The vibrations awoke Miguel Sanchez from his unnatural slumber, darkness enveloped him and he struggled to breath.
The low hum and rattle at first felt like maybe he was in a van but now he wasn't so sure.
He could feel nothing of his body, a strange chemical haze would not allow him to think clearly but thinking was all he could do.
Miguel was a secretive and powerful businessman who had built up a fortune selling hand rolled cigars made of Cuban Seed tobacco grown in the Dominican Republic.
His business was one hundred percent legitimate he had made every effort to stay away from even the slightest bit of corruption in a business that deals with corrupt governments, corrupt suppliers, and corrupt customs officials.
Miguel hadn't always been so squeaky clean and he wondered if his past had finally caught up to him.
Whoever had taken him did it with military precision.
This was no band of thugs snatching a rich guy for a ransom these guys were professionals.
If it was a ransom they were after he was pretty sure they were going to get it.
He had been eating at his favorite Italian restaurant with his family, somewhere he ate every Tuesday.
The kidnappers must have known that, they were prepared.
He had excused himself to use the restroom and Enrique his body guard had checked the bathroom and was waiting just outside the door.
He vividly remembered the thump, thump, thump and the sound of air escaping Enrique's chest then seeing Enrique's lifeless eyes as his body was dumped next to the stall.
Miguel hadn't even had time to pull up his pants before the stall door was removed and a needle had plunged into his neck.
A black glove had covered his mouth and now here he was lying prone in complete darkness with the only clue to his whereabouts the constant rattling and droning hum of what he could only assume was an aircraft. This couldn't be the FBI they wouldn't have killed his body guard.
Maybe the CIA but he really hadn't done anything that would warrant their attention.
He had refused to bribe local officials but they wouldn't be able to pull this off.
He had made it a point to steer clear of the cocaine trade; the few million dollars they might receive for a ransom on him would not be worth all the effort and expense that had gone into this operation.
This was someone that wanted him for him and that scared Miguel he was beginning to realize his worst fears might have come true. Thirty one years ago in the summer of 1979 Miguel Sanchez was a 20 year old veteran of a 10 year life of crime.
He had begun stealing from street vendors and worked his way through pick pocketing tourists and graduated to armed thug, taking what he wanted at gun point.
His parents were both dead and he had prided himself on keeping his little brother in school and had begun to wonder how long his luck would hold up.
Street Criminals in Rio de Janeiro did not often live long lives.
Opportunity struck when he robbed a manager from a local resort.
The manager had seen something in the way Miguel carried himself and offered him a job at the hotel.
The manager had said if Miguel was man enough to bring him his wallet back at the hotel that the manager could get him a real job one that was respectable and he could build a life. Miguel had suspected it was a trap but the manager had told him he had been a street kid himself and had said he felt he owed other kids a break.
Miguel took the chance that ended up shaping the rest of his life.
He found himself hired on as security for the resort.
He was introduced to a whole new world he had never imagined before.
The Resort was isolated from the Rio he had known.
Behind the 12 foot walls and the guards rich people lived a life he had never even considered a possibility.
These people ordered lunch on the sand while sipping cocktails.
Anything they wanted was available to them.
At first Miguel noticed the food; it was so foreign to him to even see meat.
And these people would order a roast beef sandwich and only eat half of it.
They would just leave the other half on the plate and if they got hungry later they would order something new.
The half sandwiches would be spirited off to the back of the hotel and devoured by the staff.
And the sandwiches were incredible.
Meat and cheese mustard or mayonnaise, sprouts and fine peppers and spices.
Miguel quickly made friends with a bus boy that lived in his neighborhood; he would provide the bus boy safe passage home in exchange for occasional sandwiches and other food items.
The partnership worked well for both men. The bus boy, Juan Javier Hidalgo introduced Miguel to some of the other appetites enjoyed by the rich cliental of the resort.
Miguel had avoided drugs as they always seemed to lead to an early death either as a user or a seller.
But Juan had big dreams and when the resorts local dealer went missing he stepped in to fill the void.
With Miguel as security, Juan and Juan's brother Raoul became the local suppliers for some of the resorts most frequent customers.
As is natural when dealing with drugs Miguel soon met the resort pimp. To the hotel Antonio Rodriguez was a model employee and concierge in charge of guest services.
The management was more than aware of his activities in fact he would have been fired if he didn't have the connections to keep the guests happy.
Antonio had a way of knowing what people wanted without them having to ask for it.
He had a stable of talent he always kept clean and presentable and they were always available by the pool in the bar and on the beach.
A simple nod from Antonio was all that was required to ensure his guests would have a wonderful evening.
Antonio would encourage his girls and his boys to work the guests for gifts, especially clothing.
He would allow them to keep the clothes as it made them look better and helped him bring in better income on their labor; jewelry though was pure profit for him that was the deal. Antonio wasn't exactly an intimidating force with his feminine features and regular manicures.
For the physical part of Antonio's business he had a partner that worked in maintenance at the hotel.
Oscar Pina was the name on his shirt but everyone just called him Wrench.
Wrench picked up the nickname for his habit of using a pipe wrench when disciplining anyone that needed a little discipline.
He had perfected a quick kidney strike with his pipe wrench that would send someone to their knees in pain and having them pissing blood for a week but wouldn't leave too much bruising if they were lucky enough to be sent back to work right away. The male prostitutes especially feared Wrench for he had a special disdain for them.
There was more than one occasion where what was supposed to be a little discipline turned into a late night boat trip to feed the crabs as Wrench had a hard time only hitting these guys once.
Wrench wasn't limited to only using a wrench either.
If a girl was caught stealing or otherwise dishonored Antonio or Wrench in an unforgivable way he would leave her face scarred to make it harder for her to make a living before kicking her out on the street.
For this unpleasant task he would use a blade, or soldering iron, one time he even used a Benzo torch but Antonio had told him that was not acceptable. All these characters interacted within the hotel each providing their part to the guest experience working together never stepping on each other's toes and pretty much minding their own business.
And then disaster struck.
In October of 1980 the son of a prominent American actor and one of Antonio's prostitutes were found dead of a drug overdose in the Presidential suite of the resort.
The newspapers had a field day and the police and federal authorities were all over hotel management. Management decided it would be best if there wasn't anyone around that new anything for the police to interview.
So they fired Antonio, Juan, and Raoul, along with several dozen housekeepers, waiters, bus boys, valets etc.
Wrench and Miguel were spared the axe as management was not aware of their activities.
Miguel saw his income which had skyrocketed over the past few months descend back to the depths of a lowly security guard.
He had enrolled his brother in college and had promised him he would pay for law school, now all of that was in jeopardy. Miguel sat at his post on the beach and a plan began to form.
Watching a blond haired arrogant boy of 19 who wielded his name like a club around the resort, the pieces just seemed to fall together.
Here this kid was in a foreign country, whose father Roger Canfield was one of the richest men in the entire world.
How much would a father pay for his precious blond boy?
This boy had no security, no supervision his parents had let him come spend two weeks in Rio to sew some of his wild oats.
He had been here before; the whole staff knew him well.
He had a big appetite for the things Juan and Antonio sold.
He was a friendly kid, a trusting kid, how hard would it be to keep him hidden for a week or so and then just dump him off downtown once the ransom was paid?
Thomas Canfield you and I are going to do big things together, thought Miguel as he watched the youth playing Frisbee on the beach. Miguel spoke of his plan to Juan and Raoul first, they liked it and were on board right away.
Then they found Antonio drunk and probably drugged out of his mind.
Their attempts to sober him proved pretty much useless but they got him to call Wrench who at first didn't think it was possible but then when Miguel started talking about a 5 million dollar ransom he began to see ways it could work.
Wrench actually proved invaluable as he knew about a maintenance door built into the wall of the resort in a secluded area and he also had access to a windowless van.
Antonio had a great safe house where he had kept uncooperative girls and never had any issues with the police.
The safe house had an alley where they could unload the van undisturbed.
Miguel would set the trap; Juan, Raoul and Wrench would be in charge of removing Thomas from the resort, Antonio would keep watch from outside. Two days later everything was in place.
Butterflies were in Miguel's stomach as he approached the blond haired boy at the end of the beach side bar.
The boy spoke first somewhat catching Miguel by surprise. Thomas Canfield looked over "Hey security guy, what is up brother, are you here to arrest me?" Miguel responded "no, but I have a message for you from an old friend, do you want to take a walk with me." Thomas said "what's up man, hey what happened to Juan?
I need to talk to him about some stuff." Miguel slipped a little plastic bag filled with white powder into Thomas's hand.
"Hey thanks man is this from Juan." Said Thomas. "Yea he wanted to apologize for not being around but he told me to tell you he has some really good stuff for you if you are up for it." Said Miguel walking along the beach towards a patch of jungle. "Oh yea I am up for it brother, I am up for it" Said Thomas taking a sharp whiff of powder through his nostril. Once they reached the jungle Miguel told Thomas that Juan had been fired but that he would meet them by the wall. "Oh that's too bad man do you want me to see if I can get his job back for him.
I have a lot of pull around here.
And that guy does a lot to make this place great if you know what I mean." Said Thomas "Yea that would be great Mr.
Canfield he would appreciate that." Said Miguel "Mr.
Canfield is my dad and he is a cock sucker just call me Tom" Said Thomas as he followed Miguel into the jungle. "Hey Juan what is up my brother!
I heard you got fired man that sucks.
"Said Thomas walking faster towards his old friend. "Hey baby, Looking good my friend looking good" Said Juan smiling at his old friend and his new meal ticket. Raoul and Wrench came through the door in the wall at that minute and Raoul was holding a rope. "what's the rope for dude are you going to lynch someone" said Thomas laughing at his own joke. Raoul looked like a cat in the headlights.
The fear on his face was obvious to everyone and Wrench glanced down at the rope with a look of disgust on his face. "Who's the big guy?
You guys needing more security these days or what?" said Thomas still in a jovial mood. "uh ,yea this is my boy Wrench and my brother Raoul" Said Juan playing it cool. Miguel stopped walking his job was containment Wrench and Raoul were supposed to grab Thomas. "Wrench you look like one bad dude!
I am glad your ass isn't angry at me." Said Thomas, as he reached his hand out to grasp the hand of his old friend Juan.
Juan took his hand and gripped it tightly. "Don't make a sound my friend" Said Juan his stare sending a chill up Thomas's back. At that moment Thomas pulled his hand back and Raoul grabbed his legs and Wrench grabbed his arms in one swift motion.
Thomas went to the sandy jungle floor hard.
He twisted and rolled and managed to throw himself free of Wrench.
Then with a swift kick his legs were free and he was up and scrambling.
Thomas was screaming and running when Miguel made a perfect tackle of his legs and was struggling to gain control of the boy when he heard a sickening thud.
Wrench had landed a direct hit on the back of Tom's skull ending all resistance. "Holy Shit man did you kill him?" Asked Raoul. "I don't know let's get him out of here!" Said Wrench, as he pulled the limp body through the jungle towards a waiting tarp. Miguel checked to see if the screams had drawn any attention but the resort and her guests seemed to have not noticed anything at all. Raoul and Juan wrapped up the victim with Raoul announcing loudly that he was still breathing. Miguel watched them load the van and pull out casually.
He had no idea how stressful the next 5 months were going to be. Miguel was amazed that it took four days before anyone ever officially noticed that the boy was missing.
There was talk at the resort but no one reported it to authorities as far as Miguel knew for 4 days.
He along with every staff member of the hotel was interviewed and asked when the last time he had seen the boy was.
He answered that he had spoken to the boy as had most of the staff but he couldn't remember if he had spoken to him on Tuesday or possibly Wednesday.
The bartender had thought it was Tuesday that he had seen them together and since there was a $50,000 reward for information the police became buried in all kinds of information and most if not all of it was untrue inaccurate and unreliable. They intentionally delayed the ransom letter until the police had become involved so as to make it as difficult as possible for the police to figure out when the boy had disappeared.
The letter arrived in the offices of Robert Canfield and demanded 5 million in American 100 dollar bills to be delivered to a dock in Rio.
Mr.
Canfield came on the news and demanded proof of life before he would consider paying any ransom.
He pled for the life of his son but said he would not pay unless he knew he was alive and well.
The crew took Thomas to a pay phone on the other side of Rio and had him call in to a news station and had them record it.
Miguel demanded that they put the 5 million in a cab that he had ordered to wait at the dock.
If anyone tried to stop the cab or follow the cab they would kill the boy and the cab driver.
The boy told them they had one hour. Mr.
Canfields driver put a package in the cab and told the driver to look for a note under the seat exactly like Thomas had demanded.
Antonio had one of his girls plant a note in a specific cab the day before.
The note was hidden under the seat of that particular cab that the crew would order the day it was needed. The note basically told the driver that if he did not follow the instructions or if he stopped for the police his family would be killed.
A picture of his wife was included with the note.
The instructions took him in a wide zig zaggy pattern around the city.
The plan was designed to have him drive in close proximity to thousands of similar cabs.
He was instructed to pause in every tunnel and in a number of spots where anyone surveying him would have their view obstructed.
He was told to look for a red triangle and when he found it he was supposed to drop the package over the rail.
He followed the directions perfectly.
Antonio removed the Red Triangle and took the package into a small power boat and headed up a tributary that led to several possible routes.
Fearing a tracking device the money was unbound and transferred to different packages as soon as was practical.
A note was included with the money it read "Please don't harm my son, I could only raise $500,000 in cash on that short of notice.
I will be able to pay you an additional 1 million dollars tomorrow I am having the money flown in from New York." This made wrench very angry and would raise the stakes in this game tremendously. They don't think we are serious.
We are not going to accept a payment plan we want all of our cash now he screamed into the pay phone as Miguel and Antonio tried to keep him from drawing attention on the street.
I will show them just how serious we are yelled Wrench slamming the phone on the News station Wrench had elected to call despite the group's better judgment. Thomas had been held for 1 month when the first payment had arrived.
Tempers were flaring among the small group of kidnappers and the feeling of thinking it was all over only to have been shortchanged four and a half million dollars was really grating on all of them.
But Wrench and Miguel had the extra burden of still working at the hotel.
A hotel crawling with police, private investigators and privateers looking for any knowledge that might help them rescue the kid and earn a handsome reward. Some lights were shining in dark corners and Wrenches corners held a lot of Skeletons.
He wanted this mess over more than anyone else.
The last thing he needed would be for some private investigator to turn up a dead prostitute or worse yet a live one with an axe to grind.
He intended to throw this game into high gear and he found a way to do it. "I'm going to get them motivated to pay" Said Wrench grabbing a serrated steak knife and heading into the prisoners room. Miguel knew what was about to happen but somehow felt it was necessary.
The screams filled the small home but the mattresses on the wall and the lack of neighbors meant no one would hear them.
When Wrench returned with the severed ear Miguel wrapped it in a plastic sandwich bag, and Antonio began writing the note that would accompany it with the whimpering cries of a wounded nineteen year old in the background.
The men forced the boy to copy the note in his own hand writing and at the end where Antonio had written sincerely Thomas, the boy had written Love, Tom.
For some reason this struck the criminal gang as exceptionally funny.
They all laughed heartily as the boy quietly cried lost in his pain and despair. The ear made headlines around the world and the heat became nearly unbearable.
The police seemed to be everywhere questioning and watching and looking always looking.
On the news Robert Canfield pled for the life of his son and said he had paid what he could but would pay the rest.
The problem was the kidnappers were afraid to contact him.
They decided to lay low so for 3 months they stayed hidden.
The corporate owners of the Resort decided the worldwide publicity was too much and they temporarily closed the resort.
This came as a relief to Wrench and Miguel and is probably the only thing that kept them from going insane. After a total of 4 months contact was made.
Robert Canfield was in Rio doing everything he could to find his son when his limo driver told him he had been passed a note.
The note told Robert Canfield to proceed alone to a specific pay phone. Ring ring ring.
Robert grabbed the phone..
"where is my son you son of a bitch" "He is safe Mr.
Canfield.
If you want to keep him that way you will need to bring 4 and half million dollars in 5 duffle bags to the bus station in Rio." Said the gruff voice on the phone "How do I know you are the real kidnappers?" Asked Canfield. "Tom wanted me to tell you that he bought you a gold turtle for Christmas last year" Said the voice. "I need more than that!" demanded Canfield "Do you want his other ear?" Asked the voice. "No No ok, ok, you bastard I believe you." Said Canfield. "You have one hour to get the money together" Said the Voice. "Wait I can't do that!
It takes time to get that much money I could get you 2 million right away but it will take time if you want more money than that." Said Mr.
Canfield. "You don't have more time sir, One hour 4 and a half million dollars." Said the voice. "I will give you what I can but I beg you don't hurt him I am doing everything I can to get it.
Give me until tomorrow I can get the 4 million!" Said Mr.
Canfield "one hour, bus station if we are happy you will see your son again no police, no military, no private security if we don't get away cleanly your son will die." Said the Voice. 45 minutes later a limousine loaded with 2 million dollars was on the way to the bus station when a non descript van pulled up next to it on the road and the driver held up a hand drawn picture of a gold turtle.
The driver signaled for the limo to stop right in the middle of traffic.
The limo driver came to a halt and 3 masked men emerged from the van. "Where is the money" asked the bandit over honking traffic to a shocked Robert Canfield. "In the trunk, where is my boy" Said Canfield. "He is safe he will be home soon" Said the bandit in a gruff voice. The four duffle bags went into the back of the van. "There are only 4 bags?" Said Miguel "It is all I had it is all I could get" Said Mr.
Canfield pleading with his eyes. "Your boy will be home soon, I believe you." Said Miguel to the scared old man staring at him with the strangest combination of hate and hope he had ever seen. The decision had been made that this was going to be the last attempt to get money it was just too dangerous if the old man had gotten them the 2 million it was decided they would just be happy with that.
It wasn't worth the risks to keep going back.
The youth would be left on a rural road as the five bandits would go separate ways.
Once the youth was free Rio would no longer be safe for any of them.
They naively believed they would be safe in different countries if they could get across the borders which should be easy. The screech and bump of a plane touching down brought Miguel out of his memories.
Had he been laying here for an hour or a week?
The darkness and the drug induced haze made time an impossible concept for Miguel.
The garlic from his dinner had been his constant companion since he awoke.
The gag in his mouth seemed to hold the garlic's essence, concentrate it and then when Miguel breathed in release the garlic back to him.
His mind wrapped itself around hating the garlic, why something so trivial would occupy so much of his thoughts he didn't know, but it was breaking his concentration and he would need to think clearly if he were to have any chance at all of survival. Miguel still had no feeling in any part of his body but his face.
He even wondered if perhaps he was dead or dreaming.
His head was now moving or more specifically someone was moving his head and presumably the rest of his body also.
He heard voices, they were speaking in English.
What they said he couldn't make out but the tone seemed calm, deliberate, he assumed that he was being transferred to whoever had ordered this kidnapping.
Suddenly Miguel felt something on his leg.
It wasn't much but he thought someone had grabbed his thigh and it was a relief to feel again, Miguel heard laughter it was a bitter satisfied laugh.
Someone began to pull at the cloth covering his head.
The light that bathed his face was unbearable, it was like needles were penetrating his forehead and cheekbones feeding a horrific headache as the fluorescent light flickered mercilessly into his pupils fully dilated from hours in complete darkness. Miguel you old son of a bitch how the hell are you beamed a voice from Miguel's past.
The voice had lost its youthfulness it had been deepened from a combination of age, smoking, and hard alcohol but it was unmistakably the voice of Thomas Canfield.
It is a shame my father couldn't be here to see this.
The bastard may have actually been proud of me for once.
Did you know he looked all over the world for you?
And there you were the whole time just hiding in plain sight running a huge cigar company in the Dominican Republic.
Yea I'm sure you heard Dad passed away about 10 years ago.
I mean you probably breathed a big sigh of relief I can imagine.
I didn't even know he was hunting you guys down.
Really, he never told me.
You can imagine my surprise when I found his journal.
Dad had always kept a journal I wish I had read it when he was still alive he was quite a remarkable man. He began keeping a journal before he even made his first million.
When he was 19 years old he wrote about oil and how he was going to be rich.
He talked about new designs for wells that could go deeper and how he suspected that others had only cracked the surface on oil.
He talked about his plans to buy up dried up fields because he thought there was an ocean of oil below them.
And holy crap if we wasn't on to something.
That son of a bitch ended up finding more oil than anyone ever had before and probably ever will in the future.
His journals were all about discovering oil at first, and then they evolved into business and governments, and shipping and creating the greatest financial empire the world had ever known.
You know what was funny though when I was born his journal entry read "Today, is the greatest day of my life, my son was born." That is all it said.
Funny isn't it.
A guy who had done more than most men can even dream about considered the day his son was born his greatest day. Yea I never realized I was such a pain in the ass to him.
He had big dreams for me to run his empire, to make the Canfield name even greater than he had done.
He wrote about me possibly diversifying the company into nuclear power.
He felt that was the future.
He was worried about me though.
It was surprising to me how much he knew about the drugs and the women of my youth.
There was a note just before he sent me to Rio.
The note said "Thomas, has yet to show any signs of maturity.
I am hoping somewhere on this trip something will happen that will help him understand life a little clearer.
I am hesitant to send him for I fear it will just be one more long party but I have a strong feeling that something may happen that will finally let him grow up a little and be the man I know he has the potential to be." How about that for psychic?
Yea the old man thought something might happen.
The first time I read that I wondered if he had staged the whole thing.
You know hired you guys to do what you did.
But the more I read the more I realized just how much that event tore him up.
From the first moment he knew you guys took me his journals changed.
There was no more talk of business or oil or even me as an heir.
His sole focus was on getting me back.
He made contacts with the FBI, the CIA, the KGB, The Brazilian government, private investigators, Mercenaries.
When the old man set his mind to do something he damn well did it. After you released me he still didn't return to running his business.
Fortunately he had good people in place that could maintain the business because he spent the rest of his life chasing you guys down.
I had no idea really.
I remember the endless interviews when I got back with Dads men, they wanted names, neighborhoods, numbers anything I could give them and I gave them everything I could.
I assumed it was routine but it was so much more than that. I knew most of you guys from the resort.
Antonio and Juan especially.
They found Antonio within a month of you guys letting me go.
According to the report in Dad's file he was in Argentina.
The idiot was drunk and high surrounded by prostitutes.
It wasn't difficult at all to make his murder look like a robbery.
That guy wrench was a bit harder to find it took 3 years.
I remembered his name Oscar Pina it was on a name tag on his shirt when he cut my ear off.
You never forget something like that.
My Dads men tracked him down in Puerto Penasco Mexico.
He was living under an alias and had bought himself a little bar and hotel that bastard must have been knee deep in spring breakers.
According to my dad's journal he flew down there himself and watched them kill that guy. Jaun and Raoul were a bit more problematic.
They had disappeared into the jungles of Columbia and had set up shop in the Cocaine business.
Their little empire had grown to be worth 600 million dollars by the time Dad picked up on their trail.
They had public officials and an army of mercenaries to protect them.
Apparently dad's first attempt at getting them went very badly.
The only thing in the journal was operation white sheet failed 12 men dead 4 million dollars wasted.
I found the next part very interesting.
Apparently dad had called on some friends in the senate and began pushing Reagan on the on the idea of a war on drugs.
It took a few years but by the late 1980's and early 1990's Dad had the US marines, custom service, DEA, and CIA all working together supposedly to stem the tide of cocaine into the US.
Jaun and Raoul happened to be in a leer jet that was intercepted and shot down over Bolivia in 1993.
You can imagine my surprise when I opened Dad's safety deposit box in Switzerland and I found four dried and preserved ears with each person's name and date of passing on them. 10 years ago I inherited the largest fortune ever passed to a single heir in the history of the world.
And when I read these journals it occurred to me that Dad had one name still on the list.
Now I couldn't very well let a quest like this go unfinished could I?
The problem dad had and I soon ran into with finding you Miguel is that we did not know your last name.
The resort didn't have a record of you working there.
My father had found a Miguel Reyes but apparently that wasn't you, the manager in charge of security guards was skimming some of the pay.
He had everyone listed under false names well actually names of people in his family so that he could cash your checks.
Didn't you notice or wonder why he paid you in cash when everyone else got a check?
Did you know he was only paying you half of what the resort was paying him for you?
Ha you dumb bastard this is probably the only thing that allowed you to live this long. When I got back to the United States, right after the kidnapping, I settled into my studies at the university.
I figured since I had so much money I might as well learn finance and banking.
My dad said if I got an MBA he would buy me a bank and he did.
I learned more in my first year of owning a bank than I had learned in 6 years of studying about them.
One thing I learned was that Money always leaves a pattern.
It is almost like DNA in the way it repeats itself in patterns.
Savers keep saving and building, Spenders always spend no matter how much they put in, and investors tend to expand exponentially.
I applied my knowledge of banking in the search for you.
I knew that you had 500,000 in Cash as your share of the ransom.
So that is where I began.
I used my fortune to begin buying every bank in South America and I combed their records looking for a clue.
I had armies of accountants searching for unusual deposits made after the kidnapping.
Your friends with the exception of Antonio had all eventually made big deposits and I knew your deposit would be out there.
When I failed to spot you using this method I figured you must have been smarter than that or perhaps you had fled to Europe.
i had people all over the world looking for you when one of my accountants came up with a program simulating what it would look like if you were to have started a business and built it up over time with a little extra infused cash. I was skeptical at first but it was amazing how this pattern stood out.
We discovered laundered drug money, mistresses socking away fortunes in family businesses, every kind of investment scam you could possibly imagine.
But then about a year ago we discovered a little cigar Company in the Dominican Republic.
This company had begun in 1984 interestingly enough small deposits began rolling in on the accounts almost immediately.
Now it is unusual for a company to turn a profit the first year and it is even more unusual for a company to have consistent returns but amazingly this company managed to deposit 2000 every month for the first year.
And then the second year it deposited 3500 every single month.
I am amazed you didn't get audited being so stupid like that.
And then in the 3rd year 5000 a month went in like clockwork.
We knew the cigar business was full of laundered money, so we weren't that excited at first.
When we found out the CEO was named Miguel Sanchez and we started digging harder, then we discovered that the attorney who set up the business was from Rio and I remembered a conversation that I had forgotten to tell the investigators. I had somehow forgotten that you were putting your little brother through law school.
This was too big of a coincidence for us to ignore.
I applaud you on avoiding ever having your picture on any of your company's literature, or ever appearing in any newspapers.
It took my private investigators a full month to even get a photograph and there was no way for them to verify for sure it was you.
But when I saw the picture I was certain Miguel, oh that was a happy day indeed. "So Miguel, I have wondered for a long time what you would say to me when I finally had you in my grasp like you had me so long ago." Said Thomas Canfield, genuinely curious. "Thomas, before I met you I was a common street thug, I stole everything I ever had, I robbed people just to survive, I had killed people for just enough money for a couple of meals.
When I got the job at the resort my life improved greatly, I was doing great working with Juan as he sold drugs to you and your friends.
We had plenty of food and plenty of money and then it was all coming apart because some kid died of a drug overdose.
Juan and Antonio got fired my income was reduced to almost nothing and you walked into our lives.
A cocky little rich kid, with no parents around, without escorts, an easy score that would change the rest of our lives.
" "So that is how you saw me as an easy way to get rich?" said Thomas "No, I saw you as the last chance I had for a life." Said Miguel. "Are you sorry for what you did to me, Miguel?" Said Thomas. "No I am not sorry Thomas; I have a beautiful wife and 7 children and 12 grand children that have been given a life I could never have imagined.
I would have never met my wife had I not gone to the Dominican Republic and even if I had children they would have been lucky to survive childhood back in Rio.
My brother was able to finish law school and is one of the most prominent attorneys in the Dominican Republic.
I employ 200 people in my factory and I support a small hospital that helps thousands of people a year.
I attend church every Sunday but I have never confessed my sin Thomas.
I made a deal with the Devil when I kidnapped you, there is nothing I can do about it and if I had it to do over again I would do it in a heartbeat.
I am sorry you had to suffer so that I could live but what I took from you is insignificant compared to what your kidnapping has brought me and my family.
I am not going to apologize for something I would do again Thomas and I don't expect you to understand." Said Miguel, as he pondered his own rationalization. "Oh I see my ear went to a good cause, you're a regular saint Miguel.
I almost feel guilty about disturbing your idyllic life.
You f***ers cut off my ear man, I was 19 years old and you cut off my F***ing ear.
What about your buddies, the ones who started a drug cartel, did they open a hospital?
How many kids died using their product?
Or how about that Wrench fellow did he give scholarships to the college kids that frequented his bar?
I am sure Antonio probably did some good with his money you know helping prostitutes, buying drugs, probably bought a round of beer for the entire country of Argentina while he was there.
Is it really too much for you to feel a little bit of pain for what you did to me?
You know every time I see a steak knife I remember that bastard sawing off my f***ing ear.
Every Thanksgiving when they carve the turkey I cringe.
I never had them put on a prosthetic because I wanted to remember every day what you did to me Miguel every single day when I wake up and look in the mirror I remember, it motivates me, it makes me more focused.
When some waitress stares at me while I am trying to order and then clumsily apologizes I think of you and the others Miguel.
And you know what in 30 years I have never signed a letter, I love you.
Do you know why because I remember you guys laughing at me for signing that stupid ransom note that way? Well it is time for you to write some letters Miguel.
I am going to let you write one to your wife, and another to each of your kids, and then I am going to let you write one to all 12 of your grand kids.
I am going to let you write your own letters you can say anything you want with a few exceptions if you write about me or the kidnapping your kids will simply get a package without a note, my only request is that you must sign it Love Miguel or love Papa or whatever it is that they call you. Did you know that when you guys sent that ear to my Dad's office that he brought home the package and opened it with my mom.
He had no idea you guys would do something like that.
In his journal he described the look on my mother's face.
He said she turned to an old woman right before his eyes, her hair went white, her eyes sunk into her head and she curled up in a little ball on the ground and she cried, My mother didn't stop crying even when I came home she couldn't stop crying.
She would ask me every day if it was really me and then she would touch my head where my ear used to be and cry.
Do you know what that's like to watch your own mother go mad Miguel?
My dad was never the same either.
Oh he didn't cry, I think he blamed me somehow for being kidnapped.
He never discussed the future with me or the business his only concern was that I never mess up again.
He never showed joy, even when I graduated from college the card he gave me said "Here is the bank I promised, listen to your board of directors, they are good men and don't mess this up." "Thomas I only have two ears?
Are you going to cut them into tiny pieces?" said Miguel not sure if he wanted to hear the answer. "Well I am going to send your wife your balls, the rest of the family will get fingers, toes or whatever I feel is appropriate." Said Thomas picking up a large tool with two wooden handles that met at what looked like a stainless steel parrot beak.
With that Thomas stood over Miguel who was still immobile and chained to the gurney. Miguel was hoping that he still couldn't feel anything in his body but the sensation of the cold steel against his flesh dashed his hopes.
Miguel's sensations had returned to him and many of them he was about to experience for the last time.
Thomas cut the cloth away from Miguel's body using the razor sharp tool.
He seemed to enjoy the slow pace and the fear welling up inside of Miguel.
Miguel had figured someday he would die for what he had done but he did not imagine he would be cut to pieces and mailed to his grand kids.
Once the cloth was gone Miguel noticed he had been put in a type of diaper the kidnappers must have done this.
The drugs that paralyzed him had also robbed him of all control of his bodily functions.
The stench had somehow gone unnoticed until the cloth bag was removed. "Oh that is just nasty Miguel, I am not going to cut you up in your own shit, Mark get in here, clean up the prisoner and grab me the pre addressed letters we have for our guest." Said Thomas, cutting the cap off of a dark cigar with his oversized tool.
Admiring the clean cut before putting the cigar in his mouth and lighting it up Thomas flicked the decapitated end of the cigar at Miguel. "Oh do you recognize these, they are from your factory, Hand rolled Cuban seed tobacco grown in the Dominican Republic, a nice Maduro wrapper.
I must compliment you Miguel you make an excellent cigar.
"Oily wrapper, peppery start and just a hint of coffee not bad for a street thug turned Cigar mogul." Two men entered the room one dropped a stack of envelopes on a desk and then they both took hold of the gurney.
They carried it across the cement floor and hooked it so that it was at a 90 degree angle against a rack on the wall.
Miguel was thinking this room must be an aircraft hangar.
It was rather large and constructed of steel.
The men were arguing over whom would remove the diaper, and the one named Mark must have won the argument because the other man put on some surgical gloves and pulled the tab on the soiled mess.
The diaper slid down and Miguel opened his legs instinctively so the man could get the diaper off.
The other man had gotten a hose from somewhere and the Ice cold water at 300 psi was not pleasant.
"AHHHH!!" screamed Miguel as the water pounded into Miguel's groin splattering feces and tearing into his flesh like it was going to sever his testicles.
"Get them extra clean we are sending them to his wife." Said Thomas from across the room with a laugh.
The men half heartedly dried Miguel off and threw a towel over him so he wasn't completely naked before bringing him back over by the desk. "So are you ready to write some letters Miguel?" said Thomas writing in the air with a pen.
Mark adjusted the gurney so that it was in a seated position and began to unshackle Miguel.
"wait wait wait, hold on don't you think we should Cut his ear off before we unshackle him Mark?" said Thomas. "I thought you were going to have him write the letters first" Said Mark. "No No No I wrote my letter after they Cut off my ear I think it is only fair, I mean we can wait and cut off the rest of the parts later but he definitely has to lose the ear now." Said Thomas opening and closing the oversized clippers. "you're the boss, Do you want me to use those?" said Mark not sure how well the clippers would work on an ear. "no use your knife, Mark I guess it is too much to ask if you have a dull one or a serrated one?" said Thomas. "No sir my knife is sharp" Said mark "Well I guess that is ok, I mean we aren't sadists or anything." said Thomas "which ear should I cut off sir?" said Mark "hmm I hadn't thought of that, which ear should we take first Miguel?" said Thomas "I think the right ear would be better I don't like the way you look without your left ear Thomas." Said a defiant Miguel. "oh still have some spunk in you I see.
Ok Mark let him have it his way take his right ear." Said Thomas. "AHHHHH, you bastards, AHHH damn you f***ers." Screamed Miguel as Mark sliced through his ear in three easy motions and tossed the severed flesh on the desk. "There you are sir." said Mark wiping his blade on the towel over Miguel's groin. The sensation was something Miguel had imagined for 30 years but had never gotten quite right.
Warm blood squirted with each heartbeat and ran down from the burning hole in Miguel's head.
He could see his ear on the desk but he would swear he could still feel it dangling from his head.
He tried to feel where his ear had been with his shoulder but there was nothing but pain.
Mark put some salve on the gaping hole and claimed it would help keep Miguel from bleeding to death. "Ok let us write some letters shall we!" Announced Thomas with a bit of glee in his voice. "I never learned to write" said Miguel through the pain "What you're kidding?
How do you run a business without being able to write?" Asked Thomas "My brother handles all of that stuff, I just deal with the workers and select the tobaccos" said Miguel "Well can you write Love Pappa?" Asked Thomas "Yes but I am not going to write a letter to my children that only says Love Pappa and have you send them my body parts?" Said Miguel. "Ok I will help you, I will write the letters you just sign them." Said Thomas enjoying the game. "Let me start with my wife, do you have that one Thomas?" Said Miguel "Yes it is right here, go ahead when you are ready" Said Thomas marveling at Miguel's wound. Dear Marie, I am sorry you are receiving this package; I know the contents will bother you greatly but I want you to know that I your husband brought this on myself.
The life we have lived for the past 30 years is what I traded for this horrible package you have received.
I want you to see this package as a gift not as a curse, these balls helped us bare many children and you have been a wonderful wife to me and mother to those children.
I want you to know the children will all receive a similar package, there is nothing I can do about it, the sacrifice that was made by me was my own choice I made it for them.
Do not let them grow angry and bitter.
I know it will be hard but steer them away from revenge.
Tell the children that I gave these parts willingly so that they could live the life they were given.
I have had the most wonderful life ever lived because of you Marie and for that I shall be eternally grateful. Love Miguel. "Wow that was beautiful man, I just have to say that was beautiful it kind of choked me up a little" said Thomas with a touch of sarcasm.
Whose next, oh here's one to your brother shall we do him next. Dear Philippe, I never told you where the money came from that paid for your school for I did not want your pure soul corrupted by my deeds.
But this package you received today is the price of my sins which paid your tuition.
I know you would never ask for this but it was a price I chose to pay a long time ago.
This was not your fault it was my choice alone and I made it gladly.
I ask you Philippe for one last favor would you and your wife please look after my wife and children, for I am already dead when you are reading this.
I know you believe in justice but what happened to me was the purist form of justice, do not pursue this event through the law it will only lead to heart ache, bitterness and death.
My death is just brother, honor me through your other pursuits stand up for the downtrodden, the poor, and the disadvantaged, live your life well as you have to this point and my death will not have been in vain. Love Miguel. "ok saint Miguel, ok I get it you are ok with dying for these people let's pick up the pace a bit, here how about your oldest son." Said an agitated Thomas. Dear Jaun, You have made me the proudest father in all of the Dominican Republic.
I know we have not seen eye to eye and your disdain for cigars and tobacco in general has led us to have some rather horrible arguments.
But I hope you can forgive me now.
I was so proud when you graduated from Medical School and just so you know I was not trying to buy you a position when I made my donations to the hospital.
Your mother told me you were short of supplies and I thought I could help.
I just know you would have made Chief of surgery even without my donations.
I am glad you are in the business of saving lives I am sorry you feel my business kills too many people but it was all I knew how to do.
I hope you develop a cure for cancer someday son so you can enjoy a good cigar it would do you some good.
Your mother is going to need a lot of help in the coming months, you always had her heart, I wish I hadn't disappointed you but I need you to know I will always love you son. Love Pappa. "OK, How about one for a grand kid are you up for the grandkids?' Dear isabelle, Hello princess, at 4 years old you are the light of this old man's heart.
The song you sung for me is still in my heart.
You are too young to understand why it is time for me to go but I am so glad I got to say goodbye.
I will sing our song to God and will send an angel to look after you my precious child.
I am so lucky to have you as my Granddaughter I will be sure to thank God for every day we got to spend together and I will pray you have a long and happy life where someday you get to have tea with your grandbabies and know the joy I felt with every moment we had together. Love Pappa. "alright stop, just stop already.
What the hell is this!
I have spent the last 30 years of my life waiting to kill you.
You can't go and make me feel bad for this.
You took my God damn ear, you ruined my life, and you ruined my family.
I am not going to feel bad about this.
God damn you.
What the hell happened!" Said Thomas not even trying to hide the tears. "You became me Thomas, You had everything in the world and you chose to become me." Said Miguel "What, I am not you!
I am not some criminal who steals and kidnaps or cuts off a man's ear for no reason?" Said Thomas. "I was a low life criminal, the only thing in the world I wanted was an opportunity, I got that opportunity by doing the only thing I knew how to do." Said Miguel. "No this isn't criminal it is justice, you owe me, for what you did to me, for what you did to my family." Said Thomas pulling a .40 caliber Smith and Wesson semi automatic pistol from his belt. "That is true, I owe you, everything I have, I have because I took it from you, I cannot give you your ear, or your mother or your father back.
But what I can do Thomas is give you your life back." Said Miguel "You give me my life?
I think you misunderstand the situation, I have you, you don't have me, I could kill you right now and no one would ever know." Said Thomas pointing the pistol at Miguel's chest. "That is true, you can have my life but it will not return yours.
I was a criminal once and I built a good life on the back of sin, you don't want to be a murderer Thomas, you are a good person." Said Miguel "I was a good kid right up until you guys cut my damn ear off!" Yelled Thomas. "No you were still a good kid after that, it isn't until you have to make a choice that determines if you are a good person or not.
I made my choice Thomas I chose to do what I did.
I can't take it back but you still haven't made the choice yet.
As far as I can see right now we are completely even.
I took your ear and you took mine.
There is no reason for this to go any further.
If you choose to kill me then you will have to live with that for the rest of your life.
Right now is the best I have felt in 30 years and the reason is because I feel I have finally paid for my sins.
If I die or if I live I can face God knowing that I have to some degree worked towards doing the right thing.
When you took my ear you lifted 30 years of guilt from my conscience that I didn't even know was there.
I truly do feel sorry for what I did to you, I know it was wrong and I know the only thing I can do to make it right is to live my life as best I can.
I must try and do the right thing.
I am not trying to talk you out of killing me simply because I want to live although I assure you I do want to live.
But I honestly don't want you to live with what I have lived with for the past 30 years.
Your father took his revenge on my four partners by killing them that was his choice and his revenge.
You need to do what is right for you." Said Miguel pleading as much for Thomas's soul as for his own life. "So you think we are even, you took my ear I took your ear?
But you took 2 and a half million from my dad!
What about that?" said Thomas cocking the pistol. "Well I only got 500,000 of the money with interest it would probably be worth a million and half today?" Said Miguel "screw it, a million and a half and we are even?" said Thomas. "Are you serious?" said Miguel With that a shot echoed through the large hangar Miguel saw the flash as if it were in slow motion and felt something tear through his chest.
The bullet forced all the air from his lung and blood came up through his mouth and nose.
As he labored to breathe he saw a puzzled look on Thomas's face. "Now we are even." Said Thomas shaking and dropping the gun on to the floor. Mark and the other man came back through the doors.
"Oh shit boss I thought we were going to cut the parts off before we killed him." Said Mark looking somewhat disappointed. Miguel's mind began to drift and go black he saw his wife, his children, His own parents, and his grand children.
All of them looked peaceful, a tear ran down Miguel's cheek as he felt his heart grind to a stop and the oxygen no longer flowing to his brain. A thousand volts of electricity is rarely a welcome feeling unless one is already dead or damn close.
But the sensation was welcomed by Miguel as his body lifted from the gurney.
He felt a hand probing the wound in his chest and then again he faded into the darkness. Pappa can you hear me?
It is Juan Pappa you are going to be alright.
Momma is on her way she told me not to let you die.
No don't speak, you are going into surgery in just a few moments, I am going to get that bullet out of your chest Pappa.
Don't worry, it pierced your lung but whoever shot you patched you up pretty good.
We need to drain your lung that is why there is a stint in the side of your chest.
You are going to be ok Pappa, I am sorry they did this to you. Six months later an interesting card arrived in the mail addressed to Miguel Sanchez. Dear Miguel, I was hoping we could meet in person I have something I would like to share with you.
I was hoping we could meet in Rio at an old resort we both know well.
I plan to be there on August 5th meet me at 1:00 pm.
I assume you have recovered well enough to travel but if this date does not work for you I understand. Sincerely, Tom. On August 5th Miguel Sanchez returned to Brazil for the first time in 30 years.
It really hadn't changed much.
There were more people and more buildings but there was still a major distinction between the haves and the have-nots.
His driver pulled up to an old familiar resort it had a different name but it still looked the same.
The boy who took his bags directed him to a concierge who had a note waiting for him. Meet me at the bar by the beach.
Was scrawled on the note read out loud by the concierge Miguel tipped the concierge 20 dollars and the concierge handed him a business card.
If there is anything you need sir anything at all I am your man.
Said the 20 something dark haired boy.
Miguel Smiled and nodded and had his bags delivered to his room with another crisp twenty dollar bill. Walking across the beach Miguel had a strange feeling of de ja vue.
He had been here before but never as a guest.
It felt somehow different like he belonged there.
At the bar he spotted Thomas before he could say anything Thomas was waving at him to come over. "Hey old friend come have a drink with me." Said Thomas motioning the bar tender for two scotches. "Have a seat Miguel, boy I am glad you made it, I thought for sure you were going to die when I shot you.
You should have seen the look on Marks face when I told him to try and save you." Said Thomas laughing through a cigar.
"Would you like one?
They are from your company; it is all I smoke these days.
You really do make a fine cigar." Miguel took the offer and using a single wooden match he toasted the end of the cigar just right before it ignited and began billowing clouds of creamy white smoke. "Here we are Thomas, two victims of unsolved kidnappings, two survivors when so many people have died, let's drink to surviving." Said Miguel with a raspy laugh. "Too surviving old friend to surviving!" said Thomas. Miguel and Thomas ordered the roast beef sandwiches and only ate half of each.
They spent the afternoon talking and drinking and laughing and when the waitress briefly stared at each of their missing ears Thomas winked at her and told her it was a dangerous world out there. "I assume this meeting is about the million and a half dollars I owe you Thomas." said Miguel looking serious after several hours of joviality, fully prepared to wire the funds and complete his debt. "look donate that million and a half to the hospital your son works for and we will call it even.
I am not even going to consider the 4 months of captivity you owe me because I wouldn't know what to do with you for that long." Said Thomas, with a drunken smile. "Thank you." Said Miguel signaling for another round.
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