Pena returned to his hometown to attend a wedding. Everyone held great respect for this hero who had come back from Colombia, and even his ex-girlfriend Lorraine accepted his apology, saying she had forgiven him long ago. Watching Lorraine and her husband Randy showing deep affection for each other, Pena couldn't help but look back several times.
On the way back, his father noticed that Pena was in a bad mood and told him that he had always dreamed of going out to change the world since he was a child, but he shouldn't be in a hurry—more often than not, it was the world that changed you. Pena never considered himself a hero; the real heroes were the souls buried underground. He had once collaborated with the Cali Cartel to take down the Medellín Cartel, but now the Cali Cartel had become his number one enemy.
After Escobar's death, the Cali Cartel immediately rose to the top of drug trafficking and production. Unlike Escobar's high-profile and arrogant style, they associated with Colombia's elite, hid in the shadows sharpening their knives slowly, handled everything legally and reasonably, and ran the drug trade like a Fortune 500 company. Inside the Cali Cartel, the division of labor was clear: Barcha was in charge of distribution and security, Zipi oversaw their business in New York, USA, Miguel managed all the cartel's financial transactions including bribing officials and politicians, and CEO Gilberto was known as the "chess player" with a sharp mind that allowed him to strategize and maneuver.
Now the Cali Cartel was completely exposed to the DEA. Pena returned to the DEA and had been promoted because of the Escobar case. The new U.S. ambassador told him that Colombia's new president had taken office and was not as easy to control as Gaviria, advising him to push the work forward slowly.
Pena was worried that the new CIA station chief, Stechner, would not support his work, but the ambassador said that Stechner had signed Pena's transfer order—now the CIA and the DEA shared the same goal, and the two of them needed to cooperate sincerely. The DEA had never given up monitoring the Cali Cartel, and recently they had benefited from an operation called "Project Cornerstone," learning that the Cali Cartel would hold a banquet the next night where they would announce their next deployment.
DEA agents found Andrés, the brother of a drug dealer imprisoned in the United States, and asked him to act as an informant to sneak into the banquet and take photos. Desperate to save his brother, Andrés had no choice but to agree. The Cali Cartel was not idle either: Jorge had made the security work impenetrable and was already imagining his life after leaving the Cali Cartel.
At the banquet, Gilberto announced that the Cali Cartel was negotiating with the government and would hand over all drug trafficking routes, safe houses, and all other clues related to drug trafficking in six months. Therefore, in the next six months, everyone could make money to their hearts' content, and all profits would be shared equally among those present. The drug dealers were dissatisfied with Gilberto's unilateral decision, but did not dare to show it in front of him.
Claudio's companion, Maria, caught Miguel's attention. Miguel's gaze followed her constantly, clearly seeing the conflict between her and Claudio. Jorge discovered Andrés taking photos secretly, took him to the monitoring room to expose his attempt, and ordered him to disappear from Cali quietly without a sound. After learning about it, Miguel praised Jorge, saying he couldn't accept the loss of talent and asked Jorge to stay for the final six months.
Pena received a warning from his colleagues, who said that the Cali Cartel would negotiate with the government and thus there would be a period of calm. They advised Pena not to delude himself into fighting a losing battle—it was unrealistic. Sure enough, DEA agents did not receive the on-site photos from Andrés; instead, they found themselves being monitored.
Every year, the Cali Cartel spent billions of dollars to plant informants around the world. They not only monitored the every move of government officials but also did not spare their own partners. Once they learned that a partner was dissatisfied or unfavorable to them, they would show no mercy. The Claudio brothers were out having fun when Barcha led his men to arrest them and dismember them alive. It was just like the Cali Cartel's usual style—low-key and leaving no evidence behind.