SFSD-X Smackdown Challenge ✔️

4.3 Gangsta (Played)

3 - Played

Sitting on the other side of an interrogation table and facing the two-way mirror was a totally new experience - and I didn't like it a single bit. The detective across from me used to be a friend of mine but since I was charged with Felony Murder, I doubted that I would make his Christmas card list this year.

"Let's take this from the top," he snarled. "You went into the bank at 9:30 to withdraw some money and saw a woman shoot at the guards, so you pulled out your gun to take out the suspect. The woman subsequently disappeared and you were falsely arrested. Is that your statement?"

I nodded. In the police cruiser, I had decided that being a gangster was not the right career move for me after all and was planning to lie through my teeth to wiggle my way out of this.

"Yes, that's right." I squinted at him to read his mind and he was not buying my story.

"I have ten witnesses who saw you point the gun at the other guards," he said.

Those statements could be a real problem. "I was trying to zoom in on the girl, but like you said, she just disappeared. I was stunned, and truthfully, couldn't even tell you what or who I was aiming at."

He couldn't hold my gaze and I gave myself a high five. This time, I had him almost convinced.

"One of the guards said you two walked in together and you seemed to be a couple," he pointed out.

I cupped my hands behind my head. "Come on, Parker. Do I look like a guy who could ever be with a woman like her? That girl was a sugar pie with cream and sprinkles on top. She wouldn't be interested in someone like me."

He grinned, his thoughts betraying him. He had seen the surveillance tapes and secretly jacked off at the sight of her and the envy that she could belong to me had been eating away at him.

"Well, I guess." For a second, he looked lost. "And you have no clue who she was?" The sigh that followed his words was longing, he imagined slapping the handcuffs on her with a good grind. He had always been on the heavy side and was constantly in search for a Mrs. Parker, so arresting pretty girls and feeling them up was what he lived for.

"Nope, no clue. And I sure as hell don't know where she is."

That wasn't even a lie - I was still baffled about her sudden disappearance.

My attention was diverted when the door to the interrogation room opened and a familiar face stepped inside - my uncle Lenny. He was like the head of our clan and worked for the FBI - some special task force he was more than secretive about.

"Could I have the room, detective?" He glared at Parker who chose to bolt when Lenny flashed his FBI badge.

When my uncle pulled up the chair and plopped down across from me, I knew I was in big trouble. He could not only read minds but could also inflict pain on those who were lying. He was kind of like a modern lie detector machine and subsequent enforcer. As a child, I was terrified of him and even now, I held the utmost respect. Pretending to be innocent would not work with him.

"Alright, Michael, I want the truth. And if you lie to me, I swear I turn you over to the cops and make sure you rot in prison for the rest of your life."

I swallowed hard, shuffling my feet before fessing up. I told him everything - from the moment Areena and I had met to the time we had walked into the bank together. When I was done, he placed a few photographs in front of me.

"Is that the girl?" he asked.

Each picture showed a woman with a totally different appearance but it was definitely her. There was Areena with blond, short hair and piercing blue eyes, as brunette with orbs darker than my own and even with a punk cut where she had colored her hair pink with purplish contacts.

"Yes, that's her."

Lenny gave me a pitiful smile. "You were played, son. This girl is your cousin Lucinda and she has been using guys as a decoy for years."

I cringed. "My cousin?" The thought that we had sex was quite disturbing.

"Well, technically, some very distant relative from the clan out in California you never met, but I call them all cousins."

It didn't make it any better but at least, it wasn't incest. "Is she superhuman?"

"Yep. One of the strongest there is. She is what we call a chameleon - she can adapt to any situation. That means changing her appearance and making herself invisible. That's how she got away. She can also influence emotions."

I frowned. "I just don't see the purpose of the robbery. She started shooting straight away and disappeared before she got any money."

Lenny glared at me. "Wrong, son. While everyone was busy with arresting you in the bank, her and her partner slipped into the armored truck and drove off after silencing the driver. They weren't after the money in the bank but the twenty million of gold bullions in the truck. You were their decoy and you played right into their hands."

I felt like a fool. "What are we gonna do now?"

"Well." He rubbed his chin. "I'll work out a deal with the DA. You'll probably be suspended from your job for a while, maybe even demoted." His eyes found mine. "But I can only make this go away if I have your full cooperation."

I nodded eagerly. "What do I have to do?"

"You will help me track down Lucinda and when we do, you'll have to take her out."

A cold chill ran through my body, my face twisting in a desperate grimace. "You want me to kill her?"

Lenny leaned back with a smirk, totally calm. "What's the matter? Are you afraid you're not gonna grow into your big boy pants?"

He hit the nail on the head - I was indeed terrified that I couldn't pull the trigger in the end, though his expectations shouldn't come as a surprise. That's what we did to people who betrayed our kind and used their abilities to their own advantage. If Lenny hadn't believed I was only an innocent victim here, my fate would be sealed and I would be heading to my grave.

"I'll do whatever it takes." I reassured him. And for the hundredth time that day, I cursed myself for ever wanting to be a gangster.