Chapter Four: History

Sixteen, the restaurant was an upscale place located in River North. It boasted high ceilings and a gorgeous contemporary modern theme with low lights that set an intimate mood despite the fact they were here for lunch time service. The menu in front of Maggie was expensive, more expensive than she would ever allow herself to afford on her normal salary as a detective however she wasn't here as a detective, she was here as Oskar's accountant. Through the course of her undercover work with him she had eaten at some of the most exquisite restaurants in the city, it had given her an opportunity to extend her culinary palate. That however did not make up for the company that she was keeping. As usual she was a lone woman at a table of middle aged men, all were dressed as smartly as she was however she was the only one not carrying. The usual players were here, Oskar, Oskar's brother Jacob, one of his body guards. It was a quiet affair where they could discuss business, he had already instructed her to remove two hundred grand from his private safe when they returned to the office and she noted at the time that he had been very unhappy about it. She hadn't been around for the rest of the conversation but she'd caught the intention of violence in the air as she was requested to attend a meeting back at the office later on at four thirty.

Dinner was over now and the gentlemen of the table seemed to be content sipping their freshly brewed Italian coffee as Maggie poured aromatic tea from a small pot into her tea cup. There was movement ahead of them, she saw a flash of something gold and a flurry of agitated voices at the hostess station before a man she recognized rounded the corner. It took a moment for her to put Al Olinsky's appearance into context, she was too startled by the fact he was here in the restaurant to put together any of the pieces. He hadn't changed much since the last time she'd seen him. He was still wearing his trademark hat, this time only in a different pattern than the usual black. His hair was shorter now and his goatee had become peppered with even more flecks of grey than before. The grip on her teacup tightened as he approached the table before she replaced it upon the saucer. The loud clink of china drew Oskar's attention before he followed her gaze. This was a tricky situation, one that Maggie knew that Al would sail through perfectly. He didn't even look at her as he stopped abruptly opposite Oskar who was seated to her right.

"Detective Olinsky." Oskar greeted with a jovial tone. It was the same tone he had used last night when he had killed Rodderick and it made her jaw clench and her stomach clench at the sound of it.

"Would you mind stepping up for a second so that I could have a word with your boss?" Al asked the bodyguard gruffly. Alberto cast a glance at Oskar, who took a long sip from his cappuccino in response to this request. She understood that it was a play of power, Oskar wanted to show Al that he wasn't worth the concern and Al, well he had never taken too kindly to someone who was rude to him. Before she knew what was happening, Al had gripped the bodyguard by the collar and was hoisting him to his feet. He used the momentum to toss him to the floor before slinking seamlessly into his chair. Jacob was on his feet instantly, his nostrils flaring like a wild dog as Al reviewed him stoically. Oskar reached out and placed a hand lightly on his brother's arm gesturing for him to sit down.

"You know, I know that you were behind the heist this morning." Al began, placing his clasped hands on the table.

"Heist?" Oskar queried, feigning innocence.

"Yea." Al persisted, that dogged determination set in his eye.

"I don't think so, no. Magdalena has been with me all morning, we running through the accounts." Oskar informed the other man, resting his elbows on the table and crossing his arms over his chest.

Al's gaze flickered upwards towards her, his eyes bored into hers for a brief moment. In them she saw the man that had handpicked her from the academy all those years ago, the person who had taught her how to survive in a world full of crooks and thieves even when you were right in the thick of them. He was the man that had made her into the person she was today. He betrayed nothing of that when he looked at her, he simply returned his gaze back to Oskar.

"You remember the old days?" Al asked Oskar conversationally. "You ran from the police you were guaranteed a beating. You shoot at the police it was guaranteed death. Now I am considered one of the last of the old timers and I am coming for you."

Oskar said nothing, he simply stared back at Al, his menacing eyes narrowing as he took in the other man's threat. Al's eyes flickered back to her for the briefest of moment before he said his final words to Oskar.

"You had better be ready."

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The night that Maggie had told him about the Bembenek operation was one of the worst in Al's Olinsky's life. He loved the job, he was devoted to it in every which way possible however he owed Maggie and that meant more to him. The younger woman trusted him, he was her mentor and he had known better than to let her take on something that would ruin what could be the best years of her life. She could do it, there was no question of that, he had trained her himself and he knew that both Vice and Narco used her in their stings, she had the experience and the motivation to go the distance. However he knew without a doubt she was doing it for the wrong reasons. For her slipping into this other life was about escape and when the chips were down that wasn't a good enough reason to do what she had been planning to do. Al had been firm about that but Maggie had been resolute, no matter how he tried to persuade her, she would not budge on her decision and in the end there was nothing more that he could do other than wish her the very best of luck and the promise that anytime she needed him he would be there come hell or high water.

That night still haunted him, Al thought about it often and played through every single argument he could have used on the young detective to persuade her to stay away from the Bembenek operation, however he knew that the outcome would have been very much the same. Maggie was like her father in that respect, stubborn and fierce. It came with an Irish temper and a sense of loyalty that he had never seen waver. He rose his eyes to the ceiling as the other members of the team listened to Antonio talk, Al had promised Bart before he had bled out on that street that he would take care of his daughter and he was determined the make good on that promise. What he'd seen today at the restaurant had solidified what Al had already known over the past few months, Maggie was fading. Despite how capable she was, the operation was taking it's toll and being around a man like Oskar was toxic. He knew what it was like to keep your distance from people, to never get close and hold your guard up. He checked in with her from time to time when Voight requested but he could see that she was losing those pieces of herself the longer she stayed under. If this went on too much longer the Maggie O'Neill he knew and cared for wouldn't be coming back. He'd seen what happened to officers when they'd been undercover too long and it wasn't pretty.

He'd already gone to her superiors with his suspicions and they had been less than helpful. Regan wanted Oskar's foreign contacts before he pulled her out and he was resolute on that. The politics on this case were complicated at best and those involved in finally nailing Bembenek and his network would be up for promotion. The mental health of a single officer didn't factor in their ambitions. It pissed Al off that he didn't have enough information to force Regan to change his mind. Right now he had to sit back and hope that Voight could dig up something to twist things in their favor. His sergeant tended to play his cards close to his chest at the best of times and right now he was up to his waist dealing with this mess caused by IAB. Voight thought if they managed to take down Bembenak they'd be able to free up Maggie from her undercover role as there would be no need for it anymore so Al had his fingers crossed that all of this would pan out the way they hoped.

Voight had had to take off for a meeting at the Ivory Tower but he had left Antonio running the show and Al had faith in the other man's abilities. He watched as Antonio gripped the collar of his vest with both hands before addressing the rest of the team. He knew what was at stake here and Al was glad that he wasn't the only one that had a personal investment in the outcome of this operation. He had known when Maggie and Antonio had been partnered up together that the younger man would do everything within his power to ensure that no harm would come to her. That's the kind of cop Antonio was.

Even all those years ago, Al had seen that the other man's marriage was failing, no matter how much Antonio tried to hide it, he wasn't happy with Laura and he hadn't been for a long time. Like Al himself he had walked a tightrope that balanced squarely between his family and his duty to his job. Laura had hated the hours he worked and the disappearing acts he had to pull when something went pressure of that was a tough burden to bear but he commended Antonio for doing his very best to maintain an active role in his family despite the fact that Laura and him seemed to have nothing in common anymore beside the kids. When that final nail came Al hadn't been surprised and he thought if Antonio was truly honest with himself he wasn't either.

Al tuned back in as Antonio began to speak outlining the objectives of their operation.

"Whether this evidence bag was open or not, if it broke chain of custody I don't really give a damn. That's the state attorney's problem. Our objectives is to get Bembenek showing up with the two hundred thousand dollars and heads will roll from there." Antonio reported before glancing at Al who pursed his lips together and nodded his agreement. Together they had Maggie's back, for better or for worse.