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—Disobedience, disturbance of order and resistance. Normal registration.
In the identification room, Agent Ramos prepared the fingerprint reader.
Let’s see who it is.
Sergio took one of the wives, but kept his hand clenched on Don Manuel's arm.
Ramos placed his fingers on the scanner.
Thumb.
Index.
Medium.
Cancel.
Pinky.
The screen processed.
A loud beep filled the room.
Then a red warning appeared.
“Confirmed coincidence: Manuel Rivas. Director General of the National Research Agency. Alpha priority. Immediately notify the Federal Prosecutor’s Office.”
Sergio leaned towards the screen.
His face lost all color.
“Inspector... that says...
Richard moved like lightning.
He pushed Sergio to the side and closed the laptop at once.
The sound rumbled in the room.
Failure of the system.
Ramos was frozen.
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“But inspector, federal protocol demands...
Ricardo fulminated him with his gaze.
“I said it’s a failure. Manual processing. Now.
Sergio swallowed saliva.
“Yes, sir.
But he didn't smile anymore.
Martha, from the door, had not seen all the words.
But he saw Ricardo's panic.
He saw how he closed the laptop.
He saw how Sergio went white.
And he knew that was not a normal mistake.
Ramos hesitated three seconds.
Three seconds I would remember for years.
He then opened the laptop and deleted the local alert.
What neither understood was that the alert had already been sent.
The federal server saved it the moment it appeared.
Each click was recorded.
Every attempt to erase.
Every second.
Deleting a screen does not erase the truth.
Just add another crime.
They took Don Manuel to a gray cell.
They took away his belongings.
Sergio kept his mobile in his pocket instead of registering it properly.
Another mistake.
Another test.
The cell door closed.
Don Manuel sat on the metal bench, closed his eyes and began counting.
Not out of fear.
By precision.
Outside, Marta pulled out her phone and wrote notes.
I didn't know exactly what I had seen.
But I knew that one day I would have to tell.
And that day was coming faster than anyone imagined.
Javier Robles entered the police station fifteen minutes after the arrest.
He was still carrying the burning body camera.
He saw Sergio next to the coffee machine, trying to act like he just did a good job.
