Here's the next part, I have changed the formatting of the dialogue to make it a little clearer and have tweaked some of the punctuation. I'm hoping to get another chapter up later on today.
Present day. New York:
Eric listened intently to him, shaking his head in disbelief. "Did you run DNA, facial analysis?"
The older man smirked in response, "Kid, it was 1996. We'd only just started using mobile phones back then. Forensics wasn't as advanced as it is now, besides we had other more important cases to work on."
He bristled at Andy's cavalier attitude and apparent disregard for his friend's life, "More important cases? This guy was your partner, what's more important than that?"
Hackles rising the burly man shot back, "He stopped being my partner the day he turned dirty!"
"What?! You can't be serious!"
He took a deep breath to calm himself; this poor kid obviously had no idea what John Kelly was capable of. "Believe me pal, I wish I wasn't. I really thought I knew the guy, turns out he was as bent as they come."
"No. I refuse to believe it," he shook his head before picking the photo back up and holding it out to the other man. "This guy, he would never do that. I've known him for ten years; he's as straight as they come."
Andy grabbed his packet of cigarettes from the table, pulled one out and lit it. He took a deep drag of the acrid smelling smoke before responding. "Like I keep telling you, kid, John Kelly is dead. Whoever your guy is, it isn't him."
"How are you so sure he was dirty?"
He took another deep drag before tapping the cigarette on the ash tray, "He'd been acting weird for weeks, coming in late and going home early. Some days he never came in at all, he became evasive every time I asked him what was going on. Guy looked like shit, circles under his eyes, he just looked ill. I put it down to personal issues at first; the guy had a lot on his plate at home. I never thought much of it until IAB came knocking one day."
Flashback. New York 1994:
John Kelly sat at his desk nervously tapping his pencil on the jotter on his desk, his eyes darting to the entrance to the squad room and then back to his hands. Andy looked up in annoyance, "Quit tapping, John. You're giving me a headache."
He turned to his partner in confusion, the words not really sinking in. "Sorry, what did you say?" He saw his partner's eyes narrow and kicked himself for being so obvious. He was doing a poor job hiding the strain he was under; the relentless pressure coming from multiple sources was grinding him down. He was living a double life and the strain was starting to show, he knew sooner or later something would have to give.
"Uh oh, here's comes trouble." Greg Medavoy stuttered from across the room as he saw the two IAB officers enter the squad room, he picked up a file and pretended to read it, praying that the rat squad hadn't come looking for him.
John's heart sank as he recognised the lead officer; he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He prayed they weren't here for him but logic told him that there could be no other reason for their unexplained visit. He held the pencil between both hands and gripped it tightly, he hadn't realised how tightly until the wood and lead gave way breaking the pencil in two.
Andy looked up from his paperwork, "Jeeze, what's gotten in to you? Afraid the rat squad have come for you?" he asked jokingly, raising and eyebrow.
He desperately tried to regain his composure, trying not to blow his cover. He placed the pieces of the pencil down and checked his watch, "Andy, I gotta duck out. Can you cover for me?" he asked as he quickly put his suit jacket on, his partner nodded amiably. He had nearly got to the stairs when Lieutenant Fancy's booming voice stopped him.
"Kelly, my office. Now." the voice commanded.
He turned slowly, trying to avoid the looks from his colleagues as he trundled in to his boss's office. "Something the matter, lieutenant?" he asked as nonchalantly as he could, praying he wouldn't be rumbled. He sat nervously in the chair by the desk.
"This is Detective Adams and Sargent Rodriguez from IAB; they've got some questions they want to ask you."
He squirmed uncomfortably in his chair as he loosened the tie around his neck, "What can I do for you gentlemen?" He didn't need to know their answer; he knew exactly why they were here. The time had come to pay the piper, he'd been dreading this day and now it had finally arrived.
Sargent Rodriguez was tall and muscular; his imposing frame would have made lesser men cower in fear. "Detective Kelly, we've had reports that you're involved in some 'extra-curricular' activities. Would you care to explain yourself?"
He glanced at Fancy before looking down at his feet; he knew he had to make this look good. He had to convince all of them, his life depended on it. "I've got no idea what you mean, Sargent. What's this all about?"
The hulking frame of the Spanish man stood in front of him, he reluctantly lifted his head up to look at him, praying that the man would understand his silent request. Rodriguez took a handful of photos from the file in his hand and spread them on the Lieutenant's desk, "We've had you followed, and one of our men took these. Could you please explain to me why you met with Frankie Malucci?"
"Oh shit, here it comes," he thought as he took a look at the pictures, they looked incriminating. "Just remember your story, whatever they ask you don't deviate from it."
"I want some answers, Detective Kelly."
"I got an anonymous tip off, a guy who said he wanted to talk about the Malucci family. He told me I had to come alone, when I got there it turns out it was the man himself."
"And what did the two of you talk about?" Rodriguez pressed as he stalked around the room.
"He told me he wasn't happy, told me I was digging too deep and that if I knew what was good for me I'd leave it alone."
"And did you? Leave it alone?"
"I told him what he wanted to hear, he and his goons were heavily armed. That was the first and last time I saw him, I swear." he held his hands up as if that would convince the IAB officers of his innocence.
"Nothing else you want to add, Detective Kelly?"
He had to hand it to him, this guy was good. He sure wasn't going to make this easy on him, "That's it, I swear."
Rodriguez stopped his pacing and stroked the hair on his chin thoughtfully before producing several more photos from the file. "You're lying, Kelly. This pictures show you meeting with known associates of the Malucci family at least half a dozen times. How do you explain this?"
His heart sank as he realised that he couldn't talk his way out of this one, he hung his head, not daring to look up at his Lieutenant. He didn't want to see the look of disappointment on the other man's face.
Detective Adams finally spoke up, walking over and dropping a folded piece of paper on John's lap. "This is a warrant to search your locker; you need to come with us please."
He looked at Fancy before wearily raising himself from the chair, the look on the other man's face pained him, he looked betrayed. He walked behind the IAB officers keeping his head down, not wanting to look at his colleagues. He knew the next time he would step into the squad room would be in handcuffs.
They stood by his locker, Rodriguez ordered him to unlock it. He did so silently, only glancing up when his partner walked into the changing rooms to see what was going on. He sighed deeply as he fiddled with the combination lock; he was pushed back by Adams as they began to throw his items carelessly on the floor.
He stood quietly; wishing Andy and Fancy weren't here to witness his fall from grace. He knew this day would come but he hadn't bargained on his colleagues becoming involved in the whole sordid affair. He watched the officers go about their search and felt strangely detached from the situation, as if he were watching himself from afar. Finally they came across the incriminating evidence he knew they would find.
"Care to explain this?"Rodriguez asked as he held the bag of white powder in his gloved hands.
He groaned deeply, they had found what they were looking for. He heard Andy talking to him, asking him questions and desperately trying to piece together what was going on. It all became background noise as he focused on the bag, before he knew what was happening Adams had forced him face-first into the nearest locker before pulling his hands behind his back and snapping the cuffs on. He heard Adams reading him his rights as he pulled him roughly away from the lockers towards the squad room but he was unable to make out many of the words. All he could hear was the blood rushing in his veins as he saw his fragile masquerade fall to pieces before his eyes. He knew it had to be this way, he just wished he hadn't looked back at Andy before he was escorted from the squad room. He would never forget the look on his friend's face for as long as he lived, he only prayed that Andy would one day understand why he had done it.