The association

Aside

I heard, what sounded like a bullet being fired from a shotgun. That is when; I saw what remained of the kangaroo's tail. My bumper bar lay on the grass, next to the road. My Radiator, hissed like an aggressive snake. That is when I saw the flashing lights. I leant down, and adjusted the small, handgun, on my ankle. I drew the fire-arm, into view, and checked the cartridge. 4 bullets left. It would be enough to kill, whoever was in the car.

I clocked the gun, and secured it, in its holster.

The man made his way to the mirror, and nervously smiled, and tapped the window.

"Do you want to shoot me, or do you want a hand. I have a friend who owes me a favour, who would gladly fix the bumper bar."

"What game are you playing; people like you don't magically help out, without getting something in return."

"I am sorry that you think that everyone is out for revenge and taking scores."

I took the card

"Look just to let you know, I don't trust you, but I don't know anyone here."

"If you are new here, how do you know you hate me?"

I stared down at his name badge, and gently whispered

"Mark, people in this town talk. People like to make up stories. And the reputation which you have formed in this town is that you are a savage business man only out for one person; and that is you. And as far as I am aware, that is true."

He leaned in close, and simply stated

"Sometimes, it is not good to listen to rumors."

FBI office

9:00

"You know how this is going to play out; you are not walking out of this room, until you give me, the name of your boss."

Her face, was filled with fear, she shakingly grabbed the glass of water, and gently mumbled

"Do you honestly think it is that simple; you swoop in like a hero, and he goes away? The old man, is like a bogie man. He hunts in the shadows. He hangs the skulls of his enemy on his belt out of pride. He more powerful that you can ever imagine, and to be honest with you, you are one man, fighting an army of trained soilders."

"Do will go into witness protection"

She leaned in close, and laughed

"You honestly think witness protection is going to keep me safe."

"Do you honestly think that he is going to kill you, for the information you know."

"Mr Darcy, I am a very important cog in his machine, without me, he loses 15% of his yearly revenue. So I personally don't care what you have to do, but the only way I am ever going to talk to you, is if you can promise, to keep me safe."

"You know I can't make that happen."

She whispered

"Well then, it looks like we have reached the end of this conversation."

The old man's house 9:30

"What do you think we should do about our little problem?"

"Do you really think she is going to flip?"

"Sometimes when a rat is caged, there is no way of knowing what they will do."

"You trained her; you taught her the rules of the game. She knows what will happen if she crosses us. You have to trust that she will fall into line."

"Trust in my line of work is a hard commodity to come by. It is something which is earned. Sadly she has not earned it."

"I trust her."

"Walter what do you truly know about her? How can you trust someone you barely know?"

"That is the difference between you and me. You see the world as black and white. You think everyone is out to betray you and knife you in the back, the second they get the chance.

I see the world, for what it is; complicated. Sarah is a good kid. You need to cut her, a little bit of slack."

"My parents served. They took the lessons of the military and applied it to dealing with me. They taught me, life's most valuable lesson; trust no-one. They saw friendships, as dangerous. They saw friends as the enemy; only getting close to you, for one goal; information."

"Is that why you are so hard on Sarah?"

"Sarah has to know that there are no rules in life. Life is like the wild-west; the people, who she thinks she can trust, are nothing more than the enemy, waiting, gaining her trust, until finally they use their power, to get what they want."

"And she thinks she needs you telling her, that life is not a fair game."

"Some people forget where they have come from."

"Are you threatening me; because that would be a bad idea"

"We both wore the same black suites; we both fought in the same battles at work. We both walked down the same path. So don't go around telling people, your life was tough. You don't know what tough is. Your parents had millions of dollars given to them by the tax-payer. I guess you can call it an act of appreciation

But that does not give you the right, to tell people how hard you worked for it, because you did not work for it. They laid blood on the battle-field, and carried there brothers in arms home in caskets.

I fought for every scrap I got! You got it handed to you on a silver platter."

FBI office

10:00

"Tell me how you met "The old man"

She grabbed a glass of water from the table and slowly sipped it. She gently placed it down, and soft muttered to herself

"He was a client. Him and another man would come into the club. Initially they were very hands off; strutting around the floor, checking the girls out. But over-time he grew a liking to me; he took me under his wing; and he became a loyal paying client."

"When did he draw you into The Association?"

She shook her head

" I am not very good with dates, but I would say about a year into our relationship, he told me that he could get me more money than I could ever dream of; that he could make all of my wildest dreams come true. But it had to stay between us."

I felt the cold metal in my hand; she gently whispered

"That was the ring he gave me, about two months into our relationship; he said it was a commitment ring to symbolise his bound for me."

"Was it common for clients to give you gifts?"

"Clients want to feel a sense of love; they want to feel like they are apart of your world, if only for a brief period of time. Clients like him, are as rare as hen's teeth. People normally enjoy the sexual experience which I provide, and that is enough for them. But for him, he wanted more."

I heard the foot-falls, as they crept up the hallway. I heard the door creak. I heard the sound of the brief-case, as it slowly slammed on the ground. A young, brooding, twenty-something boy, placed a white, business-card on the table, and confidently said

"You must be new here, because otherwise you would have asked her, if she wanted her lawyer present for questioning. But I am sure you will learn that over time. "

She asked

"Are you charging me with anything?"

I gently motioned to the door.

Coast of LA

My line bobbed in the water; and then I felt something heavy on the other end of the line. I felt the rod tighten. I pulled the object into the boat, and felt the smell. It wormed its way into my veins. The blood had congealed and hardened. I grabbed my sat-nav phone and called the police.

FBI office

9:00

"Where you the guy, who was assigned the missing foot?"

I pointed to the store-room, and whispered

"Not in front of the other officers. "

"I got the case about a week, after I let out a members of The Association "

"Do you think they are connected?"

"I do. The only problem is, I can't prove it. The old man was too powerful, and once he smelled that I was getting too close to him, he shut me down; re-assigned me, and took away any access to the original case file."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I want him nailed as much as you do; and you are really the only person who can do that."

"What about the bank, wouldn't they get suspicious if we drop the investigation?"

"We both know, that investigation was dead, the moment it hit our desk; they had no evidence that they had used insider information, to makes trades; and they had no contact other than mutual meetings between Rodney and Walters bank, which I might add was normal.

He was a man, who had created a very successful shoe, and wanted to make the most amount of money, and he saw Walter, as a good bank to do that. Now might be the best time. They are resting on their Loral's; they are not expecting an investigation into a two year old case. "

"Did your suspect have enemies?"

"No; or if she did, she did not mention them, during the interview. She did however mention she did receive gifts from one of her clients; rings, necklaces that type of thing."

"Do you think she threatened to break it off, and he killed her?"

"Maybe. People like that, had attachment issues."

"I think this case may need some expert guidance. Do you have anyone you trust, who could help us with this case?"

"Do you remember Monty-Good fellow. I think he graduated a couple of years before you. He use to work with me, on cases like this. But I am not sure, where he lives now. He retired a couple of years ago. "

A half dressed young lady sat in the corner of the room; a lace bra lay on the floor. She placed a twenty dollar bill on the table, and seductively moved her hand down to her crotch. She tenderly reached across the wooden, Oak-table, and whispered

"Can you be a babe, and grab that bag from my purse."

The white –powder, flew like ash across the table. The young-women, grabbed the rolled up bill, and snorted a couple of lines. I saw blood slowly trickle down from the base of her nose.

She smiled, as she whipped the blood from her nose. I nervously snorted the last line. The young lady, graciously grabbed her purse, and placed a couple of dollars on the table. She quietly said

"Your next shout, that Coke was shit."

"No it wasn't. You don't know what you are talking about. Mark is one of the best dealers in the state; his products are some of the highest quality in the world. "

I heard the phone ring. I looked at the caller Id and softly said

"Can you go to the other room, I will be in soon."

"Who is calling you?"

"Someone from my past."

"Monty, I am not going to beat around the bush, we need your help"

"Glad to see you cutting to the chase, but maybe asking me, if I want to go back to that hell-hole, would have been more appropriate."

"Do you want to come back?"

"I don't need that. I am very happy, my girlfriend Rebecca and I are doing great; I know how much you like each other."

"I know her well, and I know she is a bad influence on you. But that is none of my business. Do you remember the case we worked, a couple of years ago?"

"I am guessing you mean the foot case. I do. But that was two years ago, how is that still in your mind. They caught him; some jilted ex-lover who found out she was cheating on him, he cut her up and threw her remains into the ocean. He confessed."

"We think he was a fall-guy"

"Who are we?"

"Me and Officer Stanton"

"You have got to be kidding me, are you working with that clown. Look I will do you a solid because I know the pain of working with him; I will come down to the station on Monday, you can roll out the red carpet, and we can figure out, what is going on."

Aside

Her tatted red dress fell to the ground exposing her beautiful body. I felt her rough skin, under my fingers. She leaned her head against mine, and gently asked

"How serious is this?"

I reached over, and grabbed a Durex from the top draw, and anxiously answered

"I am guessing it is serious, otherwise you would not have given me the keys to your house, and you would have turned me down for sex."

I saw her hand reach over and wrap her hand around my concealed hand-gun. She gently grabbed it out of the holster and placed it on the bedside table.

"Why do you wear that gun?"

And then I felt her fingers around my bullet hole. I moved her hand back, and replied

"A couple of months into the job, I got shot. End of story."

"No, that is the beginning of the story; why am I only finding about it now?"

I laughed and grabbed the T-shirt from the bottom of the bed

"We have been dating for two months, and not once have you asked me about my life before you; all you cared about was using me, to feel better about yourself."

I grabbed my phone, and set a reminder for 9:00

10:30

I love the city at this time of night; it is the time of night the city can finally reveal its flaws; and no-one cares. The diner is filled with the regulars. Julia grabs the hot coffee from the jug, and gently places it on the red bench-top. I smelt the perfume on her neck. I saw her golden, neck-lace. I whipped out a crumpled up twenty dollar bill, and gently drank my coffee.

My phone rang. I checked the caller Id, and gently asked

"Do you have somewhere private I am expecting a very important call?"

She pointed to the back.

"I am proud to say, that she is gone."

The voice on the other end of the line was gruff; hardened by years of smoking two packets of cigars a day. He gently replied

"Mr Darcy, in my line of work, it is never good to boast about your work. But I am very happy our little leak has been cleaned up."

"I have not heard anything about my payments.

"There is a lock-box in a safe a couple of blocks away, go their tomorrow at 9:00. You will find the agreed money. I do not have to remind you, but please remember to get rid of this phone, and buy a burner; do not contact me again."

Monday

"This is my desk, take a seat."

I heard the squeal of the wheels, as they jaggedly moved from behind his Oak-desk. I parted the small mountain of paper-work, which had formed on the top of his desk, and rested my hands. I gently stated

"I am going to be honest with you; this seems like a nice desk minus the pictures of your ex-girlfriend.... Which I am now banging; and I have to say you gave me a real beautiful women, normally the girls you date are tired and haggid."

"But I am guessing you did not come down here, to rub her in my face."

"No. A couple of months into the job, I found something."

"What did you find?"

"A link between Officers and gangs; senior officers, were getting significant bribes from very influential men including "The Old Man" and Phillip Karol, who you might know as the late Walter Whitman."

"Who is Walter Whitman?"

"Walter Whitman is the primary owner of the largest multi-national bank in the world, as well as partly owning the bank you were planning on prosecuting."

"That would explain why it was so hard to get any conclusive evidence on them; what about the other issue."

"The association was above my pay-grade. But my supervisor was notorious for having loose lips, and he mentioned he had found a connection between "The Old Man", "The Association" and Phillip Karol apparently Phillip was funding the association and for his services he was getting insider information."

"Can we prove it?"

"No. He was careful, hiding money outside of our jurisdiction."

"How can I trust you?" 

"I sat where you did; I watched my investigation go up in flames. If I had someone like me sitting in this seat willingly sharing information, then I would grasp it with both hands."

"So I should trust you on faith and faith alone."

"That is one way of looking at it. I am not forcing you to take the information; all I am doing is presenting you with what I know. I thought we agreed to fight together maybe I was wrong."

I begrudgingly stated

"I will look into it."

Aside11:00

I kissed her goodnight, before grabbing my gun and badge from the top draw. The bold writing on the bank stood out against the thick smog which blanketed the sky. The glass double-doors, opened to reveal two bank tellers behind bullet proof glass-windows. I slid my badge under the glass and gently stated

"I am in a bit of a hurry; I want to get some money out of my safety deposit box."

The young lady grabbed my badge, and gently replied

"If it all checks out, you will be able to be there in a minute. We had a couple of break-in a little while back so they have changed the policies. "

I nervously whipped the beads of sweat from my brow. I reached into my pocket, and loaded my gun; I cocked the weapon and placed in its holster. I nervously replied

"What kind of policy changes?"

She smiled, and stated

"We have to verify people's identity to make sure they are valid."

I rested my hand on the safety. I spied her name-tag, and gently asked

"How long will this take Mary? I have a date in a couple of hours."

The young lady, nervously asked

"Do you have any other form of identification?"

I shook my head

"No. Is there some kind of problem?"

"It seems that you have been black-listed from our bank."

I flashed her the silver, Beretta M9 and gently said

"Mary, the lives of these patrons rests in your hands, you have a choice; hit the panic button under your desk, and pray that the police shoot me down without too many casualties or take a risk; be a hero and call my bluff. If I was you, I would simply give me the keys and the people in the bank may live to watch their children grow up."

I smiled, and took the money and ran to my car. 

11:30

The Volt's door was ajar. I made my way to the bar, and gently placed a crumpled up twenty-dollar bill on the greasy mat. The bleach blonde bar-tender, winked sexually at me, and placed her wedding ring down. She gently said

"Do you want to go somewhere private?"

I wrapped my arm around the base of her dress, and kissed her on the cheek.

"I was hoping to meet up with Destiny"

Destiny wore a pair of bright yellow panties, which she complimented with a stained white tank-top. Her make-up was hastily thrown on her face. The stripper pole shimmered in the light. I grabbed a couple of cold beer-bottles from the bar, and was transfixed in her gaze. She gently pointed to a twenty-something with beats head-phones, and mouthed the words

I am taking a break

The smoke-billowed from the ash tray in the corner of the room, the door's swung open, and the young-women placed their tips in the top draw of their stations. She nervously scanned the room, before softly stating

"What the hell are you doing here?"

I reached into my pocket, and placed a plastic-packet of money down on the table with a thud.

"I came here to tell you, that you can leave this life."

"Put that money away; do you know where you are. If the girls saw someone with that much money, it would be a feeding frenzy. Do I want to know what you had to do, to get that money?"

"Don't worry about that"

"You want me to trust you, but you have not told me about that dirty-money"

A young woman eyed the money on the table. My girlfriend, moved the money into her draw, and gently whispered in her ear. The young women, moved to her table, and my girlfriend grabbed out a couple of dollars.

"What did you tell her?"

"All I said was, you had won it in on the pokies and you wanted to surprise me"

"Should I be worried about the other girls?"

"I trust her. The other girls keep to themselves."

Present day

"What happened to your supervisor?"

Morty, nervously chuckled and stated

"Worked for a couple of years, and got injured on the job; our commander had a quiet word to him about retiring, and he agreed. Retired the next year"

"What happened to his cases?"

He smiled, and whispered

"Handed out to his partner; before eventually getting lost in the shuffle."

"Thank you, if you have any other questions just call me."

9:00

Vincent grabbed a camel cigarette from his pocket. He grabbed a green lighter, from his right jacket-pocket and placed it on the table. He gently mumbled

"Do you want one?"

I shook my head. Vincent whipped his withered face. I watched as the smoke puffed up to the smoke detectors. I smiled, and calmly un-screwed the bottom; removing the acid-laced batteries.

"You know that shit is going to kill you one day"

After a couple of puffs, he tapped the amber-red head of the cigarette and pondered quietly

"Do you believe Morty?"

I shook my head

"I really don't know. Morty was always someone who I could never get a good read on. He was a quiet-guy all through the academy. He kept to himself and never really made any waves. But what strikes me as odd, is why no-one told him. He was the most trustworthy; and he has the scars to prove it. "

"Do you think he knows more than he is letting on?"

"Maybe"

"But that opens up the question of why lie to me; he has no loyalties to me. Can you find out who his supervisor was?"

"Sure."

Aside 10:30

"How can I trust, that they are not going to call you, for another job?"

I wrapped my arm around her, and tenderly kissed her on the cheek. She pointed to the bar-tender and said

"Give me a couple of minutes."

She nodded and made her way over to Ramona. Ramona, had bleach blonde-hair, and long tanned legs. As she made her way to the pole; I noticed the tribal tattoos which lined her bikini-line. I placed a couple of dollars, in her panties, and got a quick, lap-dance, before heading outside.

I gave her a camel cigarette and I smoked one to. I felt her cold hands around my neck; she leaned in close and anxiously whispered

"If he calls, you have to agree to not answer it."

I smiled

"You have to understand, this is not some tally marketer you hang up on; this is someone who has real power. He has problems and I am a Mr-Fix-it. That is a relationship which is highly lucrative."

"Is it worth your life?"

I kissed her.

"Babe, he is not going to kill me, I am the best that he has."

She placed the camel in the ash-tray and gently responded

"People like him use people like you; once you have served your purpose they either dispose of you either by buying you out or killing you and burying you six-foot under-ground.

The way I see it; you are already done. He payed you twenty thousand to get you out of their hair; so if I was you, I would take the money and run."

"How do you know about this lifestyle?"

"He was like you; some tough –guy. He walked around the city like he owned the place. He fell into the lap of the Old Man; and they used him. He gave them everything and they used it all to get higher up the cooperate ladder. When they were finished with him; he was hallow and dry. There was nothing of the man that I had fallen in love with.

I tried to build him back up; but he was as brittle as glass. A couple of months later he was dead; A twenty-two calibre, straight through the top of his jaw. That is how I know about the power he wields over people. I don't want another person that I love falling into the same trap."

Present day 10:30

"Where the hell is everyone?"

"They found a head, at the base of the river"

"Who"

"No idea yet, they are waiting on forensics, and DNA to identify the body."

"How is this relevant to us?"

"They think it is linked to the Association"

"How do they know that?"

"The skull, according to the team that they have down there, is female; with a prominent scar on her face."

"Like the girl you questioned..."

"Yes."