2-in-1 chapter
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Jackie's face was grim as he said, "The Mexican cartel knows how to do business, how to run a city effectively. They're more efficient than the government, but all of that comes with a condition."
"That condition is: don't cross them. After all, they're still a criminal organization, not a charity. If you provoke them, they'll show you their brutal side, and the price for offending them is blood—and brains."
And what Dante had done went far beyond a simple offense. He had killed the son of the cartel boss.
It was like playing an FPS game, killing someone, then crouching repeatedly over their corpse—how could you not expect the other person to go berserk?
And, if Jackie remembered correctly, Hector, the boss of the Salamanca Cartel, only had that one son.
That son wasn't just Hector's only child—he was born late in Hector's life.
Although no one knew why that day the young Salamanca heir had gone alone, without any bodyguards, into a dangerous neighborhood, it was easy to imagine: once Hector found out it was Dante's son who'd killed his, then as Dante feared, neither he nor his son would be allowed to live.
"No wonder… that explains it…"
Tijuana, controlled by the Salamanca Cartel, was close to the border. Some of Night City's middle class even liked to travel there for tourism.
Even Misty had once told Jackie she wanted to visit Tijuana.
So Jackie had taken some interest in the Salamanca Cartel, casually following some of their news.
In recent years, the cartel had been in decline.
Hector's wife had committed suicide.
Hector himself had grown increasingly unstable.
The cartel's internal cohesion had started to weaken. Some members were growing discontent with Hector, though none dared to openly challenge him due to his dominance.
Previously, Jackie had found it odd.
Hector had led the cartel for so many years—he should know how to manage it with his eyes closed. But lately, it was like he'd become a different person, and everything was falling apart.
Now it made sense.
"So when I recognized that couple, I pretended to stay calm, left the precinct, got in the car, and drove back to the apartment as fast as I could."
"I told José to forget everything that happened that day. The fact that he ran over the only son of the Salamanca Cartel had to be buried forever. If it got out, both of us would be going down with him."
"Then I made a call to someone I trust, asked him to help deal with my son's car—the one involved in the accident—cleanly."
"The next day, I took my son to a restaurant near NYU, pretending José was showing me around the campus."
"Every month after that, I made a trip to that restaurant near the university, deliberately bringing up how my son had once shown me around the school."
Jackie was full of questions.
"Why go to all that trouble?"
Leo said calmly, "On the second, I did my taxes and watered the plants. On the third, I had lunch and binged a whole season of Night After Night.'"
Everyone looked at Leo.
"What did you just say?"
"Nothing," Leo replied, making a hand gesture. "Please continue."
Dante assumed Leo's line was slang from somewhere and didn't dwell on it, continuing his story.
"My son hit that person on October 9th. I took him to the restaurant near the university on October 10th."
"People don't have reliable memories for dates. After a while, they won't remember whether it was the ninth or the tenth. But they'll remember that my son showed me their campus."
"Only with an alibi can I clear my son's name and redirect the Salamanca Cartel's suspicion elsewhere."
"After that, the thing I feared never happened. No cartel assassins stormed into my home. No suspicious vehicles followed José."
"It was like nothing had happened at all. Later, José got his bachelor's from NYU, started working at Tetratronic, and even found a young, beautiful girlfriend. My business was growing too—more and more new branches."
"I thought it was over. That the nightmare had ended. I thought the Salamanca Cartel would never know what happened, would never come for us. But what happened after that—you all already know."
The VIP room fell into silence.
Leo rubbed his glass.
He had known—it couldn't have been random thugs targeting Dante's son.
He had guessed right.
Dante's son had killed their boss's only son—of course they'd come for revenge.
But still, one thing didn't make sense to Leo.
Leo turned to him and asked, "If the Salamanca Cartel had no idea who the killer was at the time Hector's heir died, then how did they discover the truth now?"
They all understood that the longer time passed, the harder it became to reconstruct what had really happened. Had the cartel known from the start, they never would have allowed Dante and his son to live peacefully for all these years.
Leo raised that very question out loud, but unfortunately, not even Dante knew the answer.
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Dante had been prepared to pay ten million euros, plus full reimbursement of travel expenses. Leo, however, asked for only eight million. By accepting two million less, Dante would earn Leo's gratitude.
Since Dante's son had already been in the cartel's hands for more than a day, there was no time to lose. The three of them set out immediately.
Before departing, Dante proposed, "Let me use my private jet to take you."
Leo's eyes lit up with relief, "That would be perfect."
Originally, Leo had planned to drive to Tijuana instead of flying, because boarding an airplane came with restrictions on carrying firearms. It would have been impossible to purchase weapons locally at Tijuana, where gun control was stricter than in Night City—local gun shops would refuse to sell weapons to non-residents without a permit.
But Dante unexpectedly had access to his own private plane, allowing them to bring their weapons aboard. It wasn't cheap and his fortune was taking a hit, but they were racing against time and the enemy wouldn't expect them to fly in a privet plane. That meant they could reach Tijuana in just a few hours, and barring any unforeseen events, Dante would be reunited with his son tomorrow or the next day.
They concluded the plan, and as they walked out together, Jackie suddenly said, "Wait—I'm coming with you."
Leo froze in surprise. He hadn't expected Jackie to volunteer to join them.
"And what about here?" Leo asked.
Jackie cracked his knuckles with a snap, "It won't take long before I'm back. I'm only the successor now—not actually standing in for Padre—and besides, Padre is still here. It's been so long since I've gone out doing anything; my body's rusty. You're not going to object, are you, Leo?"
Leo smiled and replied, "Why would I object to my brother? If you're good to go here, come along."
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Leaving the Konpeki Plaza, they split up: Jackie and Dante took a cab to Night City International Airport to ensure the jet was prepped before Leo and the others arrived. Lucy and V drove the armored SUV to Leo's apartment to load the weapon crates. This was their first long-distance operation, and despite expecting it to be brief, they prepared thoroughly.
Leo himself rode the Fenrir bike to meet Rogue—he needed to purchase some serious gear.
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Jackie and Dante were the earliest to arrive at the airport. While en route, Dante had already called his pilot to top up fuel and prepare for immediate departure. Once at the terminal, he still couldn't trust it—he personally inspected the jet before standing at the terminal doors with Jackie to await the others.
After a half-hour wait, V and Lucy finally arrived, dragging several crates containing the weapons they might need. Dante said nothing, but Leo's absence made him anxious.
They waited another hour, yet Leo still didn't appear. Dante urged Jackie to call him.
There was no answer, but shortly after, Jackie received a text: Leo asked them to wait—the equipment he was fetching was very important. Seeing this, they resumed their patience.
Finally, after more than five hours, Leo arrived in a Delamano taxi. Dante was both anxious and frustrated, but couldn't reprimand him, so he diplomatically said, "Mr. Leo, I hope this delay wasn't for nothing."
Leo smiled and sensed Dante's displeasure. He looked to the others and said, "Mr. Gonzalez, I hope we won't need this." With that, he motioned for departure. "Let's go—don't keep our jet waiting any longer."
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Tijuana lay in Mexico's northwestern border region, in the northwest corner of Baja California, along the Tecate River, close to the Pacific Ocean and just 19 km south of San Diego, California. Although a border city, its economy was active and its development rapid; by comprehensive strength, it ranked fourth in Mexico after Mexico City, Monterrey, and Guadalajara. It served as an important maquiladora industrial base for automobiles, electronics, metal machinery, construction, and services; many U.S. companies had set up operations such as food-processing plants and breweries there.
Tijuana's beautiful seafront scenery and well-developed service infrastructure attracted a large number of foreign tourists for sightseeing and shopping, fueling significant growth in its tourism industry. As a coastal city with charming landscapes, full entertainment facilities, hotels, and restaurants, it was an ideal destination for enjoying seaside beauty. Many foreign tourists visited Tijuana to enjoy wine, dancing, and purchase name-brand clothing, watches, personalized cosmetics, and local handicrafts—it was a prime shopping spot. Tijuana also had a legal red-light district and generally lower consumer prices. During holidays many Californians crossed the border to visit for shopping, medical beauty services, and more.
On the flight to Tijuana, Leo searched online and found the highest-rated and most reputable car rental company in the city.
He placed an order and arranged for the vehicle to be delivered directly to the airport, ensuring that they could use it as soon as they disembarked.
Leo added the other three to a comms channel and sent them a map of Tijuana.
He marked a flashing point on the map.
"This is the location where José González is being held. I looked into it—this area is a residential district for civilians. It's likely the Salamanca Cartel chose to detain him here to avoid Dante hiring mercenaries for a rescue."
V asked curiously, "How do you know José is being held there?"
"Dante told me. His son was carrying a tracker. The Salamanca Cartel didn't destroy it. That's pretty unprofessional."
"The tracker was implanted in his son's body. Rich folks usually embed trackers in themselves, just in case something happens."
Leo paused and added, "Ordinary trackers would have their signals jammed, but José's was different—it was a custom piece from Arasaka, top-tier quality."
The others suddenly understood.
"If it's Arasaka's work, that explains it. Arasaka never puts out junk."
Leo drew a line on the map.
"Here's a quick walkthrough of the plan—it's simple. The Salamanca Cartel definitely suspects someone will try to rescue José, but they won't expect us to arrive this fast."
"Driving from Night City to Tijuana would take several hours, and flying over means you can't bring weapons. So the cartel will definitely station people at the border and at gun shops, but they won't expect us to take Dante's private jet."
"So we use that to our advantage. Once we land, we get into the SUV rented from the car company and head straight to the place where José is being held. Once I scan the interior, we launch an assault."
"After rescuing the hostage, we return to the airport immediately and fly back to Night City on the private jet."
Leo checked the time. "If we're lucky, by the time Ziggy Q's Night After Night airs, we and José will already be on our way back to Night City."
Everyone was professional. They didn't waste words on anything else and focused solely on the mission.
When the plane landed, each of them wheeled a suitcase off the aircraft.
The SUV they had rented via the car company's official website was already waiting in the airport parking lot.
They received the keys from the staff who delivered the vehicle, loaded their cases into the SUV, and climbed in.
Once everyone was aboard, Leo started the engine and headed for the target location.
The SUV's windows were all one-way—those inside could see out, but not vice versa.
As Leo drove, the other three opened their weapon cases and began distributing gear.
To prepare for any scenario, each of them was equipped with a weapon capable of penetrating cover, a kinetic weapon for suppressive fire, and a smart weapon for precision kills.
They also had flashbangs, smoke grenades, and fragmentation grenades on hand.
Traffic in Tijuana during the day was heavy, but Leo drove steadily and obeyed all traffic laws at intersections to avoid drawing attention.
When they arrived, nearly an hour had passed.
They didn't drive directly up to the house. Instead, they pulled over and stopped quietly a few dozen meters away.
From inside the vehicle, they could see it was a plain-looking house with a perimeter wall separating it from the street.
The gate was shut. Two armed guards stood on either side.
Above the gate was a surveillance camera. There were three more on the walls of the house, covering nearly all the open space inside the perimeter.
On the roof was a concealed automated turret, already powered and connected—ready to activate and unleash a torrent of fire the moment combat broke out.
"Can't see what's going on inside," Jackie muttered from the front passenger seat.
The house looked to be around 120 to 140 square meters, at minimum a four-bedroom unit—not counting the kitchen and bathroom, which were also possible hiding spots.
Indoor assaults were always the most dangerous and troublesome due to the lack of intel on interior layout. Tight corners, blind spots, and narrow hallways made it easy to get ambushed at any moment. Movement was restricted, line of sight was poor, and options for retreat or regrouping were limited. The environment favored defenders—who had the advantage of cover and familiarity—turning every doorway or staircase into a potential kill zone. But all this pertained only to ordinary mercenary groups.
Lucy thought for a moment and said, "If there's surveillance inside too, I can hack into the exterior system first and then switch to the interior feed to check what's going on inside."
"No need for that. Same as before."
Leo pressed a finger to his temple and activated his tactical goggles' scanning mode.
A few seconds later, he transmitted the scanned data to the other three.
"The layout is a four-bedroom unit. There are twelve Salamanca gunmen inside, all armed. The hostages are in the bathroom—two of them: José and a woman named María."
Jackie suddenly asked, "María? Isn't Dante's son's girlfriend named María?"
Leo recalled for a moment, then confirmed, "Yeah, that's the name."
"How is she? Is she hurt?"
"No. José had two fingers cut off. María doesn't even have a single hair out of place."
That was the best possible outcome.
Originally, the Salamanca Cartel was targeting Dante and José for revenge.
So when they caught Dante's son and his girlfriend, they could've easily executed them on the spot to vent anger—just like what they'd done to the bodyguards José had with him.
But unexpectedly, not only was Dante's son's girlfriend still alive, she was locked up in the same place as José.
It was like Lady Luck herself had lifted her skirt.
Jackie rubbed his hands in excitement. "Dante only paid us to rescue his son. Wonder if bringing back his son's girlfriend too will get us a bonus."
Leo was also satisfied with the outcome. "We'll ask Dante about that later. For now, let's finish the job."
Then he began assigning roles to each member of the team.
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