.
Adrián then said they were ready for court.
Mexico City: Ricardo
fessed up to Alonso about disobeying his orders to leave this alone.
Further, that he went to Benjamín for help. This disturbed Alonso
until Ricardo told him that they found out that Ramiro was being
spied on in the prison by both other prisoners and guards. That
could be the reason that they got no real help from the police.
Alonso said then that they had to investigate until the end and that
he would denounce the director of the prison over this.
El Gringo went to Michelle's
apartment and as she poured some hard stuff on the rocks for him she
said that before they take El Ciego down they needed to resolve their
differences. He took a sip and said that “The only thing you need
to do is follow my orders. It's that simple.” He started saying
that she didn't have what it took for that business. He wanted her
to go back to the US. She was not going to be cheated out of her
share of the business. She poured him another drink. He said that
if she wanted to continue in this business she had to go back to the
US. He took a large sip. She talked about their mother, whom she
said would be very upset at their differences if she were alive. El
Gringo then clutched his chest, not suspecting anything. He said
“That's not how this business is. One person has to control
everything.” She replied “At last we agree on something.” He
had trouble breathing and she asked “Is something wrong?” as
though she were offering him a cigarette. He looked at her and asked
“Did you give me something?”
Her expression did not change.
As he approached her with his hands ready to possible strangle her
she stepped back and he collapsed onto the floor. She looked down
with the same indifferent expression and drained her glass. [I
guess she is the next Griselda Blanco after all. In fact, she is an
upgrade.]
Victoria went into Roberto's
office but he wasn't talking.
When Ricardo got home he called
Elena, who told him that things with Federico were status quo. He
asked to speak to Federico and she called him to the phone. She
handed the phone to him and left the room. He sounded almost normal
when talking to Ricardo who told him that if his mother gives him a
curfew he has to respect it. He agreed to. Ricardo said that when
he finished the case he was working on he would come up to Vancouver
to visit him. Federico appeared to like that. [We, however, are
not entirely convinced that nothing is wrong.]
Victoria admitted being worried
about Roberto but he politely gave her a taste of her own medicine as
in “Don't interfere in my private business.” This ended up
nowhere with Victoria leaving Roberto's office offended.
Michelle looked down at her
brother from the second floor of a construction site. She had
ducktaped his ankles together and his wrists behind his back. He
regained consciousness and turned around to face her. She asked him
how he expected her to do nothing after he had threatened her life.
She further said that she wasn't going to allow his impulsivity to
wreck the business. She then turned a pipe over the level she stood
on, turned on a faucet, and wet cement spilled over him. She said
“Alberto, I love you. And I will miss you.” Then she walked
away.
San Diego: The Vega
lawyers approached the courthouse fairly confident. On the way in
Juan received a message from Tatiana, but did not answer it. Adrián
presented his client as acting out of empathy. The prosecutor – as
Adrián told the jury – tried to present Jorge as profiting from
“the most insecure border in the world” and insisted that the
jury send him back to prison.
Mexico City: Alonso
addressed the firm regarding Benjamín's case. He didn't like the
idea of getting him out of prison but was going to put it to a vote.
Ricardo spoke, saying that they had been getting nowhere and
therefore this was a somewhat desperate act. Benjamín was in the
same cellblock as Ramiro Dorantes and he had found out that guards as
well as prisoners were involved in the situation. Everyone voted
verbally, with Victoria being the only dissenter. Javier voted in
favor of this only if there would be an investigation into police
corruption. He was on the same page as Alonso. Thus, Ricardo's
actions were conditionally greenlit.
San Diego: Gabriel
testified as to Jorge's good character and that had known each other
since high school. However, when the prosecutor cross-examined him
he asked whether he had ever looked into the trunk of his car when
crossing the border. Adrián objected but was over-ruled. He said
that thus was out of line and that the witness didn't need to check
the trunk every time he used Jorge's car. The prosecutor had no
further questions. Adrián held up the letters and then presented
them to the judge and the clerk, announcing that they were from
friends, teachers, and bosses – all American citizens – who
attested to Jorge's good character. The rear door opened and the
entire soccer team entered. Adrián said who they were and that they
were there to support Jorge. He addressed the jury to tell them that
his client made a mistake and didn't realize the consequences at the
time. The people he had transported had already been deported. The
prosecutor said this was not proof of innocence. Adrián picked up a
copy of the penal code and read out that Section 236.1 defined human
smuggling as the unlawful transportation of unwilling victims over
borders for the purposes of exploitation. This situation did not
meet that definition. He said he would like to call these people to
testify that this was an act of liberty for them to cross the border,
but they had already been deported. When his client was arrested he
had only his keys, his wallet, 500 Mexican pesos, 100 American
dollars, and his cell phone. Surely if he had been paid to transport
anyone it wouldn't be that paltry sum. The prosecutor expected the
jury to make an example of Jorge and to send a clear message that
breaking the law would not be tolerated. The judge called for recess
and the jury exited. [We are wondering why Jorge had to sit there in
an orange jumpsuit. This is usual only for very dangerous criminals
like Dennis Rader.]
Mexico City: Nicolás
went to see Camila, who saw that there was something wrong. They had
argued about Lucia and he left Roberto's apartment. He had a place
to stay temporarily. He was certain that Lucia was using Roberto.
San Diego: Court
reconvened. The jury convicted Jorge, just as the prosecutor wanted.
However, the judge's decision – because he thought Jorge a good
person – was to let him go free and pay a fine of $250K (Not
$250 per the subtitles) under section 274. Jorge's parents were
relieved. The prosecutor was disappointed.
Mexico City: Nicolás
explained the rest of the story to Camila, who encouraged him to tell
Roberto the entire truth.
San Diego: Jorge's
parents thanked the Vega team and Adrián thanked them for their
confidence in them. The guard made Jorge go with him; Adrián said
it was for him to get his things and his clothes back. The parents
left. Juan looked at the sign above the judge's bench and called his
colleagues back for a group selfie.
Mexico City: Nicolás
explained that no matter how well he had done it was never enough for
Lucia. She always insisted on a better house, better car, better
jewelry, etc. She went off with an entrepreneur who had more money
than he had at the time. It was counter-revenge for his revenge to
have an affair with a doctor he knew from work. He had loved Lucia
more than he had ever loved anyone else and had not seen her again
until that day. She claimed to love and miss Roberto but her actions
said otherwise. He was certain that Lucia was deceiving Roberto.
Carmen told Roberto that Lucia's
cousin was there to see him. When he came in there was the Haven't
Seen You in an Age lines, then Roberto got to the point. “I know
you intend to put my mother out on the street.”
San Diego: The lawyers
had decided to go out to eat when Juan got another message from
Tatiana which included a photo of her in a bikini. He sent a quick
text back (If anyone's screen is large enough where it could be read,
please tell us what he wrote) and off they went.
Mexico City: Roberto's
cousin wanted to talk and Roberto recommended he get his own lawyer.
The man only wanted him to know the truth. Lucia only had cared for
Estela after she became incapable of understanding what was going on
around her. Roberto did not believe this. However, the man told him
that on the day of the wake he asked her to move out. She responded
by changing the locks on all the doors. What she was demanding was
irrational. Roberto told him that this would have to be resolved in
court so he urged him to get a lawyer. Again he said he was only
trying to tell it like it is. Roberto repeated that he was not going
to change his mind. He repeated for him to get a lawyer and have him
contact him. The man walked out without taking Roberto's proferrred
business card.
Gustavo lost it again over his
frustration in the case. Lorena kept trying to tell him to keep a
cool head and not risk his life. She didn't want to see anything
happen to him. Then she said “because I have strong feelings for
you.” She then kissed him. He did not resist, but it was
difficult to see whether he responded.
Labels: ley2
Permalink posted by Urban Anthropologist
@ 2:51 PM
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