Ric stormed out of the squad room and back to his office. He was angry, he
was frustrated and he was going to put Sonny Corinthos behind bars for what he
had done to his family if was the last thing Ric would ever do. He reached his
office and slammed the door. He chuckled to himself and wondered what his
colleague, Alexis would think about his behavior now, she'd probably send him to
see the shrink. It was back to square one with the case against Sonny. He was just hoping that
after 15 years, those who were interviewed back then would be willing to talk
with police now. He sat down behind his desk and reached for the file folder on
this case. As he did there was a knock at his door. "Yeah, come in!" he shouted from behind his desk. The door opened slowly and his
visitor peered inside. "I'm not going to get hit or anything if I come in, am I?" Steele joked. "Nah, not right away, Steele. Come on in." Ric chuckled as he invited the
Detective into his office. "Look, I'm sorry about the case falling through like it did. But all is not
lost, sir." Steele said as he stepped into Ric's office and closed the door. "Not all lost? As of right now, yeah it is." Ric said as he flipped open the
file folder. "Not quite yet. I still have a few aces up my sleeve. Would you like to hear the
hand I have yet to deal?" Steele replied and what he had to say certainly
interested Ric. "Sure, pull up a chair, Steele. Tell me about it." Ric replied as Steele
accepted Ric's offer and sat down. "I don't think we can get Mr. Corinthos on murder charges, but that may change
in time, but what I do have is evidence, hard evidence that can convict him on
numerous other charges. At least it would give us time to gather the evidence we
need for that murder charge." Steele said. "What other charges are we talking about, Steele?" "The kind that can put a man away for the next 20 to 25 years. The kind that
would consist of drug running from here to Florida and back again." What Steele had to say piqued Ric's interest. Whatever would tie up Sonny's
attorney for a while was good enough for him. It would buy them some time to
gather evidence for a murder conviction. "And how did you come about this evidence?" Ric asked as he leaned forward in
his chair. "Various sources, but mostly from digging in the right places and talking to the
right people." Steele replied, though vague with his answer. "I'm listening." Ric replied wanting to hear more. "Friends of mine in a different precinct have folders on Mr. Corinthos, dating
back 10 to 15 years, but just didn't have enough to charge him with anything in
particular. Witnesses paid off, disappeared or worse. Evidence collected
disappeared or not logged and fell through the cracks ... there was always
something that happened to force the release of Mr. Corinthos. But all of it put
together would bring some mighty hefty charges against him....perhaps Federal
charges as well." Steele explained. "I see. Am I too assume that these files are still in Florida and that by
tomorrow afternoon you could have these cases for me?" Ric asked hoping Steele
could get what he needed. "Yes, I guess you could assume that." Steele smirked. "Good .. get them for me ASAP. I want to see them right away. And while you're
at it, I want all the information you can get on this 15 year old murder case.
Everything, from transcripts from the court files to witness statements to the
evidence that was logged in. I want to know if Sonny Corinthos got a parking
ticket in Florida during the time he was there!" Ric ordered. "You got it. It might take a while for some of it but I can get it to you."
Steele replied knowing his mission was a large one but it could be done. "Good .. I expect full reports from you by tomorrow afternoon." "Don't worry, we'll get him, sir." Steele added before he left Ric's office. Ric felt a little better after his conversation with Detective Steele. One way
or another he was determined to file charges against Sonny Corinthos that would
stick. He could feel it inside him, it was going to happen very soon. After leaving Ric's office, Zander found himself sitting on the docks for a
while. He sat alone on the bench just looking out over the choppy waters. The
breeze had picked up and the water rippled in and out against the pier. He
decided he had stayed long enough in town, it was time to go back to the cabin
and be with his family. He reached in his jacket pocket and pulled out his cell
phone. "Marcus ... can you pick me up at Pier 33? No, everything's fine, I'd just like
to go back to the cabin now. Thanks." Zander flipped the phone closed and stuck
it back in his pocket. He sat on the bench till he saw the headlights of his
limo approaching. He got up and walked towards the car as Marcus got out and
went to open the back door for him. Marcus drove Zander back to the cabin where Emily was waiting for him. She
greeted him on the front porch as he walked up to her. "Hey, how did it go?" she asked as he pulled her into embrace. He sighed heavily. "Not well. I don't think they have much of a case against
Sonny. Not unless Ric can find some new evidence to present." He could see in her eyes that she was disappointed. "I'm sorry, Zander. I know
you were expecting some good news." she said somberly as they walked into the
cabin together. "Yeah I was and I know Ric was too." he replied as he sat down on the couch.
"All we can do now is wait to hear from Ric, which might take a while till he
has something concrete to take to court." he added. "Well, I know Ric, he's not going to stop till he gets a conviction. He's bound
and determined to get Sonny and he won't stop till he does." she said as she sat
down with him. They snuggled together on the couch for a while till they heard Devon from
upstairs. "I'll go ..." he said as he got up from his seat. Emily smiled and
watched as he went up the stairs. She knew Devon would be able to put a smile
back on Zander's face, he always did.
Steele nodded in acknowledgement of Ric's request and got up from his seat.
