Ch. 44

"I'm always in the mood for a funny story, Valerie," Jordan told Val, going on to ask her subordinates standing around Val's desk, "Aren't you guys down for hearing a funny story?" Dante replied, "For my part, I know I'm DYING to hear one, especially if it explains the brown contacts and the suspicious behavior." Swallowing deeply, Val made this suggestion, "Why don't we take this to your office, Commish? Things might be easier to explain in there." She reached down and picked up her gym bag, causing Jordan to inquire, "What's that for?" "What's in here will help me explain the brown eyes and everything else." In puzzlement, Jordan, Dante, and Randy all started to walk down the hall to Jordan's office. Val stopped and addressed Nathan, who was sitting at his desk. "You might as well come, too, Nathan, since this kind of concerns you, as well." His curiosity was peaked, and he got up and followed along.

Valerie took in the faces staring back at her with varying degrees of inquisitiveness and her nervousness increased. There was no taking back what she had done, however, and she was determined to state her case and let the chips fall. "First caveat I have," she told them, "is that you don't jump all over me until I've finished telling you my tale—can we agree on that?" "All I can promise is that I'll try not to, but it really depends on what you have to say, Val," Jordan replied, further saying, "so why don't you stop hedging and tell us what's going on?" "Ok. Let me show you these, first of all." Val opened the bag and pulled out her hoodie, laying it on Jordan's desk. She paused for a moment before pulling back the material and exposing the two pistols. There was a beat of silence and then Dante said as he reached for one of the guns, "Nice. Scorpions, right? I've only ever seen a couple of them in real life." Val stopped him before he could touch it as she cautioned, "Don't touch it with your bare hands, Dante! Just hang on for a minute." He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a pair of nitrile gloves, which he put on as he held her gaze. Once he was gloved, he asked, "Is it ok now?" "You'll have to tell me," she responded, "because even though the guns are clean, the magazines aren't."

"They're loaded?" Jordan wanted to know. "They are, because I didn't want the fingerprints on them to get smudged or anything," Val answered. She could see the beginnings of a slowly fraying temper as Jordan softly said, "Ok, I'm gonna try real hard not to go off on you for carrying concealed, loaded weapons in New York State. I'm not even gonna freak out because I'm pretty sure you don't have a permit for them, am I right? I just know the explanation you're gonna have for me is going to make me let all that go. Where did these Sigs come from?"

"If I'm not mistaken, from the Cameron Lawrence estate robbery about five months ago," Val murmured.

"A robbery that, if I'M not mistaken, we liked Joey Robbs for, isn't that right, Nathan?" Dante asked his friend.

"Yeah, that was our thought at the time, though we couldn't specifically connect him to it, as usual," Nathan said.

Dante nodded his head as he stated, "Yeah, that's what I remembered, too. Something tells me I'm not gonna like the next answer to this question, but how did you end up with these, Val?"

Her heart hammering in her chest, she began to enlighten them. "I overheard you all talking a few weeks back about how hard it was to get anything on Joey Robbs. While you were talking, I was looking at the lists of stolen items from the different robberies he's believed to have committed. A couple of the items, a pair of Sig Sauer Scorpions, caught my eye, and I wondered two things: If he still had them, and if he did, could I get him to sell them to me? I decided to put out the word quietly to a couple of people that I was interested in purchasing a couple of Sigs and then I waited. A couple of days later, I got a response and from that, I got a meeting with Joey Robbs. HE sold them to me for about twenty-three hundred dollars, twenty-four fifty if you count the two magazines."

Once again, silence descended on the group and then Dante quietly asked, "Where'd you get that kind of money?" "From my mom's life insurance. I still have some left over from the payout." Somewhat heatedly, Jordan wondered, "So you just went up to Joey Robbs—JOEY ROBBS!—and asked him to sell you some Sig Sauers, huh? And he thought, 'Sure, why not?' and sold them to you, someone who works for the police department?" "Not exactly. He didn't sell them to Valerie Spencer of Port Charles, New York. He sold them to brown-eyed Kelli Allen of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania." "Who the heck is Kelli Allen?" Randy asked her. "Kelli Allen is the name I used, the persona I adopted. SHE'S the one who got me in to see Joey Robbs." "What, you mean like some kind of alias? Something you'd use for an undercover operation?" he queried. "Exactly like that, Randy. I made up a name, got some IDs to match, put out the word that I was looking for the guns, and I got a nibble. I met with a guy who hangs out with Robbs and he connected me to Joey. He and I had a conversation, after which he sold me the guns and the magazines. He was very clever about wiping the guns down but I was able to distract him from doing the same to the magazines." "Where'd you get the IDs from?" Nathan wanted to know. Hesitating again, Val finally answered, "Ok, look. I don't want any heat for this guy. Nicholas Finnister is a friend of a friend from my old neighborhood. For a price, he was willing to help me out. More than that, I don't want to say."

Even more quietly, Dante slowly uttered, "Tell me you're lying right now. Because we won't even touch the legalities and the laws you've broken. BROKEN, Val. Jordan already mentioned a couple of them. This can't be true because-" A knock on the door interrupted him mid-sentence. Peeking his head into the room, Bill Johnson told them, "Falconeri, you've got a call from some detective up in Jersey. Sounded kinda important so I told him I'd hunt you down." "I'm definitely not done with this," he whispered to Val before leaving the room.

"Seriously, Val, tell me how you even thought of doing this! This is crazy! You're not qualified to do something like this, first of all! You've had no training, and-" Jordan broke off as another thought occurred to her, "you went in this blindly! Where was your back up? What if something would have happened to you, did you even think of that? This isn't a small thing you did here! Chances are good that we won't even be able to use the guns as evidence—his lawyers will get them thrown out, even if we can bring him to court! The idea that no one knew what you were doing has me wanting to pull my hair out! Or to pull YOURS out!"

"I was told there might be a problem with the evidence but I thought it was worth it anyway. If nothing else, they might be used as leverage or a bargaining tool." "You were told? By whom?" "Ok, once again, I don't want any heat for this person. I wasn't totally blind and alone. I did discuss it beforehand with someone and I got advice from this person before I went forward. The dangers were broken down for me but I wanted to know if I had what it took to go undercover and pull off a successful operation. So I went for it."

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Everyone in the room was quiet as they assimilated what Val was saying. They were each having diverse reactions to her tale. Jordan was angry when she thought of the risks Val took and how she was going to be able to keep what Val had done quiet so her chances of entering the academy wouldn't be ruined before she even got started. Nathan was genuinely puzzled as to why Val was willing to attempt such a dangerous undertaking without back up after knowing what had happened to him. Randy, if he was being honest, was feeling a bit envious. He had told Dante he didn't know if he had what it took to go undercover and here Val not only obviously seemed to have the stones but she had successfully pulled it all off.

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While everyone back in Jordan's office was trying to figure out the best way to respond to Val's "funny story," Dante was taking his phone call after removing his gloves and stuffing them back into his jacket pocket. "Falconeri here." "Yeah, Detective, this is Officer Reynolds. I don't know if you remember me, but I was in on your interview with that Scribbs character. I was the one who told you about Crazy Carmine Garafalo." "Right, right, I remember who you are. What's up? You guys finally got a line on him?" "In a manner of speaking. He's dead." "You've gotta be kiddin'! What happened? Did Joey Robbs get to him, do you think?" "No, nothing like that. It wasn't a hit. He had a heart attack while 'servicing' his lady. Went right in the middle. What a way to go, huh?" "Yeah, totally. This couldn't be worse news. Damn." "Not necessarily. That's only part of the good news I had for you." "Dude, sorry, but this news couldn't be worse for the case against Joey Robbs or for gettin' justice for my partner." "Well, let me put it this way. In her distressed state, his girlfriend has been singing like a canary. Among his many belongings, our Carmine had a safety deposit box, to which our grieving 'widow' had the key. And you'll never guess what else, amongst a whole lotta good loot, was stashed in there." "I'll bite—what?" "Video recordings, that's what. We've got a few local guys we're gonna be able to hem up based on what we've seen and heard so far. Seems our Carmine wasn't the most trusting of bagmen. Two of the recordings are of one Joe 'Joey Robbs' Scartone—he actually gets this guy on camera sliding a picture of your friend toward him as he ordered the hit. The best part? Garafalo was a known, rabid Yankee fan so no one ever questioned the baseball hat he was never seen not wearing. The hat had a hidden video recorder, though. He's got stuff going back YEARS. Maybe there really is honor among thieves because he could have blown any one of these guys out of the water over the years with what he had on them, if he ever wanted to turn rat. I guess that's what saved them—that he wasn't a rat."

Feeling a strong sense of elation Dante asked Officer Reynolds, "How long have you guys had this information?" "We've been reviewing the tapes for a few days. It wasn't until we ran across the one with your guy that we remembered your interest in Garafalo. My boss told me to give you the heads up. You available to come back up here, take possession?" "Try to stop me!" he exclaimed, and then the events of the last hour came rushing back to his mind. "Well," he amended, "I'm in the middle of a situation right now, so it might be a day or two before I can make my way up there, plus I need to inform my boss. But we'll definitely work something out. Thanks for this, man." "Hey, no problem. I'm just glad it's gonna work out for all of us, including that old man Scribbs. He's become a real fixture around the neighborhood—hopefully you won't need him to testify, after all." "Probably not now, dependin' on what you guys actually have. It's a relief. Thanks again." They rang off and a broad smile spread over Dante's face as he remembered telling Robbs how he looked forward to being the one who put the cuffs on him, locking him away for good. A smile that quickly fell when he remembered what was waiting for him in Jordan's office…

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"What's the deal?" Nathan asked Dante when he returned to Jordan's office. "Coincidences being what they are, that call directly relates to the Joey Robbs case. Turns out that Carmine Garafalo has met his maker, in flagrante delicto, no less. He was givin' his girlie a good shaggin' and pegged out right in the middle. In her heartbroken state, she's burnin' down a whole lotta houses. Crazy Carmine had secret recordings of a lotta bad guys hirin' him for all kinds of stuff. He's actually got Robbs orderin' your hit, Nathan. We've gotta see what's on the tapes but if it's even close to what was described to me, I think we've finally got this scumbag. Not diggin' that it took Garafalo kickin' it for us to get Robbs, but I'll take the 'W', if things work out."

"That's hard to believe, Falconeri! Garafalo was actually able to make recordings of these guys without their knowledge? How'd he manage that?" wondered Randy. "Get this—he had a DVR setup in a Yankees hat. I guess he was crazy, all right. Crazy like a fox. Those recordings go back a few years, too. Sounds like he was settin' up insurance in case somethin' about one of his jobs went sideways. He coulda been rich if he'd gone into the blackmail business instead, although he obviously wasn't hurtin' for cash. In any case, dependin' on what's on the videos, our case just might be made for us-" he turned to Val and stared her down as he added, "even without shadily obtained weapons." Suddenly, everyone else in the room didn't know where to look as Dante and Val silently glared at each other. "Dante," she started to say when he held up a hand, saying, "Not here, not right now. Trust me." Into the highly charged atmosphere Jordan finally told them, "Ok, let's do this. You guys take off, go hash this out. In the morning, Dante, you and Hill are on a plane to North Jersey. Valerie, you and I are gonna have a private conversation about what you've done, and where you go from here. Go on, get out." As they began filing out of Jordan's office, Nathan stayed behind to make a case for himself to go along with Dante and Hill in the morning. There was no way they were going without him, not if he had anything to say about it…

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Once they were facing one another across the living area of the penthouse, Val could feel the fury rolling off of Dante in waves as he looked at her. "Explain yourself," he told her angrily, causing her to be taken aback at first. Responding with her own slowly growing anger, she replied, "Be careful here. I don't have to 'explain myself' to you, not if you're gonna take that tone. You're not my boss, Dante, or my dad. I'm willing to tell you whatever you want to know, but you need to check the attitude, ok?"

"Check the attitude? CHECK THE ATTITUDE? Are you kiddin' me right now? You explain to me how you got the bright idea to do somethin' so foolish as to go near Joey Robbs without back up, without trainin', totally not considerin' the danger or the laws you were breakin' and tell me how, as someone who loves you, I'm not supposed to have an attitude! Can you even comprehend how stupid this was, Val? Do you get how wrong you were for doin' this?"

"I'm not stupid, Dante!"

"I didn't say you were! I said what you did was stupid, and I stand by it! All this talk about goin' undercover, talkin' about Anna Devane got somethin' twisted in your head! You never, NEVER go into a dangerous situation without back up or trainin'! You were takin' on somethin' that wasn't meant for you! You're not a cop yet, Val, ok? And with this stunt, you might have hurt your chances of becomin' one, did you even think of that before you went headlong into this mess?"

"I talked it over with someone before I went ahead with it! And yes, I knew there would be risks involved but I had to know-" "Had to know what? How close you could actually get to dyin' without goin' over? How it felt to do somethin' you weren't even trained to do? Or better yet, how to get one over on the rest of us?" "COULD YOU LET ME FINISH TALKING, PLEASE? This had nothing to do with you! This was for me! I needed to find out if it was something I could do, ok? I didn't want or need you trying to talk me out of it—that's why I didn't tell you about it!"

"You think this is helpin' your case? Huh? I don't care why you did it! It was totally the wrong thing to do, THAT'S the point! You weren't trained, you're not a cop, and the evidence you were able to get might not even be admissible in court because of the way you got it! Not to mention that in light of recent developments, what you did ended up bein' unnecessary!" "Well, I didn't know THAT would happen, did I? I was testing myself, my own limits. I'm not gonna apologize to you for that!"

"Are you gonna apologize for lyin' to me?"

Valerie froze when he threw that out into the air. She shook her head as she asserted, "When did I? I didn't lie to you, Dante! I was very careful about that-" "A lie of omission is still a lie, Val! What was in that package you got from your friend, huh? Didn't I ask you about that? And what did you tell me?"

"I told you the truth, that she had sent me a thong, which she had!" Val still felt a bit guilty about reminding Pippa to send it along with the IDs and she winced as she thought about that, a look Dante caught as he exclaimed, "Uh huh! What else was in the package, Val, huh? That thong wasn't all she sent, was it? And whose idea was it for it to be sent, yours or hers?" The look of guilt gave him his answer and he slowly shook his head as he stared at her. "Incredible. I never would have thought you would be capable of this, Angel."

"Capable of what, Dante? Doing something on my own? Not asking you for permission before I did it? Ok, maybe I should have thought things through more, though I think, based on how much thought I DID put into everything, I probably would have still have done it. What I really wanted was leverage against Joey Robbs. I figured if we could use the fact that he'd obviously handled the guns and had them in his possession, we could use that against him-" "WE? What is this 'we' crap? How many times do I gotta say it—YOU'RE NOT A COP! Even if this was a decent idea on paper, you should have mentioned it to me or Jordan, not just gone ahead with your own operation! Especially without back up or anyone knowin' what you were doin'! I can't say that enough!"

"I wasn't totally alone—I did have a couple of people who knew-"

"Like who?" Again Val winced as she shook her head, not wanting to disclose any more information about who else was involved. "Look, Val, seriously. Now is not the time to be withholding anythin' from me, ok? I mean it. Who else knows about this mess?" With a sigh, Val told him, "I talked it over with Anna before I did it." "No you did not. You couldn't have! Anna used to be a cop—she knows better!" "She tried to talk me out of it, ok, but when she saw that I was determined, she gave me some tips on how to pull it off." "Unbelievable. So you and Anna pull this 'Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl' routine, huh? She's waitin' outside the pool hall for the distress signal so she can run in and save your ass, huh, if you get into trouble?"

"Not even that. All I did was tell her I was going in, and then I went. My girl Pippa and her brother Alex knew, too." Defiantly she put her hands on her hips as she waited for him to respond. "Chop shop Alex? In Philly? What the hell did you expect them to be able to do from PHILLY?" Dante clasped his hands to his head in disbelief. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath as he tried to be calm at the idea that she hadn't even had anyone nearby during this debacle. "I'm tryin' really hard here, not to be angry-" "I love you, Dante, but this isn't about you being angry! I did this for myself! I needed to push my limits, to conquer my own fears! I'm sorry you're angry! I'm sorry Jordan's no doubt gonna give me an earful in the morning, too! But this wasn't about you OR her! I was trying to discover something about myself!"

"Well you royally screwed the pooch on this one, Baby!"

"Stop treating me like I'm a moron!" "I'm NOT callin' you a moron, but I'm sorry, what you did WAS moronic. Hear the distinction I'm makin'! WHAT. YOU. DID. WAS. NOT. A. SMART. THING. I don't care how you try to spin it. I don't care why you did it-" "You don't even care why I did it?" Val asked quietly, asking further, "You mean that doesn't even matter to you?" Dante heard the hurt in her voice and he sighed before he softly said, "I'm not discountin' your feelings here. I'm not doin' that. You did what you did. There's no changin' that. You had your reasons for what you did. I get it. But what you did was foolish, Angel. Under any other cop besides Jordan, you might be facin' charges of your own. Carryin' loaded, concealed isn't a small thing in New York. It's a freakin' felony. You might have negatively affected your own future with the department." It was his turn to wince when he saw Val's eyes slowly filling with tears and he walked over to her and gently rubbed her arms as he faced her. "Did you at least find out whatever it was that you were tryin' to find out?" "Yeah," she sniffed, "I did. I don't know if I'd want to do it on the daily, but with some training, I think I'd be good at taking on undercover assignments. Even though I was scared, I was also feeling courageous at the same time. I had a bad moment when he threatened me-" "Threatened you? How?" "It's not a big deal, Dante—he just mentioned that if any trouble found him as a result of him selling me the guns, he'd know where it came from, and he'd take forever to deal with me if he had to." "So you deliberately put yourself on Joey Robbs' radar. Give me strength."

After a moment of silence, Val finally unbent enough to confess, "I realize I shouldn't have handled things the way I did. I have to also admit, though, that I might do it, or something like it, again. With proper training and sanctions next time."

"Well, that's SOMETHING, anyway."

"Are you still mad at me?"

"Yeah, I am, Angel. What you did was so dangerous and foolish. When I think of what coulda happened, I want to strangle you myself. And you deliberately misled me about what you were doin'. That's not sittin' real well right now. But I do love you, so I'm not gonna stay mad forever. Give me some time, ok?" She waited a beat and then asked, "How about now? Enough time?" He laughed in spite of himself. "No, not yet. We're fine, ok? I just need some time to process all this. I'm gonna go take a drive, clear my head. Maybe when I get back, we'll talk some more."

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