Kidnappings are so frequent in Mexico City that they are classified by type. Locally, the most common form of abduction is known as a flash or express kidnapping. Most of these occur at night, and they usually last only a few hours. Normally, the goal of a flash kidnapping is to make as much money as possible in the shortest amount of time, which is why most of these abductions happen between 11 p.m. and 12 a.m. Victims are taken to an ATM and forced to withdraw their maximum daily limit, whether that’s 100, 500, or 1,000 dollars. At midnight, bank computers reset their accounts for a new business day, which allows customers to make another maximum withdrawal at the same machine. If criminals time things right, they can double their take in less than five minutes.
Unsurprisingly, banks in Mexico City are well aware of this problem. In order to fight back, many branches have imposed institutional limits on their ATMs, which prevent customers from withdrawing large amounts from their machines, even if customers haven’t reached their cash limits for the day. Of course, all this usually does is prolong the terror of flash-kidnapping victims, who are then forced to spend more time with their kidnappers as they’re driven from bank to bank, slowly but surely accumulating their maximum amount before they are forced to repeat the process again after midnight. Afterwards, victims are usually dropped off, penniless, scared and far from help of any kind. This gives criminals plenty of time to escape.
In recent years, though, a new type of kidnapping has gained popularity in the region. Known as a virtual kidnapping, victims are called in the middle of the night and told a relative or close friend has been abducted. They are kept on the phone for several minutes, thus preventing them from calling the loved one in question to check the veracity of the claim. They are warned that if they hang up or fail to meet the kidnapper’s demands — which are usually for cash or jewellery — the loved one will be harmed or killed. Of course, even if they tried to call the supposed victim for verification, the line would be busy because the kidnapper’s partner would be running the same scam in reverse. For example, an elderly woman might think her daughter has been taken, while at the same time the daughter will think her mother has been abducted. These two are called at the exact same time, yet no one has actually been kidnapped.
This type of crime would be difficult to pull off in technologically advanced countries such as America or England. Too many people have mobile phones, text messaging and Internet connections, allowing them to make contact with their friends and family through alternative means. But in Mexico, home phones are still the primary means of communication. And since the police force isn’t trusted, most victims would rather pay the ransom demand and guarantee the safety of their loved one than risk someone’s life by calling the kidnapper’s bluff — especially as abductions are so commonplace.
The final category is known simply as a traditional kidnapping. It is a long-term crime that has been around for centuries, one that targets people from wealthy families or organizations that have the means and motive to pay a substantial ransom demand. Though not as common as flash kidnappings, they can be far more lucrative because of the sums involved in a single abduction. One million. Five million. Ten million. It all depends on who was taken and how much they’ll be missed. In Mexico City, most corporations hire bodyguards to accompany their executives around the clock, because it is cheaper to pay for protection than to pay ransoms.
However, many foreign executives roll the dice when they come to Mexico. They figure they can slip in and out of the country without being noticed, especially if their business trips are planned at the last minute. They assume criminals won’t have the time, the manpower, or the knowledge to stage a traditional kidnapping without plenty of advanced warning. And even if they did have the ability to pull off the crime what are the odds that a criminal would target them? One in a hundred? One in a thousand? One in ten thousand?
Most executives are willing to take those chances.
Of course, some factors affect the odds. A person’s size, age and appearance can make all the difference in Mexico City. By considering risk versus reward, a young bodybuilder in a T-shirt is less likely to be abducted than an old man in a designer suit. Criminals are looking for the lowest amount of risk — someone who won’t fight back — with the biggest potential for reward — the most money. And on those rare occasions when they spot someone who is low-risk and high-reward, they pounce as quickly as possible.
Hector Garcia was well aware of the statistics. In fact, he knew them better than anyone since he ran the kidnapping game in Mexico City. Although there were some independent crews floating around — mostly flash kidnappers desperate for quick scores — Hector’s organization was so established that several multinational corporations paid him a ‘protection fee’ to guarantee that their employees would not be kidnapped when they came to town for business.
With this type of reputation, Hector couldn’t comprehend why he had been targeted, unless it was for revenge. He simply didn’t fit the profile of low-risk, high-reward. Other than the President of Mexico, there was no one in the city who was a higher risk than Hector. He had thousands of armed criminals working in his organization, yet someone had the cojones to abduct his children. Not only did they sneak into his mansion in the middle of the night — somehow getting past his world-class security system and a squad of military-trained guards — but the kidnappers had the audacity to taunt him during the initial call.
They had threatened to rape his daughter.
They had threatened to kill his son.
Now they were playing games with him.
The type of games he was used to playing.
Every time the phone rang, his heart pounded so hard he could feel it in his feet. No longer the puppet master, he was forced to dance when they pulled his strings. Be here. Be there. Get this. Get that. Do whatever we say, or your kids will die. Despite their promises, it took him more than twenty-four hours to get a proof a life. And even then, they only let him talk to his daughter. The instant Hector asked about her brother’s health — a question he had been warned not to ask — they gagged the girl and hung up.
Several hours later, they still hadn’t called back.
And all Hector could do was wait.
8
Station Square is a 52-acre entertainment venue that sits on the south shore of the Monongahela River near the confluence of Pittsburgh’s three rivers. Built in the 1800s as a major hub for P&LE Railroad, the railway complex had become virtually obsolete by the 1970s, when passenger traffic had all but disappeared into the city. Despite its prime location on the waterfront, the entire property — including the large terminal, extensive freight station, seven-storey warehouse and several minor buildings — threatened to become a ghost town.
Thankfully, the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation never let that happen. Instead of tearing down the complex, they developed the site for commercial use. Docks were added to the nearby shoreline. A hotel was built at the water’s edge. Two of the city’s iconic restaurants, the Grand Concourse and the Gandy Dancer Saloon, opened inside the refurbished terminal, while the train shed was transformed into retail space called the Freight House Shops. Dripping with old-world charm, the restored train station has more than twenty stores, including five freight cars that were left inside the building and converted into shops.
In 2002, Station Square added a new area known as Bessemer Court. Named after the Bessemer converter, a massive machine that converted molten iron into steel, helping Pittsburgh become the Steel Capital of the World, the plaza includes a Hard Rock Café, several restaurants and a state-of-the-art fountain show featuring hundreds of multi-coloured water jets that are choreographed to music. During the warm-weather months, a new show begins every twenty minutes. They include a wide variety of musical themes — everything from Elvis to Sinatra to Christina Aguilera, a pop star who grew up just north of the city.