Chapter 27: Old Skeletons
[Author's Note: Another quick heads up, I'm going to have to do some more jumping around with the "Watch Dogs" storyline, both with this particular chapter and the next couple of succeeding ones. Sorry if this is confusing to anybody, but like I said in my last A/N regarding this, I just feel that doing so helps tie things together better for my intended concept of the story.]
Gaffney Chicago Medical Center
Medical/Surgical Unit
Sunny Tran's room
2:30 PM
Detectives Harrison and Asher were in the middle of having an impromptu lunch with the recuperating Detective Tran in her hospital room. The three were watching a tacky tabloid talk show together, the topic of the specific episode being unfaithful husbands, when Harrison's cell phone suddenly rang. He took a moment to check the caller ID.
"Sorry guys", Harrison said after recovering from a bout of laughter in response to what he had been seeing on the show, "I've gotta take this."
Harrison stood up from his sitting position on the edge of Tran's bed and answered his phone. "Harrison", he said into the phone.
"Troy", Voight replied from his end of the line, "It's Hank Voight. Where are you?"
"Abby Asher and I went to deliver the death notification to Raul Lionzo's brother", Harrison began to explain, "We decided to bring some pizza to Sunny here at Chicago Med. We've been here for about an hour now. What's up?"
"Commander Brooks wants us all back around the conference table at the Thirty-Four ASAP. The shell corporation that Abby and Ernie hipped us to earlier seems to be having a bit of a ripple effect. Your buddy Dean McCain from the task force just got here, and he even brought about half a dozen FBI agents from the Chicago Field Office with him. This looks to be quite a big deal, so you guys better hustle ass back here."
"Okay", Harrison replied, "We're on our way."
"Copy that", Voight said, "Tell Sunny that Alvin and I wish her well, okay?"
"You got it", Harrison said, "Thanks Hank. See you in a few."
The detective turned to his two friends and fellow detectives. "That was Hank", he said to Asher, "Dean McCain from my CtOS Task Force just showed up at the district with a bunch of other FBI agents. It's apparently regarding something about that shell corporation that you and Ernie found while you were undercover. The commander wants us back there immediately."
With that, Asher looked to Tran and let out a very regretful sigh before giving her another very careful sideways hug. "Sorry we have to take off like this, Sunny", she said with a disappointed tone in her voice, "I really wish we could stay longer."
Tran held up her uninjured free hand and shook her head. "I of all people get it, guys", she said, "Even if I can't physically be there with you, there's a case that needs to be worked, so do me a favor and work it."
Harrison chuckled in response. "You got it", he said, "Hank and Al said to 'Get Well Soon', by the way."
Tran smiled. "Tell them I'll see them soon", she said.
With that, the two waved Tran their goodbyes for the moment and left.
Conference Room
CPD District 34
15 Minutes Later
Harrison and Asher entered District 34's Conference Room to find, as Voight had warned, Dean McCain standing at the head of the large conference table. Voight, Olinsky, Machado, both of the Broussards, Commander Brooks, and Detectives Brooks and Dobbs were all seated around the table. Mixed in with them were at least six FBI agents dressed in the proper FBI windbreakers. Two of the agents were men: one African-American and one white, while four of their colleagues were female: one white, two Hispanic, and one African-American.
"Sorry we're late", Harrison said as he went to the head of the table and extended a hand to McCain, "Hey Dean", he said to him.
McCain shook the detective's hand cordially. "Troy", he said, "Sorry to crash your guys' party so suddenly."
"No problem, man", Harrison replied before gesturing to Asher as she said down in her own seat beside Olinsky, "You remember Detective Abby Asher from Narcotics, right?"
McCain nodded a salutation to Asher. "Of course," he said, "It's good to see you again, Detective, even under the circumstances."
"You too, Agent", Asher replied in just as affable a tone.
The veteran FBI agent then stepped to the front of the room. "Now if we could get down to business here, people" McCain began to explain, "We're here because we got wind of the investigation that you all had started into Lasef Enterprises. Who exactly was it who began this inquiry on behalf of CPD?"
Detectives Asher and Machado punctually raised their hands in retort. "That would be Detective Machado and myself, sir" Asher said, "I went undercover for a few weeks posing as a cocktail waitress in the bootleg casino in the Rossi-Fremont Housing Projects that's owned and operated by the Black Viceroys gang. Detective Machado backed me up as my handler, and it was during this time that we gathered intelligence that brought the Lasef Enterprises' connection to the Viceroys into the light."
"What exactly was this intelligence of which you speak, Miss Asher?"
"Excuse me", Lieutenant Broussard sharply and abruptly interjected, "Agent McCain is it?"
McCain nodded. "Yes", he replied, "I'm sorry and you are…?"
"Lieutenant Kathy Broussard", Lt. Broussard clarified, "I'm the commanding officer of the Narcotics unit for this district. We met at the Tran family bakery a while ago. With all due respect, I'd appreciate it if, from here on out, you'd show your own amount of respect and please address my detective by her well-earned rank. So, it's 'Detective Asher', not 'Miss'."
After a tense beat, McCain sighed. "I understand", he said, his tone now softening, "You have my sincerest apologies, Lieutenant." His gaze soon returned to Asher, "And also to you, Detective. Please continue."
"We traced about half a dozen dummy bank accounts back to Lasef Enterprises", Asher continued, "Deposits and withdrawals alike. All in all, the amounts totaled to about three-hundred-thousand and some change. It's likely that this phony company is the one that's both footing the bill and laundering the illicit proceeds for Delford Wade's entire narcotics operation."
"That's precisely why my team and I are here right now", McCain said.
"Full disclosure, everybody", Harrison chimed in, "I figured that the FBI must've been looking into Rossi-Fremont and Lasef Enterprises based on how much money Abby and Ernie figured they were running, so I called Agent McCain in to help out."
Harrison was then met by perturbed looks from Asher, Machado, and both the Broussards. "I didn't expect them to respond here so quickly", he humbly added, "I apologize for going over all of your heads."
"We'll deal with this later", Captain Broussard said before turning his attention to McCain, "Were you able to figure out anything worthwhile about this 'Lasef Enterprises'?"
"They're apparently a bogus shell company based out of Lima, Peru", the Hispanic female FBI agent replied, "I contacted our counterparts from Interpol who have a small office in Lima. The agent there reported that the so-called base of operations for Lasef is nothing more than a rickety metal shack on a desolate road on the edge of town."
Olinsky chuckled at that. "Huh", he said, "One would think that with three-hundred-grand in their pocket, they could afford something swankier than that."
"The question is", Machado cut in, "What do we do with all this intel now?"
"We could swear out a federal warrant against Delford Wade and the Black Viceroys", McCain suggested, "Take them all down in one swoop."
The male African-American agent raised his hand. "Actually sir", he said, "That could be a bit tricky. If the Viceroys get wind that we're coming for them, Detective Asher's cover could be blown and they could come after her in retaliation."
"Plus", Harrison added, "I have an informant with a connection to the Viceroys. He too could be in some serious danger if they were to get wind."
"Alright then", McCain replied in reference to both statements, "Out of regard for everyone's case integrity and personal safety, no one moves in on the Viceroys until we're all on the same page."
Meanwhile, as he sat in his seat writing miscellaneous notes on a white-lined legal pad, Harrison was suddenly struck with quite the notion, at which point he turned to Asher.
"Hey Abby?" he inquired.
"Yeah?" Asher replied.
"Remind me again", Harrison said, "What were the names of Lasef Enterprises' four shareholders?"
Asher took out her memo book and took a second to scroll through its pages. "Umm", she began as she scanned the list with her eyes, "'Lana Gerbsorf', 'Malcolm Wingood', 'Francis Linem', and 'Wallace Narrob'."
Harrison scoffed with a grin out of reluctant realization before standing up out of his seat and approaching the large rectangular white dry-erase board at the front of the room. Grabbing a blue marker, he wrote the four names in their appropriate order in large capital letters.
"What are you thinking, Troy?" Voight asked, "Tell us."
The now very determined Harrison went on to write last names under each shareholder's last name. Underneath "GERBSORF", he wrote "FORSBERG". He then wrote "GOODWIN" beneath "WINGOOD", "MILNE" under "LINEM", and finally "BARRON" under "NARROB".
An abruptly stunned Commander Brooks put a hand over his mouth for a moment. "Holy Mary, Mother of God", he almost breathlessly said, "No! It can't be!"
"I'm sorry, Commander", Harrison apprehensively said, "but the aliases fit. It looks like they just used easy anagrams and names that coincided just well enough with their real ones. 'Lana' for 'Alan', 'Malcolm' for 'Mickey', "Francis' for 'Frank', and last but not least…"
"'Wallace' for 'Walter'", Voight interrupted, "I get it, man. So, you're telling us that a who's-who of CPD Ivory Tower command staff, including our own goddamn First Deputy Superintendent have been using some Peruvian shell company to jointly finance one of the biggest narcotics operations in our city?"
"I'm sorry to admit it, Hank", Harrison said, "but it looks that way, yes. Commander, you said that you had met with Superintendent Daniels about Barron after we spotted him on that May Stadium surveillance the night of the murders, right?"
Commander Brooks sighed a very fearful and nearly defeated sigh. "Yes, I did, Detective", he replied, "He stuck up for Barron for the most part, but his tone told me that he had somewhat of an impression that something was off."
"How so, sir?" Olinsky asked.
"He wasn't specific", Commander Brooks candidly replied, "But he did mention Barron's twin daughters, Faith and Destiny. Barron has always said how proud he is of them. They go to an expensive private Catholic school here in the city."
"…And he could be paying their tuition with Viceroys' drug money", Asher inferred.
"We don't know that for sure yet, Abby", Lt. Broussard replied before deeply sighing, "Jesus, what the hell do we do with this?"
"It looks like I have to call Superintendent Daniels", Commander Brooks said, "Then, as pissed as I know he's going to be, I'm going to have to call the Mayor."