The following morning, Percy and Montoya split ways again. The pathologist had called Montoya that morning, to let her know they were ready to do the autopsy on the second victim, the Silver's personal chauffeur. Both her and Percy, expected nothing new to come from the second cut, but one of them needed to present for it regardless. While she was doing that, Percy was running down his only other lead from Selina.
Percy rubbed behind his ear, and he stared up at the sign over the doorway. Kleinman's was a high-end jeweler and boutique on the upper-east side of town. One of the wealthier parts of the city. Surrounded on all sides by upper-class restaurants, salons, and department stores, Percy felt immensely out of place. But this was the only real lead he had on the bracelet, and the last he wanted to do, was get some cape involved in his investigation.
Which was what brought him to Kleinman's. He hadn't mentioned the sum total of the information he'd been given by Selina, to either Gordon or Montoya, he didn't care, the information would all be there in his official report of the investigation. But Percy was bound and determined, to not have to rely on the Bat to break through the case. Only problem was, with every cop in the city looking for Romanji, Percy didn't suspect, he'd have much time to break the encryption.
With a sigh of resignation, Percy pushed open the door to the upper-class establishment.
The bell above the door rang as he entered, the store was as upper-class as Percy had expected it to be. The rows of display cases, held beautiful and ornate sets of jewelry, ranging from simple rings, to necklaces, and even the odd bracelet and band.
Taking a quick look at some of the prices, and Percy nearly spat up the coffee in his stomach.
As Percy approached, an older man looked up from behind the counter. He was in his late sixties or early seventies, with graying hair that sat in small tufts on his scalp. Age lines dotted his aging face, and large nose, and he adjusted a small pair of spectacles as Percy approached the counter,
"Can I…help you sir?" the man asked, not quite able to keep the condensation from his voice.
Percy flashed his badge an identification as he glared at the man, "I'm detective Jackson with the GCPD." he said,
"Is there something I can help with, officer?" the man-judging by the ownership badge on his breast Percy assumed this was Kleinman-turned his nose down at Percy.
Suppressing a snort at the rude man, Percy nodded his head, "I'm working an investigation, and I have been led to believe that one of the parties involved might have been a client of yours."
Percy reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone and bringing up the picture of the bracelet. "Do you recognize this bracelet?"
The man huffed in agitation, but accepted the phone, as Percy slid it across the countertop. He glanced down for a moment, and for just a split second, it looked to Percy as though recognition passed through his eyes. But it disappeared as quick as it had appeared, and the man adopted an apathetic expression, staring dryly at Percy,
"Apologies officer, but I've never seen this piece before. I'm afraid I cannot be of assistance," Percy narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
Percy had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. He'd been through this exact scenario entirely too many times. But that meant he also knew how to handle the situation. Exaggerating a sigh, he ducked his head, and did his best to look regretful,
"Damn," he muttered, but made sure his voice was loud enough to be heard, "This was the last good lead we had on the bastard that killed that little girl." And then Percy turned his back, and made it look as though he were going to dejectedly leave the building.
"Wait!" Called out the man behind the counter,
Hook, line, and sinker,
Hiding a smirk, Percy turned, an eyebrow raised in confusion,
The man behind the counter shook his head, doing his best to appear sheepish, "My apologies, it has been a long morning, might I have another look at that photograph, I believe that I might have not seen it correctly," Percy made a show of considering the man. He didn't want to make it look like he'd manufactured the man's reaction. After a moment's hesitation, Percy slowly reproached the desk, and slid the phone back over to the owner. The man took it, and held the device closer to his face.
He then nodded at Percy, "Detective, might I see your badge once more?" he asked. Curious, but willing to go along with it, Percy nodded, and brought his identification back out. Percy watched as the man studied Percy's information, before jotting something down on a piece of paper beside him.
The man then disappeared behind a small curtain leading to the back of the shop. Percy frowned, unsure of what exactly was happening, but curious to see where this was potentially going. Straining his ears, he heard the man speaking, likely on the phone, though the voices were too muffled for him to make out what was being said.
He felt his body tense slightly, as he began to worry about whether or not he'd just walked right into a very bad situation.
Unconsciously, he began surveying the room. Identifying chokepoints, possible points of entry, and spots that would create good cover, should things suddenly go sideways.
His worry was unfounded however, as the man returned from behind the counter, without a word to Percy, he walked toward the front of the store, and flipped the OPEN sign, to CLOSED. He then gestured softly for Percy to follow him.
Unease settling over his spine, Percy hesitantly followed. He didn't like this, but his body's natural instincts weren't telling him he was about to walk into a trap. Deciding to play it safe either way, he surreptitiously flipped the strap off the holster of his sidearm at his waist. He still had the piece in his shoulder holster, and the one in the small ankle holster around his leg, but the one at his hip would allow for greater immediate reaction.
His caution was ultimately unnecessary however, as the store proprietor simply ushered him into a small office in the back of the room. Closing the door behind him, the man took a seat in the small chair behind the desk.
"You may re-holster your weapon detective. I assure you, no harm will come to you in my store." The man said easily, but Percy didn't move. While his instincts weren't screaming at him just yet, Percy hadn't lived as long as he had, without being cautious. Cautious, and paranoid. Since the man in front of him was acting beyond strangely, Percy maintained his guard,
The man sighed, "I apologize detective, but one cannot be too careful. I was simply running your name and badge number by a trusted friend. I needed to make sure that you were not only who you claimed you were, but could be trusted. Given what that bracelet represents, I have great fear for my well-being. Now please, have a seat,"
Percy made no move to put the slip back over the handle of his weapon, but did as the man bade. Taking a seat in the comfortable seat across the desk from the store owner.
"Miss Silver is dead then?" He asked without preamble.
Percy, who was growing more confused by the second, nodded his head slowly, "Found her three nights ago, shot twice in the back and once between the eyes. We have reason to believe that she was kidnapped, and taken away from her penthouse. It is my belief that her death was linked to that bracelet."
"You have the bracelet in police custody then?" the man asked,
Percy nodded, "Only myself, my partner, the chief forensics specialist, and the commissioner are aware of the bracelet." Percy said, leaving out that Selina was the one to tell him about the store.
The man looked relieved at the information, "Good, that's-that's good," he said, pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket and dabbing at his forehead, "Ah, I forgot, my name is Simon Kleinman, I am the proprietor of this establishment, and I was the one to craft the Miss Silver's bracelet."
Percy nodded, feeling slightly relieved that the trail he'd what found, might have been working out in his favor,
"Can I trust that you know what that bracelet really is then?" Kleinman asked,
"I'm afraid I have to ask you to clarify that statement," Percy said cautiously. Just because the man was looking like he might be helpful, didn't mean that Percy wasn't going to play this carefully,
"I am aware that it is not really a bracelet, but an encryption key, yes." Kleinman confirmed, and Percy let out a small relieved breath.
"Were you the one to put the encryption in place?" Percy asked immediately, hopeful that he may get lucky.
Kleinman shook his head, "Unfortunately not. And before you ask, no, I do not know the identity of the one who did. We paid through a series of wire transfers to an anonymous bank account somewhere in the Bahamas. We only ever worked with what I assume was a pseudonym; someone by the name of Gizmo. They supplied the tech, and I was the one to craft the bracelet around it."
Fighting the urge to groan, Percy pulled out a pen and pad, and began taking notes down,
"All right," Percy said slowly, "Let's back up then, and start from the beginning. I'm going to just take a shot in the dark here and assume you're close to the St, Clouds?"
Kleinman nodded, "Indeed I am. I've known Grace and Alexander for many years. They have been treasured clients, and better friends. I was there for Silver's baptism," His eyes grew slightly watery, and he dabbed at their corners with the side of his handkerchief. "I have been making custom pieces for them for some time."
"Ok, when did the couple come to you, to make the order for the bracelet?" Percy asked as he wrote,
"One month and seven days ago." Kleinman answered immediately, causing Percy to pause in his writing,
"That's…very specific," he said slowly, looking at the man carefully,
"I remember it clearly. Because I knew; the moment they told me what the bracelet was, I knew that Grace and Alexander were in trouble." He said, and Percy froze.
"You know what's on that bracelet?" He asked, his pulse picking up,
"I do not," he said softly, pulling his glasses off his face and rubbing tiredly at his eyes. And Percy frowned,
"I thought you just said that you knew what the bracelet was,"
"Just because I know what the bracelet is, doesn't mean I know what's on there," Kleinman answered back smoothly,
Percy's brow furrowed, as he grew increasingly frustrated, "Ok," he said, forcing himself to remain calm and in control, "So if you don't know what's on the bracelet, how did you know the St. Clouds were in trouble."
"Simple deduction really, they had been once more receiving…troubling…messages," Kleinman said softly,
"Does this have to do with Christian Falcone?" Percy asked,
Kleinman froze, then nodded, "I suppose if you managed to find me, then it shouldn't be surprising that you know about that."
Percy shook his head, "Actually Mr. Kleinman, I barely know anything, only that Falcone had been supposedly harassing the St. Cloud's for some time."
"It was more than simple harassment, detective." Kleinman sighed, looking even older than his already advancing years, "Christian Falcone has been after the St. Cloud's for years. Has done everything from bribing city officials for advancements on waiting lists for his own personal venues, to hiring thugs to hijack shipments of supplies for the St. Cloud galleries, all the way up to theft, extortion, and murder. You hear about the museum heist in Seoul a few years ago?"
Percy shook his head that he hadn't,
"It was the St. Cloud's first gallery in the Asian markets, a very important, and very profitable step for them. One that established them as not only top dealers in the world, but the dealers. It had been the exact location that Falcone had been trying to get into for years, but he kept getting roadblocked by the South Korean government. He didn't take kindly to that, and he hired a gang of international criminals known as CYCLOPS to raid the museum. The St, Clouds lost nearly one-hundred million in prized pieces, before the gang was caught by the Justice League. For a while, that seemed like it was going to be the end of it, Falcone stopped his posturing, and things began to settle down…"
"Until they didn't," Percy added,
"Until they didn't" Kleinman nodded,
But why would Falcone just stop? If he'd invested that much capital into the plan, why not see it all the way through? Better question, why wait until so long after the fact, to start acting again. And more importantly,
What the hell was on that bracelet that was worth killing the St. Cloud's over?
Percy's brow furrowed, confused, he had questions and concerns, how just a simple jeweler seemed to know so much, but he wasn't going to pull on that thread quite yet, he had other questions.
"Why was Christian Falcone so concerned with opening art galleries?" Percy asked, "It's a pretty far cry from the other…forms of investment his family is involved in."
Kleinman nodded in understanding, "The Falcone's are looking to establish their business in overseas markets. They want to appear to have legitimate businesses, that actually run as a front for their criminal activities. Something like an art gallery, which allows for a high volume of incoming cash flow, makes it easier to not only launder incoming dirty money, but also allows them certain tax write offs that don't appear as suspicious to the federal government. Moreover, the kind of space needed for art galleries, provides the perfect place to hide weapons, armaments, drugs, you name it. They can smuggle all sorts of illegal items through their own private means, completely legally, utilizing high profile art galleries as their smoke screen."
It made sense, in theory. But that didn't explain the bracelet. What was so important that Falcone would abandon pursuing the galleries, in favor of that bracelet?
Percy sighed, and rubbed behind his ear. The more of this that became unraveled, the more confusing it became. There was just something not making sense about everything. Like why Silver was the one with the encryption. What was on the bracelet. Or, and this was really starting to bother Percy, why the ever-loving hell, the St. Clouds were unable to get in touch with him!
The entire situation could likely have been resolved at that point, if the damn parents could take thirty seconds, to answer a phone! Which was even more infuriating and confusing given that Selina had told him how much the two older aristocrats loved their daughter!
There was a pit in Percy's stomach, one that had been growing for days, but was steadily getting larger, and becoming vocal. What if there was a reason the parents couldn't get in touch with him? What if Silver, hadn't been the sole target?
Percy pushed that line of thinking to the back of his mind, he didn't want to consider the possibility for the moment, even if it seemed like it was becoming more and more likely the longer time went on.
Shaking it off, he turned his attention back to Kleinman, "Thank you for your time sir, you've been very helpful, is there anything else you can do for me?"
Kleinman looked down for a moment, his brows furrowing and his forehead crinkling as he thought. After a moment, he looked back up at Percy, "Unfortunately not, detective. That is all I can think of for the moment. I apologize that I can't be of more help."
Percy shook his head, standing up from his chair, "No sir, you've been very helpful. Thank you." Fishing a card out of his pocket, Percy handed it over to the man, "If you can think of anything else, or have cause for concern, that is my mobile number. Reach me anytime, day or night."
Kleinman stood up as well, taking the card from Percy before reaching a hand out to Percy to shake, "I…appreciate that, detective. How close are you to an arrest?"
"Close, I'll give you a call when we make an official arrest." Percy replied, in spite of how helpful the man seemed to be, Percy wasn't about to leave anything to chance. He didn't want to risk accidentally tipping off Romanji that they not only knew who he was, but knew who he worked for.
With farewells given, Percy turned on his heel, and was escorted by the older man out of the shop. He was just about to pull out his phone to call Montoya, when she beat him to the punch. Her name flashing across the screen of his phone, pulling it up, he accepted the call as he opened the door to his car, and got behind the driver's seat.
"Your ears burning Monty? I was just thinking of calling you to-"
"Jackson," Montoya's voice came across the speaker, immediately putting Percy on edge. She never called him by his actual name. Tensing, he put the car in the drive, and peeled away from the curb, flashing his lights as he did so. Whatever was going on, Percy assumed he would need to get there in a hurry.
"What's going on?" Percy asked, swearing around a parked sedan, before taking a sharp left. He was instinctually heading back to the precinct,
"Get to One-Police-Plaza," Montoya commanded, "I just got off the phone with Gordon, we have a meeting with Interpol,"
Percy's stomach clenched, and he knew what was coming before Montoya even said it,
"Alexander and Grace St. Cloud are dead."
BREAK
It was his first time in the headquarters for the entire Gotham Police Department. While the outside of the building maintained a traditionally gothic look, the inside was entirely different story. It was completely modernized, with contemporary amenities befitting the twenty-first century.
Not that he'd had the time to appreciate any of it.
He'd barely put two feet inside the building, before he was being ushered to a nearby elevator, and brought to the top floor of the building, where he was led to the office of the commissioner. Inside the office, was the commissioner himself, Montoya, and a man Percy didn't recognize. He was tall, a little over six feet, and powerfully built, with a shock of gray hair, and pale gray eyes.
Seeing Percy enter the room, he strode over, hand outstretched, "Agent King Faraday, Interpol. You must be detective Jackson," Faraday introduced himself,
Percy accepted the handshake, pumping the man's equally firm grip once, before releasing it,
"Wish it were under better circumstances agent," Percy replied evenly, "What's happened?"
Faraday nodded, looking over to Gordon for permission, a good sign to Percy. Not many federal or international agents followed or adhered to local hierarchy. At Gordon's nod, the man pulled out a file from the large overcoat he was wearing, opening the file, he pulled several pictures from the inside, and splayed them out on Gordon's desk.
They crime scene photos, taken a few days ago based on the watermark on the bottom of the photos. The photos were of a pair of individuals that Percy recognized as Alexander and Grace St. Cloud. They were motionless in the photos, lying face down in pools of their own blood, both throats slashed, as they lay in their morning wear.
"Damn," Montoya murmured at Percy's side, as she investigated the photos. Percy barely heard her; he was too focused on the slashes on the necks. The strokes were clean, precise. The work of someone who not only knew what they were doing, but had done it several times before.
His eyes scanned the rest of the photos, and the scenes within. He looked at what he thought were drag markings in one of the photos, as streaked blood was covering the side of the bed and part of the floor. Either one of them hadn't died immediately, and had tried crawling away, or they'd been moved.
He then took notice of the state the room itself was in. The photos didn't give Percy much to work with, but from what he could see, one of two things were likely. Either the assassin had gotten caught, unlikely given the skill of the kills, and the two St. Clouds had put up a fight, or the assassin had killed the art dealers, before tearing the room apart, looking for something.
Faraday spoke as he placed the photos on the desk, "A few days ago, a maid in Brussels attempted to enter the penthouse used by Alexander and Grace St. Cloud, to do a routine turn-down. She discovered the bodies at around eleven a.m. and the coroner in Belgium placed the time of death at some point earlier that morning. Guests in the hotel confirm that they heard nothing out of the ordinary, though one guest did recall hearing what sounding like drawers being slammed around."
He paused and pointed at the first picture of the bodies, "As you can see, they were killed quickly, and efficiently. One stroke, laterally over the carotid artery on each of them. We think it was a pro, we were keeping silent on this, until a couple of hours ago, when I received word that the daughter had been murdered in an alley here in Gotham. Judging by the time of the attack, I can guess that both attacks took place on the same day, and are most certainly connected. We just don't know why, or what the motive was. We were hoping you might be able to shed some light on things,"
"Anybody you like for this?" Montoya asked, picking up a photo and examining it closely,
Faraday shrugged, "Could be any number of people if I'm honest. Feels like every year there's at least a dozen new players. Although I'd put my money on a guy calling himself the Black Spider. Thug for hire, works mostly with blades, and is known for getting his targets in their beds at night. This seems like the type of job he'd do, but we won't know until we manage to get our hands on the security footage from the building across the street. The Belgians have been playing hardball,"
"Wouldn't be Spider," Percy said softly, still peering at the photos, "He got busted a few weeks ago. Something to do with the break in at WayneTech."
Faraday frowned, but nodded his head, while Montoya grunted in annoyance,
"Well," Percy said softly, as he continued to examine the photos, he'd only been half-listening to the man, "This certainly explains a few things,"
"Like?" Faraday asked, though not unkindly,
"Like why I haven't been able to get in touch with them, in spite of the fact that everyone I've interviewed, has sworn up and down that these two loved their daughter more than life itself. It also explains a problem I've been having. We know what these guys were looking for, but it's clear that they didn't."
"So, you noticed it too?" Montoya said softly,
Percy nodded, "Looks like whoever our pro is, tossed their penthouse like our boy tossed Silver's."
Faraday nodded, "We came to a similar conclusion. The pictures don't do a great job of showing you, but the entire penthouse got turned upside down. The bed was thrown from the box-spring, cubbies and drawers opened and thrown around the room. Luggage bags torn to shreds. It was obvious they were trying to find something; we just had no idea what it was,"
He tilted his head in Percy and Montoya's direction, "So you know what they were looking for?"
Montoya nodded, but looked to Percy, since it was his find, and his leads that were doing the majority of the legwork on the investigation.
Percy nodded his thanks, and brought out an image of the bracelet, "We suspect that whoever killed Silver St. Cloud was likely looking for something, he not only tossed her penthouse, but we have an eye witness that claims he searched the body of miss St. Cloud after she was shot, and became visibly agitated when he didn't find what he was looking for. We believe it was this bracelet."
Faraday took the photo and examined it closely, "What makes it so special, some kind of fancy, rare emerald?"
Montoya shook her head, and pointed at the jewel, "That's no jewel stud, it's an encryption device. Think of it like some kind of USB drive on steroids."
"Based on what you're showing us, as well as some of the interviews I've been having," Percy explained, as Faraday handed his phone back to Percy, "The person who hired these guys didn't know what the drive was. Probably assumed, like Montoya suggested, that it was a flash drive or something. We don't know what's on it unfortunately, need a supercomputer to break into it," Percy quickly said, seeing the look on Faraday's face,
The man nodded, disappointed, but looked back up after a moment. He glanced between Percy and Montoya, scrutinizing them,
"So where are you in your investigation?" Faraday asked,
"Depends on what you're looking for from us agent," Gordon chimed in, speaking for the first time since Percy's arrival.
Faraday looked at the older man, before chuckling lightly, "I'm not the feds Commissioner, I'm not looking to yank jurisdiction out from under you, I'm just looking to compare notes. Unless you're suggesting that whoever killed Silver, also killed the parents. Which, I can tell you, is an impossibility, given the time of death of both sets of victims. And since I know you're all smarter than that, then you must all realize that we have at least two killer's out there, on the loose, and at least one person bankrolling all of this,"
Percy hummed in agreement, "We're all on the same page then," he then looked to Gordon for permission. He probably didn't actually need it, but it was that thought that counted more often than not. At Gordon's nod, Percy launched into an explanation about Romanji, the bracelet, and all of the events leading up to Silver's death.
"Sounds like you have someone you like for this," Faraday observed cautiously, to which Percy once again looked to Gordon for confirmation, Gordon nodded,
"We have reason to believe that Christian Falcone is the one responsible for the hit. If someone hit the parents as well, I'm willing to put good money on the fact that he ordered them as well,"
Faraday arched a brow, and crossed his arms over his chest, "Why's that?"
Percy shrugged, then looked to Montoya, "Was going to tell you later anyways, but you remember me mentioning that lead I got from Selina?"
Montoya looked annoyed but nodded, "Well, Simon Kleinman, an old friend of the St. Clouds, was the guy who put the order on the bracelet together. Told me some interesting things about the real relationship between the St. Cloud's and the Falcone's," Percy looked over at Faraday, "Before I forget, does the name 'Gizmo' mean anything to you?"
Faraday groaned, and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Yes, I'm unfortunately very familiar with that little shit,"
"Uh, what?" Percy asked, confused by the reaction,
Faraday waved off the confusion, "Sorry, he's some kind of wunderkind with tech. Has been giving Interpol the runaround for the last few years. Got his start in cryptocurrency believe it or not, before he decided to go off market with his talents. He likes hacking into Interpol databases and replacing our files with porn."
Percy stifled a snort, "Right," he said awkwardly, and Montoya hid a laugh behind a cough in her hand, "Well, erm, anyway, looks like the St. Cloud's hired him to make the encryption for the necklace. Which, judging by your reaction, means that you probably have no way of breaking into it,"
Faraday regretfully shook his head, "Unfortunately not, we're better funded than most law enforcement agencies, but his tech is next level. I won't be able to help out with that much."
"Figures," Percy grumbled,
"Getting back on topic," Montoya said, steering the conversation back on track, "You were talking about Kleinman?" she prompted Percy, who nodded his thanks,
"Right, well, he told me that Falcone's relationship with the St. Cloud's was a little more than just some minor harassment." Percy took the next couple of minutes to catch the rest of the team up to speed with what he'd uncovered that morning,
Percy met Montoya's eyes, "You're thinking what I am, right?" Percy asked,
"Depends," Montoya said, leaning back against the wall, "If you're thinking that whatever is on that flash drive has to do with Falcone? Then yes, we are."
Percy nodded, and Gordon cut in, "Mind walking us through your thought processes detectives?" Percy shrugged and looked over to Montoya, he'd done most of the talking so far, and wanted her to take over for a bit,
She rolled her eyes, but smiled in appreciation, "Ok," she began slowly, pushing off the wall as she started to pace softly around the room, "Why would Falcone back off like he had? You invest as much time, energy, and man power into trying to force the St. Clouds out of the way, but they won't budge, so why does Falcone take a step back?"
She wasn't looking for a reply, "Because something stopped him. For one reason or another, he stops dead in his tracks, and puts an end to pursuing the St. Clouds. His hiatus extends for three years, and then this happens. Why?"
Percy spoke up for her, "Because the St. Clouds had something on him. Something that could have buried him."
"The bracelet," Faraday said, catching on, "You think the St. Clouds were blackmailing Falcone?"
Montoya shrugged, "Could be. Could have simply been a catalogue of evidence of what he'd been doing to them. Hell, for all we know, it could have been a sex tape. But I'm thinking that the St. Clouds had something on Falcone, and he wanted it buried in the worst possible way."
"Only problem for him," Percy chimed in, "Was that he didn't know what it was he was looking for. He thinks he's looking for a flash drive, which is why Romanji just threw away the bracelet, and why he was tearing apart the penthouse."
"It also explains why whoever killed Grace and Alexander, flipped their room," Montoya continued, "And why both targets were hit at once. Get both the parents and the kid, then one can't warn or find out about the other, and go into hiding."
"Not to mention," Percy continued, picking up Montoya's stream of consciousness, "That by knocking off the St. Clouds, it opens the way for Falcone to move in on their turf. Two birds, one stone."
Percy and Montoya paused, and stared at one another, before grinning, glad to be on the same wavelength.
"Don't celebrate just yet," Gordon said, drawing their attention, "That's a fine theory and all, but we have no concrete evidence linking Falcone to the hit, we still don't have Romanji in custody, and now we have a third assassin somewhere in the wind."
Percy nodded, as Montoya's phone began to chirp, apologizing, the woman turned away from the others as she answered the incoming call.
"I understand sir," Percy said looking to Gordon,
"I take it you've gotten no further with that data drive then?" Gordon prompted,
Percy shook his head, annoyance and bitter disappointment swelling in his breast, "No sir, Kleinman was the last good lead I had on anything pertaining to the drive. Unless we had the St. Clouds alive to unlock it, or to testify against Falcone, we have nothing concrete."
Gordon sighed, running a hand over his face, "I was worried about that. I was really hoping we wouldn't have to rely on him for this, but it's looking like we might not have a choice in the matter."
"Him who?" Faraday prompted, but neither Gordon nor Percy had the chance to answer, as Montoya stormed back into the room,
"Sir, that was Central, Romanji just got picked up trying to sneak back into the penthouse. Uniforms are transporting him back to One-Seven now,"
"We've got this bastard, but he's small game. We want Falcone, so get after him, get me a confession, and get me a link to Falcone," Gordon demanded, to which Percy grunted a reply, and made to tear out the door,
"And Jackson!" Gordon called out, stopping Percy in the doorway, "Sorry son, but looks like we'll be outsourcing that bracelet to someone else,"
Percy frowned, as a bubble of frustration pooled in the pit of his stomach, but he buried it. There was work to be done, so instead he simply nodded at the commissioner, and gave Faraday a farewell nod as he left.
Forgoing the elevator, Percy tore down the stairs, taking them two at a time, Montoya hot on his heels. He was bound and determined to get something out of Romanji.
He might not have been able to crack the bracelet, but he could get Romanji to flip on Falcone, and then maybe they wouldn't need whatever was on that device.
One thing was certain to Percy however.
Bastard was going to go down for this, one way or another.
AN: A bit shorter this time, but we're back on track as the investigation begins to wind down. I'm excited, next chapter, everything that I've been setting up really comes into fruition, before shit just starts popping off. Get ready, because the next couple chapters are about to be electric. Thanks again for all the support, hope you guys are enjoying the ride, Lemme know what ya'll think. Stay safe, and love you all,
Love,
LilDB