Lieutenant Troy Hembury had never actually met the Los Angeles police chief but that was about to change as he had been summoned to a face-to-face meeting in his office on West First Street. John McDonnell was midway through his second term and had held the post for the last seven years, following his appointment by the mayor. McDonnell was, by nature, a very cautious political player; a stickler for process who had worked his way to the top of the tree after thirty years of service. Although Hembury hadn’t been briefed on what the meeting was about, he had a pretty good idea. He was led into the office by a young secretary who then immediately left the room and shut the door.

“Take a seat, lieutenant.”

McDonnell gestured towards a black leather chair and Hembury sat down opposite him. Troy noticed a file on the desk which undoubtedly contained his entire career history.

“Good to meet you, sir. How can I be of service?”

The chief sat slowly back in his chair before replying. “Lieutenant, we’ve got a bit of a problem that we need to talk through. Yesterday I received a call from the mayor who was pretty pissed, to say the least. Apparently you took it upon yourself to initiate a meeting with probably the single most important man in the state without clearing it with anyone.”

McDonnell paused and shook his head. “What the hell were you thinking and what’s all this crap about working with the Buenos Aires Police. Who is this Vargas guy?”

Hembury jumped straight in. “He’s a good guy, sir, and a great detective. He’s working on a complex case in Buenos Aires, which seems to have tentacles stretching as far as San Francisco. It involves a number of organised killings and—”

McDonnell shut him down in no uncertain terms.

“Lieutenant, listen very carefully as I will say this only once. As of yesterday, John Franklin has a clear pass to the presidential election in November, and I’d bet my pension on him winning. However, everybody knows that his father is the real brains behind the whole campaign. The man is the true personification of the American dream – an immigrant who became a self-made billionaire and built one of the biggest corporations in the country. And now his son is about to become president of the United States. So, Lieutenant, if you know what’s good for your career, I suggest you stay away from him.”

McDonnell sat back in his chair and waved his right arm in the air, pointing it towards the door, making it abundantly clear to Hembury the conversation had come to an end.

* * *

“Gentlemen, I apologise for the short notice in calling this meeting. There’s only one topic on the agenda.”