A Long-Lost Ally

The first rays of dawn clawed their way through Ethan's window, casting long dark shapes across his disheveled loft. He sat in the eye of the maelstrom, the ravaged remnants of his case files scattered around him like the detritus of a battlefield. His mind was racing. Whoever was trying to intimidate him was escalating their efforts, and the note left behind- "Stop searching"- repeated itself in his head over and over, an ominous refrain.

But instead of a deterrent, the warning merely sealed his resolve. Someone is afraid of what he can find. That means a trail yet exists, and he isn't about to halt now.

Ethan leaned back in his chair, his eyes closed, considering a few people he knew he could trust to help him. It was a short list. Most of his old colleagues had either distanced themselves from him after the fallout of the case or made it clear they wanted nothing to do with him. But there was one name that lingered in his thoughts—Maria Lopez.

Maria had been one of his most reliable informants back in the day-someone who knew exactly how to blend in with the city's underbelly and get information from the right, often unsavory, places. She had helped him out more than once, but when the case fell apart, Maria disappeared, determined to leave her connections to organized crime behind.

This, of course, was far from easy, but for Ethan, there was just no other choice. With his coat on, Ethan was out into the crisp morning air to find her.

It wasn't hard to uncover Maria's new life. A few calls to old contacts, and Ethan knew she had left the grittier neighborhoods of the city and was working at a small flower shop on the outskirts of town. An unexpected career change, but Ethan understood: Maria had always wanted a fresh start, and she deserved it.

The smell of fresh blooms hit him like a ton of bricks as he entered the shop, the complete opposite of the dark, damp places Ethan was more accustomed to. Maria stood behind the counter, arranging a bouquet of daisies. She looked different-happier, perhaps-but her sharp eyes still held that edge which had once made her so invaluable.

Maria froze at the sight of Ethan. "You've got to be kidding me," she muttered, slapping the flowers onto the counter. 

"Good to see you too," Ethan said, attempting to wear a smile. 

Maria leaned back against the counter, crossing her arms. "What are you doing here, Ethan? I thought you'd have given up any pretense of chasing ghosts.

"I don't have the luxury of giving up," he replied. "I really need your help."

Maria groaned and shook her head. "I'm out, Ethan. I have a great life now. No more blessings, no more risks."

This isn't about me," Ethan said, his voice low and steady. He fished out the photographs and the notes he'd received, slapping them onto the counter. "Someone's trying to silence me. And they're connected to the case. The one we both thought was closed.

Maria's face changed as she glanced through the photographs. Her finger followed over the grainy picture of the shadow figure toward the back, and her forehead wrinkled.

"Who's this?" she asked, presently gentler.

"That is the thing I really want to find out," Ethan said. "I think they've been following me. Furthermore, the previous evening, they broke into my place, destroyed my documents. Whoever they are, they're terrified I'll find what they missed."

Maria echoed, her fingers tapping nervously on the counter. "Ethan, you're being so reckless. You really don't care that you, right? Those human what ever they are-they aren't just going to sit by and let you dive around in their dirt."

"I don't have a decision," he said. "This case destroyed my career, my life. If I don't resolve this, they'll make sure I don't have a future left to ruin.

Maria muttered again, this time longer. "You are impossible, that's what you know?" She went to the back of the store, disappeared for a moment, and returned with an ancient, battered notebook.

"I haven't the foggiest idea how much I can help," she said, flipping through the pages. "But there was talk back then-about someone with ties to the case. A politician. I never got a name, but he was known to have a lot of clout in the city. If this shadowy figure is connected with him, you may be wading into a far larger conspiracy than you realized."

Ethan's heart quickened. "A politician? Why didn't this come up during the original investigation?" 

Maria gave him a wry smile. "Because people like that don't leave trails for cops to follow. If they're smart, they stay in the shadows, let people like you take the fall when things go wrong." 

Ethan nodded, absorbing her words. "Any idea where I can start looking?

Maria hesitated again, then scribbled something on a piece of paper. "There's a club downtown-the Meridian. It's where the city's elite go to mix with the underworld. If this politician is involved, someone there will know. But be careful, Ethan. This isn't just about solving a case anymore. These people will do whatever it takes to protect themselves.

Ethan took the paper, folding it carefully and slipping it into his pocket. "Thank you, Maria. I owe you one." 

Maria's expression softened and, for a moment, she was the old ally that he remembered. "You don't owe me anything, Ethan. Just… don't get yourself killed, okay?"

As Ethan walked out of the flower shop, his mind was in a whirl. A politician connected with the case? It was more than he had bargained for, yet it made sense. The power and influence to facilitate such a cover-up were enormous.

The Meridian would be his next stop, but he wasn't able to handle going in ill-equipped. In the event that Maria was right, assuming it was greater than he'd at any point envisioned, he planned to require more than impulses for endurance.

For the first time in years, hope stirred faintly in Ethan's chest. The pieces of the puzzle were finally starting to get sorted out.

At any rate, as he walked away from the store, he felt again that at least someone was following him. That same prickling sensation he'd had a few times before, the weight of unseen eyes watching his every possible move.

Ethan quickened his pace, his hand instinctively straying to the small blade he concealed in his jacket. If they wished to unsettle him, they would have to try a great deal harder than thi

s.

The game was afoot, and Ethan Blackwell wasn't backing down.