Chapter 11
Disclaimer : Frank and Joe are not my creation, simply borrowing them for the story!
Frank leaned back in the chair and huffed out a breath. Damn this case was making the both of them emotional and he had enough of it. The physical injuries were tough but it was nothing compared to the emotional component. He got up and paced, something that was usually Joe's way of working out stress but right now he needed the physicality. They had not taken this into account…the emotional angle to the whole case and he should have done it. He knew how emotional a person Joe was…how kind hearted and giving the guy was. They had not anticipated these scenarios and it was ripping his brother apart.
Joe was the one who would give the shirt off his back if someone needed it and Frank was sure that he would carry the guilt of his actions for a very long time. It could possibly be even forever if Iola was any indication and he made a vow to himself to keep an eye out for his brother on this one…also this one he amended silently. This case had turned out to be anything but straight forward and god knew where else it would go. He just prayed that at the end of it Joe would return to him whole and safe or otherwise he might just have his own guilt to deal with.
"How is Joe?" Paul's voice intruded on his thoughts as he walked in with a cup of coffee. "Coffee?" he offered as Frank reached for the cup with a "thanks". He took a sip of the hot liquid and felt the warmth reach inside of him "He is a bit shaken up but he will be okay" he answered the question.
"Good" Paul replied "so is he okay with stage two?". Frank nodded "yep, we will go ahead as planned. He said he will call it as he sees it. If he gets arrested he gets arrested. He doesn't want us to interfere and it makes sense. So that's that" Frank replied. Paul nodded slowly "okay let's get the ball rolling and Jack wanted to meet us by the way. So, when you are done with the coffee let's head up shall we?" he asked as Frank nodded his acknowledgement.
The meeting was swift and at the end of the day Frank retired not quite knowing how he felt about the whole scenario. He just prayed that Joe kept his head and luck would favor him in two days' time when everything would hit the fan.
Two days later
"Paul have you made the calls to the police?" Frank asked as Paul turned to him with a thumbs up. "Four locations…four calls from different people reporting suspicious activity near the colleges. The police are taking it seriously and our plan is on. The locations are going to be hit this evening" Paul confirmed.
Frank nodded not able to blot out the kernel of fear that had taken residence in his stomach. God this was tough, not knowing what would happen. The evening could go any number of ways and they were not really prepared for this. There was nothing they could prepare for and he hated it. He..He needed plans, he needed logic, and he needed possible outcomes…and definitely not this uncertainity. He didn't know what to do with impromptu scenarios, spur of the moment was a Joe thing and he reminded himself that was the reason his brother was out there all alone. The situation could not be more messed up. Joe was in the crosshairs of both the police and the mob and there was not one single thing Frank could do. Or maybe there was one single thing he could do.
"Ask Mike to be near Joe. I want him to be caught up in the chaos, possibly arrested along with the others. This will put him on the same block as the gang members and I hope he is smart enough to weasel his way in. It's taking too long to bring him in, avenues are not popping up. That leaves us no choice except to create our own avenue" Frank spoke aloud garnering the attention of his partner. The man pondered Frank's words "you have a point. The idea is worth exploring, I will talk to Mike right away and give him a heads up" he said making his way to his phone.
Frank on the other end took out his phone and typed in a single message "it's on. Be careful". But realistically he knew that there was nothing Joe could do to be careful. His bruises were better but not completely gone and the stitches were still on. He just hoped that whatever happened Joe would not be too hurt but he honestly didn't know how Joe could come out unscathed from this one. He had never thought that he would become so devout one day and it was all thanks to his brother.
When the time came Frank was a bundle of nerves and he hovered over the listening pod intently. Alex had sent Joe to the same area as before, the one that Rafe had operated and put another gang member to keep an eye on him. Mike was also in the area with a coke in his hand and walking on the same road. Joe was now talking to a couple of teenagers and working his magic to get them under his influence when it happened.
All Frank could hear was the sound of sirens, running feet and voices shouting "freeze". Then it was just Joe's heavy breathing and muffled grunts which left him praying hard.
"Hey, we are not selling cheap stuff here okay. This is the good stuff and good stuff comes at a price you know" Joe was needling his way into the boy's hesitation. "Come on, give it a try and I promise you will come searching for me for more" he wheedled some more trying to ignore his questioning conscience. He looked into the boy's face noting the indecision blooming on the face when the loud sound of sirens burst on the scene.
He cast a hasty look around and muttered "sorry kid, got to go" and he ran…or rather he tried to run. He did not get far. He had just started running with the other gang member on his heels when he stopped short. They were surrounded on all sides and there was nowhere to run. Joe had been too late, too slow. "Hands in the air…get down" the officer shouted and Joe had no choice but to comply. He slowly got to his knees vaguely aware of the other man doing the same but he couldn't be bothered with that now. All he felt at that moment was crippling fear.
He was going against everything that was his life…his dad was a crime fighter..hell he fought crime and now he was being hauled in for a criminal act. He did not even register the fact that his arms were now being twisted behind him as cold handcuffs snapped on. He felt numb like he was in a dream and he was only vaguely aware that he was now in the police car heading to a station. He was desperately trying to find the justification in all this and he idly wondered if the two agents would appreciate his efforts. They better do he thought using the thought to ground himself. He had to keep reminding himself that he was doing all this for a greater end. But somehow it always fell a bit short in his mind.
Within a few minutes he was hauled into the station and he saw other officers bringing in other members of the gang. "oof" his breath whooshed out of him as he was dragged roughly into the station. He felt the stitches pull with every tug and he fought to keep from shouting out from the pain. Within the next fifteen minutes however he had been finger printed and pushed into a cell with four other gang members. There had been no conversation, no time to think or talk.
"Let me go, why the hell have you brought me here? I was just walking on the road" he heard Mike's voice shouting from the outside of the cell. "Josh?" Joe called out from his cell and he heard Mike call back "Alan? What the hell is happening here? Tell them I have nothing to do with this…whatever this is".
Joe turned to the officer in front of his cell "Officer please he is just an innocent bystander" he pleaded. The officer looked at Joe appraisingly "and why should I take your word for it?" he asked with a sneer. "Because it is the truth" Joe's words rang with righteous indignity. The officer gave a malicious look in Joe's direction and simply walked away. Joe clenched his fist, he knew what was coming and this was definitely not the way he had planned things. However there was nothing he could do about that now he admitted as he watched the man talk to his superior.
But it was not just the officers noticing Joe's presence, he was also acutely aware of the looks he was garnering from his cell mates. He took a deep breath and turned to face them. One of them walked right up to Joe and pushed him against the cell bars. Joe could feel the bars digging into his spine but did not let the discomfort show. "Hey newbie..what are you playing at?" the man hissed pressing in closer. Joe reflexively moved back but there was nowhere to move. He was stuck between the men and the bars.
"I am not playing at anything. Now get back" he spoke quietly but firmly. When the man showed no inclination of moving Joe pushed him back firmly "back off" he warned. But now he felt the others moving in and the expression on their faces was not encouraging. God this was something he could do without. Some luck would be really useful right now he thought wryly.
He was hedged in and the outcome would be nothing good but fortuitously the officer came back. The man motioned for the others to stay back and called Joe and another man forward "you two come out" he ordered. Joe stood his ground "why? Why are you singling me out..I don't know anything man" he said more for the benefit of the gang than the officer.
"Oh, we will decide what you know and what you don't mister. Now start walking" the officer's voice became rough. Joe hesitated still not taking a step, he was Alan..he had to be Alan. "I am entitled to a lawyer and a phone call. I know my rights" he hedged but the officer simply moved forward. Hooking an arm around Joe's bicep he dragged Joe forward "you were caught at a drug peddling scene. You don't get any rights until we deem so. Now you can either make this easy on yourself or very hard" he warned.
Joe sighed and let himself be shoved forward knowing it would be his word against the police officers. The minute the sirens had sounded he had thrown away the drugs bag and wiped his hands clean. When the police actually caught him he did not have any drugs on him but the bag could carry his fingerprints which was a bit of a pickle. At the same time he knew that Frank would handle that bit assuming the bag was not already in police custody. But then there was no point in worrying about that now. If push came to shove the agency would take care of that he knew. Right now he had to concentrate on getting out of this as soon as possible.
He was pushed inside a room that he assumed was for interrogation. "Geez! This is so like a movie set..so clichéd" he commented idly earning a glare from the police officer. He was pushed into a chair and he was glad that the other gang member was also made to sit in the same room. At least this was a chance for him to grow closer in the network if he could show that he could keep his mouth shut. At the same time he wondered why the other guy was in the same room, this was entirely against police procedures and he had to wonder about the police officer himself.
The handcuffs were locked onto the table and the police officer seated himself in front of Joe. "Okay here's the deal kid" he started "we did a background check on you. We know that you are an orphan, on your own and most importantly do not have a record unlike any of your cell mates. Now they are beyond salvage…but you…you could come clean and stay clean. Here is an opportunity. Tell us what you know about the drug peddling and we wipe your record clean and you start over nice and easy. Win-win all the way around" he offered.
It was a good deal..really..Joe had to admit, very tempting possibly for Alan Cruise but not for Joe Hardy. He had a cover to maintain and so He shook his head in the negative. "What drug dealing?" he asked innocently "I was just talking to a couple of people on the street man". The police officer sighed "I was really hoping you would be a bright one you know, but the road you are taking son. Not worth it let me tell you. Now I am going to ask you one more time …what do you know about the drug dealing?"
Joe kept silent "I told you man, I don't know anything about any drugs okay" he persisted. A knock sounded on the door and the officer opened the door to let in his partner. The newcomer glanced at Joe "he tell you anything?" he asked grimly. "Nope" the man interrogating Joe replied "not a thing" he added. His partner smiled thinly "perhaps we should do this my way" he said and Joe felt the first stirring of unease in his gut. "Yeah maybe you should" the first officer agreed and stepped aside "maybe you can knock sense into him".
The second police officer stepped into Joe's vision "now son I don't have the patience of my partner here. He is the one who believes in giving chances, me on the other hand I believe in getting results. Now, my partner has asked you a question I expect you to answer it" he said coldly. Joe remained silent, it was all the more important that he keep quiet now. The gang member was here which was first of all suspicious and for all he knew the police officer might be Alex's man which meant that news would get back to the 'boss'. On the other hand if this was Alex's man why would he go on a hit in the first place? It didn't make sense and basically meant that either way he was screwed. If the officer was honest he would try to get the information out of Joe and if was Alex's man he would be watching to see if Joe would break. Great! As if life was not complicated enough but it made keeping silent a bit easier.
And so he just remained silent "I don't know what you want okay. I don't know anything about drugs" he maintained. He was beginning to sound like a broken record he knew but there was no help for it. The man leaned in closer and then Joe was bent over gasping for air as the officer's fist sunk into his stomach. "Now you were saying..." the man taunted as Joe kept his lips tightly sealed. "This is illegal" he protested and bit back a cry as the man backhanded him making his bruises throb anew. "You were saying" the man continued his taunting as Joe kept resolutely silent aware of the blood that stained his split lip.
"Fine" the man said and Joe became wary. What now? He thought as the man spoke "let's not talk about drugs. Let's talk about the rather colorful bruises that you have" he said moving into Joe's personal space. Joe flinched back and glared at the man "what about it?" he muttered leaning away from the man.
"Well, how did you get them?' the man asked with a sneer. Joe glared at the man "I got jumped in an alley" he said shortly. "Why?" the man asked and Joe glared at the man again "what do you mean why? People don't get jumped in an alley for a reason" he snapped. "Speaking from experience huh?" the man persisted and Joe looked down "Don't know what you mean" he replied.
"Okay, forget all this ...Alan is it? Where do you work "the man switched tracks. Joe looked away trying not to look too nervous.. I work at the garage" he answered and the man sighed. "I am losing my patience boy. When I asked about the work I meant all the work you do" he hissed and Joe caught the hint of danger in the tone. "That's all the work I do" he kept up and the man backhanded him again causing Joe to swear out loud. "I want the truth boy" the man hissed and Joe looked back unflinchingly. "This is the truth" he gritted out and the anger in his eyes was not totally faked. He was exhausted and wrung out not to mention hungry and cranky. A cranky Joe was a stubborn Joe and he decided that it was good in the current circumstances.
The man's eyes glinted and he cocked his fist back for another hit and Joe closed his eyes in preparation but the hit never came. He opened his eyes cautiously and saw the officer being restrained by his partner. "John..cool down. What you are doing is not exactly sanctioned and you don't want to land us both in trouble. This kid is not worth it" the man cautioned but stopped his advance. Joe heaved a sigh of relief, glad the man would stop now. But before he could say anything the officer stepped up to him and abruptly released his hands from the table.
"I will be watching you and we will be combing the area for evidence. The first bit of evidence against you and I will squish you like soft cheese. capiche?" the man spoke with venom in his words as he pulled Joe up roughly and hustled him out of the room while the other gang member was retained. The man's grip was brutal and Joe winced as he was dragged along forcefully before halting in front of the cell. The man removed the handcuffs and Joe silently massaged his sore wrists. They could at least have given him cuffs that fit. He stood up straight and looked the officer in the eye before he was shoved into the cell where three pair of eyes were trained on him.
Crap! He did not need more flak he thought as he massaged his throbbing forehead and moved to the cot to the side of the wall. He was tired, the painkillers he had taken had already worn off and he could feel every bruise and stitch. Crap..this truly sucked and he was so not in the mind to play twenty questions with these men.
"What are you looking at huh? Trust me I would look a lot better if I had actually squealed. So let's not play truth or dare cos I am going to hit the sack for a while. There's no telling when we will get out. Does anyone know when we will get something to eat by the way? I am starving" he proclaimed. There was silence for a beat and then one of the men chuckled "you are a real piece of work boy, I give you that".
Joe opened an eye "well tell that to the boss will ya...I need all the recommendation I can get" he quipped and closed his eyes. His body was begging for release but he was too wound up for any kind of true rest especially when three pairs of eyes were on him. But what he heard next definitely got his attention "aw don't get too comfortable Al boy, we will be outta here in an hour". "What? How?" the words slipped out on their own as Joe sat up straight.
"Oh, the boss has good contacts including some in this very station. So yeah we will be out soon" the man said and Joe was wondering if Frank had got this info. As the man said, an officer approached the cell in an hour and opened the door. "You are free to go" he said with a disgruntled look as Joe walked out with the others. They were however accosted by a very obvious lawyer and after a few exchanged words Joe understood that the lawyer had swung their release and that the police had no real evidence to hold them. At least not for anyone in their cell.
The police had however nabbed two others from a different zone in the act and those two were definitely being held at the precinct. Not to mention the other gang member who had been herded along with Joe to the interrogation room. That meant Alex was at least two men down and Mike was now being released from his cell and being herded towards them. Mike plastered on a bewildered expression as he joined their group and muttered "what the hell is going on Al?" under his breath. Joe just hushed him with an "I will explain later, sorry" and quickly followed the men and the lawyer out of the station as fast as he could.
There was a car waiting outside and the five of them were herded into it. In the next fifteen minutes they were at the pier where a livid Alex waited for them. "what the bloody hell happened? How could four of our drop zones hit at the same time? And who have you dragged here?" he growled looking at Mike.
"Hey, I don't understand anything of what's going on okay? Why am I here?" Mike asked sounding totally thrown. Joe applauded him mentally and answered "Sorry Josh you just were in the wrong spot at the wrong time". His answer resulted in an incensed look directed his way "and you…lot of things have seemed to go wrong ever since you came here. I am giving you one chance to convince me as to why I should not kill you" Alex threatened looking at Joe venomously.
The anger that swept through Joe was very real and he allowed it to consume him. He turned a fiery gaze on Alex "oh stop it!" he snapped. "I have had enough of your suspicion. If you think I fancied being roughed up by the police after yesterday you are very wrong. Now I will say this just once, I am not the one you should be looking at. Perhaps you should be looking at your own darling boys who are with you all the time. I don't even know there are other drop zones alright? So just lay off. Yes I need the money but that does not mean I will take all the crap you dish out. My body is crying out no thanks to you so I assume you won't mind if I call it a day. And if you still have doubts about me feel free to speak to me in my apartment. Yeah and to answer your question this here is my friend Josh who got dragged into this unholy mess and whom I will now be taking with me …just about now" he said and started walking away to prove his point.
"Alan I haven't given permission for you to leave" Alex's cold voice stopped him. He turned around eyes blazing and he walked straight up to Alex and looked him in the eye. "You see these new bruises? They are there because I was loyal to you. Now I know you have your sources and don't need me to do the verification so I suggest you talk to your pals and find out how loyal I am. Now I really have to go, excuse me" he said equally coldly and stepped away.
"What about your friend?" Alex's questioned glibly and Joe froze "what about my friend?". "He has seen me, has heard me and knows about us. You really expect me to leave him free?" Alex's voice was deceptively calm and Joe turned to face him again. "You don't have to free him, you can give him a job and from what I know you are two men down. So you are smart enough to know when you have an advantage, use it" he said curtly refusing to show fear. He sincerely hoped that he had not made things worse for Mike but then he was on a roll.
Alex turned an assessing eye on Mike "what were you doing with Alan?" he asked. Mike shrugged "that's the thing..I was not with Alan at all which is why I am rather bugged. I was actually supposed to join a couple of my friends who study at the college so that we could go for a movie" he lied fluently.
"Friends at the college?" Alex questioned with a raised eyebrow and Mike flushed delicately "customers more like if you must know alright? They are regulars at the diner" he explained. "And which movie were you going to go to?" Alex asked and Mike shrugged "who knows? Someone was offering to take me to a movie and come on who looks a gift horse in the mouth? I mean it's not like I have so much money that I can be choosy when actually I am mooching on someone else" he griped.
"Okay Joshua here is the deal… you know too much and I honestly can't have you on the streets as a free agent. It is too risky..for me. So either you join me or I would have to kill you" Alex said calmly and Mike turned a scared face to Joe. "what the hell man? Who the hell am I going to talk to? Definitely not the cops" he hedged but Alex had an implacable expression on his face and Mike convincingly faltered. "Okay I get it…I will join or whatever it is that I have to do. God this is so screwed" he capitulated in a defeated voice.
Well played mate Joe applauded in his mind as he watched Mike worm his way in and now he was truly tired. "Now that all is settled and we are all mates can we leave now?" he asked sarcasm dripping in his tone. Alex nodded "I will see you tomorrow. With your friend" he added for effect. Joe briefly considered asking some time off and then realized that that might be taking things too far. "Fine" he agreed and nodded to Mike who followed him as he took the familiar route to his apartment.
Author notes: Thank you for the nice words…much appreciated. I hope you like this one as well and do let me know how it appeals to you. Your reviews keep me going, so please read and review. In the meantime stay safe and happy. Ciao!
