Chapter Ten

Be Careful

Nikola Curkola paced the large living room, hands in his pocket. He stopped momentarily, making a face, as he turned to look at the woman whom he used to call Milena.

"If you were a man, I'd say I am surprised that you would have the balls to show up here in the light of recent events," he said.

Jo felt Tony's breathing down her neck as he was standing close to her, making sure not to let her out of his sight.

"I am surprised that you - an intelligent man - can't see that Goran and Stefan is playing you," she replied in a steady voice. "You called off the last buy and tricked the police officers into a trap. You intended to kill them all."

He took a step towards her and leveled his dark eyes with hers. "You see, that's the kind of information you shouldn't have, unless you've heard it on the police radio."

"What if I have?" she challenged. "Goran and I listened to it together. We were sitting outside in the van."

He continued to stare at her and Jo felt her mouth go dry, hoping Goran didn't make it out of hospital because if he did, he would call on her bluff.

"I am not the mole," she said coldly.

He glared at her skeptically.

"But if you want to kill me, go ahead," she dared. "It won't change a thing."

"Since you are not the mole? he questioned with a sneer.

He broke into a malicious grin. "I am going to entrust you with information you'd want. How you deal with that information will either kill you or have me praise you," he said and nodded at Tony to take a step forward.

"Milena this is Anthony Videtti," Curkola said as a way of introduction.

"I know who he is," she said confidently.

The Serbian Mafia boss narrowed his eyes at her. "I don't think you do. You see, Anthony Videtti doesn't exist."

Jo felt a lump form in her stomach and she swallowed hard as she turned her full attention to the man standing next to her.

"However, Flavio Romano does," Curkola added with a smile. "His brother Angelo works for the CPD. His track record is spotless and no one suspects he's involved in something like this."

Jo stiffened. Detective Angelo Romano worked at the 23rd precinct for a special branch of the narcotic division. The same precinct Lieutenant Scott ran his daily operations from.

"Now that it is out in the open-," Curkola trailed off as he raised his hands, shrugged his shoulders, tilted his head and smiled, "-I know that if something happens to him you've snitched."

Jo swallowed, for some reason unknown to her, Romano hadn't told Curkola whom she really was. Because he must know she was a traitor? What was he really playing at? She grimaced as her wound made itself known, she'd been standing up for too long - straining herself - and now she was paying for it as pain flared in her chest.

Curkola continued to smile. "Be a gentleman Flavio, let the woman sit for a while. She must be exhausted."

Flavio nodded at the Serbian Mafia leader and put Jo down on the sofa nearby. "What are we going to do about that doctor? He seems to have taken quite an interest in our girl here."

"Follow him around for a bit. See what he does and where he goes," Curkola suggested as he looked from Flavio/Tony to Milena/Jo. "He did save my daughter but I hope, for Milena's sake, that he doesn't go to the police. Now, rest up a bit, then get ready for action. The deal is on tonight," he added with a wicked smile.

OOOOOO

"I hope sarge is going to be all right," Hailey said worriedly as she glanced at the road ahead of them.

Jay threw her a sideway glance from his position behind the wheel of his Dodge RAM. "Like he said earlier; it takes a lot to stop him. The damn bastard is stubborn to a fault," he muttered sarcastically.

Hailey couldn't help but to smirk amusedly at that.

"So, do we know where to look for Doctor Scott's love interest?" she asked as she arched an impeccable eyebrow.

Jay chuckled and shook his head. "What makes you say that?"

"Come on, Jay, are you blind?" she teased him. "Why would he help an undercover cop the way he did unless she was something else than a loose acquaintance?"

"Maybe because he's been with the force," Jay reasoned. "He knows the effort she's put into the whole thing. He knows what it means to be a cop, what she's sacrificed. Maybe he's just trying to be nice."

"Huh," she smirked again and nodded.

"Didn't realize you were that naughty," he said casually with a twinkle in his eyes. "Some people just want to play it nice."

Hailey made a face. "Interesting intel Kev managed to dig up," she said, letting the matter drop temporarily.

"Yeah, he's like a bloodhound. He found a person of interest in a back alley before all hell broke lose at the latest bust – the one where those lovely Serbian's waited for the police – ambushing Detective Devers and his unit. It's even more interesting that the same man turned up at the hospital, escorting our undercover operative through the door."

"Quite intriguing," Hailey replied. "Unfortunately, we ran a check on him through facial recognition and the system couldn't find anything. So, imagine my surprise when Trudy insisted the guy had been doing time at Statesville around ten years ago."

"Flavio Romano," Jay deduced darkly. "According to records he's deceased but Voight said they never recovered a body from the car wreckage where he supposedly died."

Hailey nodded. "Miller was kind enough to tell him that a certain Detective Angelo Romano works at the 23rd, where the special narcotics division is housed. Apparently, he works close to the DEA. What is even more interesting is that he's been involved, either directly or indirectly, each time a buy has been postponed or a bust has gone wrong. I'd say he's kind of sloppy."

"He's growing careless, he's been at the game for too long without a challenge," Hailey replied.

"That arrogance will lead to his downfall. However, I'd say we got a little lucky there," Jay reasoned.

Hailey snorted. "Luck has nothing to do with it and you know it," she pointed out. "It's skill, Jay. Plus, the fact that we have a lot of great people on our side. This is teamwork on a high level. Voight, Miller, Platt, Kev, Ruz, Burg, your brother and Doctor Scott. A puzzle is easy to solve when all the pieces are there."

"And a little luck that he showed himself at the hospital so we could connect the dots," Jay insisted as he turned to her and blinked.

She leaned back toward the headrest but refrained from rolling her eyes. "So, where are we going to find Milena?"

"Probably in the warehouse where the merchandise is going to trade owner tonight," he replied.

OOOOOO

Will sighed as he plucked down in the sofa and threw the keys on the bench nearby. It had been one hell of a week and it wasn't looking brighter anytime soon given the way things were going with the insurance of the building. He currently bunked in Sharon Goodwin's guestroom and it made him somewhat uncomfortable being there. At the same time, he had been grateful for the offer because it felt awkward to ask Jay for a place to live now that he and Hailey had gotten married. He didn't want to intrude on things.

He cursed inwardly as the phone rang. It was late and judging by experience no phone calls at this hour carried good news. "Yeah," he answered curtly.

"Will," Kim Burgess' voice carried over the line. "I am sorry for calling you at this hour but we need some help."

He got to his feet quickly and glanced around the small room, looking for his first aid kit. "Sure, what's going on?"

"Adam and I are at Voight's house. How soon can you be in Bridgeport?"

Will glanced at his watch. "Won't take long," he assured them.

OOOOOO

"Come on dad, I can see something is bothering you," Dylan said kindly.

He shook his head.

"You've never been afraid to speak your mind before," the doctor pointed out. "So, what's stopping you now?"

"I'm a bit surprised, that's all," he relented as he took a moment to look at his son.

Dylan narrowed his eyes at him, arms crossed over his chest. "Is this about Milena?" he said.

"I've always thought you'd be able to see the difference between good and bad people-,"

"Dad-," he interrupted, "-don't you start. You don't know half of it."

"Don't I know?" the older Scott pushed. "She's been figuring in various police reports. She's connected to one of those mobs. The Serbian – what's his name – Curkola."

"If you have evidence against her, why don't you act upon it?" he asked curiously.

"Because my hands are tied and the higherups wants a bigger fish to fry," the lieutenant said simply.

Dylan only nodded at that. His dad wasn't trying to pull his leg. He simply didn't know what was going on behind closed doors. It saddened the doctor that his decorated father hadn't been entrusted with the information but at the same time he realized that the fewer people who knew, the better. Not much got past his father's hawk eyes and attention to details so it must have been a watertight operation at the start which unfortunately had eroded along the way. Dylan was torn between wanting his father to know the truth about Milena and to protect him from harms way. Technically the doctor hadn't been requested to sign a disclosure agreement but he knew when to keep his mouth shut.

"So, you have anything on that Curkola guy?" he asked casually.

"He's a slippery man, has a lot of contacts around the city. Rumors has it even you have been working for him."

Dylan sighed. "I didn't realize you had me under surveillance," he replied sourly. "Look, I treated one of his associates – Stefan – who recommended me to treat Curkola's daughter. The child is innocent and can't help what her father does for a living."

"Always the good Samaritan," the lieutenant muttered and shook his head.

"And what was I supposed to have done? Ignore them? I wasn't exactly in a position to do that."

"Just-," the older Scott raised his hands, "-just be careful, son."

OOOOOO

To be continued