In a room specially prepared for interrogation, William silently observed the two people sitting before him, then positioned himself next to Dante. They waited in silence for the order to begin.
"Tell me about them. Who are they, and why are they important in verifying whether the information we obtained from the church is accurate?" Dante turned to look at Crocodile and asked directly, wanting to understand why this interrogation was necessary.
"In the short time we had, we discovered that these men are the heads of cocaine distribution in Juárez. However, that's not their real business. I believe they have the information we need to confirm what we already know." Crocodile explained his reasoning, and everyone who heard him nodded in agreement.
"So that's all they are. That works for me."
"Uhhhhh!"
"Mmmmph!"
At the same time, one of the men, tied to a chair with his hands secured to the armrests and his mouth covered with tape, opened his eyes. He roared and tried to scream as soon as he woke up, but he couldn't see anything because his eyes were blindfolded.
Dante glanced at the man before grabbing a bucket of cold water and dumping it over the one who was still sleeping, as if this were some damn hotel.
"Arghhh!!"
"We need to keep them alive as long as possible until they decide to tell us exactly where the distribution tunnel to Arizona is. Of course, cutting off their legs won't be necessary if they talk before then."
Upon hearing someone speak in front of him, the thin man—the one who had just been captured—felt his heart pound violently. He tried to scream, but his voice was muffled.
"Calm down, I haven't even started yet."
Seeing how nervous the man was, Dante set the empty bucket aside, approached him, and, after removing the blindfold from his eyes, asked, "What's your name?"
"You… you damn son of a bitch! Who the hell are you, really? Where are we?" The man didn't answer Dante's question. Instead, after calming his emotions, he began to issue threats in a subdued tone.
"No, no, no..."
Dante didn't care that the man wasn't cooperating. Even cowards will put up some resistance before facing a real threat. This was nothing unusual—not even for William.
With a simple gesture, Dante signaled without saying a word. William soon pulled out a knife, approached the first man, and stabbed him forcefully.
"Arghhh!"
Watching the blade sink directly into his leg, the man instinctively turned his head toward the thin one, trembling in fear. He shut his eyes tight and let out a scream even more horrifying than that of a hyena.
The pain spread through his body, creeping up from the wound and consuming him entirely. When he opened his eyes again, he saw the dagger still embedded in his leg and couldn't hold back his tears.
Dante smiled at him and said, "From now on, I'll ask a question, and you will answer. If you say something stupid or lie to my face, a new hole will be opened in your body. Do you understand?"
Sweat dripped from the corner of the man's forehead. Dante could see more than just terror in his eyes—he felt the looming threat of death.
"Same question. What's your name?"
"Darío… My name is Darío."
"Darío?"
Seeing that the man had reached a state of absolute terror, Dante continued, "What is your role in the Jiménez Cartel, and what rank do you hold within the organization?"
"That's…" Upon hearing these questions, Darío's pupils shrank slightly. He stammered incoherently, unable to form a proper response. His eyes darted around nervously, clearly debating whether to answer or not.
Seeing this, Dante knew he needed to make things clearer. Maybe his words hadn't been enough. He picked up a hammer and stomped hard on Darío's foot.
"Arghhh!"
Darío had thought that answering one question would keep him safe from further harm, but he was caught off guard when an unbearable pain shot through his foot. He couldn't help but howl in agony.
The force of the stomp was immense, and Dante had even used a bit of energy. Darío immediately burst into tears, his nose running, his face flushed red, and the veins in his neck bulging. The pain was excruciating.
Hearing the man's miserable screams, Dante didn't instruct William to gag him. The man yelled loudly, but the noise wasn't unbearable.
"Don't you dare lie or dodge the question. I'm not playing, Darío." Dante pointed to the other captive and added, "And you—think very carefully, because your damn turn is coming!"
"Now, answer my question!"
Still recovering from the intense pain, Darío heard the man's voice again. He looked at his terrified companion, whose eyes were filled with sheer panic, and immediately blurted out what he knew. He was too afraid to endure that kind of pain again.
"I… I oversee ensuring that the cocaine shipments are distributed properly throughout the country and, of course, abroad. Our job is to make sure the police don't stop any trucks and that all bribes go to everyone involved in the organization."
"Now that the attacks have destroyed part of the cartels allied with Jiménez, how long will it take them to recover?" Dante was curious to know how quickly his enemies could become operational again.
"Three days at most…"
"How many hitmen will they send?" This time, it was William who voiced a concern that troubled him.
"Around eight hundred people… that's the number…"
Upon hearing this, Dante frowned slightly. He realized the enemy's numbers were much higher than he had initially estimated—at least in Juárez.
"Where are the Jiménez leaders? Are they still abroad?"
As soon as those words left Dante's mouth, Darío froze for a moment before suddenly reacting. He screamed, "You sons of bitches are foreigners!"
"Looks like you forgot what I told you." Dante raised an eyebrow, stepped on Darío's foot, and pressed down on his ankle.
The pain shot through Darío's brain once again, and he cried out instinctively, "Aaaaarghh!"
"Just answer."
"I… I can write down the damn location."
Dante smiled after hearing this and finally asked, "To earn a few extra survival points… do you have anything else useful for me?"
"Huh?"
"Oh, it seems you don't." Dante turned to William and said, "Take care of the other one. We have two similar sources of information, so you can finish the rest."
"Yes, boss."