Omar Sosa Borjas watched his guest with interest tempered by suspicion as Alejandro Perez began his proposal. One of the most powerful drug lords in Columbia, Borjas had good reason for his suspicions, as Perez was Colombar's man, who was a vassal to DeLorenzo, his biggest rival in Columbia. His faction encompassed most of the southern half of the country's drug lords and their respective territories, DeLorenzo held most of the north. There had been bad blood spilt on both sides of the long-standing rivalry; Latino machismo was alive and well among their peers. However, both Borjas and DeLorenzo were sufficiently savvy businessmen to know that blood was bad for business, so an uneasy truce had been declared several months ago. But if his guest was to be believed, it might have been time to consider a stronger allegiance.

"Senor Perez, I hope you realize what you are asking me to believe."

"Forgive me jefe," Perez replied with practiced grace. He knew these drug lords liked to have their egos constantly stroked and it was really the only way to keep the wheels greased when talking to them. "Yes, I realize it may sound suspicious. But I ask you to consider the times we live in today. You yourself have had dealings with Los Soldados on many occasions. We have all seen even more graphic demonstrations across the ocean only last month."

"Los Soldados," Borjas waved with contempt. "The stings of insects!"

"True, but then they are constrained by their conscience and the opinions of the government and the public. They burn our fields and interfere with our enforcers, but do not act directly on our persons. However, we should realize that it is only a matter of time before direct intervention becomes a reality."

"So you say. How am I to be sure that Ceratibo wasn't just another government enforcement task?"

"We have decisive proof that it was not, hence our meeting here."

Borjas nodded with thought as Manuel Marulanda, the current general of FARC, entered the room and took a seat next to him. The story was hard to believe, but not impossible, hence his worries. Also he had to consider the source; even among his cartel, Perez's reputation as a mediator and negotiator was considerable. Several of his own vassals had expressed their grudging admiration for the man's education and savvy.

"Very well, we shall examine this proof. If it is legitimate, we will contact DeLorenzo for a meeting."

Perez nodded and smiled. "Very wise of you, jefe. By all means, examine our proof. May I suggest a neutral site for the meeting? In the interests of safety naturally."

Borjas waited until Perez had left the room and was being escorted back to his car, then turned to Marulanda. "Do you think he is being loco?"

"It does sound like a deluded fantasy, jefe," the general said. His manners weren't as refined as Perez, nor did they have to be. He was, after all, the leader of the group of soldiers that largely safeguarded Borjas from outsiders. Of course Borjas paid well for such protection. "But I have been looking over some of the information from the Ireland invasion and there is much about that event that could indicate what we could be seeing in the future."

Borjas looked at Marulanda with confusion. "It was a battle, like so many others. A major one, yes, but..."

"Ireland was the first war fought by and against metahumans. The Allied forces did win in the end, but it was mostly because of sheer weight of numbers and even then the costs were substantial. Many of the conventional strategies waged in war simply do not apply to an enemy force that has the mobility and power of someone like the Royal Elite. The same concerns would definitely apply to us."

"Explain," Borjas ordered.

"Your home has walls protecting it from mortar fire, bullets, and possibly rockets. Outside, guards armed with machine guns surround us for protection. These measures are sufficient to defeat or at least discourage any conventional force the government may muster against us and our financial arrangements deter other governments from interfering. However, if an enemy immune to bullets were to come, we would be unable to defeat them. If they could fly, then your helicopter would be of little use in escaping."

"Well, yes, but we have seen such capabilities from Los Soldados, and our financial arrangements..."

"Our bribes..." Marulanda interjected - he hated euphemisms, "can buy governments, police and even the military. And as long as the people of our country are not suffering outrageously, Los Soldados will act within the bounds defined by that same government. However," he hesitated and licked his lips, "whoever destroyed Ceratibo, if it was a metahuman as our friend describes, is clearly not concerned about the government and cannot be controlled so easily."

Borjas took a moment to consider the general's statement. Truth to tell, Marulanda was no great military scholar; in fact, he was little more than a thug who managed to claw his way to the top of the Columbian Revolutionary Army. But what he was saying did make sense. "Very well, let's hear what they have to offer us."

"As you wish," Mindshadow whispered into Marulanda's mind. Perez sat next to her in the luxurious Mercedes and waited obediently until Mindshadow opened her eyes.

"They will be coming?"

"Yes, of course. Borjas is hardly going to go against the advice of his number one military general." A general, Mindshadow thought, her first. Not exactly starting at the top in terms of quality, true, but one had to start somewhere. "Come up with a place that doesn't allow any escape. One I can seal off, as I need to. If it helps, tell them it's for their own security."

Perez nodded while Mindshadow went over her plan. She had originally wanted to enslave Borjas directly, but decided to subtlety shift her tactics after sifting through the drug lord's mind. She needed to persuade Borjas to bring along his vassals. If she enslaved him before that, they might notice the change to his mannerisms. She doubted they would; her skill with mind manipulation had developed to the point where almost no one could tell. But there was always the possibility that someone might notice something and she couldn't afford to take that chance. She didn't want another fiasco like last time.

As the car pulled up to DeLorenzo's estate, she took a moment to mentally direct Marulanda and the several of the other members of FARC she did take time to enslave. Compelled by her mental instructions, they were even now sending word to the other drug lords of south Columbia to meet with Borjas at his estate to discuss a meeting with DeLorenzo sometime in the next few days--plenty of time for her to finish up here.

Inside the spacious home, DeLorenzo along with two of his top subordinates drug lords sat around a large table to discuss the matter. Around them, each had a retinue of bodyguards who kept an eye on their counterparts for any mischievous activities. The conversations were innocuous in nature; as innocuous as they men could manage anyway. They all came to a hush as the door to the room opened and Perez and Colombar entered, with Mindshadow behind them both.

"So, why are we here?" DeLorenzo asked.

Mindshadow looked in his direction then gestured. In the middle of the table, several miniature cameras appeared, each no larger than a dime. "You have been under surveillance for quite some time, DeLorenzo. Who is on the other end of these cameras?"

DeLorenzo looked at his captor and trembled. Deep inside, he wanted to shout his defiance, or at least curse the girl for her interference. But he couldn't; his will was completely captive by this girl's powers. "Generallisimo Hernandez likes to keep an eye on his investments."

So, that's how he knew she was in Columbia the first time, Mindshadow thought. Fortunately, he had tipped his hand that time, so she had taken the time to mentally scan the rooms for unusual molecular structures; the glass lenses and microelectronics stood out plainly when buried in houseplants and wall paintings and were just as easy to deactivate. The persons watching the video were unknown, but she was sure that Hernandez wasn't personally watching the feeds on a daily business; a mastermind wannabe would have better things to do than something so boring. He would surely delegate that to subordinates.

"You knew about these, but Colombar did not," Mindshadow pressed.

"Yes," DeLorenzo reluctantly confirmed. "It was decided that certain things did not need to be known to...underlings."

Mindshadow felt Colombar's emotions began to stir, but she silenced them with a thought. "A wise policy," she agreed. She made a mental note to erase Colombar's memory of the insult later; she didn't need his big mouth shooting off at the wrong moment. "Where does this monitoring signal viewed? Who are the day-to-day guards?"

DeLorenzo answered, and Mindshadow then scanned his mind to get a better feel for the direct coordinates. A small video surveillance station in Santo Domingo, no surprise. She then closed her eyes as her mind reached out across the Caribbean Sea and focused on the area in question. She would now have to enslave whoever was watching; there could always be cameras she hadn't detected yet. But to her surprise, she couldn't find her targets. "There's no one there. Where are they?"

"Probably no longer monitoring us," DeLorenzo answered with a slight smile. It was the first chance he had to get some smug satisfaction, and would probably be his last.

"That's convenient," Mindshadow noted with annoyance. "Now tell me why."

"Since your last visit, Hernandez has decided to abandon us. He has declared that he is washing his hands of all connections and that our soldiers are no longer welcome in Santo Domingo."

Mindshadow smiled with satisfaction as she read between the lines. Hernandez was afraid of her! Well, perhaps that was too strong, she allowed. But still, he was clearly intimidated at the prospects of facing her again, which considering their last battle was understandable. "Well then, you may consider me your new metahuman master," she smiled. "But first, we have an alliance to secure."

The city of Medellin was remarkably similar to Bogota, but not quite as run-down. Which was why it was a popular site of business for all the cartels in Columbia. Inside the Hilton Hotel, the management did its best to maintain order in a city dominated by drug lords and corrupt public officials with a policy of screening for weapons, including metal detectors. But metal detectors weren't perfect and security personnel were often underpaid, a fact appreciated by both of the major factions in Columbia.

"Omar Borjas, welcome," DeLorenzo greeted warmly, effectively masking his intense dislike for the man.

"José DeLorenzo," Borjas replied, matching DeLorenzo's lie with one of his own as both men shook hands. Behind them, over two dozen of Columbia's richest and most powerful drug lords and their assistants along with their security personnel were scattered throughout the hotel's lobby and restaurant and bar. They gathered in cliques; the better to have the rival you knew at your back than the one you didn't. The hotel's staff scurried about fulfilling orders for drinks and entertainment.

"Your messenger promised proof of direct metahuman intervention," Borjas prompted.

"Always the direct one, eh?" DeLorenzo replied. "Yes of course. Time waits for no man."

With that, both of them signaled for their important lieutenants to accompany them to the ballroom that had been reserved in advanced as a video projector began the demonstration. Borjas looked around as he and his entourage entered. It was a nice ballroom, with tables already arranged with water and other beverages. He looked a little nervous as the only door to the ballroom was closed, but pushed those fears aside. He had ten guards and General Marulanda with him. If DeLorenzo tried anything suspicious, he wouldn't go down alone.

Behind him, Mindshadow hovered a foot above the floor as she quietly used her molecular telekinesis on the door, transforming the twin doors into a single solid piece of steel with a wooden exterior. Now nothing short of an anti-tank weapon could open the door. She paused and watched as Perez began his presentation of the events from the previous month, along with commentary that was mostly true and advice that would have probably been a good thing to do. Not that it would do any of them any good now.

With their attentions to the screen, Mindshadow began her telepathic surgery on the bodyguards. Since they were all meaningless drones, she did them all at once. No need to fabricate any personalities for them, but she did need to ensure that a big firefight didn't break out if something went wrong. Perez had started his retelling of their first encounter back in Colombar's place when she got to her first drug lord. His mind was a foul one; he used his fortune and power to indulge in any perversion he could acquire. A pity she couldn't fix it without disrupting the rest of her plans. By the time Perez started his detailing of the battle over Ceratibo, Mindshadow was nearly finished. Everyone in the ballroom was under her subliminal command except one.

"So you're telling us that this American bitch blasted Ceratibo off the Earth," Borjas said. "A pity, but if she's already gone, then what importance is that?"

"My friend," Perez lectured, "it's hardly appropriate nor helpful to refer to her in such a manner."

"I'll call her whatever the hell I want!" Borjas snarled. The nerve of the man! It had been years since anyone had corrected Borjas in his presence and that one's family paid the price for his insolence.

"If we felt that she would never return, then yes, it would not be a major concern. But she continues to exert her will on others. It's only a matter of time."

"I don't have the time to listen to what might happen," Borjas waved.

"We no longer have that choice."

Borjas snorted with derision and turned to Marulanda. "Let's go. We're getting out of here," he ordered only to be pushed back down on his chair.

"I'm afraid I cannot allow that jefe," Marulanda said as other soldiers all around him grabbed him and held him down on the table.

"Bastard! I'll have your balls cut off for this!" Borjas shouted as he looked around for his bodyguards to save him. But his blood suddenly cooled when he saw the faces of his captors and recognized them. "Madros de Dios...!"

The rest of Borjas' voice trailed off, as his face became slack. Mindshadow smiled as she put the finishing touches on his mind. Saving the best for last worked out nicely. Once she gave the assembled drug lords a final once over, she telekinetically transformed the doors back to normal and commanded the senior drug lords now under her command to meet with their subordinates in "private meetings" to discuss strategy. She had already arranged the rental for additional rooms for such private meetings and scheduled them so she could be present at each one. It would take them the rest of the night, but by morning, Columbia's drug cartel would be very different. Not visibly so to an outsider, but very profitable for her nonetheless.

Peter Bateman whistled as he looked at the latest statements on a printed account sheet. "And how much more is coming in?'

Mindshadow relaxed as she looked out over the New York City skyline. It was good to be back home after spending several days in squalor in Columbia. "Between two and ten million per week. It depends on how fast the money transacts between collections and supply, and how fast it gets through the money-laundering scheme you helped me build. When I have time, I'll streamline some of their operations and enslave a few Columbian and American drug enforcement agencies so their bribes will go to me as well. There are also some international markets out there that aren't being exploited as much like Asia, Europe and some of the developed African nations. Far be it for me to deny them the pleasure of addiction," she observed with a smile. "In a few more months or so, I can probably triple that amount of money."

"Well, there's only so many malls and shopping centers we can buy. Any ideas what else you want to acquire?"

Mindshadow nodded. "I have my eye on a few technology companies, one in particular." She handed Bateman a company information sheet.

"Hawke-Argent," Bateman read. "They put out an IPO a few years ago."

"Start acquiring some of their stock and do it quietly. I'm off to set things up with someone named Alan Dunlop."

"The Chainsaw?"

"That's him. He's going to be the hammer for me to pound them into submission."
 

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