Surviving by A. J. Newman

became friends. He probably had some weird Russian name, but went by Red Smith. Only Manny knew that he was wanted by half of the governments of the free world and the entire break away Russian states for god knows what.
                  Manny Cortez was afraid of Karl, but was not afraid of anyone or anything else. He was a trained killer and combat veteran of many South American bush wars. He was 36 years old, 5’6”, 160 pounds, black wavy hair and brown eyes that cut through people at a glance. Manny was a midlevel operator in a major crime family based in South America who specialized in drugs and smuggling people into the USA. His wife, Carla, and six children lived in Paraguay in an old mansion on a large compound. Manny was dedicated to The Cartel first and his family second. Manny was a trusted right arm man in Karl Mendoza’s North American operations and would soon be moving his family to the states. This would enable him to spend more time on his business and less time traveling.
                  As the plane climbed, Manny got on the radio and called Karl.
                  Manny said, “The plane was hit and going down, but it appears that there will be survivors.”
                  Karl replied, “Check the crash site and call me if there are survivors. I have plans for them.”
                  Another GAO soldier in the back seat was Jesus Sanchez. He was a cold-blooded killer who had been with Manny since their childhood. Manny had a crush on Maria, but she never showed any interest and called him her brother. She had joined the group about a year ago and had become like family. The two remaining thugs were Jose and Pepe who had just flown up with Karl the other day. They were now assigned to Manny to help him get ready for the big push.
                  Karl was only visiting the outpost in Idaho when the security breech occurred. When Manny told him that the plane had been hit, but got away, Karl thought that he would mix business with fun. He thought that he would show these lazy Americans the other side of the hunt.
                  He replied to Manny, “Allow the Americans to escape. Stay close, but don’t let them know you are following them until I arrive. I am also going to personally take care of your pilot; he will never foul up anything else in the future.”
                  He then ordered his personal pilot, Maria and his three bodyguards to load up his plane for a two-day hunting trip. He told one to bring along a good hunting rifle and plenty of ammo. He then went to his luggage and gathered clothes and his shaving kit just in case. Even though he would come back to the outpost at night, he always thought it was best to be prepared. He searched his suitcase, found his little black leather case of his special tools, then smiled, and thought of Roger.
                  Manny’s plane landed and taxied to the end of the lake where the crash had occurred. The water was still muddy and there was an oil slick. He had one of his men dive down to the plane and search for survivors. The man surfaced and told Manny that no one was left in the plane. Manny quickly got on the radio and told Karl that the Americans had survived, but that he could not determine the extent of their injuries.
                  Karl received the message and ordered his crew to prepare to leave. They taxied to the far end of the lake and then took off.
                  Karl enjoyed the beautiful landscape and thought how these Americans took this wonderful country for granted. He would remember to teach his children to never spoil the land, God would not like it and Karl was a very religious fellow.
                  Karl passed away the time until landing by reading. Karl’s plane landed and taxied alongside of the other plane, which had been nosed into the shore. Manny greeted them, shook