Wrestling the Kraken

Stavo

Stavo

Stavo glanced over the file that Angela gave him. Looking up, he saw the conference room door open. The Federal Agents were trickling out, eyeing the bullpen. He set the file underneath some paperwork on his desk and picked up a pen.

The lead agent branched off from the others and made his way toward his desk. Stavo noted his movements from the corner of his eye, while pretending to work. The agent approached his desk and stood there, looking down at Stavo, with his hands on his hips.

He lifted his head. "Is there something I can help you with?" Stavo spoke first, since the agent remained quiet.

"Yeah, there is actually." He noticed the crossword puzzle on his desk and picked it up. "I used to love these. That was back when they were challenging, though." He tossed it back down.

Stavo leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. His face told the agent that he was waiting for the point.

"You're a local from around here. The people, they trust you." The agent said, reluctant. The words, leaving a bad taste in his mouth.

"What is it that you need me to do?"

The agent straightened up, taking a moment before letting it out. "We need you to take a crack at Vito. Get him to talk."

Stavo smiled. "I can do that."

♦

Stavo walked down the street, hands in his pockets, looking around. Satisfied that he wasn't being followed, he got into a parked car by the curb. He settled in and leaned his elbow on the door.

"You know, they catch me talkin' to you, it's my butt on the line." He said, looking straight.

"I know, and I appreciate it. I do." Mahone replied.

Stavo reached into his jacket and pulled out a file. "Here's a copy of the report." He rubbed his chin, as Mahone opened the file to read. "Vito's stonewalling them. Won't say a word. Sings like a bird when they catch him, talkin' about an employer he works for, but now nothing. He won't even ask for water."

"I wish I could talk to him. Me and him, we got history, you know." Mahone said, as he continued looking over the report. "No sign of this employer he was talkin' about?"

"No. The tarp on the floor could have been him. The Feds think he's making the whole thing up about the employer. Think he did it all on his own." Stavo replied.

"I don't buy it. I've known Vito for a long time and this don't sound like him." Mahone said.

Stavo shrugged. "Could be caught up in something." He said shifting his weight to lean in. "Anyway, the Feds have me taking a shot at him. Try and get him to say something."

Mahone laughed. "Good luck."

"That's all you got for me, is good luck."

"No, it's good you're getting in there. He'll know you're working with me. That's good work."

"Yeah, well, we'll see. I still have to get him to talk and you know Vito ain't no snitch."

"Start with food. He can't resist. He may not reveal his deepest secrets, but it'll get him saying something." Mahone turned to the last page in the report. "What's this?"

Stavo looked over his shoulder. "Oh, that's from Angie. Yeah, she gave it to me today, along with a crossword puzzle I was supposed to hand to you, but I left it back at the station. I'll get it to you next time."

"She released the body to be cremated? This soon? What if we need another look at the body?"

"Yeah, doesn't seem like her, but the Feds got their own way of handling the case. She seems like she's under a lot of pressure. Not herself, you know what I mean?"

Mahone checked the report again. He's seen Angela's reports before. They were clean, neat and thorough. This one lacked a lot of detail. It was straight to the point and there were markings on the side. Pen marks? Not like her. The copy machine left it's own markings on the edges of the paper, but these were different. Dashes and dots. He checked morse code, but that wasn't it.

The notes section had nothing more than the words, 'categorized under case 7A.' There's no case 7A. That's not how they are categorized. He ran through all the references to 7A he could think of.

"You said, she had a crossword puzzle for me?"

"Yeah. It's on my desk. Didn't think to grab it on my way out."

"I think she's trying to tell us something. I'm going to need that puzzle." Mahone showed him the markings.

"On it." He left the car and made his way back down the street.