The car ride was silent, and James understood why. Even if Rose wanted to try to steer him away from the path he was taking, she was hurt at having been thrown into such a situation. His phone rang, and seeing Phillip calling, he put it on speaker.
"What have you got for me?" Rose tried to hide it but paid close attention, hoping James' fears weren't true and the Jogger was only an ex-soldier. Phillip's rugged voice followed a deep sigh from the other end of the phone.
"Check the picture I'm sending you." Looking at Rose, she grabbed his phone and opened his messages. Clicking Phillip's name, her face went pale with fear as she took a sharp breath.
"You fucker." James took the phone and understood why she was angry.
"Who you have is one Sergeant Cain Manning," Phillip spoke again as James pulled over and looked at the photo, his breath getting weaker. "Now he has some black ink on his record, which I wasn't even going to dare touch for such little money, but it seems to be linked with the Second Pretan War."
Looking at his phone, he saw a smiling Cain, shaking the hand of an old general, as a new medal in the shape of a cross adorned his chest. "I'm getting the ISD involved, James. He's shaking the General's hand. And look at the medal, it's a Pretorian's Cross. This guy will kill us before we even know how it happened."
"Mr Manning was involved in solving the Conway crisis, where he was awarded the Pretorians Cross. He was also involved in the Battle of Pirot, with an estimated kill count of 32." Phillip said without a change in tone, "Sidmouth, 12 kills, El Jem, 5..."
"I understand, Phillip." James cut him off, not realising when his knuckles went white from how tight he was holding the steering wheel. "Is there anything else?"
"Black ink. Means he was either special ops or involved in something the public shouldn't know. I'll be at the pick-up spot in three days. Have the money or else." Phillip hung up, leaving the two in silence.
"James, we are cops. I can fight a common criminal, but this. He has killed 49 people, and there are definitely more. Not just anyone, either, soldiers. We are out of our depth here; I don't see how we couldn't be." Rose desperately said, "James, you care about keeping the city safe, get in touch with ISD, tell them all you know. We don't need to do anything. Isn't that all that matters at the end of the day? One more smile, remember."
Seeing him stay silent and look down, Rose shook her head, "Then I will." Trying to get out, James grabbed her arm and stopped her. "Let go of me."
"Rose." James gulped, not understanding why he stopped her, why he even wished to. She was right, he knew it. He wanted to let go, but couldn't. He wanted to agree. Who was he to go against a man like Otto Waltz, let alone Cain? "I can solve this." His words sounded like the muttering of a madman. Pulling her arm back in disgust, Rose opened the door.
"You don't actually care about anything, do you?" Rose bluntly said, "There is real danger, people who could die because of this man, and you still want to be the one to solve it." She chuckled in disbelief, "It's like a drug. This case. Is it your next fix until you get another one?"
"You know that's not the reason. I love this city." There was venom in his words as he leaned towards her.
"Then call the ISD. Prove it with your actions." Rose held her phone out towards him. Seeing James not even look at it, she frowned. "You really have changed, you know that. In the future, don't call me. Not until you are back to normal."
James got out of the car and circled around, "I haven't changed Rose." Taking a deep breath, he calmly spoke, "We can't get the ISD involved for a real reason. This guy is connected to something deeper than gun running. We need him out of the ISD's grasp. Once he's gone, our chances at protecting the city will be lost."
Looking into his eyes, she scoffed and half smiled, "Are you trying to convince yourself or me?"
Throwing his hand up in annoyance, James took a step back and shook his head, "Why does no one understand that there is something greater at play here?" Raising his voice, he made people look over towards him in concern, "Xavier, milking me for his own gain, George worried about me and not the real issue." Looking at Rose, he shook his head, "And you, missing the bigger picture."
Rose stepped forward and threw a heavy punch into his gut, forcing James onto his knees. Crouching down, there was pity and sadness in her eyes, "James, let it die. Please. It's devouring you, whatever it is that you need to prove."
"I can't." James weakly said under his breath, avoiding her eyes, "I just can't, Rose."
"Then, please don't die." Getting up, James grabbed her arm to stop her.
"I was telling the truth. I'm doing this for the city. You have to believe me."
"I'm sure you are, but there is something more, and we both know it." Rose shook his hand off and grabbed her umbrella from the car, walking off. Slowly getting up, he held his stomach in pain and limped back to the driver's seat, leaning his head against the headrest.
Turning the radio, he switched back to the news. "We are two days from voting. Make sure to come early, or you may find yourself stuck in the rain waiting." Hearing it, James narrowed his eyes and looked at the distant bus stop with Samuel's ad campaign on it.
--------------------------------
Stepping into her apartment, Rose opened her laptop and quickly navigated to the ISD government page, finding the tip line. She knew James wouldn't do it. Ringing it, she heard an emotionless voice speak to her.
"Please know that misuse of this line is a federal crime and can lead to five years in prison or a fifty-thousand-dollar fine. If you understand, please say yes."
"Yes," Rose replied.
"Please tell us what concerns you have." Rose took a deep breath, remembering everything Phillip and James said.
"I am an officer in Newport and recently have uncovered that an ex-soldier, one Cain Manning, is heavily involved in weapons smuggling. I was going to pursue it with my Captain's permission, but I recently discovered a connection between Sergeant Manning and General Otto Waltz."
There was silence on the other end, and Rose couldn't help but be nervous. It dragged endlessly, only interrupted by the slow tapping of the woman's keyboard on the other end of the phone, "Do you wish to accuse General Otto Waltz and Sergeant Cain Manning and open an investigation?" Rose gulped.
"Yes." It was a risk to involve the General, but Rose felt she had no other choice. She didn't know how influential Cain was, but if he was only a soilder who had a better record than most, it wouldn't be enough to get the ISD to move. But a general. If he were involved in a gun-running operation, that would be enough to have him arrested as a national security risk.
"Please hold." The call cut off playing elevator music. Standing in her dark room, Rose couldn't help but wonder if she was making a mistake. If she were wrong, then it could lead to prison. She knew Cain was guilty, but to throw in the General as well. If she were wrong, she would be lucky to only face prison and not die.
"Good afternoon. Regarding your report, it has been forwarded for review. We shall be in touch. In the meantime, please do not approach Seargant Manning in any form as it will disrupt our investigation." The man on the other side said with the same emotionless tone before hanging up.
Rose dropped her phone and fell into her sofa, curling up into it and turning the TV on, and putting a comedy film on.