Page 47 of Sly Like a Fox
I shift slightly, unconsciously tapping the tablet she’s holding.“We’re already prepared for simultaneous distribution to multiple agencies and media outlets.The goal is to make the information too widespread for suppression or cover-up.”
Maria nods approvingly.“Smart approach.Anklor still has contacts throughout local law enforcement, but he can’t own everyone.”
Over the next hour, we develop a comprehensive distribution strategy that accounts for both the criminal network’s influence and the jurisdictional complexities of federal prosecution.Additional copies of evidence go to investigative journalists at three major newspapers, each specializing in corruption investigations with track records of protecting sources and resisting pressure from powerful interests.
The FBI’s financial crimes unit receives complete packages through secure channels that bypass local law enforcement entirely.Select members of city council who haven’t been compromised by Anklor’s corruption get targeted information relevant to municipal contracts and zoning decisions.My systematic approach ensures that even if Anklor tries to suppress the investigation through his remaining contacts, too many people have the information for a complete cover-up.
“The key is coordination,” Maria says as we finalize the timeline.“If arrests happen simultaneously across multiple jurisdictions, it prevents targets from warning each other or destroying evidence.”
“How many people are we talking about?”asks Jenna.
“Based on this evidence?At least fifteen primary targets, plus another twenty or thirty who could face lesser charges for accepting bribes or facilitating criminal activity.”
“When do you want to move forward?”Maria asks.
Jenna and I trade another look, and she gives a subtle nod.“Today.The longer we wait, the more opportunity Anklor has to realize what’s happening and take countermeasures.”
The detective nods decisively.“Agreed.I’ll coordinate with my partner and the federal agencies.We should be ready to make arrests by this afternoon.”
After Maria leaves to begin coordinating the official response, Jenna and I return to my apartment to monitor the situation and prepare for whatever consequences our actions might bring.The evidence packages go out simultaneously to all designated recipients, ensuring that by noon, dozens of law enforcement officials, journalists, and government officials have access to comprehensive documentation of Anklor’s criminal empire.
The next few days pass with excruciating slowness as we monitor news feeds and secure communication channels for signs that our intelligence is being acted upon.Federal agencies move more slowly than I’d hoped, needing additional verification and people to coordinate between jurisdictions, but the signs of progress are encouraging.
Journalists begin making verification calls to confirm details in the leaked documents.Federal prosecutors convene emergency sessions to review evidence and prepare arrest warrants.
Three days after our meeting at the coffee shop, my secure phone buzzes with a call from Maria.Her tone is brisk and all business.“We’re moving now.The grand jury handed down indictments this morning.Federal agents are coordinating with local police for simultaneous arrests of Anklor and his primary co-conspirators.”
My stomach clenches with excitement.“Where are they taking him?”
“First to the federal courthouse downtown for processing and an initial appearance.Charges include racketeering, money laundering, and conspiracy.There are about fifteen counts in total.”
The moment I’ve been working toward for three years is finally happening.Garret Anklor is about to face the consequences of destroying my family and countless others over his criminal career.
Before he gets arrested, I want him to understand exactly how his downfall was orchestrated and why his destruction wasn’t random misfortune but calculated revenge executed by the son of a man he murdered through greed and callousness.
I access my secure computer and draft a final email to Anklor, using an encrypted account that can’t be traced back to my current location.The message is personal, detailed, and designed to ensure he understands that his destruction was inevitable from the moment he decided to destroy honest businesses for profit.
Mr.Anklor,
By the time you read this, federal agents will be almost at your door to arrest you on charges of racketeering, money laundering, conspiracy, and numerous other crimes.You probably don’t remember James Nelson, the owner of Nelson’s Family Construction, who refused to participate in your bid-rigging schemes.You destroyed his business through false reports to regulatory agencies, manufactured delays on municipal contracts, and systematic character assassination that made it impossible for him to secure new work.He died of a myocardial infarction three months after filing for bankruptcy, watching everything he’d built over thirty years disappear because he wouldn’t compromise his principles.His wife, Victoria Nelson, died eighteen months later from the stress and financial pressure of losing everything they’d worked for together.
James and Victoria Nelson were my parents.
For three years, I have systematically infiltrated your organization, documented your crimes, and gathered the evidence that will ensure your conviction.The man you knew as Fenton Nielsen, technology consultant, never existed.The conversation we had was recorded and preserved for prosecutors.
While in your office, I accessed your files via a backdoor I’d sent you weeks before.While we were chatting, and you were calculating whether I could keep your dirty secrets, I was downloading files with plans to expose them all and destroy you.I hope you appreciate the irony that you sat idly by, unaware, while I was finding the means to end you.
Your network is finished.Your associates are being arrested as you read this.The judges and officials you corrupted are facing their own prosecutions based on evidence you provided during our recorded conversations.Everything you built through violence and intimidation is being dismantled by the rule of law you thought yourself above.
My parents can finally rest in peace, knowing their killer will spend the rest of his life in prison.
Justice has been served.
—Finn Nelson
Using the remote access I still have to Anklor’s computer systems, I time the email to arrive just minutes before the authorities knock on his door.Then I activate his security cameras, giving myself a front-row seat to his final moments of freedom.
The email appears on his screen at 2:47 p.m.I watch through his security feed as he opens it, his expression shifting from casual interest to shock to mounting rage as he processes what he’s reading.His face goes white as he realizes I was actually the son of a man he destroyed years ago.
