Page 43 of Doc
Sticks stepped forward, folding his arms over his chest.“That’s a heavy accusation, Pres.Proof better be rock solid if we’re going to war with badges.”
“It’s solid.”I unzipped the duffel.“Bank records showing regular payments from shell companies to officials.Court documents proving cases were deliberately buried.Police reports that were sealed or destroyed -- but not before someone made copies.”
Nova stepped forward, her gait slightly uneven with the brace but her movements deliberate.She placed her mother’s notebook on the table, opening it to pages marked with colored tabs.
“My mother spent months tracking this operation.She identified patterns -- financial, logistical, chronological -- that connected officials to specific trafficking incidents.But whatever she found last wasn’t recorded in her notes.It’s why I didn’t have everything I needed to put this together.”
Royal snorted.“No offense to your mama, but reporter’s hunches don’t mean shit without hard evidence.”
I tensed, ready to step in, but Nova didn’t need my protection.She simply looked at Royal, holding his gaze without flinching.
“I gave you her evidence.Not only that, but a lot of it was stolen.But in addition to what she discovered, I found out more information.”She flipped to a page in her own notebook, filled with account numbers.“Every deposit into Wallace’s offshore account corresponds to a case dismissal or evidence disappearance.Every transfer to Judge Harmon’s shell company matches a ruling that benefited the trafficking operation.And there’s more.Every person involved got paid off, and this is the proof.”
She reached into the duffel, pulling out the files we’d taken from the county clerk’s office.“These are the official records.Property transfers for the Blue Pines Motel chain.Tax filings that don’t match the income being reported.Court documents showing patterns of case dismissals that can’t be explained by any legitimate legal reasoning.”
Tempest looked over everything, eyes narrowed.He picked up a few of the documents and skimmed them over.His expression darkened as he read.“Son of a bitch,” he muttered.
“These people will keep killing to protect their operation.”Nova held his gaze.“My mother identified at least thirty victims moved through this county.Girls as young as fourteen.And I believe there have been more.”
I watched as hardened men who’d initially dismissed Nova’s quest for justice now pored over bank statements and police reports with growing fury.Saint was already marking locations on a map, circling the Blue Pines Motel and the warehouse owned by one of the shell companies.
Savior let them process for several minutes before calling for attention.
“This stops now.”His voice carried the weight of absolute authority.“Not next week, not after more planning.We’ve tried waiting and it nearly got Doc and Nova killed.We split into teams.Surveillance on Wallace and Harmon.Entry team for the warehouse where we believe records are being kept.Extraction team for any victims we can identify at the motels.”
He turned to me and Nova.“You two lead the evidence recovery team.You know what we’re looking for better than anyone.Take Wire and whoever else you need.”
I nodded, feeling Nova straighten beside me.For the first time since this began, we weren’t fighting alone.
Savior looked around the room one final time, his gaze touching each brother.“This is for family.We finish what they started.”
The words settled over the room like a blessing and a battle cry combined.Brothers nodded, some touching their cuts as if reminding themselves what the patch stood for.I felt Nova’s hand find mine and squeeze briefly, her small fingers surprisingly strong.
For the first time since we’d discovered the truth about her parents’ deaths, I allowed myself to feel something beyond survival.Something like hope.
* * *
I leaned against the doorframe of the back office, watching as Nova transformed the space into something between a war room and a hacker’s paradise.Computer equipment covered every surface, borrowed from Wire’s personal stash and Lavender’s surveillance gear.Three monitors glowed in the dim light, casting Nova’s face in an eerie blue glow as her fingers flew across the keyboard.She’d shed her usual hesitance, moving with purpose as she connected cables and configured settings.This was a side of her I’d never seen -- confident, commanding, completely in her element.
“You planning to hack the Pentagon next?”I asked, stepping into the room.
Nova didn’t look up, her focus absolute as she typed commands into a terminal window.“County records database is bad enough.Their firewall is decent, but their network architecture is a mess.Honestly, I try not to do this sort of thing, and I wouldn’t be doing it now except… it feels necessary.”
Wire grinned at me from where he was setting up a router.The club’s resident tech genius was in his element, hunched over equipment worth more than most members’ bikes.“Girl knows her shit.”I heard the admiration in his voice.“Asked for a packet sniffer before I even mentioned it.”
I raised an eyebrow at Nova, who finally glanced up with a small smile.“Data journalism,” she explained, as if that clarified everything.“Mom taught me.Can’t expose corruption without knowing how to follow digital breadcrumbs.”
The room filled steadily as word spread through the clubhouse.Brothers who’d barely acknowledged Nova’s existence days ago now crowded behind her chair, watching as code scrolled across her screen.Tempest leaned against the back wall, arms crossed, his skepticism not entirely gone but tempered with curiosity.Saint stood beside him, occasionally murmuring questions to Wire about the equipment.
“What exactly are we looking for?”Lavender asked, adjusting one of the monitors.
Nova pulled up a diagram she’d sketched earlier.“My mother identified six separate county databases that contain fragments of the financial trail.They’ve been careful to spread the information across different systems that don’t normally talk to each other.”Her fingers tapped the paper.“Tax records.Property assessments.Court financial disclosures.Sheriff’s department budget allocations.County commissioner discretionary funds.Highway department contract approvals.”
“Smart,” Wire muttered.“Nobody looking at just one system would see the pattern.”
“Exactly.”Nova nodded.“But if we can access all six simultaneously and cross-reference the data points --”
“We get the full picture,” I finished, understanding dawning.“The connections your mother was piecing together manually.”
