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The Mendoza Conondrum Part 1
Category: Stories
November 1984
Manny sat across from Tony's desk, eyes scanning the many TV screens showing the various angles of surveillance cameras around the mansion. It was the start of the week and time to go over plans. Across the desk, Tony looked at some papers while smoking a cigar.
"We need to make some new moves. We need new suppliers and some product. Have you heard anything around the streets?"
Manny smiled, "yeah, I told you about it over the weekend. Remember that name floating around? Robert Mendoza?"
Tony stopped and thought for a few seconds. Mendoza was a name that had been going around town for the past two months. There were dealers across Miami and other players who mentioned buying product from this man. He was apparently hard to get to. Manny had spent the past two weeks asking around, trying to get to the source of this new player.
"You said something about him already. Did you find out where he's running things?"
Manny leaned up, answering Tony's question with a nod. "From what I was told, you need to find this club down in the keys. There's a place down in Key Largo called the Silk Palace."
"That sounds like the name of a strip club," Tony remarked. Manny chuckled in response. "Who knows? It might be. I didn't get any other details. Apparently the guy and his people are connected there. You have to go and ask around. Eventually, someone contacts you and they set up a meeting."
The way Manny described this situation only puzzled Tony further. Whoever this man was, he kept his identity hidden well. Tony placed the cigar down in the ash tray and blew a puff of smoke. Manny could see that he was in deep thought about the situation. Following the trouble they had last year, the Montanas lacked a supplier. Manny had successfully managed to get Tony away from Sosa's influence. Every organization in Miami was fighting for product that moved in from long distance. Maybe that was how Mendoza got his supply. Or maybe not. One way or another, Tony wanted to find out and make a new connection.
"I want to go and check that place out."
Manny's right eyebrow raised, "alone?"
"Sure, why not? I need to get out of the house every now and then by myself."
"What about me? I'm your partner."
Tony nodded, "yeah, that's why you should stay and look over things. I go on a trip for a few days and come back. You can take over from here in case anyone needs me. I think that's fair."
On second thought, Manny nodded, "alright. Just make sure you go strapped," that remark made Tony roll his eyes, "yeah, who do you think I am? I'll bring two. Get me a map for the Keys. I haven't been down there in a long time."
The next day Tony set out on his journey alone.
The black Mercedes was his vehicle of choice. He kept two guns on him and then a third in the glove department under the dashboard.
$5,000 in cash was enough to get a hotel room and then have money to spend for a good time. The long roads to the Florida Keys stretched for several miles. It was a lonely ride, but Tony managed as the hours passed.
Key Largo was a small island connected by the many bridges. Isolated from the main city, it was an ideal hub for any smuggler to blend in with retirees, tourists and others. After locating the highest class hotel, Tony booked a stay for 4 days. In his room, he carried the briefcase with all his money, guns and clothes. A place like this made for a fine retreat, but he knew business had to come first. After checking in, he went searching for the Silk Palace. He found it within walking distance of the hotel. This made the situation convenient to leave the car locked in the parking lot. Tony decided to call Manny, letting him him know that he had checked in a hotel and would be visiting the club later tonight. For now, a much needed nap was in order.
It was hard to awaken from a good slumber when comfortable. Despite being away from home, Tony slept so well he didn't want to wake up. The clock read 11:40 PM when he finally climbed out of bed. He should've been up an hour ago to prepare, but now it was almost midnight. He quickly marched into the bathroom to get a hot shower. He slipped into a black pinstriped suit, grabbed his preferred black Beretta 9mm pistol and pushed it into the holster on his left foot. It blended in with the pants where no one would think to check. Once he was ready, Tony went out on the street and walked directly to the Silk Palace club.
By the time he got in, the place was booming with an atmosphere of loud music and the smell of cigarettes. With a place like this, Tony felt like a fish out of water even though he easily blended in. It would've been easier with Manny along with him to point out some of the players and people to talk to. But this wasn't Miami. He was out of town and didn't know how to talk to. Girls danced on stage, twirling around poles at the fading flickers of neon lights.
"Robert Mendoza? Do you know him or who I need to ask to get in contact with him?" Tony asked one man after another. All of them wearing suits as the obvious security of the club. None of them gave him a name. Every one of them shook their heads as if they were ordered to react that way when asked about the boss man.
All of it felt like a waste of time so far. Tony didn't feel that he was getting anywhere in his search for a new connection. The best he could do by now was to make his presence known. Maybe Mendoza had people in the club who would report back to him. So Tony ordered a few drinks and took the far seat of a table where anyone could see him. Those who knew of his reputation in Miami would be able to point him out, hopefully for Robert Mendoza to find him.
The girls all shuffled around, exiting the stage. While Tony enjoyed his drinks, he didn't notice that that their presence was gone and a single woman now commanded everyone's undivided attention from the center stage. The lights dimmed and changed to red as her bare feet moved across the stage. He turned and gazed up to see a short woman wearing a red thong and bra. Dark hair ran down her back split from the middle. Her breasts were visibly pushed up in the bra. She worked her hips, strutting around the stage at the beat of a slow song.
Everyone in the club stopped what they were doing. It dawned on Tony that this was the main show. So many men had come to Silk Palace for the sole intention of watching this woman. He didn't know her name, but the look in her brown eyes told a tale. Tony could see the fire within her. As the music continued, she walked off the stage, strutting her hips as she climbed onto the table. Tony was given a perfect view of her strong legs as she climbed up, stepping closer to him. Everyone gazed up at her. The tempo of the song increased and she spread her legs as she began waving her hair around.
To the left, then the right. Long brunette locks whipping furiously like blowing winds.
When she stopped, the woman looked directly into his eyes. She must've done this a hundred times before, walking on a table to look at the man sitting on the far side. It was his lucky night to witness such a display of beauty from an exotic dancer. When the song ended, everyone erupted clapping their hands.
"Now that's what I call a fucking show!" One man screamed. Tony didn't move. He just looked into the woman's eyes. A smug grin ran across her little lips. He had seen strippers before, but he could tell that she was a cut above all of them. This woman was an exotic dancer. One who didn't need to take her clothes off to rile up the crowd. That must've been the reason no one tossed money everywhere during her epic performance.
After she left the stage, Tony stuck around the bar. He asked the bartender about Robert Mendoza, once again getting shot down. It wasn't worth asking for another round of drinks. His gaze lingered around the doors, checking the bodyguards and for any men coming and going. To his surprise, the same woman who sizzled on stage half an hour ago emerged from one of the doors. It was definitely her with the same face and hair. She wore a black blouse, blue jeans and a black leather jacket. Tony couldn't help but approach her and introduce himself.
"That was some show you just put on. Do you have a name?"
The woman looked him dead in the eyes and replied in a thick accent, "Eva. Eva Florez... and jou, what do jou call jourself?"
"Antonio Montana, or Tony for short."
She grinned, flashing her teeth after his answer. The accent slurring her speech made her sound as if she were from his home country of Cuba.
"I've heard jour name before. Did jou drive all the way down here from Miami to watch me dance?"
He shook his head, "no. I came here looking for a man named Robert Mendoza. No one told me there was a dancer here with a lovely voice. Where are you from?"
"Santiago de Cuba."
Returning the smile, Tony nodded, "I come from Havana."
"So I've heard," her eyes never left his as she replied. "Jou are looking for Mendoza, yes? I take it dat jou want to make some kind of deal. Buying or selling?"
"That's hard for me to answer without knowing him."
Eva grinned, "oh, so jou don't discuss business out in the open with strangers?"
Tony laughed, "What's your angle in all this? Do you know Robert Mendoza?"
"I do, yes. But if jou don't want to talk to me about business right now, I'm not gonna push jou on it. Want me to drop a message for him?"
"Sure. Tell him I'd like to have a word. I'm staying at the hotel around the corner."
"Oh, dat sounds good. I'll be seeing jou around again then, Antonio." Tony nodded at her, "I'm sure you will."
By the time Tony got back to the hotel at 3 AM, he tried to make sense of their meeting. it was hard to forget Eva's charm and those beautiful brown eyes glaring at him. But how did she know so much? Was she in on Mendoza's deals? Everything felt like fragments to a larger picture he had yet to see.
The next day, Tony received a phone call from the hotel. A man claiming to work for Robert Mendoza wanted to talk at the park. He spoke in a fluent American accent. The kind of voice that made Tony call him a yankee.
He expected to meet someone with bodyguards at least. What Tony instead met was a long haired white man, introducing himself as Winston. With a few greetings, the men sat on a park bench and began to discuss matters overlooking the sea.
"I talked to someone last night. A woman who seemed to know more about Mendoza than I would've expected. So who are you again?"
"I just meet people for the boss, that's it. I assume you're referring to Eva."
Tony nodded. He was trying to get a read on Winston. He didn't say much, so the man could go on. "You didn't tell her that you were buying or selling."
From his own admission, Tony now knew that Eva talked to Winston before this meeting. "No, I didn't. It's hard to do business with someone who just sends people to meet me. Why can't Mendoza meet me himself?"
Winston shrugged his shoulders, "It just don't work that way. He's harder to get to than the president."
Thinking to himself, Tony had a comeback to catch the man off guard, "you know who else are hard to get to? Narcs. Fucking vice cops."
Winston laughed, "what!? You think we're cops?"
"Who said you aren't?" The other man shrugged again, "would you believe it if Eva told you we weren't?"
"Maybe. Maybe not."
"Whatever you say then, man."
"Tell your boss if he wants a deal with me, he needs to get me in person. I'm not playing these games telling one person for them to act as the messenger and go to him. Maybe I'm just a little paranoid, you know? Where I come from, we do things face to face, mano a mano."
Winston finally interjected after Tony was done, "What if I can't get to my boss right?"
"That's fine then. Tell the dancer Eva I'd rather talk to her."
Tony avoided the club that night. He wanted to be alone where he could try to figure out the game played with Mendoza and these strange people. Maybe they weren't cops, but something didn't sit right with him. After 3 days in Key Largo, he had been avoiding calling Manny to give an update, but knew he had to at some point.
He went back to the park where he met Winston. it was empty in the evening hours. Tony just stood there, overlooking the ocean and contemplating his thoughts. Here he was, completely out in the open where anyone could take a shot at him. He thought about dropping by the club, just to watch Eva dance. On second thought, Tony chose to go back to his hotel and continue on without the temptation. As badly as he wanted to watch her, he didn't want to fall into a trap there. It was best that she or someone else associated with Mendoza reach out to him.
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