A Night At The Gala

Part 3: The Fight That Ends It All

"Is that an implication from what we talked about last night? Or are you just theorizing?"

"Ya quick. Damn. Listen, ya boy Max is a great guy. Truly. Matter of fact. However, if you love him and never try to get there- where will you end up? Ya'll so worried about making someone else happy, but you never consider yourself in that equation." Sighing and looking away, she knows he's correct. "Think Helen- where will you be if Max and this other girl hit it off like you want them too?"

"I don't know. Hopefully, some place with a view...and scotch." Smirking, she continues to walk and they make it to the FBI head quarters. Going up the steps and in the building, Joe shows his ID badge to the guard and they step through the metal detector.

"Thanks Frank." He says to the older guard and leads Helen to the elevator. They ride it all the way to the 9th floor and step out. Helen is surprised at how many desks and cubicles there are. She figured there'd be a lot, but not this many. There has to be at least forty in this cramped area. Walking across the floor, Joe goes to an office and knocks on it. A woman opens the door and Helen instantly notices how Joe reacts to her presence. The blond haired, skinny framed woman is very gorgeous and she isn't in the least surprised that Joe finds her attractive.

"Joe. So nice to see you again." She shakes his hand and then extends it to Helen. "Emilea Rose. Nice to meet you Dr. Sharpe."

"Oh, hi. Nice to meet you as well."

"I watched all your appearances on Ellen and Operah. Thoroughly impressed with the work you do. Shall we?" She steps aside and allows them to enter her office. It's quite nice and posh, but Helen doesn't know if shed like an office surrounded by glass. She feels like a fish on display at the aquarium. "Oh, let me get the blinds."

Taking out her phone, Emilea opens up her screen and then presses an app. Once opened, the blinds go down over the glass and Helen is impressed.

"Very cool, huh?" Joe leans down and whispers to her.

"Indeed." She replies and they each have a seat in their proper places.

"So, Helen, Joe has informed me of everything. I already started the investigation process with Hannon, Wilson, Penthaki, Jackson, and Castro. All have been detained and we are just waiting for your evidence against them." Emilea smiles promptly and Helen is a bit concerned about handing over the files. However, if Max trusts Joe and Joe trusts Emilea- what does she have to be afraid of. "I know you must be overwhelmed and confused and worried about who you can trust. Right? Let me show you what we have and then if you feel comfortable, you can share what you have."

Pressing another button on her phone, a flat screen tv comes out of the cupboards behind her and she switches on the monitor.

"This real feed of my men taking in the suspects early this morning. Here's Hannon at 5:34." The screen shows her guy's body cams and they approach Hannon's front door. Mark Hannon's wife opens it, they show her their badge and suddenly, they spot Hannon getting in his car and backing up drastically. The two FBI agents pull their weapons and shoot out Hannon's tires. The car stops and before Hannon can run away, the FBI agent tackles him to the ground. "This is Wilson at a cafe on Broad Street at 6:38."

They watch as two men enter the cafe, IDs up and they see Wilson throw his coffee at the one and then takes off running. The one officer pursues out the back and the other one runs around the front and trips him and then cuffs him.

"Next we have Jackson at 7:05 leaving the police station after a double shift." The men approach him with their badges and Jackson pulls out his gun and shoots at the one officer. The body cam that was first displayed goes black and the other officer's cam catches him shooting Jackson in the upper thigh. He drops and the officer detains him. Helen jumped as the bullet hit the one officers vest and Joe and Emilea understand her fright. It's scary watching first hand someone getting shot. "The next one is a bit...graphic to say the least. Here is Penthaki at his home in Harlem 7:24."