Chapter 220: the Vid and How to Use It

So I hit the play button stone cold sober. The lighting in the room wasn't good. Even so there was no mistaking the look of pure terror on the face of the Hispanic man seated at the table. His terrified face filled the screen.

The heavily accented voice demanded, "Tell me everything about the drug raid last week."

"If I tell you they will kill me," the man said.

"If you don't tell me, I will kill you and I will do it very, very slowly. So tell me about the raid." The man demanded.

"I can't," the prisoner said. Before anyone else spoke there was a commotion and the prisoner screamed and began to cry. The camera didn't zero in on the prisoner but it was obvious something had happened.

"Now tell me about the drug raid," the voice said again.

"Please no," the prisoner begged. There was the commotion again only before there could be a resolution the prisoner began to talk. "The raid was a setup."

"What do you mean a set up?" the off camera voice asked.

"Estavante told us to call in the tip on our own people. It is all part of some plan the Cartels have."

"What do you mean?" the off camera voice asked.

"This raid was the first in a series of moves to discredit the police. We were supposed to set it up so that it looked as though the police were in business with the Cartels." The prisoner said.

"Why did this Estavante, want to frame the cops?" the off camera voice asked.

"He said that the first step to taking over the government was to discredit the police. Once the press believed that the police were in business with the Cartels, then the Cartels could begin to exert control over the local governments. Estavante said it would take years, but that every year we would get more and more control until it would be like Mexico here. According to him the politicians would be afraid to take on the drug cartels.

"So tell me where the money is now?"

"There was never any money. The piles of paper wasn't really money. The stacks were a soap based paper. To get ride of the evidence, one of the men was to turn over a drink on the table. The liquid would dissolve the piles of paper which the cops thought were money."

"So when the money was gone, it would appear that the cops stole it." The off camera voice suggested.

"Yes, the plan was to continue doing the same thing until everybody thought the cops were all crooks. When the press picked up on it, then it wouldn't take long for the people to lose confidence. Once that happened, people here would be like they are in Mexico. They would stop cooperating with the police. Without information, the balance would tip to our side."

"So this isn't a single operation. It is a campaign that will take years?" the off camera voice asked.

"Yes that is exactly what it is. Estavante said not to worry that the Americans were too soft to do what was necessary to battle us."

"So a group of Narco Terrorists are operating in this small town?" the off camera voice asked.

"Exactly, their only job is to discredit the local police departments. Estavante says we can turn this into a safe haven just like the ones we have in Mexico." The Hispanic man suggested. Once the tape finished running, I looked hard at it. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end as well.

I hoped this isn't a state supported effort, I thought. I hoped that it was just one more mad Narco Terrorist dreaming of being a king of some kind. I had a feeling it was more serious than that, but time would tell just how serious.

I held the flash drive in my hand and realized that it was going to be a real problem for a lot of people. The cops didn't just want to clear their names, they were willing to risk prison to expose this Estavante. I had to do what I could to keep them out of prison.

I needed that renovation completed, then I needed to get someone who could make things happen up and running. The other problem was that I was sure the CIA would have bugged my apartment. That's was at least a large part of the renovations. I would have done the same things, since they were about to put a billion dollar toy in my care. What their motives were, I had no idea nor did anyone outside the agency.

Even though it was Sunday afternoon, I stopped by the office depot for a flash drive. They were cheap so I bought a handful. In the alley behind my building I made two copies of the file. Not only did I wear rubber gloves, but I sealed it in a ziplock bag immediately. The original would be contaminated with all kinds of DNA, but the new one I tried to keep clean. At least as clean as I possibly could.

I had to admit that I would have found the plot less than creditable, except that I knew for a fact that the bad guys had implemented it. Of course it was possible that the tape was just a cover up for the person who had really taken the money. It was just a fucked up mess as those things always were in the beginning. I had two completely different but possible theories of the crime.

At that moment I decided to hold onto the file until I got Eve to work on it. I expected her to know everything, just as Lucy had. I also expected her to be a tattletale, just as Lucy had been. Since I was used to being under a microscope, I figured to let that be for a while at least. Someday I might find a way to hijack Eve.

I left the alley behind my new residence headed back to Jennifer's place. I was headed there because I had no idea what to do next. I got into her upscale neighborhood when the phone rang.

"Hello," I said into it.

"You received my present?" the heavily accented voice asked.

"I did indeed. At this point I am trying to decide the best place to forward it. Do you have a preference?" I asked it knowing I would make the decision but why not see if whoever was involved had a preference.