Chapter 9 - The Plea Deal Denied
Friday afternoon. The US Attorney’s Office.
Arthur’s high-priced defense attorney had finally quit when his final retainer check bounced. Now, Arthur was sitting at a massive mahogany table across from Sarah, sweating profusely in his jumpsuit, represented by an exhausted public defender.
I sat in the corner of the room, observing the final nail being driven into the coffin.
“My client is willing to offer full cooperation regarding the Volkov Syndicate’s domestic operations,” the public defender stated, looking at his notes. “Names, dates, shipment routes. Everything. In exchange, we are requesting placement in the Witness Protection Program and a reduced sentence of five years for the financial crimes.”
Sarah leaned back in her chair, twirling a pen between her fingers. She looked at me. I gave her a subtle, imperceptible shake of my head.
“That’s a very generous offer, Arthur,” Sarah said, dropping the pen onto the table. “Unfortunately, we don't need your cooperation.”
Arthur’s head snapped up. “What? You can't dismantle the Volkovs without me! I was the architect!”
“Actually,” Sarah smiled, “thanks to the decryption keys provided by our independent consultant in the corner, we have already seized their entire global financial network. We have their ledgers. The FBI executed seventy synchronized raids across the East Coast this morning. The Volkov Syndicate is gone.”
Arthur stared at her, his mouth opening and closing like a suffocating fish.
“You have nothing left to trade, Arthur,” Sarah said coldly, standing up. “The DOJ is rejecting your plea deal. We are pursuing the maximum sentence for the financial crimes, and the state is pursuing maximum consecutive sentences for the domestic abuse and witness intimidation charges.”
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“You’re going to let me die in a maximum-security prison!” Arthur screamed, lunging across the table before the marshals slammed him back down.
“No,” I said, speaking for the first time. I stood up and walked toward the door. “I’m going to let you live a very long, very terrified life in a maximum-security prison.”
