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"I know, but it goes against everything I stand for. I can't just sit here and watch."
Charlize's tone softened even further as if she were trying to verbally diffuse a bomb.
"Then don’t look. Just talk to me. Know you’re doing the right thing. It’s all you can do right now."
He wouldn’t look away. He couldn’t. Now wasn’t the right time to act. But he wasn’t going to close his eyes to the horrible thing happening. Instead, he’d etch every detail of it into his mind and when the time came, he’d get that kid a ball to play with. And more importantly, he’d make that man pay for his cruelty.
CHAPTER 17
CHARLIZE
Charlize sat by the waterfront, her legs dangling over the edge of the worn wooden dock. The rhythmic sound of lapping water against the shoreline provided a soothing backdrop to the weariness that weighed on her shoulders. The setting sun cast a warm, golden hue over the tranquil scene, its fading light reflecting off the calm surface of the water.
It was Mick’s idea to come. He reminded her that water had curative properties. Even sitting by it could be healing. And he was right. She could breathe again for a moment.
He reclined in a weathered lounge chair, his eyes focused on the horizon as if searching for answers among the distant waves. The events of the past few days had left both of them shell-shocked. Even seasoned professionals like them could get knocked off-kilter.
As Charlize gazed across the water, her phone buzzed softly, interrupting the silence of the moment. She reached into her pocket and retrieved it.
“It’s Carmen,” she called to Mick who leaned forward in his chair to hear the call more clearly.
"Hey, Carmen. Any update?”
"Charlize, Mick," Carmen's voice was brisk and businesslike. She got like that occasionally when things were close to boiling over. She was one of those people who tried to keep others calm by modeling it. "I've had a chance to look over the donor list you sent me. It's quite a treasure trove, loaded with names of judges, lawyers, politicians, CEOs—you name it. We can't be certain if everyone donating is fully aware of how the organization operates, but we can't afford to take any chances. We need to err on the side of caution."
Charlize was relieved to hear the list was helpful and their plans aligned. The last thing they wanted to do was turn all this over to some agency loaded with people loyal to the
charity. “Right. Thanks for the updates,” Charlize replied, her hand covering her tired eyes.
“Yeah,” Mick agreed. “That’s good.”
Carmen seemed to sense something amiss in their voices, the weariness that had settled in. "Is everything alright, you two? You don't sound right.”
Mick glanced at Charlize and she uncovered her eyes and offered a weak smile.
They were pretty pitiful at the moment.
Mick tried to offer an explanation. "We had an incident earlier, Carmen," he began. "I was staking out one of the suspected locations, and a guard was excessively rough with a woman and her son. It was... hard to watch. Hard to just watch I guess. I could have stopped him."
“Oh,” was all Carmen could offer back.
"It's eating at me."
"It can’t.” Carmen was more serious again. More composed. “There’s no room for that here. If you feel like you can’t get a handle on your emotions, there's no shame in taking a step back. We can bring in another team, allow you both to finally take that vacation Mick has been talking about. Someone else can catch up on the case. You've done more than your share."
Charlize and Mick exchanged a quick glance, a silent affirmation. They weren't ready to back down or step away from the mission prematurely.
"No, Carmen," Mick responded firmly. "We appreciate the offer, but we want to see this through. We need to move quicker, that's all."
“You couldn’t drag us away from this. We’re ready to make something happen.”
“I hate to say it, but one step at a time. I know that’s not what you want to hear. I'm still working on finding the right agency to execute the takedown when the time comes. The donor list you provided will help narrow down potential allies. But we need to make a strong case tying the drugs, the buildings, and the nonprofit together. We'll also need some of these women to go on record, and perhaps even a few of the guards to flip."
Mick's brows furrowed at the mention of the guards cooperating. Charlize wanted to stand, come to his side and calm him. She knew he would strongly disagree with the idea of offering them immunity in exchange for their statements incriminating the charity.
“These men don’t deserve a shot at getting immunity,” Mick protested.
"You can't cut the head off the snake without striking some unsavory deals, Mick," Carmen reminded him. "We need to do whatever it takes to ensure justice is served."
