“We’ve already secured sealed indictments against Philip Lancaster and Daniel Roark. The moment your press conference ends, we move.”
“What exactly does that mean?” Thomas asked, pulling out his legal pad.
Agent Chen activated a wall screen showing a timeline.
“At approximately 11:00 a.m., you’ll begin your press conference. By 11:30, we expect you to have revealed the key evidence.”
“At that point, we’ll execute simultaneous search warrants at Elite Jets’ offices in New York, Miami, and Los Angeles.”
“Lancaster and Roark will be taken into custody,” Torres added. “Along with three senior regulators and their chief financial officer.”
“We’ve had surveillance teams in place since yesterday.”
Alicia studied the timeline.
“And the charges?”
Wilson listed them off.
“Conspiracy to commit bribery, wire fraud, corruption of federal officials, obstruction of justice, possible RICO violations if we can prove the broader pattern of discrimination you’ve uncovered.”
“The recordings are particularly damning,” Chen noted. “Their cavalier attitude about bribing regulators, the racist comments.”
“It paints a clear picture of systemic corruption.”
Thomas leaned forward.
“What about potential retaliation against Alicia’s company? They still have powerful friends.”
“We’ve frozen their personal accounts and major company assets,” Torres assured them. “They won’t be able to cause any more financial damage.”
“And we’ve flagged any attempts to transfer or hide funds.”
An assistant brought in coffee as they reviewed the detailed arrest plans. Alicia sipped the bitter liquid, watching the agents coordinate with field teams via secure phones.
The machinery of justice was finally moving.
“There is one concern,” Chen said after a pause. “We’ve detected unusual activity around some of Elite Jets’ encrypted servers.”
“They may be trying to destroy evidence.”
“Can you stop them?” Alicia asked.
“Our cyber team is monitoring. But this is another reason we need to move fast.”
“Once your press conference starts, we’ll have probable cause to seize their systems before they can delete anything else.”
Thomas made more notes.
“What about the regulatory investigation they initiated against Rhodes Aviation?”
“Already handled,” Wilson replied. “We’ve suspended the compromised regulators and frozen that investigation.”
“Your company’s assets should be released by end of day.”
Alicia felt some of the tension leave her shoulders. Her employees’ jobs were safe.
The threats to their livelihoods would end.
“We do need to discuss your personal security,” Chen continued. “Until the arrests are complete, we’d like to assign protective details to you and key members of your team.”
“Is that necessary?” Alicia asked, though she already knew the answer.