Corrupt

Chapter 1

David awoke to the glaring sunlight beaming in through his window as his wife Amy drew the curtains wide, "Rise and shine hunny" she spoke in a soft Californian accent, her long blonde hair shining in the morning sunlight, she danced over to the bed and grabbed his arm, pulling him up to a sitting position. He yawned and stretched, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

Amy left the room and wondered downstairs ahead of David, she hollered to him "Breakfast will be ready in 20, see you downstairs" David quickly got dressed and headed downstairs after her, his long dark brown, bed head now combed back and slick, he enters the kitchen to a welcome sight, a full english breakfast made by his wife. She had previously dreamt of becoming a famous chef, she was exceptional at cooking but had to abandon her dreams when David got his job in the police force and she became pregnant with their child five months ago.

"We need to talk" Amy spoke apprehensively, "this baby is due in four months Dave and it's gonna come quickly, we need to sort something out, I've already had to give up my job, I can't look after this baby on my own all the time, ju-" David interrupted "I know baby and I'm sorry but one of us is gonna have to work, I'm sorry about your job I really am I know you loved it and god knows I couldn't leave my job or I would, but I can't leave with all these dead ends and thugs I've gotta put away." "So what are you saying Dave? You saying it's just up to me to look after this kid? Cos you'll be too busy with work?! You know sometimes I wonder if you even care about us at all, just go to work David. Just... go."

David sighs, "Fine, guess I wasn't that hungry anyway" he gets up and walks out swiftly, slamming the door behind him, these arguments had been going on for weeks now, day in, day out and ti always ended the same way, him storming out and her left upset stranded at home. Amy sat there in silence, she was worried, she'd never told David any of this but she was worried all this emotional strain would affect the baby. She let out a whimper as tears began to roll down her reddened cheeks.

David drove to work, he drove a Hyundai, not one of the best models, but it got him from A to B, over the radio came a transmission, the grainy voice on his crappy ancient radio stated "The violent drug lord Mark Dawson is still at large, after several weeks of searching the police have found nothing. The police have failed tremendously at stopping this drug lord, they have no leads and it seems as if this reign of terror will continue into the forseeable future. David snapped and turned the radio off with an agressive swipe. Mark Dawson was a case that had been frustrating him for weeks, a violent drug lord and they had no leads. Mark Dawson, in essence was a ghost, a phantom who could not be found.

                                                                                            . . .

 David walked up to his office and passed constable Lisa Halliwell, a pretty young woman who had taken a shine to David "Morning Sergeant" she spoke in her Georgian voice with a friendly smile. "Good morning Lisa" he returned the smile, Lisa had harboured feelings for the sergeant since her first day on the force,falling for a married man could be a dangerous thing, as Lisa discovered when confronted by David's wife a few weeks ago when it resulted in a bust up between the two. David had promised his wife to keep his relationship with the young constable strictly professional, however he still remained good friends with the woman, he lived in dread at the thought of Amy finding this out.

David arrived at his office and was crestfallen as a wave of dread gushed over him, Piles and piles of paper work on his desk, he let out a sigh of dismay... today was going to be a long day, a very long day. David slumped down in his desk chair and discovered a small white envelope concealed behind his stacks of paper work piled high on his wooden oak desk. He ripped open the envelope, he had assumed it would be just another flirtatious letter from Lisa, he smiled, but that smile was shortlived as he read the leader, the smile died, replaced by a look of sheer confusion. The lettered contained a time and location. A cafe near were David lived, 2 hours from now. David felt dread surging up inside him, every fibre of his being told him to be anywhere in the world apart from that cafe at 12:30 today. David threw the envelope in the trash bin and grabbed the paper work, clicked his pen and began writing.

One long hour passed, David threw down his ballpoint pen and evacuated his chair, put on his jacket and walked out of his office. David's life was about to change dramatically.                                                                                              . . .

David arrived at the cafe, 20 minutes past 2, 10 minutes before the time stated. The minutes passed quickly, a tall man swaggered over to David, sporting a smart black suit with short brown hair. David was paralysed as a horrible truth came to light, standing there looking down at him was the last person he expected to see that day. "Hello, David." Mark laughed, a sinister grin spreading across his face.

Chapter 2

Mark sat down in the booth opposite David, never breaking eye contact, some unsaid stare out, each trying to best the other. "I have an offer for you, sergeant David Harris. Work for me, trust me it's worth it." Mark suggested. "And why exactly would I do that?" David retorted quickly. "How do you know who I am?" he asked, a note of panic in his voice. "Well, David, it doesn't really matter how I know you, you should really be wondering what else I know about you, like your wife, your unborn child and your best friend Billy, I know you've been working for the police for a decade, I know that you need more money than you're getting, especially with the little one on the way, a little extra cash floating around might set your wife's mind at ease, stop you two lovers arguing so much." Mark spoke with a note of smug arrogance.

Neither had broken eye contact and now David was more determined than ever "Nice offer, but here's my counter, you and I take a trip down to the police station, on me, I'll even pay for the gas.

" David retaliated. Mark laughed "You have a sense of humour, I like that... but I'm afraid I'll have to pass on that particular journey." Mark said whilst pulling out a thick envelope and tossing it to David, who quickly opened it, not taking his eyes off Mark, except for a quick glance down to scan the contents of the envelope. It contained money, lots of it. "That's £10,000, your up front payment, and I'll give you another £10,000 fortnightly, for a man like me, money's no object, just name your price." Mark answered before David had a chance to ask. "You're trying to buy me? Are you serious? Who do you think I am?!" David raised his voice angrily, attracting the attention of some of the diners who immediately turned away again once they saw Mark. "I know who you are, David, you're a husband, a father to be. But most importantly to me, you're a man who desperately needs the money and here it is for you, on a plate, all I ask is a few favours here and there."

David finally cracked and looked away from Mark in dismay, and for David, time seemed to almost freeze, he wished he could prove Mark wrong, refuse the money and just walk away, wished he didn't need the money and he could honestly tell Mark to shove it up his a***, but he couldn't. Mark had hit the nail on the head, he was desperate... he needed the money, something had to give, what if this was it? The solution he was so desperate for. "Alright." David conceeded. "Count me in, boss."