Chapter 1

ADRIAN POV

When I chose to become a detective, I thought I was doing it to catch bad guys and prove a point. I never knew it would bring me back to somebody I never expected to see. Especially not after ten years. 

“Ready for today's briefing kid?” Captain Morrison asked, adjusting his tie before taking his place at the head of the table. 

I slid into the seat by his side, nodding curtly. 

“Yes, ready when you are.” I said, a wide smile appeared across my lips

I ducked my hands beneath the table real quick as they began trembling. My chest heaved. My lips quivered as I tried really hard to find the perfect shape for my smile. There was no way I was letting him down. 

A soft hand made its way to my shoulder. " Breathe, dear." She said, 

“Nah, I'm fine.” I chuckled, turning my head slightly to avoid eye contact. 

She poured me a cup of coffee, slid it across the table making sure it was in front of me. " Try it out, it helps burn out nervousness."

I took a sip from the cup, then place it back on the table. I lifted my gaze. I stared at Captain Morrison. At the corner of my eye were ten other guys waiting to hear what their boss would say about me. 

“Alright, listen up.” Captain Morrison's loud voice boomed across the Conference room, forcing a stop to various mild chatter scattered all over the room.

“We have a new case assigned to us, and not just a new case, a fresh blood has been added to the team as well. Everyone, meet Adrian Cross, he's twenty five and fresh out of training. I am sure he is eager to prove himself as we have all once been, so I implore everyone of you to treat him as one of us. Please go ahead and welcome him to the team.”

I stood up dragging myself lasily to the front of the room where I was met with a deafening round of applause. Few members of the team even stepped forward to say hi, including the woman earlier. 

“I am Mrs Sarah Chen, your office buddy and work partner.”

I allowed myself to fully smile now, genuinely touched by her warmth. “Thank you Mrs Chen, and thanks for the coffee as well.”

“You're welcome kid.” She turned to Captain Morrison. “I like him, we're going to be friends.”

“Wonderful.” Captain Morrison replied gleefully. “Now settle down everybody, let's talk about the case.”

"Our case is… a drug magnet," Morrison said, killing the chatter. 

"Not just a drug magnet, a very big one, and a dangerous one at that.” he said gravely, before turning to me. “Cross, welcome to hell."

A few people chuckled but I didn't. I kept my face straight, maintaining a serious facade. 

Morrison clicked a remote, and the projector hummed to life behind him before he continued. 

"For the past five years, one organization has been running drugs and weapons through LA like they own the goddamn city. And now I'm starting to think that they might because all attempts to catch them have been futile."

Numbers flashed on the screen, revealing amounts in dollars big enough to make my eyes water, shipment records, territory maps, and more statistics belonging to the criminal empire that was hitting it big from the image on the screen.

Then the culprit's image flashed across the screen. A face I knew. Not him. But close enough to make my stomach drop.Images rushed back—the three of us, years ago, before everything fell apart. My lips parted. I couldn't breathe.

" He and his companions have moved an estimation of two hundred million in product yearly," Morrison continues. "They have also spread their wings in every level of government. Cops, judges, city officials and previous task forces have been infiltrated with their spies. Every team that has been tasked with investigating them in the past has always had a nasty habit of falling apart."

"Define falling apart," someone asked from the back.

"Detective Rodriguez's transferred to Alaska after his family received death threats. Detective Kim died in a car accident that wasn't an accident. Detective Tim took an early retirement after someone mailed him photos of his daughter in her kindergarten class." Morrison's jaw tightened. "This organization doesn't play. They eliminate all their threats efficiently and permanently." He didn't even act like he had heard what the guy said. 

The room quiets at his last words, leaving a strange sense of foreboding in the atmosphere. 

"So why are we touching this?" A guy sitting right across the room asked. 

"Because three weeks ago, the FBI handed us new intelligence. The head of this organization made a mistake. He got sloppy and finally, we finally have an opening. Honestly, he had been getting sloppy for a while now but nobody has had the ball to get him." Morrison turned to me, looking me directly in the eyes. "Which is why this case needs someone hungry to pursue it. A detective who sees an opportunity and is smart enough to exploit it.”

He started walking towards me, “Someone who is scared of nothing." He continued. “Someone who is not afraid to take risks.” He said, stopping just behind me and placing his hands on my seat.

I paused, looking at him raising my left eyebrow. I swallowed hard. I frowned slightly, but I couldn't hide small smile on my lips. 

This was it. The perfect opportunity to prove myself, to prove that I'm not worthless. My body stiffened. I was trying real hard to stop myself from screaming. 

This could just be my big break. If I head the team and nail the criminal, I'll make the headlines. I'll be the star detective and he'll watch me shine from his screens. Greatness is the best form of revenge and it was everything I ever wanted.

"Now to our target," Morrison said, drawing me out of my thoughts and clicking to the next slide. “This is our guy!”

The projector flickered, my whole world came crumbling. My jaw dropped.