Tainted Legacy

00 | 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆

After so many months, they stood a chance. After months, when the police captain tried to find a way to solve that problem, they were closer than they had ever been. But that made the risks higher than ever.

"Hurry," Özgür Kayacan said to the policeman next to him. "The helicopters will be here soon, and we need to get there before them."

If they wanted to stand a chance. As soon as the helicopters were seen, time would be against them. If Özgür wanted to catch the killer before he managed to go into hiding, they had to hurry up.

The plan was simple. That was the only night a raid would have not been expected. There was some kind of truce between the families, but no one knew how much it would last. Even more importantly, they knew where he was. And they had proof that could put him in jail for a very long time.

"We're getting closer to the target," Mert said. "Wait, what the-"

Özgür looked in front of them, and a curse escaped his mouth. They had blocked the road. With cartons, cars, metal barrels, and anything they had managed to find.

"Turn around," Özgür said. "There is a small street at our right. Take it."

The policeman did as told, and the other cars followed. Özgür had come prepared for any outcome.

He could notice people who were trying to hide, and he knew that their presence there was no longer a surprise. If the roads had been blocked, then the helicopters had been seen. Everyone in that neighbourhood was an accomplice, but they couldn't arrest all of them. At least, not until they took him.

Everyone from Midyat knew not to mess with the Terzioğlu family. They were the most powerful family in the area, and even though there had never been evidence, the locals knew they were transporters. Every time Özgür had been close to locking them up, someone came and took the blame. And everything was taken care of in such a way that there was nothing Özgür could have done.

Until now. Now, Özgür was too close to mess it up.

The car stopped at the gate of the house while the others surrounded it. A helicopter was already there, and gendarmes were chasing those who had run. It wasn't just about catching a killer. It was about catching an entire crime organisation.

Özgür got out of the car and looked at the house in front of him. It wasn't the kind of place he would have expected to find the leader of a crime organisation. It didn't possess the wealth one would have, but he knew who lived there. The house was big and looked as if it had been built recently, and clearly, it belonged to someone who wasn't keen on spending a lot.

Özgür opened the door, and they entered the yard. A few flowers had been planted around the yard, most near a well, and a table for twelve stood at their right. Özgür ignored all of that and headed towards the house. The door was, unsurprisingly, locked. Özgür nodded towards one of the policemen to break it.

As soon as the door fell, Özgür entered the house and was met by a group of seven people.

"What is the meaning of this, captain?" A woman in her late forties asked.

"Mrs. Zühal, where is your nephew?"

"I do not-"

"He is a wanted man, and it is in your best interest to cooperate with us."

But Zühal Sakir was the kind of woman who'd sooner die than endanger her family. Özgür was sure she was one of her nephew's closest advisors.

"Sister," one of the men with Özgür said, "we didn't come all this way for nothing."

"What sister?" A younger woman said. "She's old enough to be your mother!"

"Zeyno-"

"Aunt Zühal, he-"

"Enough," Özgür said, stopping the two women. "Where is Ilyas?"

"We found him," someone called from outside.

Özgür didn't hesitate. He rushed towards the yard, turning his back on the Sakir family. More gendarmes were surrounding a hooded man who was kneeling on the ground, holding his hands at his head.

Satisfaction rose in Özgür's heart. After so many months, they had caught him. Ilyas was going to jail, where he deserved to be. And, with him, the entire crime organisation. There was no escaping for them now. The witness would not back down. Others did, but this one won't. It was too personal.

"I want to see his face," Özgür ordered as he approached them, and a gendarm lowered his hood.

The man was clean-shaven, and he had light brown hair. He wore a black hoodie and blue jeans. He had lines on his forehead and dark circles under his pale green eyes.

Özgür had known catching Ilyas wouldn't be easy. For some reason, the man was seen as a hero by the locals for standing up to the Terzioğlu family. They protected him. As if he wasn't a killer. As if he didn't deserve to be in jail.

The man before them was not Ilyas.

"Where is Ilyas?"

The man grinned.

"This is Midyat," he said, looking straight into Özgür's eyes. "Ilyas is everywhere."