Title: To Do His Part (3/6)
Author: Master F&M
Fandom: Law and Order: SVU
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Fin has left SVU and is back in Narcotics. Runs within the timeline of Infinity.
Disclaimer: Law and Order: SVU and all its characters belong to Dick Wolf. I just get to play with them
Author's Note: Sam is a character of my own creation. She does not exist on the show.
Feedback: Please give some. For entertainment purposes only.
CHAPTER 3
Fin looked across the table at Tony 'Two Tone' Angelino and Mack, his enforcer. The latter was a short, squat man who was, and hence his nickname, built like a Mack truck. He and Tony went back all the way to high school, where Tony had, during an unfortunate free-basing accident, partially burned the left side of his face. The incident had left him scarred, with his new skin growth never quite matching the same color as his old. Mack had taken it upon himself to defend his friend by beating the crap out of anyone who dared to make fun of the discoloration, and Tony had never forgotten his allegiance. Years later, when Tony had moved up from user, to small time dealer, to major player, he had tapped Mack to be his right hand man. No one questioned Angelino's loyalty to Mack, and woe be to anyone who tried to get past Mack to do Angelino any harm.
Sandoval took his standing position behind Fin. Dressed in a three-piece Versace and expensive jewelry, nothing about him resembled the strung out junkie he had played at being three days ago. Nevertheless, Mack kept a close eye on him. The word on the street, the very same word that Fin had had all his informants spread about the new players in town, was that this wiry little Puerto Rican was no one to mess with. Quick with a gun and a knife, rumor had it he could kill a man and disappear before the body even hit the floor. Under normal circumstances, Mack would have liked to have taken him on; for bragging rights if nothing else. But Tony was here today to discuss business, and Tony didn't like it when his business got interrupted.
Fin continued to stare at Angelino as Tony stared back. As was often the case with dealers doing business with someone new for the first time, each man wanted to assess the other before laying anything out on the table. It was also a rule of the game that the person who spoke first needed the other more than the other needed him.
Fin looked at his diamond-crusted Geneve watch, then settled his gaze back on Angelino. The silent gesture spoke volumes. Both men knew Fin had the upper hand; that time was on his side. While Fin's dealer persona, Ice Mendoza, reportedly had a very successful Los Angeles- based business and was looking to expand it here in New York, all the major players knew that Angelino was having trouble unloading his merchandise. Apparently, several of his runners, thanks mostly to sting operations headed by Fin and Sandoval, had been taken down. The lack of successful transportation of his goods had made other dealers wary of using him as their supplier, so that now Angelino was left holding a lot more product than he had buyers for. He needed to unload his stuff, and he needed to do it quickly if he wanted to hold on to his territory. He knew it, and he knew Mendoza knew it. Angelino blinked first.
"So I hear you're in the market for a shipment. That you need a big score."
Ice sneered at him. "I don't need anything. I'm just here to weigh my options." He leaned across the table and smiled genially.
"But I hear you're having a small problem dumping your goods." Ice let Angelino know exactly where he stood.
Tony sat back in his chair and shook his head a little. "Nothing serious. I expect the matter to be cleared up soon."
Sandoval made a mental note to check out the assertion. He wanted to put the question to their informants to see if Tony had acquired any new runners. More than likely he was just bluffing, but Sandoval wanted to be sure.
"Yeah? Maybe. But in the meantime," Ice wasn't buying it, "you have a lot of stuff you need to get rid of. So why don't we just cut the crap and get down to business? I have other people to see, and you're wasting my time."
Tony tried to not let his discomfort show. He needed this deal. And if Mendoza was as big a player as he'd heard he was, then he could make Tony a lot of money. He nodded his head at Ice, signaling that he understood Ice had the better position and that any transactions between them needed to reflect that.
"What are your terms?" Angelino conceded the standoff.
"Why don't you make me an offer I can't refuse?" Ice gave Tony a friendly smile. Behind him, Sandoval laughed at the joke. Mack glared at him, but said nothing.
"I see your man, Gonzalez, has a sense of humor."
"No reason why he shouldn't. We enjoy life. We like to have a good time." He shook a finger in Tony's direction.
"See, that's what's wrong with you New York types. You're so serious all the time." He looked back at Gonzalez for affirmation, who laughed again.
Tony looked from one to the other. "Alright. Then this should make you really happy: Take the best deal you get from any of the other suppliers - You're looking at Cruz and Rodriguez, right? - and I'll lower the price by ten percent."
Ice dropped his smile and squinted across the table. "Who I do business with is my business. And an offer like that only comes from somebody who's desperate. I don't do business with desperate men. They're too easy to flip."
Tony held up a hand to ward off the suspicion of being forced to work with the cops. "Hear me out. The offer is a one time deal only. Sort of a 'Welcome to the Neighborhood', if you will." This time it was Mack who gave a small laugh. Gonzalez flashed him a huge grin.
"After that," Tony continued, "if you like the product, and the deal goes smoothly, then we continue to do business at the regular going rate." He sat back, confident that Mendoza wouldn't find a better deal with any of his competitors.
"Everybody's happy."
Ice gave him the once over while he appeared to be thinking over the deal. "We use my people for the pickup. And it's my call- my place and my time."
Angelino peered at him, then nodded. "I got no beef with that." They sat in silence for a few minutes. Again, Tony was the first to speak.
"So, we got a deal?"
Ice gave him another friendly grin. "Yeah, we got a deal. I wasn't looking forward to doing business with Cruz or Rodriguez anyway. I hate Dominicans."
Tony nodded in understanding. He assumed that Mendoza, being from Los Angeles, must be part Mexican. It was a well known fact that Mexicans and Dominicans didn't get along.
"I'll be hearing from you then."
Angelino held out his hand. Ice reached across the table and shook it before yanking Tony's arm forward, pulling him across the table. Before Mack had a chance to react, Gonzalez had drawn a knife and was holding it against Tony's throat. Angelino looked into Mendoza's icy stare.
"You screw me over," he warned Tony, "and you won't live a day to tell about it. You got that?" Tony gave a small nod. Mendoza smiled at him again.
"Good." He released Tony's arm and Gonzalez withdrew the knife. Mendoza stood to go. "Nice doing business with you."
Gonzalez waited until Mendoza was halfway to the door before he started his own backward retreat toward it. Reaching the exit, he gave Mack a salute and a bow, never taking his eyes off him, before withdrawing completely.
Tony took in the look on Mack's face. He was livid.
"Forget it, Mack. That's just how those Los Angeles types are. Too much sun or something. This guy is gonna make us a ton of money, so we'll play nice for now, alright?"
Mack nodded.
Outside, Fin and Sandoval climbed into the Hummer they'd procured for the operation and drove off. Neither said anything until they'd driven a good mile away without incident. A few yards back, the other cars in their detail, assigned to them as backup, began to peel away and headed back to the station house. Sandoval turned to Fin.
"You sure it was a good idea to piss Mack off like that? You know how protective he is of Angelino."
"Yeah." Fin continued to watch his rearview mirror for any signs that they were being followed.
"We're gonna need to get past him to bring in Tony alive. When you're pissed off, you tend to let your emotions get the better of you. You're also more likely to make mistakes. That's what I'm counting on."
The DA's plan was to arrest Angelino, then use him to help bring down some of his competitors in exchange for a life sentence instead of the death penalty. No one held out any illusions that Mack could be taken while he was still breathing.
Sandoval nodded. "Okay. So when does this all go down?"
"We'll give it a few days, then I'll call and set it up." Sandoval nodded again. They drove the rest of the way in silence.