A World of Sun and Violence by Matthew Hattersley

Author:Matthew Hattersley [Hattersley, Matthew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-02-20T00:00:00+00:00

27

The sun was setting over the prison yard as General Jalen Murcia showered and changed his clothes, opting for a pair of cream trousers and a white linen shirt. Now ready for the evening, he sauntered into the front room of his living quarters. It had been a long day, fraught with moments of disappointment and frustration, but it had also provided clarity.

Murcia had long suspected Peroza’s management of the prison was deteriorating into disorder and today’s events had confirmed this. Now he was faced with a decision: restructure the operation here and bring it back in line; or shift his focus entirely to the new site, and transfer his old friend into a less volatile role. It would be a lateral move, perhaps to a backroom position in Colombia, or even a less hands-on administrative role. The alternative, of course, was a more permanent solution to the Peroza problem.

It wasn’t that Murcia didn’t trust his old comrade, but Peroza was the same loose cannon he’d always been, with a belly full of chaos and an insatiable appetite for rebellion. His exuberant and wicked personality had been invaluable during their rise, but as the ELC transitioned towards being a political entity and prepared for a military coup, the old firebrand’s skillset was fast becoming at best obsolete and at worst a liability.

Murcia knew he had much to consider, and he always did that best with a little lubrication. He approached the drinks cabinet in the corner of the room and opened the leaf doors to reveal an array of high-quality spirits. The cabinet was well-stocked, as it should be, something that Murcia still insisted on despite his now infrequent visits to the prison. He had always been a man of refined taste, but as his star continued to rise, his desire for the finer things in life only grew stronger. This duality – a revolutionary with a penchant for luxury – was not lost on him. Yet, for Murcia, the revolution had always been a means to an end. He loved his country and knew he could elevate it to prodigious heights, but he had no desire to remain lowly and in the shadows once he ascended to power.

He leaned into the cabinet, his fingers tracing the labels as he surveyed his collection. He paused on a 22-year-old Aston Martin Bowmore, a fine whisky, yet somehow not fitting for this moment. Moving on, he selected a bottle of Suntory’s Yamazaki 18-Year-Old Single Malt. Now this was a whisky. It retailed for well over a thousand dollars online, but this particular bottle was part of a gift from the head of Los Cachiros – the Honduran criminal organisation that had recently donated a significant sum to the ELC under the condition their exports to Colombia would continue uninterrupted once Murcia came to power.

He picked up a cut-crystal glass from the lower shelf and was about to return to the couch when he heard a commotion outside. A moment later the door swung open and Peroza strode in.

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