The Sinaloan heat pressed down like judgment as Valentina stepped out of the SUV, dust swirling around her designer heels. The landscape stretched wide and empty, but she knew better—this desert breathed secrets, buried bones, and whispered names of the dead.
Mateo handed her a tablet with satellite images and cartel movement reports.
"Xavier's old transport route runs through here," he said, tapping a shaded trail. "Still active. Light security. Either they're getting sloppy… or they're baiting us."
Valentina's eyes narrowed. "Then we give them something worth catching."
Later That Night – El Silencio Outpost
A convoy of black vehicles moved through the desert, headlights off, tires cutting silent tracks in the sand. Inside the last truck sat crates of gold-plated firearms and a decoy ledger—just convincing enough to bait a hit.
Valentina, watching from a distance with night vision binoculars, whispered, "Let's see who bites."
Sure enough, just before midnight, the convoy was ambushed. Masked men in military gear descended in coordinated waves. But Valentina wasn't watching the trucks. She was watching the men.
"Pause," she said, zooming in on a face. "That's not Xavier's crew."
Mateo blinked. "That's El Cuervo's boys. Independent mercs."
"Someone's outsourcing," Valentina muttered. "Xavier's afraid to move directly."
She stood. "Time to make him regret being a coward."
The Trap Reversed
By dawn, the mercenaries were tied and unconscious inside an abandoned warehouse. Valentina circled their leader, who groggily came to, blinking at the golden blade she pressed to his throat.
"You're not from Sinaloa," she said. "So who paid you?"
The man scoffed. "You think I'm scared of you?"
She smiled. "No. But you're scared of what I'll leave you with."
She dipped the tip of the blade into a small golden vial and touched it to his skin. He screamed—just from the sting.
"That was one percent," she whispered. "The next time, it's ten."
He broke in seconds.
"Lucia," Valentina called out, "get the recorder."
The Reveal
They played the audio later that evening in the war room. The merc leader confessed: Xavier hired them through a ghost account. He wanted Valentina's head delivered, no trace to him.
Lucia frowned. "He's going to escalate."
Valentina leaned back, thinking. "Let him. If he wants to hunt me in the desert, I'll bury him in it."
DEA Intercept – Mexico City
Diego read the report with growing unease.
"Two more of Xavier's warehouses torched. And now this—merc activity in Sinaloa intercepted by… an unknown rival cartel."
He looked at the photos. Valentina. Always one step ahead.
"What are you doing, chica?" he muttered. "You're not just building an empire. You're baiting a goddamn war."
His partner slapped a folder on the desk. "New intel. A former hitman named Mateo Vargas is back in circulation. He's training someone. A woman."
Diego's stomach dropped. "Valentina Cruz."
Final Scene – Santa Muerte Shrine, Deep Desert
Valentina knelt at a roadside shrine to Santa Muerte, surrounded by flickering candles and bones bleached by the sun. She left behind an offering—a bullet dipped in gold.
"For justice," she whispered.
Then she lit a match.
The shrine exploded behind her in a burst of flame and light—her signal to Xavier.
The Scarlet Queen was coming.