Holding Chaos

Untitled Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"FBI GET DOWN ON THE GROUND!" I shout at the target. I peek out of the doorway I was waiting in and see him jump from a small folding table he was sitting at. He flips the table my way as an attempt to stall me so he could get a head start. I run around the right side of the table as he smashes a window in the back of the room and jumps out into the alleyway. By the time I get out of the room he's about 20 feet down, sprinting away from me.

"Stop running, I will shoot." I yell from across the alley, as he pushes trash cans down to get me off his tail. I've never had to shoot someone yet, but usually they don't call my bluff. Eventually I chased him down to a fence, maybe 10 feet high, not easy to climb over. I pull my gun and point it at him.

"Diego Flores, you are under arrest, anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law." I began reading his rights. He spins around and goes to attempt to get away from me but still doesn't see a way around the gate. He reaches down and pulls a pistol out of his boot. I aim at his arm and wait till I find a clear shot, but before I find the gusto to take it he's already aiming at me, finger on the trigger.

Now, this kid was... young, to say the least. He stood a few inches taller than me, maybe 5'10. But he was scrawny, he couldn't have been older than 20. His name is Diego Flores, and the FBI organized crime unit has been looking for him for a couple weeks. He's been spotted multiple times around hotspots in Tampa, Florida, with known members of a Mexican Cartel we've been looking for. We wouldn't normally go after associates in organized crime groups, but the special agent in charge asked specifically for us to find and interrogate this guy. We've seen him dealing with and speaking to a number of low levels in the Sinaloa Cartel, as well as a few Lugartenientes. According to how the cartel operates, he's still considered just a citizen, but to us, he was pure gold. His information would give us so much to work with to find the head of the Sinaloa, but his status would make it so that the cartel wouldn't be alarmed by his being taken. It was a win/win scenario, well at least for us.

"Sé quién eres, Diego." I say to him, trying to avoid the shot but still aiming at his right arm. He looks confused.

"Baja el arma... Puedo ayudarle.'' I told him. I wasn't lying either. If he cooperated I would tell the DA and hopefully they would give him a reduced sentence. I'm sure this kid just was a victim of his environment. The file says he was born in Mexico and many members of his family and supposed family friends have been associated with the cartel. Sinaloa was a family business, so even if he wasn't a sworn member, he was probably expected to be involved. He shakes his head and gulps, starting to lower the gun slightly.

"Solo para, te prometo que puedo ayudarte." I say, hoping he will listen. With a grimace on his face he suddenly drops his gun to aim at my foot.

"No puedo volver. Lo siento." He says as he pulls the trigger. I fall to the damp cement as he sprints past me.