He’s a tough guy, and I was a tough guy—two elephants looking at each other, flaring. He was getting to me. I was very close to letting anger get the better of me, but then I saw something deep in his eyes. He wished he could change positions with me. That’s what I saw. You got a second chance, Julio, to start off differently, man. I don’t have that chance. I’m entrenched in this thing. He would love to be in my rinky-dink suit, with my ten-dollar shoes from Payless and my funny tie, in my shitty little office. I saw that this was a smart guy, a very smart guy, who was trapped.
—Julio Medina, “Blood-Spattered”
