44 Level Playing Field

Back at Juan Varga’s liquor place…

Hugo Ortiz refused to lay on the bed like a helpless person. He stood in front of the mirror and slowly buttoned up his shirt. He tried to move as little as possible to avoid stretching the stitches. Juan had procured a lot of things that he thought his boss might ask for. He was rarely nervous but nothing in his life had ever prepared him for what he was facing today. He stood behind his boss, trying to find the correct words to frame his question.

“What do we do now?” Juan finally asked. Hugo didn't take his eyes off the mirror and pondered for a moment.

“You know when I was just a boy, I used to keep chickens and roosters. The coop was in the garden of our mansion. There was no greater happiness to me than seeing my flock grow. I used to show my newly hatched chicks to everyone I knew,” Hugo told his story. Juan listened intently.

“On Sunday mornings, my father and I used to hang out in the garden of the mansion. My father read the paper while