Chapter 130 Surveillance
Third Person POV
The federal headquarters building loomed ahead, it was made with glass and steel and the office showed an awful lot of bureaucratic authority.
Kane pulled up to the entrance. The FBI escort vehicles formed a tight perimeter around them, agents scrambling out before the Mercedes had even fully stopped.
Gavin stepped out into a storm of camera flashes and shouted questions.
“Mr. Cross! Did you kill Senator Morrison?”
“Do you have a statement?”
“Where’s your fiancée?”
He ignored all of it. Walking through the chaos like it didn’t exist. Like he was arriving at his own office building instead of a federal facility to be questioned for murder.
Agent Miller rushed to keep pace beside him. “Sir, if you’ll follow me to the interrogation…”
“I need to speak with Director Ramirez,” Gavin said.
“That’s… we need to process you first. Take your statement about…”
“Director Ramirez. Now.”
Agent Miller looked like he might cry. “I’ll… I’ll see if he’s available.”
“He’s available.”
They entered the building. Everyone stopped to stare as Gavin Cross walked through their headquarters like he owned it.The elevator ride up was silent except for Agent Miller’s nervous breathing.
When they reached the fifth floor, Miller led him down a hallway lined with offices.
They stopped at a door marked: Director Carlos Ramirez - Criminal Division
Miller knocked.
“Come in,” a voice called from inside.
Miller opened the door. “Director Ramirez, I have…”
“I know who you have, Agent Miller.” Director Ramirez stood from behind his desk. He was in his Fifties with salt-and-pepper hair, and very sharp eyes that missed nothing. “Mr. Cross. I was wondering when you’d arrive.”
“Director.” Gavin walked into the office. “We need to talk.”
“That’s an understatement.” Ramirez gestured to the chair across from his desk. “Please, sit.”
Gavin didn’t sit. Instead, he pulled a thick manila folder from inside his jacket and threw it onto Ramirez’s desk.
It landed with a heavy thud.
“What’s this?” Ramirez asked.
“The real Morrison case.”
Ramirez opened the folder and started reading. His expression changed almost immediately…eyebrows rising, eyes widening, his entire face going through a series of shock.
His eyes bulged like a frog.
“This is…” He flipped through page after page. Photos. Bank records. Phone transcripts. Video stills. “Where did you get this?”
“That doesn’t matter. What matters is it’s all verified. Authenticated and Court-ready.”
Ramirez kept reading. His hands were shaking slightly now. “Senator Morrison was killed by… oh my God.”
“Victor Konstantin,” Gavin finished. “Working on orders from organized crime networks. Morrison was about to testify against their money laundering operation. They eliminated him before he could.”
“And Diana Hayes…your fiancée…she framed you for it.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Personal vendetta. Irrelevant to the case.” Gavin’s voice was ice. “What’s relevant is that folder contains everything you need to close the Morrison murder.”
Ramirez looked up from the folder. “This is… Mr. Cross, do you understand what you’re giving me?”
“I understand perfectly.”
“This is bigger than Morrison. This connects to at least six other unsolved cases.” He flipped back through the pages. “International networks. This is…”
“Career-making,” Gavin finished. “Yes. And I’m giving it to you.”
“In exchange for what?”
“Charges dropped. Immediately.” Gavin leaned forward, placing both hands on the desk. “And I need access to your surveillance systems.”
“What?”
“Someone took something from me. I need to find them. And I need your department’s resources to do it.”
Ramirez sat back in his chair. “You want me to give you access to federal surveillance systems.”
“Yes.”
“That’s… Mr. Cross, I can’t just…”
“You can.” Gavin gestured to the folder. “I just handed you the biggest case of your career. In exchange, I need two hours. That’s all.”
Ramirez was quiet for a long moment. Then he pressed a button on his desk phone. “Get me the Deputy Director. And the lead prosecutor on the Morrison case. Now.”
He looked back at Gavin. “This better be worth it.”
“It is.”
Twenty minutes later, the charges were officially dropped. The fabricated evidence was being dismantled by federal prosecutors who were very interested in charging Diana Hayes with obstruction of justice and evidence tampering.
And Gavin was being led to the surveillance operations center by Director Ramirez himself.
“You have two hours,” Ramirez said as they walked. “After that, questions are going to be asked that I can’t answer.”
“Two hours is enough.”
They entered a large room filled with monitors and computer stations. Analysts working at various terminals, tracking operations across dozens of screens.
Everyone looked up when they entered.
“Out,” Ramirez said simply.
“Sir?” One of the analysts looked confused.
“Everyone out. Now. Clear the room.”
The room emptied in under a minute.
Ramirez gestured to the stations. “It’s all yours. What are you looking for?”
Before Gavin could answer, the door opened.
Kane walked in, followed by three of Marcus’s tech specialists.
“I didn’t authorize…” Ramirez started.
“They’re with me,” Gavin said.
The three men immediately spread out to different terminals. Fingers flying across keyboards. Pulling up systems. Running searches.
Ramirez looked like he wanted to protest. Then he looked at the folder he was still carrying…the one that was going to define his career.
He sighed. “Two hours. That’s all you get.”
“Understood.”
The specialists worked with focus. Gavin stood behind them, watching.
“Got something,” one of them said. “Three blocks from your penthouse. Eight hours ago. It was deleted but we managed to get the footage.”
“Show me.”
The footage appeared on the main screen. Grainy. Night-time. But clear enough.
A figure on the street. Stumbling. Clearly distressed.
Another figure was approaching. The red hair was visible even in the poor lighting.
“Enhance it”
The image zoomed in.
Melissa’s face came into focus it was Tear-stained, pale and very broken,
Something in my chest tightened painfully.
What did I do? How could I fix this? I’ve hurt her so much I didn’t know how I could forgive myself.
And the woman helping her…
Sophia Valdez.
My jaw clenched so hard my teeth ground together.
“Track that vehicle,” I said quietly.
More typing.
“The Mercedes went to the Upper West Side. Stayed at a private residence for approximately four hours. Then proceeded to Teterboro Airport.”
“When?”
“Six hours ago.”
Airport.
They’d taken her out of the city.
“Pull the flight logs,” I ordered.
The analyst’s fingers flew across the keyboard. “A private jet departed Teterboro seven hours ago. Registered to…” He stopped and looked at me. “Multiple shell companies. But they all trace back to holdings connected to the Valdez family.”
“Destination?”
“Flight plan filed for Medellín, Colombia.”
The room went silent.
Colombia.
Zeus’s territory.
My stomach went cold. The Five Families had her.
I turned to Kane. His face was expressionless, but his eyes burned with cold fury.
“Call Marcus,” I said. My voice was deadly calm. “Tell him to prepare the plane. We leave in one hour.”
“Sir…”
“One hour, Kane.”
Kane nodded and pulled out his phone.
Director Ramirez stepped forward. “Mr. Cross, I can’t let you leave the country while…”
“The charges are dropped. You said so yourself.”
“That doesn’t mean you can just…”
“Director Ramirez.” I turned to face him. “I’m not asking for permission. I’m leaving. ”
“Kane,” I said without looking away from the screen. “Make sure the plane is ready. And armed.”
“Armed, sir?”
“I’m not going to Colombia to surrender.”
I finally looked at him.
“I’m going to war.”
Kane’s lips curved into a cold smile. “Yes, sir.”
We walked out of the surveillance center.