FOUR

FOUR

Detective Burlo slammed down on Matthew’s table. Matthew was reclining on a chair with eyes closed. The Detective’s rapping startled the journalist, he lost his balance and crashed to the ground.

Everyone else in the newsroom turned to look at him. Matthew quickly stood up. “Detective, what can I do you for? It’s a rarity to see someone of your caliber here”, he said.

“Quit the chitchat Matt. I’m sure you’ve seen the news”, Burlo said.

“The Corleone case?” his eyes widened. “No way. You’re in charge of the investigation? Wow.”

“I need your help. I need you to reach out to your sources and see what you can find out”, Burlo said.

“Aren’t you Detectives supposed to have CIs for that?” Matt asked.

“Don’t kid around. We both know you have more contacts than most of the cops in my department put together”, Burlo said.

“And what do I get in return?”

“An exclusive”, Burlo said.

Matt paused. “Let me think about it”, he said.

“We don’t have time. Tell me right now if you will do it or not”, Burlo said.

“Yes. On one condition.”

 

 

 

Douglas

My Dad died an old, poor man. I was determined to be different, to not end up like him. He was a kind-hearted man, a good man and a weak man. He died when I was only twelve. I almost cursed him in my mind for giving birth to me. He left my poor mother and I to fend for himself. My mother had cervical cancer after I was born, preventing them from having any more children. I was glad they didn’t. And after my mother got over the shock of my father’s death, she began to tell me things. About the men who ruined my father.

God is a God of Justice, a God of vengeance. Don’t believe me? Look at the last chapters of Revelations, where birds are called to feast on the flesh of those who opposed God. After remaking myself to be as different from my father as possible, I have come back as God’s instrument of justice.

 

“What the hell are you doing?” the Chief yelled. “Another murder in less than 24 hours. We had Corleone in our sights and you let him slip by.”

“TO be fair Chief, I wasn’t really in charge of the surveillance team-”, Burlo began.

“-But you’re in charge of the investigation, it’s the same difference.”

“Chief, you know I don’t work well with others”, Burlo said.

“Then learn. People are scared. We might have an underworld war on our hands and we don’t even know where the King is”, the Chief said.

“Actually he’s right outside”, Burlo said.

“Are you mocking me? Why would-” He stopped short, he couldn’t believe his eyes. Don Carleone had stepped into their police station. There was silence for what seemed like eternity. No one could take their eyes of him. He had this air of authority around him, like he owned the place. He seemed so self-assured, all the other police officers had to make sure he had come alone.

“He got us. Twice. By lolling us into a false sense of security, he was able to put us off-balance. He knew we were watching him. He allowed us to, so that he could simply slip away later on. And he does the last thing you’d expect, walk into a police station”, Burlo said.

“Don’t you mean ‘us’? Or did actually foresee this?”

Burlo simply smiled.

“Can I talk to the Chief? “Corleone said.

Burlo stepped out to talk to him. “I’m the one in charge of the Mario homicide. If there’s anyone you want to talk to it’s me”, Burlo said.

“Is that so?” He turned away from Burlo and looked at the nearest officer. “You, get me your chief. I will just sit here.” He sunk into a chair close to the wall.

Burlo walked up to him. “This is the United States. You don’t just-”

“Don’t get on my nerves. The U.S. military may be one thing, but your police department is a joke. Let me teach you a lesson. Where I come from, a cop like you would lose your kids, and then your parents before disappearing yourself.”

“Did you just threaten-”

“-I was just trying to make a point. I would never-”

Burlo bunched his hand into a fist. He slowly took a swing at Corleone. The chief intercepted him, punching him in the face.

“I’m the Chief”, he said. He looked at Burlo. “Maybe this case is too much for you. Take a breather.”

“But-”

“Now!” the Chief said.

Burlo handed in his badge.

 

“So that’s what you were after. You wanted the detective in charge of the case removed”, Diego said as Corleone walked out of the station.

“You saw?”

“I heard”, Diego replied.

“I’ve been a cop before. I know people like him. Committed to his job, divorced his wife four years ago, he fits the profile. His weakness is his thirteen year old daughter Leah.  Aside from solving the case, he will be trying to nail me. Besides cops just get in the way. Let’s go.”

His phone began to ring. It was his wife Lolita.

“Do you want to-?”

“-No. Maybe later”, he said, pressing the reject button. Then he got into the car.

 

“So, you’re here”, Corleone said.

The eleven man team stood before him. Corleone’s criminal network spanned several countries. But these eleven were all he needed for his strategic war. They weren’t all executives, but they were all very dangerous.

“Bobby, found anything with that computer of yours?”

“Not yet Boss”, Bobby said. “Or do you want me to do something drastic?”

“Not yet. We’re heading back”, Corleone said.

“What? We just got here”, Adriano, one of the eleven said.

“You won’t find anything Bobby. These guys are professionals”, Corleone explained.

“I think you’re underestimating my abilities just a little bit”, Bobby said.

“Doesn’t some amount of computer hacking require social intelligence? Where do you start from when you don’t even know who the enemy is?”

“So? We hit the streets. Give us a day, we’ll come up with a lead. Otherwise we all came to the U.S and you blew up a guy’s house for nothing”, Adriano said.

“If we continue what we’re doing, then we’ll lose. And then Mario’s death would have been for nothing. I’m not saying we’re withdrawing”, Corleone said.

Bobby nodded. “You think whoever set this up wanted a retaliation.”

“What other reason could they have to kill Mario? Right now I can’t foresee any other benefits from having him murdered”, Corleone said.

“So what happens next?” Adriano asked.

“We have to get back. For all we know, this could be a distraction to hit our home base or other areas”, Corleone said.

“That’s impossible. We have a worldwide criminal network and we only devoted eleven men plus yourself to this mission. We may be influential but there’s no way-”

Corleone’s phone rang. He exhaled in annoyance. He’d forgotten to turn off his phone. Then he remembered that he had in fact turned it on. His stomach started to churn, he had a bad feeling.

“Diego, did you by chance turn on my phone?”

“No. In fact we checked before the meeting. It was off”, Diego replied.

“Did someone switch it on remotely?” Bobby asked.

Corleone took the still ringing phone and looked at the number. It was his wife’s again.

He swallowed hard and picked up.

“Hello?”

It was a male voice. “If you ever want to see your family alive again, put this on loud speaker”.

Without Corleone saying a word, everyone knew.

“They got us”, Bobby said.