STAKE 10: MORTAL BET (CHAPTER 1)

CHAPTER ONE - THE SMOKER 

 One of those cold, grey days of December had dawned, the kind that are usual in Navarre. From the window you could see the snow on the roofs of the nearby industrial buildings. A heat pump barely kept the temperature in the cold room. The souls of those who were there at that time were no warmer than the prevailing weather, except for Miguel's, whose movement was prevented by bridles. The old man was belching out thick smoke against the window, which was bouncing back inside, leaving a stale, stale atmosphere. There was a timid knock on the door. Two giants opened the door and, without a word, two other men of more normal height and dressed in suits made their way through. One of the costumed men was carrying a black briefcase that hung in his left hand. The old man turned, looked at them, and with a slight gesture offered them a seat without saying a word. Once the costumed men took their seats, the old man took a deep breath before squeezing his cigar on the surface of a dirty ashtray that remained overflowing on a desk table that had seen better days. -What the hell is he doing here? -asked the bearer of the briefcase, referring to the boy tied to the chair. -He's a special guest at the meeting," replied the old man, "I hope you don't mind. -Of course we do! This is totally unacceptable. -Unacceptable?! -said the old man, slapping his hand on the table. Unacceptable is that I have to stay here in this shitty weather to get paid for my services. Have they not been satisfactory? Have I not kept my part of the bargain in the agreed time? The two men in suits nodded. -He's right about the payments, but you know that we're just intermediaries. The money came to us last night, and we immediately contacted you to give it to you, with our commission already deducted from the amount, of course," concluded the man in the case nervously, while looking sideways at the two giants who remained impassive on both sides of the cold room. -Very well," said the old man, nodding in agreement, "if the upright inside the case is the right one, there will be no problem, and our guest," he continued, glancing at the frightened and terrified young man in the chair, "will not run away, I assure you, but if it is not as agreed, the boy will run away like a madman looking for a cop as if it were his life. Let me introduce him to you. His name is Miguel; of course, you already know him. Miguel was involved in this from the beginning, but he failed to take it too seriously, do you follow me? The guests nodded their heads in agreement. -Well, our friend Miguel," he continued as he grabbed another cigar, "had many plans for the future. He was going to buy a big car and a villa nearby, and in a couple of years he was going to marry a girl who would make you lose your senses. He would live in wealth, fucking all he wanted. But our friend, as I said before, didn't take my warnings seriously. It's a shame, but that's the way it is. Young people never pay attention to their elders. Don't you think so, gentlemen? They nodded again. -So let's get down to the business that brought us here. Please open the case and let's have a look - he ordered and immediately lit the silver lighter to light the cigar that he had been holding for a few minutes between his right index finger and thumb. They opened it and poured its contents on the table. The bundles of money of dubious origin fell and spilled over the surface in danger of throwing out the dirty ashtray. They were lumped together and an initial count confirmed the amount of EUR 250,000. The old man smiled and looked at the giants who instantly knew what to do. They both left their positions and stood next to the chair where Miguel was standing with his eyes about to escape from their orbits. There was no time for the boy to utter even a whimper. One of the henchmen bent down and extracted a machete that he had hidden next to his calf. With a malevolent smile, he grabbed Miguel's hair with his left hand, while his right hand sliced the throat of a young man who would no longer buy a car or a villa or fuck beautiful women. No, he wouldn't. From now on their future would be in a hidden well on the ground floor of the industrial building in which they were located. How easy it was to cut the future with the sharp blade of a machete. The blood fell abundantly, leaving a dark red puddle that contrasted with the snow-white of the two men in suits. -This is what happens to those who do not follow my advice. I hope that our relationship will be as good as it has been up to now. I'm sure you have a promising future that I wouldn't want to spoil, right? They nodded nervously for the third time. -Right," one of them answered. -Well, in that case, it's been a pleasure doing business with you. And please pay my respects to your wives, I couldn't stop by to say hello to them at those beautiful houses in Beloso Alto. Enjoy those beautiful children you have, they are the future. If the complexion of the visitors in suits had turned white after what happened in that room, now it was their whole body that had been frozen by the message the old man had sent them. They were not even able to nod, but the old man had no doubt that his warning had been clear. The giants had to pick them up and escort them to the door of the street, where a driver was waiting to take them to their respective residences in the prestigious urbanization. -Pack up, we're leaving tomorrow," ordered the old man. -Can I ask where? -said one of the thugs with a characteristic accent. -To the south," he replied sharply, smashing another cigarette onto the stinking ashtray.