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2024-11-27 17:42:58The two officers stood facing each other, eyes locked in a silent, heated exchange.
They couldn’t believe it—how dare this young criminal give them orders?
"You think you can just summon the Chief whenever you feel like it?"
Officer Harris scoffed, his voice low, laced with irritation.
Joshua didn’t flinch.
His gaze remained sharp, almost amused.
"If you two don’t want to go get him, I can always call him myself," he said, his tone calm and unbothered.
"But if I do, things might get... complicated."
The words hung in the air, thick with subtle menace.
The officers stiffened.
A chill ran down their spines as they processed the weight of his threat.
Before they could react, Joshua casually reached for his phone, his finger hovering over the dial.
Panic flickered in their eyes.
"No, no! Wait!"
Officer Harris blurted, his voice cracking slightly.
"We’ll go get him. We’ll get him now."
Without a second thought, both officers turned and hurried out the door, their feet practically stumbling over themselves in their haste.
They weren’t about to risk a call from this young man.
Less than a minute passed before Ethan Brown, the police chief, arrived at a near sprint.
His face was taut with worry as he pushed through the door.
His eyes scanned the room, falling on the calm figure of Joshua sitting in the chair, his hands folded in front of him like a king waiting for his subjects.
A cold wave of dread washed over Ethan.
"Joshua," Ethan said, his voice tight, almost reverent.
He stopped a few feet away, looking down at the young man.
"What can I do for you?"
The room fell silent.
Every officer, every staff member, seemed frozen.
They couldn’t believe their eyes.
The Chief—Ethan Brown—was standing there, addressing the criminal with nothing but respect.
And this wasn’t just any criminal.
This was a twenty-year-old, a man they had barely heard of until now.
The two officers who had run to fetch Ethan stood just inside the door, their hearts racing.
They exchanged looks of silent relief.
They had made the right choice, no question.
If they had let Joshua make that call, they might’ve found themselves out of a job—or worse.
Joshua leaned back in his chair, his expression distant.
"I’ve been arrested," he said, his voice detached.
"Apparently, there’s a report about me: bribery, corruption, murder…"
His words trailed off as if it was all just another inconvenience to him.
Ethan’s eyes widened, shock spreading across his features.
He looked like he might choke on the very words.
"What?" he asked, disbelief evident in his voice.
"But… that’s impossible. You—there’s no way. You’ve done more for this town in the last year than anyone else. You’ve restructured the local economy, slashed living costs, helped reform healthcare... People practically worship you!"
Around them, the room was filled with murmurs and whispers.
"Building schools so everyone can read, funding road construction to connect people and goods, lowering medicine prices so everyone can afford healthcare..."
"Any one of those would be a tremendous act of kindness, but he's done all of that?"
"Damn, could they have arrested the wrong guy?"
The officers had been watching the young man, listening to him speak, and now they stood frozen in place, realizing just how wrong they had been.
Their faces drained of color as they recalled the news reports about Joshua’s work—his rapid rise in business, his impressive acquisitions, his hands-on approach to community welfare.
Had they really been arresting the town's benefactor?
Joshua raised a hand, his fingers tapping lightly on the table, cutting through the growing tension.
"I’m not interested in your gratitude, Chief," he said, his voice flat.
"I need something from you."
Ethan blinked, still reeling from the shock, but his professionalism kicked in.
"Of course, anything," he replied quickly, too eager to please.
"What can I do for you, sir?"
"I have a few loose ends to tie up," Joshua continued, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"And I need to tell you."
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“I will go to the Tezcatlipoca’s Crest of the Serengeti Sierras.”Ethan’s eyes narrowed as he processed Joshua’s words."Tezcatlipoca’s Crest?" he repeated, his voice carrying a hint of disbelief.The Serengeti Sierras were nothing short of hostile territory, a land of rugged cliffs and untamed terrain on the southern border, infamous for its smuggling and drug cartels.For anyone to willingly head there seemed reckless—borderline suicidal.“Why would you want to go somewhere that dangerous?”Ethan couldn’t hide his unease.Joshua looked at him, eyes cold and unyielding.“I don’t have to explain myself to you, Ethan.”Joshua’s voice was level, calm.“I’m only telling you because, technically, I’m still under investigation.”There was an unmistakable edge in the words, a reminder that this was a courtesy, not a request.Ethan’s throat tightened.“Fine. Then I’m coming with you.”His tone was resolute.“You can’t head into the Sierras alone—it’s too dangerous.”Joshua didn’t respond.Wi
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Ethan and his team stared at the crowd around them, rooted to the spot.On every side, people packed the streets, eyes lifted with reverence as a single name thundered from their lips."Welcome, Joshua!"The chant echoed, a wall of sound, reverberating off every surface, drowning out the city’s usual chaos.Ethan’s grip tightened on his weapon as he exchanged glances with his men, each of them wide-eyed, shaken.These people weren’t here to challenge them—they were here for Joshua.But how had he done it? How had he, amidst all this turmoil, gathered a crowd so vast and loyal?The man in question, Joshua, stood in the center of it all with serene calm.His eyes swept across the throng before he took a single step forward, his voice low but cutting through the noise."Jaguar gave me his word," Joshua stated, his tone firm but level. "He said he wouldn’t cross the border. Has he gone back on that?"A figure moved within the crowd, breaking through with quick, deliberate steps.A man in
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The suited man stood at the edge of the mountain plateau, his sharp silhouette cutting against the overcast sky."Because this place is sacred." His voice carried an almost reverent tone, the words heavy with meaning."Down there—" he gestured vaguely toward the unseen valley below "—men spill blood like water. But up here? No one dares disturb the mountain’s peace."Ethan shivered, though it wasn’t from the cold.Even from a distance, Joshua seemed untouchable, a monument of quiet strength against the raging storm.From beneath his coat, he produced a small bottle of whiskey he just bought, its amber contents gleaming briefly before he poured a generous measure onto the grave.The liquid darkened the snow in front of the marker, steam curling up like a fleeting spirit.“Teacher,” Joshua murmured, his voice low but firm, carried away almost instantly by the howling wind.The name on the gravestone was Jack Anderson, a name that had once commanded respect and fear alike.Jack wasn’t ju
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The villa stood eerily silent, its vast rooms stripped bare of everything—furniture, decor, even the smallest of personal belongings. The only things left behind were the countless luggage cases, piled high like a sea of mystery. Every corner of the room seemed swallowed up by them.Charlie stared at the mountain of suitcases, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "This is it," he muttered to himself, his voice low and urgent. "This has to be it."The prosecutor beside him, a tall man with a hard face, shifted uneasily. "Do you think... do you think it’s all cash?" he asked, his tone betraying a hint of nervousness.Charlie nodded. "Hundred-dollar bills, stacks and stacks of them. We’ve finally got him. This is the smoking gun we’ve been looking for."The others in the room, including several high-ranking officials, murmured their agreement.A sense of triumph hung in the air. Charlie quickly took out his phone and dialed a number. "Get the bank team here, now. We need to count this. Eve
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Charlie stood in the office, staring at the bank statements in disbelief. His mind raced, but the numbers didn’t add up. How had Joshua managed to give away so much money—year after year—without anyone noticing? It was impossible to reconcile with the image of the man they’d always known. The amount of money he was sending to these families, the support for all these widows, it didn’t fit into the clean narrative Charlie had built around Joshua’s financial dealings.“This is...” Charlie trailed off, a sense of unease creeping into his voice. “This is more than just charity. Something’s wrong here.”Calvin, who had been sitting in a chair across from him, gripped the edge of the desk. He had always been a man of calculated moves, and this revelation shook him to his core. “I don’t get it. How could he afford this? How could he give away this much and not raise suspicions?”Charlie’s mind worked quickly, sifting through the pieces of the puzzle. The answer seemed clear now—Joshua had be
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Chapter 17
Victor O’Brien stood by the window of the small prayer hall, staring out at the sun-drenched horizon. His mind was a storm of conflicting thoughts. The news of Joshua’s arrest had hit him like a slap in the face. The young man had left in such a hurry, but the words had stuck in Victor’s mind, gnawing at him.Joshua, the one man who had forced him to abandon his old, profitable ways—his illicit businesses, the quick money from the border's shadows. With Joshua gone, the path to returning to those practices had just opened up. In the harsh world of Texpanse, where survival often meant bending or breaking the rules, the temptation to go back to his old ways was strong.But something didn’t sit right.Victor had known Joshua for years. He wasn’t just some political pawn or corrupt officer. The man had genuine influence, and a man like Joshua didn’t just fall without a reason. The arrest could be a setup—a trap to test Joshua’s loyalty, a political game orchestrated by those in power. Vic
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Charlie felt a cold sweat trickle down his spine as he stood before the grieving women, his knees feeling unsteady under the weight of their collective sorrow. They had protested his every word, their voices rising with anger, confusion, and raw pain. Now, they were crying—some silently, others openly weeping.The child in one of the women’s arms stared at him with wide eyes, as if trying to understand why the man before her had brought such destruction to her world.Charlie opened his mouth to speak but found no words. His throat felt tight, his arrogance and defiance now crumbling before the fierce grief in front of him. He looked at the women, each one clutching the memory of a husband, a brother, a father—each one a living testament to the sacrifices their loved ones had made for this country.And Charlie, in his attempt to destroy Joshua, had brought this upon them.He straightened, trying to regain some semblance of control, but the room was silent. The only sound was the soft,
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Ethan’s jaw tightened. His gaze was unwavering, filled with disgust.“You call yourself a patriot? What you’re doing is disrespecting the very heroes who died for this country. These women are grieving. They deserve respect, not your baseless accusations.”Charlie stood tall, arms crossed, staring across the room at Ethan with a cold, dismissive expression.The tension between them was palpable.“You’re making a mistake, Ethan,” Charlie said, his voice laced with arrogance.“I’m not here to ask for permission. Joshua’s actions demand scrutiny. And these women—these so-called ‘widows’—are part of his twisted web.”Charlie sneered, glancing around at the other governors, who were uncomfortably silent.“And what would you have me do, Ethan? Turn a blind eye? These women have been living under Joshua’s protection, enjoying the fruits of his ill-gotten gains. If that means stepping on a few toes to expose the truth, so be it.”Ethan took a step forward, his voice sharp.“This isn’t about e
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The crowd stood in stunned silence as Mary’s voice rang clear, the photograph in her trembling hand a symbol of a life lost for Texpanse's safety.One by one, the other women stepped forward, their own photos clutched against their chests like shields.Each picture told a story of sacrifice, of husbands who had given everything for the state's prosperity.Charlie shifted uncomfortably, his confidence wavering.The silence from the gathered assembly was deafening.His narrative of "mistresses" crumbled beneath the weight of these solemn truths.“These women are the widows of heroes,” Mary declared, her voice strong despite the emotion in her tone.“Our husbands laid down their lives for this state, and Joshua gave us a home to honor their sacrifice.”Ethan, watching from the sidelines, let out a long, quiet sigh.He had never believed the wild accusations against Joshua, but hearing the full truth deepened his respect.He now understood Joshua’s calm demeanor earlier that morning.He’s
