EPISODE 5: “The Ghost Job”
A Coolvalstories Action Thriller
4:45 PM – Detroit Police Headquarters
The skies were still crying.
Inside the station, three soaking-wet men sat cuffed in separate holding cells: Carlos, his lips bloodied and eyes distant; Trey, hunched over, silent and regretful; and Reggie, the supposed ringleader — cold, quiet, staring into the floor like it held the answers he never got.
Detective Morgan Chase walked past the cells toward the incident debrief room. His boots squeaked with every step. The entire city was talking, but something still didn’t sit right with him.
Too fast.
Too clean.
Too… early.
5:10 PM – Incident Room
An officer rushed in holding a printed news report and his tablet.
“Sir, you need to see this.”
Chase took it. His eyes narrowed.
“Dahlman Vault Van Robbed – $18 Million in Uncut Diamonds Missing”
Location: I-96, outbound.
Time of disappearance: Between 12:40PM and 2:10PM.
Recovery of vehicle: 4:22PM. Abandoned. Engine running. Empty. No fingerprints.
CCTV Footage: None. Jammed.
Witnesses: None.
“Jesus Christ,” Chase muttered. “That’s during the school siege.”
Another officer added, “We had every unit in the city occupied — cordoning off Lincoln Elementary, media, SWAT, hostage negotiations…”
The entire city had been distracted.
Exactly when the heist went down.
5:28 PM – Holding Room Interrogation
Chase stood in front of Reggie.
“Where were you supposed to meet your pickup after the bank?”
Reggie shrugged. “There was no pickup. We were improvising after the sirens hit so fast.”
“You’re telling me no one was waiting for you? No exit plan?”
Reggie sighed. “The plan was just… hit and vanish. The usual.”
Chase stared at him.
“You were never supposed to make it out, were you?”
Reggie didn’t reply. But the flicker in his eyes said enough.
6:01 PM – Squad Room
Every officer was glued to the board now. On one side: the Lincoln Elementary robbery. Reggie’s crew. The abandoned van. Confiscated weapons. Witness reports.
On the other side: a blank folder marked “Diamond Heist.”
No images. No suspects. No evidence.
It was like it never happened.
Officer Jenna scrolled through CCTV footage along the highway.
“All feeds were jammed during that window,” she said. “Signal disruption started right when the bank alarms triggered.”
Chase ran a hand over his face.
“It wasn’t sloppy. It was calculated.”
6:25 PM – Press Pressure
Outside the station, cameras rolled. Reporters bombarded the force with questions.
“What’s the motive behind holding a school hostage?”
“How did the police respond so quickly to the bank robbery?”
“Is it true a second heist happened simultaneously?”
Inside, Chase watched the live coverage with clenched fists.
He had three men in custody…
…but the real criminals had ghosted the city in broad daylight.
And no one saw them.
6:37 PM – In the Cell
Trey sat up as Chase approached.
“You ever hear of Dahlman Vault?” Chase asked him.
Trey blinked. “The diamond transport company?”
Chase raised an eyebrow. “Interesting. Didn’t think you’d know that.”
“I’m a hacker. Not an idiot.”
“Well,” Chase said, “someone used your chaos to clean them out. Your robbery gave them a two-hour window to disappear $18 million worth of diamonds.”
Trey stared at the wall.
“No way,” he muttered. “That wasn’t part of the deal.”
Chase leaned closer. “What deal?”
Trey realized his slip too late.
7:12 PM – The Bigger Picture
Chase stood alone in his office. The whiteboard in front of him was still frustratingly empty on the right side — the diamond heist side.
No suspects.
No DNA.
No car.
No camera footage.
No toolmarks.
No bodies.
A ghost job.
The only thing he had?
Three poor bastards who thought they were the main act…
…but were never more than bait.
And whoever pulled it off?
They were still out there.
Laughing.
TO BE CONTINUED…
