Fear Her Wrath II: Crucible of Glass

Chapter 60

Nearly every cop in the 13th Precinct gasped and reached for their guns when Ellie cut the power to the building and plunged them all into darkness. When the lights came back on a few seconds later, I was standing in their midst, and I couldn't help but smile at the dumbfounded looks all around me. Some of the younger cops jumped a little, and even the old-timers couldn't quite hide their annoyance at the cheap trick I'd just played them. And it was a cheap trick, but I was still pleased with myself. For the first time in months, I was back in my groove.

Corrigan, meanwhile, sipped her coffee with calculated indifference.

"Hey, kid, enough with the theatrics," said Detective Sloane, dabbing his brow with a handkerchief. "Bakshi over there gets very nervous when people in masks appear outta thin air."

The other police officers—apart from Bakshi, of course—had a chuckle, and everyone visibly relaxed. They really were a motley bunch—idealistic rookies like Griggs, misfits like Chaman Singh Bakshi, and cynical old hands like Detective Sloane. Corrigan really had dragged every straight or mostly-straight cop in the Fen into her new department, and had I been Commissioner Warner, that would've worried me. I'd had dealings with about half of them over the past fews months, but Corrigan still gave each officer a quick introduction.

"..and this is Sam Griggs, who almost shot you outside the Redding Credit Cooperative, and Detective Marta Yang, formerly of the 10th Precinct, and you know Laurence Sloane," she concluded. "Now please tell us what the hell is going on out there."

I looked at the faces around me. Some were scared. Others looked almost skeptical. Even if their hearts were in the right place, I was gonna need to win over this audience. So, I started from the beginning.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but there's a gang war going on out there. Augusto Vaccari's going to war against the rest of the Montagnese family. For months, he's been stockpiling money, weapons, and drugs as Glassface, and now he's hellbent on ruling the Fen for himself."

"How come nobody's out there doing anything about it?" asked one of the rookies.

"As far as Commissioner Warner's concerned, this is just an ordinary night in the Fen," said Corrigan. "Gang wars are Montagnese business."

"Well, why not keep it that way?" asked Sloane. "Who cares if one or two mafia goons get sent an early grave?"

"Because this ordinary night in the Fen already has a body count of seven," I said. "And that was almost an hour ago. It's probably double that by now. And with Carmine Aurelio dead, it's only going to escalate, no matter what Don Lucian says."

The cops exchanged startled looks, and I realized that this was probably the first time Corrigan's people had heard of Carmine Aurelio's untimely passing. Some of them had to still be on the Montagnese payroll, and Glassface had bumped off their consigliere. They were starting to wonder whether whatever Don Lucian was paying them was worth it.

So much for winning their confidence.

"I just had a meeting with Don Lucian," I continued. "Against my will. He says that if I can deal with Glassface before dawn, he'll hold back his forces and keep the Fen from becoming a slaughterhouse. He also told me where I can find him. That's where I'm heading now."

I watched their faces carefully. No one gave any obvious hints of planning to betray me to Glassface—like rubbing their hands together and cackling nefariously—which I probably should have expected. I had to trust that Ellie's plan would work.

"So, what do you want from us?" asked Bakshi. "What can we possibly do?"

"When I take Glassface down, I'll need someone there to make the arrest," I said. "Someone that won't dump him in the river before he ever sees a cell in Rothko. He won't come quietly, and he'll have a lot of people with him. I'll need your help. Probably all of your help."