Upon landing not in Mexico City, but in El Paso, Texas, the tri-national crew's mission was clear: infiltrate Ciudad Juárez, take up secret "special operations" posts throughout the crime and drug-ridden border city, and fight off the Juárez cartel on its own turf. Scangalore was the first of the trio to step onto southwestern Texas soil, telling his cohorts that he had a "connection" in downtown El Paso, and, indeed he did: Texas National Guard Master Sergeant Donte Giunta, who was surprisingly easygoing about the crisis raging just south of their position, and, as Scangalore would later learn, he was also somewhat "inner-city" with his mannerisms:
upon meeting Scangalore for the first time inside the Wells Fargo building downtown: "Yo! Wut up wit' your lil' mission I just done heard 'bout?"
Scangalore, after hearing the Master Sergeant's "inner-city" speech: "Listen, man; this ain't the time for any ghetto thug actin' on your part... We gotta get down inside Juárez and fight off those drug cartel freaks little by little!"
"Do dat mean I gots to, as you people keep on tellin' us to do, stop actin' this ghetto 'round your team here?"
"Stop it with the stereotypes already and just tell me what you've got on the cartels already!"
"Well... Dem "Barrio" dudes have got control of every lil' part of downtown, and dat other Juárez dude who just got tossed in da slammer is still plottin' his revenge from behind bars!"
"You mean to tell me that those guys even get what they want from jail cells?"
"Yessir..."
"...looks like this will be a longer mission than any of us thought!"
After that short discussion on the most recent cartel-related events, Scangalore and Giunta stepped outside, headed for the Union Depot, where former yakuza member Yobito-san and FBI agent Hannelman had been told to wait, and they all found each other again on platform 2 there. Yobito-san, in his typically soft-spoken Japanese upbringing, was the first to comment once the five got together on the platform. His comments were generally along the lines of practicing caution, instead of just rushing headlong into any situation, as most Japanese would likely do when confronted with a crisis, as his ancestors had been during World War II:
"If my ancestors learned anything from the horrors that World War II brought us, it was to forgive the aggressors, but to not forget what their actions, and I would recommend you follow that advice here, instead of getting in trouble..."
Giunta was next to provide his thoughts, in a less dignified manner, to say the least:
"What'cha mean there, Mr. Samurai dude? I thought you people were more worried 'bout your hibachi and sushi and teriyaki instead of fightin' crime!"
Yobito-san responded in kind:
"Listen, Mr. "ghetto": I came here as a reformed yakuza member... If I was still there, I wouldn't be here; I would still be committing crimes of my own, on somebody else's behalf. That was why I reformed my ways, and left the yakuza before it trapped me for life..."
While Yobito-san was busy "preaching to the choir" about his former life as a yakuza member, gunshots suddenly rang out loud and clear in the vicinity of the nearby Doubletree by Hilton hotel, forcing Hannelman into action on the spot, in plainclothes, starting in front of the Doubletree, and continuing along North El Paso Street across downtown, eventually leading to a scene where Hannelman apprehended a man believed to be an informant for "La Línea", or "The Line", another infamous unit of the Juárez cartel most known for being "enforcers", just as hockey enforcers usually rough their opponents up on the ice on game days or nights:
"Put your hands up where I can see 'em! You're under arrest for drug trafficking and vehicular manslaughter!"
The cartel informant responded, naturally, in Spanish, thinking (mistakenly) that Hannelman wasn't surprisingly fluent in Spanish, for a man born and raised in suburban Chicago:
"¿Quien crees que eres por arrestar a mi por crímenes que otros han cometido?"
"Estoy aquí por que tu los ayudaste a ellos a cometer en varias ciudades en el norte de Mexico, y tu no nos informaste sobre sus crímenes!"
"Fuera con tus estupideces ya!"
"Fuera con tuyas!"
That chase continued across the border into Juárez, leaving Yobito-san, Giunta, and Scangalore behind in El Paso, and, thus, having to cross the border themselves, which they all did after a few minutes of standing around figuring out what to do, and eventually deciding to officially take the fight to the cartels on their turf, as they had been planning the whole time...
upon meeting Scangalore for the first time inside the Wells Fargo building downtown: "Yo! Wut up wit' your lil' mission I just done heard 'bout?"
Scangalore, after hearing the Master Sergeant's "inner-city" speech: "Listen, man; this ain't the time for any ghetto thug actin' on your part... We gotta get down inside Juárez and fight off those drug cartel freaks little by little!"
"Do dat mean I gots to, as you people keep on tellin' us to do, stop actin' this ghetto 'round your team here?"
"Stop it with the stereotypes already and just tell me what you've got on the cartels already!"
"Well... Dem "Barrio" dudes have got control of every lil' part of downtown, and dat other Juárez dude who just got tossed in da slammer is still plottin' his revenge from behind bars!"
"You mean to tell me that those guys even get what they want from jail cells?"
"Yessir..."
"...looks like this will be a longer mission than any of us thought!"
After that short discussion on the most recent cartel-related events, Scangalore and Giunta stepped outside, headed for the Union Depot, where former yakuza member Yobito-san and FBI agent Hannelman had been told to wait, and they all found each other again on platform 2 there. Yobito-san, in his typically soft-spoken Japanese upbringing, was the first to comment once the five got together on the platform. His comments were generally along the lines of practicing caution, instead of just rushing headlong into any situation, as most Japanese would likely do when confronted with a crisis, as his ancestors had been during World War II:
"If my ancestors learned anything from the horrors that World War II brought us, it was to forgive the aggressors, but to not forget what their actions, and I would recommend you follow that advice here, instead of getting in trouble..."
Giunta was next to provide his thoughts, in a less dignified manner, to say the least:
"What'cha mean there, Mr. Samurai dude? I thought you people were more worried 'bout your hibachi and sushi and teriyaki instead of fightin' crime!"
Yobito-san responded in kind:
"Listen, Mr. "ghetto": I came here as a reformed yakuza member... If I was still there, I wouldn't be here; I would still be committing crimes of my own, on somebody else's behalf. That was why I reformed my ways, and left the yakuza before it trapped me for life..."
While Yobito-san was busy "preaching to the choir" about his former life as a yakuza member, gunshots suddenly rang out loud and clear in the vicinity of the nearby Doubletree by Hilton hotel, forcing Hannelman into action on the spot, in plainclothes, starting in front of the Doubletree, and continuing along North El Paso Street across downtown, eventually leading to a scene where Hannelman apprehended a man believed to be an informant for "La Línea", or "The Line", another infamous unit of the Juárez cartel most known for being "enforcers", just as hockey enforcers usually rough their opponents up on the ice on game days or nights:
"Put your hands up where I can see 'em! You're under arrest for drug trafficking and vehicular manslaughter!"
The cartel informant responded, naturally, in Spanish, thinking (mistakenly) that Hannelman wasn't surprisingly fluent in Spanish, for a man born and raised in suburban Chicago:
"¿Quien crees que eres por arrestar a mi por crímenes que otros han cometido?"
"Estoy aquí por que tu los ayudaste a ellos a cometer en varias ciudades en el norte de Mexico, y tu no nos informaste sobre sus crímenes!"
"Fuera con tus estupideces ya!"
"Fuera con tuyas!"
That chase continued across the border into Juárez, leaving Yobito-san, Giunta, and Scangalore behind in El Paso, and, thus, having to cross the border themselves, which they all did after a few minutes of standing around figuring out what to do, and eventually deciding to officially take the fight to the cartels on their turf, as they had been planning the whole time...
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