Skeletons in the Rain

CHAPTER 10 | 9 MONTHS AGO

"The Whistler," "The Weeping Woman," "La Sayona"... Now you can add another name to the list of Venezuelan urban legends: "The Mime King." This criminal, more akin to a Batman villain than one of the usual gang leaders that have plagued the country for almost three decades, is someone we need to fear but also study. This bogeyman from the digital era is a conundrum that is both a surprising and yet inevitable result of the perennial political and economic crisis we consider the new normal.

This masked criminal (it even feels silly to describe him like that) may be the first of many postmodern prans birthed by social media; a millennial crime lord who has recruited his followers online by capitalizing on Venezuela's broken dreams and unfulfilled promises. Although his identity is a mystery and his methods seem as cruel and varied as the creepy stories surrounding him, the one thing we can't understate is that the little facts we know of him are stranger than fiction.

The Mime King closed that tab and glanced at the headline of the next article.

POLICE ARRESTS 13 SKULLS TEENS IN RAIDS ACROSS STATES

Charged with first-degree murder, the teenage gang members still refuse to speak

Good. Pride filled the king's chest. They won't break.

The news site was the San Isidro Today, dated October 31, 2018. He clicked X on that tab and stared at the time in the lower right-hand corner of the screen for a few seconds. Not having felt this way in years, the Mime King's mind was alive and brimming with possibilities. This was the beginning. They were at ground zero.

In a cold, dark room, surrounded by piles of custom external hard drives and a nest of cables, a single thought repeated in the king's brain on a loop: I must publish my manifesto. However, curiosity and a hint of procrastination prevented the next step of the gang's plan from unfolding. What did the other articles and blog posts say? What about the videos?

Charged with illegal possession of arms and drugs, a 24-year-old man, presumably a member of the Skulls gang, preferred to bite off his tongue rather than a statement after being arrested by local authorities.

This is getting exciting. With every news piece, we grow more powerful. Our stories will make us immortal.

A newscast logo popped up briefly at the beginning of the YouTube video His Majesty clicked on next, and a female voiceover started playing over an establishing shot of San Isidro's police station: "The local authorities consider the Mime King and his gang, 'The Skulls,' to be the masterminds in a litany of kidnappings, as well as drug and gun trafficking." Then, a young and pretty news correspondent appeared in front of the camera holding her microphone. "Police sources have told us that there is reliable evidence suggesting that the gang's base of operations is in Zulia rather than in Yaracuy as some experts had speculated."

The king paused the video and smiled underneath the mask.

So gullible.

After a click of the mouse, another tab opened; this next post proved as entertaining as expected.

NOTORIOUS GANG, THE SKULLS, FACED OFF AGAINST COLLECTIVES IN TURF WAR

By Carlos Sotomonte

According to various eye-witnesses, the Mime King, the ringleader of the infamous Skulls gang, who is wanted for multiple counts of murder, drug distribution, and other offences, led several masked men in a shootout against the motorcycle-riding "collectives" (AKA colectivos) that had scattered protesters with gunfire a week before during a peaceful march.

In what could be described as a new and bizarre twist on the Robin Hood formula, the Skulls are no longer happy with seeking control of all illegal activities in the area but have also started to protect the freedom of speech of the people in San Isidro. Or at least that is how the more hopeful witnesses of the deadly confrontation chose to see it. Others, more cynical, are sure this is nothing but a power play to assert their dominance on the streets.

Whatever the case may be, rumors suggest the president wants them out of the picture ASAP and has ordered the local authorities to deal with them by any means necessary.

When talking about the incident, police officers refused to mention the masked gang leader in an attempt to diminish his importance in these events. However, Mario Fuenmayor, a criminal psychologist, had this to say about the Mime King: "This man recognizes himself as the chosen one, and he seems to have borrowed heavily from the Process Church of the Final Judgment to recruit impressionable young people. By now, their belief system must be strong, and that's what makes them dangerous."

Oh, you have no idea! the Mime King thought. Let's spread the good word in the dark.