Chapter 6 - The Interrogation
The blinding flashlights of the police officers completely illuminated the dusty maintenance room.
Stella raised her shaking hands in the air, her clothes covered in thick black grease from the ventilation shaft.
"Do not shoot, we are the victims here!" Stella yelled frantically.
The lead officer lowered his weapon slightly and recognized the paralyzed man on the floor.
"Jonah Navarro," the officer sneered with obvious disgust.
"We received an anonymous tip that you were executing a rival gang member inside this bank."
The officers aggressively handcuffed Stella and roughly hoisted Jonah back into his abandoned wheelchair in the lobby.
They were transported in separate, heavily armored police vehicles to the downtown precinct.
Stella was thrown violently into a cold, concrete interrogation room and locked inside for hours.
She paced the small room, her mind racing with terrified thoughts about her desperate situation.
She had just helped the most notorious crime boss in the city escape a lethal trap, and now she was facing serious federal charges.
Finally, the heavy metal door clicked open, and a sharp-suited detective walked in carrying a thick file.
He sat down and tossed a series of glossy photographs directly onto the metal table.
The pictures showed the gruesome, bloody aftermath of the shootout in Jonah's grand foyer.
"Your fingerprints are all over the soup pot that severely burned those two men, Miss Quinn," the detective stated coldly.
"You are looking at twenty years in a federal penitentiary for aiding and abetting a known syndicate boss."
Stella felt her stomach drop completely into her shoes.
She explained that she acted entirely in self-defense, but the detective simply laughed at her story.
"Jonah Navarro is a ruthless monster who will happily let you take the fall for his crimes," the detective warned.
"If you testify against him and give us access to his accounts, we will grant you full immunity."
Stella looked at the photographs and remembered how vulnerable Jonah had looked when he was suffering from neurogenic spasms.
She remembered that he did not abandon her in the vault when he easily could have.
"I am his medical caregiver, and I have absolutely nothing to say without a lawyer," Stella replied firmly.
The detective slammed his fist angrily on the table and stormed completely out of the room.
Ten minutes later, the door opened again, and a well-dressed lawyer walked in with a smug smile.
He unlocked Stella's handcuffs and told her she was completely free to go.
"Mr. Navarro has already posted your bail and cleared your name of all charges," the lawyer explained smoothly.
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Stella walked out into the busy police precinct lobby, fully expecting to see Jonah waiting for her.
Instead, Victor, the scarred rival boss she had burned with soup earlier that day, was standing near the exit door.
