Chapter 45: Case Reconstruction and Reinforcements
"Maybe he cut a deal with that mysterious kingpin you mentioned? Yeah, that's gotta be it!" Ron was genuinely surprised by his own insight.
The drug lord, codenamed "Los Pollos Hermanos," had a nationwide distribution network. Although Ron couldn't figure out how they'd managed to build it so quietly, the meth cook known as "Heisenberg" possessed the most advanced manufacturing techniques in the business. If these two forces joined up, every other dealer in the country would be reduced to small-time street peddlers.
And now it looked like Ron's theory was probably dead-on.
Combining these leads with Hank's sudden suspension and the attempted hit, the picture was getting complicated, forcing Ron to dig deeper.
Could it be that Hank's current investigation had struck at the heart of the cartel's operation, making them desperate enough to try silencing him permanently?
After hanging up with Jack, Ron immediately headed back to his office. Hank had beaten him there, and the place looked spotless thanks to the cleaning crew Andy had hired.
"Morning, Boss," Hank said, clearly still adjusting to the new dynamic.
"Morning, and welcome to the team. That's Andy over there, our accountant. I mentioned that if you need help with your tax returns or financial planning, he's your guy. As long as you don't go crazy with it, I'll look the other way."
Ron winked at Hank playfully. "Of course, if we're going into a firefight, I'd suggest leaving him behind. The man's pushing sixty and needs to watch his blood pressure."
"Much appreciated, Boss," Andy said, looking up from his calculator to nod at Hank without taking any offense.
Hank was bewildered. Wasn't this supposed to be an IRS Criminal Investigation unit? Was it really okay to discuss tax loopholes so openly? Or was this some kind of loyalty test?
Ron had to clarify further. "Don't overthink it. Smart tax planning is perfectly legal. The wealthiest Americans actually pay a lower effective tax rate than most middle-class families. Compared to them, we're all model citizens."
"Okay, I thought this might be some kind of entrance exam." Hank finally relaxed a bit.
"Entrance exam? It's not that formal around here. Your track record at the DEA is qualification enough." Ron had zero experience as an interviewer, so Hank's nervousness was completely unnecessary.
"I figure you can jump right in seamlessly. After all, my main objectives here are the same as yours were there. So, can you walk me through what your recent investigations have been focusing on?
I've got a gut feeling your current leads might be spot-on, which is why someone tried to take you out. What's your take?"
"You mean yesterday's shooting? I figured it was payback from some dealer I'd put away."
As a narcotics agent, Hank was used to this kind of thing - it wasn't even his first assassination attempt, which is why he never went anywhere unarmed.
"I had the same thought initially, but I had Jack run a check on everyone you've sent up recently. None of them have been released, and they've had minimal outside contact."
Ron casually slid Hank a report he'd requested from Jack on the drive over.
"This is..." Hank hesitated, trying to remember what he'd been working on lately. But aside from following Jesse's intel and merging the border murder case into a joint task force investigation, he couldn't think of anything particularly significant.
He gave Ron a quick rundown of his recent theories and activities, but Ron just frowned, unable to make sense of it all. He even started doodling stick figures on his notepad out of boredom.
"Boss, are we really just gonna sit here all day drawing pictures?" Hank was getting frustrated with Ron's attitude. He'd expected to join the IRS and actually investigate cases, not sit in an office doing absolutely nothing.
A man of action like Hank couldn't stand this kind of inactivity. He'd rather hit the streets and work the case solo, even without backup - just him and his Glock. You had to give him credit for that old-school Texas lawman mentality.
"What's the point of running around the streets? You gonna knock on doors asking if anyone's seen any drug dealers lately?" Ron shot back, showing absolutely no leadership awareness whatsoever.
Hank said stubbornly, "That'd be better than sitting here doing jack squat!"
"Who says I'm doing nothing?" Ron looked up in annoyance. "Do you have any idea how much mental heavy lifting is involved here? There's someone who could crack this case wide open, but I'm just... stuck."
"Someone who could break it open?" Hank's eyes lit up. "Does the IRS have some kind of special intelligence asset I don't know about?"
"Are you kidding me? If we did, I would've used them ages ago instead of having to beg for scraps from you DEA guys!" Ron snapped.
"What scraps? They're clearly trying to poach our intel!" Hank thought bitterly, but since he was now Ron's subordinate, he wisely kept that opinion to himself.
"So who is this person?" Hank asked.
"A complete nutjob! A certifiable psychopath! I wouldn't be shocked if he committed murder just because he was bored on a Tuesday. The guy's got serious paranoid tendencies!"
Ron unleashed a torrent of harsh criticism, but then his expression shifted, his tone becoming more conflicted.
"But he's also a legitimate genius. I've never seen a case that could stump him. He can reconstruct an entire crime from just a few random details, laying out every step like he was there watching it happen."
Coming from someone as arrogant as Ron, this kind of praise made Hank extremely curious. Who could possibly earn this level of respect?
"Is he a private investigator? I've heard there are some real masters in that field. Why don't we just hire him? Is his rate too steep? Our budget..."
Hank was already getting comfortable with the IRS's generous funding.
Ron waved him off. "This has nothing to do with money. This freak doesn't give a damn about cash. If the case is interesting enough, he'll work it for free just for the intellectual challenge. The problem is his personality."
Ron made a face like he'd just smelled something rotten.
"It's so toxic that I'm genuinely worried I might just put a bullet in his head! Yeah, that's right - besides being completely insufferable, he's got a mouth as vicious as a Twitter troll!"
Author's Note: So, can anyone guess who this potential consultant is? First person to correctly identify him in the comments gets to name the next chapter!
End of Chapter
join patreon for update and advance 40+ chapters
https://www.p-atreon.com/c/Soulforger
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)
"If you're enjoying this story, don't forget to drop a Power Stone! Your support keeps me motivated and helps the novel reach more readers."
"100 Power Stones this week = 1 extra chapter release!"
"500 Power Stones = 2 extra chapter release ."