Chapter Six: Talking It Out
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Coming home to find a police car in his driveway would have been an alarming sight had Danny not known exactly why it was there. Pulling his yellow and black Camaro convertible alongside the parked vehicle, Danny could see Luis sitting on his front step, waiting for him even though it had to be about 3:30 in the morning.
"Hey Luis." Danny greeted, walking over. The tall, brown-haired man hoped that this meeting was brief as he was exhausted from work. To punish him for coming in late and the disappearing act, Ed had assigned Danny just about every tedious task that the security/surveillance team usually did, in addition to his usual routine. It would be awhile before McCoy would forget the sheer boredom he had suffered.
"Hey." Luis greeted back with a smile. "Heard that you had an important meeting yesterday." A cautious look appeared on Danny's face, and he ushered the brown-haired, Latino man quickly into the house. A chuckle escaped the detective. "Relax, Danny! I already checked for spies and bugs. The place is clean. OW!" Luis grabbed his shin as it collided with a table near Danny's front door.
"Sorry." Danny apologized, locking the door behind the two men. "Are you okay?"
"I'll survive." Luis replied, rubbing his shin as the two headed into Danny's living room nearby. McCoy sat down on a blue, overstuffed armchair while Luis made himself comfortable on the sofa. "So, how did it go?"
"Well, I got a stun-gun to the back, and basically kidnapped." a grinning Danny shrugged, "But, that was the worst of it."
"What about the Professor?" an interested Luis inquired.
"We both got what we expected." Danny replied. As a worried look appeared quickly on his face, the ex-Marine leaned forward. "I'm a bit worried though, man. He said that he did his research on me, and that means that he knows how to hurt me if the need arises."
"Don't worry about it." Luis assured, "My mole told me about that, and I've already taken the necessary steps to ensure that your father and Mary remain safe throughout this entire thing."
"Thanks, Luis." a grateful Danny smiled.
"So now, it's on to phase two." Luis announced, standing up. "You officially join the Professor's organization…" As his voice trailed off, Luis rubbed the back of his neck. "And Ed finds out that someone at the Montecito is planning to turn."
"What?" Danny exclaimed in surprise as he jumped to his feet.
"He's not going to find out that it's you yet." Luis assured, calming Danny down. "He'll just find out that someone at the Montecito is planning to join with the Professor. Even Ed Deline will need time to prepare for that, Danny."
"Yeah, you're right." Danny agreed with a nod. He found himself wondering again just what Ed would do to the traitor, especially when he found out that it was Danny. As the countless, gruesome possibilities entered his mind, Danny shuddered and quickly decided not to think about that anymore.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
"What?" the commanding voice of Ed Deline resounded so loudly that it reached from his office to the surveillance room below. A few workers looked up to see what had gotten their boss so riled up, but found that closed mini-blinds blocked their view. Behind the blinds, an angrier than usual looking Ed Deline sat at his desk, and a shocked Danny McCoy sat to the side of it. Both men had their eyes fixed at the remorseful Luis Perez in front of them. Ed swallowed his anger before speaking again. "Who?"
"My source didn't know." Luis replied, clasping his hands together behind him. "All they could tell me was that someone from the Montecito has been seen speaking with the Professor. They couldn't get a positive ID."
"But you and them are working on it, right?" a semi-defeated Danny asked, not taking his eyes off of his friend.
"24/7." Luis nodded as he glanced at his watch. "I've got to be getting back to headquarters, but I'll call and let you know if anything pops up, all right?"
"All right." Danny agreed, getting up from his seat. He walked his friend to the door of Ed's office. "Keep in touch, man."
"I will." Luis said, winking at Danny.
Sighing, Danny shut the door behind his friend and sprinted back up to Ed's office. The older man still sat behind his desk, rubbing his forehead slowly. A pained, yet thoughtful expression on his face. McCoy figured he should say something.
"You would tell me if this was just you playing everyone again, right?"
"Yeah." Ed nodded, dropping his hand to his desk. His blue eyes looked straight into Danny's. "You, uh, you know anything about this?"
"No." Danny replied quickly with no hint that he was lying in his voice…or at least, he hoped. He knew that Ed would pick up on the slightest trace that he was. A grin appeared on his face. "Don't you think that I know better than to unleash the wrath of Ed Deline?"
Saying nothing, Ed simply stared silently back at his young protégé with a weird look in his eyes. Danny could tell the memories of him sleeping with Delinda, and the events of the previous day were playing in the older man's head. The tall, brown-haired man put a hand nervously to the back of his neck.
"Okay then." he said, looking at the floor. "What's our next step?"
"Keep your eyes and ears open while I figure that out." Ed replied, drumming his fingers against his desk. He gestured with his free hand. "Unfortunately for us, we don't know just how high this Montecito mole is on the totem pole."
"For all we know, it could just be a busboy at Mystique." Danny nodded, looking up.
"I don't think the Professor would be aiming that low." Ed shook his head as he reached for something in his desk. "I'm going to phone our friends at the New Orleans Montecito. Have them run background checks on everybody here." He paused and looked at the curious Danny. "I'd have you do it, kid, but I'm going to be needing you for other things and other than you, I don't know who around here I can really trust."
"Sounds good." Danny said, standing up. "I'm going to go walk the floor while you're doing that."
"All right." Ed agreed as Danny walked out of the office. As the door slammed shut behind him, McCoy leaned against it and let out a huge sigh of relief. So far, everything was going as planned, but, being a Vegas native, Danny knew that luck always had a tendency to run out.
To be continued...
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Coming home to find a police car in his driveway would have been an alarming sight had Danny not known exactly why it was there. Pulling his yellow and black Camaro convertible alongside the parked vehicle, Danny could see Luis sitting on his front step, waiting for him even though it had to be about 3:30 in the morning.
"Hey Luis." Danny greeted, walking over. The tall, brown-haired man hoped that this meeting was brief as he was exhausted from work. To punish him for coming in late and the disappearing act, Ed had assigned Danny just about every tedious task that the security/surveillance team usually did, in addition to his usual routine. It would be awhile before McCoy would forget the sheer boredom he had suffered.
"Hey." Luis greeted back with a smile. "Heard that you had an important meeting yesterday." A cautious look appeared on Danny's face, and he ushered the brown-haired, Latino man quickly into the house. A chuckle escaped the detective. "Relax, Danny! I already checked for spies and bugs. The place is clean. OW!" Luis grabbed his shin as it collided with a table near Danny's front door.
"Sorry." Danny apologized, locking the door behind the two men. "Are you okay?"
"I'll survive." Luis replied, rubbing his shin as the two headed into Danny's living room nearby. McCoy sat down on a blue, overstuffed armchair while Luis made himself comfortable on the sofa. "So, how did it go?"
"Well, I got a stun-gun to the back, and basically kidnapped." a grinning Danny shrugged, "But, that was the worst of it."
"What about the Professor?" an interested Luis inquired.
"We both got what we expected." Danny replied. As a worried look appeared quickly on his face, the ex-Marine leaned forward. "I'm a bit worried though, man. He said that he did his research on me, and that means that he knows how to hurt me if the need arises."
"Don't worry about it." Luis assured, "My mole told me about that, and I've already taken the necessary steps to ensure that your father and Mary remain safe throughout this entire thing."
"Thanks, Luis." a grateful Danny smiled.
"So now, it's on to phase two." Luis announced, standing up. "You officially join the Professor's organization…" As his voice trailed off, Luis rubbed the back of his neck. "And Ed finds out that someone at the Montecito is planning to turn."
"What?" Danny exclaimed in surprise as he jumped to his feet.
"He's not going to find out that it's you yet." Luis assured, calming Danny down. "He'll just find out that someone at the Montecito is planning to join with the Professor. Even Ed Deline will need time to prepare for that, Danny."
"Yeah, you're right." Danny agreed with a nod. He found himself wondering again just what Ed would do to the traitor, especially when he found out that it was Danny. As the countless, gruesome possibilities entered his mind, Danny shuddered and quickly decided not to think about that anymore.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
"What?" the commanding voice of Ed Deline resounded so loudly that it reached from his office to the surveillance room below. A few workers looked up to see what had gotten their boss so riled up, but found that closed mini-blinds blocked their view. Behind the blinds, an angrier than usual looking Ed Deline sat at his desk, and a shocked Danny McCoy sat to the side of it. Both men had their eyes fixed at the remorseful Luis Perez in front of them. Ed swallowed his anger before speaking again. "Who?"
"My source didn't know." Luis replied, clasping his hands together behind him. "All they could tell me was that someone from the Montecito has been seen speaking with the Professor. They couldn't get a positive ID."
"But you and them are working on it, right?" a semi-defeated Danny asked, not taking his eyes off of his friend.
"24/7." Luis nodded as he glanced at his watch. "I've got to be getting back to headquarters, but I'll call and let you know if anything pops up, all right?"
"All right." Danny agreed, getting up from his seat. He walked his friend to the door of Ed's office. "Keep in touch, man."
"I will." Luis said, winking at Danny.
Sighing, Danny shut the door behind his friend and sprinted back up to Ed's office. The older man still sat behind his desk, rubbing his forehead slowly. A pained, yet thoughtful expression on his face. McCoy figured he should say something.
"You would tell me if this was just you playing everyone again, right?"
"Yeah." Ed nodded, dropping his hand to his desk. His blue eyes looked straight into Danny's. "You, uh, you know anything about this?"
"No." Danny replied quickly with no hint that he was lying in his voice…or at least, he hoped. He knew that Ed would pick up on the slightest trace that he was. A grin appeared on his face. "Don't you think that I know better than to unleash the wrath of Ed Deline?"
Saying nothing, Ed simply stared silently back at his young protégé with a weird look in his eyes. Danny could tell the memories of him sleeping with Delinda, and the events of the previous day were playing in the older man's head. The tall, brown-haired man put a hand nervously to the back of his neck.
"Okay then." he said, looking at the floor. "What's our next step?"
"Keep your eyes and ears open while I figure that out." Ed replied, drumming his fingers against his desk. He gestured with his free hand. "Unfortunately for us, we don't know just how high this Montecito mole is on the totem pole."
"For all we know, it could just be a busboy at Mystique." Danny nodded, looking up.
"I don't think the Professor would be aiming that low." Ed shook his head as he reached for something in his desk. "I'm going to phone our friends at the New Orleans Montecito. Have them run background checks on everybody here." He paused and looked at the curious Danny. "I'd have you do it, kid, but I'm going to be needing you for other things and other than you, I don't know who around here I can really trust."
"Sounds good." Danny said, standing up. "I'm going to go walk the floor while you're doing that."
"All right." Ed agreed as Danny walked out of the office. As the door slammed shut behind him, McCoy leaned against it and let out a huge sigh of relief. So far, everything was going as planned, but, being a Vegas native, Danny knew that luck always had a tendency to run out.
To be continued...