Chapter 13: All the Connecting Pieces
[Author's Note: In this chapter, I'm going to be unleashing a veritable avalanche of exposition and character background information, a small amount of which is for our heroes, and more is for some of the GTA characters. Some of it includes things referenced in GTA V and some of it are pretty much just filler details I made up based on my own suppositions and various things I gleaned from replaying GTA V's story mode in preparation for this story.]
LSPD South Central Station
Mission Row
3:00 PM
Detectives Harrison and Xander entered the lobby of the LSPD's South Central Station and almost immediately ran into Officers Dakota Michaels and Steve Gwendolyn, who were on their way out.
"Hey fellas", Xander said to them, "Where are you headed?"
"We just caught a call about a Ten-Fifty on Alta Street in Pillbox Hill", Michaels explained, "Looks like some crazy asshole just crashed a big yellow SUV through the front window of Simeon Yetarian's car dealership."
Harrison chuckled. "No shit?" he said.
"No shit", Gwendolyn parroted, "Fire and EMS are on their way right now. We've gotta go."
Xander nodded. "Okay then", he said, "Be safe out there, boys."
The two detectives then ascended the stairs and crossed into the Homicide squad room on the second floor. Harrison knocked on Lieutenant Wong's office door.
"Come in, Detectives", Lieutenant Wong's voice said from inside the office.
Harrison and Xander entered the office to find Alan Saguaro, the lead United States Attorney for the District of San Andreas, sitting in the chair directly in front of Wong's desk. Saguaro was a tall, dark-haired Hispanic man in his early to mid-fifties dressed in a charcoal gray tweed business suit with a matching button-down undershirt and a lighter gray tie.
"Detectives", Wong said as he stood up from his seat behind his desk and gestured to the attorney, "I'd like to introduce U.S. Attorney Alan Saguaro. He's the head federal prosecutor assigned to San Andreas." His gesture then pointed back toward the detectives, "Alan, these are Detectives Troy Harrison and Adam Xander."
"Nice to meet you, Counselor" Xander said as he took a seat on the leather couch that sat against the side wall of the office.
Harrison was much more cordial in his approach as he stepped forward and extended a hand to Saguaro. "We've actually met before", he said, "I was one of the FBI agents who worked on the Johnson murder investigation on Grove Street back in Oh-Four."
Saguaro gave Harrison a quick once over before nodding and shaking his hand accordingly. "Oh yes", he said, "I remember you now. I believe I was fairly new to the U.S. Attorney's Office back then. You're with LSPD now?"
"Yes sir", Harrison replied, "Better scenery, less politics." He then sat down on the couch beside Xander.
"Now that all of the necessary pleasantries are out of the way, gentlemen" Saguaro began, "I'd like to get to the reason why I'm here today. A computer inquiry was made into a gentleman by the name of 'Jimmy De Santa' earlier this afternoon. This inquiry set off an alert at the Justice Department's databank in Washington. When the entry's origin was traced to a specific computer inside this police station, the information was passed along to my office."
Xander promptly stood up from the couch. "I did the database search, sir" he forthrightly said, "I recently arrested Mister De Santa on a minor marijuana possession charge and was looking up his background information for the purposes of including it in my report so the assigned prosecutor could have it available for the upcoming sentencing hearing."
"I see", Saguaro said, "I also see that you had previously arrested Mister De Santa on a similar charge once before during your time as a patrol officer in the South Los Santos area."
Xander nodded. "That's correct", he replied.
"And did you inquire about his background back then?" Saguaro asked.
"Not at that time", Xander said, "No, sir. When I arrested him that night, he provided me with a valid San Andreas non-driver ID card. Additionally, the customary check of his fingerprints during the booking process indicated that he had no prior arrests up to that point. Honestly, Counselor, I didn't think it was necessary at the time."
Saguaro nodded. "Well then", he said, "I'm afraid I have to inform you that the current charges against Jimmy De Santa are being dropped at this time. I conferred with both Assistant District Attorney Ginsberg and Judge Fowler by phone this morning. They have agreed to drop the possession charges and release him from custody shortly."
A now perturbed Xander stood up from the couch once again. "On what grounds?" he barked.
As he made his way toward the office door, Saguaro looked back at the detectives. "All I'm really allowed to tell you at this time is that every member of the De Santa family is currently under protection from the Federal Witness Protection Program", he said, "I cannot divulge any further details out of respect for the integrity of the still-ongoing federal investigation." The federal prosecutor then left the office.
Xander sighed deeply and momentarily hung his head in acquiescence before looking to Lieutenant Wong for guidance. "Am I in any trouble for this, boss?" he asked.
"Well," Wong began, "I'm certainly not going to reprimand you for doing that database search, Adam. That's our departmental procedure down to the letter. However, I do take issue with you not doing that database search when you arrested Jimmy before. You should've done that right after you booked him."
"Oh, come on, Brian!" Xander snapped, "You worked Patrol in South LS back in the day. You've seen the shit that patrolmen have to go up against down there! A dozen or more drug and gun arrests per shift! And at night no less!"
Wong stood up his desk and defensively put his hands up. "I hear you on that, Adam" he said, "And you know that I sympathize with you. But the fact is that you did violate procedure back then and now it's biting you in the ass."
Harrison then interjected, standing up from the couch and got between Xander and Wong. "Okay", he said, "Okay, guys. Let's take a beat here. Lieutenant, I understand that Adam violated procedure with this De Santa kid back then. What exactly is he facing now as far as possible consequences?"
The lieutenant crossed his arms and thought for a moment before apprehensively addressing Xander. "It looks like I'm going to have to limit your field time for the next week" he said.
Xander's eyes went wide with shock and frustration. "Desk duty?" he asked.
Wong nodded. "For now," he said, "Detective Harrison will have to work crime scenes solo but you and he can still work together on any investigative efforts that can be done from here at the squad room."
Harrison momentarily glanced at the closed office door before looking back to Xander and Wong. "I've got an idea", he said before turning his gaze to his still-perturbed partner, "Adam, do you still have the keys to our Impala?"
Xander nodded before reaching into his pocket and handing the keys to Harrison. Harrison put the keys in the breast pocket of his leather jacket and headed for the door.
"Wait a minute", Wong cut in, "Where are you going, Detective?"
"Respectfully, Lieutenant" he replied, "Adam's mistake may have bit him in the ass, but I think I might know a way to save it. I'll call you in an hour or so, but if any new cases come up, have Dispatch send me an emergency text."
Harrison then left the office and ostensibly sprinted through the squad room, down the station's front stairwell, through the lobby, and out the front doors. He caught sight of Alan Saguaro getting into his white 2013 Chevrolet Suburban that was parked in a small public space across the street.
"Counselor!" He called out just as the federal prosecutor was sliding into his driver's seat.
Hearing the detective's call, Saguaro leaned his head out of his still-open driver's side door. "Detective?" he called back.
Once it was safe to do so, Harrison sprinted across the crosswalk and crossed to Saguaro's vehicle, stopping to catch his breath as he held himself up against the Suburban's driver's side door.
"Something I can do for you, Detective?" Saguaro inquired.
Harrison nodded. "Yes", he said while still somewhat panting, "I need access to the mainframe computer at FBI Los Santos."
"For what purpose?" Saguaro asked.
"I think that if I get ahold of some of the information about the De Santa family's true identities", Harrison began explaining, "It can possibly get my partner out of this ethical pickle that he's found himself in."
Saguaro considered Harrison's reason for a momentary, but still considerable beat. "I get what you're saying", he said, "But you need to understand that none of the information you might find can end up in your police databases, or even in hardcopy form in your reports for that matter. If any information about the De Santas' true identities were to get out, it could put their lives at risk."
"Understood, sir", Harrison said, "Which is why, if I learn anything substantial, I'd only divulge the information to Detective Xander, Lieutenant Wong, and Judge Fowler in person and behind closed doors. That way the judge gets what he wants, our lieutenant gets some real context on this whole situation, and my partner's reputation remains intact. You just have to call the FBI and authorize my entry into the secure mainframe room."
"I'm assuming you still have your secure government login credentials from your FBI days", Saguaro said.
"I do", Harrison replied, "I still consult on cases and guest lecture at the FBI Academy on occasion. That's why I still have it."
Saguaro sighed. "Fine", he said, "I'll call the FBI. The agent assigned to the De Santa protection detail is named Dave Norton. I'll tell him to meet you in the lobby of the FBI Building in forty-five minutes."
Harrison and Saguaro shook hands. "Much appreciated, Counselor."
Saguaro grinned, admiring the detective's tenacity. "Just go before I change my mind", he said.
FBI Building
Power Street, Pillbox Hill
45 Minutes Later
Harrison made his way to the Los Santos FBI Building, parking his unmarked police car in front of the towering building that sat in the middle of Power Street in Pillbox Hill, adjacent to both the local CIA Building and the city's Union Depository. He entered the lobby to find FBI Special Agent Dave Norton waiting for him.
Dave Norton was a tall, grizzled white man who looked to be in his mid to late 50's with brown hair and a goatee. He was dressed in a very nondescript gray suit with black dress shoes. "Detective Harrison?" he inquired.
Harrison went to him and extended a hand. "Yes sir", he said, "That's me."
Norton shook the detective's hand firmly. "Agent Dave Norton", he said, "It's a pleasure."
"The pleasure's all mine, Agent" Harrison genially replied.
"Oh", Norton said, "Call me 'Dave', please." He broke the handshake and the two of them began walking across the lobby toward the building's secure elevator. "I apologize if this question sounds awkward, but have we met before?"
"I was an FBI agent for ten years before I became a cop", Harrison clarified before giving Norton the once-over as they waited for the elevator to arrive. "Wait a minute", he continued, "I'm getting a bit of déjà vu myself now. Are you the same 'Dave Norton' who used to run the Hostage Rescue Team in Pittsburgh?"
"Yes", Norton said, "That was me. I remember you now. You're that profiler guy who ran the Tommy Royler kidnapping case in Pittsburgh back in Oh-Two! You were partners with that odd, gruff-looking bearded guy who always dressed like he was at a punk rock concert."
Harrison chuckled as they boarded the elevator car upon its arrival. "That was actually my cousin, Bill Harvey", he said, "We were partners for four and a half years. The Royler case was one of the first cases our two-man task force was assigned to work on."
"Oh", a reluctant Norton replied and bowed his head out of slight embarrassment, "I'm sorry. I meant no disrespect."
"No harm, no foul, Dave" Harrison said in an encouraging tone.
The elevator soon came to a stop and its doors opened, at which point the men disembarked on the building's basement level. They soon made their way to a gargantuan steel door that looked more like a reinforced bank vault. A large sign above it read "SENSITIVE AND CONTAINED INFORMATION FACILITY" in large white uppercase letters and beneath it was a slightly smaller sign that read "No Admittance Without Prior Authorization."
Norton entered a four-digit security code into a small digital keypad to the lower right of the door and with a loud beeping sound following by a loud buzzer, the large steel door automatically opened slightly outward. The two men then entered the sizeable, spacious inner room that awaited inside the fortified door.
The FBI's Sensitive and Contained Information Facility, known by its agents and support staff simply by the acronym "SCIF", was actually nothing more than a large bunker-like room surrounded by armored walls that had been constructed with the purpose of blocking out any outside radio, sound, or computer signals from making their way into the room. In the center of the room sat a small bank of three computers, each of which were separated by their own partial white cubicle-style wall. However, there was not a printer, scanner, or any other external peripheral device to be seen. This was to prevent anyone from uploading, downloading, scanning or printing any hard copies of any classified documents and removing them from the room.
Harrison took a seat at the computer workstation in the center of the room. He then entered his secure government login ID and password, at which point he was successfully logged into the FBI's secure classified internal database. Norton, meanwhile, stood patiently and quietly behind him near the door.
Entering the complex case number for the De Santa file provided to him by U.S. Attorney Saguaro, Harrison brought up the desired information and was now able to ascertain a wealth of information about the true identities of the De Santa family.
As it turned out, the De Santa family patriarch was in fact born with the name Michael Townley. Townley was born on February 2, 1965 in the small town of Osage City, Kansas. After graduating from the local high school in 1983, he drifted around for a time before joining up with a bank robbery crew. As the information went on to indicate, Townley and his crew pulled off their first successful bank robbery job in 1985 Carcer City when he was 20 years old.
In the fall of 1990, Michael met Parkville, Missouri native Amanda Raleigh while the latter was working as an exotic dancer at a gentlemen's club in Kansas City, Kansas. After a surprisingly quick courtship, Michael and Amanda were married only 6 months later. They then moved to Michael's hometown of Osage City and started their life together in a modest home there.
Amanda was already pregnant with their first child at the time of their marriage, and they soon welcomed daughter Tracey in January of 1991. This blessed event was followed up by the birth of the couple's second child, a son named James, in January of 1993. As the kids got older, Amanda worked an unpretentious job as an accountant at the same gentlemen's club at which she used to perform. Michael, meanwhile, worked what he told his wife was a series of "odd jobs" here and there.
As the case file's information further explained, however, these jobs were in fact bank robberies that occurred throughout different locales throughout North America from the summer of 1999 to the winter of 2004. After a failed heist in North Yankton in 2004, Michael and his family were convinced by Dave Norton and the FBI to enter Witness Protection. The family was soon given the alias last name of "De Santa", and they later moved to a luxurious home in the Rockford Hills neighborhood of Los Santos.
Harrison mentally noted all of this vast information, now satisfied with what he had discovered. Partly out of his own curiosity and also on what he saw as a clear-cut hunch, he then entered Franklin Clinton's name into the search bar. The subsequent information that was brought up corroborated what the young man had told him during their earlier interaction.
However, there was one detail that caught the eye of the observant detective. He discovered that, based on Franklin Clinton's family information, that his late mother, Luella Johnson-Clinton, was the sister of Beverly Johnson, who was murdered in a drive-by shooting in the Grove Street neighborhood of South Los Santos back in 2004.
This meant that the late Mrs. Johnson was Franklin's aunt, making her son, Carl "CJ" Johnson his first cousin. Harrison and his cousin/FBI partner, Bill Harvey, had worked to safeguard CJ following his mother's murder, eventually co-signing an order that sent him into Witness Protection as well.
Now curious about what had happened to CJ after the conclusion of their 2004 investigation, Harrison entered Carl Johnson's name into the Witness Protection database. He soon discovered that the now 30-year-old Carl "CJ" Johnson was living under the assumed identity of "Adeel Carver" and living in Dearborn, Michigan. He worked as a mechanic with a successful shop and was also married with two young sons.
Although it seemed that all his questions had been answered for the moment, something still wasn't sitting quite right with Harrison. He logged off of the classified database, got up from his seat, and went over to Norton, shaking his hand.
"I'm all set, Dave" Harrison said to him, "But there may be one last thing I need if you don't mind."
"What's that?" Norton asked.
"Michael De Santa's home address", Harrison pointedly replied.
[A/N: Just a head's up, the next chapter will be an alternative version of the GTA V story mission "Father/Son", with Harrison involved in all the action. Stay tuned!]