Chapter 7 - The Gathering Storm
he wiretap servers were buzzing with activity. Within minutes of leaving my gates,
Victor had made a dozen frantic phone calls to his contacts in the local police department
and the city council, demanding they 'find a way to ruin Diana Vance' and 'get Sophia out of that
house.' He was panicking. The pressure of the upcoming Friday shipment, combined with his inability
to control his wife, was causing him to make massive, careless mistakes over the monitored phone
lines.
"He's completely unravelling, Judge," Agent Carter told me over our secure line that night. "We
just intercepted a call between Victor and a local precinct captain. He’s offering a fifty-thousanddollar cash bribe to anyone who can fabricate an emergency custody order or a mental health
warrant to bypass your federal jurisdiction. We’ve logged the entire conversation. The captain is
going down with him."
"Excellent," I said, reviewing the draft of the arrest warrants on my computer. "What about the
shipment at Pier 14?"
"Our undercover agents at the port have confirmed that the containers are loaded with illegal
military-grade weapons and unregistered currency," Carter replied. "Victor’s main enforcer is
coordinating the unloading. We have tactical teams in position, ready to move the moment the ship
Wrong Porch 6
F
docks. We also have a federal team standing by to raid the Hale Group headquarters and secure the
blackmail safe."
I looked at the framed photo on my desk of Sophia as a little girl, laughing in the sunshine. For
years, I had upheld the law with absolute impartiality, believing in the balance of justice. But Victor
Hale had crossed a line that no mother could ever tolerate. He had brought violence to my child, and
in doing so, he had invited the full, unmitigated wrath of the federal government into his life. I signed
the final batch of arrest warrants, my hand steady, my resolve absolute. "Execute the raids tomorrow
May you like
night, Carter. Leave nothing standing."
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