The sun was close to setting over Manhattan as Uriel Zander sat at his desk, looking down between his legs at the tangled mess of files across the desk. Everything had changed so much in light of revelations from Caden. Up to this point, Uriel had been working to discredit the FBI's case and poking holes in their evidence; now, he had another angle: that perhaps Caden was just a pawn in an effort to bring attention away from the true leaders within the trafficking network. Being able to show who the mastermind was behind this would give it a completely different turn.

Uriel reached over and grabbed his telephone, punching Jake Oliver's number into the system. He knew he couldn't handle this investigation himself. He would need people on the ground, people who could get their hands dirty in a way he couldn't.

Jake finally picked up after a few rings, his voice gruff but alert. "Zander. What's going on?"

"I need more than just witness dirt this time, Jake," Uriel said, cutting straight to the chase. "Caden admitted something big. He's not as innocent a man as he's been claiming. He's a low-level member of the trafficking ring, but the higher-ups—the ones who really lead—they sold him out. They have leverage on him, and they are using him as a fall guy."

Jake let out a low whistle. "Damn, that complicates things."

"It does," Uriel said with a lean forward in his chair. "I need you to dig into this. Find out who's really behind the operation. If we can prove that Caden is just a pawn, it could blow the FBI's case wide open. There's no way they'll admit they're only taking down a small player."

"I'll see what I can do," Jake said, his voice serious. "But these kinds of operations don't leave a paper trail. It's going to take time, and it's going to be dangerous. If these people are as powerful as you say, they won't like me poking around."

Uriel knew the risk but didn't show any trepidation. "I need this, Jake. Caden's life depends on it. And so does this case."

"And I'll get to work. I've got some contacts who might know where to look. But no promises on how fast I can dig up something. These people cover their tracks."

Uriel nodded though he knew Jake couldn't see him. "Do what you can. Let me know if you find something."

Having hung up with Jake, Uriel called immediately Leo Ramirez. If Jake was going to investigate the power structure, Uriel needed Leo to dig deeper into the financial records. If the organization was still using Caden, there had to be some sort of financial leverage they were applying to keep him in line.

"Leo, it's Uriel," he said when Leo picked up.

"Zander," Leo replied. "Let me guess—you need more than just a timeline discrepancy?"

Uriel chuckled darkly. "You could say that. Caden confessed something to me. He's not as clean as we thought. He is in the trafficking ring, but he's low-level. The actual leaders just want to use him as a scapegoat. I need you to dig deeper into the finances, see if there is any trace of money between Caden and those higher up in the organization."

Leo let out a low hum, thinking. "That isn't going to be easy, Uriel. These guys know how to cover their tracks, especially if they're dealing in trafficking."

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"I know," Uriel said, his voice grim. "But there's got to be something. They wouldn't be able to operate without money moving. If we can find even the smallest connection, it might give us the leverage we need in court."

"I'll see what I can do," Leo said. "But if these guys are pros, it'll be buried deep. Give me a few days and I'll dig through everything I can."

Uriel thanked him and hung up. The pieces were starting to come together, but he knew they were running out of time. They were not going to sit still—the FBI was not about to let this slide—and if they were going to have any chance of flipping the narrative in court, he needed to get ahead of them.

Even while facing the weight of the Spears case, Uriel found time to help out his colleagues at the Public Defender's Office. It was an old habit, one which anchored him whenever the stakes of the case that was his own became too large.

In the break room of the busy office, Uriel leaned against the wall, taking in a case file Julia, one of the junior attorneys, had handed him.

"Alright, so you got a robbery," Uriel said, scanning the file quickly. "But the witness statement is shaky?"

Julia nodded, chewing her lip. "Yeah, the witness said they saw my client around the scene, but they were 30 feet away and it was dark. There is no physical evidence that puts him there."

Uriel handed her back the file, his mind already turning over a plan of action. "Cross-examine the witness hard. Make sure the jury knows how far away they were and the conditions would have been such that identifying anybody would have been really, very difficult. If you can undermine their credibility, then you will create doubt."

Julia's eyes went wide in admiration. "How do you come up with this stuff so fast?"

Uriel smirked. "Long enough to know every case has a weak spot. You just have to find it and exploit it."

On the other side of the room, David, another young attorney, having approached them with a thick file, asked, "Uriel, I got a DUI case. Blood alcohol was barely over the limit, and the field sobriety test wasn't conducted properly. What should I focus on?"

Uriel took a quick glance at the file and handed it back. "Focus on the sobriety test. If the officer didn't follow the procedure, you may be able to get the evidence suppressed. Even if you can't get it out, it's enough to make the jury question the officer's judgment."

David grinned, shaking his head. "Man, I don't know how you're managing this Spears case and still giving us advice on these smaller ones."

Uriel's smirk faltered as he shrugged. "These cases remind me why I do this. They're simple, but they're just as important to the people involved. And sometimes they help clear my head when the big cases start closing in."

As the night dragged on, Uriel came back to his apartment once more buried in the details of the Spears case. Karen had long gone home to get some rest from their relentless preparation. However, Uriel couldn't rest. Taking on the FBI was one thing; the shadowy organization behind Caden weighed forgetfully upon his shoulders.

He sifted through the financial records once more, searching for any patterns or discrepancies that Leo might have missed. Every dollar that flowed through Caden's accounts felt like a potential key to unlock the mystery of the leaders behind the organization.

But it was not only the legal fight that was now troubling him. Uriel couldn't kick the feeling that the organization was following him. That black SUV he had seen outside his apartment weeks ago had appeared again earlier in the night. It hadn't tailed him, but its appearance alone was enough to keep him on edge.

He went to the window and stared down through the quiet street below, his thoughts racing. If the real leaders had used Caden as a scapegoat, where would they stop to cover themselves? Was Uriel being tailed? Was his involvement putting him—and those around him—in danger?

He forced himself to push the thought aside because now there was no room for paranoia. He had a case to win, and the clock was ticking.

He turned back to the desk when his phone buzzed. It was a text from Jake.

Jake: Got something. Meeting tomorrow morning. Be ready.

The beat of Uriel's pulse quickened. If Jake had found something, it went without saying that was the break they needed. He took a moment to allow a little hope in before he sat back down at his desk and kept working. He would meet with Jake and Leo tomorrow; together, they would push deeper into the shadows of the organization pulling the strings.