“I’m guessing the other cartels?”
Hunter’s chuckle answered the question. “For a detective, you don’t seem to know very much about this. Your focus is domestic, I guess?”
I nodded, but my irritation was palatable.
“I didn’t mean it like that,” Hunter corrected himself, seeing my annoyance. “Quick history lesson on the Mexican cartels: it’s a nest of fucking hydra down there. Even if – and that’s a very tentative if – you manage to sever the head of one, another pops up.”
“Are you talking about destroying a cartel, or toppling a leader?”
“Doesn’t matter. Kill a kingpin, and you cause a chaotic power vacuum. Sometimes, someone worse rises to take the mantle. If you knock out an entire organization, then congratulations – you just expanded operations for the others.”
“So how do you plan on getting rid of them?”
“I don’t,” Hunter admitted. “That’s a fight that’s not mine. It’s never gonna be mine. Víboras Verde is one of the smaller groups causing a ruckus, and they’re probably the largest force I’m willing to antagonize. I’ve got to pick my battles. If I lead my men into battle against the big cartels, my entire club would be snuffed out in a heartbeat… And that would just be the start… The cartels don’t fuck around. They would make sure we’re broken in every sense of the word. They go after your friends and your family, and then, they come for you.”
I shook my head in surprise. “You’re willing to risk that kind of thing for these girls? Do your men even know what they’re going up against?”
Hunter’s eyes darkened as he stared me down. “My men know exactly what they’re going up against…”
“And the ones that joined since then? They’ve heard stories so dark and twisted that it keeps them up at night.”
I didn’t understand.
“Why?” I asked. “Why would they risk it?”
Hunter’s gaze added a chilling layer to the sardonic grin that crossed his face. “Most of them know some poor girl that went missing down here. They join up because what the cartels do to those girls… what Víboras Verde alone does to them… I’m talking about pure concentrated fucking evil.”
My fingers absentmindedly slid along my forearm, and I realized that my skin was prickly with goosebumps.
“This is personal for me. It’s personal for all of us,” he continued darkly. “These people came for my sister, Sarah. They almost dragged her into a horrific life of heroin addiction, endlessly humiliating rape, and disgusting malnourishment. They took away her humanity.”
I, more than anyone, knew how affected he had been when she turned up missing. He had dropped everything to find her… He went straight to the toughest people he could find and pled his case…
And now, he led those men.
Hunter was going to lead them into battle against his old enemies once more, determined to stop them at every turn.
“What makes you so sure that it’s the same people?” I asked. When he stiffened up, I quickly added: “I’m just playing Devil’s advocate. You yourself said that there’s a ton of cartel activity beneath the border… why are you so convinced that it’s the same people who came for your family?”
Hunter exhaled sharply.
“We’ve got eyes on these guys,” he replied. “There’s something of an unspoken coalition that’s formed out here. Rival biker clubs, outlaws, even some gangs… there are some standing truces and understandings among us.
“Several unconnected sources – sources that I can trust – have been saying the same thing: Víboras Verde is back.”
“And you can trust them?”
“Absolutely.”
“But if they’re rivals of yours, or looking to muscle in on your territory…”
Hunter shook his head. “That’s not really the case anymore. Out here in the desert, it’s good to have people on your side of the law, perched in your corner and watching your back.”
I tilted my head curiously. This sounded interesting. “Hunter…”
"Call it whatever you want: honor among thieves, professional courtesy, or simple favor currying. But we all have an understanding…”
“An understanding?” I parroted curiously.
“That’s right. We have a closed ecosystem here… something of an equilibrium. We call ourselves the Outlaws Brigade… or just the Outlaws for short. When someone or something appears in our desert that is truly horrifying enough… we set aside our differences and take care of business.”