CHAPTER 5 — THE CAMERA THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
The barrel of the suppressed rifle slowly emerged through the ventilation grate.
No one breathed.
The assassin wasn't aiming at Mateo.
He wasn't aiming at the warden.
His sights were locked on one object only—
The black evidence pouch resting on the steel table.
Inspector Emilio Navarro understood immediately.
"They're not here for Vargas..."
"They're here for the proof."
Before anyone could react—
POP!
A muffled shot echoed through the room.
The bullet ripped through the evidence pouch.
Flash drives scattered across the floor.
The body camera spun off the table and slammed against the concrete.
Sombra exploded into motion.
The Belgian Malinois launched himself upward with astonishing speed.
CRASH!
His full weight slammed into the ventilation grate.
The rusted metal gave way.
The assassin lost his balance.
A second shot fired wildly into the ceiling before the masked gunman disappeared back into the duct.
"He's moving!" one guard shouted.
Two officers rushed into the hallway.
But it was too late.
The assassin had vanished into the maze of ventilation tunnels.
Mateo's eyes never left the body camera lying on the floor.
"Check it," he said.
Navarro carefully picked it up.
A long crack ran across the screen.
The casing was scratched.
But the memory compartment remained intact.
"It might still work."
Hope returned to the room.
For exactly three seconds.
Then Héctor suddenly stepped forward.
"It's damaged."
"There's no point wasting time."
"We need to evacuate."
Navarro looked up slowly.
"You seem very eager to abandon it."
"I said we need to survive."
"No."
Navarro replied.
"You need that camera to disappear."
Héctor's jaw tightened.
"You've lost your mind."
Another explosion shook the prison.
Emergency sprinklers activated.
Cold water poured from the ceiling.
Within seconds the room was soaked.
The cracked body camera slipped from Navarro's hands.
It hit the floor again.
This time...
The screen flickered.
Everyone stared.
The tiny display flashed once.
Then twice.
A weak blue light appeared.
"It's turning on..." whispered the psychologist.
The camera emitted a soft electronic beep.
Its battery indicator showed only 2% remaining.
Just enough power...
For one final playback.
Navarro pressed the PLAY button.
Static filled the tiny speaker.
Then...
The recording began.
The image was shaky.
Smoke covered most of the screen.
Officers shouted orders.
Gunfire echoed through abandoned warehouses.
It was unmistakably the Black Canyon operation.
Every person in the room watched in complete silence.
The timestamp appeared.
05:39 A.M.
Captain Alejandro Ruiz was alive.
Standing beside Mateo.
Giving tactical instructions.
The official report had claimed Ruiz died thirty-five minutes earlier.
Already...
The prosecution's timeline had collapsed.
The footage continued.
Suddenly—
A voice shouted,
"Movement on the east side!"
Everyone turned toward the camera.
Several masked gunmen opened fire.
Chaos erupted.
The recording shook violently.
Mateo and Captain Ruiz separated while chasing different suspects.
Then...
The video froze.
Battery warning.
1% Remaining
"No..." Navarro whispered.
"Come on..."
The footage resumed.
Captain Ruiz entered a storage building alone.
Someone followed him.
The camera couldn't capture the person's face.
Only black tactical boots.
A government-issued holster.
And a voice.
Calm.
Confident.
"You should have taken the money."
Captain Ruiz answered without fear.
"I'll expose every one of you."
Silence.
Then—
Three gunshots.
The captain collapsed.
The killer stepped closer.
The camera caught only part of his right arm.
Tattooed.
A black eagle.
Everyone in the room instinctively looked at Héctor.
His right sleeve was soaked from the sprinklers.
The fabric clung tightly against his arm.
Beneath it...
The outline of a tattoo became visible.
Not the full image.
Just enough to recognize the wings.
Héctor immediately pulled his sleeve down.
Too late.
Everyone had seen it.
The body camera beeped one last time.
Battery depleted.
The screen went black forever.
Nobody spoke.
The prison warden slowly turned toward Héctor.
"You told military court..."
"...that you watched Mateo kill Captain Ruiz."
Héctor remained silent.
"But according to this recording..."
"You were the last person who entered that warehouse."
Still...
Silence.
The veteran guard quietly removed the safety strap from his holster.
Another guard did the same.
Neither pointed a weapon.
Not yet.
But neither trusted Héctor anymore.
Then...
Héctor smiled.
It wasn't the confident smile from the press conference.
It wasn't the smile of a decorated officer.
It was cold.
Almost relieved.
"I was wondering..."
he said softly,
"...how long it would take."
The room froze.
Inspector Navarro narrowed his eyes.
"What does that mean?"
Héctor sighed.
"You've all been asking the wrong question."
"You keep asking who killed Captain Ruiz."
He looked directly at Mateo.
"But Captain Ruiz..."
"...was never the real target."
Mateo felt his blood run cold.
"What are you talking about?"
Héctor's smile widened.
"You were."
Before anyone could react—
The lights went out.
Complete darkness swallowed the containment room.
A single gunshot echoed.
Then another.
Someone screamed.
Metal chains rattled.
Sombra barked furiously.
Emergency lights flickered back on.
Only three seconds had passed.
But everything had changed.
Héctor was gone.
One guard lay unconscious.
The window overlooking the prison yard had been shattered from the inside.
Rain poured through the opening.
On the windowsill...
A pair of broken handcuffs lay beside a small pool of blood.
No one knew whose blood it was.
Then Sombra sprinted to the broken window.
He sniffed the blood once.
Twice.
His ears flattened.
A low growl escaped his throat.
Mateo recognized that expression immediately.
It wasn't the scent of Héctor.
It belonged to someone else.
Someone Sombra remembered.
Someone who hadn't appeared in the investigation.
Someone who...
According to every official record...
Had died three years ago during Operation Black Canyon.
Mateo whispered the name before he even realized it.
"No..."
"That's impossible..."
Inspector Navarro looked at him sharply.
"You know that scent?"
Mateo's face turned white.
"There was a fourth officer in the warehouse that morning."
"We buried him."
"I attended his funeral."
He slowly raised his trembling eyes toward the broken window.
"If Sombra is right..."
May you like
"...then a dead man has just entered this prison."
End of Chapter 5.
