Chapter 3

“Morning, Grandma,” she greeted, and she laid a kiss on her abuelita’s forehead.

“Mi princesa,” her grandmother called out in a loving voice as she still kept her gaze on the food she was cooking.

“What are you cooking, abuela?” Ana Sophia asked while trying to look over her grandmother's shoulders into the pot.

“Tomato stew and pasta,” her grandmother replied with a smile, her eyes still on the food.

“Ooh, Italian,” Ana Sophia said with a wide grin. She turned around and walked back to her room to take her toiletries, and from there went to the bathroom she shared with her grandma to have her bath.

She turned on the tap and waited for her bucket to be filled with water before she started taking her bath. Once Ana Sophia was done, she rushed into her room and put on a casual outfit, as she was going to change to her uniform anyways once she got to the station.

She wore a blue t-shirt and blue jeans with black sandals and packed her uniform and police boots into her tote bag.

She picked up her old Samsung that was on its last breath and saw that time had gone; if she wanted to see the captain on time and ask for involvement in Gustav’s case, she had to be very early. Knowing the captain, she knew he would most likely reject her offer, but there was nothing wrong with trying.

She packed her stuff and rushed out of the house.

“Byee, abuelita!” she shouted as she rushed out.

Just as she was about to step out of the door, she felt something drag her back. She looked behind her just to see her grandmother standing behind her, with her tiny hands on her shirt, holding her back with a scowl on her face.

“Abuelaaa,” Ana Sophia whined. “I have to be early today,” she explained.

“No, mi princesa, you need to eat. I spent all morning cooking, so you must eat. Don’t worry, I will drive you to your office,” her abuela said, and she reluctantly agreed, although she dreaded taking a ride in her grandmother’s rickety car, coupled with the fact that her old grandmother was a reckless driver.

She walked back in and ate a full plate of pasta. Once they were done eating, her grandma went to her room to dress up, and they left the house together.

Her grandmother Teresa Gonzalez also had a restaurant that she had been operating for more than a decade; she planned on going to her restaurant after dropping Ana Sophia at work.

The ride to work being free of a traffic jam, coupled with her grandmother's reckless driving, Ana Sophia was able to get to the station on time. Upon getting there, she rushed out of her grandmother's car, waving to her hurriedly as she entered the building, the Valencia Police Department.

She signed in and rushed to the female changing room to change into her police uniform; once she was done, she climbed up the stairs to get to her unit. And of course Mike was already seated, ready for duty.

Ana Sophia ignored Mike’s taunts and walked towards the captain’s office just to hear an argument.

“I can’t send an officer to their death, senior; that is too risky. Too many people have died because of the cartel; we need to know when to stop,” she heard her captain say.

“And why is that a problem for you? To die in service is an honor for us police officers. If we keep on being cowardly and refuse to take these people down, many more innocent civilians will die,” the other voice said, but she did not know who it was; obviously it was a superior officer that her captain was under.

“Now I am not asking for your opinion, Captain; I am telling you to pick a diligent detective in your unit to go undercover. I don’t know how, but you must submit someone’s name before the end of the day,” the man said.

Hearing this, a lightbulb shone in Ana Sophia’s head; this was her time to shine, this was her time.

She quickly knocked and went in even without the acquiescence of her captain.

“And this is?” the other man asked her captain while looking at the young woman who just barged into the captain’s office.

“One of my officers, sir.” The captain replied with a sigh; being aware of Ana Sophia's stubbornness, he knew what she was about to do.

“And what do you want?” the captain asked her while he tried using his eyes to tell her to leave, but of course she was disobedient.

“I am so sorry, sirs. I mistakenly stumbled upon your discussion, and I volunteer to go undercover to help the police investigate the cartel,” she said with a serious and determined expression, standing at attention with her hands crossed behind her back.

“And are you a detective?” the captain’s superior asked her.

“No sir, but I am still willing to take on this job,” she replied confidently.

“What is her background?” he turned to her captain and asked.

“Her name is Ana Sophia Gonzalez, the daughter of the late Miguel Gonzalez. She joined the force almost two years ago and has been a diligent patrol officer ever since,” the captain replied, and his superior nodded, although his eyes flashed with surprise when he realized that she was Miguel’s daughter.

“Congratulations, Miss Gonzalez, you are now a detective, and you will soon be going undercover to investigate the dealings of the cartel; your captain will brief you on the important stuff,” the man said, nodded at her, and then walked away. 

With a sigh, the captain sat on his chair.

“Gonzalez, the next time you enter my office without my acquiescence, I will suspend you,” her captain said with a serious expression.

“I apologize for my attitude, Captain,” she replied. She understood why her captain was angry.

He was her late father's colleague and best friend, and even at her dissatisfaction, the captain, Mr. Ernesto Gustav Richter, had always tried his best to keep her away from all cartel investigations. She knew he was trying to protect her.

“Do you know how easy it is to die in the cartel? They can easily pull the trigger on one of their own. What do you think they will do to you when they find out that you are a police officer?” he sighed, his hand massaging his brows.

“I know that, sir, but this is the reason I entered the force in the first place,” she said, still standing.

“Ana Sophia I am talking to you as your uncle Ernesto; this is not for you.” His tone softened.

“I have to do this,” she said stubbornly; that was her only purpose in the police force.

“Okay,” he sighed in defeat.

“I am pretty sure Officer Mike must have told you about our arrest of Gustav, a middle-ranking mafia lord in the cartel,” he started.

“Yes, he did, sir,” she replied.

“Well, we entered a plea deal with Gustav and his daughter Mariana, and that is if they allow one of our detectives to take on the identity of Mariana in order to infiltrate the mafia, then we will slash their sentence in half, and they agreed,” he said, and Ana Sophia raised her brow in confusion.

“I can see you are confused. Well, apart from Gustav and his wife and his subordinates whom we arrested that day in the warehouse, nobody else knows of Mariana’s identity, because he had always kept her abroad, away from the mafia, but she came back this time for a reason he refuses to disclose, so we saw it as the perfect opportunity for one of our own to go back to the mafia as Gustav’s daughter to investigate,” Captain Ernesto said, and Ana Sophia nodded.

“What will happen to Gustav then?” Ana Sophia asked.

“We will keep him and Mariana under our custody for now so that they will not go rogue, but his wife, who is aware of the whole deal, is the one that will make you easily take on Mariana’s identity.

“One more question, sir: if Gustav is in prison, how will I be able to use Mariana’s identity to investigate anything?”

“This was actually a huge dilemma, but Gustav’s wife would take you for their functions and celebrations like weddings, then you will be able to network with all forms of mafia lords and underlings, and from there you can get a little bit of information to send back to the police.” 

“Okay, sir, I understand,” she said.

“Ana Sophia I beg you to be careful, and do not be weak; once the cartel senses weakness, they will feed on you.” “And do not tell anybody of this operation, including your colleagues, your friends, or even your grandmother.” He stood up with a very serious expression, with both hands on his desk.

“Yes, sir.”

“Unfortunately for your grandmother, we will have to fake your death. Today you will go on your usual parole, and you will get into an accident. Your car will catch on fire, and we will deliver the news to all your loved ones,” he said.

“Yes, sir,” she replied, her voice quivering.