Falling for the Target

The Outing

The rain in New York didn’t fall. It attacked.

Marley stood under the awning of a 24-hour bodega in Queens, watching water run down the street like the city was trying to wash itself clean. Her coat was soaked through. Her badge was tucked deep in her inner pocket. And her target was 2 blocks away, eating at a diner like he didn’t have 3 warrants and a 2-million-dollar bounty on his head.

_Benjamin Cole. 28. Suspected ringleader of the Cole Crew. Robbery, extortion, 1 count of manslaughter._

That’s what the file at the detective office said.

That’s not what Marley had seen the last few days.

*Few Days Ago*

Her captain had slammed the folder on her desk. “You’re going in undercover, Detective Marley Hayes. We’ve tried surveillance, wiretaps, nothing. Ben Cole doesn’t trust cops. But he hires. A lot.”

“Me?” Marley asked. “I’ve been on the job 8 months.”

“You’re young. You look desperate for work. And you don’t look like a cop.” He paused. “Get close. Get evidence. Get him arrested. Don’t get attached.”

So Marley became “Ley”, a girl from Los Angeles who needed cash and didn’t ask questions. She applied as a secretary at Gestric Tech.

And that’s where she met Ben.

Not the monster in the file.

Ben with tired eyes and a scar across his knuckles. Ben who tipped the dishwasher $200 because “kid’s got tuition”. Ben who noticed when she burned her hand on the espresso machine and made her sit down while he bandaged it himself.

“Don’t be a hero” he’d said, laughing. “You’ll pass out and I’ll have to explain to HR why my new girl died on shift.”

For the pa's few days she watched him. He ran the bar, he ran errands, he yelled at guys who got too loud. But she didn’t see guns. She didn’t see drugs. She saw a man who remembered everyone’s name.

And last night, he asked her to dinner.

“Just us” he said. “You work too hard, Ley. You need a break.”

She should have said no. Should have called her captain. Instead she said yes.

Which is why she was standing in the rain now, 2 blocks from the diner, with a wire in her bra and a gun in her ankle holster.

*Present*

Marley pushed through the door of _Marty’s Diner_. The bell jingled.

Ben was in a corner booth, hoodie up, nursing black coffee. No crew. No bodyguards. Just him.

He looked up and his whole face changed when he saw her.

“There she is” he said, standing. “You’re soaked. Sit.”

Marley slid into the booth. The wire felt like it was burning her skin.

“You said 8” Ben said. “It’s 8:15. I thought you bailed.”

“Subway was delayed” she lied.

He flagged the waitress. “Coffee for her. And pancakes. She looks like she hasn’t eaten.”

“I’m fine” Marley said.

“You’re not” Ben replied, soft. “I can tell.”

They made small talk. About the rain. About the Yankees losing. About nothing.

But Marley’s eyes kept drifting to his hands. The same hands that bandaged her. The same hands in the police photos, holding a gun over a body.

“Can I ask you something?” Ben said suddenly.

Marley’s heart jumped. “Yeah?”

“Why’d you really take that job at The company?"

She froze. This was it. The moment she could flip it. Ask questions. Get him talking.

“I needed something to do honestly, yeah I know I'm just visiting but I'll need money too to survive here cause I don't even have parents for help or something”

Ben nodded slowly. “I’m sorry but what really happened.”

"Trust me if I knew I'd be more happy but I don't even know" she said as tears began to roll slowly from her eyes. "I was just fuckinnnnn 10!!!!!! and life wasn't fair to me Ben. I'm fine now though" she said.

"Doesn't look like you've really healed my love. It's okay" Benjamin said as he tried to hug her. "It's all okay Marley, relax"

They spoke more and eventually left for the night.