Ana Rocha_Shadows of Justice

  “Not now, Bryan.”

  “You—”

  “Not. Now.” The look in my eyes makes the man whose twice my size back off. “Where is he?”

  “…in his office,” Bryan replies.

  Cap’s door is closed, but unlocked. A shut door always means go away, but not today. Through the closed blinds, I make out the shadow of a visitor. His loud, authoritative voice spills into the hallway and stops me from opening the door right away.

  “She knew we were coming, Scott! As soon as your office—”

  “My office!?” Cap fires back. “The Intel was yours and you’re blaming my office!?”

  “Not just your office—the whole HPD! The operation was air-tight until you all got involved.”

  “Without our manpower, there wouldn’t have even been a damn operation in the first place! And almost nobody knew until the day of—”

  “Don’t try to cloud the fact that Thorne’s got people in HPD!” The stranger loudly replies. “She likely has at least one person in this building. But we haven’t lost everything yet. If you let me talk to her, we may be able to salvage all this.”

  “No, absolutely not! Not after what—”

  This is probably the worst time to walk into the office, but who gives a damn right now. I push open the door and go inside. As soon as I do, their voices suddenly cease and their gazes focus on me. Cap’s face is reddening as he stands behind his desk with his open palms pressing onto it. He’s covered in a bit of sweat. The other person—a dark skinned man—is dressed in a suit and tie. He possesses a G-man look. Definitely FBI.

  “Ana—” Cap’s stern voice starts.

  “You must be Ana Rocha.” The FBI agent smoothly cuts off Captain Scott before taking a step towards me and offering a handshake. His voice isn’t like before. In fact, it’s done a 180. This must be something they teach in FBI school. I take his hand, hesitantly though. He has a firm grip and charming smile. “Ben Smith. FBI.”

  “I figured as much.”

  His demeanor radiates with charisma. It would be impossible to tell that he was in a yelling match a few minutes ago. I wonder if all FBI agents come like this. “You must be Ana Rocha. Heard a lot about you when you caught the Attorney General’s attention.” He pauses. “You look tired, officer.”

  “Nothing I haven’t dealt with.”

  He slightly nods. “I was hoping to run into you one of these days. Everyone says you’re a damn good cop.”

  Cap’s eyes go from Ben to me and then back to Ben, but he doesn’t say anything. This is weird. The whole situation feels awkward. Why haven’t they thrown me out yet for interrupting them? I had my rebuttal ready and everything.

  Ben continues. “Your captain seems to be a bit overprotective of you. I was hoping to have had you as a part of the operation yesterday.”

  “He has his reasons.”

  “I’m sure.” Ben glances back at Cap for a few long moments before his eyes gaze refocuses on me. “But all the same, you intruded at a perfect time.”

  It sure didn’t sound like the perfect time.

  “I’m sure you heard about yesterday’s debacle,” Ben continues.

  “The whole world did.” I take a deep breath. “And that’s why I’m here.”

  Ben raises an eyebrow. “Really?”

  I try to close the office door, but Ben’s words stop me.

  “Please. Leave it open, Ana.”

  It’s an odd thing to ask, but I do what he says as I reply, “We’re going to bring Ebony down and I’m going to spearhead it.”

  “…how?”

  “If I get a confession, can you get her to sing?”

  Ben slightly smiles. “I’ll get her to dance.”

  “Officer Mend—” Cap starts.

  Holding up his hand, Ben cuts Cap off. “Do you have a plan?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Good. Because I have one.”

  “…what?” Is he serious? And if he is, why isn’t he asking me to close the door? Shouldn’t we be discussing this in private?

  “I wanted to speak to you. There’s a way we can still bring her down. But like I said, your captain seems to be a bit overprotective of you.” Ben pauses. “Are you doing this for your sister?”

  “So you know?”

  “Word got out pretty quickly. Apparently, even Thorne knows about it. That’s why I think she has someone in this station.”

  “Good.”

  “Ana.” Cap comes out from behind his desk, “I won’t allow you to do any such thing. What Ben is going to ask you to do is dangerous. Too dangerous for anyone.”

  “I have to, sir.”

  “No, you don’t.”

  “It’s the only way.”

  “Don’t force my hand, Ana.”

  Ben looks over at him. “Scott, let—”

  “I’ve heard enough from you!” Cap’s fist slams onto his desk, silencing Ben. His gaze comes onto me before he takes a deep breath. “You are leaving me with no choice here, Ana. I’m relieving you from duty by temporarily suspending you. You will give me your gun and badge. And then you will leave.”

  ***

  A few minutes later, Ben and I exit the office together. He lightly closes the door behind us. My heart is racing after everything that occurred inside. A part of me can’t believe all this. But it’s happening. With Cap’s office door open, the entire station likely heard the commotion, which means that Ebony Thorne will soon know that I’ve lost my badge.

  But that’s what I’m counting on.

  “…I’m sorry about what happened inside, Off—Ana.”

  I keep my eyes focused straight ahead, not glancing Ben’s way. “It’s not your fault. It’s what had to happen.”

  “He was probably right though. You should rest.”

  “No time for that now.” I start to walk away from him.

  “…what are you going to do?”

  “One of two things: die or…” I slightly turn my head back to look at him. “Shake this city up.”

  Chapter 16

  Den of Wolves

  Bryan meets me at the appointed spot. My car doors are unlocked, and he takes a seat on the front passenger seat. He doesn’t say anything immediately, keeping his gaze focused straight ahead. After a few long moments of silence, he finally looks my way. No doubt, he’s second-guessing what he’s come here to do. I don’t blame him. I think a part of me is too. But today, I won’t listen to that voice.

  “You don’t have to do this, Bryan. I’ve gotten you into enough trouble already.”

  “I think it’s too late for turning back now, Ana.”

  “What did he say?”

  “Hector said she’ll be at Desire tonight. She’ll be in the second-floor room with an out-of-state drug lord—Chung—who’s negotiating a deal with her.”

  “Is he a big fish?” I ask.

  “Not half as big as her. They’ll be half a dozen armed hostiles in the place plus the bouncers.”

  I slowly nod. “Do you think she knows?”

  “About your dismissal? Well, she has ears everywhere.”

  “Hopefully not in this car. Otherwise we’re all screwed.”

  Bryan slightly smirks.

  I take a deep breath, thinking of what the night will hold.

  “Ana… whatever you do…”

  “Yes?”

  I know what he’s thinking. He’s afraid. Afraid that he is sending another partner out to die. He shakes his head lightly, not saying the words that were about to escape his mouth. “Nothing, Ana. See you tomorrow, bright and early.”

  “As always, Bryan… as always.”

  ***

  I’ve never been in a nightclub before. The closest I’ve come is seeing them in the movies, and even those were far and few between.

  I park a few blocks away and make my way there on foot. The streets are crowded with the type of people you’d expect to see in this part of town on a Friday night. This is not the type of place that I ever thought I’
d be in.

  But I ignore them all. Dressed in a pair of blue jeans and wearing a leather jacket over my shirt, I stick out from the crowds of lewdly dressed men and women. I see the building in the distance. The florescent lights reading “Desire” are a bright crimson. The club stands out from the other buildings. It seems to tower above them and almost possesses an intimidating presence.

  My resolve grows stronger with every step. The closer I arrive, the more I think about one thing: Angela. I remember the endless rain splashing against me during her funeral. I remember my face being covered in tears and uncontrollably sobbing as I watched her body lowered into the grave. I remember how my heart screamed that day and every day since. I can still hear my mind refusing to accept the reality.

  It’s all brought me to this point.

  Even from outside the walls, I easily hear the blaring music. There’s a long line to get in. A bouncer at the door turns most people away. But tonight, I’m skipping the line. Without any hesitation, I walk past the crowd of indecently dressed patrons and straight towards the large bouncer. He sees me coming, but doesn’t seem alarmed. After all, I’m just a woman.

  He puts his hand up. “There’s a line, missy.”

  “My name is Officer Rocha.” I maintain my stoic expression. “I have a warrant to search the premise.”

  There’s an awkward pause. The whole crowd’s focus is on me now. After what seems like a long moment, he suddenly sneers. “I was told about you. We all were. They said you might be coming tonight. But we all know you’re not an officer. Not anymore.”

  “So you won’t comply?”

  “What I’ll do is give you ten seconds to walk away before I shoot—”

  Thump!

  Before he gets a chance to finish his statement, he’s picking himself up off the floor. I hear a gasp escape the onlookers as I knock him down with one quick strike to his guts and a second vicious blow to his head. But I don’t give the bouncer a chance to recover. With a swift and powerful kick to the skull, he’s out cold.

  I turn around to face the line of clubbers. There gazes travel from the unconscious bouncer and back to me in utter disbelief. This was definitely not what they were expecting tonight.

  “Party’s over, folks.”

  ***

  Inside the club, the dance floor is congested. The music is so brash that I’m half surprised the windows don’t blow out. It seems that anybody would go deaf within ten minutes of it. But I don’t pay it any more attention than it deserves. It’s dark in here and I almost have to squint just to make out the silhouettes of everyone. The only lighting are LED club lights that continuously rotate. On the sides of the overcrowded dance floor are multiple bars.

  Coming into the club, I immediately look towards my right. There’s a spiral staircase leading to the second floor. At the top of the steps is a closed door. There is one man halfway up the staircase and two more sentries outside of the door. They’re likely armed. But I don’t care.

  I take a deep breath. My eyes hold no fear. This job taught me that fear keeps you alive, but right now my soul is making me forget it. There are times when a person needs to use their brain. But I’ve learned that there are also times when you just need to beat the crap out of somebody. Right now is one of those instances.

  I’m not afraid to die. Not tonight.

  Let’s do this, Ana.

  Without any hesitation, I step towards the staircase. The men see me headed their way. They hesitate at first, thinking that I’m just a lost clubber. But the look in my eyes tells them what I’m here for. As I reach the foot of the stairwell, I see the closest man unsheathe a switchblade.

  Don’t hesitate, Ana. Not now.

  “I’m an officer.” I reach into my pocket where my badge and warrant would be. “I have a warrant to search upstairs.”

  He takes a step towards me, twirling his knife in an effort to intimidate me.

  “I’m obligated to advise you that trying to stop me will be breaking the law. And I have the authority to use force.” I take a deep breath. “But a part of me really wants to kick all of your asses.”

  The thug lunges at me.

  Don’t let him get close with that knife.

  I sidestep his blade. I bring down my elbow onto his forearm, crashing his wrist into the stairwell’s guardrail. He instinctively drops the blade and sends his other fist at me. I duck my head, avoiding it, before cross-facing him with my elbow. As he spits out blood and becomes momentarily stunned, I grab his head and violently slam it against the railing, knocking him out cold.

  Perfect.

  My heart’s racing now. Sweat streaks down my cheeks. Vision is tunneled. But I don’t care.

  Nobody except the thug’s comrades noticed the commotion. I look back towards the closed door. The two men see the fire in my eyes. I see the shock in theirs. If they were alone, they may have hesitated. And if they knew that I’m the one who killed Vinny the Rat, they may have even surrendered without a fight. But they think their numbers give them an advantage. People like them always travel in packs. That’s the way it was when Angela was killed.

  They’re both stronger than me and have the high ground. But if I meet them near the top of the staircase, I’ll have one major advantage against them.

  I walk up towards them, fists clenched and eyes focused. We finally meet three-quarters up the staircase. No one hesitates.

  Don’t send in the first strike. Remember everything you learned in taekwondo. Let them make the first move—let them leave themselves exposed—then counter in the opening. Use the environment. The big one is the leader. He’ll come at you first.

  I duck, avoiding the big man’s haymaker. The follower sends a blow, but I sidestep it. His other hand is holding a half-empty bottle of liquor. He sends it down at me, but I knock his hand away and force him to loudly break the bottle against the railing, spilling its contents all over the steps.

  No wrong moves here, Ana. One blow and you’ll fall down the stairs.

  I don’t think. I just react. I dodge the next strike from the leader. Stepping up, I grab his wrist before moving my foot to swipe his feet from behind. He tries to catch his footing, but it slips on the spilt alcohol. Before he realizes what’s happening, he’s violently tumbling down the steps.

  The last goon lunges at me, fists swinging. He’s faster than the other one. I weave my head to dodge the first strike. Then I evade the second. His fist passes inches away from my skull, but leaves him a bit off-balance.

  Now it’s my turn to strike. Lowering my shoulder, I charge right into his guts. I hear him let out a groan as he loses his balance. He reaches for the railing, trying to regain his balance, but his fingers fall inches short. He follows his comrade down to the bottom of the steps. By the time he stops moving, he’s out cold.

  Keep moving, Ana.

  I don’t know if the commotion catches any notice. But I imagine that everyone down below is too preoccupied to notice.

  Coming to the door, I open it with one great heave. It loudly swings on its hinges, revealing a corridor. At the end of the corridor is a single door which undoubtedly leads to the meeting room. But between me and the door is one heavyset man.

  Before he has the chance to say a word or react, I reach behind me and whip out a pistol. He instinctively raises his hands with wide eyes. Looking between my face and my gun’s barrel, he knows what happened to his friends outside.

  “On your knees.”

  He slowly obeys as I move closer to him. The man tries to hide his fear in his voice. “You know how to use that thing?”

  “Heard about Vinny the Rat?” Keeping my gun steadied on him, I move behind him. No false moves here, Ana. “Take a guess on who wasted him.”

  The guard doesn’t say a word, but he gets the message.

  You got one shot at this, Ana. Make it count.

  Raising my pistol up, I bring it down on the back of his head. The collision sounds off a loud echo and he immediately collapses. I tak
e a moment to make sure he’s not faking it. With a deep breath, I turn and look at the door.

  Behind it is the culmination of everything. Angela’s face burns bright in my mind and so does the memory of her funeral. I don’t know what will be behind this door. It may be my death. It may be closure. Or it may be proof that no matter how long I live, there is nothing I can do to ever regain the peace I lost.

  But whatever it is, I’ll embrace it with open arms.

  ***

  Take a deep breath, Ana. The adrenaline is pumping through your blood. Use it to your advantage, but don’t let it cloud your mind. Focus, Ana. Focus.

  To be so close after all these years, with nothing more than a door separating me from the climax of all my pain—it feels surreal. But this is really happening. This is it.

  Gun in hand, I quickly check to make sure that using it as a club didn’t jam it. Seeing that it’s still good to go, I slide the clip back in before looking back at the door. I shut my eyes, inhaling one more breath. One way or another, everything will end tonight. This is it.

  My eyes open. Cocking back my leg, I send it down onto the door. The blow causes the very walls to tremor. The handle breaks and it swings wide open.

  I go in, weapon raised.

  There she is! Sitting at the end of a table is Ebony Thorne. My vision tunnels onto her. The world stops. For a moment, I think I’m dreaming. Our gazes lock. But when she sees me standing there with a gun, her eyes suddenly change—a hint of fear enters them. And when it happens, my mind returns to the reality of it all.

  Behind her is her large bodyguard, Pedro. Chung sits opposite of her; his own bodyguard is armed with an AK47. But as soon as I charge into the room, all eyes are on me.

  “Everybody freeze!”

  My words fall on deaf ears. And in the next instant, all hell breaks loose.

  Chung’s bodyguard immediately aims his automatic rifle. But before he can fire a shot, I point my pistol at him and pull the trigger. My bullet violently rips through his shooting arm’s shoulder, knocking him off of his feet. As he collapses, his head bangs against the hard table’s side.