“Oh, this is going to be good.” Rafe chuckles. “Cristian’s going to lose his shit.”
“Why?” Chantel fires back. “It’s none of his business how I earn some extra cash. Besides, you already know me. I’m trustworthy.”
“And how does Marco feel about this?” Rafe asks.
“Well, first of all, Marco doesn’t own me,” she says. “And since I’m sworn to secrecy, he doesn’t know. Besides, it’s just pictures, right? No identifying features. That’s what the brief was.”
“If this goes sideways, it’s on you.” Angelo shoots me a look.
“She’s good. Don’t worry about it.”
“Thank you, Romeo.” Chantel tips her chin at me. “I always knew I liked you.”
I nod, and Angelo fixes his attention on Rafe. “Take the women, and meet us out there.”
23
ROMEO
[ENTRY 009] — CLEANUP PROTOCOL INITIATED
> Threat Assessment: subject compromised.
> Objective: risk reduction → zero.
> Warning Sequence: bypassed.
> Command Prompt: neutralize.
During my digitalexcavation of Richard Holloway’s pre-election life, I vetted him against what I like to call the corrupt politician starter pack. Sloppy finances, affairs, addictions, risk exposure, NDA settlements, and overall reliability.
For the purpose he served at the time, he checked out. But after I began unearthing information on Imperium and their family members, I widened the scope on Richard, and a pattern emerged.
His visits to IVI-hosted events in multiple cities coincided with the sudden relocations or disappearances of women in the same areas. They were all between eighteen and twenty years old, sharing a similar set of traits.
In every instance, the clean-up was the same—accounts closed, phone numbers deactivated, socials scrubbed. I’d tracked down a few of them who had relocated, now living quiet lives in places where they could stay under the radar. But that wasn’t the only anomaly that surfaced.
A few months ago, his longtime executive assistant, personal driver, and travel aide all quit their jobs and relocated as well.
They weren’t IVI-affiliated and didn’t have the resources to hide themselves well, though they tried.
After I uncovered their locations, I had Mariella send volunteers from the Aegis network in their respective areas to broker a deal. In exchange for new identities and a lump-sum payment, they were asked to share what they knew. They turned over what they’d documented—a cache of hand-written notes tracking Richard’s activities over the years.
Richard had hired the son of an old college friend for his security team, and he would pick up young women from local nightclubs and bring them to Richard’s hotel room.
The rest of his security would be dismissed for the evening, and the driver was expected to return in the morning to pick up the women. When he did, they would often stumble out of the room, disoriented and withdrawn. Some of them were too afraid to even get in the car.
At other times, when the driver returned in the morning, he’d be told the guest had left of their own accord, only to discover they’d been reported missing later.
His team suspected Richard and his guard were drugging the women, but they couldn’t prove it. The assistant had spoken privately with a few of them after the fact, and they confirmed they couldn’t remember anything that happened, but they were too scared to go on the record.
Given that Richard had ties to a different chapter of Imperium at another university, it seems what happened to Gabiwasn’t a one-off. I think what started off as an initiation ritual in Richard’s college days became a twisted fantasy he never stopped indulging.
When his nephew was implicated in the leak, Holloway wanted to protect him. Not out of love, but because he saw no issue with what Imperium was doing.
As for the rest of the council members, they all have their own dirty secrets, and tonight, their karmic debt has come due.
The irony is that I’m using the same cocktail of drugs I confiscated from Imperium.
