"There are still many details missing," Lena said as she closed the last file. "Nothing here explains why Vincenzo became the man he is today. We have almost nothing about his father, almost nothing about how Edward, Felix or Evelyn joined him. This is only what we could verify."
Daniel looked over the board covered in photographs.
"So we're still missing the biggest piece."
Lena nodded.
"We know the people around him."
"But we still don't know Vincenzo."
Marcus let out a quiet sigh.
"And Narcotics refused to hand over everything."
"They claim it's classified," Lena replied with obvious frustration. "Every time I requested additional files, something blocked it. Either someone higher up interfered... or someone doesn't want us seeing the complete picture."
Alex clicked his tongue.
"Great. So even after all this, we're still working half-blind."
Marcus folded his arms.
"If not for the explosion, we probably wouldn't even know this much."
Nobody argued.
That was the truth.
The blast hadn't only shaken the country.
It had forced departments to start sharing information they had kept to themselves for years.
Marcus looked at the board again, concern replacing frustration.
"I just hope Akaka doesn't become like the border states."
Everyone understood what he meant.
Cartels.
Daylight shootouts.
Bodies left on roads.
Entire neighborhoods living between rival groups.
Alex leaned against the table.
"Akaka's underworld is already shifting."
He pointed toward a map pinned beside the investigation board.
"Portovello suddenly becoming national news has everyone paying attention."
"Not because they care about Vincenzo," Ethan added.
Alex nodded.
"Exactly."
"They care because attention ruins business."
He circled an area on the map.
"TKC is the closest group."
"They control illegal gambling, local bounties, street-level powder distribution and several underground businesses."
"The explosion changed the balance."
"They see Moretti's sudden rise as someone stepping into their territory."
Marcus frowned.
"So why haven't they acted?"
"They're waiting."
Alex answered immediately.
"They're watching the government's next move."
"If the government takes down Moretti, they don't have to risk anything."
"But if nothing happens..."
He looked around the room.
"...then they'll move themselves."
Daniel remained silent.
Alex continued.
"And if TKC attacks..."
"...other groups won't rush in immediately."
"They'll wait."
"They'll let both sides bleed each other dry."
"Then whoever survives becomes the next target."
Ethan quietly finished the thought.
"The winner becomes the weakest."
"Exactly."
Alex nodded.
"That's how these people think."
The room fell silent again.
Everyone imagined the same outcome.
Gunfire.
Retaliation.
Ordinary civilians caught in the middle.
Marcus shook his head slowly.
"Portovello doesn't even have anything worth fighting over."
"No ports."
"No major trade routes."
"No border access."
"It only became valuable because of one man."
"Vincenzo."
Daniel finally spoke.
"Which means ending him ends the reason they're looking here."
Nobody responded.
It was a simple conclusion.
Whether it was the correct one...
None of them knew.
Daniel pushed the thought aside and looked back at the board.
"Thinking about future gang wars won't get us anywhere."
His eyes settled on Vincenzo's photograph.
"I still don't understand one thing."
Everyone looked toward him.
"How does a bombing like that happen?"
The room grew quiet again.
"We know Vincenzo orchestrated it," Daniel continued. "But where did the explosives come from? How were they moved into the city? Who supplied them? Who planned the logistics? Someone helped him."
He looked toward Ethan.
"If we can trace the explosives, the transportation routes, or whoever supplied them, we won't just uncover the manufacturer."
His voice hardened.
"We'll find whoever is backing him."
"We'll make that person fall..."
"...and Vincenzo falls with him."
Ethan slowly nodded.
"It isn't impossible. Explosives leave trails."
"Chemical composition."
"Manufacturing marks."
"Transportation routes."
"Financial transactions."
"Someone always makes a mistake."
Daniel gave a slight nod before looking toward another photograph.
"And Verne."
The room became noticeably quieter.
"He publicly declared war on Vincenzo."
"The next day he disappeared."
Daniel folded his arms.
"Officially, he left because of an urgent personal matter."
He looked around the room.
"I don't believe that."
Alex agreed immediately.
"Neither do I."
"A politician doesn't disappear overnight after making the biggest speech of his career."
Daniel continued,
"If Vincenzo threatened him, Verne becomes one of our most important witnesses."
"He knows people."
"He knows politicians."
"He might even know who's protecting Vincenzo."
Marcus frowned.
"That's assuming he's still alive."
Nobody answered.
After a few seconds Daniel spoke again.
"We find him."
"If he's alive..."
"...we need him before Vincenzo does."
Lena made a note without saying anything.
Daniel shifted to another group of photographs.
"Then there's them."
He pointed one by one.
"Reginald Voss."
"Victor Lang."
"Karl Reinhart."
"Elias Hawthorne."
"Harlan Crowe."
"Silas Drake."
"Theo Markham."
"They all left the city almost immediately after the explosion."
Alex frowned.
"Business trips."
"Family emergencies."
"Medical treatment."
"They all had different excuses."
Daniel nodded.
"Exactly."
"One person leaving isn't strange."
"Two isn't impossible."
"But nearly all of them disappearing within the same time frame?"
He slowly shook his head.
"No."
"There has to be a connection."
Marcus looked thoughtfully at the photographs.
"They're influential."
"They have money."
"They have political ties."
"But none of them have any confirmed connection to Moretti."
"Not yet," Daniel corrected.
"They had connections with Verne."
"Why not Moretti?"
Lena crossed her arms.
"They could know who's protecting Vincenzo."
"They could be funding him."
"They could simply be running because they know something we don't."
"Or..."
"They're the ones who helped with the bombing."
She paused.
The room fell silent.
Marcus finally spoke.
"There's interference."
His voice remained calm, but every word carried weight.
"We don't know from where."
"We don't know from whom."
"But it's there."
He looked directly at Daniel.
"The State Chief became cautious overnight."
"I heard it myself."
"He isn't afraid of gangsters."
"So whatever made him change..."
"...came from somewhere above him."
Nobody had an answer.
That uncertainty bothered them more than anything else.
They knew how to fight criminals.
They didn't know how to fight invisible hands moving pieces they couldn't even see.
Lena broke the silence as she opened another folder.
"There's one more thing."
She slid a photograph across the table.
Antonello Castellano.
Daniel frowned.
"The businessman?"
Lena nodded.
"Yesterday he reserved an entire private venue."
She placed several more papers beside it.
"Heavy security."
"Luxury catering."
"Hundreds of invitations."
"Guests are mostly wealthy businessmen and influential families."
Alex looked confused.
"So?"
"People throw parties."
Lena shook her head.
"Normally, yes."
"But not now."
She tapped the newspaper lying beside the file.
"The entire country is talking about Portovello."
"The bombing."
"The investigation."
"Vincenzo."
"And right in the middle of all that..."
"...Antonello suddenly decides to organize one of the biggest private parties this city has seen in years."
Marcus narrowed his eyes.
"Bad timing."
"Exactly."
Lena pulled out another report.
"And there's something else."
She placed a restaurant receipt and witness statements on the table.
"A few weeks ago."
"Antonello met Vincenzo."
"Privately."
Daniel immediately leaned forward.
"The restaurant owner confirmed it?"
"He did."
"He only talked after considerable pressure."
"The staff left before their discussion began."
"So nobody knows what they talked about."
Alex folded his arms.
"Then this party isn't just a coincidence."
"It might not be," Lena answered honestly.
"We don't have proof."
"But the timing is suspicious."
Daniel looked at Antonello's photograph for several seconds.
"If they really met..."
"...and now this party appears..."
"...there's a possibility Vincenzo attends."
Marcus immediately interrupted.
"Or there's no connection at all."
"We can't forget that possibility."
Daniel nodded.
"I know."
"We're working with possibilities."
"Not conclusions."
Ethan finally spoke.
"If Vincenzo appears..."
"...he'll have bodyguards."
"He'll expect police."
"He won't make mistakes."
Daniel's expression remained unchanged.
"Should we prepare to arrest him?"
Marcus sighed heavily.
"Our orders haven't changed."
"We're supposed to stand down."
"No independent operations."
"No arrests."
"No unnecessary contact."
Daniel looked directly at him.
"I know."
Marcus continued.
"And even if we somehow catch him..."
"...then what?"
The room fell quiet.
Everyone already knew the problem.
Prison was no longer the issue. Vincenzo had already escaped justice once, and now he even had an unknown backer.
Alex finally voiced it.
"Even if we arrest him..."
"...he'll do what he did before, or whoever is backing him will get him out."
Nobody disagreed.
Daniel slowly nodded.
"Maybe."
"But that's not why I would stop."
Everyone looked toward him.
"I don't care where they take him afterward."
"I care about what we learn before that happens."
"If we bring him into custody..."
"...we question him ourselves."
"We identify whoever is protecting him."
"We expose every connection."
"And once those people are dragged into the light..."
"...their protection disappears."
His eyes settled on Vincenzo's photograph once more.
"Then he'll finally stand alone."
The room stayed silent.
For the first time since the investigation had begun...
...they weren't talking about defeating a criminal.
They were talking about dismantling everything hidden behind him.
Marcus remained silent for a long moment.
Then he rubbed his tired face.
"I disagree with your plan."
"I can understand what you're trying to do."
"But we're walking into another disaster if we arrest him."
Daniel didn't argue.
He understood that better than anyone.
The explosion had taught them exactly how dangerous a new arrest could become.
Alex broke the silence.
"If not arrest him."
"Then what do we actually do?"
"We also can't just storm a private party."
Marcus nodded immediately.
"Exactly."
"Civilians."
"Businessmen."
"Families."
"If something goes wrong..."
"...we'll destroy what's left of our careers."
"And if Vincenzo really appears?"
Alex asked.
Marcus looked toward Daniel.
"Then we observe."
"No arrests."
"No gunfight."
"No panic."
"We confirm why he's there."
"We'll identify everyone connected to him."
"And only then do we decide our next move."
Daniel slowly nodded.
"I agree."
This wasn't sixteen days ago.
Back then, they believed arresting Vincenzo would solve everything.
Instead...
people died.
He wasn't going to repeat that mistake.
Lena picked up another document.
"There's something else."
"The venue has far more security than a normal celebration."
"Private guards."
"Extra surveillance."
"And temporary signal jammers requested around parts of the property."
Nobody looked shocked.
If Vincenzo or someone important was really coming then this much security was expected.
Lena looked around the room.
"He's expecting someone important."
Daniel's fingers tapped slowly against the table.
"If Vincenzo appears..."
"...it explains the security."
"If he doesn't..."
"...then Antonello is hiding something else."
"Either answer gives us information."
Marcus crossed his arms.
"So this isn't about arrest anymore."
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
"It's about understanding."
"We've spent weeks reacting."
"This time..."
"...we're going to watch first."
Alex finally gave a small nod.
"So we infiltrate."
"Guests."
"Staff."
"Security."
"Whatever position we can get."
"No one moves unless we all agree."
Daniel looked around the room.
Every face met his.
Despite everything...
the suspension...
the investigations...
the guilt...
none of them had walked away.
Daniel looked once more at the board.
Vincenzo Moretti.
Antonello Castellano.
The party.
It was the first genuine lead they had found since the bombing.
He picked up Antonello's photograph and placed it beside Vincenzo's.
Quietly, he said,
"We're attending."
No one objected.
This time...
they intended to learn before they acted.