Written By Jaron Neal

Henry Veloza Vs Finicky Freddie

The smell of fresh tobacco is like nothing else. Henry slowly walks the path through the tobacco field and enjoys the aroma that he has missed for
several months. Henry is a part of the Executive Leadership team, and serves as second in command of one of the world’s most powerful underground organizations, the Ash Hole Cigar Club (AHCC). He is currently a guest at Perez Farms in the Dominican Republic. The owner (Gonzalo Perez) has personally invited Henry as a guest, to spend time with his long-term friend. 

“Your farm is more and more
beautiful every time I visit”, Henry tells Gonzalo over a traditional Spanish
lunch of Gambas al ajillo. “I am glad you were able to make the trip, I value your friendship and our partnership with your organization,” Gonzalo replies leaning back in his chair.  “Because I value your friendship, I want to deliver some disturbing news to you face-to-face.” Sensing the seriousness of the conversation, Henry stops eating and leans forward to hear more. “There is a spy in your organization” Gonzalo
replies.

Henry is notorious for his short
and intense temper. His first instinct is to react angrily; however, he realizes the importance of the subject, and
how important is the man delivering the message. With that in mind, he chooses
to stay calm and listen for more details. Gonzalo proceeds to inform Henry that one of his lieutenants has been
selling secrets to rival organizations. He also informs him that this same individual has plans to sabotage AHCC
from within, in hopes of one day leading the organization himself. Gonzalo tells Henry that one of his distributors told him the information, and as a
friend, he is relaying the information to Henry.

Henry’s first inclination is to
know who the spy is. Gonzalo lets Henry know the identity of the traitor is unknown, however, his distributor confirmed it is a current AHCC lieutenant. Henry
takes a sip of his wine and pauses to digest the bombshell news Gonzalo has just shared. After taking a moment to think, Henry thanks Gonzalo and asks him for a favor. Henry proposes they lay a trap to identify the true identity of the informant. He reminds Gonzalo of the cigar convention happening in Seattle next month. He asks Gonzalo to have his distributor
approach all his lieutenants privately during the convention and propose an opportunity for them to expand their current roles, and potentially betray the AHCC. Henry tells Gonzalo that after the convention, the lieutenant who does not tell Henry about the conversation with the distributor is the traitor. Gonzalo agrees.

7 Months later

Henry is sitting in his office
staring out at the panoramic views of the city. It has been (7) months since the cigar convention, and as a result, he
has had several conversations with his lieutenants about the proposal they received. To a man, all his lieutenants came to Henry unsolicited about the
offer they received, except one. Now that Henry has had some time to digest, he realizes he should have suspected this lieutenant from the beginning. This lieutenant has been ambitious from day
1 questioning club decisions, and constantly being reprimanded for his arrogant
freelance attitude. Ironically, when Henry discussed the potential traitor with other members of the Board member’s team, they all guessed this lieutenant immediately. Henry being a calculated man, wanted to give
this lieutenant an opportunity to prove everyone wrong, but sadly, he has come to the realization, that this man is a snake. So today Henry has invited him to his office to confront him and ask why
he has chosen to betray the club. Henry has his thoughts interrupted by a knock on his office door. Continuing to stare out the window, Henry
responds, “Come in Freddie”.

Written By Jaron Neal