Then a bag appeared that was not there before.
Thomas shouted:
That’s not mine!
Sergio was smiling.
Second file.
Maria Santos, mother of two children, detained in front of the school for “maroearing.”
She explained that she was waiting for her children.
The little ones cried behind the gate.
Third file.
Luis Herrera, work worker, beaten with a baton while already handcuffed.
Medical report: kidney damage, surgery, debts, partial disability.
Javier kept opening folders.
Twenty-three cases.
Twenty-three broken lives.
And in all of them the same pattern appeared.
Sergio was acting.
Richard was protecting.
Alberto Flores, the councilor, blocked investigations from the municipality in exchange for favors, contracts and money that did not appear in any clean account.
Marta covered her mouth.
“This is not a bad agent. It’s a network.
Javier looked at the safety monitors.
A red light flashed in every chamber.
Those lights are not ours.
What does it mean?
Javier checked the access.
Someone had entered the system remotely at half past two in the afternoon.
Two hours before the arrest.
Federal level.
Marta understood before he said it.
They were looking at us.
Javier nodded.
“And they keep looking.
They copied the files into two memories.
One for Marta.
One for Javier.
“If this sinks,” she said, “we sink doing the right thing.
Javier recalled the words of Don Manuel seven years ago:
“Integrity is not comfortable. It is necessary.”
They went out separately.
Passing in front of the cell, Javier looked at Don Manuel.
Don Manuel opened his eyes.
He gave him a minimal gesture with his head.
Javier answered the same.
No words were needed.
In the capital, Elena Vera looked at the cameras live.
The suppressed alert appeared on his screen.
Then the attempt to erase.
Then the transfer to the cell.
His coffee spilled on the desk when he read the final line:
“Director Rivas arrested. Federal alert blocked by local authority.”
He took the phone straight.
“Overseason, we have a situation.
The voice on the other side responded to the second tone.
“Say.
Director Rivas is being held in a municipal police station. Arrest out of service. They suppressed an Alpha alert. We have video, audio and records.
There was silence.
Then a cold voice:
“Mobilize the team. No sirens until you’re on top. I want you to see them coming and understanding that it’s over.
Elena was already standing.
Estimated time: twelve minutes.
“Wow. If the director is in danger, they take him out. If not, let him handle it in his own way. Knowing him, this didn’t start today.
Three black vans and two federal vehicles entered San Miguel del Rio without making noise.
Elena called the police station.
Municipal police, good afternoon.
—Deputy Director Elena Vera, National Agency. Contact Inspector Ricardo Cruz. Federal emergency.
The receptionist’s voice changed.
The inspector is busy.
“She has thirty seconds to pass it to me before federal agents walk in through that door and include her in an obstruction investigation.
There was a click.
Then another.
“Inspector Cruz,” said Ricardo, upset. What’s going on?
Elena wasted no time.
“He has Director General Manuel Rivas in custody. He suppressed an Alpha alert. He has six minutes to release him before he arrives with forty agents and turns his police station into a federal scene.
Ricardo stopped breathing for a second.
“Deputy director, there’s been a confusion.
The confusion happened in the park. The crime occurred when he saw the screen and closed the laptop. We have the records. We got the cameras. We have everything.
“We can fix this.
“No. You can use the next five minutes to call a lawyer.
Elena hung up.
Ricardo stared at the dead phone.
Alberto Flores came through the side door, pale.
Was it the agency?
Richard couldn’t lie.
The man in the cell is Manuel Rivas.
Alberto dropped into a chair.
The director?
“Yes.
“And you knew it?”
Richard didn’t answer.
Alberto closed his eyes.
“Idiot.
I thought I could control it.
Control a federal alert? The country’s research director? Really?
Sergio showed up in the hallway.
Inspector, what’s going on?
Ricardo looked at him as if he had just seen him for the first time.
As if Sergio was no longer his protégé, but the stone tied to his neck.
“Get him to interrogations.
They pulled Don Manuel out of the cell and sat him in front of them.
Now the wives were in front.
A small gesture.
Desperate.
Ricardo tried to sound firm.
“Sir, there was a confusion of identity. If you cooperate, we can solve this quickly.
Don Manuel looked at him with a calm that hurt.
Cooperate? I’ve been cooperating for almost an hour while you violate my rights, suppress federal alerts and turn a police abuse into conspiracy.
Sergio paled.
“Inspector, what is he talking about?
Richard hit the table.
“Shut up, Molina.
Don Manuel turned his head to Sergio.
“Agent Molina wants to know what I’m talking about. Let’s talk, then.