Not that it did them any good, mused Laura. Jack does operate under his own set of rules and his methods are unorthodox—okay, illegal—but never corrupt.
It sometimes left Laura in an awkward position with Elvis, but he trusted her own moral judgement ... and she trusted Jack’s. Her marriage was something of a balancing act, not just for her, but for Elvis, too. They had elected not to discuss work at home.
Since being transferred to work with Jack on the Intelligence Unit last year, Laura really appreciated just how necessary it was to have an Anti-Corruption Unit. Organized crime specialized in turning what were once good cops into dirty cops. Elvis did not have an easy job. Something that made her love him all the more.
“Sure I’ll drop you off,” said Jack, continuing their conversation. “I’ll give Natasha a call, too.”
Laura dialled Elvis, who put her on hold. She watched as Jack called his wife. Natasha was a doctor who worked in an emergency clinic on the downtown east side. Not an easy job, either.
Laura heard the first few words of Jack’s conversation to Natasha. “Hey honey, I’m going to be a little late. Maybe around seven. Laura and I have to go meet a friend ....”
Laura’s thoughts went to who they were really meeting. Meeting a friend meant meeting a confidential source. Real names were never used. Jack was extremely protective of any of his sources. Their friend in this case was Damien. Not actually an informant, but as a top criminal, Damien and the police sometimes had common enemies. Laura knew that only too well.
Last year a Colombian drug lord by the name of Carlos planned to murder Damien and had tried to kill Jack. The biker’s rules stated they would never phone the police or cooperate with them. Last year was different. Damien was scared for his own family and reluctantly agreed to go along with Jack’s plan to neutralize Carlos. Can’t believe my mind thought the word neutralize —Jack’s influence no doubt. I should have thought murder.
Jack convinced the brass to let them travel to Colombia on the pretext of arranging an undercover purchase of a shipment of cocaine by using Damien as an informant. His real plan had Damien introduce them to a rival Colombian drug lord by the name of Diego Ramirez and convincing Ramirez to kill Carlos. The plan worked. Ramirez never did find out that Jack and Laura were undercover police officers.
Ramirez used a string of shoe stores and leather factories to launder his money and aid in his exportation of tonnes of cocaine. When they all met last year in Colombia, it was obvious that he was attracted to Laura.
At Christmas, Ramirez sent a box full of expensive shoes to Damien to pass on to Laura. Damien held on to them for over a month before sending them to her house. Laura thought Damien should have known better. Gifts from Damien or a Colombian drug lord would definitely attract the attention of the Anti-Corruption Unit. She was glad that Elvis was not home when they arrived and did not see her take them out to the trunk of the car.
This resulted in another secret that she kept from him. Keeping secrets from her husband bothered her immensely. Elvis always knew when she was up to something ... but was kind enough not to probe too deep when it came to the job.
When Laura finished talking to Elvis, Jack said, “Come on.
We’d better tell Quaile something.”
Moments later, Jack walked into Staff Sergeant Quaile’s office with Laura at his heels. Quaile was in charge of their particular Intelligence Unit, having arrived from a Commercial Crime Section in the fall.
Quaile was pegged as a high flyer. Someone who was rapidly climbing the corporate ladder. Jack knew that Quaile obviously had the backing of some high-ranking officer from somewhere in his career. His transfer to the Intelligence Unit was just another step in balancing his experience. Which means he won’t be here long.
Jack waited until Quaile looked up and said, “Laura and I are heading out to meet a source. We’ll be gone for the day.”
Quaile glanced at his watch and said, “Thirty minutes before your shift ends? Is that what you are really doing—or are you just skipping out early?”
Jack felt his jaw clench, and replied, “We are meeting a source.” There was a noticeable edge to his voice.
“Really? What source?” Quaile’s tone now matched Jack’s.
Damn it, why antagonize a snake? Jack thought. I’ll only be bitten. Jack’s voice returned to normal and he replied, “Fred Farkle. He’s a dope dealer.”
“Oh,” replied Quaile. He stared at his own hand for a moment while drumming his fingers on his desk. Reaching a decision, he abruptly looked up and said, “Okay, but you’re not claiming overtime for this. You should have rescheduled to a more appropriate time.”
“We won’t claim overtime.”
Quaile nodded and returned to reading the policy manual.
Upon entering the parking garage Laura snickered and said, “Fred Farkle? Couldn’t you come up with a better name than that?”
“If Quaile was smarter, I would have,” replied Jack, opening the car trunk and passing Laura her bag of clothes.
“And this is another thing,” replied Laura. “Having to change clothes so we don’t look like two J. Edgar Hoover FBI agents—doesn’t he appreciate the type of work we do?”
“Apparently not. Just remember to change back when we return.”
“What the hell are you up to?” said Jack, while throwing the box of shoes down on the path at Damien’s feet.
“What?” replied Damien, looking first at the shoes sprawled out of the box before gazing at Laura. “Wrong size?”
“This is bullshit,” said Jack. “You know better. What’s going on?”
Damien glanced around the park, nodded and said, “Let’s keep moving.”
They left the discarded shoes on the ground and strolled down a path together. “Sorry,” said Damien. “I got inebriated the other night and decided it would be funny. That’s all there is to it.”
“That’s all there is to it?” said Jack heatedly. “Making it look like Laura could be getting a bribe—speaking of which, did you know her husband works in Internal Affairs?”
“Internal? I heard he was in the Anti-Corruption Unit,” said Damien, before quickly adding, “Oh, I guess it’s the same thing. Besides, he wasn’t home at the time.”
Laura felt her spine tingle. Damien knows a lot about us ... too much!
As if reading her mind, Damien looked at her and said, “Don’t worry. Just routine survival stuff. You know, keep your friends close, your enemies ...”
“So, you’re telling us you did it because you were pissed the other night?” said Jack.
Damien studied Jack’s face momentarily before answering, “No, I said I was inebriated. There you go again. Typical cop, thinking you have to lard on the tough talk.”
“So inebriated,” said Jack, “that you decided to advertise that you were back in the cocaine import business again?” Jack looked at Laura and added, “What am I saying? Why did I think he was ever out of it?”
Damien shook his head and said, “No, I am not importing cocaine from Ramirez. After what we went through with him last year? Give your head a shake!”
“New supplier?” asked Jack.
“It’s not us you should be wasting your time on,” said Damien.
“I’ve never found working on Satans