I looked up over the houses watching the black smoke from Ernesto’s house engulf the afternoon sky. I could hear more sirens coming up the road to join the others that was already there. As soon as I was able to, I ran… I had to because the last thing I needed was to get arrested for a crime I didn’t commit. Taking out Ernesto and his mother then rigging their house was a bit excessive to me. Residents that were two blocks away were on their front lawns wondering what was the commotion. It didn’t make any sense to make a big show like that drawing in so much attention unless that was the purpose of it all.

I turned around looking for Charlie and he was gone. He started walking down the street. He was standing behind a minute ago on the phone with someone telling them what happened. His Army shirt had big burn holes all over and his blue jeans were covered in ash and dirt. In between some of holes were red blotches from the cuts he got from the debris hitting him. He stopped and pulled his T-shirt off over his head then rolled the shirt placing it around his neck. That’s when I saw the big blue bruises all down the side of his back. In the midst of everything, I forgot he shielded me from most of the debris that fell down on us. I doubled looked before calling out to him, “Hey! Where are you going?!”

He stopped and looked at me just as surprised. “What do you mean? You said you wanted to go separate way so I’m leaving. I got shit to do and people to fucking see! Full disclosure Ally, I warned you. I told you, shit Priest told you, to stay out of this.” Charlie pointed to my jacket, “You should take that off by the way, just in case the police roll by and decide to get curious.”

I stopped in my tracks when he turned around. He was clearly upset. His words were sharp almost like he was trying to snap at me. I exhaled deeply before I responded. I took off my scorched jacket and folded it over my arm. “Well, I’m in it now. Whether I want to be or not… You have to understand, I’m all down for the action but this is too much and now I have Chief Bernard on my ass. I left the Intelligence for a reason Charlie… We have to do things my way, sneaky and peacefully. That’s my style…”

Charlie just stood there looking at me with a blank face. He didn’t say anything for a few seconds, “There is no ‘sneaky and peacefully’ anymore Ally. I thought by now you would have pieced this together. We’re in the middle of a war. Both of us got thrown into the middle of this! There are no rules, no peacefully anything, its do or die at this moment. I would never put you in harms way Ally, so if you want to go your separate way I understand.” His phone went off in his pocket. After he grabbed it and stared at the screen before he looked up back at me, “I wish you the best of luck…” Charlie slowly turned around and dashed across the street to the other side.

I knew then he was right about one thing, we were both thrown into the middle this of the whole situation. I know he’s still keeping pieces from me like I am from him. If we are to get out of this mess alive, we need another. The list of people either of us can trust is very small, tiny even. I know I can trust and rely on Amber but I don’t want to put her in any more danger. The less she’s involved the better. Before he got too far away, I dashed after him, “Charlie wait!” He stopped again and turned around but this time he smirked at me. We sped walked side by side, cutting through the neighborhood. My mind was still turning from what just happened, “I don’t understand, what did any of the families have to gain by blowing up Ernesto and his mom like that?”

Charlie kept looking down at his phone. He looked up twice scanning the area like he was looking for something specific. He shrugged his shoulders then said, “Nothing probably… I’m sure they tortured them first for information. In the end the whole thing was a show to send a message. The cat’s out the bag again and the fight to get to the top is going to be a nasty one.” His head sprung up one more time from looking at his phone, “There it is…”

“What are you looking for?” I asked as I followed his gaze. Charlie walked up to a silver Chevy Impala, a newer model and opened the driver’s side door. I ran to the other side and jumped into the passenger seat. “How do you… never mind I don’t want to know.”

Charlie held his bruised side when he laughed then quickly replied, “Oh trust me, this shit is costing me a fortune. Three cars in a one month! This car is just a loaner for now, a friend is letting me borrow it.” The Impala was supped up inside with large custom screen for the radio and blacked out tint on the windows. As we pulled away, I started to feel better about not being out in the open anymore. Walking down the street with half torn and burnt clothes made us stand out. I stared out the window before he broke my train of thought, “I know why I got thrown in the middle of this working for Consuelo and all, but answer me this… Why does Shanti have this blind faith that you will be able to solve the case to what happened to Douglas. She mentioned your fathers were close.” Right when he said that Charlie stopped at a stop sign. He sat there for a minute looking at me puzzled, “How close actually? How close was your dad and Douglas?”

I didn’t say anything at first. I had to think this through… That was my last card I had to kept to myself and closest friends. Should I tell Charlie about his missing piece? I quickly glanced down at my phone and saw I had three missed calls and a few text messages. One from Amber, Officer Jamie and Jason my hacker. I checked in with Amber telling her I was okay then I replied back to Jason saying I was on my way. Jason’s message was clear, ‘We need to talk’. I looked over at Charlie and said, “We’re about to find out.” Telling

Charlie could help bring all the pieces together however it would be exposing Jason’s part in helping me. Besides, I needed to hear what he had to say first. Who knows what Jason found?

“We’re about to find out what?” Charlie shifted in his seat as he made a left down on the main road.

“I… I know where your missing ledgers are. The notebooks you couldn’t find. I have a friend helping me decode them, most of them are in pieces.” I put my hands in defense. Charlie looked at me surprise like he just heard the best news in his life. “But! You have to trust me when I need to speak to him alone.” I looked down at my lap, “My dad had them… and my friend is helping me figure the why. I need to hear what he has to say.”

Charlie nodded his head agreeing with the terms. “Okay… whatever gets us one step closer to finishing this. So where am I going?” I told Charlie the address and right away he knew where he was going. Slowly Charlie pulled into the street parking space in front of the Jason’s house. He huffed aloud as he put the car in park, “Jason! I should have known. Yea it’ll be best if I stayed in the car.”

“You know Jason?” I was afraid to ask, “Is there an issue?”

“No, no… Jason’s valuable and good at what he does, I just know he spooks easily. Long story… Smart kid though.” Charlie laughed to myself as he popped the trunk. “I know Turk got to have some extra clothes in here.” He whispered as I stepped out of the car.

Before reaching the door, I thought about turning about and telling Charlie to just go home and get a change of clothes. He was pulling out random things from his friend’s car. I knew it would be a waste of time because he wanted those ledgers back. He wanted to know what Jason found out as well. Jason didn’t have the ledgers I did and I only told him what I needed him to know. When I approached his door, it was already propped opened. I knocked gently slowly pushing open the door. This was not like Jason he never left his door unlocked. Considering what Charlie and I just went through I was fearing the worst. “Jason?” I said quietly, “Jason, you in here?”

Again, when I walked in there it was dark and trashy inside. I peeked around his computer desk and Jason wasn’t sitting there. I looked around the corner in the kitchen and again nothing… Where in the hell? Coming out of a dark hallway leading to the bedrooms, Jason kicked a pop can scaring the shit out of me. “So, you roll up here with Charlie Sanchez? A shirtless Charlie Sanchez I might add… Since when do you hang around the ‘Tax Collector’?” I turned towards the window and looked out through the slightly opened shades. So that’s what he does… I guess I knew already knew that but couldn’t give it a title. “You don’t even know who you’re rolling around with, do you?”

“I know who Charlie is…” I lied. “He’s besides the point, what do you find out?” I was too eager to think about what Charlie’s job right now. I was hoping Jason was going to tell me something I didn’t already know.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Jason walked around to his desk and sat down plopping in his chair. “Well, how much time do you have because I have some questions.” He looked at me concerned by what he was about to say. “The accounts I found and who they belong to is Derek Mitchell… isn’t that your dad?”

I pulled a folding chair and sit close to his desk on the opposite side. “What do you find?”

“A lot of things, like only some of those accounts numbers you gave me are in Douglas’ name but he had full access to the rest. I combed through majority of them even the ones with passwords and didn’t find the stolen money though. There was something else I found as well. ‘SW’ is also all over the accounts but only as initials. Whoever that is also had full access. These accounts are old and some have been closed and cashed out but there’s a few that still receives regular deposits.”

That really perked my interest. I dashed around the desk to look over his shoulder, “What do you mean? They’re still active? ‘SW’ is Sean Wayne, my dad’s old partner and the man who killed him.”

“Oh… I’m guessing you didn’t know nothing about their secret joint accounts, huh?”

I looked down and shook my head, “No, No I didn’t. I knew Douglas, Sean Wayne and my dad were close but not sharing an offshore account close… I need you tell me everything.”

Jason turned back to his computer and pointed to a date on the screen. The last deposit was only two weeks ago… “To answer your question, yes, they’re still active. That shit was hard to find! It’s tricky and hard to follow, you have to know what you’re looking for. Whoever set these accounts up knew what they were doing. As soon as the money hits the account, it bounces somewhere else only leaving the trail of only the deposit being made. Where these funds are going is the mystery. To find out where it’s going will take me some more time. I do recognize some of the accounts...”

“You know who they belong to?” I said as I tried reading the countless numbers and accounts on Jason’s three computer screens. It looked just like the written ledgers to me.

“Yea some are the account number to the businesses around here. Like this one.” He pointed down the screen,

“That’s the Barber Shop downtown and this one I believe belongs to Priest Diner.”

My heart skipped a beat when I heard ‘Priest Diner’. Priest told me he was completed out the game and had nothing to do with his brother or the Syndicate. “And those are from the active accounts?”

“Yep. There’s something else you should know. You’re working with or for Douglas’ daughter Shanti Edwards, right? Well, she’s been dibbled dabbling in the accounts too. There’s this one account that splits in four ways and one in her name. What I mean is it’s set up like a pie and each person has their own equal share. This was a red flag to me… She putting in the work to get access to them to empty the others shares.”

What?! Shanti was stealing from her siblings. “How can you tell it’s Shanti withdrawing the money?” I stayed standing behind Jason even after he did a one-eighty to turn and to face me.

“Here’s where it gets tricky…” He says while tapping his fingers together. “The primary account holder can give access to whatever they want. In this case your dad gave the access to Douglas and Sean Wayne. He’s also is the primary account holder for a lot of these accounts by the way… The account Shanti’s linked to is the only account she should be able to access. The only way she can gain access to them is if the other’s sign off giving up on their shares. From what I can tell, the only account that still has a piece of the pie is a Zima Sinclair… The piece linked to an Ernesto Martinez was signed over to Shanti, two days ago. Who is Ernesto Martinez and Zima Sinclair to Douglas anyway?” Jason turned around confused.

I replied in four words, “The Side Piece Kids”. Zima Sinclair was the second one. She could be in danger just like Ernesto. “Jason, I need Zima’s address and phone number can you get that for me? It’s an emergency!”

“Why what’s going on?” He picked up on my panic.

“Ernesto and his mom were found dead this morning and whoever did it covered up their tracks by blowing up their house. I know because Charlie and I almost blew up with it. We were trying to ask the boy some questions but someone got to him first. The last person who called was Shanti…”

Jason’s eyes opened wider, “Oh now that’s spooky. You think Shanti killed Ernesto?” I didn’t say anything as he looked up Zima’s address. I wasn’t sure what to think but the evidence was overwhelming. I had to let Jamie know that Zima Sinclair could be next if this pattern of hers was true. What in the flying hell? I’m supposed to be investigating what happened to her father and instead I’m investigating her… After he gave me the address, I made my way out the door. Jason stopped me and said, “There’s still a lot we haven’t got to yet especially the many accounts that solely belong to your dad.”

“I’ll come back tomorrow, alone this time. Thanks Jason!” I slammed the down on my way out and skipped down the stairs. Wasting no more time, I replied back to Jamie’s text asking her if she still wanted to meet at our usual spot. I had to let her know Zima could be in danger. She quickly responded saying ‘Sure in a half hour’.

When I stepped outside, Charlie was waiting in the car with the windows rolled down and the radio turned up loud. I guess he found a shirt somewhere in trunk. There was a pile a trash on the curb next to the car. I stepped over a small pile before getting back into the passenger seat. “Find what you were looking for?”

Charlie turned and lifted the wrinkly button up shirt, “Did you hear what you needed to hear?”

I smacked my lips, “Almost… but just enough for now. There’s somewhere else I need you to take me. I have to meet up with someone with another friend. I have to say something about the other Zima. Can you take me to the piers?”

“Yea I don’t mind but who’s Zima?” Charlie started the car and pulled into the main street heading towards downtown.

“The other Side Piece Kid… She could be in danger and someone could be after her too.” I didn’t have the heart to out say it was Shanti. Maybe there’s a good explanation to she’s cleaning out these kids piece of the pie.

Out of my peripheral, I kept seeing Charlie turning his head towards me wondering when I was going to speak up, “Are you going to tell me what Jason told you about the accounts on the ledgers?”

I didn’t turn in his way, instead I kept looking straight at the road. “I will, I promise. I just want to get to the pier to warn the police about Zima potentially being in danger.”

“The police?” Charlie quickly moved through traffic then turned down the small narrow street that led to the entrance of the pier. He slowly turned into the parking lot and saw Officer Jamie leaning against her police car.

“Your friend is a police officer? That police officer?”

“Yes, Officer Cook why?” I looked at him confused wondering what he was about to say.

He hesitated at first then said, “Just be careful what you say… Trust me on this Ally.”

I kept staring at him as I unbuckled the seatbelt. Again, not sure what to think about his comments, they’re always so vague or in code. “Okay…” When I got out of the car, Charlie decided to reverse backwards and park somewhere on the street then at the pier. As he drove away, I could see him looking at me in the rearview mirror. Talking about Jason being spooked… I said aloud to myself.

When I approached Jamie, she had an angry pissed look on her face. It made me stop just before getting in her personal space. At first, I didn’t whether the look was towards me or towards Charlie or something completely different. “So as for an hour ago, there’s a warrant issued out for your arrest. Apparently, there were a few eye witnesses who saw you and a man quickly leaving Ernesto Martinez’ house this morning shortly after it blew up. When you were going to fucking tell me you were in trouble? I could get in trouble right now just speaking with you!”

I wasn’t that shocked that dick head Chief Bernard issued the warrant, I was shocked it happened so fast. “Jamie wait! I can explain. I need to tell you about Douglas’ other kid Zima Sinclair. She could be in trouble just like Ernesto was…”

“Stop! You aren’t a police officer Ally! We already know about Sinclair and that has nothing to do with you!” Jamie lifted off the police car and slowly walked towards me. I could hear her radio go off talking about the potential suspects from this morning. “Also… when you were going to tell me that you were there that night of the train crash? The night when three of my colleagues were murdered in cold blood? They found some of your blood at the crime scene. How are you going to explain that? I thought we were close Ally, friends even and you’ve been lying to me this whole time.”

“Jamie, it’s not like that. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t know what to think about myself. It all happened so fast I…”

“That’s bullshit! You could have came to me and you didn’t! Now I can’t help you nor do I want to because I’m not losing my job over someone like you!”

“Jamie please!” I screamed trying to reason with her. She heard nothing…

“Who killed him? Who killed my partner, Officer Stevens? I know you know so don’t fucking lie to me.” My silence said enough. I wasn’t going to give up Charlie. He saved me life that night… “I see, so you’ve chosen you side and now I have to choose mine.”

I had enough getting dragged through this shit. It felt like everyone had some finger pointed towards me… “It was self defense Jamie! I didn’t see who shot your partner because I was too busy running away trying not to get killed myself! Your partner and the others were trying to kill us that night! After leaving Priest Diner, they followed us and tried to push us into the train! I hopped out and ran okay! Fuck that! Choose your side, I choose to stay the fuck alive!”

I turned my back to Jamie and started to walk away back towards the street where Charlie parked. “Dammit Ally tell me or I’ll arrest you?”

Slightly turning my head looking back and said, “Arrest me then…”