Hello everyone! Here's the next chapter, and it's quite a long one.

Enjoy.


Song: "Jungle" by X Ambassadors and Jamie N Commons


Day 14

John sat at his desk, researching, looking, searching for anything that could connect him to Emily. He had several open police cases around him. Maldonado had suspended him from active field case work after an incident with a suspect.

John turned to the photos of Emily's encounter with the patrol. He fully inspected the arms dealer Emily was with. Something caught John's attention. He zoomed in on the dealer's upper arm. With an enhancing program, John was able to render a full tattoo from the blurry picture. The tattoo was the symbol for the Brothers in Arms Gang.

John pulled up cases involving BiA Gang, many of which were still unsolved. There were several mentions of illegal arms dealing and some conflicts with law enforcement involving illegally-obtained arms. The precinct was tracking a recently stolen shipment of semi-automatic rifles that the BiA Gang had taken. Each crate had been numbered and catalogued.

John checked the missing crate number and switched back to the pictures of Emily and the BiA dealer. He zoomed in on the crate at Emily's feet. Most of the numbers were visible, and they matched the missing shipment.

But why is Emily dealing with the BiA?

John checked where the shipment came from. Stonewall Technologies shipped them through Global Mobile, and the intended recipient was Lockdown Services, which provided private security to many major companies in the nation.

John couldn't think of a reason why Emily would do this. He decided to take a different approach. He grabbed his jacket and headed out of the precinct.

"John." Dorian called out.

John sighed. "What." He clearly displayed his annoyance.

"Maldonado told me to keep an eye on you." Dorian answered, keeping calm.

John zipped up his jacket. "I need a babysitter now?" The two exited the precinct and walked towards the car.

"She's just concerned for you." Dorian tried to reason. "You're lucky she's even letting you keep your unit." He added as they got into the car.

"Lucky, huh?" John started the car. "Tell Maldonado that Emily was lucky two weeks ago when she was kidnapped and then turned into a criminal."

Dorian didn't respond.

John drove in silence to one of the badder parts of the city. He parked the car and got out. Dorian followed him.

"Stay with the car." John ordered.

"John-"

"Do you want to walk back to the precinct? Watch the car." John threatened.

Dorian tried to decipher if John would have forced him to walk back to the precinct, or that the car was a high target for auto theft. "But I need to keep an eye on you." Dorian finally spoke up.

"Keep an eye on me from a distance." John shot back as he walked away.

Dorian stayed with the car.

John walked half a block to a white sedan that was parked, haphazardly. He knocked on the window. The person within the car rolled the window down.

"Johnny!" The person within, whom John knew as Skip, exclaimed happily. "What can I do ya for?"

"I'm gonna cut to the chase, Skip." John showed no positiveness to match Skip's. "I need information."

"Well, that's gonna cost ya." Skip answered.

"How about I don't arrest you?" John offered, smirking slightly.

"I've got no charges against me. No warrants, no nothin'." Skip held his hands up in defense.

"That's an open bottle of liquor." John nodded to the passenger seat. "With your history, that's probably a felony."

Skip sputtered, trying to find meaningful words.

"Information. Now." John commanded.

"What do ya want to know?" Skip asked, voice lowered.

"Brothers in Arms stole an arms shipment from Stonewall Tech. They shipped through Global Mobile and it was going to Lockdown."

"Ya seem to have all the facts."

"Tell me about the woman."

"Woman?"

"Blonde."

"Blonde woman?"

"She was buying the shipment from BiA."

"Oh, that blonde woman." Skip paused, thinking. "She's new to the scene. Already made a huge impact. She's not associating with anyone. But she's been seen dealing with BiA, InSyndicate, Russian Blood, and whatever small extremists are in the area."

"And?"

"And… She's found a Banker, so she can move funds. She's got a Shipper, but I don't know for how long. But she went through BackDoor to find 'em. The word on the street is that she's going to Michael's today for new creds. Then she's gonna jump outta town."

"And?"

"And that's it! I swear, Johnny. I swear!" Skip insisted.

John shot him a glance as he straightened. "Take care, Skip. I'll come calling soon."

"Bring me a piece of their pie." Skip said as he rolled up his window.

"Goodbye, Skip." John ended the conversation for good. He walked back over to Dorian.

"Well? What did your informant say?"

"We're going to Michael's."

"Michael's?" Dorian's face lit up, glowing blue.

"Don't tell Maldonado!" John got pissed off.

"Too late." Dorian answered. "I have orders, too, you know."

"So what." John huffed.

Dorian's face lit up again. "Maldonado said you could go, but she expects a full report when we get back to the precinct."

"Tell Mom I'll try to be back home before dark." John pushed past Dorian and got into the car. Dorian rolled his eyes as he circled around the car.

John started the car and they were off to Michael's.

XxXxX

John and Dorian walked into an old abandoned restaurant at the edge of the city, called Michael's Pizzeria. John pushed his way through the broken front door.

"Sorry, boys. Business is closed." A man called out as he emerged from a back room, the kitchen most likely. He was short with greasy hair and a styled moustache. He wore a black suit. "Besides, you smell like coppers to me." He had a heavy Italian accent.

"Off the books." John answered.

"Anthony!" The man called out. Anthony emerged from the kitchen. He was a muscular man. He held back his suit jacket to show a gun. "No funny business." The man warned.

John nodded.

The man gestured to a table. John stepped forward and sat down. Dorian stood behind John; Anthony stood behind the man.

"Michael." John started.

"Ah-ah. In my house, you'll refer to me as Mister Bianchi." He waved a finger. "Now, house rules. Nothing done or said here today will incriminate me or my associates in any way. Any evidence recovered from here is an illegal search and seizure. Any threats you make are unprovoked." He smiled a little. "If any of this comes back to me, you'll be sleepin' with the fishes." He shook his fist gently.

"I got it, Mister Bianchi." John sat back in his seat. "All I want is information."

"So be it." Bianchi crossed his arms.

John pulled up a picture of Emily and showed it to Mister Bianchi. "What did she come to you for?"

"She needed new passports and licenses."

"What identities did you give her?"

"I can't say. It violates privileges."

"Where was she going?"

"She mentioned Europe."

"Is she hauling anything?"

"I think she's amassed some guns and ammunitions."

"Who's her Banker?"

"I don't know."

"Are you sure?"

"I mean, I don't know. But I also don't know that the woman was going to the north end of town for a meeting. I didn't hear anything about that."

John nodded.

Something clattered in the kitchen. John rose out of his seat.

"Figurati! Don't worry about it!" Bianchi tried to wave away the situation.

John continued back to the kitchen of the restaurant. Bianchi sighed, holding up a hand, as to inform Anthony to let John go investigate. Dorian quickly caught up to John.

John pushed through the swinging doors to see three bodies. Well, two bodies. The third was a man who had a meat cleaver sticking out of his stomach. He gasped for air until fading away. He had knocked a metal pan over on his desperate crawl to the door for help. The other two bodies had been stabbed to death, most likely with that meat cleaver.

Bianchi came into the kitchen. "What a mess." He muttered.

"Did she do this?" John asked.

"Yes, yes. She wasn't very happy with my prices. Killed most of my men and pointed a gun at my face while she made off with my goods." Bianchi answered.

"Do you have it out for her now?" John asked.

"More or less." Bianchi shrugged. "She still gave me a hundred K."

John huffed lightly. "Thank you for your time, Mister Bianchi." He couldn't take his eyes off of the bloody scene in front of him.

"My pleasure." Bianchi answered.

John and Dorian exited the restaurant.

"Now what?" Dorian asked.

"Now we find the Banker." John started the car.

XxXxX

John and Dorian arrived at the north end of town. There were only two Bankers known in the area, Avery McAdams and Marcus Aurelius (which is a play on the Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius). Avery McAdams only involved herself in corporate financing or big ticket business men looking to hide their money offshore. Marcus Aurelius specialized in the moving and hiding of money for private individuals who wanted to have money for illegal purchases or if they ever needed to go on the run. Emily met both of these requirements, so John sought out Marcus Aurelius.

John and Dorian meandered around the area until the found a suspicious hole in the wall in an alleyway. John opened the door and entered into a small gray, dimly lit antechamber, where a woman at a desk sat typing on a computer.

"Can I help you?" She asked, in monotone, not even looking up at John and Dorian.

"I'm looking for Marcus Aurelius." John answered.

"Um…" The woman slowed her typing. "Do you have an appointment?" She spared a glance towards John.

"Uh, no?" John replied.

"You can come back later… Maybe in four months? Possibly three if you make an appointment immediately."

"I'm not waiting." John insisted.

"Sorry. He's not available right now." The woman remained indifferent.

"Is he through here?" John asking moving towards another door.

The woman peeled her eyes away from her computer screen. "Hey, you're not allowed in there!"

John's hand was already turning the doorknob. He pushed the door open. He stepped into a large, open area, that took up the entire building floor, with rows upon rows of people sitting at tables with money in front of them. Some had paper bills, some had coins. They were sorting them, counting them. When they finished with a set, they would bring them over to another row of tables, where people stacked the piles of bills or rolls of coins. Banners of electronic stock tickers scrolled by on boards hanging above everyone's heads. Only a handful of people looked like they were over 18 years old.

None of this seemed legal.

A man emerged from a frosted glass office in the corner of the room. "Ah, gentlemen! How may I assist you?" He smiled brightly, but John caught a glint of a gun under the man's suit jacket. "Marcus Aurelius helps all who come here." The man, Marcus Aurelius, referred to himself in the third person.

"I need to know if this woman came to you." John showed Marcus a picture of Emily.

"Yes, yes, she has." Marcus nodded. "Now I get to ask you a question."

Before John could protest, Marcus held up a hand. "I have an agreement with law enforcement that no officer is to set foot inside my building. So why are you here?" Marcus crossed his arms.

"I didn't come here as an officer. I came for information. That's it."

"Fair enough."

It was John's turn to ask a question. "What did this woman come to you for?"

"She wanted funds moved offshore into one account for 'emergencies,' as she put it, and some into an active account for paying purchases." Marcus answered. "If you're not here as an officer, why are you investigating this woman?"

John huffed, tightening his jaw for a moment. "She's my girlfriend."

"An officer dating a criminal?" Marcus threw his head back in laughter. "Ha! That's golden." He wiped a tear from his eye.

John narrowed his eyes. "What are the account numbers you established for her?"

"Don't know." Marcus shrugged. "They're randomized and encrypted. People get to look at the account number, remember it, then all information about it is deleted from the servers here. Only my clients know their account numbers and passcodes." Marcus paused, thinking of his next question. "If she's your girlfriend, why aren't you with her?"

"I've been asking myself that for two weeks." John responded. "Did she tell you where she was going next?" John asked.

Marcus thought for a moment. "France. Paris, most likely."

"Thank you." John moved to leave.

"Hold on." Marcus stopped him. "I get one more question."

John sighed and stayed put.

"How far are you willing to go?" Marcus asked.

"Far enough." John answered. He swiftly left. Dorian followed.

The woman in the middle room stared John down while her fingers continued to type rapidly. John narrowed his eyes and exited to the street.

John still couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that Emily was now a criminal who was amassing her assets and setting out to become an international fugitive. What made her like this? His heart couldn't take the strain, his breath hitching in his throat.

"John." Dorian called out.

John stopped walking towards the car.

"You've gone far enough." Dorian warned.

"I've gotta find Emily." John answered. "I have to find out why she's doing this."

"You're not going to Paris."

"Maybe I am."

"No." Dorian's face lit up blue. "I am reporting to Maldonado everything you've done today. She'll be the one to decide what you'll do."

"She doesn't have that authority."

"Yes, John. She does."

"I'm done with your bullshit. I'm done with everyone's bullshit."

"I understand." Dorian sighed. "But you need to understand that you cannot go off on your own, under your own authority, and investigate Emily's case. Let the police handle that. The real, fully-instated police."

"Fuck you." John spat. "When you see someone you care for go off the rails, you can't stand idly by."

"That's exactly what I'm doing with you." Dorian bluntly answered.

John stopped in his angry tracks. He curled his hands into fists. "Get in the fucking car." He growled.

Dorian got in the car.

John got in and started the car. "Fuck the police."


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