I still need to murder two people… César thought as he walked down the street, leaving behind Daisy and her mother, and indeed he needed to complete the challenge fast.
But the question was, who should he kill?
Homeless… or just kill random people, but that is just serial killer behavior or terrorism.
"Ahh, who should I kill?" He whispered to himself as he walked and walked, but there was not even one person who looked killable to him.
It was a total change... a few hundred meters away from the neighborhood, everything changed once again into a peaceful bubble. People were enjoying their lives, sipping coffee, laughing, and just being happy and normal… it felt like being back on Earth, like in Colombia or Mexico.
One side of the city lived its everyday life, while the other side was a complete mess, gangs, violence, and poor people doing whatever they could just to survive. There was no border, no wall, nothing at all. You only noticed it when you walked in and felt the atmosphere suddenly change.
"It's getting dark too." He stopped as he looked up, the sun setting, the beautiful orange color painting the sky… his first day in the new beginning was something.
A fast start, fast kills, and already made a connection with the corruption and criminal world, but he needed more than that.
One man cartel, I need at least ten people to have more grip, more influence, but where do I recruit people in a city that is all bubble and happiness.
It was his biggest concern so far.
He didn't have a problem with the possibility of being followed by the police, no, in fact, he wanted it to happen, because that way he could farm those two kills faster. But his biggest concern was that he needed to recruit people into his cartel and keep progressing faster and faster, before other cartels entered the city… because he knew one thing.
When a new player shows up in a place nobody has stepped into yet, others will come too, and if that happened, then alone he was truly fucked. He needed connections to the higher-ups, he needed ties to the police and the feds, he needed to buy land and warehouses, he needed weapons and ammunition, he needed to build a network across the entire city if he wanted to be effective.
The only real problem was that, so far, in every single life, César relied on people who were suffering, people desperate for money, people willing to do anything for it, even if it meant killing, torturing, or butchering others.
There were no rules to it, and he managed to gather a good team around him.
Of course, it had its own problem, everyone was for the money, and if there is no money or if somebody offers more money, they switch sides like nothing has ever happened.
And now, it's very different from those past lives. Yes, there are still desperate people, but not on the same crushing, depressive level as back then. They're poor, sure, but they have jobs, they have some kind of life, they can provide to a certain degree not like before, when they had nothing to eat and couldn't even feed their children.
"Huh, let's think about it later. I am tired." He whispered to himself as he walked into the hotel that was in the heart of the city, not a luxury place, but looked shabby and in no time, he got himself a room and noticed something quite exciting or rather, something he'd been noticing all along as he walked.
A police car had been following him. While he was talking to the receptionist, it pulled up outside and surprise, it was the same two officers from the hood, not even trying to hide it. They stared straight at him and César knew shit was about to go down, and instead of feeling nervous, he felt excited.
I can complete the challenge in no time, and the torture challenge too… He thought, but there is always a problem with everything, and in the modern world, the problem is simple.
Cameras and eyes were everywhere, but he still had one good card to play, the simple fact that he knew they had come with the intention of killing him. He had witnessed their corruption and saved Daisy's mother, a key piece in their little game, and that changed everything.
Kill a cop, and the investigation goes straight to the feds. But kill corrupt officers working under a corrupt boss, and the investigation goes nowhere, because they'll do everything they can to protect whatever they're hiding. They'd write a fake report, say the officers were shot by some other criminal or a random madman, anything to keep the feds off their backs.
And that was the best thing about it, because with that knowledge, César knew exactly what he could do... kill them because nothing will happen. Yes, the police will be after him, but that just means more kills and more challenges in no time.
"Everything good, sir?" The receptionist asked, as César was silent and just staring outside with that creepy smile.
"Oh of course, sorry. It's on the top floor, yes?"
"Exactly, sir."
"Then thank you." He said but did not move. "Oh, and this." He put two hundred bucks before her. "If those officers look for me please call me up, okay?"
"Uh… I–"
César put even more cash on the counter. "Call me please." With that he said nothing more and turned around while the receptionist for a second stared at the cash but put it in her pocket… of course she did, money is money.
I bet they'll come straight after me… César thought as he took the elevator. But I can't use the looted gun, it's too loud and everybody would get alerted… but I can use the .22 so I need to shoot them in the head. A surprise attack… no, I need them to talk first… or I kill one and torture the other one… but his screams would be too loud.
He was trying to come up with the best plan possible, but he was right about one thing… he didn't even make it through the door before the phone started ringing.
"Can't even make myself comfortable.… "