Sergio

'Clear!' the officer confirmed, after checking the secret storage room behind the books.

I knew they were here. My instincts told me to stay close.

'Alright', I withdrew, leaving the woman's house with the search team. No matter what, I was intent on getting my family back. Back where they belonged; with me.

Infuriation at Selena's audacity to leave without saying a word about her detailed escape plan, and then abducting my daughter, made me all the more focused during our stakeout.

Outside, Morello and I observed the neighbour's house, while I kept behind a few other cars to observe close by houses, even by their back gardens.

'This is why I told those damn fools no sirens', I complained, while Morello ate donuts and listened to the radio. He rolled his eyes.

'Well – those officers just wanted to feel as if they were doing some justice, you know?'

'And here we find ourselves! We would've had them, Morello'.

'Yeah, I bet', he replied with apathy, mouth full of donuts.

No one cared as truly as I did. Only I knew the Selena who was an expert at evading search teams, with her naturally cunning and elusive nature. Now, it was worse because she had Layla.

On the night of our anniversary when she danced around with Blanco or Rojo, planning to drug me with either of the wines the whole time, I realised I'd broken her a long time ago.

Otherwise, her escape scheme would not have been able to withstand me this long.

Every flicker of lights in the house, every phone call, or every little flinch, we listened in and observed.

So far, we only picked up calls from the elderly woman speaking to her family about uninteresting things. Not a whimper about Selena and Layla. Then finally, I picked up on a crucial, rosy conversation.

The elderly woman was a tenant of Michael. Which meant Michael owned the house he leased to Selena for her escape. Hours later, I fell asleep on this thought.

'Sergio! Wake up!' Morello wailed, shaking me up while I slept on the wheel. He pointed me to a red car which was taking off in front of us.

'Where did that car come from?' I grunted. Morello played back our recorded surveillance.

'The neighbour's garage'.

Briefly, Selena glimpsed back at me before jumping into the driver's seat. Then I laid eyes on Layla. It was 5:00AM. While I pressed on the gas and sped up behind the red car, my body was still waking up.

But Selena was already about ten meters ahead.

For a long time we played this cat-and-mouse game on the bare roads. Selena drove too fast, which made me fear for my daughter's safety. Reckless, as if she were in a videogame, she drifted dangerously through tight corners without checking for oncoming traffic.

Finally, I chased her towards a level crossing. While we approached the signal became red, barriers closing... and a train approaching.

'Hey man – lets slow down', Morello wavered, grabbing my shoulder. Selena smashed right through the barriers, riding over the tracks, 'Sergio, stop!'

'We'll make it!' I cried, just before slamming the breaks as the train rocketed before us. In the aftershock we shivered, breathing frantically while acknowledging we had escaped death by a millisecond.

After the train passed, Selena's car vanished. They were gone.

Apathy irritated me, and disobedience to my instructions tested my patience, but there wasn't anything I hated more than a traitor. Which was why I called for a mandatory meeting later that day.

'So help me understand! After I pamper you men, I reward you with money – lots of it, I renovate your offices, I give you the best cars, feed you the best food, I take you in – like my family, and yet some of you still have the nerve to betray me!'

'Err – chief?' Julian whimpered.

'What?!'

'It's just', he pointed to his ringing phone, 'it's my girlfriend. It's important –' I grabbed his phone and threw it to the ground.

'Does anyone else want to take a call while I'm talking?!' I asked.

The stakeout chief, read the article I held up. Other news articles had similar headlines. Some paralleled profile pictures of Ortega and I, and other had hit shots of my daughter running into the red car.

The story was always the same. Anonymous Bluebridge detectives revealed details about their relationship with the chief, and his personal life interfering with work life. Explicit about labelling me the stakeout man who was chasing after my own runaway family, the media didn't fail to assassinate my character. I was the ruthless man who tore his family apart behind the fame.

Rumours of me having an affair with Ortega were out, but they were only rumours with no evidence. No pictures of us together, no videos, no media. Just word of mouth accounts from this very office.

'So who gave the accounts?' I asked everyone in the room, 'it's a simple question'. No one owned up. So I switched strategy. 'Okay. Julian?'

'Yes chief?'

'Care to help me out? You know who spoke, right?'

'Actually, chief I don't... know –'

'That's too bad, because as a senior detective I was relying on you, Julian'. I patted his shoulder, 'and If you can't tell me, then I'll have to fire you – on their behalf'.

'What?! Chief, I didn't talk! On what basis?!'

'There are plenty of other reasons I could fire you, Julian', I reinforced, 'but I won't do that today – if you tell me who done it'. Seeing how serious I was, Julian finally stiffened up. I waited... and waited. But there was still no response from anyone. 'Well, this is it. Goodbye –'

'Wait!' one of my detectives butted in, 'don't fire him. It wasn't him'. In a pool of anxious sweat, he shivered. 'I-I'm sorry chief –'

'Badge and gun on my desk, now!' I broiled with rage, 'and don't ever step foot in this place again!'

'Kai was in it too!' the man spilled, now pointing at Kai.

'Whoa – hey! Hold on', Kai refuted. One of my dearest, longest work friends, and Morello's closest buddy... could really betray me like that? With solemn eyes, Kai stared right into mine.

'Is this true... Kai?' I asked, very sad. He didn't respond. 'Get out. Both of you. You're done'. Kai bowed his head.

'Sergio –'

'GET OUT!' I yelled at the top of my lungs, 'aarrghh!' In my head I counted to ten, breathed, and reset my tone, while all my detectives stared at me cluelessly. 'Okay everyone. Back to work'.

Moments later, I was called into an interrogation with Sniper and his RPCA goons. An unpleasant surprise.

'You know, chief detective, I've been investigating you all along. But that news article about you and Ortega confirmed all my suspicions', Sniper taunted, flipping out his own copy of the article.

'You mean suspicions without factual basis? Everything in the papers about my client are just rumours', Priscilla rebutted to my defence, 'you know that... Will'.

'Well it might be, but we've had time to build a strong case – with hard evidence'. It was all in the name. Sniper. I could never see him coming, but I was always his primary target.

'I'm sorry. What is he being accused of?' Priscilla asked, 'an affair?'

'As much as that is gross misconduct, no. It's deeper than that', Sniper affirmed, 'is it true, chief, that you made several calls to Mrs Ortega everyday about wanting to help her campaign events?'

'Yes', I replied.

'And also wanting to make a collection of underwear for every night you –'

'You don't have to answer that', Priscilla butted in.

'I was going to say for every night you holidayed with her'.

'It's fine', I conceded, 'the rumours are true. I said that'.

'But she wasn't your random lover. You used her, the same way you use your lovely lawyer here by getting into bed with her –'

'That's enough, Sniper! We're done', Priscilla snapped, standing from her seat, 'terminate this interview! And come back when you have real evidence'.

'This isn't over', Sniper stopped the recording.

'Hey, thank you for today', I held Priscilla's palm as she rushed off, 'it means a lot –' then she slapped me in the face, and walked away faster.

For the whole day until midnight, we worked tirelessly to trace Selena's tracks, but this time we had no success. Which left me no choice.

'Hey Michael!' For the past five minutes I banged on his front door. It was almost 2:00AM, 'open this damn door!'

'Sergio?!' Michael shrieked behind the door, 'what are you doing here – what the hell do you want?' he tried to push me out, but I barged into his house.

'I wanna know where you've taken my wife and daughter. What's your mastermind plan this time?!'

'I-I...' he stammered, pausing for a long time, 'I don't know what you're talking about man –'

'Michael?' Solange, his pregnant wife, ran down the staircase in a transparent white robe. After switching on the lights, she gasped, 'what is he doing here?' she rested her condescending eyes on me.

'What do you think?' I retaliated.

'Sergio, you need to leave!' Michael growled, burning with girly rage.

'You heard him – agggrrh!' Before Michael could anticipate my actions, I grabbed Solange into a chokehold, then pointed my revolver towards Michael. She screamed, while tugging on my arm.

Michael froze.

'Don't talk... unless the next words coming out of your mouth are co-ordinates, I seethed.

'Sergio...' slowly, Michael raised his arms, 'just let Solange go –'

'I don't hear directions!'

'Because I don't know where Selena is!' he finally yelled, 'she's running away from you! Shouldn't you take a hint and stop looking for her?!'

'A-a! If I ran away with this baby...' I rubbed Solange's belly, with my gun tightly gripped, 'would you stop looking for me?'

'I don't know where she is, like I said'.

'Oh?' rubbing Solange's belly became pointing my gun at it. Michael charged towards me, 'stay back!' my gun shifted back at him. He froze. 'Wanna know what it feels like? Losing your wife and your only child?' I pressed it deeper into Solange's stomach, 'you feel it now, right?'

'You're bluffing', Michael scoffed, 'you won't shoot'.

I lifted the revolver towards Solange's head.

'There's a handful of bullets in this. I'm gonna countdown in Portuguese...'

'Sergio! Stop this madness!'

'And for every second you don't answer me, I pull the trigger'.

'Don't tell him anything Michael!' Solange wailed, just before I squeezed tighter on her neck.

'Dez!' I pulled the trigger. Solange screamed. It was a blank. 'Nove...'I twisted my cylinder....

'Enough! I'll tell you where they are! Just – stop!' Michael conceded, 'Let her lie down. She's pregnant!'

'A-a-a – location first...' I reminded him.

'Queen Estates, by the city airport', Michael blurted.

'Excellent', I kept my gun pointed at him, 'now you're going to take me there'. Reluctantly, I loosened my chokehold around Solange, who fell to the ground coughing, and crawling.

'Fine. I'll take you', Michael muttered.

'Great, let's go'.

'Please, lower your gun...' he requested. Keeping my gun in the air, I moved towards him, and propelled him towards the door.

Suddenly I felt a hard object bang on the back of my head. Seconds later, I was on the ground going unconscious, and the last thing I saw was Solange holding a broomstick...

Hours later.

I woke up in a cell, detained by my own unit. My hands were cuffed.

'Mo...Morello', I spotted him speaking in the distance. He turned around, 'Hey Morello! Morello listen. You have to get me out of here. When they're not looking, just –'

'Sergio, stop! Okay?!'

'Hey – come back!' I grunted, trying to squeeze my fingers through the bars, 'what is this? Detaining your own chief? What's wrong with all of you?! I have a family to protect –'

'Not anymore...' Sniper emerged from the darkness, grinning, 'you've created a great deal of horseshit, haven't you Valdez?'

'Fuck you!'

'Sorry about wrongly accusing you of Cleodora's murder, but with this case I've built, you could be facing real jail time –'

'Where's Priscilla?'

'Your pocket lawyer? She left for Lisbon yesterday. She's not representing you'.

'I haven't done anything wrong!'

'What?!' he laughed obnoxiously, 'your drug dealer lover, Maria, who I'm told you impregnated... is dead'.

'Huh?' I shuddered and fell to my knees, 'she's – s-she's...'

'Murdered in Priscilla's home. Her throat was slit, and she was dumped in the pool'.

'No... no-no-no –'

'You orchestrate a whole search team to find your runaway wife and kid – an embarrassment! And then you bust into Michael's house, strangle his pregnant wife at gunpoint and proceed to play – Russian roulette in Portuguese if they don't tell you where your wife is?'

'I-I... because I need to find her...'

'Your wife?' he leaned forward, 'well... she's the most mysterious of them all. I interviewed her a few days ago'.

'What?' I whimpered, taken aback by his account, 'what did she say?'

'Nothing! Ha!' Sniper laughed, 'she had nothing against you. She lied for you, bribed for you, defending you until the very end. Even when I asked about the faded bruise on her face... she said she ran into a pole'.

'Please d-don't hold anything against her, Sniper', I pleaded, 'please'.

'I'm sorry chief, but your gangster wife... is just as guilty as you. I'll have a team searching for her in no time'.

'You can't do this! It's not her fault. I got her involved. If you take her... where will my daughter go?!' The last thing I wanted was for my only daughter to grow up the way I did, in foster care.

'Sniper', Morello butted in, handing a phone to him, 'it's a call, for him'.

'Oh? Sniper grabbed the phone and placed it on speaker in front of me.

'H-hello?'

'Daddy?' Layla's little bug voice squealed through the receiver, 'how are you?'

'Layla, honey...' I was overjoyed to hear her voice, 'I'm good, my angel. You miss me?'

'Yes', she replied, 'I want to be with you again, but mom said it wasn't a good idea'.

'Did she now? Layla... where are you?'

'Mom said I can't disclose that information'.

'Layla, can you hand the phone to your mother for me?'

'Okay', she beamed. Loud ruffling followed. I waited... and waited.

'Selena...?'

'Sergio...'

'I... I don't understand. On the night of our anniversary we... were good. You were happy...'

'Happy?' she laughed bitterly, 'right after our beautiful happy night, I fell sick – vomiting all over the toilet. Having to fake it for so long, pretending ... well, that done it'.

'So it... was all an act?'

'To buy time, to get away from you – to keep Layla and I safe!' her voice trembled, 'Aren't you happy now? With all your money, your mistresses –'

'Selena –'

'Your police servants, your power –'

'They mean nothing to me without you! You –' I raised my voice, then paused, breathed, 'you and Layla are all I care about. I need you back'.

'You are sick!' she bellowed, 'you think I would dare let my daughter near you again? You put a gun to my sister's unborn baby!'

'I-I was emotional I – wasn't thinking. But listen –'

'Demented psycho. Don't ever call me again. Don't look for me, don't send a search team. I hope you off yourself in a jail cell!'

The phone hung up.

'Wow. I'm mesmerised', Sniper marvelled, 'all the women you had wrapped around your pinkie, and in a second –' he snapped his fingers, 'gone! Like phantoms'.

'No – no. Ring – ring back! Please!' I begged. Without a second of sympathy, Morello and Sniper walked away, and I was left alone in the cell.

Morning

'Wakey-wakey!' Julian blurted from a megaphone. I shuddered up.

'What the –'

'Sorry chief, you weren't waking up', then he knelt to my level, 'I have some good news, and some bad news. The good news is you're being... exonerated'. Suddenly my cell gates were unlocked.

'Exonerated?' I smiled with unyielding joy, 'why didn't Will come and deliver the news himself?'

'Respectfully chief, Sniper hates your guts. He built a strong case against you, which just got thrown out by the judge, hence why he didn't come to tell you. But the bad news is... you can't return'.

'Right', I swallowed in, accepting the hard facts. Then by my cuffs I was yanked out of the cell and escorted to the exit.

As I walked through the department, nothing but disdainful eyes hawked over me. Everyone stopped talking or lowered their voices to whispers.

'Five police officers died in place of you' Morello burned to get off his chest, 'the five you assigned to Valentinos ports to regulate your drug money laundering operation. And you're the one being set free?'

'I am – deeply sorry to hear that', I uttered quietly.

'You're Sorry?! All this time, Sergio?!' he raged. It was apparent that Sniper took to his plan B; exposing all his evidence against me to my detectives. 'For a long time, I ignored Selena... but she was right about you'.

Like an unwanted gate-crasher, I was thrown out of the building, along with a box of all my stuff. All of my business bank accounts had been blocked, and my money restricted... frozen.