Author's Note: I apologize for the long delay in getting this chapter finished. My daughter was in town over Christmas break and I spent every possible minute with her until she had to return to school. I am back now and will be posting more regularly again. Thanks for your patience. I hope you are still enjoying this story. Please be sure to review.
Jason walked into Kelly's and was glad to see that Sam was already there. Immediately after sitting down he pulled out the rap sheet Mac had given him on Martino Pilatti and handed it to Sam. She studied it for a moment and then nodded.
"Yeah," Sam said solemnly. "That is the other guy at Robin's house."
"He is a former Zacchara employee. Sonny fired him when we took over." Jason stated. "I need you to start digging into his background and finding out more about his contacts."
"No problem. Mind if I involve Spinelli?" Sam asked.
"I already have him doing a lot of research for me today." Jason said immediately. "He will be busy. You are on your own for the most part."
"Okay. I assume you want it ASAP?" Sam asked questioningly.
"Tonight will be fine. I need your help on teaching a drug dealer a lesson tonight. Meet me at Pier 25 at 8pm."
"Sounds like fun," Sam stated with a smile. "What are we going to do?"
"Blow up the ship and its cargo." Jason said quietly.
"Oh good!" Sam said happily. "I love to play with explosives."
Jason looked at her for a minute trying to decide if her smart mouth was acting up again or if she was serious. In the end, he decided it was the latter and she really did like to play with explosives. He just shook his head and studied the breakfast menu.
Just a minute later Mike walked up to the table with coffee for each of them. Mike was Sonny's biological father. Sonny had been raised by an abusive step-father after Mike had walked out on his family. There was still a lot of tension between the two but they were making progress toward a real relationship. Kelly's was actually owned by Luke Spencer and his sister Bobbie. Neither had time to work there themselves, so them employed Mike as their manager. The arrangement worked well for everyone.
"What can I get for you two today?" Mike asked as he sat down their coffees.
Jason and Sam each ordered the breakfast special. Sam was wondering if Jason was going to eat this time or get up and walk out like he did before. She had given up trying to predict what he was going to do next. He was a mystery most of the time but she didn't really mind. She liked working with Jason. He didn't care that she was a woman like so many others in this business did. He never treated her like she was somehow incompetent because she was a woman. He was willing to teach her and she was ready to learn. The arrangement worked well for both of them.
"I'd like to hold on to this." Jason told Mike as he held his menu. "I'm going to place a lunch order when we leave."
"No problem." Mike told him as he headed off to the kitchen to turn in their order.
The food was good and most people got their orders quickly which made this place a favorite for the dock workers and those on a break from the hospital. Whenever Jason or Sonny came in their orders were always pushed to the front of the line. So it was only a couple minutes later when Mike returned with their food.
Jason and Sam ate quickly. They each had a lot of work to do during the day. Not to mention that they were working that night as well. Jason placed a lunch order on his way out and said he would come by at noon to get it. Mike assured him that it would be hot and ready at noon. Jason just nodded. He had never doubted it, which was why he continued to come to Kelly's. Jason liked people he could count on. It was important in his line of work.
Jason and Sam left the diner together a few minutes later. As Jason walked to his bike he noticed John Zacchara leaning against Sam's car. He stood up when he noticed Jason.
"Everything you need for tonight." John told him as he handed him a gym bag.
Jason checked the bag and then handed it to Sam. While she was putting it in her car Jason started to warn her about how to store it safely but changed his mind. She obviously knew what she was doing so he kept his mouth shut. They all headed in different directions.
Jason was about half way toward the coffee shop when he realized John Zacchara was following him. It struck him as odd since John did not seem to be hiding the fact that he was following him. Jason pulled into an alley off 3rd street to see what he did. John pulled into the alley and parked his car right behind Jason's bike.
"You following me for a reason?" Jason demanded of him immediately.
"What do you know about Sam?" John asked as he looked up and down the alley making sure no one else was around.
"Not much," Jason replied with a sigh. He had work to do and was hoping there was a good reason John was keeping him from it right now. "She is tough, dependable, and knows what she is doing."
"Is she seeing anyone regularly?" John asked.
"If you want to go out with her, ask her." Jason replied curtly. "Leave me out of it."
"I'm not asking you to fix me up. I do just fine on my own thank you!" John stated hotly. He should have known Jason would be difficult.
Jason shrugged and turned to head toward his motorcycle. He had several things he wanted to get done before having lunch with Robin and needed to get going.
"She's spending a lot of time a cop." John stated suddenly.
Jason stopped in his tracks. He turned back toward John and raised his eyebrows. John certainly had his full attention now. His other duties would have to wait. Anyone in Sonny's organization who was talking to the police was a big concern.
"How do you know?" Jason asked him.
"I started getting suspicious about a month ago. She would be on the phone telling someone what time and what pier she was working that night. As soon as she would hear someone coming though she would suddenly change gears and pretend she was ordering lunch or something."
"Why didn't you say anything?" Jason asked pointedly.
"What would I tell you, that Sam was on the phone and didn't want people to hear what she was talking about? We are all like that. Like I said though she was giving someone specifics about what time she was doing stuff and where she was doing it at. It made me start paying more attention."
Jason just nodded so John continued.
"The other day when you were brought in for questioning I asked her if she had met Detective Spencer yet. She said that she had seen him around and of course heard about him but she hadn't met him yet. I knew that was a lie because I had seen her phone unattended and I checked the call list. Detective Spencer's cell phone showed up a lot."
"How do you know his cell phone number?" Jason asked immediately.
"I dated his sister you know." John said as he rolled his eyes. "When we were on our dates she would check the caller i.d. before answering. I have a knack for remembering phone numbers. I can recall them years later even if I'd only seen them once or twice."
"Okay, that certainly does sound suspicious. Anything else?"
"Last night I saw Lucky getting off the launch at the docks like he had just gotten back from visiting his brother or something. Anyway, I decided to see where he went next and so I followed him."
"Where did he go?" Jason asked.
"To her apartment," John answered simply.
"Shit." Jason replied. "She claims not to know him but she has been calling him and then he goes to her apartment. This is definitely not good."
"That's exactly what I was thinking," John said quietly.
Jason was silent, his mind racing. He was remembering all the illegal activities Sam had seen since coming to work for them. She had witnessed many activities that could put him in prison for a long time. This could be very bad for him and Sonny. At least she couldn't get them for murder since all discussions of a hit were only done between him and Sonny. No one else was ever allowed to be involved in the process. He was very glad for that right now.
Author's Note: Thanks for reading. Please be sure to review each chapter. Your reviews keep me motivated to write.