Chapter 4 - The Corrupted Chain
I stood frozen in the hallway with my weapon aimed at my own boss.
Director Vance was supposed to be in Washington, not ransacking my father's home.
I stepped into the doorway and demanded to know what he was doing here.
Vance did not even flinch when he saw the barrel of my gun pointed at his chest.
He calmly placed a stack of my father's financial documents into his leather briefcase.
He told me to lower my weapon and remember my place in the chain of command.
I refused to lower my gun and demanded answers.
Vance sighed and explained that Vanessa was not just a fugitive from justice.
He revealed that she was actually a high-level confidential informant for our agency.
She had been placed in this town to help the bureau dismantle a local money-laundering ring.
I screamed at him that she was using her protected status to murder my father.
Vance coldly replied that collateral damage was an acceptable price for national security.
He ordered me to drop the investigation immediately and return to my post.
He threatened to strip my badge and charge me with treason if I interfered with his operation.
I realized the entire system I had dedicated my life to was corrupted to the core.
I slowly lowered my weapon and pretended to accept his authority.
Vance smiled arrogantly and walked past me toward the stairs.
The moment his back was turned, I drove the butt of my gun into the back of his knee.
Vance collapsed with a loud groan of pain.
I swiftly kicked his weapon away and secured his hands with heavy zip-ties.
I searched his pockets and found a set of brass keys covered in dried mud.
One of the keys matched the exact description my father had given me at the hospital.
I grabbed the keys and ran out of the house.
As I started my car, my cell phone buzzed with an unknown incoming call.
I answered it cautiously.
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My brother Mark was on the other end, crying hysterically.
He screamed that Vanessa had just poisoned him and left him to die.
