The balcony door, left ajar until now, swung open with a whisper, framing a scene that felt almost unreal to Lesley Black. There he was�the man himself, flesh and blood, a legend made manifest. Carlos turned at the sound, a slow smile breaking across his face before he strode forward and pulled Lesley into a fierce embrace.
�La Roca,� he murmured�the Rock�as his arms cinched tighter, the grip carrying the weight of years, of wars fought in shadows.
�El Temido,� Lesley returned voice steady despite the pressure of that iron hold�the name whispered in reverence across continents - The Feared One.
The embrace lingered longer than custom allowed, a silent pact sealed in muscle and breath, until finally, the grip eased�but the gravity between them did not.
�It seems you�ve got a solid grip on operations down here. Impressive,� Ramirez said, his gaze locking onto Lesley�s with unsettling precision.
�Thank you, sir. We�re making steady progress,� Lesley replied, humility threading through his voice. He gestured toward the balcony door with a subtle sweep of his hand. �Shall we? McBride�s waiting.�
�After you,� Carlos said, the words smooth, but the gesture deliberate�a quiet reminder of the natural order. Here, Black gave the commands. Carlos never needed to.
Inside, McBride had remained anchored to the couch since their arrival, a silent spectator to everything and nothing. He had no idea that the man on the balcony was Carlos himself�the Boss of Bosses, the name that lived in whispers and nightmares. McBride had spent the better part of an hour wondering where the legend was concealed, only to have the truth crash over him when he overheard the quiet exchange of greetings drifting in from the balcony.
McBride stiffened as the realization sank in�Carlos had been only a few meters away, and he hadn�t known. He adjusted his posture, spine straightening, as he braced for the two men to step inside. He�d stood in the presence of presidents without so much as a flutter of nerves; as the right hand of power, composure had always been second nature. But this was different. This man radiated something else�an authority that didn�t just command the room, it reached in and gripped the soul, nameless and undeniable.