Breaking The Law (closed for sexy_curves)

[Slugger31]

Benjamin Brody
31 years old
Brown hair
Green eyes
6 foot 3 inches tall
197 pounds

Ben Brody Photograph


Ben slowly began to open his eyes, but everything was a haze. He couldn’t move his arms because his hands were tied together behind the chair he was sitting in. A single light bulb hung above him in the dark room, and he could just barely make out two dark figures standing in the shadows before him. He had a raging headache, and he groaned in pain. He tried to think, needing to piece together how he wound up in this situation. He opened his eyes fully, wanting to know more about why he was here. But before he could see more details, one of the figures stepped forward and a fist emerged out of the darkness, smashing into Ben’s jaw. It rocked him hard, and pain shot through his face and his head rattled backwards. Ben knew he was in trouble, and he wondered what other pain and suffering would be brought upon him.

Ben Brody was a detective here in New York City. He had a reputation of being a loner and he didn’t have many friendships with the other members of the N.Y.P.D. But he was reliable in that he usually got the job done. Ben had brought plenty of criminals and scumbags into custody from the various parts of the city. But there was always work to be done. Sometimes he bent the rules a little when doing his work, and he was often a little rough with those he arrested. He wanted to send a message, and he was very passionate about justice.

One of the biggest crime lords in the city was Alfonso Giovanni, and a majority of his business dealt with various drugs. Mr. Giovanni’s whole family was involved with the business, including his daughter Adrianna Giovanni. She was beautiful, but deadly. Ben had only seen her on a few occasions, most of which were in court. He’d been trying to put the Giovanni family away for a long time now, but he’d only been able to get a few of their lackeys and goons. Alfonso and his daughter Adrianna had always managed to slip through his fingers, and this haunted Ben. He was obsessed with stopping their criminal activity, and in turn the Giovanni family had been plotting to capture or kill Ben.

As Ben groaned and opened his mouth, trying to regain the feeling in his jaw, he shook his head and slowly things began to come back to him. Ben remembered locking the door to his apartment and walking down the stairs of his apartment building. He’d stepped out into the back alley behind the building, snow was falling from the sky and had covered the ground. He was adjusting the collar of his jacket when he suddenly felt a crushing blow on the back of his head. He’d been knocked out instantly, and his body fell down into the cold snow. That was how he got here into this situation. Not good at all.

Ben sighed and slowly looked back up into the shadows, finally locking eyes with the large muscular man that had just clobbered him. He glared at him and snarled. “Fuck you….is that seriously the best you’ve got?” He grinned at the big man and watched him crack his knuckles. Ben kept looking at him, even as the man reared back and suddenly struck him again. The heavy punch rattled his whole body in his chair. Ben’s lip had been busted open and a bit of blood leaked down onto his chin. He spat the blood out onto the man’s shoes and glared at him again, a small smirk on his lips. “You’re really trying now aren’t you? Plan on having some more fun?” As Ben finished those words he could hear footsteps approaching from the hall outside of the room. He wondered who was going to join the party and thought that he might be in for a long night.

[sexy_curves]

Adrianna Giovanni
28 years old
Brown hair
Brown eyes
5'7
135 lbs



At 28 years old, Adrianna Giovanni has witnessed and been involved in more illegal, under the table deals than many could even begin to comprehend. Growing up in her father's home had forced her into such a lifestyle, and now as her father aged, she began taking over more areas of his business. She knew what she was doing was illegal, but she also knew the power her family held by being in such a position.

The family members of course were not involved in the deals when they happened. That's what employees were for. her father's staff contained more people than anyone would ever expect. Between thugs, lawyers, dirty cops and city officials all over the country, millions of dollars went towards payroll alone. Ms. Giovanni had never been without anything she desired and that trend was in no danger of stopping anytime soon.

That was why the night she had requested some of her men to bring Detective Brody to their headquarters, she only had to wait a few hours before receiving a phone call alerting her that he had been restrained and was ready for her. "Keep someone in the room with him, rough him up a bit and have him ready for me" she said before flipping her sleek black phone shut and dropping it into her leather designer bag. She got up from her desk and put on her tall leather boots, zipping them to her knees. She pulled a red lip gloss from her bag and touched up her pouty lips on her way to the expensive black car that waited for her outside of her home.

She got into the back, and didn't need to tell the driver where she wanted to go, she only took the driver when she was going to work. She arrived after a short drive and her door was opened by one of the many perimeter guards her father employed at their compounds. She walked into the building without so much as a question from anyone and found the men she had requested bring her the detective. "Where is he" she asked as she made her way down the hallway. One of the men, Max, pointed to a door that was ajar. She smiled, running her French manicured hand over his jaw as she passed him.

Walking into the small room, she slipped her bag onto a table and put her hand on her employee's massive shoulder, tilting her head, motioning him to the back wall. She knew she was perfectly capable of handing anything she got into on her own, but she always kept one of her men in the room, just in case. She walked behind his chair, grabbing a handful of his hair and pulling his neck back firmly. She lowered her face towards him, her lips inches from his ear. "So nice to see you again Detective" she purred, before straightening her body. She pushed his head forward firmly. "Outside of a courtroom for a change" she added, louder now. "I'm not sure whether my family should be flattered by all of the attention you give us, or if we should start getting pissed off now" she said, stepping in front of his chair now, to clear up any questions he might have about who he was dealing with.

[Slugger31]

Benjamin was preparing to receive another hard blow to his face just as the door to the room opened. The big, sweaty goon stopped his punch in midair and turned to look back towards the doorway. Ben’s attention was drawn there as well, and even though the room was fairly dark and shadowed, he could still make out the curvy hourglass figure of New York’s most notorious femme fatale. There was no doubt about it, the woman entering this dungeon of a room was Adrianna Giovanni. After a second of hesitation she stepped forward into the light. She was absolutely gorgeous. Every part of her was a work of art. Those red lips, her piercing brown eyes, her long legs, and her flowing dark brown hair. She was captivating. But her looks were deceiving. Adrianna was no angel. She was dangerous, and she knew how to inflict a great deal of pain on those who opposed her and the rest of her family. Ben was at the top of that list too. He’d seen the photographs of the people she’d supposedly had murdered. It was brutal, and Ben knew that he could easily wind up in the obituary section of the newspaper if he didn’t handle this situation with the utmost care. Ben sighed and closed his eyes. “Oh great,” he whispered under his breath.

Adrianna sent one of the men out of the room and then motioned for the other to stand over in the corner in the shadows. She began to talk to him, putting up an obviously fake front of being friendly. She walked behind him and Ben swallowed hard, not knowing what was coming. But he did his best to keep from showing any fear. He suddenly felt her fingers grab onto his hair, jerking his head backwards so that he was looking up at her. He groaned as he felt the strain on the muscles in his neck and shoulders. After a moment she let him go and pushed his head forward. He growled slightly at the rough treatment she was giving him, even though he was expecting nothing less from her. Adrianna asked how her family should feel about his attempts to put them behind bars just as she stepped out directly in front of him. Ben looked at the floor for a moment and wetted his lips with his tongue, tasting the blood on his bottom lip. After a moment an arrogant grin came to his face and he looked up at her. “Well…they say there’s no such thing as bad publicity, so I suppose you should be thanking me. I’ve been putting members of your family on the front pages of newspapers for a long time now.”

He smiled, glaring up into her eyes as she stared back at him. It probably wasn’t the best idea to be a smart ass and taunt Adrianna, but Benjamin just didn’t know any better. That’s who he was. It was a shame that she had to be such a naughty girl. Adrianna was beautiful, and if she’d really wanted to she could’ve had a career as a model. Instead she opted to take over the family business. He admired her looks for a second until he was distracted by movement coming from the corner. The large thug was still there, and Ben glanced at him for a moment before turning his attention back to Adrianna. “What’s the matter Ms. Giovanni? Don’t think you can handle me all by yourself? And here I thought we had so much to catch up on.” Perhaps if he could get her alone he could take better control of this situation. Maybe he could dig deeper into her mind and find out exactly what she wanted, and why he was here.

[sexy_curves]

The light emanating from the single light bulb on the ceiling fixture flickered as she tapped the toe of her leather boot against the cold concrete floor. She crossed her arms in front of her, adding to the cleavage on display in her fitted black button down shirt. She raised an eyebrow at his words, growing angry when she saw the look on his face. She stepped closer to him and brought her hand up, the palm of her hand striking his face. “I’m not sure you understand who you’re dealing with” she said to him, hitting him again, this time with the back of her hand. The large rings adorning her fingers adding in the pain of the second slap.

“We didn’t mind your first few tries” she hissed at him. “In fact, we admired your devotion to your job. But now, it’s getting old, and we’re getting annoyed. I’m sure you’re smart enough to know that we don’t play well with people who cross us, especially as often as you have crossed my father and our family. There are enough people you would trust in your precinct that will not allow you to cross us, and you need to know that we are far more powerful than you must take us for.

She heard her phone vibrate in her purse and walked away from the detective, her hand gripping his hair as she walked past him, pulling until she couldn’t reach anymore. She walked to her bag and pulled out her phone and flipped it open. It was another one of the men employed by her family about their future plans with the man she had sitting in the room. “Yes, I received that delivery” she said licking her pouty lips. “No, I’m not sure what my plan exactly is regarding that, but I will get back to you as soon as I can. Don’t you dare go ahead with any plans until you hear from me” she said shutting the phone and returning to her guest.

His comments questioning her ability to handle him on her own pissed her off completely. “I don’t usually waste my energy on the physical aspect of visits I pay, that’s what Malcolm’s here for” she told him, whispering sharply right into her ear, her fingers digging into the pressure points on the back of his neck, savoring the sensation of him writhing beneath her.

She let go quickly and walked away, picking up her bag. “Malcolm” She said “I’ve got other work to attend to, be sure to treat our guest with extra care while I’m gone please” she said, her hand patting his solid chest as she left the room, the door shutting with a loud, echoing slam.

[Slugger31]

Ben’s words had struck a nerve with her. Adrianna stepped forward and slapped him hard across the face. She followed it up with another firm backhanded shot, the rings on her fingers making small cuts on his right cheek that lightly started to bleed. His head turned in the direction of each slap when she connected. The shots stung, but he expected them. Adrianna began to lecture him as she paced before him. The heels of her boots were clopping along on the hard cement floor of the room, the sound echoing against the walls. Ben kept his gaze low now, following her long legs as she moved back and forth. She reminded him of how powerful her family really was and that many of the other cops in his own precinct were on their payroll. She even added that she’d admired his work early on, but now it wasn’t cute anymore. But the moment was interrupted when Adrianna’s phone began to vibrate in her purse. She yanked his hair again as she walked over to her bag and answered the phone.

She was now having a conversation with somebody who sounded male. And there was no doubt about what they were discussing. He was the “delivery” they were talking about, and apparently it hadn’t been decided what they were going to do with him just yet. They had a plan, but obviously it didn’t involve killing him…at least for the time being. That was a little bit of a relief to him. Ben watched as she hung up her phone and returned her attention to him. She came behind him once again and leaned down to whisper into his ear that she didn’t do any of the physical work when it came to torturing their victims. With that she dug her fingernails into the pressure points on his neck. Ben closed his eyes and groaned slightly, absorbing the sharp pain as best as he could. He could tell that she was enjoying it.

With that, Adrianna picked her bag up and walked over to the large, muscular, Italian man. Apparently his name was Malcolm. Not that it mattered to Ben. Ben identified him only as a jackass and placed him into the category of “scum”. Adrianna informed him that she had other work to do, and asked him to take care of Ben while she was away. Adrianna looked back at him one last time, a devilish grin on her lips as she left the room and slammed the door shut. Ben immediately looked up at the henchman, grinning like the cocky little bastard that he was. “Malcolm is it? I usually associate that name with somebody who’s intelligent. So this really is a first for me.” The man, angered by his word, grabbed Ben’s tie and reared his fist back once again. Ben didn’t flinch though. He grinned up at him and spoke once more. “Go ahead, hit me as hard as you can, pussy goombah…” The man violently slammed his fist into Ben’s face. It rocked him hard. Ben saw stars, blackness, and then felt nothing as he was knocked out. Ben’s body slumped back into the chair as he was out.

[sexy_curves]

Adrianna watched from the two way mirror as Malcolm paid a little attention to Ben. She watched as he slumped in his chair and his head hung down. She brushed her bangs out of her eyes and walked down the long hallway back to where her car was waiting for her. The driver opened the door for her and she tossed her bag in the car. “I need to go to the family house” she said, getting into the car and pouring herself a drink for the ride home.

Eventually the car pulled up to the house she’d grown up in. The driver opened the door and asked whether he should wait, or if she would be retiring here for the evening like she did on occasion. “I won’t be long, I’ll need to return to our compound” she told him, walking to the door, which was immediately opened by one of her father’s most trusted employees.

“Thank you Dante” she said, setting her purse down on the table in the grand foyer. “How is he?” she asked, looking to the man she had known for so many years. They all considered him a member of the family he was so trusted and had spend so long in their home.

“There’s been little improvement” he said, taking her coat. “He has another appointment with another doctor to get another opinion tomorrow” Dante told her. “He’s in his study” he added as he hung up the coat and asked if there was anything she needed.

“No, thank you” she said, walking to the large oak door to her father’s study. She knocked before walking in like she always did. She saw her father sitting at his desk with a glass of brandy and a cigar like could always be expected. Things had started to look different recently though. He was no longer the strong man that could demand anyone’s respect. Now he looked old, frail, and of poor health. “Daddy” she said walking over to him and kissing his cheek. “You know you’re not supposed to drink on that medication” she reminded him, reaching for the glass. “It won’t help if you don’t take it the way the Doctors tell you.”

“I’m not taking that medication” he informed her daughter. “If I can’t enjoy my brandy and cigars, there’s no point to be here any longer” he said, putting his hand on his glass before his beautiful daughter could pull it from his reach. “Respect the wishes of your father, Adrianna” he said, reminding her of her place in the family. “is this the only reason you’ve come today?” he asked, puffing on his Cuban cigar.

“No Daddy” she said, sitting on the edge of his desk. “I thought you should know that I have Agent Ben Brody at the compound. I wanted to check with you, and see what you think I should do with him” she said, looking at her father.

“That is for you to decide dear” he said to her. “He’s damaged our family, but he will never be able to break us, and you know that. This will be a good test of how you will run the business once I’m gone. I’m going to leave this to you” he said, taking a drink from the crystal glass sitting on his antique desk.

“Okay Daddy” she said softly, kissing his cheek as she stood up. “I’ll call tomorrow to see how your appointment went” she said as she walked out, shutting the door softly.

She returned to the foyer, where Dante helped her into her coat and handed her purse to her. “Take care of him” she said softly, looking into his eyes. She knew the family and close staff was worried, and she knew what she needed to do.

The driver returned her to the compound, where she found Ben still out cold. She had Malcolm set up a chair facing him as she poured herself a glass of white wine. She walked back into the room and sat quietly, moving very little, waiting for the good cop to stir.

[Slugger31]

Benjamin’s lights had been knocked out. His eyes were shut and he was slumped over in his chair. The henchman known as Malcolm had backed off and left the room to stand guard outside the door. In Ben’s unconscious state, his mind wandered through a world of darkness. Suddenly out of that black world emerged Adrianna Giovanni. She sauntered right up to him, her sultry hips swaying from side to side as she stood confidently before him with a smile on her lips. Benjamin was in total awe of her, yet inside he felt that his guard was up. She was a killer. But Adrianna slowly slid her arms around Ben’s body and he froze up. He gazed into her eyes as her face slowly moved closer to his. He couldn’t move, but he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to. Adrianna gently pressed her lips against his in a soft, sweet kiss. Ben closed his eyes and kissed her back, his tongue sliding against hers as his arms moved around her waist. After a moment of savoring the taste of her lips, Ben suddenly remembered that Adrianna was an enemy and tried to pull away. But he couldn’t. He felt something stopping his arms from moving around her. He looked down to see that his hands were cuffed behind her. Ben looked back into Adrianna’s eyes and gasped. An evil grin was now on her face, and suddenly Ben felt a sharp pain in his back as Adrianna stabbed a knife into his body. Ben screamed out in agony.

And then he stirred. It was all just a dream. Ben slowly began to lift his head up and open his eyes. He opened his mouth and moved his jaw, feeling the soreness from getting hit so hard so many times. His face was bruised, his tie and collar were a mess, and there were blood stains on the chest of his shirt. Ben groaned as he began to feel the effects of his raging headache. As his eyes slowly came into focus, he realized that Adriana was sitting in a chair directly in front of him. She had a glass of wine in her hand and she had her legs crossed. Adrianna had apparently been calmly waiting for him to come back to reality. She took a sip of her wine and Ben couldn’t help but smile at her. “Sorry to keep you waiting. I just thought I’d take a little nap here.” Ben groaned again as he slowly tried to sit up a bit straighter in the chair. His eyes quickly darted around the room, trying to get a sense of where he was again. He noticed that Adrianna was the only other person in the room now. He had no idea how long he’d been out for. It could have been fifteen minutes, and it could have been two days. But the entire place seemed really quiet. Ben returned his gaze to Adrianna again and spoke up. “You know a Miller Lite sounds really good right now.”

[sexy_curves]

Adrianna watched Ben as he slowly came to. She crossed her legs and sat back in her chair, wishing she could be in his head to see what he was obviously dreaming. She knew she needed to find his weakness and use it against him. It would take work, and probably a good amount of time. A man like Ben knew not to reveal himself to his enemies, and would go every extreme to keep them from finding out.

She looked at him as he woke up, feeling the pain in his face and jaw as he came to. He looked pathetic, yet she showed no sympathy to his swollen, bruised face. She ignored the drying blood on his chin and shirt, knowing he’d been through far worse, and put others through similar treatments. Taking another sip of her wine, Adrianna stood from her chair and set it on a table in the corner of the room. “I’ve got nothing but time Detective” she said, knowing it was a full out lie. She needed to get Detective Brody to tell her everything he knew so she could bring her brother home before it was too late with her father.

“As much as I would be happy to have an icy bottle brought up for you, we don’t treat our guests like you that well” she said, walking back to her chair and sitting down. She leaned forward slightly, her eyes locking with his. “I’m a business woman Brody” she said bluntly.

“What would one have to do to get you to work with them to make something happen?” she asked, scoping him out. She knew full out this wouldn’t work, but she was using up some time, adding to the time he was here. Eventually, without seeing the outside world and not commuting with people in his life, he would start to crack, but Adrianna knew she would have to help expedite the situation.

“I mean, you already know my family is very wealthy, I can get my checkbook out of my bag, I’m sure there’s something you desire that cannot be obtained on your salary” she said to him in a professional tone, like it was an every day business meeting, which in essence it was for her.

[Slugger31]

Ben watched her very casually, even though his hands were tied up, he didn’t know where he was, and he was a bruised and bloody mess. Adrianna was acting as if this was a just a normal business meeting, and Benjamin had no problem playing along with her. He knew that she didn’t give a damn about his wounds or the pain he was feeling. But he kept that small grin on his face the entire time, even as she stood up to place her glass of wine on a table in the corner of the room. She had all the time in the world, or so she claimed. But so did he. Any urgency he felt or made known to her would only work against him. So he was calm, even after she refused to get him a beer. “What would one have to do to get you to work with them to make something happen?” Adrianna asked him. “I mean, you already know my family is very wealthy, I can get my checkbook out of my bag, I’m sure there’s something you desire that cannot be obtained on your salary,” she continued. Ben raised an eyebrow at her for a moment and then cleared his throat, even chuckling a little. He hadn’t really expected her to be so blunt. But then again, nothing should have surprised him. The Giovanni family was known for not only their brutality, but their ability to play mind games.

Ben locked eyes with her, still smiling, and after a couple of seconds he spoke up. “First off, I don’t know what the hell you are talking about, Miss. Giovanni.” Ben stopped for a moment to lick his lips, tasting the dried blood and cleaning it off. “Secondly, as much as I would love helping your wonderful family out with any little problem they have, I’m not really in the mood to betray the people I work with, if that is in fact what you’re implying. I don’t really enjoy being a snitch.” Ben relaxed in his chair a little, even pretending that he was getting comfortable. “I know that you’re used to employing snitches. There are a lot of them out there. And I’m sure that you have enough money to buy things that I can only dream about owning. Things that a spoiled, rich, daddy’s girl like yourself grew up with.” He was testing her. If she was going to play mind games, he was going to play them right back. There was already a pretty good chance that he was going to end up dead. But it was obvious she wanted something. And that did give him a bit of leverage. “It’s obvious to me that you don’t have what it takes to step up and fill your father’s position when he finally kicks the bucket. At least he wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty once in a while. I know he grew up in a tough neighborhood and was dirt poor as a child. He earned what he has today, whether I agree with how he earned it or not. Not like you. What have you earned?” Ben paused and gave her a serious look, waiting for a response. “You’re not going to get anything out of me, so you might as well put a pistol between my eyes and pull the trigger.”

[sexy_curves]

Adrianna sat back down, her eyes locked with the detective’s as he paused, with a confident grin plastered across his face. She listened to his cocky words, clenching and unclenching her fists, keeping a calm, collected look on her face as he spoke to her. When he spoke about her father though, she couldn’t keep her cool any longer. She stood up and walked over to him again, slapping him across his bruised and bloody face, over and over. “Don’t you dare speak about my father” she said, putting the palm of her hand to the bottom of his nose and pushing up, breaking his nose, hearing the pain inflicting sound and smiling wickedly.

“I do not need to defend myself to you” she hissed at his question. “And I will not make it easy and give you the satisfaction of killing you yet. But know this” she said loudly as she walked around his chair again. “I will if the time comes for that, take care of it with my own bare hands” she hissed loudly before pulling back on the chair so the two front legs were off of the floor and letting go, stepping back as his chair tipped over. “Have a good evening detective” she said as she picked up her bag and walked out.

Malcolm was waiting outside, his eyes wide after seeing Adrianna’s actions. He knew she preferred to not carry out the physical part of her job, that’s why he was there. “I”ll be back in the morning. “No one is to enter that room” she said as she walked down the hallway and into the car for the drive home.

The next morning, after a meeting with some of the staff to review what was being taken care of in the near future, Adrianna returned to the compound and watched Ben through the window on the door, deciding what would be necessary today.

[Slugger31]

Benjamin thought that he was playing games right back with Adrianna. He thought that he was tugging on her emotional strings in such a way that he’d get something personal and valuable out of her. But he was wrong. Instead he just pissed her off. And what was to follow would be nothing short of terrible, terrible pain. When he finished speaking of her father, Adrianna rose to her feet and began slapping him hard across the face, again, and again, and again. It stung, and it rocked his world in a way he hadn’t thought possible, even from a girl as tough as her. His eyes couldn’t help but water from the sheer sting that rushed through his face. But it wasn’t over yet. It was just starting. She put her palm on his nose and suddenly pushed up, breaking it almost effortlessly. Ben heard his nose pop and felt the blood run down his upper lips. He screamed out in pain and clenched his jaw, struggling in his chair. There was no hope of escape even though he couldn’t help but attempt to. Adrianna screamed down at him, telling Ben not to speak of her father and loving every second of the pain he was in.

She disappeared behind him once again and warned him that she had no problem killing him herself, but only when the time for it was necessary. Ben suddenly felt his chair tip backwards a little and his eyes went wide, knowing that his arms were still tied behind the chair. Adrianna quickly let go of the chair, letting it fall backwards with Ben still restrained. Gravity pulled his body and the chair down to the floor hard. And his arms, stuck behind the chair, suddenly were mashed between the cold, hard concrete floor and the back of the chair. Fire-like pain shot through Ben’s arms and throughout his body. Once again, Ben yelled at the top of his lungs in complete agony. He thought his arms might’ve been broken, but he was in too much pain to know for sure. His mind was spinning and he began having second thoughts about the way he was handling this situation. And as he writhed in pain on the floor, Adrianna promptly left. He didn’t know when or if she’d be returning, but there was nothing he could do. Ben stayed on the floor the remainder of the night, groaning in pain. He dozed off occasionally, but the sleep was far from peaceful. He had no way of knowing what time it was, and it seemed like an eternity before he heard commotion outside the door once again. It must have been the next day. Ben didn’t move. He stayed on the floor, stuck in his chair, staring up at the ceiling, a beaten and battered man.

[sexy_curves]

Adrianna watched the pathetic image through the window for a minute before walking down the hallway and going into a large bathroom. She filled a deep glass bowl with warm water and pulled a few towels from the closet, along with some more first aid supplies she would need. She put them all on a tray and carried them down the hallway, thanking Malcolm as he opened the door and dismissing him for the day. There were other men around if she needed anyone.

She walked to the table in the room and set down the tray before walking over to Ben. She knelt down and looked into his eyes, his face swollen and caked in blood. “How are we feeling this morning?” she asked, not waiting for a reply before she stood up and walked to the back of the chair, slowly lifting it from the chair, returning him into an upright position.

She smoothed his hair back and walked to the table, picked up the stack of cloths and the bowl of water, walking back to him and slowly began to clean his face, being gently around his nose. “Think you’re a little bit more willing to talk this morning?” she asked him, bending down in front of him and looking in his eyes as she wiped away more blood from his chin and neck, wondering if his time alone had taken any fight out of him.

[Slugger31]

Ben had no way of knowing what was coming. He could have panicked, and most people probably would have. But at this point he didn’t care. Ben didn’t even feel the pain that had been racking his body earlier. He was numb. After a few moments, Malcolm opened the door and Adrianna stepped back into the room. It must have been anywhere from 10 to 15 hours since he last saw her. He watched her out of the corner of his eyes as she carried in what appeared to be a large bowl of water and some towels. For a moment he tried to figure out what kind of terrible torture would be coming. And then she walked over to him, asking him how he felt. Ben said nothing and only shook his head at her, disgusted by the question. She knew exactly how he felt, and she loved it. But what she did next surprised him. Adrianna went behind him and slowly pushed his chair back into an upright position. A sudden rush of aching pain returned to his mashed arms. But Ben could move his fingers and his arms felt intact. Luckily they weren’t broken.

She returned in front of him, fixing his hair before she brought the bowl of water and towels near them. Adrianna dipped a corner of the towel into the warm water and slowly, gently began to clean his face. Ben couldn’t believe it, but he didn’t react. He just looked straight forward into her eyes as she cleaned the dry blood from around his nose. Adrianna asked if he was willing to talk this morning. She knelt in front of him, cleaning more blood from his face. Ben didn’t know why he was allowing her to wash his face. He could have easily kicked or head butt her. But he didn’t. He was too confused by this somewhat kind act, even though she was the reason he was in the shape he was. Ben said nothing for a moment before finally speaking up. “I guess that would depend upon what you want to hear.” Benjamin closed his eyes and sighed, letting her clean around his eyes. He was shocked at how gentle she could be after being such a monster. “And I suppose I was wrong about you.” Ben opened his eyes and looked at her. “You are willing to get your hands dirty after all.” He started to feel a little bit better about himself as his face was cleaned up. “I have to admit, if your intention was to confuse the hell out of me, you’ve done that. You could kill me. And I know you’ve gone to bed many nights wishing I was dead. But you’ve kept me alive. Why? What do you want?”

[sexy_curves]

Adrianna continued to gently clean Ben’s face. She held the warm cloth to his swollen flesh, soothing the throbbing pain. She was fully aware that what she was doing to him would more than likely confuse him. It was all part of the game she played to get things done her way. She looked into his eyes as he spoke to her, a soft grin coming to her lips when he admitted she was willing to get her hands dirty.

“That information, is not important for you to know right now detective” she said to him, referring to why she was keeping him alive. “I do what I have to do to prove my point, I’m not afraid of anything” she said to him, standing up and walking to the tray. She got a few more items and set back to work. She spread a cream on his lips so they would heal instead of cracking any more, and then wrapped a few ice cubes in a clean cloth, holding it against his face, helping the swelling to go down.

“I want to talk about my brother” she said as she moved the ice to the other side of his face. “I want to know what I would have to do to get him home. Why isn’t important for you to know, but I need him to be home” she said, realizing she was being too open with him, and needed to watch herself.

[Slugger31]

Benjamin listened to her as she spoke. He tried to keep himself from showing too much emotion. The less she knew about what he was feeling, the less she’d be able to toy with him. Perhaps it was too much that he was letting her clean his face. But he didn’t resist. She refused to tell him why he was still alive, and she seemed very pleased with the fact that he’d admitted to her ability to take charge. Adrianna spread a cool cream on his lips, making sure they healed rather than get cracked or infected. And suddenly he had his most intimate moment with this woman as she held a cloth containing ice against his swollen face. He closed his eyes for a moment, unable to deny how good the cool feeling was on his skin. He opened them back up after and moment and stared into her eyes, part of him giving in to her touch and her momentary kindness.

“I want to talk about my brother,” Adrianna said to him. Of course she was referring to her brother Antonio. Antonio had gotten busted with a trunk full of cocaine and several briefcases of counterfeit money a couple weeks ago. Adrianna wanted him set free. Of course the idea was preposterous to Ben, but he’d learned not to scoff at the things she said, otherwise her nurse-like abilities would be going to waste as she would batter him again. Ben sighed and looked away from her for a moment, trying to think of what to say. “I know where your brother is being held.” He looked back at her, trying to appear confident in what he was doing. But deep down, he wasn’t. Not anymore. “But I don’t know what you want me to do. I mean, if it was money that I wanted, you guys would’ve bought me off a long time ago. But you know that hasn’t worked. So what do you think you have to offer a guy like me?” He raised an eyebrow at her. Not arrogantly, but with real interest. He could see that she was trying to think, and he could see the emotion in her eyes. Before she could speak again he spoke up once more. “It’s about your father isn’t it? You want Antonio to be home when he passes.” Ben looked at her. He knew about the condition of her father. Getting access to the Giovanni family’s health records wasn’t THAT hard. “It means a lot to you….doesn’t it?”

[sexy_curves]

Adrianna looked at Ben as he spoke to her, doing her best to keep a neutral face, and not give too much away by her expression. Her jaw tensed as he spoke, telling her there was really nothing he could do. She looked away when he started looking deeper into her eyes, standing up as started making conclusions. She shook her head, unhappy that he had just figured it out. He had an upper hand now, he controlled the game right now, and she hated it.

“It doesn’t matter why” she said, turning back to him, leaning against the edge of the table. “All you need to worry about is telling me how I get my brother home, or who I need to meet to get it done. “There’s more that you know than where he is right now, I can see it in your eyes” she said, picking up a few more pieces of ice and wrapping them in another cloth. She walked back to him and started working on his face again, gently moving it over his swollen cheeks and jaw.

[Slugger31]

Ben could tell that he’d hit the nail right on the head. This had everything to do with the fact that Adrianna’s father was dying. Of course upon discovering this fact, Adrianna tried to deny it. She didn’t want him to have the ability to hold that over her head. She wanted to be in charge. And as Adrianna stood up and tried to pretend that it didn’t matter, a small smile returned to Ben’s face. But he refused to let her see it. She brought another cloth full of ice to his cheek and jaw, causing the swelling to reduce dramatically. Ben closed his eyes and rested his face against the icy cloth, enjoying the way it felt. But this time, he wasn’t hiding it from Adrianna. “Here’s the thing…” Ben looked at her, finally ready to talk business. “…your brother was stupid enough to get busted the way he did. If me saying that pisses you off, I’m sorry. But it’s true. This is the way the system works. He broke the law, got caught, and now he’s in jail. You make it sound like getting him out of jail should be easy.” Adrianna pulled the ice back away from his face as he continued. “Do I have the ability…and do I know loopholes to get your brother out of jail? Yes I do.”

Ben leaned forward in his chair a bit, keeping his eyes on Adrianna’s as he got much more serious with her. “But let’s talk for a second. Let’s put all this cop vs. criminal, good guy vs. bad guy bullshit aside for a moment. This is what bugs me…as a person, not as a cop. I spent a long time studying the habits and motivations of criminals and people who depend on a life of crime. I’ve tried to look at the world from your perspective. From the perspective of a family like yours. And I get it. I get the motivation. People are always going to want their acid, cocaine, heroine, and mushrooms. You’re just the providers. It’s easy money, and the world goes round and round. I understand why you do it, and how it makes for a great living. But here’s what pisses me off Adrianna…”

Ben paused and relaxed in his chair for a second, collecting his thoughts. Perhaps the best way to get to Adrianna was to open up, rather than close himself off. “You’ve never stopped to think why I do what I do. To you, I’m just a nuisance. I’m the guy that interrupts your business. Maybe you think I just want to be a hero. What your family does is against the law. You know that, and I know that. And what you do effects people…innocent people. People that weren’t born into a life of luxury. People that are out there trying to make an honest living. I’m a cop, Adrianna. What would you do in my shoes?” He took a break for dramatic effect. “The pride that you have for your family…I have just as much pride for the badge that I wear. I protect people. And now you want me to put aside my goals and my work for the sake of your brother? You want me to help your family, when your family has blatantly made the lives of so many people miserable. You think that makes sense? That’s what I don’t get Adrianna…that’s what pisses me off. So forgive me for being a little hesitant to cooperate...”

[sexy_curves]

Adrianna’s gaze moved from Ben’s as he continued to speak. She looked at the back wall of the room, her face remaining expressionless as he told her what he felt. She knew how he got caught was stupid, they all knew that. It was the reason her father hadn’t fought any harder to keep him out of jail. He had viewed her brother’s actions nearly betrayal with how poorly he had gone about the trade. No one understood why he had even been the one driving the car, that wasn’t the type of work the family needed to worry about. That was a job for the thugs they hired, who knew they were protected and wouldn’t give up any information to the police if they were caught.

She tuned back into what Ben was saying, and her eyes locked with his again when he told her he had the means of getting Antonio out of jail. She looked deep into his eyes as he continued to speak to her, putting their positions aside, speaking to her like she really had a choice in what she was doing. She had been born into the Giovanni family; she was raised to do what she was doing. She continued to ice is swollen face, moving it slowly to different areas, but really It was a distraction, to keep her hands busy as he spoke to her, to give her something to break eye contact when necessary. She really didn’t need a lecture on right and wrong, she’d heard it from many people many times before.

“Detective” she said, trying to formulate what she wanted to say. She pulled the ice from his face and looked into his eyes. “I know what my brother did was stupid, that’s rather obvious to everyone. He was trying to gain my father’s respect after leaving the business to go to school. My father had seen that as the ultimate betrayal. He had no idea what he was doing, it wasn’t his job to make the drop that night, we all knew there was going to be a bust that night, but we knew our man wouldn’t say anything about us. My father’s lawyers would have gotten him out, you know they would have found something flawed in the process and he wouldn’t have served any time at all. When our father found out it was Antonio, he pulled his lawyers back, leaving him to a public defender. Of course he was going to jail. It was where my father wanted him. If he hadn’t been a son, my father would have had him killed, but some lines, even he won’t cross.”

She walked over to the tray and set down the cloth once the ice had all melted. She returned to him and sat down in the chair in front of his, facing him. “You know why I’m doing this, you know all you need to know. I’m in no hurry and this is where the game comes back into my control. I need you to get him out, and you will help me. I’ve got time and I plan to keep you alive, I will wait and I will do things to speed along your decision if I must, but in the end, you will help my family, and you will be compensated for the trouble it caused you.

[Slugger31]

Adrianna continued to clean up his face and stop the swelling. And when Ben had finished speaking, it took her a minute to collect her thoughts before she admitted that what her brother had done was stupid. She claimed that if her family had wanted to keep her brother out of jail, they could have. And she was probably right. The Giovanni’s were always finding cracks to slip through in the judicial system, and when that didn’t work they paid someone off. But they wanted Antonio to spend time in the slammer. But the health of Adrianna’s father had caused her to have a change of heart. She wanted her brother to be set free. Adrianna finished healing his face and put her medical supplies away for the moment, taking her seat in front of him once again and crossing her legs. Ben tilted his head and sighed, listening to her as she once again explained that he WOULD cooperate with her one way or another. But she was wrong about one thing, and they both knew what it was.

“Come on Adrianna…don’t lie. You say that you aren’t in a hurry, but that’s a lie. Time isn’t a luxury for you right now. And we both know why….don’t we?” Ben looked at her, tilting his head and inspecting the look on her face. He was reading her, waiting to know more about what she was thinking and feeling. “You really hate it when you aren’t in control, don’t you?” He looked at her again. But then his train of thought shifted, and his eyes scanned her up and down, admiring her looks again. Adrianna was sexy as hell. It didn’t matter if she was a tough crime boss or not. In fact, her choice of clothing always accentuated her beauty and curves. She was clearly aware of what she’d been blessed with. But Ben suddenly stopped himself and returned his gaze back to hers. He couldn’t understand or believe what he was thinking about at a time like this. His life was on the line.

After a minute of staring at each other, Adrianna clearly wanting him to give in, Ben finally realized that he didn’t have much choice. “Alright…” Giving in to her demands and helping this heartless family was going to kill him inside. “I could probably get your brother out of jail for a little while…48 hours tops…” Ben looked down at the concrete floor and shook his head, his pride severely damaged. “There won’t be any problems…but he’d have to come back. I can’t just break your brother out of jail.” Ben’s gaze remained on the floor, unable to look Adrianna in the eyes.

[sexy_curves]

Adrianna leaned back against her chair as Ben spoke to her, reminding her that she really was in a hurry. Her jaw tightened slightly, her lips pursing a bit as he continued. “I was trained growing up to do what it takes to get what I want, which always works best when I’m in control” she said to him when he finished speaking. She raised an eyebrow when he trailed off, pausing for a minute before saying anything again. Her eyes scanned him, his face still swollen, and very bruised from the previous day, nothing he didn’t deserve though.

She crossed her legs as Ben finally looked up at her, their eyes locking once more. She licked her lips as he began to speak, telling her she could get him out for 48 hours. “That’s not good enough, I don’t know how much longer my Father has” she said shaking her head. “I need him out longer” she said, hiding the desperation in her voice, their conversation sounding more like bidding at an auction.

“I don’t know how long he has, and it will kill him for to have to see my brother leave him” she said getting up and beginning to slowly pace the length of the room, her black heels clicking loudly against the hard floor. “I need you to think of something else.”

[Slugger31]

“And I was trained to keep people like you from getting your way…” Ben mumbled under his breath as he continued. “…Not that I’m doing a great job of it right now.” He was certain that the offer he’d given her would be satisfactory enough. Getting someone like Antonio Giovanni out of jail for five minutes was an accomplishment unto itself, let alone two days. Adrianna had to see that this wasn’t going to be easy, and that it was a big victory for her that Ben was even cooperating with her. “That’s not good enough,” she said to him. Ben’s jaw nearly hit the floor and his eyes went wide as he looked up at her. Adrianna stood up and began to pace back and forth, the sound of her heels echoing in the room. Ben was angry again.

“What? That’s not good enough? You need ME to think of something else?” Ben scoffed at her. He didn’t care if she beat the hell out of him again. This was insulting. He was trying to work with her, trying to negotiate, but she was being stubborn. Ben glared at Adrianna, shaking his head. “I told you, I’m not going to break your brother out of jail. I’m not going to put my entire career in jeopardy for your damn family. So you can go fuck yourself!” Ben straightened up in his chair with an angry expression on his face, expecting more punishment for his rebellious behavior.

“I don’t give a damn anymore. I have no wife, no girlfriend, no kids. So you have nothing to hold over my head. Nobody is going to notice, so you can go ahead and kill me now. And I’ll take great pleasure in knowing that your brother is getting fucked in the ass by his cell mate while your father is choking on his final breath.” He scowled at her, and for the first time during this whole ordeal Ben lost his temper. His hands struggled to free themselves from the rope and handcuffs that secured him to the chair.

[sexy_curves]

“No” Adrianna said walking back to Ben. “It’s not good enough” she said sitting down and crossing her legs. “I need my brother to be home for when it happens, he can’t just be taken away if my father’s near death and the 48 hours is up before he passes” she said leaning forward slightly. “You shut up” she yelled standing up and stepping towards him, kicking her chair back.

She was reaching for him when her phone rang on the table against the wall. She turned and walked over to her purse, pulling her phone from it and walking out of the room as she flipped it open. She shut the door behind her as she answered the call from one of her father’s caretakers. She walked down the hall and leaned against the cold wall as she listened to an update on her father’s condition, which had taken a drastic turn for the worse. “You need to keep him alive” she said, tears welling in her eyes. “Do whatever you need to do to keep him alive, I’ll be there as soon as I can” she said flipping her phone shut and hitting the wall with her open hand.

“Fuck” she said loudly as she paced up and down the hallway for a minute before returning to the room where Ben sat, still bound to his chair. She wiped at her eyes before moving to face Ben, sitting down in the chair in front of him once again. Her eyes looked down at her phone for a minute before saying anything.

“48 hours would be plenty” she said softly, avoid his gaze. “What would you need to do to make it happen as soon as possible?” she asked, inhaling deeply licking her lips and tightening her jaw again.

[Slugger31]

Ben’s yelling and taunting had upset her. And really, that was the point. He’d lost his cool with her unwavering and unsympathetic demands. She wanted her brother out of jail completely, no questions asked. And that was something that Benjamin Brody just wasn’t willing to let happen. Apparently she wasn’t sure just how soon her father would be dying. And his behavior had just about sent her into another violent attack. Adrianna stood up and kicked her chair away, telling him to shut up. Ben glared up at her, only to have their stare down interrupted by the ringing of her phone. She moved away from him, grabbing her phone from her purse, and promptly leaving the room to head out into the hallway. He watched her the whole time, and when she was out of the room he spit on the floor in disgust.

Even though he had a reputation of being a bit of a badass, even Ben had a hard time comprehending how he was handling this situation. He wasn’t afraid. He was standing up to her, even in the process of negotiating. She could have put a bullet through his brain or slit his throat whenever she wanted to, but Ben was willing to risk that to make sure she wasn’t in total control of this circumstance. She’d finally pissed him off in person, rather than hearing about things she’d done through a police scanner or news report. It felt good to yell at her, especially after all the pain she’d caused others. He sure as hell wasn’t going to just let her brother waltz right out of jail. She was gone from the room for a few minutes and Ben began to wonder what the call was about. Perhaps it was the order to do away with him finally. He could hear mumbling from the hall, and a few moments later he could hear Adrianna yell “Fuck” very loudly. He grinned a little, even as she opened the door and came back into the room.

But his mood quickly changed when he caught a glimpse of Adrianna’s face and saw the tears in her eyes. She was avoiding looking at him, and rather than take joy in the pain she was feeling, Ben felt sorry for her. He’d always believed he would enjoy a moment like this, but it wasn’t so. Maybe it was because he hated seeing a beautiful girl in distress. Maybe it was because deep down, he really was one of the good guys. “48 hours would be plenty,” she said to him. She asked Ben what he needed to get her brother out of jail for the two days. Ben was quiet for a moment, unable to speak as he looked at her. After a second passed he shook his head and remembered what she’d asked. “I uh….You would just need the approval of an officer involved in your brother’s case, which I can handle. And…the station would need your father’s medical records for approval of his condition and the reason your brother needs time out. Which um…I already have in my office.” Ben waited for Adrianna to regain her composure and look at him again. He had a very serious expression on his face as he continued. “So everything is good to go. If you let me out of here, I could have your brother to your home in a couple of hours. If that is in fact what you want….” He tilted his head and looked at her, reading the expression on her face.

[sexy_curves]

Adrianna brushed her hair from her eyes and sat back in her chair, looking past Ben at the wall behind him. She fought back the tears that were threatening to steam down her face before looking at Ben. She pursed her lips as he spoke to her, her jaw tense as she listened to him explain what he would need.

She nodded, thankful that it would only take a few hours to arrange her brother’s temporary release. “Yes, that’s exactly what I want” she said, already getting up from her chair. She walked to a table against the wall in the room and picked up a black hood, and walked back to Ben. “Obviously you know why this is necessary” she said showing him the hood before moving sliding it over his head. She pulled a key from the back pocket of her dark denim jeans and unlocked his handcuffs from the chair. “I’m hoping at this point we can trust you to behave that these won’t be needed” she said to him, leading him out of the room and into the hallway.

“Please take him into the car and take him here” she said, handing one of her most trusted men a sheet of paper. “Be quick about it, and don’t do any harm to him” she said, her hand on his shoulder as she spoke to her employee.

“Detective” she said, getting his focus back on her. “My associate will drop you off close to where you need to be, please get it done quickly, and have him brought to my father’s house” she added. “I’ll be there waiting for him” she told him before walking the other way down the hall and getting into her car, telling her driver to take her home.

She poured herself a strong drink and did her best to calm her nerves before she got to her father’s home. She walked in and spoke to the caretakers on duty at the moment, but couldn’t bring herself to go into her father’s bedroom just yet. Not without her brother.

She went into the library and looked at the grandiose wall of family photographs and paintings their father demanded to have done each year, from when she was just a baby, to the year before her brother left for college, losing herself in the moment, and losing track of time. She was pulled back into reality with the ringing of the doorbell that echoed through the house, and walked into the foyer as the butler opened the ornate French style doors.

[Slugger31]

Adrianna finally looked at him, and Ben could see the sadness and the doubt in her eyes. He actually felt bad for her, despite how much it didn’t make sense. She agreed to the plan he’d laid out for her and rose to her feet, moving towards the back of the room. He didn’t know what she was doing until she showed him a black hood. “Obviously you know why this is necessary,” she said to him. Benjamin looked up at her one last time before she slipped the black cloth over his head. The next thing he realized was that Adrianna was removing the handcuffs from his wrists. “Trust me…I’m very aware that I wouldn’t get far if I tried anything.” Ben sighed and rotated his wrists and arms now that they were free. Adrianna helped him to his feet and held him out into the hallway. He couldn’t see where he was obviously, but he could hear Adrianna giving orders to her henchmen on where to take him. A few moments later he was pushed into the backseat of a car and was driven to another part of town.

Ben heard the car come to a stop and heard the car door open beside him. Hands grabbed his shoulders and yanked him out of the vehicle, tossing him to the hard the concrete ground. “You better keep your end of the bargain, pig,” a gruff voice said to him. Ben groaned and began pulling himself up as the car pulled away. He yanked the hood off of his head and immediately looked around, trying to see where he was at. He was in an alley, but he could tell that he was on Wabash Ave. Ben tried to fix his hair, and the ironic part was that he knew his face looked like hell with all the cuts and bruises. He sighed and adjusted his jacket, heading for the sidewalk and towards the police station. “What the fuck am I doing?”

A few minutes later Benjamin walked through the front doors of the New York City Precinct 31 Police Station. The place was alive with hustle and bustle, but a lot of people turned to look at Ben as he entered the room. A few of them gasped at the wounds on his face, but Ben paid no attention to them. He made his way to Chief Irons’ desk and sat down across from him. The chief looked up at him and his eyes went wide. “Jesus Christ, Brody. What the hell happened to you?” he asked. “It’s nothing…I just tried boxing for the first time last night. Didn’t go well.” Ben stuck his tongue in his cheek and sighed, continuing. “Listen, I need to file for the temporary release of inmate Antonio Giovanni. The family is having health issues with their father.” The chief looked at him and raised a brow. “Are you serious Brody? I really shouldn’t let you do something like that.” Ben leaned forward, glaring at his boss before responding. “I understand. But trust me. I know what I’m doing. I’ve been following their family for a long time. This is only going to help us in the long run.” Chief Irons looked at him for a moment before nodding. Ben nodded back and rose to his feet. “Thank you..the paperwork is on my desk.”

Ben walked to the individual cells at the back of the police station, grabbing the keys near the doorway and heading down the hall until he arrived at Antonio Giovanni’s cell. Ben looked at him, and Antonio looked back with a smirk on his face. Ben shook his head and pulled out a pair of cuffs. “On your feet Antonio,” Ben said to him. “Your papi is in critical condition.” Ben opened the jail cell door and immediately cuffed him. Antonio looked back at him at grinned. “Looks like my sister did a number on you, detective,” Antonio said. Ben pushed him forward and led him out into a cop car behind the station, putting him in the back, and shutting the door. Ben hopped into the driver’s seat and started the car up, heading over to the legendary Giovanni mansion. It took about half an hour for them to arrive. Ben parked the car and led Antonio up to the front door. Ben took a moment to look around at the expensive surroundings. This luxurious lifestyle had been paid for with drugs and murder, and Ben was once again reminded of why he should be ashamed at what he was doing. But Ben continued on and rang the doorbell next to the giant French style doors. A few moments later a butler opened the door and Ben released Antonio from his handcuffs. Antonio casually strode into the mansion and the butler stood aside, offering to let Benjamin inside as well. He begrudgingly followed Antonio inside and stepped into the foyer.