11. Amala
Eleven
Amala
After interrogating our suspect, we were forced to let him go because his confession wasn’t enough to hold him any longer and we needed to delay an official arrest because we were still trying to identify accomplices.
Or in this case, our main suspects.
We were back in the administrative office, everybody on edge after the incident that occurred last night.
“Valiente and Rivera.” Kayden appeared out of nowhere. “Asher needs to see you.”
When Braun summoned you, it meant one of two things.
We didn’t complete a task to his standard and needed to face the repercussions or we’d be briefed on a new case that required urgent attention.
I grabbed my jacket that was draped over the back of my chair and quickly put it on while walking towards his office, Ares followed behind me judging by the footsteps but I didn’t pay him any mind.
When we reached his office, the door was already open but I still knocked. Waiting for the signal to enter.
When he nodded his head, Ares and I entered simultaneously. “I’ll be removing you both from administrative duty. You’ll be handling the dominion case.”
For some reason, I knew this would be the next move.
We were present when the shootout at the Bureau occurred, so from an analytical standpoint this partnership made sense.
However, that didn’t mean I was onboard with this decision.
In the end, it didn’t really matter how I felt about the situation because it wouldn’t make a difference.
In this field, you were required to accept change and be adaptable.
Regardless of personal preference.
“There’s been a homicide reported downtown and we suspect that it may be related to this case. I need you both to head there now.
The air downtown felt colder, crisper. Every inhale burned the inside of my nose and lungs, the sharpness of the morning settling deep into my chest.
When we arrived at the scene, several police cruisers were parked outside a local corner store, their lights still flashing against the surrounding buildings.
Crime scene tape cordoned off the sidewalk, enclosing the area where a body lay beneath a black body bag.
A police officer who looked to be in his late thirties approached us, both hands buried in the pockets of his jacket.
“Mornin’. I’m Officer Williams.”
He turned and led Ares and me toward the crime scene.
“We’ve got one DOA. Male, no identification. Three gunshot wounds to the chest and one to the head. No suspects at this time. The only witness is the store owner, but he couldn’t give us a clear description of the man who fled the scene.”
“I’m Special Agent Valiente, and this is my partner, Special Agent Rivera.” Ares folded his arms across his chest. “Do we know when this happened?”
“About an hour ago.” Ares nodded. “Can we see the body?”
Williams nodded, lifting the crime scene tape and gesturing for us to duck underneath.
“Forensics have already processed the scene. They’ll be removing the body shortly.”
Ares crouched beside the victim and carefully lowered the zipper of the body bag, exposing his face.
My breath caught and my eyes widened.
“Eric.”
Ares immediately looked at me.
“We interrogated him a few hours ago,” I whispered, unable to tear my eyes away from the body. “And now he’s dead?”
My blood ran cold. I straightened, instinctively scanning the surrounding streets. Left. Right. Across the road. The alleyway beside the store.
This wasn’t a coincidence. Someone killed him.
Cold-blooded murder.
A warning, or perhaps an attempt to erase a loose end.
Ares’s jaw clenched as he reached for his phone.
“Call Braun.” I looked at him as his expression hardened. “This is definitely connected to Dominion.”
ARES
Amala’s maroon and gold Van Cleef bracelet currently hid underneath my jacket sleeve, wrapped tightly around my forearm.
Should I have divulged that information to her?
Perhaps.
Before leaving the hotel room on our last day, I spotted it lying on the ground beside the bed but by then, Amala already left.
Initially I intended to return it to her but now for some reason I wanted to hold onto it a little longer.
Apparently the flimsy piece of jewellery cost quite a penny so I wanted to make her sweat.
Keep her blood pressure rising.
Though it seemed like my plan worked against me because the weight of the item dragged me down, burning my skin.
I entered the bullpen, nodding at the other agents and analysts as I passed by and came to a standstill next to Nicolas.
“You’re late.” He muttered, slowly turning to look at me. “You should tell your conquests that you’re only available some weekends.”
Nicolas wasn’t in the office yet when Amala and I were sent downtown but I didn’t feel the need to explain myself, so with a straight face I looked at him before answering.
“I haven’t gotten my dick wet in years if that’s what you’re insinuating.”
I deadpanned.
He laughed and shook his head. “I don’t believe that.”
The bullpen buzzed with chatter, phones ringing, endless typing, and of course Asher’s voice slicing through the air with Stephanie right behind him.
“Alright people listen up.” He clicked a button on the remote in his hand, an array of information popping up on the screens in front of us. “We’re all aware of the incident that happened two nights ago. This headquarter is currently being closely monitored to prevent any possible threats.”
Stephanie stepped forward, pushing her glasses back. “Our suspect, Eric, who mentioned Dominion, was found dead this morning which surely is no coincidence.”
She said, “Did we manage to find anything relating to that call sign?”
“Did we manage to find Beverly, Eric’s wife?” Asher spoke to a few other agents, the chaos ensuing around us nearly made my brain short-circuit.
“We’ve completed a deep dive.” Kayden entered the conversation. “Unfortunately we still haven’t found any relevant information about him but we can easily turn nothing into something.”
He spoke confidently. “If someone managed to clean sweep their existence, it meant they’re not trying to be found.”
He paused, handing a file to Stephanie.
“Now there are only two individuals who can accomplish something of that magnitude.” He said.
“Hackers or someone working on the inside,” Amala spoke and Kayden snapped his fingers.
My gaze flicked to her for a few seconds, scanning her attire and posture.
Those black jeans clung to her legs with her phone fitting snugly into her back pocket.
“Exactly. If this Dominion character disappeared a decade ago and served in the military as a Lieutenant then surely there should be information we can find. Even the best of the best are prone to slipping up. I’ve gathered the list of names of the people who served in the military a decade ago from various bases but we’re most likely going to find what we need in the Army branches but we’ll look into the Navy, Air Force, and Marines just to be sure. ”
“Thank you, Kayden.”
Stephanie smiled but her expression quickly turned serious seconds later.
“What we’re dealing with could be a real threat to the Bureau or it could be a pawn. A distraction from something more sinister. Either way, we’ll need to ensure we’re covering all our bases.” she said.
“If there is a mole, we’ll need to be discreet because it would most likely be someone in a position of power and we wouldn’t want to alarm them.” Nicolas and I looked at each other, raising our eyebrows.
“Vaanya, get me the footage of the street Eric walked along before being approached by Dominion and see what you can find. A license plate, the car’s make and model, anything identifiable that will help us find more information.”
“We found a link between this case and the Antonio Freeman investigation,” Trevor spoke and this made Nicolas’ eye twitch. “Messages from Antonio to an unknown number via an encrypted chat with the call sign being used once.”
“Antonio Freeman was involved with the distribution of narcotics. Are you saying there’s a possibility the head of this operation is someone else?” I asked, stepping forward.
“Seems that way,” Asher confirmed. “Nicolas, I want you to retrieve the case files on Antonio and see what you can find. If there’s a witness, a lead, follow it and take Mariana with you.”
Nick nodded, grabbed his jacket, and waited for his partner to follow before leaving with haste.
“Amala and Ares,” Asher paused.
“You’re going undercover.”