At the end of the day, it didn’t really matter to me if and/or when Pierre would feel the need to unburden himself to me about Mundo. The emotionality of the removal had zero impact on my personal landscape, and I had a strong inkling that Pierre would be better off once Mundo was gone.
As soon as Téo confirmed he and Lali had broken the news to their son, Mundo stopped driving for me, full stop. Right before Halloween, he’d dispatched Pierre to inform me that while HQ should still be considered a going concern, he would no longer be involved in PanStar business. I nodded, smiled and immediately contracted Ever to supply me with extra manpower. At this point in time, throwing money at the problem was of no concern to me.
A week or so after that announcement, Pierre returned to my office and asked for a formal sit-down. I motioned for him to take a seat.
He got right to it.
"I'm sure you know that Mundo's going to Panama. I'm assuming that Bolo told you that he's taking him."
I smiled and said, "I heard a rumor to that effect."
Pierre looked tense.
"The reason why I'm coming to you,” he explained, “is because we have stuff going on with HQ that's about to ramp up, and I need Mundo to tell you what he's expecting to happen while he's gone."
I wanted to ask Cabrón if this meant he’d be the one left holding the bag. But I already knew the answer.
So, all I said was, "Alright, set a meeting."
The night we were scheduled to sit down with Olmando, Pierre and I met an hour and a half early, over at PanStar.
I told Pierre to take a seat over by my desk, while I grabbed a bottle of chirrisco and two glasses from the pantry.
I poured two fingers of alcohol into each glass and slid one over to Pierre.
I raised my glass and said, “Cheers, ‘Brón. Things are opening up- let’s make this happen.”
Clearly, Pierre had no idea what I meant. He needed some clarity.
I spent the next fifteen minutes outlining my bigger picture plans for PanStar, and how they could impact his future for the better. Then we took it to the couch, watching a fútbol match and working our way through a six-pack of Prestige that Pierre had brought with him.
Mundo strolled in thirty minutes past the time we’d agreed upon. His standard operating procedure.
I was more than ready for him to be gone.
“Alright, Olmando,” I began. “What is the purpose of this get together?”
“Okay,” Mundo said, extremely animatedly, even by his normal standards. “I know you know I’m leaving- and I’m not even gonna get into it with you right now, because, you know, what’s the point, right?”
“True,” I agreed.
I glanced at Pierre. He was ice grilling Mundo.
“So, anyway,” Olmando continued, “from what I see, shit should just stay the same here. Brón can help you keep the drivers going. You stay on top of whatever Bolo needs from you. And then we’ve got this sick-ass EBT scheme in the works. Did Cabrón fill you in on that yet?”
I looked over towards Pierre again. He was staring at the ceiling. I looked back at Olmando.
“Broad strokes,” I replied.
Mundo proceeded to fill me in on Biz and Lucci’s latest proposed digital scam. It promised to be much bigger than the phone card escapade, with the possibility of a steady stream of real money being kicked up to PanStar on an ongoing basis.
“I think it’s gonna be ready to roll by this spring,” Mundo said. “They’re waiting for the new electronic cards to really hit the streets. Biz is doing some test runs with regular-ass food stamp books, but it’s the cards that’s gonna be the game changer.”
“And what is the workflow?” I asked. “Have you sorted all of that out yet?”
Pierre shook his head, and elaborated no further.
“It’ll be a route-based thing,” Mundo said. “We’re gonna need people to do drop-offs, but the good thing is with this, you can drop the cards off and get the money at the same time. You don’t gotta get the money first then have someone drop the shit off later.”
“Is this documented anywhere?” I asked.
Pierre stepped in at this point.
“Biz is still working it out,” he replied. “But he knows he’ll have to get it all down on paper so you can approve it. It’ll be a small operation as far as workers are concerned. I think we’ll only need one or two people running routes for us.”
Mundo nodded in agreement.
“I have this little girlfriend I mess with,” he said. “When I leave, I’m gonna have Pierre take her over. I think she’d like that.”
“We’re here to talk business, Olmando,” I reminded him. “I don’t want to hear about your sex life. Or Pierre’s.”
“Well, first of all, Pierre doesn’t have a sex life,” Mundo replied. “And I wasn’t saying he has to sleep with her- Brón can take her over so she can work for us. Once we’re ready for her, anyway.”
“Who is this girl?” I asked. I hated to have to ask anything about Mundo’s personal life, but I wanted to grill him about it while I had him in front of me, with Pierre as witness.
And what Olmando told me did not inspire any confidence in any part of this next level scheme.
Her name was Eula- a suburban white girl from Westchester with a raging heroin habit.
“But that’s a good thing!” Mundo rushed to reassure me. “She likes to keep herself fly and she never asks questions. All she needs is drugs and money. She’ll be perfect for errands and courier shit!”
I looked at Pierre.
He shrugged.
“You know she’s gonna try to fuck you, Cabrón,” Mundo said. “It might be good for you to finally get some ass.”
Pierre frowned.
“I wouldn’t fuck that cheesy broad with your scab-ridden dick,” he replied.
Slowly and deliberately, Mundo gave Cabrón the finger.
“Alright, enough of this bullshit,” I said, interrupting the banter. “What are we doing with this girl?”
I really did not want to deal with these kids at all- and now I found myself sitting there, listening to them joking about some pass around white girl that Pierre would obviously never, ever touch.
“I just want to know what this girl is doing,” I explained, trying to get the discussion back on track. “Can we trust her? Is she going to serve a purpose?”
Mundo and Pierre briefly looked at each other, then shrugged in unison.
“Biz is working it out now,” Mundo said, vaguely.
“What are you using her for over at your little clubhouse?” I asked.
“Not much, really,” Olmando replied, a bit too hastily. “She likes to hang out, and she thinks we’re, like, seriously boyfriend and girlfriend.”
I glanced at Cabrón. The complete lack of expression on his face let me know Mundo was not telling me the truth.
“Lovely,” I replied. “I’ve got a white girl with a drug problem who’s going to be doing something with money. Biz is in charge of the workflow and neither of you can tell me what that is or when you’ll get it to me.”
Mundo smiled and told me it would all work out. Pierre nodded in half-hearted agreement.
I ended the meeting and told them to come back when they had a real plan.
