Guilty By Association

Chapter 1 - Rocha's Girl

 

 

Chapter 1 - Rocha’s Girl

 

Alex Diaz was focused on his computer screen, going over the details of a new robbery case that had found itself in the FBI's clutches. It was a simple case, though it involved several security concerns. Suddenly, his focus was interrupted by one of his colleagues as she called his name and approached him with a startling speed.

“Hey Alex, we’ve got a picture of Caleb Rocha on a footage from a video game store. The owner says he remembered seeing his face in the newspaper.” Shay Miguel said as she hurried over to Alex’s desk. Her eyes were sparkling with excitement. She looked like she’d just found a fresh lead on a near dead case.

He looked up at her, inquisitive. “We already have photos of Rocha.”

“That’s true.” Shay agreed, but she had a grin on her face that told Alex that there was more. “But we don’t have any photos of his hypothetical girlfriend. Now, we do.” She was grinning. Around the office, Shay was definitely one of the most beautiful females. She had a perfect body and a pretty face. She’d always had her eyes on Alex, but he never seemed to be interested. Now, he was interested, but not in her.

“Did you run it through facial recognition?” Alex questioned her, excited. They hadn’t had any leads on this case for almost a month. This could be a big break.

Shay planted a file onto Alex’s desk. “I couldn’t find her in any of the criminal records, but I ran her through the DMV database and this came up. Her name is Kelsey Winters. She’s twenty-nine years old. A professor of math at Long Beach.”

Alex picked up the file, taking a look at the photo on the CCTV footage. Caleb Rocha was clearly visible and there was no doubt that the person in the photo was him. The girl beside him was stunning. Focusing his eyes on her DMV picture, Alex was slightly taken aback. “They look very different.” He noted. But even he could tell that it was the same face. After all, the FBI technology hadn’t proven itself wrong yet.

“It’s the same face, Boss.” Shay said. “What do you want to do?”

“Let’s go pay her a visit. If this is really Rocha’s girlfriend, then we have a good lead. Get the team together.” Alex ordered, quickly glancing through the file.

“A team?” Shay sounded uncertain. Her expression conveyed the same message. “Alex, a whole team put together for a math professor?”

“If she really is Rocha’s girl then yes. He might be there, too. We might have a chance at catching him. We’re not going to lose the chance just because we were unprepared. If we run into Rocha, there’s no doubt that he’s going to put up a fight. He knows we have a warrant with his name on it. No, I definitely want a team ready as soon as possible. Get a warrant.” Alex was determined to not let this mission go down badly. If his instincts told him to be ready, he was going to be ready.

He glanced over Kelsey Winters’s file. He had no idea how a mathematics professor managed to get involved with someone like Caleb Rocha, but that wasn’t something he needed to focus on. They had photos of the woman with their criminal. That proved association. There had to be some connection. His instincts told him so. And so far, Alex’s instincts were the only thing he trusted. Nothing else.

“It’s all set, Boss.” Shay’s voice broke into Alex’s thoughts. “Are we ready?”

“Without a doubt.” Alex declared. He’d waited far too long to get his hands on Caleb Rocha, it wasn’t even a game, anymore. The guy was brilliant when it came to staying hidden. And any time he was nearly caught, he wasn’t afraid to fight back and he wasn’t afraid to take risks that might not end well for him. He was the most dangerous kind of criminal. But he was exactly the kind of criminal Alex had sworn to take down when he’d chosen this job.