absence of affection- javier peña

Part 7

"Shut up, Murphy." Peña said, his eyes still on Vanessa. "What did I miss, why is he shutting up?" Vanessa asked after catching her breath "Well, actually--" Muprhy began before Peña slapped his hand over Murphy's mouth with a loud smack sound behind it. Vanessa just stared with wide eyes. "Don't worry about it, cariño." Peña said and Vanessa looked at him. "You can't be saying that." she pointed at him "You cannot be saying those types of thi--" she started but was interrupted by someone swinging the door open causing her to quickly turn her head around and face the man in the doorway. "Bonilla is dead." the man said with urgency "What?" Vanessa sat up straight and looked at the man. She stood up and walked out of the room, following the man. "Shit." Murphy whispered as he stood up and then Peña followed Murphy. They piled into a car and drove to the crime scene. They slowly got out of the car and walked over to the crime scene.

Vanessa walked up to the shot-up car and looked inside the broken window at Bonilla's body. Peña and Murphy followed close, looking in as well. "He didn't fucking wear it." Vanessa said as she stood straight up. "Wouldn't have made a difference." Peña spoke 

Their strategy had gotten a good man killed. It was the first time Barlowe had ever felt guilty about her job.

The next afternoon the three agents went to pay a visit to Suárez who had a gift for Murphy. He opened his backpack and pulled out a Siamese cat. "No, gracias." Murphy said as he walked away. Peña and Barlowe looked at each other before Peña said something to the guy in Spanish and walked away. 

After getting back to the station, Vanessa and Murphy both stood at the corkboard of laboratories. "C'mon, Vanessa, join the party." Peña said as he stood up and walked over to her. "What's wrong?" he asked her "You guys enjoying yourselves?" she asked "You gotta let it go, there's good that came out of this." Peña told her "We used him and got him killed. Sure he was a prick to me but other than that he was a good guy." Barlowe explained. "We didn't kill him. Escobar did." Peña said and Barlowe shook her head. "And now we get to go after that motherfucker." Peña continued. "Look on the bright side, chica." Peña said and Barlowe rolled her eyes. 

Peña was right, there was a silver lining. One of the sicarios caught after Bonilla's assassination confessed that Pablo had put out the hit. An important politician had been murdered and everybody knew who did it. Finally, the Columbian government had to react. Pablo Escobar was indicted for the murder of Rodrigo Lara Bonilla. Columbia agreed to the one thing the narcos feared the most: extradition. Now any Columbian who smuggled drugs to America can be prosecuted and jailed in the U.S. Even if they never stepped foot on the soil. This made all the difference in the world. If you were a narco in Columbia, jail time meant banging girls, watching movies, and hangin' with the fellas. Grease the right hands and you get a reduced sentence for good behavior. It was a fucking joke. In the U.S. it was a whole different deal. The seventh richest man in the world? No one gives a shit. You still get a 6x8 cell 23 hours a day, just like every other loser, a fucking nightmare. Now Pablo had someone to fear: them.

"Extradition doesn't mean anything unless you can catch him." Carillo told the three agents. "With our help, you will." Murphy said "Oh, that's right. Gringos to the rescue." Carillo said as he walked past Murphy and Barlowe. "It's one fuckin' man against the United States of America." Steve dryly chuckled. "One man with helicopters, airplanes, vehicles, planned escape routes, and a network of informants." Carillo listed "Our government will provide money, men, weapons--" Peña began "You make it sound so easy." Carillo spoke. "But Escobar has always managed to stay one step ahead of us." he said as he threw a file onto the table "Then help us catch him." Barlowe said as she put out her cigarette. "I'll never be assigned to this. Jaramillo hates my guts." Carillo explained "Let us take care of that." Peña said as he turned to face Carillo "You think extradition's a victory." Carillo shook his head "It is." Barlowe replied. "Escobar will not go lightly." Carillo warned. "He will make Columbia bleed." he continued. 

They all headed back and sat in Barlowe's office, simply waiting and thinking. "The ambassador is ready." a man barged in "Thank fucking god." Vanessa said as she immediately stood up and walked out of the door, avoiding the awkward silence the three agents had been sitting in. The three agents gathered their information boards and brought them to the ambassador's office before sitting down. "Ambassador, if the CIA and the Mil Group provide assets, the Columbians will get Escobar." Barlowe began. "With this, we're talking about a huge blow to the cocaine trade and saving thousands of lives--" she continued "Ambassador." a man loudly cut in. "The CIA agrees with Mil Group. Pablo Escobar is no longer a congressman." he started "He's just a wanted Columbian trafficker, and as such, he is not a direct threat to our country's strategic interests in South America. The CIA would prefer not to get involved in local police problems. Let the Columbians get him." the man ordered as he stood up. 

After the meeting, Peña, Murphy, and Barlowe stood in the elevator. "Noonan really thinks allocating $100,000 will be enough to go after Escobar." Barlowe shook her head as she spoke "Yeah, it's a fucking joke." Peña replied with his hands on his hips where they always seemed to be. "That's about what he spends on shoes, isn't it?" Murphy joked "The CNP has zero chance of capturing him with that bullshit." Peña said as the agents walked out of the elevator "So what do we do now?" Murphy asked. "Use what little we got to try to even the odds." Peña said. 

100 grand was not that much, it's true. But delivered into the right hands, could make a shit ton of a difference.