So who posted bail then?
Miami. Present day:
"Let me guess, the Malucci's paid it?"
"No, it was that simpering woman he'd been seeing. Luckily she was quiet well off."
"But what happened? Was he really kicked off the force, how the hell would he be able to run the crime lab here if he had?"
"I might have withheld certain parts of the plan; it wouldn't have done your friend any favours if he really knew what was going on."
She reached out and grabbed him by the arm, squeezing as hard as she could. "You're telling me that you let him think you'd sandbagged him, that he'd lost his job?"
He winced at the strength of her grip, "He needed to maintain his authenticity. Of course, he had to persuade the Malucci's that he was still a worthy asset to them."
Flashback. New York 1994:
He sat in the passenger seat of Robin's car as she drove him back to his apartment; she had barely said anything to him apart from asking him if he was ok. He nodded his head in reply but couldn't bear to make eye contact with her. He led her up to his apartment and sat down on the couch as he pulled the tie from around his neck, he fiddled with it in his hands as she spoke to him.
"What the hell is going on, John?"
He still couldn't look at her, "I'm sorry." He said quietly.
"You're sorry?" she asked incredulously as her voice rose, "Tell me what they're saying isn't true."
He knew he couldn't but he couldn't keep on lying to her either, maybe it was safer for everyone if he made them believe he was dirty. "I'm sorry, Robin. I never meant for you to find out."
"Why?" she asked as she sat down heavily, still in shock. "Did you need the money? I could have helped you with that."
He shook his head, how was he going to make her understand? "It doesn't matter why I did it. I got caught, end of story." He held his head in his hands.
"This isn't you, John. You wouldn't do something like this, I know you."
Still she kept pressing him, wanting answers that he couldn't give her. The stress and the pressure of his situation was starting to become too much. "Then maybe you don't know me as well as you think you do," he heard her gasp in shock at his angry tone. "You think you're the only one, that you're something special to me? You were just an easy lay." As he spoke he hoped that one day Robin would understand that his own words had caused him more pain than she could ever know.
"You're right," she said as she made her way to the door. "More fool me for falling in love with an asshole like you. I hope they throw away the key."
He winced as she slammed the door shut behind her, how could his world have fallen apart so quickly and so completely? He had been left with nothing but his own misery and loathing.
The phone rang several times but he decided to ignore it, he knew it would be Collins on the phone wanting to gloat over his actions. If he hadn't been so shell-shocked he would have been furious at the FBI agent, he had destroyed his life in an instant. He would have torn the other man limb from limb before castigating himself for ever believing what he'd told him. He heard movement on the landing outside his apartment and crept quietly to the door, he felt for his service weapon until he realised he no longer had it. Keeping flat against the wall he watched as the silhouette of a pair of shoes stood on the other side of the door for a few moments before something was shoved under it. He waited until the footsteps became quieter before picking the envelope up.
He didn't need to read it; he knew who it would be from. He opened it anyway, "We need to talk, Brooklyn Bridge 9pm. Tonight." He ripped the paper into pieces with shaky hands before letting the paper fall to the floor, he knew the brothers would want answers, what use was he to them now he was longer a cop?
The phone rang again; he picked it up knowing he would be on the other end. "You really should answer your phone, Mr Kelly," the snide voice of Agent Collins came down the line; he didn't miss the fact that he no longer called him detective.
"What do you want? You've already ruined my life, what happened to immunity?"
"That turn of events was unfortunate. I do hold some sway with your Internal Affairs Bureau; it would be in your best interest to keep on with your assignment."
"No," he said vehemently. "No way, I've lost my job and everything I care about. You can shove your assignment up your ass."
"And how are you planning to keep your loved ones safe then? By all accounts they hate you right now; it would be such a terrible shame if the Malucci's were to get to them. How would you defend them? You haven't even got a gun anymore."
"How do I know you'll keep your word? You hardly did a great job protecting me."
"They're safe, are they not?" the agent sneered down the phone. "No harm has come to them yet because my men are keeping watch over them. If you pull out now they'll be left to their own devices, defenceless."
The meaning of Collins' words sank in, he realised that he would have no choice but to carry on, it was the only way he knew he could keep them safe. He sighed defeated, "I've been summoned to a meeting with the brothers, 9pm tonight."
"No doubt they'll have heard of your fall from grace. If I were you I'd do a good job of convincing them you still have some worth to them."
He spent the drive over to the bridge deciding how he would explain himself to the Malucci's. He pulled up and got out of the car reluctantly, eyeing the water he knew he would either talk his way out of this one or end up floating in the river by the end of the night. He had only walked a couple of steps before two heavies grabbed him by either arm and marched him forward. He walked with his head down and stumbled a couple of times before his assailants pushed him roughly forward. He looked up and into the eyes of Frankie Malucci.
"You've been a busy boy this week, haven't you?" the mobster asked as he stepped closer towards him. "What happened to our coke?"
"I got caught in possession of it, it's been seized by the NYPD." He answered as he tried to keep the fear out of his voice.
"I see, that leaves us with a bit of a conundrum. What do we do with you now?" Frankie placed a hand on his chin as if deep in thought, "You've been kicked out the force, what use are you to us now?"
He swallowed deeply but said nothing as he heard the heavies coming closer to him; they grabbed him by the arms as Frankie punched him square in the stomach. "I want the truth, pig. What did you tell them?"
He sagged and gasped for breath, "I didn't tell them anything, I swear."
Frankie grabbed him by the hair and pulled his head up so that they were eye to eye, then punched him in the face twice. "Why should we believe you, how about we go and pay a visit to that lovely girlfriend of yours?"
He spat the blood from his mouth on to the ground; he knew he had to think quickly if he was going to get out of this alive. "I know who gave the cops the information on your buildings." He stopped talking as Frankie pulled a knife and brought it to his throat; he gulped as he tried to keep calm.
"Keep talking." He felt a trickle of blood run down his neck as Frankie pushed the knife harder against his throat.
"I heard one of my colleagues talking about a CI they had, I followed him to a meet they'd arranged. It was Luca Del Marco." It was all a pack of lies but it was the best he could come up with at the moment.
"Really." Frankie replied warily.
"Yes, he's been grassing on you for weeks. I swear." He felt the pressure of the knife against him lessen a little.
"That as may be, it still leaves the question of what we're going to do with you. You're not a cop anymore; you're no use to us now."
He felt the knife bite into his skin again. "I can though, who better to have than a guy who knows how the cops work? I can help you." He couldn't believe he'd been reduced to this, begging for his life. "Please, just give me a chance to prove it to you." He closed his eyes and waited for Frankie to end his life, "Just make it quick," he begged silently.
The final blow never came; he slowly opened his eyes as he felt the knife move away from his neck. "Maybe you're right; we've invested heavily in you. Let's see if you're still worth it." Frankie folded the knife away and put it back in his jacket before nodding at the goons behind him to release him. The mobster stood in front of him and smoothed the redhead's clothes out before giving him a couple of less-than-gentle pats on the face. "Track down Del Marco and bring him to us, I want to hear what he has to say."
He nodded as he backed away and made his way towards his car, Benny called out to him, "You have two days, pig, if you don't produce the goods we'll be coming after you next."