Return to the King

Chapter26

Alex's POV

That meal that Eva cooked for us three days ago was still on the brain. Man, she can cook, but nothing was better than seeing my lovely wife while she was working. I needed to go see her to see if that guy was awake. The one who we caught the chief with the picture in. After the beat down of him and his friends, who had stayed in the hospital and apparently didn't want to leave. Especially since the police came and spoke to them.

I found Nia talking to one of the nurses who always has her eye on me. She would flip her hair here and there. I would literally pay no mind to her because she is not the one I am looking for. I walked up behind Nia and wrapped my arms around her waist and hugged her tight. She placed her hand on my check while handing a clipboard to the nurse. She turned around and hugged me tightly.

"There you are. How are you? Want anything to snack on? I know you guys are not eating."

"I am fine, and we ate... three days ago. Big meal thanks to the motherly figure of the detective. She wouldn't let us leave until we had something to eat. Hows our little baby? "

"Doing good... we miss you though. Wait a minute, you haven't had a good meal since three days ago?! What have you boys been eating since then?" Nia pouted and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Burgers, fast... food."

"No home-cooked meals?! Just junk food."

"I am sorry, but I promise we will eat. I will come home and get that fabulous cooking that I crave from you."

"That is not the only thing you are craving, and you know it."

"Can you blame me? I haven't held you while I slept for a while now. It has been weeks."

"I know, but you will come home to me and be alright when this is all over. You are doing a good thing and you know it. We need to get these girls back to their lives and continue to search for Amelia and to make sure this cycle ends."

"How many girls have gone home?"

"Majority of them did. There are five girls left and their loved ones are on their way. I am not sure how long they have to wait for but their treatment is what is mainly holding them. Doctors are, you know, accessing them and making sure their mind is okay for them to leave."

"It is really sad to see this happening, but I am glad the unfolding of these families coming back together is happening."

I looked around the hospital room and saw families and women hugging, taking care of, smiling. It was sad, but it was good to see this.

"Where are the guys at?"

"They are kept in a room with security guarding the door. Wanna go to them?"

"Unfortunately, I am going to have to. Maurice should have come down here, but he wanted to go figure out the chief and his scheming."

We began to walk towards the guy's door and passed by everything.

"When you guys told me about that, I made sure that security was on point. I did not need them to escape or anything, but then again, they are not trying to leave anyway. They must be hiding from someone."

"True but what-"

"Code blue! Code blue! Code blue! Need all available doctors to the room of 1500."

"No!" Nia took off running, and I took off behind her. She ran to the room with the security shifted and gasped. I covered her eyes, so she wouldn't see it, and she turned into my arms and gripped onto me tightly. I looked into the room and all three guys were dead on the floor. Looked to be poisoning, but how could this have happened if security was here this entire time? Something is not right.

Maurice's POV

"Hey man, sorry that happened but listen, see if you can get anything. Get Fred involved with the cameras and make sure that nothing is left unchecked. Tell Nia it is not her fault either. There must be something we are missing, and we will get to the bottom of it. I will tell Antonio about this and make sure some security is around her as well. Alright, Alex, keep us updated."

"What happened?" Lori asked while looking over at me.

"Fill you in, in a second."

We were coming off the elevator. The officer's eyes were on us, but I didn't give two shits. I wanted them to watch and stare. I wanted them to give themselves away and give us an insight into who was on the side of the chief. Answers were needed and the more time that continues to slip by us, the more I get frustrated that this scheme that these people were doing is just getting bigger and bigger by the second. I do hope that Amelia is hanging in there.

We walked into the chief's office, and he was on the phone with someone. I walked over to the phone and clicked on the dial button. He jumped up and went to swing on me and I sidestepped him and gripped his arm and bent it backwards. He screamed in pain while motioning his body backwards. I looked down at him with a smirk on my face and Lori went to the door. She closed it and turned back to us. Chief was now on his knees begging for me to let him go. I wouldn't, of course. I just kept causing the pain.

"Alright, here's what is going to happen. So listen like a good little chief that you are. You are going to give us information, and I am going to confirm said information and make sure that it is correct and if it is not correct, then I am going to break each of your fingers. And when I run out of fingers, I am going to move to start breaking something else until there is nothing left to break. Understand mister chief?" He nodded his head rapidly and looked up in fear.

"Are you in the scheming of the k********g of the girls?" Lori asked while walking up to us and his face could have told a story. He looked at her angrily and bit his lip.

"Ow!" He screamed as I bent his arm back further.

"I am not involved in the missing women's case! I am trying to figure out what is happening and not have no one jumping down my damn throat! However, you make that s**t hard when you don't even inform me about anything!"

"How am I suppose to trust you when you are acting strangely?"

"Because my job is on the line!"

"I don't care about your job," I said, breaking a finger. He screamed out in pain and I released him while he groveled over his broken finger.

"I want you to tell me everything that is happening with this current case. Starting with how you are involved in it."

"I am not involved! I only have the information that I know of, which is the fact that we cannot track down these people because they are ghosts!"

"What about you dealing with shady people? I saw you!"

"You saw what?" The chief snatched his arm away from Maurice and stood up to his feet while rubbing the injury caused to him.

"Detective!" Maurice turned to look at Lori, and she was holding her hands, fidgeting.

"I tailed you alright?! I thought you were acting weird when I kept bringing this case up to you, and you wouldn't give me straight answers, so I tailed you. I saw you getting a bag from some dude with a hoodie on, and it was weird. Chief... chief I hate to ask this but-"

"I am not with them. And don't you dare start pointing fingers. You may have done this with the last people you worked with, and I have no clue how you did it, but in the end, I know for a fact you falsely accused your last department and got it shut down."

"Excuse me?!" Lori said, slamming her hand down on the desk.

"There is no way... a rookie... A ROOKIE came into a department and got it shut down in less than working there for a year!"

"They were shady! They were shady, and you are mad that I caught them. You and these people here have been judging me since day one. It was not my fault they slipped up with their investigation and I caught them!"

"I for one... want the yelling to stop." I said with closed eyes and an angered voice that could shake the room.

"I know that this investigation has taken things out of proportion and, for one, someone in this room is lying and trying to maintain information that cannot be maintained." I turned and looked at the chief and glared directly at him.

"I will ask you this. Man.... to man right now. And if I come back and find out something, then I am really going to enjoy beating the living hell out of you until I get some answers. Are you involved?"

"No." I leaned back and looked at the detective. She huffed and looked at the chief, who looked at her angrily and kind of disappointed. She opened the door and stormed out of the office. I turned to the chief and then proceeded to follow behind her.

By the time I caught up to her, she was pacing back and forth, slapping herself on the head, sweat coming down from her face. She was a mess. She finally noticed I was standing there watching her, and she walked up to me with watery eyes.

"I blew it! I blew our only chance of getting some answers! And for what? Just so I could prove that I am not a bad cop who peacefully did what needed to be done."

"Actually... you did the right thing. Standing up for yourself...and for what you stand for. Yeah, you... kind of... well actually no, you let this man know that we were onto him, and now he thinks that you are following him, so he will cover his tracks better at this point. We can still get the information that is needed."

"How?"

"Fred." She looked at me and began to wipe the falling tears from her face. I placed my hand on her head and patted it gently.

"Go... get a drink or something. I think you could use it well. We will call with new information once we get it."

"I am not a child. You don't have to do this."

"Yeah... but with your little tantrum that you just threw, I think clearing your head would be much better."

I walked off and headed back to the car.

Antonio's POV

The day was long. I sat with Maurice, and we were on the phone with Fred, who easily got into the case files of the chief. Even into the chief's computer with the device Maurice planted under his desk today when he went to see the chief. It was Chinese food night and Alex was still with my sister figuring out how someone killed the only witnesses we had to tie to the chief. I still can't believe how that happened. We were so close to nailing this man and now the only thing we have to go on to is the computer evidence and see if Lori's evidence is the truth. Maurice told me about the conversation that happened with the chief and Lori, and he was a bit skeptical on Lori's side.

"So what do you think about this?"

"Man, I don't know that conversation, it would seem that the chief was definitely investigating Lori for a while, and he might have found something that would get her badge taken. He clearly said he knew for a fact that she falsely got the department shut down for a rookie. And I think it was because she was a rookie that makes it more sus for him."

"Well, Fred, did you find anything on that?"

"Nope, everything is in place of the incidents. So, just like Lori told you guys, the department was sketchy, and they were into everything that was illegal to do. They were in cahoots with drug dealers. Letting them deal with their stuff and for protection against others, an officer would basically let them go with no charges given to them. They were hiring the killers that would have been in jail, and basically hire them to do their bidding and cover up the crime, so they wouldn't get convicted. With the bombings, they were the ones killing the witnesses and covering up their tracks, and there were just a lot of things being done there and no one suspected anything because their records were not changing drastically or anything. They were squeaky clean if you looked at them."

"So there were no lies."

"Then the chief just doesn't trust her and thinks because she was a rookie, she didn't know any better." Maurice stated and then looked to his computer. "Hey Fred, what is this that you just sent me?"

"That is the information I got off of Lori's computer. She was definitely gathering evidence against the chief. She got his bank statement which did not show any signs of suspicious activities. However, there is another account in his name, and it shows a bi-weekly income of over 2,000. It started ever since he became chief of the station."

"Think it is shady?" Maurice asked while looking over at me. I shook my head no and pointed over to my phone. Maurice nodded his head and Fred was speaking about the picture Lori captured.

"This picture has a time stamp. It was on the day that you guys came into the city, so it was a bit after Amelia was captured."

"So the chief must have known that he was captured and went to cover up the evidence."

"What's on the computer, Fred?"

"Absolutely nothing. This man is smart. Nothing of his doings is not on this computer. It is all police work and all everything and I hacked into his phone. H-Hold on guys, he is getting a call now. I will get it to play off Maurice's computer."

Maurice typed for a bit and then the conversation popped up.

"Hey, what is the word?"

"I am outside of her apartment. Someone just walked in, but she hasn't come back yet."

Maurice and I looked at each other, trying to make out the other person's voice.

"Then do it anyway. She is getting too close to this case and something like this will divert her attention. She is smart, so is there-"

"No, and don't even worry about it. This will go off in ten minutes. I will stand here and watch."

"Let us know it is finished."

The phone hung up. Maurice and I jumped up, no shoes on our feet, no coats. Nothing. We raced down the steps and got into the car. I took the driver's seat and immediately pulled off on to the road. Maurice took my phone and dialed Fred and while started to dial Lori's number.

"Fred here,"

"Track that phone call Fred."

"Already on it."

"Hello?"

"Lori! Where are you right now?!"

"I am in the car, driving to head home."

"How long will it take you to get there?"

"About ten minutes or so? Why?"

"GOD!" I screamed and swerved around a car and drove through a red light.

"Lori, you need to get home now. Tell Eva to get your son and get out of the house right now!"

"Guys, why... why would I do that?"

"There's a f*****g bomb in your house! We are 8 minutes out, but I don't know if we are going to get there in time." I screamed and dodged more of the traffic.

"What?!" Lori's phone went silent. We believe she is going to call Eva.

"Fred, where are we with the phone call?"

"Guys, the call came off the chief's phone from another phone. Apparently, he does have two. I can also guarantee that he has another laptop. I am sending the number to Maurice and going to get into whose account it is under."

"She's not answering! And I called three times! Eva always answers her phone! There wasn't a time when she wouldn't answer her phone! What the f**k? Get out of the f*****g way!"

"How long?"

"We are five minutes out."

"Lori, where are you?"

"I think I am about the same time frame. There was an accident and I got around it."

"Fred, where are we?"

"Alright, so the account is under the name Dominic Lionals. However, there is no one in the system by the name of Dominic Lionals because that name belongs to an accountant who died 30 years ago. He would be a 70-year-old man right now."

"Fake name?"

"Then he is with something, and he lied to Maurice when we questioned him today."

"Fred?"

"Chief has been paying this account for a while now. Numerous burner phone numbers, no text messages. Just phone calls to this number."

I pulled up to the curb and Maurice and I jumped out. We turned around, hearing a car screeching and Lori jumped out of the car and started running. Before we could get to the front door, a huge explosion set off, blowing up back and onto the concrete. We got up and Lori immediately ran to the building.

"Lori, No!" Maurice grabbed her, and she tried to fight against him.

"Mason! Eva!!! Maurice let me go! I need to get... to them! Let me go! Maurriiiiiceee!" She kept trying to pry Maurice off of her, but each time she slipped from his grasp, and she started to run for her house, he caught her just in time and held her firmly.

"Lori.... Lori...." Maurice turned her around and hugged her. She stood crying in his arms and looked over at me. Maurice looked at me with a stern look and I knew what that look meant. It was time to get to the bottom of this and now was the time.

The police and the fire department arrived in a matter of time and put the fire out. Lori was sitting on the curb, with a blank stare. She was not hearing anything or willing to talk to no one. Maurice and I kept the police and the department at bay.

"Nothing... nothing was there. And that is weird because you would think something of value would be in this house."

"The people?" The firefighter looked and he kept his silence. We nodded our head and turned to hear a car door being slammed and the chief was coming towards us. We looked over at him, and we went to Lori. He placed his hand on Lori's shoulder and her red eyes looked up at him. At first, she was so out of it that she didn't even recognize him. Then she stood to her feet and brushed herself off. We noticed what was about to happen and jogged over to her. Instantly her fist, collided with his face and she kept beating on him.

"You monster! You monster! You f*****g monster I cannot believe this! You killed them! You killed my son! You did this!"

"Lori! Lori!"

"Calm down Lori!"

"No!" Maurice and I grabbed her arms and pulled her back from the chief who was now holding his face. He was moving his jaw back and forth and looked at both of us and went back into his car.

"Don't let that bastard get away! What are you doing?! He killed them and I know he did!" Lori snatched her arms from us and turned to glare at us. She couldn't believe that we let him go and went to storm off but he grabbed her.

"Lori, let us help."

"NO! You have helped enough! Look what happened!"

"Lori, I know your upset but-" Maurice started.

"No! Because, because I should have just kept gathering the evidence and reported it, and then he wouldn't have been chief!"

"And then what?! He would still have been dealing with these people, and we wouldn't have gotten any closer to figuring out-"

"My son is dead! My son! I don't care about anything anymore! I want his head on a plank, I want him to feel the burning pain I am! And nothing will stop me!"

"And then what? You will be a criminal!"

"Who cares!"

"Your son would!" Maurice screamed and stomped his foot. "He would and so would Eva, and you would be a criminal behind bars and never see either of them again besides from a damn jail cell or behind that damn wall where they call people! You want that?!"

"What.... what are you-"

"They're not dead.... they are not even here," I said with a lowered tone.

Lori wiped her face and sniffed the snot that was coming down her face.

"What..."

We got into the car and drove from the scene. Maurice sat as a passenger and Lori was seated in the backseat. She didn't say anything. Her face remained in defeat. It wasn't long until we pulled up to a small black brick house whose door was in an alley. Lori followed behind us and still remained quiet. We walked inside and from the enterier, it was a safe house. A small couch and a small kitchen by the living room.

"Anyone here! Mason, Eva?!"

"Mr. Antonio!" Mason came running from one of the rooms and once he saw his mother, he turned from running towards me and ran to his mother.

"Mommy!"

"Mason!" Lori screamed and brushed past us to get to her son. She picked him up and hugged him tight enough to cause him to stop breathing. She kissed his face repeatedly, and we looked up to see Eva coming from the direction that Mason came from. She stood smiling, and we turned to Lori, still kissing Mason's face.

"Sweetie, are you alright?"

"Yeah! We went for ice cream and everything when I got out of school. Then the big man from your job came and got us and brought us here. He got all of our stuff from the house and told us to stay here until the new house was ready for us."

"Big man from my job? What big man from my job?" Lori stood up and looked at us with a confused expression. Suddenly, the door opened and it closed behind him.

"Ah, I see you all made it. Well... thankfully for that." Lori turned and face the man at the door, and she gasped when she saw him.

"What... wah.... what the f**k?! Chief?!"