Title: To Do His Part (4/6)
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 4
Fin and Sandoval sat in their borrowed Hummer outside the designated drop site. They'd gotten there early. Fin had wanted to make sure that their backup team was in place, but nowhere in sight. He'd also wanted to do sound checks on their equipment. He and Mike had already done a short walkthrough of the warehouse to be certain that their mics would transmit from inside the building. Several yards away in an unmarked van, Capt. Pezzelli and the surveillance team would be monitoring the entire transaction, and hopefully getting Angelino on tape while he hung himself. If they could connect him to the drugs, then they could connect him to the murders associated with the drugs. With that, Fin thought they should have enough to get Angelino to rollover on Cruz and Rodriguez.
Joining Fin and Sandoval this time were two other detectives from Narcotics, Miller and Williams. Both were hulking figures who had aided Fin in several operations in the past, and who would be acting as Ice's men, purportedly here to help them with the pickup and to make sure they didn't get jacked for their money.
Sandoval looked over at his partner. Fin didn't look the least bit nervous. Sure, once the ball got rolling, Sandoval never had a problem putting on his game face. But until then, he still felt a knot in his stomach every time they handled one of these take downs. It kind of irked him that Fin never seemed to be too affected by it, though.
"Doesn't this ever get to you?" Mike adjusted the tie clip that held his transmitter. "Don't you ever get a little juiced before taking out one of these guys?"
Fin turned and looked at him briefly. "I'm juiced." His voice was flat and monotone. "I'm juiced to the top."
"Just don't get too excited, sergeant," Pezzelli answered from the van. "We want this done by the book. We don't want to give him any room to wriggle, you got it?"
"Yeah." Fin looked out the window at the sound of an approaching car. He turned to Sandoval.
"You up for this?"
"Si, jefe," Mike answered in Spanish, game face on. "Hagamos esto."
"Let's go."
Ice got out of the car, then waited for Gonzalez to fish a bag out of the trunk and come around to his side before stepping away from it. Together, they walked the few feet to where Angelino and Mack stood waiting. Mack held a briefcase in his hand. Miller and Williams also climbed out of their car, but stayed behind.
"I love winter in New York, don't you?" Angelino turned up the collar on his coat, then dug his hands into his pockets. Ice gave him a cold look.
"No. What I love is being in my jacuzzi talking on my cell phone. Now, that I love. This . . . " he looked up at the gray sky. ". . . this I don't love. The sooner we get this done, the sooner I can get back to L.A."
"Alright, then. If you'll just step inside, we'll get to business." Both pairs started for the warehouse. Angelino stopped and held up his hands when he noticed Miller and Williams following.
"Whoa! Whoa! What's this?" He nodded toward them. "Who are they?"
Ice looked over his shoulder. "Thing One and Thing Two. What's it to you?"
"They don't need to be a part of this."
"Like hell they don't. That's the way this was supposed to go down: my place,my people." He drew his head back and peered at Angelino.
"You tryin' toplay me?"
Before Ice reached the end of the question, Gonzalez had drawn his gun and had it pointed directly at Angelino's head. Mack, who'd been watching Gonzalez intensely since he'd gotten out of the car, drew his gun at the first sign of movement and had it, likewise, directed at Ice. Mendoza swore.
"I don't need this."
"Gentlemen," Angelino tried to diffuse the situation. He knew he needed Mendoza's business. He'd already lost more than half his usual customers.
"Let's just calm down." He turned to Ice. "All I'm sayin' is that with your two extra men, that kinda leaves me and my man outnumbered. You can understand my concern, can't you? That's all I'm saying."
Ice frowned. He gave a small nod to Gonzalez who lowered his arm and put his gun away. Reluctantly, Mack did the same. Ice spoke to Angelino.
"I'm beginning to lose patience with this whole thing. My men were part of the deal. If we're gonna do business, let's do it now so I can get the hell out of this coldass place. I ain't into all this New York gangster shit."
Tony scrutinized Ice then took another look at Miller and Williams. What choice did he really have?
"All right. Let's take this inside."
Tony and Mack entered the warehouse first, followed by Ice and Gonzalez. Miller and Williams lagged a few feet behind.
Back at the van, Pezzelli listened as the money and drugs changed hands. Waiting for Fin to give the code words to send in the rest of the team, he heard it in Fin's next sentence.
"This is all we need."
"It's a go!" Pezzelli barked into his radio. "All teams advance."
Pezzelli strained to hear as narcs and tactical teams swarmed the building. Tony swore loudly in surprise. Fin was then clearly heard identifying himself as police, and informing Angelino that he was under arrest. The announcement was followed by a gunshot.
"Tutuola! Sandoval! Report."
"The enforcer's down, sir." Sandoval's voice came through the radio. "Williams got him."
"Fine." Pezzelli was surprised he was still alive. "Let's wrap this up quickly and take it back to the station house. The DA's going to want to talk to Angelino as soon as possible before word gets out that we have him."
"Got it."
Pezzelli put down the radio. All things considered, this operation had gone pretty smoothly. They'd gotten the man they'd wanted, and it hadn't even cost them the enforcer. Tutuola had been right in suggesting they take out Angelino's runners before going after him. It had apparently weakened him to the point where he must have lost a lot of his people. They had expected him to have a lot more manpower here to back him up.
Pezzelli rubbed his eyes. He'd take the collar, though, any way he could get it. He started to climb out of the van when two shots rang out from inside the building. They were followed by several others.
"10-13! Officer down! Officer down!" Sandoval's panicked voice shouted over the radio. "My partner's been shot! Call for an ambulance!"
Pezzelli jumped from the van and ran toward the building.
"Hang in there, partner."
Sandoval had never actually had to fire his weapon in the line of duty before, let alone been responsible for taking someone's life. But faced with the prospect of his partner dying, he would gladly do it again and fire off another dozen rounds at Mack.
"Help's on the way."
"What the hell happened?" Pezzelli knelt down beside Mike and looked at Fin. He was covered in his own blood with two gaping holes in his chest.
"It was the enforcer. Mack. He went down and Williams took his piece. He must've had another one. No one noticed he'd regained consciousness." Sandoval was clearly shaken. He turned to Pezzelli, his eyes full of guilt.
"Mack was gunning for me. He was trying to take me out. Fin got between us. He just shoved me out of the way . . ." his voiced trailed off.
Pezzelli laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. He knew how upset Tutuola had been when he'd lost his last Narcotics partner. It was, after all, the reason why he'd left the department in the first place. He understood Fin wouldn't have let it happen again.
Stay with us, Tutuola. Their voices sounded very far away to him. Don't you bail.
Fin lay on his back and stared at the ceiling. If he concentrated hard enough, he could breathe without it hurting too much.
Where the hell is that ambulance?
It wouldn't be long now. Already the pain was beginning to fade, and he was feeling extremely light. Light enough to float.
Don't do it, man. Don't you do this to me.
He wondered how long it would take him to reach the ceiling.
What, partner? What is it?
As he began to ascend, a single thought caused Fin to force himself down again.
"Sam."