Chapter 7 - Unearthing the Syndicate
Sterling looked up at me, his eyes filled with embarrassment and regret. "I was so focused on the news cameras, on protecting my political image... I didn't listen to my own child. She told me everything that happened. You were telling the truth, Officer Vance. Your dog is a hero."
I let out a long, ragged breath, feeling the crushing weight on my shoulders ease slightly. "Your daughter is alive because Titan didn't hesitate, Sterling. But right now, my Captain and Animal Control are in that building with an execution warrant."
"Not anymore they're not," Sterling said firmly. He pulled his smartphone from his coat pocket and tapped the screen. "I just called the Chief of Police and the District Attorney. I told them if that destruction order isn't canceled within two minutes, I will spend ten million dollars of my own money suing the city for gross negligence and slander."
Five seconds later, the loud, aggressive shouting in the main clinic corridor abruptly stopped.
Captain Harrison walked out into the garage bay, holding his phone to his ear, his face flushed red. He looked at Sterling, then at me holding Titan, and let out a tired, defeated sigh.
"Order's pulled," Harrison said quietly, lowering his phone. "The Mayor just signed an official pardon for the dog."
I lowered Titan gently onto a padded transport gurney brought out by Dr. Lin. "Thank you, Sterling," I said, nodding to the developer.
"Don't thank me yet," Sterling said, his expression darkening as he stepped closer to me. "I want to know why a deadly, non-native rattlesnake was sitting in the middle of a children's park where my daughter plays."
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the small fragment of the plastic shipping tag bearing the numbers 7890.
"It wasn't an accident," I said, showing him the fragment. "Someone brought it there. I found an industrial transport latch in the brush, but someone knocked me out and stole it back before I could collect it."
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Sterling stared at the tag fragment, his eyes widening in sudden realization. "Vanguard Biological Supplies... I know that name. They were a tenant in one of my commercial warehouse properties down near the docks. They went bankrupt three months ago, but the city health department red-flagged them last week for illegal exotic animal trafficking."
"They're using Centennial Park as an uninsured dead-drop for illegal animal buyers," I realized instantly. "And whoever knocked me out is still operating out of that warehouse."
