Cole walked back.
"You got a problem?"
The older man slowly smiled.
"No."
"Then close your window and leave."
The older man nodded.
"Of course, Officer."
Cole walked away.
The old man started the engine.
But before driving off, he looked once more at the blinking camera.
Then he whispered:
"Got you."
Three hours later, the same older man walked into a secure government building.
A security officer opened the door.
"Good evening, Inspector Carter."
The man removed his green jacket.
Underneath was a dark suit.
His posture changed immediately.
The tired old man disappeared.
Standing there was Daniel Carter.
Senior Internal Affairs Inspector.
For the last eighteen months, Daniel had been leading a secret investigation into a network of corrupt police officers.
The investigation had started with missing evidence.
Then stolen money.
Then illegal traffic stops.
Then protection payments from local businesses.
Every time Daniel got close, evidence disappeared.
Witnesses changed their stories.
Complaints vanished.
And someone inside the department was warning the corrupt officers whenever investigators were getting close.
Daniel walked into the briefing room.
Three investigators were waiting.
One of them stood.
"Did it work?"
Daniel placed the empty wallet on the table.
"Perfectly."
He connected his phone to the screen.
The footage began playing.
Cole's face appeared.
The room became silent.
When Cole said, "What matters is there's money," one investigator shook his head.
"We finally have him."
Daniel nodded.
"No."
He paused the footage.
"We finally have all of them."
He switched to another file.
Photos appeared.
Police officers.
Business owners.
A nightclub manager.
A tow-truck company.
A senior lieutenant.
Then a name appeared at the top of the screen.
CAPTAIN VICTOR HALE.
The investigator stared.
"He's the one?"
Daniel nodded.
"He's been running the network."
"And Cole?"
"Just one of his collectors."
Daniel looked back at the footage.
"The three thousand dollars wasn't the objective."
"Then what was?"
Daniel smiled faintly.
"Making them comfortable."
CHAPTER 2 — THE FIRST CRACK
The following morning, Officer Ryan Cole arrived at the station like nothing had happened.
He greeted his coworkers.
Grabbed coffee.
Complained about traffic.
Nobody knew what had happened the night before.
Or at least, that's what Cole believed.
He walked into the locker room.
His partner, Officer Mason Reed, was already there.
Mason closed his locker.
"You sure that old guy wasn't going to complain?"
Cole laughed.
"About what?"
"You taking his wallet."
Cole shrugged.
"He won't."
"How do you know?"
"People like him don't complain."
Mason looked uncomfortable.
Cole leaned closer.
"Relax. We've done this before."
Mason sighed.
"Not with cameras."
Cole stopped.
"What?"
Mason pointed toward the hallway.
"Body cams."
Cole smiled.
"Our cameras weren't recording."
"You sure?"
"Completely."
What neither man knew was that their department-issued body cameras weren't the only cameras involved.
Across the city, investigators were watching the footage from the dashboard camera.
Daniel Carter stood behind the glass of the observation room.
A technician zoomed in.
"Facial recognition confirms Cole."
"Partner?"
"Mason Reed."
"Any connection to Hale?"
The technician brought up another screen.
"Yes."
Daniel looked closer.
Reed had made six phone calls to a number registered to a company owned by Victor Hale's brother.
Daniel smiled.