Asylum

Chapter 23: A Light in the Darkness

"Even if he had been raised by a stable, loving family in a safe, completely boring American suburb, he still would have been that teenager torturing neighborhood pets, working his way up to killing them, and eventually, targeting and mutilating people, even while coming off as someone that neighbors and co-workers would end up describing to TV reporters as 'a nice guy'. I don't think who he is has anything to do with his childhood or the 'culture of violence' he was raised in; it's just ... who he is.

"The only real difference is that – being a Santiago, being his father's son – he was able to skip that tedious, predictable, slow escalation to serial killer and jump right to murdering people at a young age, and he never had to worry about getting caught."

I had read all about Emilio Santiago, of course, knew his reputation as a violent maniac, but hearing it from someone who knew him personally somehow brought a fresh chill to the cold facts. I took a breath and visualized a soothing balm coating my nerves, a calming filter of professional objectivity that would allow me to listen to Ivan without any creeping edge of panic.

"His father, Esteban," he continued, "Fought his way up from nothing, rising to become the head of one of the largest drug cartels in Mexico through having the cunning to know which people to please, which to control, and which to kill, and the absolute ruthlessness to do it. Esteban Santiago can read a person or a situation with near-total accuracy in an instant, and does not hesitate to do whatever he needs to do to manipulate anything or anyone to his advantage.

"He seems to have a bit of a blind spot when it comes to his children, however." Ivan paused, considering his assessment. "At least, his insight seems a bit fuzzy about his son. He has a couple of daughters that he hardly speaks of, both older than Emilio; he married them off to ambitious politicians from established but cash-strapped families who thought that he was trying to buy respectability. Of course, they had grossly underestimated him; they saw him as an upstart thug with lofty social aspirations for his girls. Instead, he now has his fingers wrapped around their throats and thrust deep into the country's government – deeply enough to guide certain policies, to effect the outcome of votes and elections, even to influence how foreign diplomats and intelligence agencies operate in the country."

That was news. I was abruptly grateful for the pool's darkened lights and my position facing away from Ivan; he had been getting uncannily good at seeing the wheels in my head turning, and I couldn't let him notice how much that tidbit of information had gotten me thinking. Fortunately, his narrative had already put me on edge – my body probably couldn't have gotten any tenser if the Santiagos themselves had jumped into the pool with us.

"As for Emilio ... Esteban's not an idiot; he knows how violent his son is. In fact, he encouraged it as Emilio was growing up. I think Esteban sees his boy's cruelty as a strength, or rather, a weapon – something that inspires fear, and therefore obedience. Emilio is often unpredictable, too, which Esteban also considers an asset – it keeps both friends and enemies off-balance." He laughed – a short, ugly sound filled with more bitterness than I'd suspected was in him. "For Esteban, those are basically the same thing. He will happily inform you that a friend is just an enemy who hasn't yet made his move.

"So Emilio's eccentricities and ... bloodlust are accepted, indulged even. Esteban is not a young man anymore, and years of living on the edge are catching up with him, but he doesn't want to let go of what he sees as his empire. Emilio is his heir, who Esteban hopes will keep the cartel from falling apart when he eventually dies, the one who will preserve his legacy, his legend, his name."

He sighed, and I could hear, mixed with his frustration, a surprising and genuine sadness. "Maybe it's because Emilio is his only choice for heir, but he doesn't see – or won't admit to himself – that his son is crafty, but not intelligent. He is too cruel and impassioned to manage an empire. His will be a short, bloody, poorly-run reign of terror, but after one or two or maybe even five years, the cartel will be dead, and Emilio with it.