It Started With a Heist

Chapter 14

JAKE

The SUV's tires screeched against the asphalt as I raced toward the Metropolitan Correctional Center. I had assured Declan that he would be safe there, that Vitale wouldn't be able to reach him. However, that promise now lay shattered, torn to pieces by the same shank that had pierced through Declan's heart...

I clenched the steering wheel with such force that my knuckles lost their color and my jaw tightened with rage.

Declan's face haunted me, flickering in my mind like a broken projector. Just days ago, he had sat across from me, sipping his lukewarm coffee as we went over our plan with precision. I had promised him that we would nail Vitale and, above all, that he would be safe.

Failure was a vicious beast, gnawing at me with a foul taste of defeat and a pang of broken promises.

Damn it all...

I stared at the prison in the distance, a place where justice should have reigned. But today, it was nothing but a spectacle of chaos and disorder.

I parked the car in a hurry and strode into the prison, where Warden Harris was waiting for me with a grim look on his face.

"Agent Parker." He greeted me with a curt nod. "You should've spared yourself the trouble of coming all the way here. I was going to send you a full report of the incident anyway."

The incident. I shot him a steely glance, my frustration barely contained. "I told you to keep an eye on him, Warden. And he was supposed to be in protective custody, so how the hell did this happen?"

The warden sighed, the nonchalant look on his face faltering. "Well, something went wrong. Fast. We're still piecing it together. But while Declan was in the shower, a huge fight erupted between several inmates, and most of the COs were busy trying to get it under control. During the chaos, we think someone must have slipped in and shanked Declan."

I raised an eyebrow. "You think? What about the CCTV footage?"

Harris winced and looked a bit embarrassed. "The inmates destroyed the cameras facing the shower room."

Huffing, I ran my fingers through my hair. "This is a complete disaster. We had to keep him safe, or at least, we were supposed to," I muttered, my voice laced with unspoken accusation.

The warden was about to say something, but suddenly, someone called out my name from behind, interrupting us. I turned around and saw Agent Liam Hunt from the Violent Crimes Unit. He had just stepped out of the shower room and was in the process of removing his latex gloves.

The Violent Crime Unit handled cases like this, which took place inside the federal prison system. I was relieved that Hunt was in charge of the investigation. This meant I wouldn't have to argue with another agent who would simply toss it aside and treat it like a cold case, even before looking into it. I knew that finding leads in prison was nearly impossible since the inmates never cooperated, but with Hunt on the case, I had hope.

"Hunt," I said as I approached him, extending my hand for a shake. "I'm really glad you're here."

He nodded, shaking my hand. "I dived into Declan's file as soon as we got word of what happened. Since he was your CI, I wanted to look at the scene myself."

He went on, "Well, for an outsider, this looks like a typical prison fight that got out of hand. However, I can already tell that you suspect there's more to it. Am I correct?"

Leaning against the wall, I breathed heavily and asked, "Have you ever heard of Saverio Vitale?"

He seemed lost in thought for a moment before slowly nodding. "Yeah, I remember hearing about him. Actually, he was a person of interest in a case we worked on a while back." He paused, his brows furrowing as if navigating a mental archive. "There was this guy who was murdered mafia-style, so we weren't in charge of the case for long before it got handed over to Organized Crime. But I remember that some leads pointed toward Vitale.