Fatal Pursuit

ventiquattro/veinticuatro

Fuck.

"What about Ignacio exactly?"

"There's...something that's been weighing on me. So, I just want to clear the air. Lay everything out, you know? No point ignoring the obvious."

Fuuuck.

"Just say what you want to say, Dante." I sighed, bracing myself for the worst. 

But, Dante simply  turned back to his onions. His silence and meandering around the topic was killing me. Another second of this would send me into a panic attack.

"Alright, look," I started, "What happened today... it happened and there's no pretty way to say it but-"

"Ignacio is dangerous."

"What?"

He turned his body to me, "I saw a symbol burned into his back and it looked so familiar but I just couldn't put my finger on where I've seen it before. Then it hit me. I've seen it all over the news. It's the symbol for this gang. But it's not just any gang. I mean these people do everything imaginable and unimaginable. It goes from light criminal activity like scams, money laundering, robberies to heavier shit like illegal drug transport and human organ trafficking. They've been at large for years now and the police can't pin anyone down because it's a worldwide operation."

"What do you mean worldwide?"

"I've done some research and it's not just one group of people here in Spain. It's hundreds, if not thousands, of people around the world keeping this thing going. There's so many small cogs and pawns in it that there's dozens upon dozens of civilians who are involved unknowingly and they've been taken into custody and prosecuted for something they didn't even know they were in."

"Yeah, I know. That's what I was trying to tell you. Those are the people that kidnapped and forced Ignacio into it. That's where he's been all this time. But he's not in it anymore, he got out."

He wrinkled his eyebrows at me before turning back to the cutting board, "That's what he told you, huh?"

"Well, yeah. He's here now isn't he? You should've seen his face when he was telling me the story of how it all went down. He was terrified."

Dante cupped the chopped up bits of onions in his hands and threw them into the pot and they sizzled loudly, "I think he lied to you, Infinity."

"Lied to me? What makes you say that?"

"Well..." he stirred the pot, "People don't just get into a gang."

"Yeah I know but, I mean, you said it yourself. There's a lot of innocent people wrapped up in this mess. The guys who kidnapped him weren't innocent but he only joined them to stay alive. He even tried to leave when he could but they forced him to stay."

Dante smirked a little, "They forced him, huh?"

I crossed my arms, "Yeah, is there something funny about that?"

He turns off the stove before pulling out his phone to show me his research, "Look at this. Osvaldo Romero, sixty-two year old sugar cane farmer from Cuba, arrested for exporting illegal substances to the gang." he swipes to the next picture,  "Adelaide Gretchen, thirty-three year old cab driver from Germany, arrested for aiding and abetting. Cisco Rabinovich, forty-five year old banker from Russia, arrested for suspicion of money laundering. Malek Youssef, seventeen year old from Tunisia, arrested for possession and distribution of illegal substances on school property. And there's plenty more. All kinds of people of all ages, all over the world. All people who had no idea what they were getting into, but took the fall for the crimes."