Linda Kay Silva - Delta Stevens 3 - Weathering the Storm (19 page)

“Chuckie’s Steak House?”

“Mm Hm. And that’ll cost you, Sweet thing.” Candy pushed her hand through the window and held her palm up.

Delta looked down into her hand and grinned. “Bill me.”

“I’ll take your handsome partner for payment,” Candy said, winking at Tony and rolling her tongue over her thick lips. Delta shook her head. “You don’t want him. He’s an amateur.”

“Oh, Sugar, that’s just how I like them.”

All three woman laughed. “Now you get outta here, girl, before you ruin our action.”

As Delta drove away, Tony cleared his throat. “Uh, Delta? What was that all about, and why didn’t we bust them? They were obviously hookers.”

Delta couldn’t help but smile. He was so young. “No, Carducci, they were prostitutes, and I don’t bust prostitutes.”

“Why not?”

“It’s a victimless crime. And if there ever is a victim, it’s usually one of the girls. Women have the right to do what they want with their own bodies.”

“But what about diseases and stuff?”

Delta shrugged. “Hell, we should legalize it, tax it, and pull this country out of debt. With AIDS spreading the way it is, legalization and registration of all prostitutes may be one of the safest ways to go.”

“I doubt a lot of the guys would agree with you on that one.”

Running her hand through her hair, Delta nodded. “Probably not. I wish we cops were a little more progressive, but cops don’t like change. Do you know how long it took police departments to go from the nightstick to the PR24?”

Tony nodded. “A long time.”

“Right. Because cops, like most people, detest change. And even though the PR24 is harder to master than the straight baton, with the handle, you can do so much more with it.” Pulling into Chuckie’s parking lot, Delta looked around for Julio. “Damn him. I hate when he does things like this.” Opening the door, Delta told Tony to wait in the car.

“Wait?”

“Yeah, wait. Julio doesn’t like other cops very much. I won’t be long.”

When she opened the door to the steak house, Delta stopped in her tracks when she saw Julio behind the counter flipping burgers.

“Julio?”

Turning to see her, Julio shook his head and cut his eyes over to a door that said “Employees Only.”

Delta got the hint and followed him through the door.

“Whatcha doin’, man? Tryin’ to get me fired?”

“Fired? You work here?”

Julio closed the door behind Delta and led her back to the storeroom. “Yeah, I work here. Wussamatter? Think Julio too stupid to get a job?”

Delta shook her head. “Not at all. ” It was the first time in three years that Delta had ever seen Julio not baked out of his mind. “I’m just...surprised, that’s all.”

“Yeah, well, if my boss sees me talkin’to you, he may think I done somethin’ wrong, know what I mean?”

“I wouldn’t have come if it wasn’t important.”

“So, now that you found me, wussup?”

Delta felt like she was talking to a stranger. Julio had never been straight during any of their previous encounters. As a member of the Crips, Julio had been a dope man, always making sure the gang had plenty of party goods. One day, when Julio’s girlfriend was facing a possible gang rape by rival gang members, Delta and Miles had saved her. This had earned Delta his eternal loyalty, a gift she heartily accepted.

“What have you heard about snuff flicks lately, Julio?”

Julio bowed his head and scuffed his shoe on the ground. “Man, I was hopin’ it was anything but that, Officer Stevens.”

“Why?”

“Killin’ kids is a mean business, man. Gangs don’t do it, the mob don’t do it, man, nobody who isn’t loco does.”

“Well, Julio, someone is doing it, and I need help finding out who.”

Julio shook his head before peering around the corner. “Word has it some dude from Venezuela or Brazil is in town looking for green. Guy goes by the name of...oh shit, man... what was it? Papa, or Poppy, or something like that. No one knows what he looks like, but his main man is a tall skinny dude who been askin’ about buyers and shit.”

“What else?”

Julio thought for a second before answering. “Chit has it he lookin’ for dark meat, if you get my drift.”

“African-Americans?”

“Naw. Not that dark.”

Delta nodded. “He’s been looking for Hispanic kids?”

Julio nodded. “Something like that. Guess the dude is here to show his goods to the locals, you know, to make ’em hungry for more. That’s all I know, Officer Stevens. Nobody wants to mess with these guys.”

“Because of the kids?”

“Naw. ’Cause the feds are after them.”

This surprised Delta. How had word already leaked out that thefeds were in town? “How do you know?”

Julio shook his head. “You know the deal, Officer. I tell you stuff, but I ain’t gotta tell you where I got it.”

Delta nodded. “Sorry.”

“Look, man, you better go. I don’t want no trouble. I need this job.”

“You do? Since when?”

Julio bowed his head again. “Since my ol’ lady’s knocked up.”

Delta stopped. “You’re having a baby?”

Julio looked up at her and grinned sheepishly. “Yep.” Pushing past Delta, Julio retied his apron. “I want you to nail those fuckers, Officer Stevens, before my baby comes. I mean, you wouldn’t want to see someone who fucked with my family.”

Patting Julio on the back, Delta started out the door. “That’s the plan, Julio.”

“Funny how having a baby changes how you see things.”

“Even funnier how things change when you’re not high.”

Julio grinned, displaying the cap on his front tooth. “Yeah. That, too.”

“Thanks, Julio. And good luck with your bambino.”

“Ah, man, don’t start with all that fatherhood shit. Being a father ain’t gonna change my ways, Officer.”

Delta patted him on the back. “Talk to me in nine months,
amigo,
and we’ll see if you’re singing the same tune.”

With that, Julio headed back behind the counter. “I also heard you gotta airhead for a partner. You watch your ass out there, Officer Stevens. Even good cops get killed.”

“I’ll do that.” Stepping out the door, Delta inhaled the smell of freshly cooked hamburgers. Julio had a job and was going to be a father. Maybe there was hope yet.

“You sure have some weird connections, Delta,” Tony said when they pulled out of the driveway. The night felt like a stranger peeking through their windows as they told dispatch they were back on the air.

Delta glanced out the window for one more look at Julio as he snatched the order from the little silver spinner. “Weird is in the eyes of the beholder, Carducci. That kid is my eyes and ears on the street. He’s more valuable than five undercover cops. Julio always knows what’s going down and he gave me another piece to the puzzle. Pull over so I can call Connie and let her know what I found out.” Jumping out of the car, Delta raced to the phone, called Connie, and was surprised to get Connie’s voicemail. She left a brief message about Papa’s or Poppy’s name and told her she’d tell her the rest later. When Delta returned to the car, Tony was staring out the window.

“You okay?” She asked, lightly touching his arm.

Tony shrugged, but did not look at her. “When I was a kid, one of my friends was kidnapped from our neighborhood. Her name was Anya and she was only ten. I remember how the panic and fear gripped the adults as they searched everywhere for her.”

“Did she ever turn up?”

Tony shook his head. “Never.”

“I can’t imagine anything worse than having your child snatched. Some people never know what happens to their children. I think that’s the worst.”

“I’d rather know.”

Delta turned as she slowed to a stop. “Know what?”

“That my kid was dead. I’d rather know the truth than to spend my life wondering if he was still alive, hurt, or being mistreated. Man, that’s a torture no one should have to go through.”

Delta listened carefully to Tony’s words as she measured the weight of the plans she was tossing about in her head—plans that might get them both into a lot of trouble.

But trouble was a part of Delta’s life she had come to expect. She knew, from the age of thirteen, that controversy followed her everywhere and that rebelliousness was simply a glitch in her character. That was one of the reasons police work was for her. It kept her balanced between her rebellious nature and the rules of life—rules she too often disregarded, rules she was contemplating disregarding at this very moment.

Staring out the window, Delta thought back to the days when she had just graduated from the academy. She remembered how the streets came to life at night. There was an underbelly to the night that threatened to consume those who didn’t understand this world of darkness. The beings who walked the dreary, dark, and dangerous streets at night seemed to dance with the shadows, as the moon glared down, threatening to unfold the secrets of the night dwellers. In the cold, bleak landscape, the sounds of crickets and screeching tires intermingled like two songs playing simultaneously. Nothing was as it appeared during the night hours; a cry in the darkness could just be a cat or someone singing—or it could be someone screaming for help. Only the veteran of the streets could tell the difference. As the darkness covered the city, a different world emerged. It was the antithesis of daylights’ beings in three-piece suits who strode with confidence down these very streets. This darkness, this heavy cover settling over the city, was why Delta loved her job. It was what made her want to save the world from itself. Yes, she came out of the academy with her ideals flying out of her pockets like loose change. She wanted to be an impact player, a person who could make a difference in the lives of people tossed aside like an unmatched sock. Being a cop was the best way she knew of to make that difference. And she had made a difference. So far, apart from her individual successes on her beat, she had saved a police department from ruin and a hotel full of people from being killed. She had made an impact.

She wanted to do it again.

Only now, she would be risking the wrath of a captain who had put her on TPin an effort to save her already tenuous position in the department. Delta had been a rogue cop and a hero all in one night. She had been placed on TP to teach, to learn, and to remember all the rules she had bypassed over the last couple of years.

But what good was teaching, learning, and remembering, if the people she had sworn to protect were being victimized? What good was she as a teacher if her student never experienced success? What the hell good was she if she followed the damn rules yet seldom made the major busts?

Turning around to Carducci, Delta inhaled, blew out a breath and pulled the car over.

“What’s the matter?” Tony asked when they came to a stop. “Want me to drive?”

Shaking her head, Delta licked her lips and turned the radio down. “Carducci, I want you to listen carefully to me because I am only going to say this once, okay?”

Nodding, Tony’s face was a mixture of secrecy and excitement.

“My job is to teach you the streets, right?”

“Right.”

“And so far, I’ve done that, haven’t I?”

Tony nodded. “Yep.”

Delta smiled. “I’m glad. But we have a little problem here.”

Tony’s face fell. “Did I do something wrong?”

“Oh, no, Carducci. This isn’t about anything you’ve done wrong.”

Visibly relieved, Tony relaxed. “Whew. For a minute there—”

“You’re doing fine. Well...with a few minor incidences, but that’s not the problem.”

“Then what is it?”

“A long time ago, I promised a friend I would do whatever I could to keep his children safe. As we speak, children are being hunted out here and the feds are getting so bogged down in red tape, they’ll never find them. Government guys usually have far different agendas than the rest of us. They’re always looking for the big score; they always play for keeps. Look at the Waco fiasco. They had a chance to save lives, but instead, they botched things up royally. They failed because they went for the whole pie. In the process, little slices of that pie—children— were killed.”

Tony nodded, his face changing from apprehension to comprehension.

“Look, I’m going to be totally honest with you. I’ve been put on ice here on TP. My job is to train you to the best of my ability. But I’m a cop, Carducci, not a teacher. And when I see crimes against the people on my beat, it’s my job to go after them, regardless of my title. I don’t give a shit about `the big picture’ or `the big fish.’ My job is to arrest people who victimize other people. And FBI be damned, that’s what I’m going to do. Are you following me?”

Tony nodded. “Loud and clear. You want to go after the porn ring.”

Delta nodded once. “I can’t sit back and play teacher while children are being whisked away practically out from underneath my nose. If that’s the way the captain and everybody else wants this played, they can have my badge, because it isn’t worth the metal it’s made of.”