Sorry for the delay, here's the next part. Please note that this chapter contains subject matter that some people may find upsetting, I have been careful to allude to the incident without describing it graphically but it is essential to power the story forward.
May I also ask my loyal readers and reviewers to take the time to read the work of my good friend CSIMiamilove as she has just started posting on this site, I'm sure you will agree that she is a bright new talent and a welcome addition to our little band of merry CSI Miami writers. Thanks!
Present day. Miami:
"What happened to make him change his mind?" Calleigh asked with trepidation, she knew he must have hated what he had already done. What could be that much worse that it would convince him to risk everything to ensure the Malucci brothers were put behind bars?
For the first time since she'd spoken to him Agent Collins seemed unsure as to how to answer her question. "Perhaps its better if you don't know the finer details, suffice to say it was the final straw for your colleague."
"What happened?" she pressed, "I need to know."
Flashback. New York 1995:
John Kelly sighed deeply as he pulled a shirt from his wardrobe and put it on; his presence had been requested at the opening night of the new Malucci establishment. For all intents and purposes the nightclub was to be a legitimate business venture for the brothers although he knew otherwise; it was just a convenient way to launder their dirty money. Benny had told him to dress smartly and arrive promptly at 9pm and that the evening would be worth his while. He knew what Benny meant by that, prostitutes and easy lays. The thought of any kind of physical union with one of those desperate young girls made his stomach turn; no matter how lonely he was he refused to take advantage of a woman.
Putting on his leather jacket he left his apartment and made his way to his car, he had told Collins of the opening night of the Leather and Lace nightclub and knew FBI agents would be in the area keeping watch. He hoped that they would stay well out of sight tonight; he'd worked hard to build a level of trust with the brothers and was finally beginning to see how the organisation was run. Collins had been pressuring him to wear a wire but he'd been reluctant so far, witnessing the bloody end to Luca Del Marco's life had shown that the Malucci's did not take kindly to betrayal. He'd hoped that the information he'd been passing to the FBI would be enough to nail the brothers but still Collins pushed him for more, he knew in himself when the time would be right to put everything on the line and get the evidence needed to put the mobsters behind bars for good.
The drive to the seedy nightclub was a relatively short one, he pulled up at the back of the building and made his way through the throng of patrons already dancing and drinking the night away. He winced at the volume of the monotonous music being blared through the speakers, he could barely hear himself think let alone hear what anyone else was saying. Making his way to the office he was grateful when he reached the corridor and could shut out the noise from the main hall. He closed the door and breathed in relief as the pounding beat of the music was reduced to a dull thump. He knocked and waited for the brothers to usher him in.
"Kelly, are you enjoying your evening?" Frankie asked as he took a long drag from his cigar.
"No, I can't stand it," he wanted to say but smiled instead, "Sure, looks like you've done a great job with the place. The queues outside are already halfway down the block."
"That's what we want to see, fill the club with kids and drugs."
The brothers began to laugh at Frankie's comment and soon the other men in the room joined in, he forced himself to smile as much as he could.
They had spent the next hour or so discussing plans for the upcoming week, the regular shakedowns of local business owners, when new drug shipments were coming in and even plans for a second nightclub were discussed. Through the entire time he kept a mental note of times, places and the people involved, thanking God for his good memory. "Maybe this would be a hell of a lot easier if I was wearing a wire," he thought to himself as watched the brothers talk excitedly about the prospect of new business.
The conversations died down when there was a knock at the door, at Benny's nod he got up to open it and found a scantily dressed young woman on the other side standing next to one of the group's goons. "Ah, the entertainment has arrived," Frankie said as he rubbed his hands together with glee, "Bring her in, Nicky."
John took a good look at the girl, she looked no older than twenty-one and had clearly had far too much to drink. Her provocative attire signalled that she had come to the club looking for one thing but the way her escort was holding her tightly by the arm made him feel deeply uncomfortable, he wasn't sure but he thought the girl might be having second thoughts about being invited backstage and into a room full of leering men.
"Kelly, why don't you go and get yourself a drink." Benny suggested as he pointed to the door, he was reluctant to leave, fearing for the girl's safety. "I'm not asking, Kelly." The menacing tone in the mobster's voice made the other men in the room grow quiet.
He nodded his head and left the room praying that the young girl could look after herself. He sat at the bar and ordered a scotch, as he was nursing it a beautiful brunette sidled up to him and leant seductively over the bar as she ordered a drink. She gave him a wolfish smile and moved closer to him, he kept his eyes on his scotch and tried to make it clear he wasn't interested. She moved closer still until her breasts were almost touching him, "Hey, honey. You look awfully lonely up here on your own, wanna come and dance with me?" She fluttered her eyelashes at him.
He ran a hand over his mouth, "Sorry, not in the mood tonight. Maybe some other time?"
She looked shell-shocked that he'd turned her down and more than a little insulted, "Your loss, prick." She huffed and made her way back to the dance floor as he downed the remainder of his scotch and ordered another to celebrate his lucky escape. Time seemed to pass quickly and before he knew it was almost midnight, he'd been careful not to drink too much, he knew he needed to keep his wits about him on a night like tonight.
He made his way back to the office and knocked on the door, upon entering the room he saw one of his fellow lieutenant's pulling up his pants and tucking his shirt back in. His eyes dropped to the snivelling young woman lying on the floor in the middle of the room, desperately trying to pull her skirt back down. He seethed with anger as the realisation of what had happened sunk in, he forced himself to keep a lid on his temper and remain neutral. Benny turned to look at him, "How's it going out there, any trouble?"
He kept his eyes on the woman on the floor, "No, it's fine. No problems so far." He did his best to keep his voice level.
"Good, do me a favour and take the trash out, will you?" the mobster pointed to the floor.
He nodded his head and helped the girl up, "Come on, let's go," he told her ask he took her by the arm and pulled her from the room. She looked up at him and flinched as he made contact with her.
Once they were out of the room he closed the door behind him and took a good look at her, he could see the cuts and bruises on her face and chest were evidence that she had tried to fight back and that whatever had happened to her she had not been a willing participant in. She shrugged his hand off of her arm and stumbled as she tried to walk away from him, he checked to see if anyone was watching them before he caught her as she fell; she looked up at him with panicked eyes. "Please," she begged, "Don't hurt me; I'll do whatever you want." She closed her eyes and waited for him to force himself on her.
It took a few moments for her words to register, "I'm not going to hurt you, I promise. Let me take you somewhere safe."
"No, you're just like the others."
"I promise you I'm not." He rubbed his thumb up and down her arm trying to comfort her, "Let me take you to a hospital, you need to get checked out."
She shook her head, "No, if they find out they'll kill me."
"At least let me drive you home," she looked uncertain, "Please?" Finally she nodded and allowed him to help her to his car.
"Where do you live?" he asked as he started the car and pulled away from the curb.
"Queens," she answered shakily.
He gave her a small smile, "Me too. How old are you?"
"Twenty-two. I came out with my friends tonight, I got chatting to what I thought was a nice guy. He said he could take me backstage to meet the owners and maybe get me a job as one of their dancers."
"Did they force themselves on you?" He didn't want to ask but he knew he had to.
"I…..I…thought I was going back there to dance, to show them what I could do." She sniffed as tears welled in her eyes.
"It's ok," he tried to reassure her. "You've got to report it; no one deserves to be the victim of a sexual assault."
"Look at me," she replied grabbing hold of her skimpy top, "The cops will think I asked for it."
He turned to look at her, "Nobody ever asks to be raped," he said firmly. "Let me take you to the hospital, please."
Tears welled in her eyes as her bottom lip quivered, "I won't be safe if I go, they'll start asking questions and get the police involved."
"Please, you need to report it. When you get to the hospital ask to speak to Andy Sipowicz at the 15th precinct, he'll be able to help you."
She looked at him uncertainly, "How do I know I can trust him, what if he's just like the others at the club?"
"He's not, he's a good man. You can trust him."
"You know him?"
"I did," he replied succinctly.
Her eyes narrowed, "Are you a cop?"
He sighed sadly, "Not anymore."
After driving another few blocks he pulled up the car outside a hospital and stopped the engine, the young woman looked at him uncertainly again. "Maybe this isn't such a good idea, what if they come after me?"
"Let me worry about that. You have to report it; you can't let them get away with it."
"But they're bad people, they'll find out where I live," she replied as she tried to talk her way out of it.
"I'll deal with them. Please, go." He inclined his head towards the Emergency Room.
She gave him a long look, "I don't know much about you, and hell I don't even know your name." She looked to the hospital and then back to him, "I know you're a good man though, thank you." He gave her a small smile as she exited the car and made her way to the hospital entrance. Only when she had entered the building did he allow his anger to come to the surface, one way or another he would make the Malucci's pay for what they had done to her.