The Zetas are, overall, terrifying, but this Stonecutters/The Prisoner naming scheme is hilarious.
His first week in Laredo, the special supervisory agent, David Villarreal, had given him the rundown and what was expected of him: “The Zetas are what we focus on in this squad. That’s What we do. And you need to learn as much as you can about them.” So Lawson had accompanied other agents while they met with their sources, typing up the 1023s for them afterward, just so he could learn whatever he could about the Zetas. What he’d found out so far was that Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano, known as Z—3, was the cartel’s leader, and Miguel Angel Trevifio Morales, or 2-40, his second in command. And that Trevifio ruled over Nuevo Laredo like a feudal lord along with his younger brother Omar, known as Z-42, who at thirty-four was three years younger than Miguel and served as his right-hand man. Lawson was told that the Z stood for their radio call sign, and the number denoted when they’d joined the cartel. The Trevifios had been some of the cartel’s first recruits from Nuevo Laredo.
From Melissa del Bosque’s Bloodlines.