CHAPTER 36

CHAPTER 36

ENRICO CASANOSSA

ENRICO RENTED A SMALL FLAT in a neighborhood well away from the busy center — where his father-in-law was the absolute king of everything — even though he didn't have complete security, Enrico knew that there, not only he, but many people were running away from his father-in-law, without a doubt., someone would help him — but that's not what happened.

Enrico called Alicia again and asked if his wife had made any wills — Alicia replied yes, but she had done so with her father's lawyer.

Old Dunhill wanted to make sure she didn't leave him a penny...

Enrico hid in that apartment for a year and six months, it was the time necessary for the hearing on his wife's will to finally come out, the delay was intense because of the billions of deaths that occurred around the world.

Due to the massacre of all those people — including his mother and wife — the processes were taking too long. more than usual, after all, the world was still recovering from the initial shock that that catastrophic event had caused.

In general, not much has changed.

What was once a relentless search for the faithful, was now a desperate case...

ENRICO WALKED IN FRONT of a destroyed Protestant church and there was a man dressed in rags, with his long white beard and slightly dirty face, the man was screaming desperately:

— Save your lives... The hour has come and we are all doomed... if you don't die for the gospel... The antichrist is here... Open your eyes... The antichrist is here...

Enrico approached the ragged old man and asked with sarcasm in his voice:

— What's this about dying for the gospel to be saved?

The ragamuffin stopped his speech and became even more serious as he looked right into Enrico's eyes:

— The world ignored the signs, son, it was in everyone's face and we ignored it... now it's time to show our true faith. Whoever was not saved in love, will be saved in pain, feel the bruises that Jesus felt...

Enrico laughed at the old man, and the old man vehemently warned him about that attitude. The authority that that ragamuffin radiated unnerved Enrico's heart.

— You won't laugh when you're in the lake of fire and brimstone boy, where there's weeping and gnashing of teeth for all eternity... the signs proved the Bible right... it was right all along and we closed the doors. — our eyes to the truth... open to the Son of God that there will still be salvation for you...

— What signs were those? — Enrico asked in a still sarcastic tone in his voice, laughing at the old man's dirty face, after all:

Who was he to know that much?

The man came very close to Enrico and looked deep into his eyes. Enrico felt that this man could see all his thoughts clearly, as if he were watching a movie on television, or in a good movie theater.

— You have a pure soul, boy, God has a great work to do in your life, for you it is worth talking about the signs and everything that will happen, you are one of those who will die in the name of Christ...

The old man explained the biblical signs...

The old man continued to stare at Enrico, he felt an arctic chill down his spine.

The old man said:

— It's your decision, boy... it's better to die and gain eternal life than to live a year or two and lose it completely, living in the lake of fire and brimstone, putting it simply... hell itself...

Enrico didn't say anything, left and was confused in his thoughts. He believed that God existed, but in that nonsense of signs, no... after all, his mother had always said that God was a God of love, that was pure carnage...

Would God allow all that? Why die to save yourself?

He decided to put aside all that nonsense about signs and worry about the inheritance left by his wife.

When Enrico looked back the old man was no longer there, everyone around him was looking at him with astonishment in their eyes.

He didn't know if he was crazy, or if it was the pressure of seeing his father-in-law again...

THE AUDIENCE COULD NOT have been more unfavorable against Enrico — Fuerte— Casanossa — the will was clear –, all the assets of Gwen Dunhill Casanossa, his wife — went to various charities — which generated immeasurable anger within Enrico.

The only thing Enrico had been left with was the toilet seat in his bedroom suite.

Donald greeted Alicia and said:

— Excellent work, I look forward to a visit to my office to remember the good times, we still have many issues to resolve, in addition to missing the good times when I was my intern...

When it was time to say hello, Enrico said in a frightening whisper in his ear.

— I know exactly where you live, you asshole, if you think you managed to fool the second most powerful man on earth, you were wrong... I hope you like the gift I just gave you... my idiot daughter had left everything.— for you, but thanks to the money and power I have, you're going back to the place you should never have left... from misery...

DONALD DUNHILL TRIUMPHED OUT of the office of prosecutor Kaly Suriady, who presided over the entire opening of the case.

That cow must have been bribed by him too, he can only... — thought Enrico, furious in his thoughts.

Enrico realized that the world belonged to money and power, and that he had been an idiot to trust justice, that even if his wife had left everything to him, he could never spend a penny on his father-in-law.

Alicia said she would help Enrico with whatever he needed, but Enrico said he didn't need to, after all, he didn't know who to trust, everyone he knew worked for his father-in-law, as much as he wanted help, Enrico knew he was lonelier than ever.

I'm sure you work for that scoundrel Dunhill too, Alicia, you're one of his whores on call, I'm sure of it... — Enrico exploded in his thoughts.

Enrico walked away aimlessly. He was completely broke, without a family, without a job and he would hardly get anything, as the most powerful man on the face of the earth was on his tail.

Aside from the loneliness, Enrico felt like a lab rat, sooner or later he would either be fed to some animal, or they would inject some disease to see how much he would resist — if they hadn't already done so.

The problem is that Enrico was more vulnerable than ever...

Enrico arrived at his apartment and his things were already out with the eviction letter taped to the door.

He sat there — with his back to the door — and began to cry as he had never cried in his entire life:

In your mediocre life... — he thought nonstop.

The world Enrico had built had been torn apart like a house of marked cards, easily toppled by the gust of wind — or the slightest wrong touch from the one who does.

Enrico felt that any direction he walked would be heading towards his doom, but the problem was that he didn't even have the strength to walk at that moment.

Carlos Ortiega came close to Enrico, bent down and patted Enrico lightly on the face. He woke up from his depressive trance and realized he was in big trouble, but this time, he didn't even have time to run away...

***

AS SOON AS ENRICO RUN AWAY from Donald Dunhill, he looked for a job like a madman, but as he predicted, all doors were closed to him — everyone knew Donald Dunhill's poor Latin American son-in-law:

Enrico Fuerte... the man who slept with the ugliest woman in all of New York...

He knew it was risky, but he even sought to work for Donald Dunhill's great rival — Gianfrancesco Halguraisco — , known as El Capo, who ran a large part of New York's drug trade, in addition to owning numerous restaurants, brothels and illegal gambling spots.

Enrico would never have imagined that Halguraisco was also a pawn in Dunhill's hands, they pretended to fight between them so that the focus of situations was always directed towards Halguraisco.

Enrico tried to flee the United States several times, but something always happened, or the bus was stolen, or the bus broke down... — something always happened.

Enrico felt like a caged animal in the greatest city in the world — it was truly a stone jungle, where he was everyone's favorite game — especially Donald Dunhill and his shadow, Carlos Ortiega.

His ten thousand dollars he'd taken from his wife's house was quickly gone, after all, after thirteen years of marriage — to an ugly and extremely sexually active woman — he needed to lighten up on him. But it was only fifteen minutes of pleasure, and then the loneliness returned to haunt his thoughts like ghosts in an old mansion that Enrico hated to pass in front of, let alone enter.

His apartment was very small — but very comfortable — and, despite the cheap price, Enrico was almost never able to pay the twenty-five — dollar weekly rent on time.

Enrico started making small thefts, but almost every time it went wrong — since he was a terrible marksman, he couldn't even hit a fly without getting hurt and there was nothing to convince him that what he was doing was serious –, his only specialty was running, no one was more expert at that than he was.

One day, Enrico was on a bus heading back to his small apartment and that particular disgrace he would remember for many years to come.

Enrico was sitting on a bench reserved for the elderly, but the bus was practically empty and a woman of about eighty years old gets on the bus and looks at him:

— Can I help you ma'am? — Enrico said in a friendly tone, trying to forget the frustration of not being able to do anything right.

The bus driver gave a small smile already anticipating what would happen.

— You're sitting in my place, you uneducated young man, your mother didn't teach you that it's wrong to sit in someone else's shoes.

Enrico looked at her, losing patience.

— I'm sorry, Grandma, maybe your age doesn't allow you to see properly, but there are approximately forty empty seats and you want exactly the one I'm sitting on?

— Of course… — she said in a haughty tone — I've been sitting in this exact spot for over thirty years, which gives you the right to sit in my seat — she emphasized mine — come on… get out of there you brat no manners.

She threw an umbrella over Enrico's head, he never expected an offensive from the lady.

Enrico tried to defend himself in vain from the attacks of that lady, without realizing what he was doing, Enrico took out his revolver and stuck it in her mouth.

— If you ever raise that damn umbrella in my direction one more time, I'll blow your brains out you old bastard, I have no patience for oddities today, you 've been sitting here for thirty years, now's the perfect time to get one — new seat and lean that withered, wrinkled ass you have in another corner.

Without Enrico noticing, the old woman hit him with the umbrella in his private parts that he was seeing stars for a long time.

— Do you think I'm afraid of dying? — Said the old woman threatening him with the umbrella — I'm already old and I have nothing to lose in this life, now you... should think about a future, even more now that so many people have died, good opportunities abound...

— Why are you still here? — Everyone who wasn't strong died...

Enrico was going to continue, but the old woman put another umbrella on his head.

— There… — shouted Enrico — that hurts, you know?

— It's really to hurt, you bum, it's for you to learn not to be threatening defenseless old ladies.

— As far as I can see, you're not helpless, that umbrella is as dangerous as that revolver.

— Bla-bla-bla… — said the old woman, making a face at Enrico — you only know how to mumble, right? Get up and get out of my seat, I've wasted a lot of time with you...

Enrico took the revolver and limped between the bus and sat at the back, he noticed that the old lady sat on the bench next to him.

— Hey... crazy old woman — shouted Enrico from the back of the bus, — you sat in the wrong seat...

— I didn't sit down at all... my bench is actually this one, I think I was wrong — said the old woman, leaning on her umbrella happily.

A few points after the old woman got off, and the driver told Enrico that that was normal, since her husband had passed away, she thought she had the right to want to fix everyone on the streets, her husband was killed in a robbery, since then she was always making trouble with everyone, Enrico wasn't the first and he wouldn't be the last.

AFTER HIS COMING TO THE UNITED STATES when he was fifteen years old, Enrico never went to sea again, Enrico caught a desperate trauma, which was only overcome by seeing his father-in-law's great henchman — Carlos Ortiega — face-to-face — especially to look into your blood red eyes.

Enrico, at the same time he was the worst rogue on the face of the Earth, he was the best of all, after all, they never managed to catch him, he knew all the possible and impossible escape routes, no one in all American territory drove better than him, especially when he had a squad car behind him screaming with those deafening sirens.

Enrico remembered all the escapes he had made. Fancy escapes, but one in particular he called himself a genius.

Since childhood Enrico had always had a special gift...

To have a privileged view... — especially at night.

Every time they did a night robbery, Enrico would break the car's taillights to make the pursuit difficult, and he would break the front lights as well.

Once Enrico tricked the police into a small closed forest, no one knows how he managed to see inside that thicket and escape with all the police behind them — not even the people who were with him — Enrico always kept his secrets to himself. himself, thus making him an important person within the group commanded by his father-in-law.