Inside the Superior Court of Los Angeles,
Malik stood in court wearing a dejected look on his face, he knew the battle was all but lost.
In his mind he's already planning on the next move. "I'm definitely breaking out of jail, I'll not spend the rest of my life locked up like a nobody, I'll either succeed or die trying."
Beside him, Xin Yi stood with her head down, crying nonstop. She had not said a word in three days of proceedings.
She didn't need to, the evidence spoke for her.
Falsified drive, she claimed she did not know it was false and also she gave it out of fear, that Bryan through Ricky threatened her. That they used her family and business to threaten her.
But the judge didn't care.
"I find both defendants guilty," the judge announced, "of obstruction of justice, tampering with federal evidence, and conspiracy to commit fraud in a criminal investigation."
He went bang.
Just like that.
Malik was sentenced to 28 years with no possibility of parole.
Xin Yi got 5 years, reduced for cooperation.
She wept as they took her away.
And Malik smiled through his depression.
Even in chains, he thought he still had control.
"I'm the real devil, I trained James and now I'll show who the real Boss is."
Chinatown Manhattan NYC 2 months later
Dean and Drake had decided to lay low for now and agreed to move to New York City and try a legit life, with the little cash they still got they opened up a car wash business which they named "D and D sparkling wash" trying hard to fit into normal lifestyle at least for now.
"Hell, this life is slow and boring" Drake said referring to their new business.
"Relax bro, we are approaching Christmas and a lot of tourists will be here, we gon' be fine." Dean said to reassure Drake.
As they were talking a black SUV pull up, Dean was excited, "potential client" he said
But they heard gunshots.
Tat-tat-tat!
Bullets smashed through the garage glass windows, splintering the pieces everywhere.
Dean dove behind a metal rack. Drake ducked behind a metal table, grabbing a Glock hidden behind the table.
"It's them!" Dean shouted. "Iron Teeth!"
Drake peeked out, squeezed off two shots, ducked again.
Another rounds from the SUV shattering every part of the garage as it was built with glass frames,
But then… silence, they never stepped out of their vehicle.
The SUV zoomed off down the road, tires screeching. It was obvious, they weren't looking to finish.
Just a warning, A message.
Drake looked over at Dean.
"You hit?"
Dean lifted his arm he was bleeding, but nothing deep. That was glass fragments that pierced into his skin.
"Nah. Close though."
Drake cursed under his breath.
"Fucking idiots, that's for Leo," he said.
Dean nodded. "They're not gonna stop, are they?"
"Nope," Drake replied. "And it's only gonna get uglier."
Meanwhile, back in midtown there's only one ruling "Lord of the streets," El-Chapo, and no one else came close to power, you are either with them or against them.
And here is Bryan sitting across a familiar monster, El-Chapo himself.
The cartel boss looked at him and said "I'm recruiting you to help me fight our common enemy, James and his little devils."
"What's in it for me?" Bryan asked with his eyes wide open.
"For your experience and toughness I'm elevating you to the position Leo occupied, my second in command, and I'll pay you $100,000 monthly but never forget I demand absolute loyalty and nothing else."
He sipped tequila slowly and looked at Bryan like a vulture measuring meat.
Bryan nodded, "I know the game, I bring intel, movement patterns, access to ports, everything Dean and Drake are planning, i still got eyes on my sister too."
El-Chapo leaned forward from his seat. "would you turn against your own sister for this family?"
Bryan chuckling "I love my sister Jazmin, but she chose her path the moment she sided with James even without my knowledge."
El-Chapo smiled faintly. "Then let's make ours."
They clinked glasses.
El-Chapo said "alliance sealed."
Later that night at Jazmin's apartment
Jazmin had also moved cities, maintaining low profile to stay safe. She wasn't expecting any guest so her mind skipped when she got a knock on her door. She ignored it, she was doing dishes and had to stop to reduce noise.
The knock on the door came again this time harder.
Jazmin opened the door, Bryan stood there.
She didn't smile. "What do you want?"
"I came to warn you," Bryan said. "El-Chapo wants Drake dead, Dean too, they're not just sending messages now, they're planning hits, real ones."
"You already chose your side," she said almost interrupting him.
"I haven't" he replied looking away as though he was avoiding eye contact with Jazmin.
"Yes, you have!" she shouted.
Bryan stepped back. "You think they'll spare you?"
"I'm not afraid of dying," Jazmin said coldly. "But I'll be damned if I let you drag me down with you."
He looked at her for a long time.
"I never meant to lose you," he said quietly.
"You never meant to protect me, that's why you left me and ghosted for months and not have a care in the world how i was doing until I found you, and here we are again," she replied. And then screamed again "Get off my house, Bryan."
"James is a devil" Bryan said.
"The devil I know is better than the angel I do not know " She said a bit tearfully.
Bryan stepped back slowly and she slammed the door, locked it and then sat down on the floor heart pounding with tears rolling down her cheeks uncontrollably.
Back in prison
James heard about the shooting from a Prison guard who has been feeding him with news from outside.
"They came for your boys even in Chinatown Manhattan," the guard whispered during food line. "Iron Teeth, No one dead this time though."
James nodded silently but didn't't speak. And later, in his cell, he sat on the edge of his bed, punching his left palm with his right fist in anger.
"They won't stop," he said to himself.
He opened a notepad, tore out a page, and wrote just one sentence:
"Please protect Jazmin at all cost."
He handed it off the next day to the guard, just get it into the hands of any Colombian in our community not Mexican, Cuban or Dominican they are mostly linked with the Iron Teeth Cartel, if you get it to the right hands it would get to Drake.
One Week Later In Courtroom Again
The city watched as Malik and Xin Yi were officially transferred to federal facilities.
Malik was sent to Victorville a medium security, but brutal on snitches and masterminds alike.
Xin Yi was shipped to a facility in Arizona.
"This is a pity because she was and still is a good woman" an observer said.
"She's a victim of circumstance, but she should have told Police the truth" said another observer.
Drake and Dean sat in the back row of the courtroom, watching.
Dean whispered, "Think James is watching?"
Drake nodded. "Trust James he has eyes everywhere, that's why he is the devil."
El-Chapo's New Apartment In New York
The location of Drake and Dean is now confirmed and it's time to clean up he told his men.
A war table was set up in a basement.
Maps, photos, notes and red circle around three names:
Drake, Dean and Jazmin.
"We keep eye on them 24/7, one after the other we will take them, we are gonna bring them back to midtown alive"
El-Chapo tapped the photo of Drake with a cigar.
"Start with him," he said. "we kill him slow. Let the city see what happens when you kill a son of the cartel."
One of his lieutenants nodded and made a call, relating instructions to other cartel members stationed within Chinatown.
Bryan was not entirely happy with Jazmin's name on the list, but alliance was formed already and any betrayal may cost his life.
Back At The Prison
They prison guard didn't want to deal with the runners directly even though he knows plenty of them, but he chose to hire a delivery driver and gave him an address of a Colombian family in midtown.
Isabella, sister to a Colombian runner James had once saved from a cartel raid, was bathing her pet dog when the delivery driver pulled up, engine still running.
"Are you Isabella?" the man asked.
"Depends who's asking." she said with a straight face.
The driver handed her a pack of cigarettes. and said "Straight from Terminal Island."
Isabella opened the pack a slip of paper fell out.
She unfolded it under the streetlight.
"Please protect Jazmin at all cost."
No name, no addresses but she understood.
She looked up. "Damn, James you still pulling strings from inside."
She contacted someone who was close to Drake and she got Drake's number and booked a meeting point.
Two Hours Later at Highland Park
Isabella met up with two of her brothers who accompanied her, Juan and Miguel, who had once been a courier for the Colombians runners.
Soon Drake appeared from the corner the building with his usual black hoodie, Isabella handed him the cigarette pack and said "A delivery driver gave it to me, said it was from a Prison guard, and because my family and i owe you and James favors so we decided to act immediately." Drake nodded and said thanks to them then moved out fast.