Chapter 48: Making Plans

Christina walked into the apartment to see Franco sitting on the couch in front of the tv. He had a beer in one hand and the remote in the other. He looked over at her as she walked over to the couch then turned back to the tv screen. He watched only for a moment longer before turning it off and setting the remote on the table.

"Should I even ask where you've been?" he asked staring at the black screen.

"I was at Ernesto's" she answered honestly. "He had some people over. Monte, Rosita….Alonzo, Manny, Jauquin". His head snapped over to look at her at the mention of Alonzo. She could see the rage in his eyes.

"Why in the hell was he there?" he asked angrily.

"This is over, Franco" she said with a shrug. "No one is following you anymore. Everyone knows what you did to Elena. They don't trust you". Franco listened quietly, fuming over what she was saying. "I talked to the squad today. We have a plan to end this in the next couple of days. I need you to get on board, Franco".

"And what? Your squad's gonna have my back?" he asked angrily.

"If you have mine, yes" she answered. "And if you cooperate" she added.

"By cooperate you mean give myself up…."

"Yourself, Schiller, Hawes, and everyone you've worked with since you've been undercover".

"You want me to snitch" he scoffed.

"I want you to do the right thing" she clarified. "I want you to be the cop that I remember when we first met".

"What if I can't?" he asked defeated.

"I think you can" she said confidently. "This is your only chance Franco. You work with us and you get a deal. You can still have a life once this is all over".

"Yeah after fifteen or twenty years in prison".

"It's better than the rest of your life". She was annoyed with how difficult he was being. They both knew this was his only chance to not only stay alive but not die in a prison cell. She didn't understand why he was fighting the inevitable.

"So what's the plan?"

"You agree to work under Alonzo and then help with the take down on Wednesday. Give your statement, agree to testify and the DA will give you a deal".

"Why Wednesday?" he asked confused.

"There's a new shipment coming in to the warehouse at three. We set up at two. SWAT and SVU will set up around noon and they'll be ready. We'll end this" she said giving him the details. She hoped that he would agree to do this; that he at least still cared about his life enough to make the right decision. "I can't pull this off without you Franco".

"Just….let me think about it" he said getting up from the couch. He grabbed his jacket and headed for the door. "I'm going for a walk". He grabbed his keys from the table and left the apartment. Christina got up from the couch and went into the bedroom. She took off her clothes and went into the bathroom to take a hot shower and relax. She let the water run over her from her head to her feet, taking deep breaths to calm herself and clear her mind. After twenty minutes, she turned off the water and got out. She toweled herself dry and went out into the bedroom to put on lotion and change into pajamas. She went out into the living room and waited on the couch for Franco to come back. There were no lights or tv on. The apartment was completely dark and she was starting to get sleepy. After half an hour of waiting, she got up and went to bed. Franco returned fifteen minutes later to tell her his decision but she was already asleep. He got changed out his clothes and joined her in bed.

The next day when Chris woke up, it was nearing twelve thirty in the afternoon. Franco was already gone from bed. She'd slept soundly the night before even though she was worried about what Franco would decide and how things would go with the meeting and the raid. She hadn't heard him come in last night or leave that morning. She laid there for a few minutes before getting up and going to brush her teeth and wash her face. By the time she was dressed, Franco was back again.

"Cream, lots of sugar" he said sliding a coffee across the table to her.

"Thanks" she said gratefully. She took the coffee and took a sip. "So….did you make a decision?" she asked nervously. He nodded.

"Yeah, I'll do it". He was obviously not enthusiastic about it but he was out of options. "I want a good deal, not some crap deal they give to these lowlifes they deal with all the time". Chris smiled and nodded. She was glad he was deciding to do the smart thing and just as glad that the smart thing was also the right thing. But what she hoped more than anything was that Franco was serious; that he wasn't just using this deal as a way to get information out of her and turn on her in the end. She hoped that his sense of self-preservation outweighed his desire to screw her over. They discussed all the details of the plan for the meeting later that day and the raid on Wednesday. Franco seemed to really be on board but in the end all of this rested on Chris trusting him to keep his word. After a couple hours of discussing the logistics, Chris put her shoes on, grabbed her jacket and keys and left the apartment. She took a detour to stop by a pay phone and call Amanda. She told them that Franco was on board and the raid was still happening as planned. She gave them the address to the warehouse and reminded them to get there a couple hours early to set up. She said if anything changed about the plan for the buy that she'd call them back otherwise she wouldn't risk another trip to the payphone. She talked to them for a few more minutes then she ended the call to go meet up with Alonzo.

About twenty minutes after she left, Franco got the call from Ernesto telling him to come to the club. Franco walked in the back door ten minutes before four o'clock. Christina, Ernesto, Monte, Rosita, and Marisol were already there waiting for him. Rosita and Marisol were sitting at the table counting money and Christina was in the corner talking to Ernesto and Monte. They were worried that she wouldn't really be on board with going against Franco. After all, she was his girl. She was assuring them that she was on their side. She'd do what she had to when the time came. She was with Alonzo all the way. They looked over at Franco when he came in and stood just inside the door.

"So…." he said with a bit of annoyance in his voice, "What's going on? What's wrong with the count?" he asked stepping further into the room. "Well…." he said when no one spoke up. The back door opened again and, as if on cue, Alonzo stepped inside. His crew poured in behind him, taking their places opposite Franco and his crew. It was almost as if they'd rehearsed where they would stand. They all went right to their places and stopped, making a wall behind Alonzo.

"Long time no speak, eh Franco" Alonzo said once everyone was inside and the door was shut.

"Alonzo, the hell are you doing here?" he asked, playing along.

"I'm here to take over your business" he said confidently. Franco scoffed.

"Es verdad?" (Is that right?)

"Si, es verdad" he said with a nod. "See, you've been a little….a lot" he corrected, " sloppy with running things. Not too many people like the way you move". Franco just stood there fuming. Chris couldn't tell if he was still just playing along or if he was actually pissed off. Maybe it was a little bit of both. "They'd rather have me in charge than you" he said pointing from himself to Franco. "So we gonna give the people what they want".

"What people would that be?" Franco asked crossing his arms over his chest.

"My people" Alonzo said gesturing behind him. "And yours" he added. Ernesto, Monte, Rosita and Marisol all went over and stood on Alonzo's side of the room. "Nobody's on your side, man". Franco turned around and looked at Christina. She was the only one still standing on his side of the room. She locked eyes with him for a moment then went over and stood next to Alonzo. He put his arm around her waist and pulled her close. "Nobody". Chris brought her arm up to rest on Alonzo's shoulder and leaned into him. "You only got two options, amigo. The first option is to fall in line. I got no problem with you working for me as long as you remember who's in charge".

"And what's the other option?" Alonzo looked to Ernesto who pulled a gun from his waistband. The message was clear. Join them or die.

"So what's it gonna be amigo?" Alonzo said cockily. He knew he had Franco backed into a corner. And Franco was always a smart guy so he knew what choice he would make.

"Alright" Franco conceded with a shrug.

"Alright what" Alonzo asked.

"Alright..….you're in charge" he said reluctantly.

"Bueno" Alonzo said pleased with his decision. "Dirty cop like you will come in handy". He looked at Ernesto and Monte, "Get this place ready to open". They nodded and motioned to Marisol and Rosita to come with them. They went out into the club and started to set up the tables and bar. Everyone else, including Christina, followed Alonzo out the back door leaving Franco standing there alone. He was furious that his plans were being screwed up; that his own crew had turned on him and Christina, instead of joining him, was trying to take both him and Alonzo down. He needed to figure out a way to save himself before the raid. He wasn't interested in going cutting a deal and going to prison. He had one more day to think of a way out. Ernesto, Monte, Marisol and Rosita came back into the back room and got out product to cut and bag for sale. Franco was still just standing in the middle of the room.

"Oy" Ernesto said getting his attention. "You gonna just stand there or you gonna help?" Franco held in a groan as he took a chair and sat down to help. The club opened and things were in full swing. They thought they'd cut enough product for sale but it was unusually busy for a Monday so they had to cut and package more. Word must've been out that Alonzo was in charge and people who stayed clear of Franco's business were now free to come to the club. Christina hadn't been back since the big meeting and he was starting to wonder where she was. He called her phone a few times but each time it went to voicemail. He was at the club until three in the morning before finally heading home. He walked into the apartment hoping to see Christina there but the place was empty. He could only imagine what she was getting herself into with Alonzo and his people. He decided to use the time he had alone to come up with a plan of his own for the raid.