The Road to El Dorado pt 2

The victory was swift after making it through the train wreck of bodies and the temperaments of monsters… BPW, I'm learning rather quickly, isn't your typical wrestling company...Yes, it has monsters, literal men who had no regard for human life… And you had ME, doing everything I could to showcase my talents to the fullest… Looking at Paco and the briefcase, it is no doubt that I succeeded...

"Cuz, have you looked at all this cash?"

Paco sifts through the bountiful briefcase, as my eyes stay the course driving toward Mexico City.

"Paco, I nearly died for that cash, yes I know what $50,000 looks like..."

My cell chimes, with Sal's number flashing.

"Salvador…?"

"Nephew, your popi would be so proud."

It pains me to say it, but…

"Thank you, uncle, but you could've given me a heads up about these loco gringos…"

"Lázaro, I wasn't worried one bit… Senor Muertos and I cheered for you the entire time and even he looked at me and said you were the real deal."

"Cuz you did stuff in that ring, I couldn't even imagine trying to do."

Leave it to Paco to see the positives of the match…

"Nephew, you're following the GPS, si?"

"Yes…"

"Bueno, no detours, just come straight here, Senor Muertos wants to meet you, SO DON'T BE LATE!"

And like that, my Uncle turns back into the prick we all know and love.

"Cuz, what do you know about Muertos?"

Damn, WHAT do I honestly know about him...

"Just that he fit the bill for us going to Vegas… Other than that, he's working with Uncle Salvador, which never bodes well..."

******

The GPS leads us to a beautiful Mexican Villa, the black rod iron gates keeping us from entering is made up of metal skulls and if that's not creepy enough, a big black dog stares at us.

"Damn, Cuz do you see that big black perro?"

"How could I not, Paco?"

Our conversation is cut off by a woman's voice, the kind that catches your attention without even trying, because you know it belongs to an angel.

"Mr. Vicente, welcome to Casa De La Plaga, Mr. Muertos has been expecting you."

The gates comes to life and the dog runs off toward the front door to greet his master, Mr. Muertos himself.



We pull up and Paco clings to The briefcase a little tighter.

"Welcome, Lázaro, I am Mr. Muertos, but honestly I've been known as many names before now… If your uncle didn't tell you, I was very impressed with your work out there in Vegas."

I can see the venom seeping from Mr. Muertos lips and the unsettling feeling is hard to shake.

"I do appreciate you paying our way to Vegas, but what interest do you have in me, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Your spirit is infectious, Lázaro and it is that spirit that is going to lead you to the very TOP of BPW, I have no doubts… Now, your uncle told me, your old man never got the opportunity to be more than a comic relief lucha… Is this true?"

Paco De Gato, the Golden Cat, yeah the gringos loved to exploit him for being lucha in America…

"My father was a proud man who did what he could to take care of his family and I couldn't be more proud of what he accomplished…"

Mr. Muertos smirks and the unsettling feeling in my stomach starts to churn.

"You didn't answer my question, Lázaro… Was your old man a WRESTLER or was he some caricature of what American wrestling promoters wanted him to be?"

"I… I…"

I can't speak… I literally can't form a word and Paco is scratching his head watching his primo stumble.

"I mean nothing by the question, Lázaro, I'm just trying to remind you of your current standing… You have proven to be more than a fighter and I wish only to help push you to that next level."

"I do appreciate that, Mr. Muertos…"

"If you wanna park, we continue this conversation inside..."

I park the car and Paco gets out briefcase held tight. We enter the villa right behind Muertos and the high ceilings and the gorgeous all white decor is breathtaking.

"Welcome gentlemen to Casa de la Plaga…"

On the far end of the villa, I see Uncle Salvador with a couple of Latinas with their arms wrapped around him in yellow string bikinis.

"Lázaro, you made it on time!"

"Yeah, yeah, it's good to see you too, Sal."

My uncle releases the girls back to the wilds of the villa as he approaches me with a giant smile on his face.

"Nephew, did you read the news?"

"What news?"

Sal pulls out his phone and he points to the screen.

"You are main eventing in Mexico City!!!"

Mios dios… That is, NEWS… That is fantastic news!

"My destiny…"

I've always wanted to stand tall in Mexico City amongst the people and to lift my popi's legacy. Sure, he was a comic relief exploited lucha, but his blood runs through my veins and I have a chance to change everything for the better. I'm going to do it for him, I'm going to do it for mi madre, and I'm going to do it for mija.

"Looks like you're squaring off with Mundo Kindo and from what I could tell by scouting him, the guy is crafty… He's as sly as a fox and he won't think twice to steal a victory with a quick roll up or something."

Paco slaps on the briefcase and catches my attention like a toy monkey with cymbals.

"Cuz, he's like the gringo version of me, heh!"

I chuckle and I notice my Uncle staring at the briefcase intently, but he breaks when I start to talk.

"Mr. Muertos, you have a beautiful home?"

Mr. Muertos smiles as more Latinas in yellow string bikinis start to walk into the room, Paco literally starts to do cartwheels in his head.

"Cuz…"

"Boys, mi casa, es su casa…"

As I lift my jaw off the floor, it drops again as a dark haired American woman walks in wearing all black leather.



"You didn't tell me, we had guests…"

The seductress approaches, the leather tight around every curve of her body…

"Lady Muertos, may I introduce Lázaro Vicente, Salvador's nephew and that's his cousin Paco. He just won big in Vegas this past week."

"Wow, so this is your nephew, The Golden Idolo I've heard so much about?"

My uncle puffs out his chest taking credit for my career so far… I shake him off and I extend my hand, which she takes ever so gently.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Vicente."

"Lázaro's fine…"

The lady of the house smiles and the same unsettling feeling I picked up on with Mr. Muertos, comes rolling through with her as well… Now I'm really thinking it was the on flight burrito I had…

"Mi amor, Lázaro has promise and with our backing, the sky won't even be able to hold him down… Talking about changing one's stars, this kid has IT more than any other prospect that I've taken under my wing in the past."

"I'm a fighter and I'm going to fight standing tall in Mexico City, you hear me?"

Muertos slightly frowns a bit...

"Don't sell yourself short, Lázaro, you have proven to be more than a mere fighter… Fighters are guys like Mundo Kindo, who isn't much of one and who's even less of a wrestler. You are a WARRIOR and you have a rich lineage that surpasses that of Mundo. You have roots to the Mayans, Lázaro and let me tell you, they were more fierce warriors than doomsday calendar makers..."

Damn, he makes me feel like my warrior ancestors… This guy is so infectious, it's hard to shake…

"Lázaro, go out there amongst YOUR people and steal that main event! Show Mundo what your lineage means for this business and most importantly, for Black Pyramid Wrestling… Show him you are more than The Golden Idolo… You're the goddamned past, present, and future of Lucha Libre and you were chosen by yours truly."

Mr. Muertos gives a simple wink.

"Until then! There's a handful of women by the pool hoping to see what fifty thousand dollars looks like up close… Maybe you should show them what kind of reward a warrior can attain…"

"I doubt, Mundo would be finding time to sit by a pool before our big match…"

"Heh, he may claim to be the smartest man in any given room, but he'll never hold a candle to your determination… Besides, this is YOUR CITY, Lázaro and you should never forget that…"