Breach of Trust

57

“What is this?” Leather Jacket asked, displaying the F-Bird right before my eyes.

“I don’t know. What is that? A pager? A battery pack?”

“We found this, asshole. You can’t lie your way out of this. You think we’re fucking stupid?”

“I have no-”

“It’s a fucking recording device!” he shouted into my face. “When did you start working for them?”

Stay in role. No matter what. I had no other options. I only had one bet left. It was a long shot, but it was all I had, and I was staking my life on it.

Vito hit me with the brunt of his hand, slamming against my temple again.

“When?” Leather Jacket asked. “When?”

“I’m not working for anybody but myself,” I said. “I’m not a snitch. I’ve never seen that pager before.”

Leather Jacket slammed his fist into my chest, just below my windpipe. I wasn’t a moving target, so he was able to put a lot behind it. It drove the wind from me. It hurt a lot, too.

These guys were going to a lot of trouble to beat the shit out of me without leaving a lot of visible bruises. That had to mean something, but I wasn’t sure what. I was having a little trouble with critical reasoning at the moment.

Stay. . in. . role.

“Paulie,” Leather Jacket said, looking to his left, to Vito.

Vito-Paulie, apparently-walked behind me and grabbed hold of one of my hands through the handcuffs. I felt the edge of a sharp blade against the little finger on my right hand.

“Every time I have to ask the question without getting an answer, you lose another finger,” Leather Jacket said. “So, that gives us ten tries. Here’s try number one.”

“I’m not a snitch!” I spit.

“When did you start working for them?”

“You can ask me ten thousand times,” I said. “You might as well cut off my entire hand right now, you lousy piece of shit, because I’m not a fucking rat.”

Leather Jacket watched me a long time, my heaving, quivering self. “Hey, tough guy? If I was you, I’d give me a straight answer. You’re not gonna get that finger back once we slice it off.”

“Stop,” said Charlie. “That’s enough.”

“Nah.” Leather Jacket shook his head. “It’s not enough yet. After a few fingers are gone-he still denies it then, maybe I’ll believe him. Go ahead, Paulie. Let’s see how tough he is with nine fingers.”

I closed my eyes and braced myself. I couldn’t protest any longer. I’d done everything I could. I felt the blade’s edge wedge into the skin of my smallest finger at the base. I held my breath and gritted my teeth.

The knife didn’t move any farther. Then it came off my skin. Paulie released the hand. I wiggled my hand, all five glorious fingers in tandem.

“Give him your coat, for Christ’s sake,” said Charlie.

A coat fell over my shoulders.

I froze, catching my breath. Paulie walked out of the room, without the long coat that was now over my shoulders. Leather Jacket left, too. It took me a moment to catch up with the turn of events. Unless I was hallucinating, I had just passed the test.

Neither Charlie nor I was in the mood to speak right away. Certainly not me. Fear and stress and, ultimately, disbelief had converged to render me speechless. And my mind wasn’t working much better than my mouth. I wasn’t sure I trusted what I might say.

I’d stayed in role until the bitter end and it had paid off. He’d confronted me with the F-Bird and I’d done the only thing I could do, short of confessing: I’d feigned complete and total ignorance. I’d been prepared to elaborate if necessary, to explain that I had no idea what the thing was or how it got wherever it was they found it.

But I didn’t have to elaborate. They had accepted my denial. They were willing to bluff, just to make sure, but in the end, they didn’t do any permanent damage to me. They believed me. That could only mean one thing.

They hadn’t found my F-Bird.

They’d searched my clothes and come up empty. They’d searched the Porsche, thinking I might have tried to dispose of it before getting out, and struck out again. Part of me was sure they would find it, but it was clear to me now that they hadn’t.

They had an F-Bird, but it hadn’t come from me. They’d taken it off someone else.

“So, I’m sorry about all that,” Charlie said, as if he’d accidentally spilled some coffee on my pants or something. “They had to be sure. We just-had to make sure. You understand.”

I needed time to gather myself here, but I probably didn’t have that luxury. Staying in role was as important now as before.

“Say something, kid,” he said.

“Fuck. . you,” I managed.

He liked that. “Say something else.”

“Is that thing,” I said between breaths, “really a recording device?”

“Yeah, it is.”

“Someone’s. . wearing a wire?”

“Someone was,” he said. “Not anymore.”

“Great. That’s. . just great.”

“I think we’re okay, kid. I’m gonna uncuff you now.” He showed me the key. Under the circumstances, he probably figured I would be reticent about anyone approaching me.

He came around behind me with the key. He took the coat-Paulie’s coat-off my shoulders.

“Don’t take the coat,” I snapped. “I’m freezing. Put it back on.”

I wasn’t freezing, actually. The events of the last half-hour had elevated my temperature considerably.

“Okay, take it easy.” He unlocked my handcuffs and then threw Paulie’s coat over my shoulders again.

My hands were free again. I savored it. I rubbed my wrists.

“So, listen. I’ve got a few things I gotta take care of. My guy here, he’s going to drive you home. Don’t talk to anyone about anything until I get back in touch with you. You hear me, kid? Not a fucking word to anybody.”

“Charlie. . whatever you do. . whoever it is. . don’t kill anybody. Keeping someone quiet. . isn’t worth. . a murder charge. Trust me.”

I thought it made sense to cast my appeal in terms of attorney-client advice as opposed to a plea to his morality.

“I’m going to get you your clothes,” he said.

“You don’t just. . kill a federal witness, Charlie.”

“I’m not going to kill anybody.” He walked out, leaving me alone. He came back only a few moments later with my clothes, a little worse for wear but all there, in the laundry basket.

“Paulie’s gonna need his coat back,” said Charlie. “You know his buddy Sal had to go to the hospital? You shattered the guy’s nose.” He thought that was funny.

I handed Paulie’s coat to Charlie. I didn’t need it any longer. I just needed that brief interval of time, while Charlie left the room, to fetch my F-Bird out of Paulie’s front coat pocket.