Chapter 19

Harrison

I never thought I would be in this position. But here I was. I was about to go against everything I believed in, and I surprised myself by thinking that I did not care. Carina Dellucci was worth it, and I would do whatever I could to keep at least her safe.

Even though O’Malley took me off the case, I knew my one strong lead was Mason and his connection to the Dellucci family. The following day, I trailed him from the police department. I had to get some concrete evidence on him so I could put more of the heat on rest of the Dellucci’s and take it off Carina. I followed Mason at a distance, keeping a low profile as he travelled throughout the city.

First, he drove to the bank in plain clothes. I ducked down in the front seat, keeping a clean eye on him as he walked into the bank with nothing. Almost twenty minutes later, he came out with a small tote bag and with a vigilant eye, he surveyed the area before he climbed into his car and sped away.

I accelerated on the gas and trailed him as he left that location and headed to the next one. I wanted to do my best to stay involved with the entire investigation of the Dellucci family. I bit back a doubt that crossed through my mind. Even if I did find evidence that he was working with the Dellucci’s, I wasn’t sure what I would do with that information. I knew that my feelings for Carina were growing and because of that, I didn’t know how I wanted to approach the situation. I desperately wanted to keep her safe, and keep her away from the investigation however, I didn’t want to dismantle her family. At the same time, I didn’t want my job compromised and allow myself to get placed in a position where I would never be able to work another day in the Chicago police department. For the last few years of my life, law enforcement was all I knew. Fuck, I really had gotten myself deep, hadn’t I?

Finally, Mason arrived at a small building on south side Chicago. He sat in his car for a few minutes with the engine running idle. It wasn’t until another man approached him with a loaded pistol that he got out of his car. The gun wasn’t drawn on him, but the guy had it in his hand as if he was prepared to use it if he had to. I stayed low in my seat, watching every mirror just in case somebody tried to sneak up on me. I had a registered .357 right at my disposal and I wasn’t afraid to use it if I had to. Mason climbed out of his car and followed the man into the back of the small building. Fuck. There was no way for me to get into the building without being seen.

I waited for thirty-minutes until Mason came out empty handed with a smile on his face like he had just pulled off the biggest caper known to man. With my eyes narrowed, I watched him get into his car and drive away. What are you into, Mason?

I put my car in drive, then followed him to his next spot. He ended up back at his home, fifteen minutes away. I watched him walk into his house from my position in the middle of his block. I needed to get to the bottom of all of this. And the only way, was to confront Mason. Face to face. I waited fifteen minutes before I called him.

“Mason? I need to talk to you.”

“Got damn it, Harrison. I just got home.”

“I can come to you, it’s not a big deal.”

“Shit.” He paused. “Alright, just come on. How long will it take you?”

“Maybe ten minutes.”

“Alright.”

I hung up the phone and sunk into my front seat so I could wait until the allotted time went by. I thought about all the things that could go wrong when I confronted him. If he really was in deep with the Dellucci’s there is no telling what he would do to make sure his cover wasn’t blown. I felt like we had been friends long enough for him to tell me the truth without consequence, but something as big as this, I wasn’t sure. I knew something was up, and I had to get to the bottom of it. Even if I wasn’t going to do anything about it right now, I knew that whoever found this out after me wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger. After ten minutes went by, I put my car in drive and parked in front of Mason’s house.

I looked around his neighborhood for a few minutes before I got out my car and walked to his front door. Dogs barked inside the house as soon as I rang the bell. I heard grumbling from inside his home. Minutes later, the front door unlocked and swung open. He stood on the other side in a wife beater. His stomach protruded beneath that like he had swallowed a bowling ball.

“What brings you over here?” he asked, peering at me from behind the door.

“I just need to talk.”

He sucked his teeth and after a few moments passed by, he pushed the door open. “Alright, let’s talk.”

When I got into his home, I heard his dogs barking in the backyard. There was a small mess in the living room. His clothing was tossed onto the couch and scattered around on the floor. A few dog toys were in the corner of the room and the faint, but evident smell of animals, lingered in the air. I stood still and waited for him to offer me a place to sit. He walked by me and scooped some clothing off the couch,

“Sorry bout’ the mess. I wasn’t expecting company.” He tossed the clothing to the floor. “You want something to drink?”

“No, I’m good.”

I quickly examined the couch before I took a seat. Mason plopped down in a recliner and propped his feet up. A college sports game played on the television as the dogs barking calmed in the backyard. “Damn mutts,” he said, adjusting himself in the seat until he found a comfortable spot. “I only got them because the kids love them. If it wasn’t for that, they would be at the fucking pound.” He grunted, then looked towards me. “So, what brings you over here in my neck of the woods?” Awkward silence permeated between us.

“What are you into, Mason?” I finally questioned.

He looked at me as the announcer mentioned the touchdown that the home team had just scored. The whites of his eyes were jaundice and it looked as though he hadn’t slept a full night in a few days. Bags made his eyes puffy and swollen and his beard was unkempt more than usual.

“What am I into?” he repeated my question. “Shit, I am into a lot of shit. I like S&M, but my fucking ex-wife hates the shit. I’m also into getting fed when I’m–”

“No, Mason. No. I am not talking about your fucking sex life. Jesus, man, I asked you what you are into and the first thing you mention to me is your fucking sex life?”

“Well, shit, that is the first place my mind went. You asked me a fucking broad ass question, so I don’t know. What the fuck do you want me to say? What am I into?”

I took a deep breath. The cold steel of my weapon pressed against the side of my body as I scooted forward to the edge of the couch cushion.

“I saw you, Mason.” His eyebrows furrowed as I continued. “I saw you talk with Nico Dellucci that day after I spoke with you in the park. Since then, I trailed you to a few spots just to see if you were doing anything that indicated you were in business with them.” I could see the worry spread onto his face like a rash. His eyes bounced back and forth around the room like ping-pong balls, looked at one thing and quickly moving to the next.

“Just shoot straight, Mason. I need to know what the fuck is going on.”

His feet shook nervously as they were propped up on the recliner.

“Damn it, Harrison. Damn it.” He exhaled and put his hands over his face. “I just needed some extra money. I mean, I wasn’t making enough to support an ex-wife and three fucking kids. I saw a chance to make some easy money. An extra couple thousand dollars a week, you know? That shit comes in handy when I am trying to pay a fucking mortgage, you know? That’s all this shit was about. I watch them when they transport drugs so that no other cop steps in on their shit. I move money for them. I just handle some of the legwork when it comes to transporting and then they wire money into an offshore account. That’s it.”

“Fuck.” I stood up and paced the room.

“Damn it, Harrison. What are you going to do with this shit? You’re not going to rat me out, are you? I know you’re working the case and I had a feeling you would start snooping in my direction. I need this money though, Harrison. I need it and I can’t let you come between that.”

I turned towards him as he sat on the recliner, watching my every move. “I’m off the case. O’Malley pulled me because I compromised it.”

“Compromised?”

“Yeah. I got too attached to Tony Dellucci’s daughter.”

“Carina? Oh, yeah. She is beautiful. Shit, if I was her age, I would give her a run. But wait, you’re really off the case?”

“Yeah. He pulled me and suspended me in the process. I’m not even allowed to show my face at the precinct.”

“What?” He scratched his head. “Then why the fuck are you doing police work, Harrison? What the fuck is this all about?”

I took a deep breath and walked to the window on the side of the house. The dogs ran back and forth, growling at each other as they were immersed in a chase between the two.

“I don’t know, Mason. The crazy thing is that I think I am doing this to protect her. To protect Carina and her family. I started dating her, but then I found out that she was a part of the Dellucci family. I didn’t know it before hand and after that, it compromised my ability to do my job.”

“Wow.” He laughed. “Now, that is some crazy shit. You are willing to sacrifice your career for that woman? That says a lot.”

“Not sacrifice.” I closed the window’s blinds and turned back towards him. “Just put on pause, for now. I would hate to see her hurting and I know that if she witnesses her family fall apart, then she would fall apart internally right along with them. I need to know what you know about any deals that come up. Anything that will grab the attention of the Chicago police department.”

“Why?”

I grinded my teeth together inside my mouth like I was trying to smash them to powder. I couldn’t believe my position had changed so dramatically and all because of a woman that I couldn’t seem to shake out of my heart. She grew like a rose in a place that I never thought there would be life.

“I need to protect Carina and if that means keeping her family out of trouble, or at least giving them the heads up, then that is what I am going to do. I just need to know what is happening Mason. Can you do that for me?”

He exhaled, then leaned back in his seat. “Yeah, man. Yeah, I can do that. It will be weird as fuck, but I can do it.”

“Good. That’s all I need from you.”

I headed towards his front door, but he spoke up before I could reach it.

“Hey, you’re leaving?”

“Yeah. I need to take care of some things first. You just make sure you keep me alert to anything big, alright?”

“Ok. I got it, Harrison.”

As I walked by him, I saw the shotgun just to the right of his chair and wondered if he would’ve had the gall to use it if things didn’t go the way they did. I was just happy that I didn’t have to find out.

***

Over the next couple of weeks, I kept my distance from the precinct, but at the same time, I made sure to stay in touch with Mason in case anything changed about the Dellucci family. I hadn’t heard from him in the last two days, so I started to wonder if everything was alright.

Carina and I continued getting closer and as the days went by and the more we hung out with each other, the more I wanted to make sure nothing happened to her or her family. She had become a thorn in my side, but it wasn’t one that I wanted to remove. I couldn’t move the way I normally would have, but I loved having her around.

One evening, during a date with Carina, I got a call from O’Malley.

“Hello?”

“Are you enjoying your vacation?”

“Vacation? That doesn’t sound like ‘suspension’ to me.”

“Yeah, same thing. Bring your ass into the precinct within the next hour.”

“O’Malley, I am out right now.”

“I don’t give a shit if you are in fucking Puerto Rico. Bring your ass to the Precinct in the next hour.”

He hung up before I could response. I shook my head as Carina sat on the other side of the table. The sparkle in her eye glimmered as she sat in front of the glass of champagne. I shook my head sadly.

“Babe, I need to go.”

“I understand. Are you getting called back to work?”

“I don’t know what the fuck is going on. All I know is that I need to go down to the station so I can see what that bastard wants.” A look of disappointment flooded her eyes. I reached my hand across the table and gently slid it on top of hers. “Babe, don’t worry about anything, alright? I told you that I will make sure you are safe above all. Besides, I haven’t heard from Mason in a few days, so maybe I will find out what the fuck is going on with him.”

“Ok, baby. Be careful, alright?”

“Always.”

I took out my card and dropped it onto the table so she could pay for our meals. After that, I kissed her on the lips and then left to go to the precinct. A million scenarios ran through my head like a track meet. I wondered if O’Malley figured out that I was trying to keep Carina and her family safe, or even worse, Mason could’ve ratted me out and made me appear to be connected to the Dellucci family. Either way, I had a dreadful feeling that shit was about to hit the fan.

When I walked into the building, everyone looked at me as if I was a ghost. I sucked the air out of the room when I stepped into the lobby. I clenched my jaw as officers cleared their throats and waited for me to make my next move. I looked throughout the office until I landed on Mason’s desk. It was wiped clean as if he was no longer around. With a curious eye, I walked towards it, searching for an explanation. One of the officers spoke up.

“He is gone, Harrison.”

“Gone?” What do you mean by that?”

“He is gone. I guess someone found out that he was connected to the Dellucci family. He is detained right now, but he is trying to make bail.”

Fuck. “When did this happen?”

“A couple of days ago.”

I shook my head. The timeline made sense now. For the last couple of days, it had seemed as though he had fallen completely off the face of the earth. There was no sign of him at his home and his voicemail filled to capacity so that I couldn’t leave another message.

“Alright,” I said solemnly as I walked to O’Malley’s office. I knocked twice and after that, his voice billowed from the other side, telling me to come in. When I opened the door, another officer sat in my chair with a smirk on his face. O’Malley grinned as he pressed his fingertips together.

“Glad you could join us, Harrison. Have a fucking seat next to that guy.” I looked at Ronald. He was an undercover cop who was trying his best to take my ranking as lead undercover.

“I just wanted you to take a look at what a real fucking detective looks like.” O’Malley laughed. “Within a matter of days, this guy not only came in, but he got concrete information about a deal the Dellucci family is getting ready to make and in that process, he bagged four dirty cops for their connections with Dellucci. And your friend, Mason?” O’Malley shook his head, “that filthy fucking fat piece of shit was one of them. I just wanted you to see the man who will most likely replace you because of your inability to separate business from pleasure.”

Ronald smirked as he looked at me like a winning fighter in a cage match. I threw up my hands and I walked out of the office. I could hear O’Malley calling my name behind me, but I did not care. I was in too deep now, and I had to know exactly what was going on. And the only way I could think of doing that was to talk to the one person I wanted to keep away from this.