Lies and Deceit

Abby looks back to find the cops quickly closing in. Please let this work, oh please let this work, she begs, swerving onto the exit. Abby hopes to hide the vehicle in the used car lot off the main road where they'd purchased the van. Abby relives that long, exhausting day as she flies down the exit.

It was getting late, and she was ready to go home, but her persistent friends weren't ready to call it a day. 

Five dealerships and twelve hours later, Thelma and Stan finally found the one they liked, the one they gifted to her. "That's why they were so insistent on me coming. She chuckles, remembering how Thelma begged her to go. 

Abby glances in the mirror to find the cops nearing the exit. I just hope I can escape, she thinks, picking up speed. 

She's about to round the corner when she notices the small red sports car behind her. She then hears the sirens crossing the bridge. "They weren't coming for me after all." 

***

Hearing the sergeant's exclaim, Diego dashes through the station. The cold, crisp wind whips through him when he opens the doors. "I should've grabbed my coat." He shivers, crossing the lot. 

Jerry sees the officer duck behind a building when he steps onto the porch. "I'm going to take great pleasure in seeing you down." He smiles.

Jerry hasn't liked the kid from the start. He constantly undermined Jerry's authority, purposely doing things to rub him the wrong way, smirking as Jerry steams. I'm going to wipe that shit-eating grin off your smug little face, Jerry thinks, sprinting across the lawn.

The rookie speed dials a number and waits for it to connect. "Boss, it's Diego. An officer found the file on Abby's..." Hearing footsteps, he looks up to find Jerry a few feet away. "Gotta go." He gulps, hanging up.

Jerry stomps toward him. "Who did you just call?" 

Pocketing his phone, Deigo nervously asks, "What's it to you, dough boy?" 

"For one, you're making personal calls on company time, and for two, I heard you mention our victim's name."

"I... I was talking about my sister Abby, not the fugitive."

"You don't have a sister."

"I have a half-sister. She lives in Florida with her mom." Diego shifts his weight, then adds, "I don't see her often, holidays mostly, and occasional birthdays. She's fallen on hard times and wants to know if I'd help. I guess her mom disowned her, and of course, you know dad is dead."

"I don't believe a word you just said."

"It's... It's the truth."

"Save it, rookie." Jerry grabs his arm. "Let's go."

"Let go of me," Diego says, jerking away.

Jerry motions towards the station. "Then walk."

 Diego takes a few steps and then darts the opposite way.

The detective chases after him, but being out of shape and grossly overweight, the suspect continues getting further away. 

Jerry looks over to find the sergeant leaping off the porch toward the running man. Getem Rachel. He chuckles, stopping to catch his breath.

Air whooshes from Diego's lungs when he and the sergeant land on the ground with a thud. 

The sergeant had the suspect cuffed by the time Jerry reached the porch. "Where did you learn that from?" He chuckles. 

"It's a wrestling move I see them do on TV." 

"I'd say your tube time paid off. Wouldn't you, rookie?" 

Diego grumbles.

"Let's just see who you were talking to." Taking the phone from Diego's pocket, Jerry scans the recent calls and finds a number that's come up in an investigation quite a few times. " Bambini, huh?"

 Diego nervously glances at Rachel and then Jerry. "I can explain."

"Save it for the boss." Each grabbing an arm, they drag him to the door. 

The trio finds the steaming captain waiting for them when they step inside. Leaning over, Jerry whispers, "I wouldn't want to be you about now." 

Deigo glares at Jerry. "You're enjoying this, aren't you, fatso?"

"More than you'll ever know." Smirking, Jerry shoves him into a chair, turns toward the captain, and says, "He's been keeping Romero in the loop, boss." Jerry hands the captain his phone.

Leaning over, Joe glares into the rookie eyes. Fury races through every cell when the captain asks, "What the hell were you thinking, son? Huh, what?" 

Joe slams his fist on the desk, a mere inch from where the suspect sat, causing Diego to spring back. The station grows eerily quiet as all eyes turn towards them. 

"Answer me, boy." Joe slams his fist down again.

Diego's body trembles as he tries to figure out how to explain. "Well, I..."

"How will you support your wife and kids from prison, huh? How? I bet you didn't even think about them. Did you?" Joe leans in closer to where they're nose to nose. "Did you?"

Feeling Joe's hot breath pelt against his face, Diego leans further back. "They're... They're the reason I did it, sir. I wanted to provide for them better. Buy them things I couldn't otherwise afford," he mutters as tears spill down his cheeks.

"So, you decide to hustle information to make a quick buck? Is that it?" 

Diego gulps. "I only did it a couple of times."

"Once or a dozen, it doesn't matter. You helped a known crime lord elude the law. Someone you know God Damn well we've been trying to put away. I'm very disappointed in you, son, upset with you beyond belief. You betrayed me, Diego stabbed me and everyone in this department in the back."

"I'm sorry, sir."

"Your apologies won't cut it. Not this time around. You blew it, Diego." Joe slams his hands down again. Getting into his face, he yells, "You blew your life all to hell." He gives the rookie a quick once-over. With fire shooting from his eyes through a clenched jaw, Joe snarls, "Get this piece of shit out of my sight before I do something we'll both regret."

Grabbing Diego's collar, Jerry pulls him to his feet. "It looks like you're going down for a long time. You might even be a great-grandpa before you get out. That's if you survive. You know what they do to baby rappers, right?"

With fear in his eyes, Diego gulps. "Yeah."

"It's ten times worse for a cop." 

"Ten?"

"I doubt a pretty boy like him will last a day, Jerry. Unless he goes to solitary confinement, but what kind of life is that? Being locked up in a cold, dark cell twenty-four-seven, your only companion is a rat."

"You like rats, don't you? I hope so because I heard the inmate-rat ratio is about equal in prison." He turns towards Rachel. "Don't the varmints carry rabies, sergeant?"

"And dozens of other communicable diseases."

"I... I'll do whatever you want, just don't throw me in prison, please."

"It's not up to us."

He turns towards the sergeant. "Can... Can you talk to the DA to see if he'll make a deal?"

"You need to give him something in return."

"What if I tell him about Romero and his crew?"

I'll let him know, but there are still no guarantees. Being a cop once, he doesn't take too kindly to traitor like you."

Diego turns toward Jerry, gulps down emotions threatening to escape and asks. "I'm a dead man walking, aren't I?"

"It looks that way, son. It looks that way."