The Brokens

11

11

“Look Manu, they threatened you, so you can plead duress.” said Chenny, sighing as he slouched into his chair. They had been at it for over half an hour, and the kid still wouldn't testify. Yes, he would be at risked. But they had assured him that he would be protected. Okay so maybe that was a half truth. It was impossible to guess who was on NKTR payroll these days.

“They’ll find me.”

“We’ll place you in protective custody then!”

“Protective custody won't protect me from crooked cops! For all I know, they’ve infiltrated WITSEC.”

“That’s highly unlikely.”

“Are you kidding me? Do you know how many key witnesses in gang cases are murdered? Basically all of them, that’s how many.”

“We will take the proper measures!” assured Beth. Sure, it wouldn’t really be her doing it but if she had learned anything, it was to exploit police resources when given the chance. Building cases against gangs was hard. Sure, some random person n the street might say ‘well everyone knows they do it.’ But, evidence was lacking and most of these guys were either unidentified and the ones that were already had warrants for arrest. Nothing ever really seemed to work.

“Look, I trust you- you aren’t some easily corrupt beat-cop, but them, I wouldn’t trust them with a dollar!”

“I’m pretty sure that’s not how the phrase goes, but look, I’ve known Chenny for a pretty long time and you can trust him. Yeah, I get that there definitely are a lot of crooked cops, but as far as I know and believe, there are a few we can trust. Manu shook his head.

“My answer is still no.”

______________________________________

Daniel knocked on the door and tucked his other hand into his pocket. The door opened to reveal a man who looked terribly exhausted- Mr. Thames. “Becky isn’t home right now.” he said lazily,

“Oh, um, I’m actually Investigator Mathews. I was looking for Marie.” he said. Mr. Thames sighed.

“Thank god, an actual investigator. Marie’s upstairs.” Mr. Thames said, and opened the door further so that Daniel could come in. He tried to look away as he walked pass piles of trash. The Thame’s house was in short, a dump. The floorboards creaked as Daniel made his way up the stairs.

“Which door?” he asked. Mr. Thames pointed to the one at the end of the hall. Daniel slowly walked down the hall and knocked on Marie’s door.

“What?” she shouted.

“Marie, it’s Daniel Mathews. I’m on your case. Can I come in, there’s something you should know.” he said. There was a moment of silence.

“It’s unlocked.” Daniel let himself into the room to find Marie sat against the wall. “What is it?” she asked. Daniel leaned against the opposite wall so that he would be across from her.

“Today we encountered a key witness for your case- someone who was inside the operation.”

“Who?”

“Their identity is being kept confidential for the moment.”

“Okay, but can you tell me anything else?”

“Only that we are in the process of convincing them to testify. They were only in the setup part of the operation but they may let out soon.” Daniel said, making sure to say ‘they’ instead of ‘he’ or ‘she.’ He couldn’t have her knowing what gender they were. It’d be even worse of she found out that she knew him.

“Fine. Please though, when you can, tell me. Or else, don’t give me some false hope because that would make my life really suck. Well, worse than it already is.” she muttered. Sure, Daniel could tell that she was playing the whole sympathy thing, but he did feel bad. If she had known al the details, it could hit pretty close to home. Eventually, she would learn and probably despise the boy, the boy’s girlfriend who happened to be her friend, and quite frankly the investigators for not telling her. Then again, why should they have cared, she was just some random girl that they had soon at least 30 more of.

“I will. Until next time, Marie.” Daniel said as he pulled the door open.

“Bye.” she muttered, frustrated. As Daniel walked away, she listened to his footsteps. Sure, Marie wasn’t some spoiled brat who got everything she wanted, not even close. But, it was hard having the truth hung right in front of your face but not being able to grasp it. Marie was always told that she couldn’t and or wouldn’t understand, and that was just the thing- no one would!

______________________________________

Nicolette chewed on her lip as she pulled the milk out of the fridge. She listened to the quiet trickling as it filled her cup, before putting the cap back on and returning it to it’s proper place in the fridge. Nicolette jumped slightly at the sound of her phone ringing. She looked around for a moment, trying to locate it. Finally, her eyes rested on the phone, which lied face-down on the kitchen’s marble countertop. She rushed to pick up the call, worrying that it would go to voicemail.

“Hey babe, what’s up?” she asked.

“Nic, I’m at the police station,” he started. Nicolette almost dropped her glass as her eyes widened.

“Did you tell them anything incriminating?” she asked, worried.

“Um, no, atleast not for now.”

“Okay, relax. What do they want you to do?”

“They want me to testify for the case. I said no, but they keep on asking.”

“Well then keep saying no! You can’t let yourself get deep into this.” she said, her voice quieting. She hoped that Manu hadn’t said anything that would put him in jeopardy.

“You don’t get it Nic, they keep giving me all these offers. What should I do? Would it look suspicious if I don’t accept, or the opposite?”

“Just say ‘no is no and if you have any more questions I would like to get a lawyer’. It’s in the Miranda Rights that you can demand to have an attorney or representation in court.”

“I’ll try, but really Nic. you’ve got to get me out of this.” he pleaded. Nicolette sat down her glass.

“I’ll try.”