I'm
Christopher Mason. When people have things to hide, it blunts their
weapons. This is not always a bad thing, but it often leads to
postponing the inevitable and the inevitable being worse. Faust is
running away from one devil and is sleeping with the accomplice of
another, which is putting his own life in danger.
I'm
Canice Delong. The only certainties in life are death and taxes.
Criminals don't pay taxes but cartels love dealing in death. Carlos
was now caught between two of those, not to mention sleeping with the
enemy.
Mexico City: Michelle and
Nancy fought over Carlos. Nancy was determined to protect Carlos
from what she still didn't know about Michelle, who saw a jealous
rival who didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of getting him.
She said “It will not suit you to make threats. Carlos would never
take a slut like you seriously.”
Nancy slapped her and got slapped
back. Michelle said “You don't know who you're dealing with.”
Nancy wasn't afraid of her, saying that she would uncover the truth
about her and reveal all to Carlos. Michelle wasn't the least bit
worried about this. She threatened to tell Carlos about this
incident and Nancy would be out of a job. She walked out.
Whatever
Nancy's game was, it was changed. The problem was, she still didn't
know why.
Ricardo was at Sofia's house to
help her with the conservatorship documents. Contrary to Sofia's
earlier fears, all seemed to go well. Camila was calm even when he
talked about the living will document. She said that she didn't want
Sofia to be in a difficult position when the time came.
After Camila
went to bed they talked about the usual things, then he brought up
the subject of Benjamín. He explained that he was in the same
prison as Ramiro Dorantes. Sofia was shocked that Ricardo was
investigating this himself rather than having the police do it.
El Ciego had a new hiding place
from which to do business. He showed it to his crew, including El
Chivo.
He was gloating until his cell rang and it was El Gringo
taunting him, saying he was having him watched and that he would
eventually do him in. He ended the call before El Ciego could have
another tantrum. Which he had as soon as he put away his cell. He
demanded to know how El Gringo got his number. Both El Chivo and El
Cuervo denied giving it out, El Chivo pointing out that they had been
with him (El Ciego) the whole time.
El Ciego pulled out his weapon
and brandished it, saying he could no longer trust anyone and that
traitors will pay.
He
should have known that when he got into drug trafficking. There is
no trust in that world; only money and death.
Sofia pointed out that there was
no guarantee they could help Benjamín, who had committed federal
offenses. Not to mention the danger. Ricardo drove home the point
that this was about finding Alejandra's killer and she agreed.
Michelle went to Carlos'
apartment saying she was worried about him all day. She had called
many times and he had not answered. He told her he was tired of
fielding calls from clients all day. She then started talking about
Nancy being rude to her, then strategically backed off, saying it was
unimportant. She then said she would leave so he could get some
sleep, but she seemed to have no intention of leaving.
Michelle
isn't running a corporation, but she should be. That would be an
excellent outlet for the call of her cold blood.
The next morning Susanna was very
distant with Juan. The conversation was SSDD, how she didn't like
how he was changing and how Tatiana was at least partly to blame.
Juan told his mother he had no intention of hurting her or deceiving
her. When he kissed her goodbye she did not kiss him back.
Ricardo and Roberto started
catching up with each other's recent activities when Roberto asked
about Victoria. Ricardo told him she was just fine, then said “I
know you don't like this word, but you are in love with her.” He
went on about how Roberto didn't seem to talk about anything else.
Roberto was still not eager to admit this.
Nancy entered Carlos' office to
see if he was feeling any better. He didn't answer, instead asking
about what happened with her and Michelle. She said that Michelle
started it. She came in demanding to see him and Nancy had told her
he was unavailable. He calmly told her not to interfere in this.
She asked whether Michelle had anything on him and he repeated
himself. She tried to tell him that she had been deceiving him and
he would not listen. She was to do her job and not interfere in his
personal life. He said they needed to get to work. He looked at
some documents and realized that Alan had been embezzling from the
firm. He speculated that at least some of the missing money had been
blackmail paid to Téllez. Nancy said they needed to look for
everything that was missing. Carlos got angry with himself all over
again at having been deceived by Alan and feeling like an absolute
fool that he had ever trusted him. Nancy said, “He's your cousin,
of course you trusted him,” but that did not help. She said they
had to go over everything because all this would work in his favor if
Sonia tried to bring any charges against him.
Manuel came into Juan's office to
find him out of sorts. Juan explained he was having disagreements
with his mother over money. He explained about trading in his car
for a more expensive one, then showed Manuel the photo on his phone.
Manuel was impressed with it, but explained that his parents fought
about money all the time during his youth. It wasn't that he thought
that this was a bad move on Juan's part but there were other things
to think about, like a house, money for retirement, etc. Eventually
his parents were doing better. He said that investing is a good
idea, a way to make more money.
Jaime and Paula came to the
office to pay back everyone who had lent money toward Jaime's ransom.
They all said this was not necessary, but Paula felt it was. Also
that once the perpetrators were in prison they could all put it to
rest.
Carlos told Nancy to contact the
bank because he wanted all the records. He was planning to file
grand theft charges against Alan. Nancy told him that he should
think about this. If he filed more charges, Alan could talk about
things Carlos would rather remain hidden.
Carlos
was too incensed to see the sense in this. Alan is guilty of two
murders which alone would keep him in prison for the rest of his
life... or whatever was left of it.
Manuel entered Alonso's office to
talk about his exam results and the learning process. He thanked
Alonso for his advice and help and said that he wanted to continue
learning by working. Alonso told him that he must never stop
learning because the law is very demanding.
Nancy said that Alan is paying
for everything he had done. She told Carlos he should not bring any
more charges because Alan knew too much. Carlos reluctantly realized
that she was right. He knew all about the dealings with El Ciego.
Carlos was determined not to end up in prison again, even if that
meant something happening to Alan.
San Diego, California: A
young man named Jorge was driving in from Tijuana, followed by an
immigration officer. He was ordered to pull over. The officer asked
for his papers and told him he was going over the speed limit. He
asked about whether he had consumed alcohol or drugs and he denied
it. He was eventually ordered out of the car. Nothing suspicious was
in the car until the officer demand that he open the trunk. There
were two people in the trunk who did not have papers. Jorge was
arrested.
Tijuana: Jorge's parents
talked about his upcoming birthday. His father was thinking about
trading in his car for a new one and his wife thought that a good
idea. They talked about what a good student he was and a few other
things when the father's cell rang. It was Jorge, telling him he was
under arrest in San Diego for bringing two people over the border in
his trunk.
Mexico City: Carlos was
starting to wonder what else he and Nancy would find out. She told
him that whatever they found they would resolve. She told him to
calm down. He realized she had put her hand on his; he did not
remove his this time. He thanked her. She told him that the only
person whom he could trust in this was her.
Roberto and Juan reviewed Pedro's
case and decided they had what they needed.
Roberto's cell rang and
it was Lucia, who commented she had not heard from him the past few
days. He explained he had to go out of town on a case. She said not
to worry and to call when he had time. When he ended the call he
said he wasn't used to getting calls from his mother. Juan said that
mothers are complicated but to have them is a blessing. Roberto
didn't answer.
In
fact, he looked as though he wasn't ready to agree with this.
Alonso's phone rang; Carmen said
it was urgent. It was Armando Aguirre, Jorge's father. He described
the situaton to Alonso, who told him that this was a very serious
offense in the the state of California. Nonetheless, he took the
case and told the man his firm would provide a just defense.
Ricardo handed the living will
document to Sofia for review. She was still finding this emotionally
difficult despite knowing that this was necessary.
Alonso continued to talk to Señor
Aguirre, who told him that his son was twenty-two years old and had
no criminal record. Also that he was very frightened. Alonso told
him not to worry; he had lawyers who were licensed to practice in
California. They would begin working on the case immediately.
Ricardo explained the background
of the case involving the Dorantes brothers. Sofia was not so sure
that Ramiro would trust Benjamín, but Ricardo explained that
Benjamín can be very persuasive.
Alonso called Adrián into his
office about the Aguirre case. He explained what happened and Adrián
said this would be difficult because smuggling undocumented persons
in this manner is regarded as a breach of US security. Juan and
Manuel would accompany him.
Roberto and Juan were wrapping up
the paperwork on getting Pedro free when Adrián arrived to talk
about the Aguirre case. Juan explained they were just wrapping
theirs up and would be in his office in a few minutes. Roberto
wanted to talk to Adrián first and Adrian said he would be in his
office. Roberto followed him out.
Lorena handed some documents to
Gustavo, who said they were perfect and signed them. She asked how
he was and he said “more or less” before mentioning that
Alejandra's parents had come over that day. He was dealing with his
reality. Lorena told him that if he ever needed to talk to anyone to
count on her.
Did
he notice the flirtatious look? If so I hope he will be a proper
gentleman and ignore it to save face for both of them.
Roberto closed the door to
Adrián's office and confronted him about his having been married.
He told him he had better not hurt Victoria or he would see a side of
him he wouldn't like.
The
last thing anyone in this firm needs is dissention among the ranks.
They are looking into the eye of a storm that will cause a lot of
damage. Drug cartels are the worst plague to ever hit Mexico and
they only leave destruction in their wake.
That
is true. There is more than enough conflict to go around and we can
be certain that Benjamín will cause some of it. He betrayed them in
many smaller ways in the past and his sense of entitlement hasn't
gone away despite his time behind bars. Meanwhile Carlos is caught
between two sirens preparing his swan song, Hurricane Tatiana is
blowing through Juan's money and his relationship with his mother
while Tropical Storm Lucia is heading toward Roberto. Lorena dreams
of being a breath of fresh air for Gustavo while Roberto looks to
deny the fire in his heart for Victoria. If cooler heads don't
prevail we could be witnessing disaster. Until next we meet Behind
the Walls of Justice, I'm Christopher Mason.
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@ 8:44 AM
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