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 slide into the seat by his side, nodding curtly. 

“Yes, ready when you are.” I replied with a smooth smile. 

I could see the side of his lips lifting slightly which meant that he was impressed. Captain Morrison had always been my mentor from the sidelines, watching me grow, encouraging me, giving me the push to get to where I am today. And now, he was the proudest person in the room while I on the other hand was a nervous wreck who felt anxious on his first day of work.

My hands kept trembling slightly and I had to hide my hands under the table to stop him from noticing. He was the closest thing I had to a father figure and I wasn't about to disappoint him. 

The woman beside me held my hand softly, steadying them for a second. “First day nerves?” she asked, flashing her perfect sets of teeth. 

“Nah, I'm fine.” I chuckled awkwardly, trying to wave it off. 

“Liar.” She laughed, pouring me some black coffee. “Have some of these, it helps.”

I took it, grateful to have my hands worried about something else that wasn't my new boss and the ten other pairs of eyes watching me closely, trying to make up their mind about the new guy and if he's good enough for their team. 

“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, his twenty eight 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, and forced my legs to drag me 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. Now, I know that you're totally clueless, but that's why you have me. To show you the ropes.”

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.”

I walked back to my seat, thinking about all the days I spent hungry just so I could get to this point. 

I thought about why I was even here in the first place. 

It was because of him. Because he left even after promising me that we would be together. After swearing that he would never leave me, he woke up one morning and vanished without a trace. Like I didn't even matter. Like I wasn't worth fighting for.

That day something in me broke, and I made up my mind to become something. Someone important, someone you would never again forget. Ever.

After crying for days, I gathered the pieces of my heart and picked myself up. I dusted myself up and began to work hard making sure that one day, the orphan kid who grew up in six different foster homes would be so proud of the man I had become.

"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.

"They 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 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."

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

"So why are we touching this?" Detective Marcus Webb asked, while shivers ran down our spine. He has done this job for twenty years and he looks like he's seen everything twice.

"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.

My heart raced immediately. Was he referring to me? Did he really believe that I'm smart enough to crack this case? 

Heat rushed to my stomach and I almost exploded with joy. 

This was it. The perfect opportunity to prove myself, to prove that I'm not worthless. I did everything to stop myself from running round the room and screaming YES!

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 and my entire world stopped.