Chapter 12 - The Shadow of Brandon
In a small, windowless interrogation room at the 4th Precinct, Brandon Vance sat alone at a metal table.
His black EXCEL FITNESS polo shirt was rumpled, his undercut hair messy, his face pale with shock as he stared at the heavy iron handcuffs securing his wrists to a ring in the center of the table.
The door opened, and Special Agent Maya Lin walked in, carrying a thin manila folder.
She sat down across from him, laying the folder flat on the metal surface.
"Where... where is Victor?" Brandon whimpered, his voice high, nervous, and crackling with panic. "They told me he was shot! Is he dead?"
"Your brother is in stable condition at Harborview Memorial under armed guard," Maya said flatly. "And you, Brandon, are facing charges of accessory to corporate fraud, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy."
Brandon gasped, leaning forward as far as his handcuffs would allow. "I didn't do anything! I was just working the front desk! Victor told me to flag old man Pendelton’s card! He said it was an internal test!"
"You kicked a seventy-two-year-old man out into the freezing rain because you wanted to feel powerful for five minutes," Maya said, her eyes cold as ice. "You enjoyed it, Brandon. You liked having the blue card in your hand."
Brandon hung his head, tears of self-pity spilling onto the cold metal table. "I... I didn't know..."
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"Ignorance isn't a defense in federal court, Brandon," Maya said, standing up and pulling the folder back. "You're going to spend the next five years in a minimum-security facility in Oregon. I suggest you spend that time learning how to read a ledger."
She turned and walked out of the room, shutting the heavy steel door behind her with a loud, final CLACK.
