Silence in New York - Book One

~Chapter 4~

The bar door was locked when they parked in front of the establishment and all the lights were out. Adriana walked around the outside of the premises making sure everything seemed in order. "My boss must have been contacted by someone"

"Well we should take you home then, doesn't look like there are any patrons to serve tonight" Salvatore stated looking around the empty street. It was quiet and eerie without the usual hustle and bustle the bar had to offer especially during the current summer months which brought everyone out and about. Clearly word had spread quickly about the gunman scaring everyone away for the time being.

"I have to ask" he looked at her with a slight curious smile on his face, "why do you walk around with an empty gun?" Adriana knew the question was coming; in fact she was surprised he hadn't asked it sooner on the drive here. "This has happened to me before"

"In this same bar?" She nodded, "yes, I got scared the first time and I'm not entirely sure why but I purchased a gun. I have been meaning to learn how to shoot but I just haven't found the time. I was too scared to have a loaded gun without really knowing how to use it so I just thought for now it would be ok to use it as a threat". He laughed at her explanation. "You're lucky the other guy had no idea about guns also then. It's generally pretty easy to know if a gun is loaded on not, depending on the type that is"

"Well lucky he was high" she replied extremely thankful knowing that tonight could have actually ended up far worse than it did.

Salvatore looked over at Luca who was still patiently sitting in the car waiting for direction. He glanced back at Adriana wondering if she was done investigating the area. "So..."

"I should go, my car is just over there" she pointed to the lonely looking car on the quiet street. "Should we go for a drink somewhere?" He suggested suddenly not wanting to cut their night short. He felt a little drawn to her, he couldn't exactly explain it, possibly curiosity, but he knew he needed to know more about this feisty Italian beauty before him.

"It's pretty late, I really should go. Maybe another time?" He couldn't tell if the tone of her voice indicated she wanted to see him again on not, Salvatore was really having trouble reading this girl. Something he surely wasn't used too, he believed he read people very well in his line of business. "Well I know where you work now so yeah, maybe another time. Get in your car, I'll wait for you to leave" Adriana smiled, "that's very noble of you"

"I'm afraid I've given you the wrong impression, I'm probably everything but noble" he joked earning a laugh from her. "Thank you again for tonight" she continued calling out to him while walking backwards towards her car, "come see me at work, I at least owe you some free drinks".

"I've got some information, the least you can do is let me see your boss to personally deliver it" Ben O'Conner was beyond annoyed the next day. He was given a location to meet in the back corner of an espresso bar and was under the impression he would be conversing with the boss, not his goons.

"You know how this goes Ben" one of the men stated taking a sip of his espresso as his friend smirked in a way to annoy Ben even further. "I told you the information was good and I wanted to personally deliver it"

"We've told you how this works, the information goes through us and we take it up through the chain of command. Now you got something or what?" Ben rolled his eyes before taking a seat in the booth and motioning over to staff ordering himself an espresso macchiato. "You understand I risk my job when I pass over this kind of information right?"

"Your pockets are rewarded justly so don't start your bullshĩt. The price is the same as last time, if the information leads to something we can work with you'll get a bonus, and you know our boss is good for it". Ben reached into his pocket and pulled out a small folded piece of paper, he kept his palm on it when his macchiato arrived and waiting for the waitress to move on before sliding it towards the man. "It may not seem like much right now, but he was keen on her. If he pursues her you might find yourselves in a good position"

"How do we know this isn't like the last one?"

"This one's Italian, I have a feeling he won't be able to keep away, it probably won't work out between them, but it could provide ample opportunities".

"Could also lead to nowhere" Ben nodded and drank his macchiato, "maybe, but if I know him like I think I do, he'll at least pursue her for a while. I did a background check on the girl; she doesn't have anything going for her in terms of criminal records. She has been snapped partying at quite a few clubs where Salvatore and crew are known to do business so you never know..." The men nodded to each other, although they never showed it they were a little impressed and knew that having Ben on the payroll could very much work in their favour.

Ben O'Conner definitely was not the first NYPD officer on the Gentile family payroll. He was become however the most hard working. A few of his tips had lined the family's pockets with a substantial amount of money and he was certainly not missing out on the benefits. He hadn't always been a 'bad cop'; he was not even sure what the final straw was which made him turn to the family. All he knew for certain was that he was sick and tired of being underpaid while dealing with the low life citizens of New York City. He had big dreams too and the Gentile family would help them come true.