Carrera 32

San Alonso Neighbourhood of Bucaramanga Colombia

Lat = 7 degrees, 8.0 minutes North

Long = 73 degrees, 6.8 minutes West

Wednesday 4th January 1989

Eighteen forty-two hour’s local time.

Five hours behind GMT

Juan Manuel Alvarez had grown up in a very rough part of San Alonso; he was thirty-four years of age and one of Toledo’s top enforcers.

His job was to ensure that people paid up on time and to protect drug shipments, he was sitting on the balcony of his two-bedroom apartment sipping a cold bottle of beer when he heard the phone ringing.

He did not intend to move, knowing his current girlfriend

Marisol would answer it for him; she walked out onto the balcony with the phone; he loved looking at her lithe body, her raven black hair and dark brown large eyes.

Marisol was only twenty years of age she had been his woman for the past six months.

Marisol handed the phone to him, “its Ramón darling.”

Ramón and Juan Manuel went back ten years; it was Ramón whom had brought him into the Verdugo drug cartel eight years ago.

Juan Manuel when he was in his teenage years was what you could call a bruiser, taking any opportunity or excuse to start a fight.

In the early years, he lost many of them; however, he was an exceptionally fast learner in the art of fighting and soon he commanded a vast amount of respect from his peers, even the ones that were older than he was, many of which he had beaten.

Juan Manuel loved to fight; he had in fact found the one thing in life that he was extremely talented at; he was not of an exceptionally large build, however his body was all sinewy muscle.

He had a rugged look that the women liked and he knew it along with a slightly disjointed nose.

Juan Manuel took the phone and spoke, “Ramón my friend how are you.”

“Very well Juan, how has today been for you?”

“The usual Ramón, a few heads needed banging together, all part of a day’s work, is there something I can do for you?”

“I need you and your men to go to our warehouse up in Rio Negro immediately; we are expecting an imminent attack

from a British forces unit, how long will it take you and

your men to get there?”

Juan Manuel looked at his watch and replied, “We can be there within the hour Ramón.”

“Good I will meet you there and I will fill you in on the details when you arrive.”

Juan Manuel handed the phone back to Marisol and looked up at her, “we won’t be going out tonight, I have some business to take care of.”

“What time might you be back Juan?”

“No idea.”

“I’ll keep the bed warm for you darling.”

As she turned away, Juan gave her bum a quick squeeze.

Marisol gave out a delightful squeal.

Juan Manuel new exactly where his men would be at this time of the day, it would take him no more than five minutes to walk to the bar they frequented.

He walked into Pedro’s bar and found the ten men sipping beers and chatting up the local women, he stood just inside the door for a few moments before one of them noticed him.

He gave a nod of the head and a few minutes later, they were all loaded into three pickup vehicles heading to San Negro.