Alex was relaxing in his office when one of his head of security, Phil, walked into the office looking rather perturbed. Alex looked up at him and waited, knowing that he wouldn’t have bothered him if it wasn’t something important.

Phil walked over to his bar and poured himself a glass of whiskey which he quickly drained before speaking, “Boss, we have a problem – a guy came into the Sunset Lounge last night and started causing call kinds of problem. He slapped a couple of the waitresses around and was threatening some of the made guys that were there. Our boys stepping in were the only thing that kept him an all-out war from breaking out – and when he was removed he was mumbling threats about coming back and ‘taking care of business’.”

Alex looked at Phil annoyed, “So what the fuck is the problem – the rules are clear, you cause problems at the lounge you get dealt with. How is this something that needs to come across my desk?”

Phil looked back at Alex with a deadly serious look, “Because the guy was Luis Alvarez and if he were to turn up beat up or dead outside of your restaurant you would have some very angry Mexicans at your door within hours.”

Alex then understood. Luis Alvarez was the son of the head of the Alvarez drug cartel and while he was fairly low level himself to even rough him up could start an all-out war with the Alvarez family. That said, he was threatening Alex’s men and that couldn’t be allowed to stand either – he was too much of a threat to be allowed to continue to walk the streets of LA.

Alex nodded and let Phil know it would be taken care of before picking up his phone and dialing Shady_Shin – he needed someone who could be discreet but deadly and Shin certainly fit the bill.

The sleazy slacker smoothly saunters towards the singing telephone, sighing slightly before selecting the receiver to his ear. 

"Shady Shin," he says, before the instructions were given to meet with his boss over important matters. Always acting in the background, Shady_Shin was never a figure of predominance in L.A. Setting the telecommunication device down, the sender man strides through his humble apartment that barely covered the necessities. His inheritance has bled severely due to his indulgent lifestyle, spending all of his relative's illegally earned funds on petty matters rather than attempting to build on the legacy that was started.

Outfitting himself in his trademark blue blazer, he packs away his primary tool of the trade. Guns were loud, noisy and crude. A single stiletto blade, boasting a blue hilt and an engraved water dragon raging around the smooth handle was Shin's pride and joy. The weapon has seen much bloodshed in recent times, as Shin shifted from his late night debauchery to handling the more messier jobs that his crew required to be done. It wasn't pretty or glamorous, but it kept him out of trouble and getting his mind back to where it needed to be.   

In twenty minutes, Shady_Shin arrives to Alexander's office, knocking on the wooden door twice before entering in. "Hey boss," Shin initiates casually, flashing his disarming grin while spreading his hands wide. "Good to see you, even if it's involving some unpleasant business." He takes a seat once offered, maintaining a relaxed posture while Alex explained the situation. 

After explaining the situation to Shin Alex took a calming breath and a deep drink of his vodka before looking at him seriously. 

"Look, this guy, he's a threat tot he club and that can't be allowed - not to mention he was threatening made men. That said, this hit can't come back to us - the last thing we need is a war with our counterparts from across the border. I need you to take this Jose Alvarez character out quietly so that he simply disappears. You have done great work for this family and so I have full confidence in your skills; but this hit comes with a lot of risk so I won't judge you if you want to walk away. What do you say, you willing to step up for the family?"

Shady_Shin clicked his tongue at the explanation, it was no doubt a difficult task to pull off. Tangling with the Mexican Cartel usually led to widespread violence, hideous executions and overall trouble for business. It needed to be handled quietly, without traces to his crew. No, his family.

Standing up from his seat, Shin flashes a wide grin towards Alexander, shoving his hands into his coat pockets. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back with good news, boss. You can count on me to handle this.” That said, he strides out, the smile fading to a grimace. What has he roped himself into…

Twenty hours later, Shin was sitting in a car outside of a local Mexican restaurant, El Cholo. The young Alvarez was once more causing trouble inside the establishment. His alcohol and drug-induced stupor could be heard from outside the street, as such bold claims were made. Tales of his activities within his own cartel, how his father is among the mightiest men in the world. The typical bravado one would expect out of a pampered child. Sighing, Shin checked over himself one last time. Despite the request of Alex to keep all this under the table, Shin decided to take a bit of an entrepreneurial risk do the reverse.  

Shin was garbed in a very flamboyant blue dress shirt, with all sorts of dark and bright patterns adorning it. Dark dress pants with a massive belt buckle and stout cowboy boots finished off his Narcos attire. He had his hair shaved down to be more in line with a Soldado, and he had dark glasses and a plain red cloth mask hanging from his neck. He modeled himself after Los Hermanos Cartel, a competitor in the local marijuana market. The two Mexican families have been operating together in Pasadena, but tensions have been growing between the two as both desired to rule the entire district on their own. Furthermore, Shin suspected that his boss would eventually want to expand into the area, so why not set things in motion?

Stepping out the car, he slams the door shut and pulls up his mask to shroud his visage, stepping through the darkening streets as dusk turns to night. With his attire, it was easy to gain the attention of the hostess as Shin stepped in, the Latino woman’s eyes nearly popping out of her eyes as Shin flourishing his broad machete, resting it against his shoulder as he silently approaches his mark. Luis Alvarez was oblivious to what was happening, as the customers and waiters around him begin to scream, fleeing away to the walls. Turning to see what was happening, Luis finds himself facing with Shin, who wastes no time grasping him by the collar to throw him onto the ground, slamming a foot onto his back while gripping the hacking sword with both hands. Shin inhales deeply, letting the Spanish flow off his tongue as if it was his first language.

“Actúa como un cerdo, muere como un cerdo.“

In a savage display, Shady_Shin begins to hack at the man’s neck, driving the dull blade multiple times into the spine until it cracks through the bone marrow, the cartel gangster screaming and squirming all the while until the blade finally chops clean through. Blood splattered everywhere, especially upon Shin. He looks around as the head of Luis rolls around, observing the stunned and horrified witnesses that would all testify that some Latino committed this terrible deed. Perfect.

Without another word, Shin snatches the still rolling head, grasping it by the scalp as he strolls on out, none of the bystanders dared to stop him. Returning back to his car lit under the street lights,  he hops inside of his vehicle while storing the severed head inside a thick brown bag. Shin then drives off to a local junkyard. A quick conversation with the owner and a few hundred dollars later led to the vehicle being hastily crushed, with Shin changing into his usual attire and driving back to the HQ with a prepared vehicle parked near the lot.

Striding back towards the office, Shin enters inside to display the paper bag, waving it around with a soft grin. “Word on the street is that the young Alvarez was brutally executed by a rival Cartel a few hours ago. I wonder how bad they are going to tear each other apart over this, they never seemed to keep calm nerves under situations involving family.” Shin sets the brown bag down whether Alex desired it, stuffing his hands into his jacket.

“I know it’s not exactly what you wanted, but keeping eyes to the future, we will need to soften up our local neighbors if we ever intend to secure the entire city under your control. It won’t lead back to us, and with any luck we may be able to exploit this later down the line. Know that I will always act in the best interests of you and our family.”

Alex listened to Shady_Shins words and looked at the bag - knowing full well what must be inside - and then laughed. 

"I would say that your way works even better than what I had in mind my friend." 

SIgnaling to one of his guards Alex pointed tot he bag, "Take that and have it put on display in Pasadena, somewhere the Alvarez family will be sure to see it - but make sure you are not seen putting it there. And in case there are any prying eye's make sure your face is covered. We want it to appear to be a message from the Los Hermanos Cartel." With a nod the guard grabbed the bag and disappeared through the door. 

"This could be fun to watch."