Green Heights Passages

Chapter 3

"No way!"

"Come on, Janice. Would you just slow up and at least think about it?" Quincy Shields, Priority Crimes detective, pleads as he trails behind State's attorney Janice Barks walking up a busy courthouse stairwell.

There was nothing to think about. She's not about to risk her job to save some criminal from justice . And what's more deplorable is who he was trying to save. A gang leader who has been connected to a handful of murders over the past three years and known for preying on impressionable children to later recruit.

"Yeah but you don't have him on murders. You have him on possession of a firearm that will get thrown out because one of his young ones is gonna claim it."

"Then we'll charge the fool that claims it," Janice says without batting an eye.

"You really gonna prosecute a 15 year old? That's cold."

Janice stops in the middle of the hall, "No, what's cold is you making me late for court."

"Look all I'm saying is, take it easy on him in court. Suggest a light charge to the judge tomorrow and you'll hit the jackpot in a month, tops," Quincy says with assurance, "unsolved murder cases, drug and weapons seizures, human trafficking. We're talking RICO charges here."

"You can guarantee that?"

"Janice, this is what I do. You trust me, right?"

"No! Boy, please," Janice quickly retorts making Quincy break a wide smile, "Who is the target?"

Quincy looks over his shoulders at the busy hallway and then steps up to Janice's ear to whisper the answer. Janice's eyes light up. The golden goose. Some lawyers have to wait decades, if they are even given the opportunity, for a career case like this. There's no way. Before she can fix her mouth to ask how, Quincy walks back towards the descending stairwell.

His immoral proposal stayed with her for the entirety of the day and late into the night when she's lying in bed alone while her husband Johnny fell asleep on the couch downstairs. Again .

"Do you know what you're asking of me? Or asking of yourself for that matter?" Janice inquires staring up at the ceiling with her phone up to her ear, "Everything we worked for can be all for nothing if we get caught."

"Janice, we've helped a lot of people in this city. And for you, all over the country . It can't be for nothing. And if we do this right, we can help a lot more people. It's worth it to me."

She believed him. His checkered past left him with a passion for change. She knew of him when they were teenagers growing up in the city. They ran in separate circles: he ran the streets on the South Side while she was out East sneaking out of her parents' house to be with her boyfriend who she later married. From afar, she saw Quincy's transformation from a childish gangster to a local vigilante.

And deep down she could relate. She went on the road with an up and coming author during his 15 minutes of fame getting him out of legal trouble every other week. He was a walking disaster but she secretly missed the feeling of being able to get him out of trouble. The starch opposite of her life now as a prosecutor sending people to jail. Her reputation grew when she began representing other artists. Ms. Safiya caught wind of her and soon after the State of Tennessee made her an offer.

"Who else is in on this?" Janice continues grilling.

"Nobody. Just me and you," Quincy replies sitting up in his own bed watching TV.

"What about your partner?"

"The old man has his eyes on retirement in a couple months. He ain't gonna be a problem," the detective reassures as he reaches for the remote sitting on the other side of the bed waking up his female company. She turns around and wraps her arms around him and falls back to sleep while he flips the channels.

"Nobody else can know about this if this is going to work. It's got to be me and you," Janice says as she looks over to the empty space in her king size bed.

"No doubt."