Chapter 3: EVIDENCE
1323 Words
Nate hadn't slept.
He sat in a twenty-four-hour diner nursing his fourth coffee, watching the sun rise over a city that looked different now. Every building represented money. Every person walking past was either an opportunity or an obstacle.
Forty-eight hours had passed since Marcus started digging.
His phone buzzed. Finally.
"Tell me you found something," Nate said.
"Found something?" Marcus's voice was tight, strained. "Nate, I found everything. And I mean everything. This guy makes regular slumlords look like saints."
Nate sat forward. "Send it to me."
"Already did. Check your email. But Nate, there's a problem."
"What kind of problem?"
"The kind where I had three different cars follow me yesterday. The kind where someone broke into my office last night and trashed the place." Marcus paused. "The kind where Robert Myles knows someone's investigating him."
Nate's grip tightened on his phone. "Are you safe?"
"For now. I'm at my sister's place across town. But Nate, whatever you're planning, you need to move fast. Myles's spooked. He's already started shredding documents at his main office."
"Did you get copies before he started?"
"Yeah. Bank transfers, forged inspection reports, lease agreements with illegal clauses—it's all there. But here's the thing..." Marcus's voice dropped. "Some of those bank transfers? They're going to cops, Judges, and city council members. Myles's not just breaking housing laws, he's buying the entire enforcement chain."
Nate pulled up his email on his phone. Dozens of attachments loaded. PDFs, spreadsheets, photographs, scanned documents.
Evidence of systematic fraud spanning fifteen years.
"How much?" Nate asked.
"What?"
"How much is he paying them?"
"Varies. Beat cops get five grand a month to ignore complaints. Building inspectors get ten. There's a housing court judge getting twenty-five thousand a month to dismiss cases."
The System interface appeared.
[MISSION UPDATE]
Evidence Acquired: COMPLETE
Corruption Network Identified: 23 individuals
Time Remaining: 23 hours, 14 minutes
Mission Probability of Success: 43%
Warning: Target is aware of the investigation. Expect retaliation.
New Objective Available: Neutralize the corruption network before filing a lawsuit.
Recommended Action: mExpose corrupt officials simultaneously to prevent a cover-up.
Forty-three percent. The probability had dropped.
"Marcus, I need you to send everything to Jennifer Morrison at Morrison & Associates. Everything. Then I need you to disappear for a few days."
"Disappear?"
"Take your sister. Go somewhere Myles can't find you. I'll wire you another fifty thousand for expenses."
"Nate, what are you going to do?"
"What needs to be done?"
He ended the call and opened the evidence files. The documents painted a picture of corruption so systematic it was almost beautiful in its efficiency. Myles had built an empire on human misery, and he had paid good money to make sure nobody could stop him.
Nate forwarded everything to Jennifer Morrison, then made another call.
"Mr. Worte." Jennifer's voice was sharp, alert despite the early hour. "I received Marcus Caesar's files. This is... comprehensive."
"Can you use it?"
"Use it? This is enough to disbar three lawyers, remove a judge, and put Robert Myles away for twenty years." She paused. "But there's a problem. If we file this lawsuit, every name in these documents will know within hours. They'll coordinate themselves by destroying evidence and creating alibis. We'll be fighting the entire system."
"What if they couldn't coordinate?"
"What do you mean?"
"What if everything went public at once? Before they could react?"
Silence. Then: "You're talking about leaking this to the media."
"I'm talking about sending it to every major news outlet in the city simultaneously. Television, newspapers, and online investigative journalists. Send it at the same time we file the lawsuit. They can't suppress it if everyone has it at once."
"Mr. Worte, that's... aggressive. It would cause chaos. Investigations, resignations, possibly criminal charges against sitting officials."
"Good."
Jennifer Morrison laughed—a sharp, approving sound. "I like the way you think. I'll coordinate with our media contacts. We'll need to move quickly. Can you have your investigator ready to go on record?"
"He'll be unavailable. Use the documents as anonymous source material."
"Understood. We'll file at 9 AM tomorrow. I'll have the media packages ready to send simultaneously."
Nate hung up and checked the System interface.
[MISSION UPDATE]
Strategy Approved: Simultaneous exposure
Media Coordination: In progress
Legal Filing: Scheduled (17 hours, 45 minutes)
Time Remaining: 23 hours, 08 minutes
Mission Probability of Success: 78%
Warning: Target may attempt direct retaliation against Host.
Recommendation: Secure temporary residence. Avoid predictable locations.
Direct retaliation. Right.
Nate paid for his coffee and stepped outside. His old apartment was compromised since Dylan knew where he lived. His car was still parked at the penthouse, probably towed by now.
He needed a hotel. Somewhere expensive enough to have real security.
The Peninsula. It was five-star, downtown, and discreet.
Nate hailed a cab and gave the address. Twenty minutes later, he stood in front of a gleaming tower of glass and steel, feeling absurdly underdressed in his bloodstained shirt and rumpled suit.
The doorman's expression was carefully neutral. "Can I help you, sir?"
"I need a room."
"Do you have a reservation?"
"No, but I can pay cash." Nate pulled out his phone, ready to transfer whatever they wanted.
The doorman's expression shifted slightly. "One moment, please."
He disappeared inside, returning with a woman in an immaculate suit—hotel manager, probably.
"Sir, I'm afraid we're fully booked this evening."
Nate smiled. He knew what this was. The polite rejection. The 'you don't belong here' dressed up in professional courtesy.
He pulled up his banking app and turned the screen toward her.
Available Balance: $99,700,000.00
Her eyes widened almost imperceptibly.
"However," she continued smoothly, "I believe we may have a cancellation in our penthouse suite. Would that be acceptable?"
"Perfect."
"And how long will you be staying?"
"Three days. Maybe more."
"Excellent. The rate is twelve thousand per night. Will you be paying by—"
"Wire transfer. Now."
Nate sent thirty-six thousand dollars before she finished her sentence.
The manager's phone chimed. She glanced at it, and her professional smile became genuine.
"Welcome to The Peninsula, Mr. Worte. Allow me to show you to your suite personally."
The penthouse was obscene. Floortoceiling windows overlooking the city, marble everything, a bathroom larger than his old apartment.
Nate stood at the window, looking down at the streets below. Somewhere out there, Robert Myles was scrambling to protect himself. Somewhere, Marcus was running. Somewhere, Dylan was probably just waking up, completely unaware that Nate Worte still existed.
His phone buzzed.
"Mr. Worte?" A man's voice, rough and unfriendly. "My employer would like to have a conversation with you."
"Who's your employer?"
"Robert Myles. He's a reasonable man. He understands that sometimes people get confused, start asking questions that aren't their business. He's willing to compensate you for your time and discretion."
"How much?"
"Five hundred thousand dollars. Cash. You drop whatever you're doing, sign an NDA, and everyone walks away happy."
Nate looked at his phone screen. At the hundred million sitting in his account. At the System interface tracking his mission progress.
"Tell Mr. Myles I decline his generous offer."
"That's unfortunate. My employer hoped you would be reasonable."
"I'm being very reasonable. I'm giving him twenty-three hours to get his affairs in order before I destroy everything he's built."
The voice hardened. "You're making a mistake, kid."
"No," Nate said. "He made the mistake. Five years ago, when he evicted my family and kept our deposit. He just didn't know it yet."
He ended the call.
The System interface pulsed.
[MISSION UPDATE]
Target Negotiation: REJECTED
Retaliation Probability: 94%
Time Remaining: 22 hours, 53 minutes
Warning: Hostile contact imminent. Security measures advised.
New Objective Available: Survive until lawsuit filing.
Recommended Action: Remain in a secure location. Avoid confrontation.
Survive. That was the new objective.
Nate double-locked the suite door and pulled the curtains closed.
Twenty-two hours until Robert Myles's empire fell.
If Nate lived that long.
- Writer
