Four men stepped out. They were wearing dark suits. They held suppressed pistols. “The cleaners.” Arthur whispered. His face was pale. “They tracked the van’s GPS.” “Turn it off!” I yelled. Arthur reached under the dash. He ripped out a wire. The GPS screen went black. But it was too late. The men were approaching.
“Stay in the truck.” I ordered. I opened my door. The rain hit me like a wall of needles. I stepped out into the street. I drew my pistol. I aimed it at the lead man. “Stop right there!” I screamed. The lead man laughed. He didn’t stop. He raised his weapon. Suddenly, a massive horn blared. A city garbage truck came barreling down the cross street.
It ran the red light.
It slammed into the side of the black SUV.
The impact was deafening.
Metal crunched.
Glass shattered.
The SUV spun out of control.
It crashed into a streetlight.
The men in suits were thrown to the pavement.
The garbage truck didn’t stop.
It kept driving, disappearing into the rain.
Arthur looked at me in shock.
“Did you call for backup?”
He asked.
“No.”
I said.
I was just as stunned as he was.
“Then who was that?”
“I don’t know.”
I said.
“But we aren’t going to stick around to ask.”
“Go!”
Arthur slammed on the gas.
The van roared forward.
We swerved around the crashed SUV.
The men were groaning on the ground.
They were reaching for their guns.
But we were already gone.
We drove in silence for twenty minutes.
Arthur took a maze of back alleys.
He finally pulled into an abandoned subway station entrance.
He drove down the concrete ramp.
Deep underground.
The air was damp and smelled of ozone.
He stopped the van in a massive, cavernous maintenance bay.
Charles and Hunter jumped out.
They opened the back doors.
They brought Ernest out.
He was shaken.
But he was safe.
“Who saved us?”
Ernest asked.
His voice was trembling.
I shook my head.
“I don’t know.”
I said.
“But it means we have enemies who are fighting our enemies.”
“We need to secure the perimeter.”
Hunter said.
He took point.
Charles helped Arthur set up the medical cot.
I sat beside Ernest.
I held his hand.
“We made it.”
I whispered.
“For now.”
He said.
“But they will find us.”
“Then we strike first.”
I said.
“Tonight.”
Ernest looked at me.
“The precinct is heavily guarded.”
“The evidence locker is on the third floor.”
“It requires a badge and a retina scan.”
“Then we get a badge.”
I said.
“And we fake a retina scan.”
Ernest smiled.
A weak, proud smile.
“You are terrifying, Terry.”
“I’m a mother.”
I said.
“And you don’t mess with my family.”
PART-19
We spent the next four hours planning.
Arthur used his old contacts to get the blueprints of the 4th Precinct.
Hunter hacked into the city’s employee database.
He found Detective Miller’s schedule.
“He’s working the night shift.”
Hunter said.
“He’s the shift commander.”
“Perfect.”
I said.
“Miller is the one who seized the ledger.”
“He’s the one who has the access.”
“We tail him.”
“We take his badge.”
“We use his eyes.”
“That’s insane.”
Charles said.
“It’s the only way.”
I replied.
At midnight, we left the bunker.
We took Arthur’s old taxi.
It was invisible.
We parked across the street from the precinct.
The building was a fortress of brick and glass.
We watched the front entrance.
At 2:00 AM, Detective Miller walked out.
He looked tired.
He was carrying a briefcase.
He got into his unmarked sedan.
Arthur followed him.
Miller drove to a quiet suburban neighborhood.
He parked in a driveway.
He walked up to the house.
He didn’t go inside.
He stood on the porch and lit a cigarette.
He was waiting for someone.
A black town car pulled up.
A man in a tailored suit stepped out.
He handed Miller a thick envelope.
Miller took it and nodded.
The man got back in the car and left.
Miller looked at the envelope.
He shoved it into his coat.
Then he walked into the house.
“Bribes.”
Hunter whispered from the back seat.
“He’s on the take.”
“He’s one of them.”
“Then we take him down.”
I said.
We waited until Miller came back out.
He got into his car.
Arthur followed him back to the precinct.
Miller parked in the underground garage.
He walked toward the elevator.
Arthur stopped the taxi.
“Go.”
I ordered.
Charles and Hunter slipped out of the car.
They moved like shadows.
They flanked Miller.
As Miller reached for his badge to scan the elevator, Charles stepped out of the shadows.
He pressed a rag soaked in chloroform over Miller’s mouth.
Miller struggled.
But Hunter grabbed his arms.
In ten seconds, Miller was unconscious.
We dragged him into the taxi.
We drove back to the bunker.
We tied Miller to a chair.
When he woke up, I was sitting across from him.
I had his badge in my hand.
I had his briefcase on the table.
“Where am I?”
Miller groaned.
“You’re in hell, Detective.”
I said.
“Because you sold your soul to the Syndicate.”
Miller’s eyes went wide.
He looked at his badge.
He looked at me.
“You don’t understand.”
He pleaded.
“I’m not on the take.”
“Liar.”
I said.
“I saw you take the envelope.”
“It wasn’t a bribe.”
Miller said.
“It was a payoff for my family.”
“The Syndicate threatened my wife.”
“They threatened my kids.”
“I had to play along.”
“But I’m working with Internal Affairs.”
“I’m building a case.”
I stared at him.
I looked into his eyes.
I saw the desperation.
I saw the fear.
He was telling the truth.
He was just as trapped as we were.
“The ledger.”
I said.
“Where is it?”
Miller sighed.
“It’s in the evidence locker.”
“Locker 4B.”
“But it’s encrypted.”
“I know the cipher.”
I said.
Miller looked shocked.
“Ernest gave it to you?”
“Yes.”
“Then you have to destroy it.”
Miller said.
“The Chief of Police is the head of the Syndicate.”
“If he gets that ledger decoded, he will use it to blackmail the entire state.”
“Then help us get it.”
I said.
“Help us burn it.”
Miller nodded slowly.
“I’ll take you up there.”
“But we have to do it now.”
“The Chief is coming in at 4:00 AM to move it.”
I looked at the clock.
It was 3:15 AM.
We had forty-five minutes.
