The Cold Light of Truth
371 Words
You Morettis are a hard pair to find," she said, her voice a low, gravelly rasp. "I’ve been tracking that Vane SUV since it left the North End. You’re lucky I know the shortcuts through the laundry district better than they do."
"Are you here to arrest us or finish the job?" Leo asked, his voice raw.
"I’m here because I spent ten years trying to pin Julian Vane for the Oakhaven Buyback, and every time I got close, the evidence evaporated," Chen said. She stepped into the container, the light from her flashlight catching the edge of the Red Folder. "I don't care about your 49% stake, Leo. I care about the bodies buried under the foundation of that terminal."
The Revelation of the Third Player
Chen knelt in the dirt, ignoring the filth on her trousers. She pulled a handheld scanner from her pocket—a device that looked suspiciously like black-market tech.
"The people chasing you aren't working for Sloane," Chen whispered.
Leo froze. "What?"
"Sloane is a shark, but she’s a predictable one. She wants the company. The people who hit your apartment? They’re The Vanguard Group—a private equity firm out of Zurich. They were Julian’s secret partners. Julian wasn't just building a tech-utopia; he was laundering money for international cartels through the harbor’s automated systems."
"Sloane doesn't know about the laundry," Chen continued, her eyes reflecting the cold light of the folder. "She thinks she’s inheriting a throne. She’s actually inheriting a crime scene. If she finds that folder, she’ll destroy it to protect the Vane name. If the Vanguard find it, they’ll kill you to keep the money moving."
Leo looked at the folder. It wasn't a shield anymore. It was a beacon.
"Why tell me this?" Leo asked. "You’re a cop."
"I’m a cop whose partner was killed by a Vanguard 'accidental' hit three years ago," Chen said. She stood up and offered a hand to Elena. "I need that folder to go public. But I can't do it. The department is owned. You, however... you have a seat on the board. You have the legal right to audit the servers."
- Writer
