From Chapter 1, THE EMERALD CROSS. TBR 2024:
Rays of late afternoon sunshine draped the gathering. Enriquez shook Samuel’s hand as he approached the podium wearing a turquoise tie that brought a smile to Maria’s lips; she appreciated his coded tribute.
Samuel laid three typed pages upon the console and breathed deeply while looking at towering industrial windowpanes reflecting blue skies crisscrossed with white jet contrails. An image of kissing Jaime on the forehead hours earlier flashed through his mind. The recollection felt slightly ominous; he convinced himself it was not. Extending an arm, Samuel pulled the silver microphone up toward his head. After twisting a gold wedding band, he cleared his throat.
Flocks of gray pigeons glided through trees and over bystanders before landing among the spellbound assemblage. Samuel began presenting his rehearsed words just as the doors of the three late-arriving SUVs opened a second time, and six new Federales offered badges identical to those of the other forces. Three words lay tattooed under the wrists of their muscular, uniform-covered forearms: La Buena Familia.
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