Chapter 1

Commissioner's Office, Los Angeles Police Department Headquarters, Los Angeles, California, United States

Los Angeles was both a prison and a playground for the Commissioner of the City of Angels. While Charlie Sloane loved all the possibilities that the sprawling metropolis provided, his own greed made it a jail he couldn't escape. Forever he'd be confined to Los Angeles, where he lusted for the power and prestige that belonged to that great city. If he owned that metropolis, he'd own the world. But that started and ended with crime, and controlling it required a lifetime of service rewarded by unending treasures.

"Are you sure this will work?" Barry Fer asked, leaning over the large map of the City of Los Angeles, stretched across the Commissioner's oversized desk. The Chief of Police glanced up, his freckled face lined with tension. "There's a lot that can go wrong."

Charlie Sloane sighed, leaning back in his designer leather chair. It had been the first purchase he'd made with the taxpayers' dollars when put into his position as Commissioner recently. "Tell me, can you get the good cops out of the way?"

"Well, yeah, especially since I've just identified them using personality tests," Barry Fer bragged, pushing his red hair back and proudly checking himself out in the floor-to-ceiling mirror on the wall. He straightened his uniform, having admired it constantly since Charlie had promoted him to Chief of Police. "I've been able to dissect the moral integrity of each member on the police force with incredible detail using a complex assessment tool."

"So you'll get rid of the officers who display high levels of integrity," Charlie Sloane instructed, putting his alligator hide shoes on his desk. "Then the corrupt ones become our crew and the officers in the middle, well, you simply get out of the way. It's that easy."

Barry Fer frowned, looking back down at the map of Los Angeles. "I don't know. Even with security on our side, there are a lot of technical things to consider. This isn't a normal bank."

"No, which is why we are going after it," Charlie explained, admiring his own image in the mirror that Barry had been staring into—the two men seemingly fighting for real estate of the surface. The Commissioner's hair was light in comparison to the other man's orangey-red locks. His large nose and close-set eyes never got him much attention, but that was all changing since becoming Commissioner. "I've got to use my position to my advantage and quickly before we lose our lead or anyone grows suspicious. This job offers the biggest payout with the least amount of risks. And I'm in the perfect place to set it up for us and deflect any worries that we're behind it."

Barry grinned, showing a row of thin, long teeth. "I'm buying a private island in the Caribbean with my cut."

"I like the way you think," Charlie said proudly, glad that he'd chosen Barry Fer as his Chief of Police. "And you can spend as many days on vacation as you like, once you help me to secure the reins on this city."

"What are you going to do with the money?" Barry asked, fixing his tie for the third time in the mirror.

Charlie laughed. "Not put it in a bank, for starters."

Barry chuckled too, nodding. "Right. Everyone thinks they are impenetrable fortresses, and for most, they are. But not for those who own the city and the police. For us, it's a gold mine."

Charlie grinned, feeling that giddiness that hadn't left him since he took the position as Commissioner for Los Angeles recently. "Yes, this place will soon be my playground. And to answer your question, I'll buy a ridiculously large custom yacht for when I sail out to your island, but don't expect me there often. My real reward is making this city bend to my will. Soon it's going to be my kingdom and I'll rule it from all angles."

Barry snorted with giddy laughter, his face flushing as red as his hair. "Talk about a throne. Whoever owns Los Angeles pretty much runs this country."

The Commissioner stiffened, the dread that always followed the giddiness hitting him in the chest. Again, he both felt the thrill of owning this city and the constriction that he'd created with his lust for power. Los Angeles would be both the citadel where he ruled and the place that he'd never be able to escape. Forever and ever, he'd be bound by his own greed and imprisoned in the treasure chest he'd made for himself.

It all reminded Charlie of growing up on the lot of his father's car dealership. Ironically, then he'd been surrounded by luxurious vehicles, but with no means to get away. Constantly, back then and now, he wanted to revel in his fortune and also run from it.

Charlie Sloane had it all, but no one to share it with. That loneliness was why he didn't take the family business. Instead, Charlie had gone into law enforcement but not to protect, but rather because he reasoned that those meant to enforce the rules were in the best position to break them.

Barry glanced back at the map of Los Angeles that detailed the roads, underground, major buildings and more. "Yeah, I think maybe this plan can work. But one more question, boss."

Charlie simply looked at the Chief of Police in reply, his face saying, "What is it?"

"If someone gets suspicious that I'm behind this, what am I going to do?" Barry asked, worry suddenly replacing the excited expression.

"Don't agonize about that," Charlie answered. "On the night of the heist, you're going to have a sealed tight alibi and so will I. No one will suspect we were behind it, only that the incompetence of the old Commissioner of Los Angeles is still wreaking havoc on this city." He rubbed his hands together, the giddiness returning once more, taking over the dread. "And then more than ever, we'll look like the heroes the citizens of LA need to stay safe and protect them from harm."