Page 53 of Exposé

It can't be a coincidence.

"I mean, it wouldn't be the first time the government has supplied drugs to the inner city youth or helped distribute it in general."

I cocked my head. "That's what he said."

"He?"

My stomach tilted, and a burst of adrenaline rushed through my veins. "My source. He said nearly the same thing." I moved my mouse across my screen and pulled up the files I'd scouredthe internet archives to find. "So I did some digging into the cases he sighted, and he was right."

I pointed toward the computer screen. "Ricky Donnell Ross was a major drug dealer in LA during the eighties. He was allegedly moving millions of dollars worth of cocaine every day." I pulled up another page as Aria grabbed her chair at her cubicle and sat, leaning in. "At the same time, the US was involved in covert operations involving the Contra rebels in Nicaragua who were fighting against the Sandinista Government."

"This is a fascinating history lesson, but what does that have to do with any of this?"

"Watch. Once you see the cases connect, you'll understand." I slipped over to my notes, my finger dragging along the line until I found the right one. "The Contras needed funding for their rebellion, so they supposedly turned to drug trafficking. And that's where 'Freeway' Ricky comes in. He was arrested and claimed that the Nicaraguan Contra supplied him."

"Okay, but was it proven?"

"There were investigations by the DOJ and the CIA IG. They both confirmed that individuals were involved with the CIA-backed Contras and had ties to cocaine trafficking. But they couldn't confirm that the CIA was directly facilitating the drug trade."

"See. It's just a conspiracy theory."

"What about the Iran-Contra Affair? That's proven. And then there's Operation Fast and Furious."

"I've heard about that one, but that's the ATF allowing known criminals to purchase weapons."

"Yes, but in doing so, they inadvertently armed the drug cartels, giving them weapons to commit atrocious crimes. See where I'm going here?"

She shrugged, sat back in her chair, and puffed out a lengthy breath. "I mean, I do, butnowI’m starting to think it's not in your best interest to continue."

"What? Why?"

"This is dangerous territory."

"Isn't that what we're here for? To expose the lies and hold people accountable."

"Yeah, Ava. But out of all of those cases, was anyone in the US government held accountable?"

I frowned, flicked my gaze back to my computer screen, and then hung my head. "No."

A wave of nausea slammed into my solar plexus, causing a heaviness to settle in my chest. I hunched my shoulders and tucked my chin down, my hands wringing in my lap.

Dammit.

What was I to do now?

There's no way I couldn’t finish this story.

"I'm sorry to burst your bubble, Ava. I don't want you to get hurt."

"No, no. I get it." I bobbed my head and swallowed hard.

If I couldn't get whoever was responsible for distributing it, then at least I would make the public aware of the new drug. It would give them a fighting chance.

"Listen, there’s a rave tonight. I was planning to get a sample of this drug there. Did you want to tag along?"

"Seriously, it's Thursday?" She pinched the bridge of her nose. "God, I sound so old. I haven't been to one of those since high school."

"You didn't go while in college?" I laughed, the heavy reality of the tanking story falling away.

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