King of Swords

'Who's the main guy and what's the cartel?'

'Medellin cartel. That's Medellin in Colombia. Main guy — well, there's two, one in Colombia, one in the Bahamas.

Pablo Escobar in Colombia, Carlos Lehder in the Bahamas.

Norman's Cay. Virtually fuckin' runs the place. But I guess you know that already?'

Max just about stopped himself from looking at Joe.

'So you never met Lehder?'

'No.'

'Where d'you meet Casares?'

'Here. In Miami. Where we always meet.'

'How was that set up?'

'There's a carwash in Little Havana. I'd go there, tell the guys I want to talk to their boss and leave a number.

Casares'd call and fix up a meet. I'd turn up.'

'How many times you worked for him?' Max asked.

'Seven in the last two years.'

'So he trusts you?'

'I guess.'

'OK,' Max said. 'Here's the deal. And, so as you know from the off, it's non-negotiable. Our way or jail.'

'I figured that. What do I get out of it?'

'You don't go to jail and you leave the country. And don't come back. Ever,' Max said.

'What do I have to do?'

'I'm gonna tell you something that happened and you're gonna repeat it into a tape recorder downtown with your

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I reap almighty hell. You understand?'

'In every language,' Frino said and smiled sardonically, showing a set of gleaming white teeth, perfect in every way but for two overlong, vampiric incisors.

'Do we have a deal?'

'What do you want me to say?'

Max told him: Frino was paid by Benito Casares to transport the Moyez shooter from Norman's Cay, and that once they got to Miami, he handed him over to Octavio Grossfeld.

'So I implicate myself in that courtroom shooting?' Frino smiled. 'What kind of fuckin' cops are you?'

Neither Max nor Joe said anything to that. They couldn't.

They had no replies, no comebacks, just a deep sense of shame. Frino seemed to pick up on this and sat back in his chair with his arms crossed and his legs splayed, smug and haughty, enjoying himself.

You guys work on the Kennedy assassination too?' Frino asked.

Will you do it?' Max responded.

'Sure. Anything to help you boys out, seem' as we're virtually on the same team.'

Jed Powers was sitting in the kitchen with Valdeon, Harris and Brennan, drinking take-out coffee.

'Well?' he asked Max when he came in.

'When he gives his statement he'll say that he ferried in the Moyez shooter from Norman's Cay,' Max said. 'But there's a little more: his real life middle-man happens to work for Carlos Lehder. All Frino has to do is make a call and he'll deliver the guy to us.'

'Great police work!' Powers shouted and spun his fist in the air.

Max wanted to be sick.

I 39

Twenty-nine straight hours later, Max and Joe were sitting on the couch in the Overtown garage, drinking weak coffee and staring at the thick pale green rectangle that was Trish Estevez's list. They hadn't slept at all. They were both drained. The last thing either wanted to do was more work.

Plans had been changed in mid-air. First they'd taken Frino to MTF to walk him through his statement, but once there they'd had word from Eldon that their captive needed to spill more names before any deal could be made. Eldon wanted everyone Frino had ever worked for — especially in Miami. Frino refused to give anything up until he'd talked to his lawyer and ratified the original deal he'd been offered.

Max and Joe tried persuasion and then threats, but Frino knew he had the upper hand, so he just sat back with his arms crossed and smirking fangs fully bared.

They talked to Eldon. Burns spent fifteen minutes alone in an interrogation room with Frino. When he came out Frino had given up his every employer.

He was formally charged with multiple counts of drug trafficking and possession with intent to go global and given his phone call. At around midday his lawyer, Ida Basil, walked in and demanded to see the dope they'd allegedly caught her client with. Joe stalled her while Max made calls to the coastguard asking for the 300 kilos of coke they had logged into evidence and claimed as their bust to be brought to MTF. Two hours later the coke came in under armed escort.

The following deal was done: Frino would make a statement implicating Casares and Carlos Lehder in the

Moyez shooting and testify against them in court. He would also help MTF capture Casares. In return he'd be granted full immunity and get deported as soon as he'd given evidence.

Just after 6 p.m., Frino, wearing a wire, walked into Lazaro's Carwash on North West 3rd Street and told them he needed to speak to the boss. He gave them the number of his harbourside pad. He drove back there and waited for the call with Max, Joe, Powers and Valdeon. Casares called him an hour later, screaming about how his load hadn't turned up in Chicago and asking where the fuck it was?