Job Opening

 A beautiful fall Saturday Morning in Philadelphia....My wife, Detective Carlotta Rodiguez-Wallace and I , ADA Keith Wallace were actually not on duty today...We were down by Boathouse Row...Guests of our friend, Millionaire playboy, Rollie Rollerson who had a boathouse on the row...He allowed me and Carlotta to use it and to watch the Philadelphia Fall Regatta... We had spent the night and were now watching the boat races in which teams of people rowed very long boats down the river...

"Ouu Papi this is sooooo exciting...I haven't been to one of these in years." said Carlotta...

''So you've been before? This is my first one...I wasn't too interested in this type of thing when I was younger."I said.

''Neither was I..but this guy I was kind of dating at the time brought me to this...He directed me and my sister in a video and a photo shoot and he brought me..It was kind of fun..." she said as she took a sip of her coffee..

 "Oh....So you enjoyed yourself huh?" I said..

"Yes...but it was different..I spent half the time trying to fight him off...He had wandering hands...He squeezed my boobs...He was trying to kiss me and pull me into the house to grind on me...He became a nuisance..I couldn't enjoy the race." she complained...

"Well, uh...I've been uh squeezing your boobs and I've kissed you a couple of times..."I said.

"You're different...I don't mind you squeezing my boobs..you're gentle and I've uh been squeezing something of yours too..." she said slyly..

I smiled...

"You sure have...and you're welcomed to squeeze all you want.." I whispered in her ears...She was sitting on my lap....She smiled sweetly...

"Not out here..No more...People are looking.." she said.

''Then let's go inside..."I said.

''Again?We did it three times last night...Aren't you tired?" she asked..

"I'm never too tired for that." I laughed...

"Hmmmmmm..." she said.

She laughed and leaned over and kissed me softly for a few minutes...

"Ummmmmm, I knowwww...I knoww..."she laughed.

I was getting ready to lift her up and take her back into house when we heard a chilling scream! Followed by more chilling screams...

 Out on the water in the middle of the race...a body floated to the top of the river...It was a man!!!!!

"Oh My God...There's a man floating out there in the water!" I said.

Carlotta jumped up...She ran to the edge and looked...A white male about my age in a pin stripped suit and black shoes floated by....People were screaming and all around us, cell phones were going off....there was blood,mixing with the water...He'd been shot recently...

The Philadelphia Marine Unit arrived within minutes and brought the body inland....

Carlotta ran down to the docking area and showed her I.D.

"I'm Detective Carlotta Rodriguez-Wallace....Homicide..C.I.D." she said.

"You sure got here fast" said the Lieutenant on duty...

"My husband and I were watching the Regatta.." she said.

He looked her up and down...and then I showed up..

"I'm Assistant District Attorney Keith Wallace from the D.A.'s office...She's my wife.." I said.

He looked at me and smiled...

"Well ,you're both in the right place at the right time...depending on how you wanna look at it." he said.

II-

Some time later ,Carlotta and I watched as the body of the man was brought out of the water...He had a nice neat hole in his forehead and the back of his head appeared to have been blown out...

"He was shot with a high powered weapon." said Carlotta...

"Yeah Top that's what I make of this...Not a silencer either...This was loud." said Duke as he looked at the body...

"So this wasn't a pro....Hazel is coming over to take a look at him...She'll be able to tell for sure." said Tyriq...

"You're right Carlotta..He was hit with a big gun...a large caliber bullet, which unfortunately we don't have...It looks like it went in and out ...Whoever this man is...He got shot recently and fell in the water and floated downstream...He hasn't been dead that long." said Hazel..

"I got Marine police and uniforms searching the length of the river and at all exits trying to see if anybody saw or heard anything...There aren't many if any cameras out here." said Hop..

Just then Jimmy walked up..

He looked at the body and said- "I know this guy.....His name is Leonid Zharkovy...."

"Friend of yours partner?" asked Carlotta..

"Not a friend....He's Russian Mafia...He's Little Nikita's number two...his enforcer...or at least he was...Guess he's not now...Stone Cold Killer....I don't know who would have had the guts to get this close to him...He had to be shot by someone he either was friends with or didn't consider a threat." said Jimmy."

"Little Nikita...That guy is into everything...He runs women....He's suspected of selling a high grade of heroin to local gangs and since Breezy died...He's become the man of the hour in Little Norway." said Tyriq.

His wife, Detective Sirena Pile and Lt. Sissy Van Buren walked up with FBI SAC,Sharon Hopkins..

"Rico is right...Sharon,Duke, Rico and I have been profiling Little Nikita for months now..We have plain clothes guys and undercover FBI all over the area and Sharon has wiretaps on his operation.." said Sirena.

"Yes and so far we've got nothing...He doesn't talk on the phone....at all...We've picked up a few texts but that's it..."said Sissy...

"My undercovers say that he usually sends out a text ,calling for a meeting....His guys and him all meet at Penns Landing...They stand in a circle near the water and talk or they take the Ferry to Camden and talk and get their information...Then they disperse...We got a few photos....but that's it..Nothing concrete.We've been looking at him and his operation for close to a year now."said Sharon.

"He got any murders on him?" I asked..

''Dozen or so..None that we can prove..Little Nikita runs a tight ship...He's got a guy who runs the women...and he's got a guy who handles the distribution of the heroin to the city gangs...He's got another guy...a bag man ,who pays everybody and who does collections...That there was laughing boy here...His enforcer ,who they all reported to.."said Sharon..

''So who takes his place?"asked Carlotta...

"Whoever killed this man..." said Sissy.

"Chica...You,Rico ,Sirena and Hop work this murder...work it hard....Duke...you and Sharon co-ordinate and see what you can get on who in his organization is moving up...and Jimmy...you take on the girls.."said Sissy.

"He can do you one better." came the voice of U.S. Attorney Brendan Burnside...

''Brendan...How are you doing?"I asked..

''Keith Wallace...Not as good as you babe.."he said looking slyly at Carlotta..

"I've followed you guys exploits in the paper...DEA Special Agent Carol Redding told me that you guys are the best....I'm glad you caught this case... Carol will be meeting with you soon to get you up to speed on this...We've been looking at Little Nikita for a long time..

''We'll do whatever we can." said Sissy...

"Your detective, here, James Barlow...He went undercover for us years ago..."said Brendan...

We all looked at Jimmy who smiled sheepishly..

"Junior? You went undercover?" asked Duke with a sly smile..

"First he pulls Angie..Now we find out he was undercover...Junior, I swear you are just full of surprises.."said Tyriq laughing..

"Oh My God...I was closest to you and I didn't even know.." laughed Carlotta..

"I had just made Detective...Carlotta, you were in Robbery-Homicide by then with Rico...Carol was my handler..I went undercover for six months.."said Jimmy..

"He did great work too...Helped us take down 39 members of the Russian mob...and during that time..He was real close to this guy and Little Nikita.....Then he came out of the cold...I'm bettin...You can go back in, get close to them and give us what we haven't been able to get...a solid lead." said U.S. Attorney Burnside.

''He's getting married in about a week..Maybe you need to get somebody else."said Sissy protectively...

"

"He doesn't need to be under any more than two or three days.. With this guy dead there is a job opening..Little Nikita is at least going to need a driver...You're the one kid..He knows you...He'll trust you..We can build you a new identity and an alibi for your seven year disappearence...You were in federal prison...You game? If you are...We can finally get inside his inner circle.Our intelligence says he runs   the drugs, the girls, protection...a piece of everything in that part of town.We can take him down...We are never going to get anything on the wiretaps and we don't have an undercover or plain clothes guy close enough to him or his inner circle...He trusts few." he asked.

"Little Nikita is a psychopath....He's major bad news....You'll never get him unless I get close to him." said Jimmy.

"What about Angie?" asked Carlotta.

Jimmy looked thoughtful for a minute...

''She'll understand...I just gotta do this.." said Jimmy.

Even I thought something was strange about that answer...I walked over to him...

"Jimmy what's going on?" I asked.

"Nothin chief..."he said.

"You're about to be married soon...Is this you gettin cold feet?" I asked.

"Cold feet? I can't wait to be married to Angie." he said...

I believed him...for some reason..

"Then why this suicide mission?" I asked..

"I gotta get this out of my system...Just one last big adventure and then I take the biggest plunge of my life..
marriage." he said.

''It's more than that...I know it is." I said.

"Seven years ago...me and this guy, a good friend of mine...went undercover..He was a rookie like me..He slipped up somehow and they made him...Little Nikita put a bullet in his head...left him in an alley like garbage."said Jimmy.

"You saw this?" I asked.

"No...but I know he did it...I had to come in from out of the cold...We took down 39 guys...but missed those two...I owe it to my friend to get Little Nikita...That's all this is...It has nothing to do with Angie..I love her something crazy....You know that. But this guy killed a cop...a cop that had a wife and two small children...Hasn't been a day gone by that I haven't thought about Brenden..That was his name, Brenden Irvin..He was 24 years old.." he said.

"Okay..." I said "If you change your mind or need to talk...You know my number man." I said.

"Thanks Chief." he said.

III-

 

''Sissy..Remember when you guys took down Malik Clark? You guys set up shop in an old dilapidated hotel right?" said Brendan Burnside...

"Don't remind me..That place stunk...." said Sissy...

"Well ,This operation has got to be close to the bone..I can't allow any leaks...So You and your people are going to temporarily be assigned to me....." he said.

"Brendan..We are working a murder case here." said Sissy.

"This goes much deeper than that...I've rented a nicer place for you guys to work out of ..It's right outside of
Little Norway...You guys have the second floor and third floor of this apartment complex..We own it...I know many of you people are married...So I got rooms for all of you...

"Duke ,Hazel..here are your room keys..." he said.

"Tyriq..Sirena...Here are yours." he said.

"ADA Wallace...I've already called the D.A....You and your wife have the room next to theirs..he said and passed Carlotta and I a set of keys..

"Sharon...you and your husband will have a set of keys also...

"And Sissy..Here are your keys..call your fiance and tell him where you are...He can stay here...but he is to tell no one where he's going or that you are here.." said Brendan..

"Now...I want you to hand pick the plain clothes guys and undercover FBI guys you can trust....They will be the only ones who will report here and I will supply you with an administrative staff....They'll be working out of the first floor and you'll all use the indoor parking lot..Nobody parks their cars on the street,nobody and no marked police cars..To the outside world..This is just an apartment complex..." He said.

We all looked at each other...

Just that fast,our entire lives had been turned upside down....What started out as a murder investigation had now become a major federal investigation...

Brendan Burnside was a fast talking man...He was a brilliant U.S. Attorney though...and dedicated to taking down the major players in organized crime...I respected the man a lot...It's just that his timing was terrible..

I whispered to Carlotta...

"I sure hope the walls aren't thin in this joint.."

"I hope not either." she whispered and giggled to me...

Sissy wondered aloud...

"I wonder what Angie will think?"

IV-

While we were all going back to our houses and making arrangements for this major undertaking...Angie was enjoying drinks with Captain Eddie Cantrell and his soon to be bride, DEA agent Carol Redding..a few days later at Stoleys.

"Captain Cantrell...This is the first time I've seen you since your promotion." said Angie..

"Yeah baby..I've been at my desk doing administrative work...I'm not out on the street as much...." he said.

"And when he's not at his desk ,he's on me." joked DEA agent Carol Redding..

Angie cracked up..

"Ouuuuuuu, you are sooo bad..." she said. They both giggled.

"I haven't seen Sissy or any of the guys in days...What's going on?" he asked..

"They've been reassigned..It's top secret...but uh there is a joint FBI-DEA-Philadelphia Police investigation of Russian mobster ,Little Nikita going on and they are in an undisclosed location."explained Carol.

''And I wasn't informed?" he asked.

"It's need to know..They want no chance of any leaks.."said Carol...

''And my adrenalin junkie husband to be is deep undercover.."said Angie with a taste of sarcasm in her voice.

"Really? So close to your wedding?? Not something I'd volunteer for."said Ed Cantrell...Carol shot him a look that meant for him to be quiet...He immediately understood..

"Uhhh ruhhh, excuse me girls..These uh ruh drinks..Got to visit the little boys room." he said and excused himself..

Carol looked at Angie..

"You alright girl?" she asked..

"Yeah...I just hope he didn't do this because he has cold feet all of a sudden...I've waited a long time to get married and I didn't force him to ask me.." she said.

"Jimmy is crazy about you....It's just that...Years ago..He went undercover and took some of their guys down..All except the worst of the bunch...Little Nikita and the guy that was murdered a few days ago...He always felt like he left some business unfinished...They killed one of our undercovers..a close friend of his..Brendan Irvin was his name...He was a plain clothes cop...it was his first assignment..Jimmy has never talked about it..but I know he has always wanted another shot at those two.. This burns deep with him...It has nothing to do with his not loving you...Okay?  I wouldn't bullshit you Angie...Not about this."said Carol..

"Okay Carol...I-I-I believe you. I know Jimmy loves me.." she said.

"He does... he loves the ground you walk on girl...I see the way he looks at you when you come in a room..That boy is gone over you...Give him some time." said Carol

"I'll give him the time he needs." said Angie.

"This will all work out...I promise you."said Carol, who rubbed Angie's arm.

V-

Meanwhile at a bar in Little Norway, A wire tapped conversation is being heard...

The voices are indentified as Vladmar Arkady...Little Nikita's younger brother who runs the bar and the hotel and the prostitution ring and Nikolay...Who runs the warehouse where the drugs are distributed to local Black, Latino, Asian and White drug gangs around the city...

"This new kid that is driving for the boss...I remember him..from seven years ago."said Vladmar..

"Yeah...I remember him too..He got busted along with those other guys...Said that he did a stretch in the federal prison out in California and then moved to Chicago....He told the boss that he ran with some cowboys in Chicago who can supply us with major weight.."said Nikolay..

"I don't trust him or like him...I didn't like him then...Isn't it interesting that he shows up just days after Leonid got hit?" asked Vladmar..

"Yes..This is funny.."said Nikolay..."You think he killed Leonid?"

"I don't know...Put somebody on him...Check out his prison record and call Chicago...If I find one part of his story is suspect...I will cut his throat myself and cut his testicles off and stuff them down his mouth and hang his dead corpse from a street light as a message.."said Vladmar...

U.S. Attorney Brendan Burnside looked at me...

"Keith...I'd appreciate it if you not tell your wife or any of your detectives what you just heard....I know how close they are to Detective Barlow.." he said.

"Look Brendan...What do you expect me to do? He's one of my guys...I am deeply concerned.."I said.

"You think I'm not?  I got undercover DEA and FBI guys all around that area and close to his people..They're watching Jimmy....Put some plain clothes cops in the mix too, keep em close but not too close...These two are just blowing smoke...They don't go to the toilet without asking Little Nikita...Now we built Jimmy a solid Prison record and we got phony Chicago contacts in place to feild their questions...His new identity is solid...Jimmy is as safe as I can make him...He's good..He's cool under pressure.."said Brenden...."Trust me Keith...I lost an undercover...He had my name...I don't plan on losing another one..I swear." he said.

"I'm trusting you man...with my boy's life." I said.


(TO BE CONTINUED.)