PASSIONS OF CRIME

Cash, Guns and Phone Calls

Three – Cash, Guns and Phone Calls

"How'd you get into this mess, Oliver?"

"I don't know, Dad."

"What do you mean you don't know? Don't fucking lie to me, alright?"

"I'm not lying! How the hell was I supposed to know that Rick was in Lizzie's house?"

"Well, you should've checked!" thundered Daniel Sierra, getting up from his seat. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you've gotten us into?"

"So what? It's not like this is our first hit gone wrong."

"It's the first one that's been made public. If anyone links this to you or me or the gang, we're done. You hear that? We're bloody done!"

"Calm down. They've arrested Rick for poisoning her. No way anyone's gonna see any connection. Not with that dumbass getting arrested anyways."

"It's not him I'm worried about," Daniel threw a photograph on the table, "it's his fucking lawyer."

"Antonio Connor," said Oliver, looking at picture, "he's the big shot, ain't he?"

"Yeah."

"First of all, why on earth is this guy defending Rick? And if he is, then what's your problem? He'll get Ricky off those charges, he'll be free in no time! You need to stop worrying, Pop."

"Stop worrying? You have no idea what you just said. If Connor finds out that you were the one who killed Elizabeth and that I was the one who told you to kill her, don't you think he'll put us on the stand? He'll have us testify in court. He doesn't work for us anymore, Ollie."

"So? You can bribe the judge and the jury can't you? You bribed them during the Alan Edge trial. Hell, you even bribed the witnesses and all."

"Yes I did, alright?" Daniel said in a frustrated tone, "I bought each one of those greedy bastards. Even the cops and the guys from forensics. But not this time."

"Why?"

Danny gave his son a look of pity.

"Do you even know Judge Oscar Maxwell?" asked he.

"No I don't."

"Well, I'll tell you who he is. A couple years ago, my guys were found with five kilos of coke in their van. The judge for their trial was this Judge Maxwell, and my men were scared shitless of him. So I went to him to settle things. I tried to bribe him, but the son of a bitch wouldn't take it. So I threatened to kill the bastard. And he laughed in my face. He asked me to try, and he dared me to try. So I did try. And you know what happened the night I sent four armed men to his house? They were arrested by the bloody cops that Maxwell had called for his protection. And it wasn't like there were six or seven officers in uniform. Hell no, there was a whole division hiding God knows where near his house. My men entered the street completely unaware, and they were surrounded and found armed and arrested. Of course during interrogation none of them revealed my name, but from then I knew better than to take a risk like that. You cannot just kill Judge Maxwell. Hell, that son of a bitch even carries a Magnum in his pocket. I'd have to send in a whole gang to kill him, and that ain't gonna look good for me. And this man can't be bribed. He has no family, so threatening him is out of the picture. So all in all, what I'm trying to say is that you screwed up big time, Ollie."

There was silence.

"Alright now try to remember," said his father, "is there anything with which they can link you to him? Does his mother remember your face?"