Chapter 19 - The Secret Whistleblower And The Encrypted Hard Drive
The heavy,
dark,
thick,
oppressive rain fell violently,
relentlessly,
loudly against the small,
glass windows of my quiet,
dimly lit,
suburban living room,
perfectly,
beautifully masking the highly secretive,
incredibly dangerous,
clandestine meeting occurring inside.
Special Agent Thomas Vance,
my old,
trusted,
highly experienced,
incredibly intelligent friend from the FBI's massive,
complex,
elite financial crimes division,
was sitting quietly,
intently,
seriously on my soft,
comfortable,
fabric sofa.
He was a tall,
weathered,
exhausted,
brilliant man,
wearing a dark,
wet,
heavy trench coat,
his sharp,
calculating,
piercing eyes constantly,
paranoidly scanning the dark,
quiet room for hidden,
invisible listening devices.
"You have kicked a massive,
terrifying,
incredibly dangerous hornet's nest,
Carter,"
Thomas whispered quietly,
gravely,
seriously,
pulling a small,
heavy,
metallic,
highly encrypted flash drive from his deep,
wet,
hidden pocket.
"Arthur Sterling is not just a wealthy,
arrogant,
vengeful,
angry father,
he is the primary,
central,
massive financial linchpin for three major,
global,
incredibly violent international crime syndicates."
Emily gasped loudly,
shockedly,
fearfully,
sitting nervously,
quietly beside me,
her hands clutching a warm,
comforting,
hot mug of tea incredibly tightly,
desperately.
"We have been actively,
secretly,
desperately trying to legally,
formally indict him for over ten long,
frustrating,
exhausting years,"
Thomas continued smoothly,
urgently,
placing the small,
silver,
heavy drive carefully,
gently onto the wooden,
scratched coffee table.
"But he always,
consistently,
brilliantly insulates himself behind massive,
complex,
untraceable layers of fake,
dummy shell corporations,
highly paid,
expensive corporate lawyers,
and corrupt,
bribed,
greedy politicians."
"So why are you sitting quietly,
secretly in my dark,
rainy living room right now,
Thomas?"
I asked sharply,
directly,
intensely,
leaning forward aggressively,
curiously to stare at the small,
silver device.
"Because his massive,
overwhelming,
uncontrollable obsession with completely,
utterly destroying your incredibly resilient,
brave daughter made him incredibly,
unusually,
dangerously sloppy,"
Thomas smiled slightly,
darkly,
a brief,
rare,
predatory expression crossing his tired,
weathered face.
"He recently,
arrogantly,
stupidly ordered his incredibly loyal,
highly paid,
expert Chief Financial Officer to illegally,
quickly transfer five million dollars through an unsecured,
traceable,
vulnerable offshore account to directly,
maliciously fund that massive,
fake media smear campaign against you."
My heart leaped violently,
hopefully,
rapidly in my tight,
anxious chest,
the massive,
crushing,
heavy weight of the past terrible,
exhausting months finally,
slowly beginning to truly,
genuinely lift.
"The CFO,
a highly paranoid,
incredibly nervous,
terrified man named David,
realized instantly,
correctly that Arthur was dangerously,
recklessly spiraling completely,
totally out of control,"
Thomas explained quickly,
quietly,
tapping the silver,
encrypted drive gently,
meaningfully with his long,
calloused index finger.
"David secretly,
bravely,
desperately became a highly confidential,
protected,
valuable federal informant yesterday morning,
and he legally,
officially handed over this massive,
comprehensive,
undeniable digital ledger."
I stared intensely,
hopefully,
disbelievingly at the tiny,
silver,
unassuming piece of metal,
realizing profoundly,
deeply that it contained absolutely,
completely everything we desperately,
urgently needed to permanently,
totally destroy the evil,
untouchable billionaire.
"This incredible,
massive drive contains undeniable,
concrete,
recorded proof of Arthur's massive,
illegal money laundering operations,
his direct,
criminal involvement with violent,
lethal cartels,
and his explicit,
recorded,
horrifying orders to completely,
violently ruin Emily's precious,
hard-earned life,"
Thomas concluded firmly,
powerfully,
authoritatively,
standing up slowly,
tall,
imposing from the soft couch.
"We finally,
officially,
legally have the massive,
unstoppable,
ironclad federal warrant,
Carter,
and we are completely,
absolutely,
totally ready to aggressively,
violently kick his massive,
expensive,
penthouse door completely off its golden,
polished hinges."
I stood up instantly,
forcefully,
proudly,
a massive,
fierce,
predatory,
unstoppable smile breaking widely,
brilliantly across my tired,
exhausted,
weathered face.
"I may be officially,
temporarily,
unfairly suspended from standard,
local police duty,
Thomas,"
I said clearly,
loudly,
confidently,
my voice completely,
utterly devoid of any previous,
lingering fear.
"But you are absolutely,
completely,
unquestionably taking me with you on this highly dangerous,
massive,
federal raid tonight."
Thomas nodded slowly,
respectfully,
understandingly,
tossing a heavy,
black,
protective,
tactical FBI vest directly,
smoothly into my waiting,
eager,
ready hands.
"I wouldn't ever,
possibly dream of leaving you behind,
Momma Bear,"
he replied warmly,
darkly,
turning quickly,
decisively to walk out into the heavy,
violent,
unforgiving rain.
"Let's go completely,
utterly,
permanently slay this arrogant,
May you like
evil,
rich dragon."
