Free Web NovelEl Mencho woke to the sound of gunfire.
“What the hell? What’s going on?”
“Get your head down!”
At Eric’s urgent shout, El Mencho ducked immediately.
“Step on it! Don’t stop no matter what. The moment we stop, we’re dead.”
“Yes!”
At Eric’s command, the subordinate behind the wheel pushed the speed even higher.
Eric checked the side mirror and spotted a truck and a jeep chasing them from behind.
Tududududu! Bang! Bang!
Gunfire rang out continuously, and automatic rifles kept spewing bullets toward El Mencho’s vehicle.
“It’s an ambush.”
“What? Who the hell is it?”
“At this rate, we’ll be dead before we even get there. What do you want to do?”
At Eric’s question, El Mencho shouted back.
“What do you mean what do we do? We can’t just die like this. Call for backup, now!”
Still hunched over, El Mencho reached to the passenger seat and grabbed the automatic rifle.
After checking the magazine, he lifted his head slightly and looked back.
Then he let out a curse mixed with a bitter laugh. freewebnoveℓ.com
“Ha, fuck. There’s a lot of them. They’re definitely after me, right?”
“Looks like it.”
“Where the hell did the information leak from? Who the hell is trying to hit me?”
Even as Eric contacted their people, he answered curtly.
“How would I know?”
“Damn bastard, always acting difficult. We might die today and you’re still whining. Just call the backup. There’s a limit to how long we can hold out.”
Clicking his tongue, El Mencho cranked the window open.
Without exposing himself much, he stuck his hand out and fired toward the rear.
His rifle roared as he emptied one magazine.
Since he wasn’t aiming properly, it was nothing more than suppressive fire.
While El Mencho swapped magazines a couple of times, Eric managed to reach their people.
“Thirty minutes. They’ll be here in thirty.”
“Thirty minutes... Think we can hold out?”
Continuous gunfire began leaving marks on the armored vehicle.
“Still, thanks to that bastard Oscar, we’re somehow hanging on.”
At Eric’s words, El Mencho laughed.
“Yeah. That guy’s finally useful for once.”
The vehicle El Mencho was riding in was an armored Land Rover that Oscar used to drive.
Oscar, who valued his life more than anything, had paid a fortune for it.
Funny how a man who feared guns so much ended up being strangled to death.
El Mencho smirked and jerked his chin.
“You grab a gun too. Let’s hold out as long as we can.”
Eric nodded and picked up the rifle at his feet.
“You got enough mags, Mencho?”
“Three left. You?”
“I’ve got seven. I’ll give you two.”
Eric passed two magazines to the back.
“How long do you think we can last?”
El Mencho asked casually as he took them. Eric gave a bitter smile and crossed himself.
“No idea. Everything’s in God’s hands.”
El Mencho knew that the seemingly calm gesture came from fear.
Frowning, he asked bluntly,
“You still believe in God?”
Instead of answering, Eric prayed.
Seeing that, El Mencho said nothing more.
Even then, bullets kept pouring in. No matter how armored the car was, it couldn’t withstand endless attacks.
One bit of luck was that the vehicle was good enough to keep distance from the pursuing enemies.
Because of that, the attackers had no choice but to fire from afar, which was why they were still alive.
“I’m done. Don’t stick your body out.”
After finishing his prayer, the fear had vanished from Eric’s eyes.
“What? Then you?”
“I’ve received God’s protection. He answered my call.”
“Crazy bastard.”
Even at the casual insult, Eric didn’t react.
“If you die, it’s over for us. For our dream, you have to live. Save your bullets. Twenty-eight minutes. We just need to last twenty-eight minutes.”
After saying that, Eric cranked the window open and leaned his body outside.
“Eric!”
El Mencho shouted, but Eric ignored him and began firing aimed shots at the pursuing vehicles.
After emptying a magazine, he pulled himself back inside.
“Don’t! Just keep suppressing them. Backup’s coming soon.”
While reloading, Eric grinned.
“Trust me, El Mencho. I’ll make sure you live. Then we’ll make our dream happen.”
“You’re seriously insane...”
Even after that, Eric kept leaning out and firing.
Meanwhile, El Mencho opened the opposite window and helped with suppressive fire.
Thanks to Eric risking his life to aim properly, several of the pursuing vehicles had their tires and engines blown out, dropping out of formation.
Then suddenly, the rear right tire of El Mencho’s vehicle burst.
The car began to shake violently.
“Don’t stop! Keep control!”
Eric grabbed the handle and steadied the driver.
The car wobbled for a moment but regained balance.
But soon another tire blew out, and the speed started dropping.
“Fuck...”
To make matters worse, both of them ran out of ammunition.
“...Time?”
At El Mencho’s question, Eric glanced at his watch.
“Five minutes left.”
“It’s over.”
El Mencho knew instinctively—it was the end.
“If I knew this would happen, I would’ve brought more men.”
“We didn’t have a choice. It was his condition.”
Kim Muhyuk had only allowed a minimum number of people.
That’s why they had come with just the driver and Eric.
“Where the hell did the leak happen...”
“What’s the point of that now?”
There was nothing left they could do.
Eric crossed himself again, clasped his hands, and closed his eyes.
El Mencho didn’t believe in God. But strangely, he felt the urge to pray along with him.
He suppressed that urge and kept watching behind them.
The enemies were getting closer.
Then—
A loud roar echoed from the sky.
The sound of helicopter rotors.
* * *
I had ordered El Mencho’s hideout to be wiretapped.
“What? El Mencho is under attack?”
“Yes, Boss. We just got the report.”
“Who the hell is it?”
“They don’t know. This came from the wiretap.”
“Send support immediately. If El Mencho dies, we take a huge loss.”
If he died here, everything would fall apart.
“Do we have his location?”
“They’ve secured approximate coordinates.”
“Then move now. How long will it take?”
“More than an hour from where the mercenaries are stationed.”
“It’ll be over by then.”
An hour was far too late.
“The helicopter. Send the helicopter. That’ll cut the time, right?”
“About twenty minutes. That should be enough.”
“Send every helicopter at the base. And dispatch ground units too.”
“Understood.”
Manager Ma rushed out.
“Who the hell is it...”
Whoever dared to throw shit at us right from the start—I needed to know.
I picked up the phone immediately.
—Charlie. What is it?
Amado’s voice came through.
“El Mencho is under attack.”
—What? What do you mean?
He sounded completely unaware.
“It looks like information is leaking from inside. Check your people. He was attacked on his way back after meeting me.”
—El Mencho went to meet you?
“Yes. I called him separately.”
—For what reason?
Look at this bastard.
He was more concerned about El Mencho meeting me than his safety.
“Amado. Do I have to report everything I do to you?”
—This is important to the council. You meeting members privately is not good for us.
“Let’s deal with this first.”
—...I’ll look into it.
At «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» my cold tone, Amado backed off.
Of course, I knew what he was worried about.
If I pulled all the council members to my side, he’d become nothing more than a puppet.
“Move quickly. Otherwise, I’ll handle it myself. And when I do, it won’t end with just one or two deaths.”
—Understood. I’ll contact you later.
After ending the call, I pressed my throbbing forehead.
I’d done everything I could. Now all that remained was to wait.
* * *
“Boss, they’ve been rescued safely.”
Manager Ma returned with the report.
“Good. Not too late, then.”
“They said if they had arrived even a little later, it would’ve been disastrous. The vehicle was already heavily damaged, and the pursuers were closing in...”
Manager Ma gave a detailed breakdown. I nodded as I listened.
‘So they knew his route.’
Too perfect to be a coincidence.
The timing, the location—it was all too precise.
Even for my support to arrive, and for his own men to respond, it was a difficult spot.
“There’s a traitor inside.”
Manager Ma agreed.
“And likely someone at the executive level. El Mencho isn’t stupid enough to share his movements with low-level subordinates.”
He must have at least mentioned the destination city to another executive before leaving.
“Has he reached his hideout?”
“They’re on their way. Fortunately, our men arrived in time.”
“Send the mercenaries to his hideout. Tell them to protect him by helicopter until they arrive.”
“Yes, Boss.”
“And have him contact me the moment he gets there.”
About an hour later, Manager Ma checked his phone mid-report and handed it to me.
It was El Mencho.
“El Mencho. Good to hear you’re alive.”
—Charlie. Thank you. I survived thanks to you. But how did you know? The timing was perfect.
“Got lucky.”
There was no need to tell him he was being monitored.
“What happened?”
—Well...
He explained everything—from the start of the ambush to the helicopter’s arrival.
Listening to him, I realized just how ridiculously lucky he was.
Oscar’s armored car, the condition of the attackers’ vehicles, and the timely arrival of support—
If even one of those had gone wrong, he’d be dead.
“You got lucky.”
—My friend is a devout Catholic. He kept calling out to God the whole time... It was honestly annoying to listen to.
I laughed.
“Sounds like you’re close.”
—We’ve been friends since we were kids. He’s the one I trust the most. If not for him, I would’ve died before backup arrived.
Now that I had a clear picture, it was time to clean things up.
“What about your executives? Anyone missing? This couldn’t have happened without someone leaking your route. The ambush location was too perfect.”
—Everyone’s here. Eric and I think the same.
His voice carried a chilling tone.
“Clean house quickly. I’ll keep mercenaries with you until then. How long do you need?”
—Two days is enough. I’m planning to bring in my personal group as well.
“Personal group?”
—I’ve got a small group back in my hometown. Friends and seniors I’ve been preparing for situations like this.
So he’d been preparing to take control from the shadows all along.
Fortune favors the prepared.
He deserved this opportunity.
“Good. Use this chance to clean everything out from the inside.”
—Yes, Charlie. I won’t forget this favor.
“Forget gratitude. Just don’t disappoint me again. I’m very disappointed this time. Didn’t you say your house was already clean?”
—That’s...
It’s easy to spot open opposition.
It’s much harder to find those hiding a blade.
“I’ll let it go once. There won’t be a second time.”
I cut the call coldly.
Then I turned to Manager Ma.
“Tell the mercenaries to follow El Mencho’s orders until the cleanup is done. And tell Ramos to form an execution squad immediately.”
A few days passed after the ambush.
The full truth came out.
It was a joint operation between internal dissenters and the Michoacana Cartel.
With a bounty from the Sinaloa Cartel added on top.
El Mencho’s internal purge continued.
At the same time, the council declared war on the Michoacana Cartel.
And then—
I received news that surprised even me more than that.
