This is what I’ve edited so far. The game has begun, so I’ll post the second part and the next chapter after it and getting some sleep.
I had to do some rewrites again, so it ended up being finished even later.
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Detective Vale led the way into the apartment building, with Bradford, Chen, Lopez, Jackson, and Bishop close behind him.
“Hiroshi Yoshida is on the second floor,” Vale said. “Apartment 2C.”
The lobby smelled of damp plaster and stale cigarette smoke. Half the ceiling lights were dead, and the remaining ones flickered as the officers crossed toward the stairs.
They moved quickly but quietly. Bradford took the lead beside Vale, one hand resting near his weapon. Lucy followed with Jackson, while Lopez and Bishop watched their rear.
They were running out of time.
Nine hours remained before the ransom deadline.
Jackson kept his voice low as they climbed.
“How did Adler know Yoshida was our safecracker?”
Vale glanced back without slowing.
“It was Adler’s head of security. I know his kind. He must have had a hand in it. I’m sure of it.”
“So Adler’s been conducting his own investigation,” Jackson said.
“Looks that way.”
Bishop nodded. “Nolan told me they were looking into their own leads.”
Bradford’s jaw tightened.
“I can’t believe they beat us to him.”
Lucy gave a quiet laugh.
Bradford looked back at her.
“What?”
“I’m just enjoying how personally you’re taking this.”
“They didn’t beat us,” Vale said. “Yoshida was already under surveillance. Adler’s people only confirmed that he was involved.”
Lopez looked between them.
“Focus.”
They reached the second floor.
The hallway was narrow, with stained carpet and doors close enough together that a loud conversation would carry through half the building. A television played behind one apartment door. Somewhere farther down the hall, a child was crying.
Vale pointed toward the third door on the right.
2C.
Bradford moved to one side of the door. Lopez took the other. Lucy and Jackson positioned themselves behind them while Bishop watched the stairs.
Vale knocked hard.
“Hiroshi Yoshida! LAPD!”
No answer.
Vale knocked again.
“Mr. Yoshida, open the door!”
Lucy heard movement inside.
Not footsteps approaching them.
Something scraping across the floor.
Bradford heard it too.
“Police!” Vale shouted. “Open the door now!”
A crash came from inside the apartment.
Bradford stepped back.
“He’s running.”
Vale nodded once.
“Do it.”
Bradford drove his boot into the door beside the lock. The frame cracked but held.
He struck it again.
The door flew inward.
Bradford entered first with his weapon raised.
“LAPD! Show me your hands!”
Lucy followed him into a cramped living room littered with takeout boxes, electronic components, and safe-locking mechanisms. An open toolbox sat on the coffee table.
The room was empty.
Then Lucy saw movement through the bedroom doorway.
“There!”
Hiroshi Yoshida was halfway through the window.
“Stop!” Bradford shouted.
Yoshida shoved himself outside.
Bradford ran after him.
“Tim!” Lucy called.
He reached the window and looked down. A metal fire escape ran along the rear wall.
Yoshida was already descending.
Bradford holstered his weapon and climbed through. Vale pointed toward the door.
“Chen, West, downstairs! Lopez, with them. Bishop, secure the apartment.”
Lucy was already moving.
She and Jackson raced into the hallway with Lopez behind them. They took the stairs two at a time while the fire escape rattled outside.
Bradford landed on the next platform as Yoshida dropped to the level below.
“Stop running!” Bradford yelled.
Yoshida ignored him.
He vaulted over the railing, caught the ladder below, and slid down toward the alley.
Bradford followed.
The old metal groaned beneath his weight. Yoshida kicked the release mechanism at the bottom, and the final ladder dropped with a violent clang.
Yoshida reached the alley first.
Bradford jumped the last several feet and landed hard. Pain shot through one ankle, but he kept moving.
Yoshida sprinted past overflowing dumpsters and toward the street.
Bradford chased him.
“LAPD! Stop!”
Yoshida looked back once and nearly collided with a delivery truck entering the alley. He twisted around it, knocking over a stack of empty plastic crates behind him.
Bradford hurdled the first crate and kicked another aside. The delay cost him several steps.
Yoshida reached the end of the alley.
For a moment, Bradford thought he had lost him.
Then Lucy burst through the building’s side entrance.
She saw Yoshida immediately.
“Jackson, left!”
Jackson moved without hesitation, circling toward the street while Lucy ran directly at Yoshida.
Yoshida tried to change direction.
Jackson cut him off.
He turned back toward the alley, where Bradford was closing in fast.
Lucy launched herself at him.
She caught him around the waist, but Yoshida remained on his feet and dragged her several steps across the pavement.
Jackson hit him from the side.
All three went down.
Yoshida fought beneath them, twisting one arm free and trying to crawl away.
“Hands behind your back!” Jackson shouted.
“I didn’t do anything!”
Lucy forced one wrist down while Jackson secured the other.
Bradford reached them and dropped to one knee beside Yoshida.
“Stop resisting.”
“I’m not resisting!”
Bradford pulled Yoshida’s arm behind his back. Lucy snapped one cuff around his wrist, then locked the second.
Yoshida finally stopped struggling.
Lopez arrived seconds later with her weapon drawn. She checked the alley, then holstered it once she saw Yoshida restrained.
She looked at Jackson.
“Good work.”
Jackson was breathing hard, but he smiled.
“Thank you.”
Bradford gave Lucy a small nod.
She returned it.
Yoshida lifted his head from the pavement.
“I didn’t do anything. Let me go.”
Detective Vale emerged from the building with Bishop behind him.
Vale looked down at Yoshida.
“We’ll talk more at the station.”
“I want a lawyer.”
“You have the right to one.”
Vale motioned for Bradford and Jackson to bring him to his feet.
“Let’s go, Hiroshi.”
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“So,” Ellen said, “I hear you have a little feud going on with Daniel Adler.”
Ryan closed his eyes and released a long, exhausted sigh.
The audience laughed.
Ellen leaned forward. “What is happening there?”
“He stole my parking spot.”
“That’s how this started?”
“Like all great feuds start, Ellen.”
More laughter moved through the studio.
Ryan gestured with both hands as he explained.
“So, there I was, driving over to play some golf, and I have a parking spot there.”
“Okay.”
“And when I got there, I saw Daniel Adler parked in my spot. So I asked him, ‘My friend, this is my spot. Could you move the car?’ And he was like, ‘Fuck off,’ and walked away.”
The audience booed.
“So what did you do?”
“I did the reasonable, mature thing.”
“I had his car towed.”
The audience erupted. Ellen stared at him before bursting into laughter.
“You had Daniel Adler’s car towed?”
“Yes.”
“And he hasn’t forgiven you?”
“He has not.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it. He stole my parking spot, so I had his car taken away. Daniel somehow thinks I was the unreasonable one.”
Ellen shook her head, smiling.
“You know, I’ve tried to get Daniel on this show many times, and he still hasn’t come on. I’m always told he’s too busy.”
“It’s because he hates you.”
The audience reacted immediately.
“Oooh!”
Ellen’s mouth fell open.
“What?”
Ryan leaned back, looking almost pleased with himself.
“I don’t know what to tell you, Ellen. I’ve heard he doesn’t like you.”
Ellen placed one hand against her chest.
“What did I do?”
Several people in the audience murmured sympathetically.
Ryan lowered his voice as though revealing a closely guarded secret.
“I’ve heard, and this is true, I’m not making this up, that he thinks you’re too nice.”
The audience responded with a mixture of surprised laughter and disapproving noises.
Ellen blinked.
“Wow.”
Ryan nodded solemnly.
“I know.”
“I didn’t realize I was too nice for Daniel Adler.”
“Apparently, that’s your problem.”
“Well, I’ll try to be worse.”
The audience applauded as Ellen smiled toward the camera.
“I’m sorry my kindness has offended you, Daniel.”
@FilmUpdatesDailyRyan Reynolds claims Daniel Adler refuses to appear on Ellen because he “hates” the host and thinks she is “too nice.”
@adlercentralThis is just Ryan making stuff up, and Ellen seems to be taking Ryan’s side in the feud. It’s a damn hit job.
@PopCultureMiaDoes Daniel Adler actually hate Ellen?
@Ainephil993Daniel has never appeared on her show despite being invited repeatedly.
Ellen even joked a few seasons ago that he was “too busy for her.”
Maybe he really doesn’t like her.
@AdlnarfficialSo Daniel Adler refuses to appear on a show hosted by one of the nicest people in Hollywood? What a surprise. He probably cannot stand being around someone who does not worship him.
@HwoodatcherThe weird part is that Daniel has appeared on almost every major late-night show.
Kimmel, Fallon, Colbert, Graham Norton, Conan.
Never Ellen.
@NoMooldenoyFirst the penthouse rumors, now this.
People are finally starting to realize Daniel Adler might not be the charming genius everyone thinks he is. It’s all PR.
@celebydeepdiveTheory: Maybe Ellen made a joke about Daniel years ago that he took personally.
He is famously petty. That’s the impression I get from this whole feud with Ryan, which started over a parking spot.
@EllenShowclubEllen looked genuinely hurt when Ryan said it.
@EntertainmentWireDaniel Adler’s representatives declined to comment on Ryan Reynolds’ claim that the filmmaker dislikes Ellen DeGeneres.
@BficeerracleDaniel’s PR team must be having the worst week of their lives.
First the burglary.
Then the domestic-violence rumors.
Now he has somehow become the man who hates Ellen.
@JutAkins88What does Daniel know about Ellen that the rest of us don’t?
@AdlerSnarkficialThe Adler drones are already claiming Ryan was joking.
Funny how everything damaging to Daniel is always “just a joke,” “taken out of context,” or “a misunderstanding.”
@PopCrave“WHO HATES ELLEN?” trends after Ryan Reynolds claims Daniel Adler refuses to appear on her show because he dislikes the host.
=========
“You dumb bitch. You have no idea what’s coming, do you?” I muttered at the screen.
Castle, seated beside me, glanced over. “From where I’m sitting, this entire feud is becoming very childish.”
I looked at him. “It is childish. But in a way, I’ve already won. I just need to shut the idiot up before he keeps doing things like this.”
Nolan stood behind the couch, watching the segment with his arms folded.
“I still don’t believe what you said about Ellen.”
I picked up my phone and showed him the trending page.
“See this? Ellen is trending under ‘Who Hates Ellen?’”
Nolan and Castle both nodded.
“My team is going to hijack that hashtag,” I said. “Then some of her former employees are going to start telling their stories. Trust me, by the end of next month, she’ll be finished.”
Castle raised an eyebrow.
“When your entire brand is built around kindness, what happens when people discover you’re the exact opposite?”
Nolan frowned.
“Are you planning to make things up about her?”
“No. I don’t need to. There is some wild shit happening behind the scenes on her show, and it’s all going to come out soon.”
I looked back at Ryan’s smiling face on the television.
“As for Ryan, like I said, I’ve already won. Vigilante in The Suicide Squad has already done too much damage to his Deadpool dreams. Now I only need to shut him up and invalidate everything he said about me.”
Castle looked interested.
“How?”
“I’ll worry about that later.”
I turned away from the television.
“Right now, I want my fiancée’s ring back.”
I looked at Nolan.
“Have you heard anything from your officer friends? Any leads? We practically found the safecracker for them. All they have to do is catch him, unless we need to do that too.”
Jim stood near the door.
“Just say the word, boss.”
Nolan immediately shook his head.
“No. Catching suspects is police work.”
Jim looked at him.
“It’s also what we do.”
“No, it isn’t.”
Nolan’s phone rang before the argument could continue.
He checked the screen and answered.
“Nolan.”
He listened for several seconds.
His posture changed.
“You have him?”
Everyone in the room fell silent.
“Understood. We’re coming in.”
He ended the call.
“They caught Yoshida.”
“Finally.” I stood. “Let’s go.”
Castle rose beside me and clapped his hands together.
“Well done, everyone. We solved the case.”
Nolan stared at him. “The police arrested him.”
“Yes, but we found him.”
“Daniel’s security found him.”
“It was a team effort.”
“You did nothing.”
Castle pointed toward his own head.
“I provided deductive energy.”
“Come on,” I said. “You can argue about credit in the car.”
=========
By the time we reached the station, Captain Andersen, Sergeant Grey, and Detective Vale were already waiting for us.
None of them looked pleased.
Vale led us into a conference room and closed the door.
Captain Andersen remained standing.
“Mr. Adler, before we discuss Yoshida, we need to address your decision to conduct an independent investigation.”
“I found him, didn’t I?”
“Your security personnel approached a criminal suspect without informing us.”
“No, they didn’t. They just observed him. Then you caught him.”
“That does not make it acceptable,” Sergeant Grey said.
“It worked. Now can we move on? Where is my ring?”
Grey’s expression hardened.
Vale sat down and opened the file in front of him.
“Hiroshi Yoshida claims he does not have it.”
“Then he’s lying.”
“We don’t believe he is.”
I stared at him.
“He admitted to entering the apartment and opening the safe,” Vale continued. “He was hired for the burglary, but he handed everything over afterward.”
“Who hired him?”
Captain Andersen answered.
“Yoshida only dealt directly with one of the men involved. He knows him as Jeremy.”
Fuck. Not that idiot.
I remembered two old enemies of mine, two men who had once tried to end my involvement in Hollywood altogether.
“Motherfucker.”
I stood so quickly that my chair scraped across the floor.
Sergeant Grey looked up.
“What?”
“Jeremy,” I repeated.
Castle watched my face carefully.
“Do you know someone by that name?”
“Jeremy Wesker.” The name came out through clenched teeth.
Nolan leaned forward. “Who is Jeremy Wesker?”
“Jeremy Wesker and Jacob Stein,” I said. “They were shareholders in Stardust before the merger with Nebula.”
“What happened between you?” the captain asked.
“They tried to push me out of the company after The Blair Witch Project succeeded. Stardust barely funded it because they thought it would fail, so I paid for most of the production myself and kept the majority of the profits.”
“And they objected afterward?” Vale asked.
“They wanted the contracts changed once the movie became successful. When I refused, they threatened lawsuits and tried to pressure the board into stripping away my creative control. They wanted me under their control.”
Sergeant Grey studied me.
“So you pushed them out instead.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“I convinced them Stardust was about to collapse and that another studio was preparing to poach me. They panicked and sold their shares.”
Castle smiled faintly.
“That sounds like you.”
“They received fair value at the time,” I said. “More than fair, considering the company’s position.”
“But if they had kept those shares through the merger?” Andersen asked.
“They would be very rich.”
“How rich?” Nolan asked.
I considered it.
“A lot, Nolan. A lot.”
The room fell silent.
Grey looked toward Vale.
“So these could be our guys.”
Vale was already reaching for the door.
“Run both names. Passports, addresses, financial activity, known associates, business records, everything.”
He looked at me before leaving.
“If they are involved, we’ll find them.”
========
Hours passed.
I remained at the station as the deadline crept closer.
Castle stayed with me. Nolan moved between the conference room and the bullpen, relaying whatever fragments of information he was permitted to share. Jim sat near the door, looking increasingly annoyed that the police were taking so long.
Eventually, Captain Andersen returned with Grey, Vale, and Nolan.
Their expressions told me the news was not good.
Vale placed a new file on the table.
“We may have a problem with your theory.”
“It isn’t a theory.”
“We checked both men,” he said. “Jeremy Wesker and Jacob Stein have lived in France for several years. Wesker has an apartment in Paris. Stein owns property outside Lyon.”
“So?”
“Their passports show no recent entry into the United States. Their known bank accounts remain active overseas, and French records place both of them there within the past month.”
“They could have faked all of that.”
“They could,” Vale said. “They could also simply be in France.”
“They aren’t.”
Captain Andersen folded her arms.
“You cannot know that.”
“Yes, I can. It has to be them.”
“Yoshida knew one first name,” Grey said. “Jeremy is not uncommon.”
“It’s them, Sergeant. I can’t think of anyone else who would go to such lengths.”
Vale looked unconvinced.
Castle, who had been unusually quiet, leaned forward.
“What if Daniel called him?”
Everyone turned toward him.
Vale’s expression became even less friendly.
“Why?”
“Because from what Daniel has told me, Jeremy is arrogant, emotional, and desperate to receive credit.”
Castle tapped the ransom letter.
“He believes Daniel cheated him out of billions. A man like that does not want to hide forever. He wants Daniel to understand who beat him.”
“And you think he’ll confess over the phone?” Vale asked.
“No. But we can still try.”
Vale glanced at me.
“The man might not even have the same number, but why not? Do you have Wesker’s number?”
“Give me a minute.”
I took out my phone and called Graves.
She answered almost immediately.
“Daniel?”
“I need Jeremy Wesker’s contact number. It should be in my old phone.”
“Got it.”
She ended the call.
We waited.
Vale connected my phone to the room’s recording system while Andersen contacted the technical team. Within minutes, they were prepared to trace whatever they could from the call.
My phone vibrated.
Graves had sent the contact.
I looked at Vale.
“I’m going to call.”
He activated the recorder.
“Put it on speaker.”
Everyone in the room fell silent.
I entered the number and pressed call.
It rang once.
Twice.
Three times.
A man answered.
“Hello?”
I recognized the voice immediately.
“Jeremy.”
Silence.
Then came a quiet breath.
“Daniel.”
Every officer in the room became more attentive.
I leaned back in my chair.
“It’s been a long time.”
“Not long enough.”
Castle lifted his eyebrows as if to say, See?
“You took something from me, Jeremy.”
For a second, there was only silence.
Then Wesker began to laugh.
It was not the reaction of a careful criminal trying to protect himself. It was loud, delighted, and almost breathless.
Everyone in the room stared at the speaker.
Vale looked as though he could not believe his luck.
I leaned back and decided to give Jeremy exactly what he wanted.
“The police don’t believe you took the ring.”
Jeremy laughed again.
“Of course they don’t. I planned it all.”
Sergeant Grey closed his eyes and slapped one hand over his face.
Nolan looked down at the table, his shoulders shaking as he tried not to laugh out loud.
Captain Andersen pressed her fingers against her forehead.
Bradford and Lopez, who had entered during the call, exchanged a bewildered look.
Even Vale briefly turned away from the speaker.
Jeremy was an idiot. There was no way he had planned any of this alone. Jacob had always been the smarter one.
“So it was you?” I asked.
“Yes.”
Jeremy sounded pleased with himself.
“And it feels amazing. You know, I’m wearing the ring right now.”
My amusement vanished.
He laughed again.
“It’s such an ugly thing. I cannot understand why she likes it.”
Vale immediately signalled for me to remain calm and keep him talking.
Jeremy did not need much encouragement.
“You always believed you were the smartest person in every room,” he continued. “Even when you were a child, you looked at everyone else as though we were already beneath you.”
“I don’t remember thinking about you much at all.”
His breathing changed.
“You stole our company.”
“You sold your shares and left.”
“You forced us.”
“I did no such thing.”
“You lied to us. You told us Stardust was finished.”
“And you believed me.”
Jeremy’s voice rose.
“You think that makes you clever?”
“I think it made you easy.”
Castle covered his mouth to hide a laugh.
Vale gave me a warning look, but Jeremy was already too angry to stop.
“Jacob and I waited for years,” he said. “We watched you take everything that should have belonged to us. Stardust. Nebula. You stole everything from us.”
His shout crackled through the speaker.
“We waited, Daniel. We planned. We found the right people, and we took something that mattered to you, just as you took everything that mattered to us.”
Around the table, every officer had gone completely still.
Jeremy laughed once more.
“And now we’re taking the money too.”
Then his voice hardened.
“But I’ve changed my mind. You’re bringing it yourself now.”
Vale’s head snapped up.
I kept my voice even.
“That wasn’t the agreement.”
“I have altered the agreement.”
“You said Bitcoin.”
“You will transfer it when you arrive.”
“Where?”
Jeremy gave me an address.
“That dumb fuck,” I heard the captain whisper.
The address was local. Jeremy apparently wanted me to walk directly into whatever trap he had prepared.
“Come alone,” he said. “No police. No security.”
“Of course.”
“I’ll know if you bring anyone.”
“I’m sure you will.”
Jeremy lowered his voice, trying to sound threatening.
“See you soon, Daniel.”
The line went dead.
For one second, the room remained completely silent.
Then everyone broke.
Nolan laughed first.
Jackson followed him.
Lopez shook her head, smiling despite herself. Bradford leaned against the wall and covered his face. Captain Andersen tried to maintain her composure but failed, while Sergeant Grey released a deep laugh and sat back in his chair.
Castle looked delighted.
Vale stared at the silent speaker.
“Oh my God,” he said. “What a fucking idiot.”
I shook my head.
“I’m fairly sure he’s on cocaine or something.”
“He confessed to burglary, extortion, conspiracy, possession of stolen property, and implicated an accomplice,” Vale said. “Then he provided the location where he wants the victim to meet him.”
Captain Andersen’s amusement faded as quickly as it had appeared.
“We have an operation to plan.”