Chapter 5 - The Counter-Offensive
The next morning, the Sterling machine tried to grind into motion. They didn't know the full extent of who they were dealing with; they only knew I had friends in high places. Richard Sterling, utilizing his vast network of highly paid lawyers and corrupt local officials, attempted a counterattack. He filed an emergency injunction, claiming I had kidnapped his daughter-in-law with the help of armed mercenaries. He pressured the local District Attorney to issue a warrant for my arrest on charges of aggravated assault, breaking and entering, and domestic terrorism.
Colonel Hayes met me in the hospital cafeteria, tossing a thick manila folder onto the table along with my black coffee. "Richard is making noise," Hayes said, pulling up a chair. "He’s trying to spin the narrative. His lawyers are demanding Sarah be returned to her 'loving husband' and that you be incarcerated immediately. They've already leaked a story to the press about a deranged father-in-law attacking their estate."
I took a sip of the bitter coffee, my expression unchanged. "Let them make noise. Noise means they're panicked. What about the local DA?"
Hayes chuckled, a dry, humorless sound. "The DA received a very polite phone call from the Attorney General of the United States this morning. The local warrant was quashed before the ink was dry. The local police chief has been ordered to stand down and consider the Sterling estate a federal investigation zone. They are entirely cut off from their usual safety nets."
"Good," I said, tapping the manila folder. "Did your team analyze the data?"
"We did," Hayes confirmed, his demeanor shifting back to strict military intelligence. "Sarah’s tip was dead on. Richard Sterling is running a massive shell game. But it’s worse than just a Ponzi scheme. He’s laundering money for the Valesco cartel. He uses his luxury real estate developments to wash their drug money. He got in over his head, lost a massive chunk of their capital in a bad deal, and the cartel gave him a deadline to repay. That’s why they were desperate for Sarah’s trust fund."
I felt my jaw tighten. They hadn't just put Sarah in danger; they had tied her to one of the most ruthless criminal syndicates in the hemisphere. If the cartel had found out Sarah knew about the ledgers, they would have killed her without a second thought.
"We have enough to arrest him for the financial crimes," Hayes continued. "But the cartel connection is buried deep in heavily encrypted offline servers located in the sub-basement of Sterling Enterprises' main headquarters downtown. It’s an absolute fortress. Private security, biometric scanners, laser grids. A raid would result in them purging the drives before we breach the server room."
I stood up, adjusting the collar of my flannel shirt, feeling the familiar, icy focus of a mission settling over my mind. "A raid would," I agreed quietly. "A raid is loud. A raid gives them time to react."
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Hayes looked up at me, a knowing glint in his eye. "You haven't run a solo black-bag operation in eight years, Arthur."
"I haven't had a reason to," I replied, turning toward the exit. "Get me the floor plans, a level-four encryption bypass rig, and a tactical suit. Tonight, the gardener goes to work."
