Alex Seclair: Master of Vengeance

A suspenseful discovery

They’d all arrived minutes later, inside the police station. Both Carter and Carlos stood alone in the evidence room, far from the press.

“Here,” he said, handling over all that was seized from Carlos back to him

Carlos was glad to recover them but most especially, his necklace.

“Thank you.” He said to Carter whose gaze remained stiffened. 

But Carlos's eyes noticed something on Carter's desk when he turned to leave. The card on his desk had a familiar logo.

He froze for a while, unable to fathom the reality of the discovery.

“..... Anything else, Mr Rodriguez?” Carter's voice snapped at Carlos, accompanied with a mean gaze as he turned to leave. 

And as soon as he walked out from his office, Carter locked the door behind him and pulled out a burner phone.

He dialed a hidden number and the line rang twice before connecting.

“What is it Carter?” A gruff, gravel-thick voice answered.

He glanced at the door.

“Sir... we’ve got a problem.”

“Go on.”

“A guy stopped the Narva team. Too trained to be ordinary. And Jax ended his life with a bullet, save for the men in the custody.” He explained with a low voice. A brief silence erupted between them.

 “That son of a bitch knew better than to stay alive. Tell me, do you have the name of the man who’d dared me? ” Stain sneered. 

“Carlos Rodriguez.” 

“…I’ll keep in touch. Inform me of any further details on him when you have it.” the voice said then the line went dead.

**************

The soft clack of shoes echoed down the sterile marble corridor of the Coast Wesley Police Department.

Carlos stood before the dark-oak door that read:

CHIEF JOHN MATHERS – HEAD OF ENFORCEMENT

His hand hovered mid-air, about to knock. But for a few minutes, he restrained himself.

‘Do I really want to do this?’ His mind churned as tried to recall where he had seen such logo on Carter’s desk.

He took a deep breath.

Carlos frowned, tugging his jacket slightly straighter and  finally raised his hand.

Knock Knock.

"Come in," came the baritone voice from within.

He opened the door and walked into the Chief’s Office.

There were leather chairs, filing cabinets, and a wall-wide city map of Coast Wesley. Chief John Mathers, the middle-aged man with a bearded face and steely but kind eyes, stood up from behind his desk. Carlos walked over to him cautiously.

“Mr Rodriguez,” Mathers said with a warm nod and chuckled softly. 

“Have a seat. Please.”

Carlos sat across from him with his hands resting on his thighs.

“I believe my men have attended to you.” He asked.

“Yes sir. Thank you.”  Carlos said, offering a hand shake.

“It's no big deal, Mr Rodriguez.” Mathers said, returning the shake with a smile on his face.

“I've seen a lot in my time,” he started.

“But taking down five armed robbers without a scratch, without casualties? That’s a first—even for our best SWAT.” John admitted. But Carlos shrugged. 

“I did what I had to.”

Just then, Mathers leaned forward as his eyes probed.

“That’s what I’m curious about. How did you do it?”

Carlos hesitated— instantly recalling what the Revenge System had warned him;

> “REVEALING SYSTEM INTEL TO UNKNOWN HOSTS MAY LEAD TO DEACTIVATION OR EXPOSURE.”

But just as he considered giving a fraction of the truth, a sharp knock interrupted them.

“Come in.” John responded to it.

The door opened and Carter stepped in. He’d worn his usual half-fake grin. 

“Chief. Sorry to interrupt. We’ve got a code red situation. Classified.” Carter said and Mathers’ expression shifted. 

“Give me a sec, please” he said to Carlos.

Carter leaned close, whispering something into John’s ears and he couldn’t make out the words. Mather gave a nod and stood up.

“I’ll be back in just a few. Please wait.”

Carlos watched as both men exited the room.

But just before Carter shut the door, he looked back at Carlos and their eyes locked.

Something in that look wasn’t right. A measuring gaze. Like a man who knew something and was deciding how dangerous it was. 

Carlos stood and paced the room slowly, instantly recalling the logo that burned in his memory.

His thoughts spun back on Jax, the robber he had interrogated during the Star Bank incident.

"He has men inside the police... loyal ones."

And then he remembered something else.

Back in the holding cell, before the bank incident, when he’d been briefly locked up…

Carter’s desk.

There lied the same symbol on the small card tucked under a pile of reports—two crossed axes dripping with blood. Exactly like the tattoo on Jax’s arm. 

Just then, it dawned on him where he had first sighted the logo before Jax’s.The room suddenly felt colder.

He glanced at the door. Should he run? Set up surveillance on Carter? Plant evidence?

But before any plan solidified, the door opened again. Mathers walked in alone, now with a folder in hand.

“Apologies, Chaos never sleeps in this city.”

Carlos returned to his seat, now fully alert. Mathers opened the folder and flipped a page. 

“Now, about the robbery. Did any of those men say something? Give any clue about who sent them?” 

Carlos thought carefully. He couldn’t reveal everything—not yet.

“One of them… Jax, I think. He said they worked for someone named Hughes Stain. Told me he runs operations under a bar called Crimson Forge. Apparently, he’s been doing it for decades.” He explained.

“That name’s surfaced before—always in whispers and untraceable. We’ve never had a witness last long enough to make a statement.” Mather admitted.

“Then you do believe me?” Carlos asked and Mathers nodded.

“I just want justice,” he said, voice thick with unspoken emotions.

“I know,” Mathers said, closing the file gently. 

“And I appreciate your bravery, Carlos. What you did at Star Bank saved lives. You’ve helped us.”

He stood, walked around the desk, and extended a hand.

“I promise—Hughes Stain won’t touch you. We’ll make sure of it.”

Carlos shook his hand, but his expression was unreadable.

He knew better than to believe promises. Especially when a snake had just whispered into this same man’s ears.

Still, he nodded and walked to the door.

“Thank you, Chief.”

As he stepped out into the evening sun, Carter made a quiet call in a restricted hallway.

His voice was low while the person on the other end just listened.

“He knows,” Carter whispered. 

“I don’t know how much, but he knows about you, sir. And about Crimson Forge…..”