Taboo: Bittersweet Revenge (Sequel)

The Enemy of My Enemy

The rubble crushes under the weight of the car, as it enters the small open clearing. A secluded, deserted area that's begging you to enter if you dare. I see him parked on the side of the clearing, leaning against the hood of the sedan with a file in hand.

I'm cautious as I exit the car. The last time I was in an area like this, I got a bullet lodged in my head. I look around, surveying the area without trying to draw too much attention by doing it.

"Scoped out the place before you got here. We're safe", he assures, but I ain't biting just yet.

"Can't be too sure. Landed in the slammer the last time someone tried to keep me safe", I smiled cynically.

"Slater's persistent, I'll give her props for that. But she seldom thinks her options through. It was her idea to throw you in Federal Prison, used those murders you admitted to me, on camera. You were looking at the death penalty", he reveals.

"Before you figure out your next move, you need to be aware of what's at stake"....

"Oh, this ought to be good..." I insisted, leaning against the hood of the car.

"We need them alive", he says. "Argent, Styles...", he admits. All of a sudden the pieces are coming together. I figured those files were accurate, I just needed to hear the words come out of someone else's mouth.

Bobby was right. I had made far more enemies than I knew, with even more than enemies waiting for me to fall. This is the exact reason why Interpol weren't doing a damn thing to stop Argent, or any of his 'business' ventures. He's their ripe bait to catch an even larger fish in the pond. To think there were people far worse out there than Argent was a hard pill to swallow.

"....The Bratva, the Irish Cartel, the Yakuza", I remind him, piecing together the information I uncovered in one month that otherwise would've taken me years to see. Argent may be the face of the operations, but if he's got connections with the Bratva and the Irish Cartels, this puts into perspective the depths of his organisation. The Bratva are known for the weapons trade, and the Irish cartel funnels through Puerto Rico to smuggle the drugs into the U.S.

Now that the puzzle pieced together the bigger picture, questions remained unanswered. What deal have the Yakuza struck with Argent? From the little that Bobby did share, she told me that was running from someone in her home town of Osaka. As far as me and Nakumora knew, her "handling" of the situation is what landed her on death row. I never asked her about the strange marking that coated the small amount of skin she did show. My stomach began to churn with the sickening realisation. The skin trade.

Everything in that damn file was true. I tried not to believe it, because if I did, it means I severely underestimated everybody playing this dangerous game. Karen was right about one thing; Argent is untouchable with all his connections. But I feel she's invested a little more faith in me than she should if she thinks I stand a chance at facing the Cartel, Bratva and Yakuza.

A smile creeps up and I let out a defeated a chuckle. "You're working undercover. Which means you're backing his entire operation to neutralise others. Because if you control the weapons and drugs, you control the politics". It all seemed so much clearer. This entire time, Interpol not only wanted Argent to create an empire, they were backing his idea with funds to get his shit done, lining his pockets with money and corruption to bring this shit into the U.S in some sick way to generate economic gain.

"It's about stabilising an important ally", he The complexity of this was beyond what I ever imagined it could amount to. My father may be a sociopathic manipulating asshole, but he knows to to play this game. He's had this entire plan in motion for over 20 years, and it had not only begun, it's been thriving under our noses for years without anyone realising it