"One Good Cop" (closed)

[TooDamnCute4U]

"One Good Cop"

(CLOSED)​

The final farewell for Barnaby Parker was one of the most attended funerals Capital City would see this year, possibly even this decade. The Press would report that the 1,600 seat capacity Capital Cathedral at which the open casket viewing was held was standing room only, and that the Capital Hill Cemetery's parking lot was a traffic jam of black limousines and Towncars.

Of course, the Press would also point out that a sizeable portion of those in attendance at either place had been bodyguards for the real guests, members of the Five Families who ruled over Capital City. The Press would always wonder aloud how many of those in attendance -- or sitting in surveillance vans or watching from behind windows of the adjacent buildings -- were of the multitude of Law Enforcement Agencies with an interest in who came to give their respects to the man who had once been know as Butch the Blade before he rose to become Don Parker of the Parker Crime Family.

Parker Crime Family...

Penny Anne Parker had always hated that description of her family, both in its use to describe her blood relatives and to describe the hundreds of men and women who worked for them in a variety of positions, both legal and otherwise. Her family had many businesses, and many of them were in fact very legit. And yet, the Authorities lumped them all into one generic bucket called Organized Crime … the Parker Crime Family's illicit enterprises.

"I'm so sorry for your loss, Miss Parker," yet another grave site attendee said as he stepped up to take her hand softly in his own. "If there is anything I can do for you and your family in the days to come, please, do not hesitate to ask."

"Thank you, Don Trecho," Penny said, feigning a friendly smile as in the back of her head she was asking the same question she'd been asking all day, Did you kill my father, you rat bastard?. She gently returned to squeeze of his hands before releasing them to say, "Thank you for coming. My father would have been pleased."

As the man said his farewell, turned, and departed, Penny's brain continued her insincere statement, ...would have been pleased you came because it would have been easier to kill you. Of course, not knowing who the assassin was who gunned her father down made Penny wish that everyone of these bastards were dead. It tore her apart not knowing who to hate the most.

It had been eight days since Barnaby was gunned down and there were still no new developments in the case, from either the Police or from her own Family. This perplexed Penny horribly; there were very few secrets in Capital City, and yet the identity of the murderer of one of the metropolis's most powerful men was still unknown a week after the foul deed.

Penny had hardly left the Compound during that time. Connor, her personal bodyguard, hadn't left her side since the news of the killing. He and/or one or more of the men and women he himself had hired and trusted explicitly had escorted her everywhere she went, both inside and outside the house. Even now at the cemetery, 8 armed escorts in Connor's employ casually encircled her near her father's final resting place, monitoring each and every man and woman who even got close to her.

Connor's concern for Penny's safety came down to one primary issue: she was a woman. Throughout their history, no female had ever led one of the Five Families. When a Don passed away or stepped down, a male had always stepped in to fill the empty space, be it a son or other family member or one of that Family's most senior Captains. Never before had a Don passed with his only living blood relative being female, let alone a mere 24 years of age. There had been and would continue to be grave misgivings about allowing a female, particularly one so young, from leading the family on into the future.

To make matters worse, Penny had not been a member of the criminal side of the family. Her father had put her on a path toward becoming the CEO and President of a legitimate conglomerate separate from the criminal organization. She'd gone to university where she gained 3 Bachelors and 2 Masters degrees in international business.

Five more years, she told herself as she absentmindedly greeted people and shook their hands, only occasionally hearing and acknowledging their sorrowful words. Five more years … and I would have had it all in place.

"It's time to go," a voice very near her year pulled Penny out of her reverie. She flinched a bit, turning her head quickly to find Connor already gesturing the other bodyguards to begin cutting a safe path back to the armored limousine waiting for them. He looked to Penny and said quietly, "We need to get you back to the Compound."

Once in the car and heading home, a topic of much thought over the past week returned to the forefront of Penny's thinking. She looked to Connor sitting opposite her in the modest-length stretch and facing toward her to the rear and asked, "Tell me his name again."

"Patrick Kelly," Connor responded.

"And he can be trusted?"

"He's a cop," Connor answered without hesitation but with a critical tone. "That would normally mean he could be bought."

"But he can't be," Penny said, more of a statement than a question. "We've tried."

"Yes. Your father did … through William Lee."

William Lee was one of Penny's father's attorneys and the man who ran the bribery side of the Parker Family's business. William doled out tens of thousands of dollars a month to more than 300 men and women, from cops to District Attorneys to Judges to keep the Family from facing justice when its members had been caught doing wrong. Of course, these bribed officials had a second duty as well, which was keeping tabs on the other four Five Families and then keeping the Parkers informed.

"Is he serving one of the other Families," Penny asked, fearful of the answer. When Connor said he didn't believe so, Penny told him, "I want to meet him. Set it up."

Connor gave his boss a hesitant expression, asking, "Are you sure about this, Penny?"

"We need someone we can trust in the Police Department."

"We have people we can trust in the--"

"Honest people, Connor," Penny interrupted. "We don't need another dirty cop to do our bidding because we are paying him with cash and whores or blackmailing him because … well … because he's taken cash and fucked whores we've given him."

A moment passed in silence before Connor asked, "Then … what exactly is it that you are looking for?"

Penny looked out the darkened window of the limousine as it passed through the gates of the 50 acre Compound. As the car stopped and the driver exited to get her door, Penny looked to Connor and told him with deep meaning, "One good cop."

 

[BeachBum25]

He was a second generation Capital City cop. He had joined the force for one reason, and only one reason. He wanted to find out who killed his parents. He was only 15 when he returned home from school to find his parents bodies. His father had been shot execution style in his uniform. His mother's throat had been slashed and her naked body was laid across their bed. He would never forget that sight. He was raised by his maternal aunt, and, as soon as he turned 21, he dropped out of college and joined the police force. He was going to make it his life's work to find out who was responsible for his parents' murders.

Patrick Kelly has been on the Capital City Police Department for 8 years. It was not an enjoyable eight years, because he had not been able to accomplish the one task he had set out to. He had not been able to make any headway into finding out who killed his parents. Every time he thought he might have something, he hit a dead end. The biggest roadblock was that many of the cops in Capital City were dirty. They were on the take from one of the Five Families. At this point, Patrick wouldn't be surprised to find out that another cop, or cops, were responsible for the murders.

He had a Guardian Angel on the job, though. His father's best friend, Joe Walton, had been promoted to Deputy Chief shortly after Patrick joined the force. DC Walton had made sure that Patrick had decent assignments, not the best or the cushiest, just not the bad ones. When Patrick was recently promoted to Sergeant, DC Walton had him assigned to the elite Anti-Crime Team. As one of four Sergeants on the team, Patrick was responsible for supervising a team of undercover cops whose job it was to arrest criminals for major crimes like murder, robbery, burglary and assault. Patrick was sure that this would provide him with additional opportunities to achieve his goal.

As a patrol officer, Patrick had been approached several times with solicitations of money and other favors if he would look the other way or provide information. These offers had come from each of the Five Families. The offers had increased since his promotion. In fact, the families had become more aggressive, and had offered much more to him. He always said NO. He was not going to be one of the bad ones.

Sgt. Kelly watched as people paid their respects. He took it upon himself to do surveillance at the funeral of Don Parker. He wanted to see who showed up, and who didn't show up. He made mental notes as he blended into the crowd; making sure he did not draw any attention to himself. When he saw the Don's daughter stand up and be escorted away, Patrick decided it was time to leave. He would head home to change out of his black suit and get ready for his team's shift that night.

He pulled up to his condo building and parked out front instead of pulling into the garage. He wasn't going to be long, so, he put his Jeep Cherokee in a Loading Zone and ran in to change. Twenty minutes later, he exited the building and headed for his car.

 

[TooDamnCute4U]

Three nights later:

As Patrick descended the steps from his apartment and reached the sidewalk, men exited cars from all directions, took just a couple of steps toward the Sergeant, then took that typically Hollywood bad guy pose that was one part casual, one part go ahead, make my day.

From a black sedan parked nearest Patrick's door, Connor emerged, smiling politely as he said, "Please, do not be alarmed Sergeant Kelly. The show of force is simply my employer's way of impressing upon you how very eager she is to make your acquaintance."

As Connor had been speaking to Patrick, the armored stretch had been pulling away from the curb on the next block and making its way forward. As it stopped with the rear door at the space between the two cars parked at the curb, the rear window was lowering.

"I was on my way to dinner, Sergeant Kelly," Penny said with a pleasant smile. "I would be honored if you would join me."

As Penny was speaking, Connor and three of his men -- she comically called them his Goons -- were stepping up close to surround Patrick. They very politely relieved him of his side arm and his ankle backup, as well as of his badge and cell phone. Connor stepped back and gestured toward the limo's rear door, which the shotgun-riding bodyguard had exited to open for the cop.

Penny had moved to the center seat and was still smiling pleasantly as first Patrick and then Connor entered and sat in the rear seat, facing her. She wore a black mini dress of faux-sequins that revealed and emphasized her long, athletic legs and clung to what little of her body that it covered like a second skin. She watched Patrick's eyes for some sign of whether he would only take a quick glance or ogle her conspicuously as most men did when she dressed in this way.

Out on the street, the other Goons had returned to their own vehicles and a moment later the caravan was on the move.

"Please forgive the dramatic invitation, Sergeant Kelly," Penny apologized. "As you can imagine, my world is in a state of … flux is the word, I think. I'm in the process of discovering just who my enemies are … who my friends are … and who might want to be one or the other."

She looked away for a moment as the car slowed and pulled into a narrow, dark alley. Looking back to Patrick, Penny said with a suggestive voice, "I would be very much honored if you chose to be one of the latter … a friend."

The limo came to a stop with the rear door of the car at the rear door of an unmarked, three story brick building. Penny said before she exited, "You know who my father was and what my family is … which means you probably think you know who and what I am … but you would be wrong … just as you would be wrong if you were thinking that this is where I make one of those Godfather offers you can't refuse."

The door nearest Penny opened and the driver offered her a hand. Penny looked to Connor first, though, nodding, then to her guest as she said, "Please join me for dinner, Patrick. Do you mind if I call you Patrick … Sergeant?"

As she took the driver's hand and emerged, her dress rode up her thighs and buttocks just enough to leave little doubt that she was wearing some very tiny panties underneath the tiny dress. Again, Penny wondered whether the cop's gaze would be set upon her delicious body … only this time, she wouldn't be able to see for herself.

Behind her, Connor set Patrick's weapons on the seat next to his badge and cell phone. As he himself got out the opposite door, he told the cop, "If you prefer to skip dinner, Miss Parker's driver can drop you where ever you need to be."

With that, Connor got out and shut his door. Opposite the car, the driver was staring at Patrick with an expectant expression, waiting for an indication of what the cop wanted to do next.

 

[BeachBum25]

His first instinct was to fight. Flight was never an option for Patrick. When he saw how much he was outnumbered by, he decided to take a "wait and see" approach. Surely, Penny Parker's first act after burying her father would not be to kill a cop. That would be bad for business; both the legitimate and illegal forms.

Patrick slid into the back seat of the limo. He took everything in as he did so. He noticed the mouthpiece get in beside him. He noticed the extra weapons hidden in the limo doors. He noticed the attractive woman that invited him into the car, and the short dress that she was wearing.

Despite noticing the sexy dress Ms. Parker was wearing, he did not focus on that. He maintained his focus on her eyes. The eyes could tell a lot. He listened to her as she talked about being her "friend."

"Ms. Parker, by now I am sure that several of your father's, shall we call them associates, have told you that your father wanted me to be his friend. I am sure they also told you that I turned down all of his offers. Now, despite the fact that this offer is coming from a very attractive source, I am still not interested in anything you have to offer. I don't want your money. I don't want access to any of your illegal operations. I just want to go on doing my job."

Looking around as the car stopped in a dark alley, Patrick was trying to figure out what this place was. He knew the city, and he had been in this alley, but, for the life of him, he could not figure out why the new head of one of the five families would be exiting a car here.

He couldn't help but notice her dress ride up and reveal her tiny panties. He didn't focus on it though, despite the fact that he wouldn't mind doing so. He had to keep his eyes on the real threats.. the mouthpiece and the driver. They weren't as nice to look at, but they were where he needed to pay attention.

He saw the mouthpiece place his gun, badge and cell phone on the seat and listened as he said the driver would take him anywhere he wanted to go. Patrick also noticed that the clip was missing from his weapon, and he was pretty sure the chambered round had been removed. His mind raced as he tried to decide his next move.

Grabbing his belongings, Patrick exited the limo. Deciding to join Penny for dinner and see what she had in mind, He walked up beside his hostess. "You can call me Patrick, unless we are discussing something involving your father's case. then you can call me Sergeant Kelly. Oh, and, it is a crime to steal the ammunition from a police officer's service weapon. It should be returned to me promptly."

 

[TooDamnCute4U]

Penny smiled at Patrick's reference to his now-empty sidearm. She liked him already. She looked to Connor, nodded, and headed through the building's backdoor as the cop behind her was rearmed in the way he wished. She headed down a narrow hall past the restrooms, storage rooms, and kitchens, finally turning to climb a couple of steps to a more isolated private seating area.

As Patrick followed behind her, he would come to realize he had entered the rear of Benito's Pizzeria. The less than 1200 square foot pizza parlor was both famous for its unmatched Italian dishes and infamous for the violence that had occurred within and without the establishment's walls.

Over a period of 18 months between late 1970 and early 1972, six separate shootouts in or just outside of the restaurant claimed the lives of 21 mobsters and civilians. The unchecked violence ultimately led to the peaceful division of the city between the Five Families.

In 1995, the assassination of Penny's granduncle -- in the very booth at which Penny was sitting -- led to her father's rise to Don. And no, her father hadn't been the killer; the murderess had been Don Rico's former mistress. After being told that his lover had been stepping out on him with a bodyguard and was carrying the goon's baby, Rico had had the bodyguard horrifically tortured and executed before his the cheating woman's eyes. Rico had made the mistake of believing the woman would take the money and passport he gave her afterward and get the hell out of Dodge. Instead, she walked right into the restaurant with a .38 special and put 4 rounds into his face and neck before she tackled down and -- later on in an undisclosed location -- dealt with in a more permanent way.

And finally in 2006, as tensions rose between the Parkers and the Rustovs, yet another shooting -- this time at the front door -- led to a year long war that claimed more than 200 lives, most of them innocent civilians caught in the crossfire. Peace only came when the Head of the Rustov family voluntarily handed over his own son -- the instigator of the violence -- to Penny's father. The son was never seen again, but his gaudy silver and diamond necklaces and rings still decorated the hearth in the Compound's library.

Another thing Patrick would notice as he entered and followed Penny to the booth was that -- aside from the chef, his assistant, and the 10 bodyguards -- the restaurant was devoid of patrons. This meeting with Sergeant Patrick Kelly was meant to be as confidential as could be.

The chef came to the booth for a meet and greet with the cop, explained in his Sicilian Italian accent the extravagant meal he'd prepared for the pair -- and for Penny's armed entourage as well -- and then departed to leave them alone again. Connor opened and poured the wine, looked to Penny for her approval of his own departure, then made his way out into the restaurant where he could see what was taking place but not hear the pair, as had been his boss's request.

"I can help you discover who murdered your parents," Penny told him bluntly before casually lifting her glass to her nose for a sniff and her lips for a sip. She studied his reaction then explained, "I have been led to believe by my sources within the department that the driving force for your becoming a police officer was the desire to find those responsible for the death of your parents."

She went silent as the chef brought a basket of bread sticks and a couple of bowls of dipping sauce. He asked if they needed anything more, then departed yet again, promising Penny no more interruptions.

"I have no interest in forcing you to work for me through threat … nor enticing you to work for me through bribery," she went on. "In fact … I have no desire for you to work for me at all. My desire is that you will work with me … to clean up this city. For far too long, the good folk of Capital City have lived in fear … fear of the offenders of violent acts … and fear of the police officers who are tasked with apprehending those violent offenders."

She sipped again, then continued, "Our streets will never be safe for the good folk until both violent criminals and crooked cops are removed from those streets … and I would like you to work with me to accomplish this."

Another sip of wine and a simple, "So, what do you think … Patrick?"

 

[BeachBum25]

Once everything had been returned to him, Patrick secured his service weapon in its holster and pulled his shirt down over top of it. This was not the best thing to do, because it would make it almost impossible to draw his weapon quickly, but he also did not want to draw any attention to himself in the restaurant.

Patrick relaxed a little as he followed his hostess down the narrow hallway. If she was going to try to harm him, she would have done it by now, and she definitely would not have had his weapons returned to him. Relaxing, however, did not mean that Patrick was not going to stay on high alert.

It finally hit him where they were; Benito's. This place certainly had a reputation, or should he say reputations. He had heard that the food here was second to none. Patrick had never eaten at Benito's though. He never wanted to take that chance. Too many people had met with violent deaths while partaking of the food here.

This was not, however, the first time that Patrick had been inside Benito's. There had been a shooting of a low-level mobster a year or so back, and Patrick had been the first one on the scene. He spent several hours guarding the crime scene, waiting for the detectives and CSI to process the scene. Not surprisingly, the shooter was never identified, which was par for the course in Capital City.

He looked at the glass of wine in front of him, but did not drink. He was going to be going into work when he was finished with this meeting, and he didn't want to take the chance that someone could say he was drinking right before his shift.

Listening to Penny, Patrick's eyes went wide when she mentioned his parents and the fact that he had joined the force to find their killer or killers. How could she know that? He had only shared that with a couple of people; people he thought he could trust. Obviously, there was at least one that he couldn't.

He started racking his brain trying to figure out who he told that would have shared that information with someone else. As he tried to figure it out, he couldn't totally concentrate on that, because he was also trying to listen to Penny as she talked about cleaning up Capital City.

Patrick would love to clean up Capital City, but it was something he never believed could truly be accomplished in his lifetime. There were far too many competing interests in this town, and bringing them all in line would take an alliance between way too many groups.

"How would you propose to clean up our fair city, Ms. Parker? There is way too much going on to truly clean it up. Hell, it takes a lot of effort just to maintain what we have now and not allow it to get even worse." Patrick avoided commenting on what she had said about his parents. He might, however, ask her about that at another time.

"You say you want to clean up the city from the violent people and the crooked cops. Well, many of the violent criminals now work for you, or do the bidding of those within your "family." The crooked cops are crooked as a result of offers made by members of the Five Families, of which your family is one of. I know this first hand, because I have been solicited by all of the families on multiple occasions. I don't say this to insult you Ms. Parker. I know that you are suddenly put into a very difficult position. However, you are now, by all reports, the Head of the Family."

Patrick kept his hands on top of the table throughout the conversation. He did not want any of her trigger happy goons to think he was doing something, or reaching for his weapon. He looked into Penny's eyes to attempt to read her thoughts. He could tell she was deep in thought. He wondered if she really believed that Capital City could be cleaned up.

"If I thought that it could really happen, I would be more than happy to work with you Ms. Parker. However, I don't see how it is possible. The other drawback would be that, if I work with you, it will give the appearance that I am on your payroll, and, we both know that would not be a good look."

 

[TooDamnCute4U]

Penny didn't fail to notice that Patrick ignored the topic of his parents. She knew it would be a sensitive topic for him before she mentioned it. But she'd had to bring it up because offering the Sergeant money or power or rapid advancement through the Force -- which she had ways of doing -- wasn't going to be anything Patrick would accept from a criminal like herself.

"I understand and accept your skepticism," she finally spoke after he'd expressed his views on her seemingly impossible mission to clean up Capital City. "People have been trying to rid this town of corruption and graft since long before I was born … and most of those people died trying. I have no intention to die trying, nor do I wish to see you do the same."

She looked to and then called Connor over, asking for it, whatever it was. The bodyguard delivered a large manila envelope from a briefcase, which Penny then spilled out upon the table. Inside were documents someone like her shouldn't have: confidential grand jury testimony, Capital Police Department personnel records, transcripts of wire taps, and more. Penny spread them out before Patrick and explained.

"In 2016, a pair of police officers came across a body near the waterfall in City Central Park," she said as she exposed a pair of 8x10 inch photos of a nude, bloodied, mangled corpse laying in the bushes. She looked up to Patrick's face and saw in an instant that he knew this case. He should have, of course; the woman had been important to him. "Carla King's murderer was identified … charged … tried … and convicted. He was on his way to the execution chamber.

"But then, certain evidence was found that resulted in his retrial and exoneration. He was released and subsequently disappeared from the face of the planet. And all of this was made possible by the Family for which he served … the Parker Crime Family … my family.

"I followed the trial of Richard Young with great horror, knowing he'd been a Made Man within my father's organization. I'd asked her father to explain why a man like that could not only be under his employ but also be under his protection. I'd begged him not to help this horrific rapist and murderer in anyway … to let him rot in prison or walk the path to the death chamber after conviction.

"My father promised me … promised that Richard Young would pay for his crime. But he feared that Richard Young would turn State's Evidence. So my father made a deal with the man who so horrifically trespassed upon your friend. My father promised to get him out of jail and then out of the country. And he did. He arranged for false testimony and false evidence to be introduced at Young's appeal … he arranged for a retrial … and he bribed and extorted members of both the Prosecution and Judiciary."

Penny pulled a newspaper clipping from the scattered document; it showed the headline Convicted Murderer Set Free. "After he was released, my father picked me up from the university and drove me to a private airstrip outside of Capital City which we controlled then and still control today. Richard Young was there. He was about to board a small plane for Canada … and then a jet for Cuba. Or … so I was told. Instead … as I sat there in my father's limousine … clenching my jaws and fighting back the tears at the thought that not only was this man escaping justice … but that my father had lied to me as well..."

She went quiet, unable to actually speak the words. But a second voice filled in for her. Connor stepped into Patrick's peripheral, and when the Sergeant looked his way Penny's bodyguard confessed without hesitation, "I put a bullet into the back of Richard Young's brain."

Connor stepped up slowly to the table and set down a couple of smaller photos. "You won't find these in the police file or anywhere else."

They were images of Richard Young laying on the airport tarmac, bleeding out from a pair of holes in his head. "The plane flew east out beyond the coast until it had exhausted almost half of its fuel … dumped the body into the Atlantic … and returned."

He took the pictures and returned them to the inside pocket of his jacket. "It had to be done this way, Sergeant Parker ... to both do right by Carla King and to protect the integrity of the Parker Family."

"My father could not have let Richard Young testify against the family, Patrick … which I think you understand," Penny stepped back in. "Nor could he execute a Made Man for something that had not harmed the Family. Connor...?"

The bodyguard set another manila envelope on the table, then departed just before the chef arrived with two plates of food, the delicious scents of them wafting heavenly over the table. The chef checked on his patrons' further needs, refilled Penny's glass, and asked Patrick -- who was avoiding his own glass -- if he preferred something different, then departed once again.

"In that envelope, you find enough evidence to put away the judge, the DA, the ADA, and at least nine others involved in freeing Richard Young," Penny told Patrick. "And this time … you will not run into any interference from the people protecting them … because the people protecting them … the Parker Family … me … will not get in your way."

Penny looked to her food, smiled, and seemingly abandoned the previous topic by talking up the meal in such detail that you would have thought she'd prepared it herself. Just before she stuffed a forkful of Calzone into her mouth, she told Patrick simply, "Enjoy. You've never enjoyed anything like this."

In her mind, she thought of Patrick bringing all these crooked people to task, thinking You've never enjoyed anything like that.

 

[BeachBum25]

Patrick pushed himself back away from the table. Penny mentioning his parents had felt like a knife thrust to his heart. However, combining that with the mention of Carla and her murder was like she had ripped his heart from his chest. Penny may be new as the head of the family, but she certainly knew how to get her points across.

Carla King had lived next door to Patrick when they were growing up. They had been best friends. That was until his parents were murdered and he had moved in with his aunt. They did not see one another for a few years. It had been hard on him. Carla was the one person he would have been able to open up to and share his feelings with.

He had bumped into Carla at a convenience store right before he graduated from high school. They re-connected; talking on the phone all the time. She was a great listener and when he had talked about joining the PD to find out who killed his parents, it was Carla who had convinced him it was the right thing to do.

Carla and Patrick had actually dated a few times after Patrick graduated from the Police Academy, but it wasn't meant to be. They both knew it. In fact, they both probably knew it from the beginning. When they stopped dating, there had been no hard feelings in either direction. They remained good friends; talking constantly, even after Carla started dating Jimmy Mooney. Patrick liked Jimmy and was excited when Carla and Jimmy got engaged.

Carla's murder had felt like a brick to the side of his head. The one person in the world that he trusted and confided in was gone. It took a long time for that wound to heal, and now, out of the blue, came Penny Parker to rip that scab off and open the wound... wider still. The pictures of her that they laid in front of him were almost more than he could stand.

The story that Penny and her mouthpiece were telling went in one ear and out the other. He did not process what they were saying. All he could think of was Carla and the way she had been murdered. He felt his blood begin to boil. Staying here was not a good idea.

"You may have shown all of this to me to get me on your side. Showing this to me has done quite the opposite right now. I am sure you know the connection between Carla and me. You seem to know everything else about me." He stared into his eyes. He was trying to maintain his cool and to be professional. It was a challenge.

Patrick stood up. "Ms. Parker, I do not believe it is a good idea for us to continue this conversation at this time. I don't think there is any way that I could be open to your proposal right now based on the information you shared with me. If you want to discuss this again in the future, well you obviously know how to get a hold of me."

Patrick made his way out of the pizza joint leaving the envelope on the table, and got an Uber to take him to work. After he checked in to make sure his team was on the streets and everything was okay, he sat down and tried to calmly run things through his mind. He had been frustrated with Penny Parker, but it wasn't her fault. She had used information that she knew was personal to him, and tried to show that she was on the same side as he was. She wanted things cleaned up.

He thought about what Penny was offering. He thought about how she may have access to information that could lead him to those responsible for the murder of his parents. He thought about how he may have overreacted and cost himself access to that information.

He was pissed off at himself. Did he really blow it? The more he thought of it, the more he came to realize that there was no way that Penny Parker was going to quit just because he got upset. She would be back in touch with him; probably sooner than later, and his response to her would be significantly different.

He would join forces with her, and get what he wanted. He would also find out if she was going to really take the family business in a legitimate direction. To try and take his mind off of things, Patrick decided to head out on the streets. The radio was busy with one call after another. Then he heard it, a radio call for a shooting.... at Benito's. He rushed to the scene and arrived at the same time as a patrol unit. The ran inside together and were directed to the back room.
There they saw the body on the floor... right next to the table Patrick had been sitting at.

 

[TooDamnCute4U]

As the responding officers entered Benito's cautiously, two men in suits were standing in the main aisle with their hands raised. One -- Connor's right hand man, Marcus -- very calmly explained that they had been defending themselves against the shooter, now on the floor behind them.

"Our weapons are on the table to our left, your right," he continued as the cops with their guns trained on them approached. "Beside them you will find our Concealed Carry Permits, IDs, and business cards. We are registered Bodyguards."

The uniformed officers had already begun patting the men down and cuffing them before Marcus finished. Once the two were secure and sat in a booth, the uniforms checked the body on the floor. He was obviously dead, with blood spilt or still spilling from at least a dozen holes in his torso, upper legs, neck, and left cheek.

Marcus caught Patrick's eye and said in a barely audible voice, "She's okay."

In questioning that would take hours, first here in the restaurant and later at the Precinct, the two men would tell the same story almost verbatim: a single white male entered the restaurant brandishing a weapon; he opened fire, luckily not hitting either Marcus or Cisco; fearing for their lives, the two men returned fire; and after they'd determined the situation was stable, Marcus had called 9-1-1 to report the incident.

Asked whether or not there had been any other witnesses or victims, Marcus and Cisco again told practically the same story: Benito's had been closed for the evening for some renovation work that had been postponed; they had been called and told the contractor had forgotten to lock the doors; they had just minutes before the shooting; and no, neither of them had any idea who the shooter was or why he would have been there.

Police and -- in later days and weeks -- Prosecutors would find the two men's stories too rehearsed and unrealistic to believe. Add to that the fact that both men had indirect connections to the Parker crime family. But there was no evidence that either of them had done anything more than defend themselves. And, unbelievably, neither of them had a criminal record, although each had often been questioned in connection to crimes for which no perpetrators were ever found.



Back at the Compound, Penny was still shaken up. She lifted a glass of wine toward her mouth, then held it farther out before her face to focus on it. Her hand was still shaking. She donned the liquid, refilled the glass, and downed it just as quickly. Looking to the bottle, she wondered why she'd dirtied a glass at all. Cut out the middle man and just suck down the bottle.

Connor came in and reported with a serious tone, "The police are on the scene. Our men are being questioned. They're good men, trust me … they'll stick to the story."

"Are you okay?" she asked with obvious concern. She moved close to him, reaching out toward his chest. But her fingers stopped just an inch away from his belly. "Show it to me again."

"It's okay, Penny, seriously," he said, chuckling in an attempt to relieve her concern. But she insisted, so Connor unbuttoned his jacket and revealed the dress shirt with two holes near his lower ribs.

"My God," she murmured yet again at the sight of where the bullets had been stopped by his bullet proof vest, now removed and laying in the back seat of her car. "You could have died--"

"No!" he said, almost chastising her. "That's what the vest is for."

Penny reached for his shirt buttons, but Connor stopped her, trying to be polite in grasping her wrists and holding them still. "You already saw it. They're just bruises. They'll go away."

In truth, despite the vest, the rounds had cracked two of Connor's ribs. But he wasn't going to tell her that. The doctor they paid for private visits was on his way, and he'd wrap the bodyguard's chest to help it heal. Aside from that, Connor didn't feel that Penny needed to know anything more about how close he or her had come to death this night.

"You need sleep, Penny," Connor demanded politely as he released her hands and half turned to open her path to the lounge's exit. "It's over, and you're safe--"

"You killed that man," Penny interrupted, her tone still showing her shock. She looked up into the 6'6" man's face and expanded, "You saw him come into the restaurant … you stepped in front of me … you took two bullets … and then … you killed that man."

Connor didn't respond to his boss immediately. When he saw that she needed something from him, he only said, "My job is to keep you safe, Penny. My … my soul reason for being on this Earth … is to keep you safe."

Even though there were two men at the Precinct signing statements that they had been the only ones to fire on the would-be assassin, Connor had put at least four rounds in the man himself. But after the man was dead and the situation was over, it had been decided that Connor needed to remain close to Penny. He couldn't do that if he was occupied with hours upon hours of investigation in the days and weeks to come.

One of the bodyguards who hadn't fired swapped his weapon with Connor. He went out back of the restaurant, fired a round into the air to bathe his hands in gunpowder residue, then waited for the cops as Connor and the other bodyguards got Penny away and back to the compound.

Penny's eyes glazed over, and the first of many tears began to flow as the last bit of adrenaline holding back the flood wore away. She moved to Connor, wrapping her arms around his torso; she forgot about the damage to his chest, obviously, and had to pull back after she realized the sound he made was one of intense pain.

She finally agreed to go upstairs to her room, but just before leaving the lounge stopped and asked, "Was I naïve tonight, Connor...? With the Sergeant? You got shot tonight … you took a man's life … because I thought I could change the world if I could just find one … good … cop. Am I being a silly little girl?"

Penny turned to look at Connor, and a moment later the man told her, "No, Donna Parker. He will come around. And if he doesn't, we'll find someone else."

"Will we?" Penny asked with a doubtful tone. When Connor didn't respond either way, she told him before turning to leave and end her evening, "Thank you, Connor. I couldn't do this without you."

Upstairs in the massive, lavish bedroom that was larger than some entire downtown apartments, Penny stripped, bathed, and made her way to her four poster, canopy bed. She reflected on the day she'd had, nearly finding herself in tears again at the thought that Connor and the other man protecting her had almost been killed. This whole crime family danger stuff had to end.

Thinking about that, of course, made her think about Patrick Kelly. And that made her think about the first moment she laid eyes on him as he descended toward the curb days earlier. Connor hadn't told Penny that the Sergeant was such a handsome man. She'd been expected one of those gruff, Hollywood cop show, down and dirty types in a cheap suit and overcoat, with three days growth on his face and 30 extra pounds on his body.

She finished cleansing and moisturizing her face and body at her bureau mirror, made her way to her bed, and dropped her robe. Under the cool, 1500 thread count sheets that seemed to caress her skin, Penny found herself unable to get the cop out of her mind … and after a moment … she found herself slipping a hand down into her sleeping panties...

Her last thought as she drifted off to sleep, relaxed from the intense orgasm she'd caused herself, was of how much she could have enjoyed working closely to the police Sergeant … if only he'd trusted her and accepted her offer.

 

[BeachBum25]

Sergeant Kelly watched as the body guards were patted down and then hand cuffed. He saw the one bodyguard tell him that Penny was okay. For some reason, he was more relieved than he expected to be. There was something about her. It was probably that he found her very attractive.

He listened to the story that the bodyguards told. It was a good story.. one that was not very believable, but very difficult to disprove. Of course, he would be able to shoot holes in it, but he wasn't in a hurry to... not yet. He could use the information he had to his advantage.

After hanging around the crime scene for a little while, Patrick went back out on the streets. While riding around, his mind was on Penny. He decided that he would meet with her again. Not only was she attractive, she had something that he wanted.. information and connections that could lead to those responsible for his parents murder.

After his shift was over, he had one of the officers from the midnight shift give him a ride home, since he had been kidnapped from in front of his condo. After showering, he climbed into bed. Sleep didn't come though. He stared at the ceiling and thought about Penny. While laying there, images of her in her sexy dress ran through his head, especially the image of her climbing out of the limo and giving him a brief shot of her panties.

He got out of bed early the next morning and made a phone call. "I would like to meet again. Send a car to pick me up in the back alley and I will come to you. I know you are probably pretty shaken up by what happened last night. You are probably safest right now at your place until we figure out who the guy was."

Patrick got dressed and went to the rear exit to the building. When the limo arrived, he climbed into the back. Being hidden by the tinted windows was key. He didn't need it to get out that he was meeting with the head of the Parker Crime Family. Yes, Penny wanted to take the family legit, but the truth was they were still involved in organized crime.

When they arrived at the compound, he was ushered into an office with dark paneling and a large oak desk. It was what he imagined the don of a crime family would have for an office. He was going to forge an alliance with Penny today. It would be one that was off the books and that he was in control of. Everything would have to go the way he wanted it to go. After all, he knew the truth about who was in the room at Benito's.

 

[TooDamnCute4U]

Penny had awoken to the immediate and pleasant thought of Patrick Kelly being at her side. She realized that she'd been dreaming of him, which made her smile with delight. She caressed her hands over her body, imagining it was him touching her; her fingers rubbed over her panties, then slipped beneath them to once again find wetness and warmth.

The sex life of Penny Parker had always been a rather confusing one for her, just as she now found herself confused about her almost instantaneous lust for the Capital City Sergeant. She was the daughter of a murdered crime boss, a Don from the Five Families. Her father's killer hadn't yet been identified, and -- knowing the corruption in the Capital Police Department -- there was just as good a chance that a cop had pulled the trigger as it was that a criminal had.

Hell, maybe Patrick Kelly pulled the trigger, she thought to herself as she imagined his mouth upon her clit. She knew that wasn't true, though. If Connor said the Sergeant was an honest cop, he was. Connor was one of the best connected men in the Capital; if it happened, was happening, or would happen in or near the City, Connor had the network of informants who would tell him about it without haste.

Of course, that hadn't been the case with the death of her father. Yet! Penny told herself. She was confident that her bodyguard would learn the identity of Barnaby Parker's assassin. And then, Connor would bring the man to Penny. And Penny would kill him … herself. Penny had already gotten a commitment from Connor that if the man was able to find the guilty party, that Penny herself would be given the opportunity to confront the man, then execute him. Just like you did to Richard Young, she'd reminded Connor.

As her hips began shifting faster and more animatedly and her back arched to press her firm breasts upward and out from underneath the fine bedding, Penny found it oddly inappropriate that the simultaneous and combined thoughts of fucking Sergeant Patrick Kelly of the Capital Anti-Crime Team and putting a bullet into the brain of her father's killer would cause her to feel so fucking horny and excitable. She climaxed with a deep moan that filled the room; her body erupted in euphoria and she lost all sense of the world around her for the longest time...



Penny had faded back to a peaceful slumber, one hand still between her thighs, when a gentle knock at the door was followed a moment later by Connor asking, "Donna Parker … are you awake?"

"Give me a moment, Connor," she called toward the door.

She unhurriedly slipped out of her bed and found her robe. It was almost 9am, two hours later than when she typically rose to begin her day. She checked her hair in the mirror of her bureau, laughed at the rat's nest caused partially by her solo sex ministrations, and headed for the door without concern for what Connor might think.

"Is it him?" she asked with sudden excitement when she found her bodyguard offering out the cell phone for which Patrick had been given the number. Connor nodded, handed over the phone, and pulled the bedroom door shut again to give his boss her privacy. Penny cleared her throat and -- trying to hide her excitement and embarrassment both -- greeted casually, "Good morning, Sergeant Kelly."

He returned the greeting and told her, "I would like to meet again."

"I would like that as well," Penny returned, pumping her fist in the air before her. She continued with a bit of hesitance, "I'm sure you heard about the incident at Benito's last evening, after you left for work. I'm, uh … for good reasons … I'm not really going out into public at the moment. Would you mind coming here … to my home."

They made arrangement for a car to meet Patrick and deliver him without fanfare. Penny was more than aware that the entrance to the Compound was monitored 24/7 by law enforcement, as well as by some of the other Families as well. Penny didn't want Patrick being seen coming to visit her here anymore than he did.

When he arrived, the standard length black Towncar with its dark windows entered the garage, rather than pulling up to the mansion's front entrance. After the doors had closed, Connor greeted Patrick and -- as politely as the first time -- confiscated the cop's firearms and cell phone.

"Donna Parker will meet you in the library," Connor told Patrick as he led him through the home. "The cook is preparing a nice brunch."

It was a full 30 minutes later that a very nervous Penny finally entered the library. One might have thought the delay had been caused by her finding the perfect dress and heels and undergarments and fixing her hair in one of the latest, extravagant stylings. But she entered the library looking as if she was dressed to take a walk in the park.

"Thank you for coming," Penny said as she walked right up to Patrick and offered out her hand. It was only now that she realized they hadn't shaken hands at Benito's. She didn't hurry to release his hand, holding it just a moment longer for a sense of intimacy. She turned to lead him out of the library again, telling him, "Brunch is set out on the patio if you want to follow me."

Out in the home's main hallway, Patrick might have noticed that there were no bodyguards to be seen. Penny felt very safe here in the Compound. Of course, that didn't matter any; it was the fact that Connor felt Penny was safe her that allowed for the guards to be hidden away from the Sergeant.

She thought she caught Patrick taking in the view and launched into an explanation about the home's history. "My grandfather's grandfather's grandfather built it, in 1901. He was a criminal, of course."

Penny smiled and chuckled softly before continuing. "He was engaged in much of the same illicit activity that occupy the time of the Parker's today actually. I guess it's in the DNA. The Parkers, as you know, are the oldest of the Five Families … the originators of organized crime in Capital City. I won't bore you with the details, seeing how you've likely already read out file."

She looked to him again and laughed. "They tell me that the hard copy paper files on the Parkers fills sixteen full four drawer file cabinets. Is that true?"

They stepped out from the house onto a paving stone patio. It was massive with enough room for 20 six seat tables for parties and special events. Today, though, there was only one table present with chairs and two settings and a second table near it covered with platters, bowls, and bottles of food.

"This is my favorite place in all the world," Penny told Patrick. She talked about the acre of open lawn, the second acre of roses, rhodies, and hydrangeas, and the 12 acres of pasture in which she'd learned to ride horses and still rode on almost a daily basis today. "If you ride, or even if you don't … I have four horses of different temperaments from which we could find one suitable for your skills."

Penny directed Patrick to sit, telling him firmly that he was her guest and she was going to serve him. She described the food items in detail, just as she had at Benito's the night before. She offered him wine, laughing about it not even being noon yet, then found her own seat at the table, not across from him but off to his right side.

"I'm alright," she said out of the blue, explaining a moment later, "The shooting, I mean. I wasn't harmed, nor were any of my people. Connor protected me, as he always has. I was told you were leading the investigation, yes?"

Actually, she hadn't been. But she had gotten a full report about Patrick's attendance at the restaurant and she was actually hoping that he had been given the case. She asked, "Is that why you're here...? To question me about last night? Or … have you reconsidered my offer to make our wonderful City a better place for all the good people?"

She asked the latter question with an obvious tone of hope.

 

[BeachBum25]

The ride in the Towne Car left him with a lot of time to think. Why was he doing this? Was it the hope of getting information on who killed his parents? Was it to get at the people who were responsible for Carla's killer going free despite the fact that he paid the ultimate price? Was it because Penny Parker was so attractive?

That last question gave him pause. If he was going to be honest with himself, he would admit that Penny's looks played a big part in why he was taking this meeting. If it had been the head of any other family, he wouldn't even think about it.

It wasn't like he thought anything would come of it. Who would ever dream that the attractive head of an organized crime family and a Police Sergeant could ever be involved in a relationship? That is the stuff of corny police movies and shows. It never happened in real life.

Anyway, he wasn't looking for a relationship anyway. He recently broke off an engagement when his fiancee continuously complained about his job and the hours that he worked. It actually was the best thing for him; better to find out now that she hated what he did.

When the mouthpiece asked for his Glock and his cell phone, Patrick handed them over to him. "Make sure that I get everything back exactly the way it is right now this time." Then he whispered to him, "remember, I know who was there last night."

While standing in the library waiting for Penny, he laughed to himself at how well she was already assuming the role of the head of the family. Making him wait was a way of her letting him know that she was the one in control. Things would happen on her timeline. He would have to make sure that she didn't get too comfortable in that role.

Hearing someone enter the library, Patrick turned and saw Penny approaching him. He took her hand when she offered it, and he could swear that there was a spark that shot through his hand. He noticed that she was in no hurry to release his hand. When she released his hand and turned away, he followed her as she directed; his eyes wandered slowly down her back, admiring her from an angle he had not seen before. Despite not being dressed up like the previous evening, she still looked incredible.

As she looked over the family estate, Patrick thought about the patch of dirt that had been his backyard growing up. After his parents were killed, he had moved into his aunt's apartment, so, there was no backyard. It was hard for him to comprehend what stretched out in front of him at the moment.

"I love animals, but I have never ridden a horse. I prefer to keep my feet on the ground. Maybe it is a need to be in control of where I am going since, for many years I had no control. I wouldn't mind seeing your horses, though."

Patrick sat down and watched Penny move to the table with the food and drink. "No thanks. Water will be fine. I try not to drink before noon, of course, that changes if I am out late and I need a little hair of the dog." He smiled at her and watched her take the seat next to him.

He felt a little uncomfortable with Penny sitting to his side; not because he didn't like having such a beautiful woman close to him, but because he didn't like having the head of an organized crime family sitting in a position where he could not see her every move.

"I am glad to hear you are alright. It must have been a very close call." He listened to her question him about his involvement in the case as he sipped his water. "Well, about all I can tell you is based on what I saw when I arrived on scene last night."

He paused for a moment as he looked her in the eyes, and took another sip of his water. "The attempt on your life was an inside job. You have someone working in your security detail that provided information to someone who wants you dead. If your mouthpiece isn't looking into a leak, I would be very concerned if I were you."

He did not make any mention to her about the fact that he could use the information he had about her presence to cause her some unpleasant times. He didn't think he needed to, and the fact that he kept that to himself would, hopefully, build some trust between them. He hoped that they could come to an agreement that he could benefit from, and maybe penny could benefit from it too.

Patrick pushed the food around on his plate a little. "Listen Ms. Parker, I am not here to talk about last night. I am really glad you are okay, don't get me wrong, but I am here to discuss the proposal you outlined last night."

Pushing his chair back from the table, he turned it so he could look at Penny straight on. "I am not sure that we could clean up Capital City in a couple of lifetimes Ms. Parker, but I am all in favor of making this city a better place. It will be complicated for the two of us to collaborate on such a project. The look for me could be very bad."

For a moment, he let his eyes wander over her, before he caught himself and refocused on her eyes. "There can never be anything between us that would give the impression that I am working for you or that I am taking graft from you. We have to be very deliberate and very secretive about what we are doing and how we communicate. I share information with you and only you. I don't want to deal with your mouthpiece or any of your goons. Like I said, you have a leak, and that is your problem; I don't want it to end up being my problem."

Standing up and turning and looking out toward the pasture; taking in the beauty of the surroundings. He turned and looked over his shoulder at Penny. "Why don't you show me your horses. I think the walk would do us both some good."

 

[TooDamnCute4U]

Penny wasn't at all surprised to here that Patrick was a horse enthusiast; she wasn't even surprised to learn he'd never been on one. Horses were an expensive, time consuming, and space requiring hobby. Penny had been well informed about the Sergeant from Connor, and she knew enough about his upbringing to know that it had been very much different than her own.

He told her, "I wouldn't mind seeing your horses, though."

"We'll go to the stables after we eat," she said with excitement. "I have the perfect horse for you to try out if you decide to ride. His name is Devil."

She smiled, then laughed, wondering what image was filling the cop's mind regarding such a name for such a large beast. They began their meal in very different ways; Penny ate, Patrick didn't. Oh, he toyed with the food and even put enough in his mouth to taste test each offering, but he didn't consume enough to fill a large rat's belly.

"The attempt on your life was an inside job," he told her after explaining his part in the investigation. "You have someone working in your security detail that provided information to someone who wants you dead. If your mouthpiece isn't looking into a leak, I would be very concerned if I were you."

Penny's reaction was only silence. She'd known that this was a distinct possibility, of course. She had had an 8 man security team at Benito's that night, and yet this would-be assassin had somehow gotten into the heart of the restaurant, past both the pair of guards on the street and the second pair in the establishment's main seating area before Connor himself caught sight of him and -- with yet a 5th guard -- took care of the situation.

"Connor is in fact looking into it," Penny reassured Patrick with a soft voice. "I'm sure I'll be fine."

Truth of the matter was, Penny's delay in getting down here to meet Patrick had been caused by Connor's report to her on what he'd learned about the assassination attempt. After he'd gotten Penny safely out of the restaurant in in the armored car for home, one of the two men who'd stayed behind had checked the man for ID -- no luck -- and then snapped a pic of his face with his cell phone camera.

That picture had paid off, though. Through a well compensated contact in the FBI, Connor had learned that the man was a Czech hitman who worked out of Cuba via a Canadian Syndicate. From there, yet another well cared for contact at the NSA had connected the communication dots for Connor: the list of people involved would ultimately include a dirty agent in the DEA, a Five Families Don, a CCPD Lieutenant in of all places Internal Affairs, and finally one of the Parker Family's Lieutenants who had openly been lobbying other Lieutenants within the Parker Family to be appointed Don of the Family in place of the inexperienced, 24 year old, goody two shoes daughter of its now dead leader.

Connor had learned all of this in under 12 hours, which was why he was so beloved and admired by Penny and the rest of the Parker Crime Family's members. It was also why, after the shooting, Penny had questioned, "Are you sure they weren't after you, Connor?"

They chatted a bit more about the previous evening's excitement without really saying much at all. Then Patrick talked to Penny, about his real reason for being here, adding, "There can never be anything between us that would give the impression that I am working for you or that I am taking graft from you. We have to be very deliberate and very secretive about what we are doing and how we communicate. I share information with you and only you. I don't want to deal with your mouthpiece or any of your goons. Like I said, you have a leak, and that is your problem; I don't want it to end up being my problem."

She didn't say anything at first but only stared at him with a serious expression. Then, in a soft and serious tone she asked, "So … what you're saying is … we can go ahead and become lovers but we have to keep it on the downlow...?"

Penny's expression remained serious as she studied his response … then as he opened his mouth to respond, she burst out laughing. "I'm kidding. I'm sorry. I just … I'm just playing with you."

She giggled a bit more as she sipped at her wine, studying his face and imagining those lips on her own lips … both pair, actually. With a more serious tone she continued, "Patrick … you did say it was okay to call you Patrick, yes...? Seriously, though … you don't have to worry about exposure. I would never do anything to endanger your career or your life. As far as Connor goes, I trust him with my life. But … if you prefer to deal with me directly and me alone..."

She reached out to the table and lifted the cell phone sitting there. It was the one he'd called this morning, and Penny told him, "You have my direct line number, and this baby's got NSA level encryption on it. If someone was to find it, they only thing they could do on it was play Candy Crush."

When he asked to see her horses, Penny's excitement jumped three levels. She snatched up the mostly still full bottle of wine and led him across the wide lawn and through the lush flower gardens to the stables. It was only out here, nearer to the 50 acre Compound's border with the real world that Parker might notice that they weren't alone. Bodyguards with assault rifles -- fully automatic, despite several laws against them -- were always near the property's perimeter, and during their time in and around the stables, Penny and Patrick might notice two or three men at various times.

"This is Nickel," Penny told Patrick when they reached the first stall in the very impressive building. "He's the oldest horse we have."

She waved over the Stable Manager, a very young looking woman of 60, introduced her as Katt with two T's, and then whispered something into the horse woman's ear. Katt smiled, looked Patrick up and down, and headed off to saddle two horses without telling the cop what she was doing.

"My father bought me Nickel when I was 6 years old," Penny began explaining after horse who nose she was petting and cheeks she was scratching. "I thought she looked the color of a penny, so I wanted to name her Penny. It seemed appropriate for obvious reasons, duh."

She laughed, turned, and walked casually across toward another stall as she continued, "But my father thought it would be confusing to have two Pennies in the family … so I named her Nickel. It seemed to make sense … but then, I was six."

She led Patrick around the stables, introducing him to some of the other horses while also telling him a few stories about them and how they had played a part in her life. There were more than the 4 horses Penny had told Patrick she had; she explained that she kept horses for some of the employees and their children, who often came to the Compound for lessons and other riding events.

Katt returned twenty minutes later leading two saddled horses. Penny's excitement only rose more as she took the reins of one and offered them out.

"Patrick, meet Devil," she said with a wide smile that could only be described as devilish. "Devil, meet Patrick. He's a cop."

Almost as if understanding Penny's words and not liking the idea of being ridden by law enforcement, Devil toss his head, whinnied loudly, and stomped his hoof a couple of times. Penny laughed and quickly explained, "No, he didn't understand, and no, he doesn't dislike cops. He's just that way."

She offered out the reins of the other horse, saying, "This is Jenny. I named her for after my mother. She's just like my mother, too … sweet, calm, accommodating..."

Penny almost wanted to add and a good ride, just like dad said mom was. Penny knew things about her parent's private lives together that neither of the adults had ever known she'd uncovered. As a child, she used to sneak around the mansion, spying on the others. She'd caught her very amorous, very sexually compatible parents making love on several occasions. Penny had found it thrilling to watch, not gross and icky like most kids at that age would have.

She waggled the reins at Patrick and asked, "Shall we?"

 

[BeachBum25]

Patrick found that he enjoyed the verbal tennis match that they had entered into. Each of them serving, and the other one volleying. He had to admit, however, that her serve with the "So … what you're saying is … we can go ahead and become lovers but we have to keep it on the downlow...?" was an ace. It certainly caught him off guard. All he could do in response was smile and wink at Penny.

Listening to her talk about her mouthpiece made him wonder about the true relationship between them. Penny talked about him like she was in awe of him. That certainly was surprising of the head of an organized crime family. He wondered if she was the head of the family in name only, and if the mouthpiece was really the one in charge.

"I want to deal with the person who is in charge and who can make the decisions without checking with someone else. I assume that is you Ms. Parker." He paused to gauge her reaction. It was not meant as an insult. It was just his way of trying to find out who was really running the family.

Patrick followed Penny for the first couple of steps as the headed toward stables. He looked around and saw the protection detail and the weaponry that they had. They were pretty well hidden, but he was able to pick them out, because of the awkward positions they had to take up in order to have a clear line of sight on him.

When she introduced him to Nickel, Patrick walked over and rubbed the beautiful horse's neck. He looked Nickel in the eye as he did so. "So, you are the one responsible for making sure the boss gets back safely." Then he turned to Penny, "Nickel is a beautiful horse. I can see why he is your favorite."

The walk around the stables was so enjoyable for Patrick. He did not have any history with horses, but he enjoyed the beauty and the power that they extolled. There was something about them that made him want to touch them and talk to them. The riding part, however, he wasn't so sure about.

He stepped back when Devil reared his head a bit, but then stepped right back up to him. He reached out and rubbed his neck and whispered in the horse's ear, "we are not all bad" and then patted his neck He looked at Jenny while rubbing Devil's head. He listened to her talking about naming Jenny after her mom.

"If you don't mind, I would rather ride Devil. I am not really into the sweet, calm and accommodating kind in people. I am not sure that I would like that in a horse either. I would rather take my chances with this guy. He looks more like my kind... a challenge." He smiled at Penny and turned back to Devil. "Don't make me regret this boy."

He didn't wait for Penny's response, and was able to get up on Devil with relative ease. He had watched enough cowboy movies to know which foot to put in the stirrup and to grab the horn of the saddle to climb up on. Once in the saddle he took the reigns in one hand and looked over to his hostess. "Let's do this."

Penny started off leading the way with Patrick following. He had to admit he loved the view of Penny bouncing in the saddle. The vision of her ass moving up and down brought evil thoughts to his mind. That, combined with what he saw as she got out of the limo the night before, sent tingles through his body.

After Patrick rode up beside Penny, they chatted idly for a bit. Then Patrick started asking questions to try to get real information out of her. "It must be a challenge for you to go out on a date with your boyfriend with all of the bodyguards coming along. How is it you handle that?" He wasn't sure why he asked that first... or was he?

After asking the question, Patrick kicked his heels into Devil ever-so-slightly hoping that he would pick up the pace and that they would get out in front of Penny and Jenny a little and make her try to catch up with him. Patrick really had no idea what he was doing, but it seemed to work and Devil began to trot. Patrick smiled to himself and gave Devil a couple of pats on the neck.

When she caught up to him, he looked over to her. "I am sorry. I shouldn't have asked anything so personal. We are here to talk business and I should keep the conversation to that. Your personal life is none of my concern." He turned and looked ahead for a moment.

Looking back at her, he asked the most important question of her. "Why is it so important for you to clean up Capital City? You could keep it business as usual and go on living the life of luxury whether the city is cleaned up or not. With things staying the same, you wouldn't have to deal with any members of Capital City PD, especially some lowly Sergeant. Cleaning up the city and taking the family in a legitimate direction won't make you anymore money."

He had no problem with what she wanted to do. He just needed to know what her motivation was. She was beautiful, wealthy, and had just inherited power that very few people could even dream of having. He had to be honest with himself. he had some doubts about her motivation. Was she using him to try to gain more power and take away from the other families. If that was the case, she was mistaken for trying to elicit his help.

 

[TooDamnCute4U]

Penny couldn't help but smile wide when Patrick told her, "If you don't mind, I would rather ride Devil."

His further comment about not being into sweet, calm and accommodating -- whether it be horses or perhaps people -- actually made Penny blush, though she did her best to hide it by slipping in behind the second horse. Penny Parker could be sweet, calm, and accommodating if she needed to be, but she rarely was. She was here and now with Patrick because she wanted something from him in regards to the future of Capital City. But later, if she ever got the chance to get him naked in her bed, the sweetness and calm wouldn't be invited, and the accommodating would be something she'd be requiring from him.

One good thing about being the daughter of an organized crime family's patriarch was that men she bedded had a tendency of doing what Penny demanded of them. Oh, it wasn't as if Butch the Blade had been standing there in the bedroom threatening to cut her lovers' cocks off if they didn't satisfy his daughter in the way she demanded. It was more like … well, they knew that if she asked for something in particular and they didn't provide, they may never see her again … or even see the next dawn.

Of course, that wasn't how it actually was. But often it had been what men had thought. Others had been more brave and bold; they did as they wished and took what they wanted. And sometimes, Penny had let them … if it suited her as well. Sometimes she let them even if it didn't suit her … and then she got her revenge upon them in satisfying though obviously non-fatal ways. Just like the Mel Brook's line It's good to be king, Penny had often found that it was good to be a mob boss's daughter.

Ironically, the first topic of conversation once they headed out into the riding pasture was Penny's love life. Patrick asked, "It must be a challenge for you to go out on a date with your boyfriend with all of the bodyguards coming along. How is it you handle that?"

Penny looked directly at Patrick with a smile of delight as she responded, "If you wanted to know whether or not I currently had a lover ... Sergeant Kelly ... you could just listen to the surveillance recordings your department collects on me."

She laughed, then found herself blushing. Penny wasn't typically this forward with men, even men for whom she was so eager to open her thighs. She looked away again, hoping to hide her reddened face. When she thought it was under control, she looked back to him, still smiling.

"I don't date much, or haven't, anyway," she told him, still wearing a slight smile but using a serious tone. "It's hard as you can imagine when half of the people you know want you dead and the other half of them are surrounding you to ensure you don't get dead."

She looked ahead of where they were riding and gestured toward a gate. One of the heavily armed estate guards was there and -- seeing Penny's wave -- unlocked the gate and began sweeping it open. The gate led from the 12 acres of mostly flat and well groomed riding pasture to the 30+ acres of semi-natural grasslands and forest. This was where Penny liked to ride when not training, amongst the tall firs and widely reaching hardwoods under which the undergrowth had been removed to make it difficult for intruders to conceal themselves from the 24/7 roaming patrols.

Decades earlier, the pasture from which Penny and Patrick were departing had been leveled out of wilder ground similar to into what they were riding. The pasture had given Penny's mother -- and later Penny herself -- a flat, safe place to ride, to teach riding, and to train themselves, their horses, and their guests on a dressage course that was still in place today. The portion of the estate beyond the pasture included land that rolled with the natural terrain that existed outside the 10 foot stone wall with its motion detectors and hidden surveillance cameras.

"I am sorry," Patrick told Penny after they'd ridden out the gate and past the man carrying a semi-compact Sig Sauer MPX automatic rifle. "I shouldn't have asked anything so personal. We are here to talk business and I should keep the conversation to that. Your personal life is none of my concern."

"I'm not sorry you asked, Patrick," Penny responded, this time dropping his occupational title. "I don't mind you knowing that I'm not dating anyone."

She left it at that, though she could have explained why she didn't mind, which was that if Patrick was interested in dating her, she would at the least contemplate the possibility. But, it was probably a bit too early to be considering getting naked with the man. They'd only just met. And then there was that whole mob daughter-Anti-Crime Team cop thing, too. Plus, with the recent assassination attempt, Penny was a bit busy trying to keep her insides inside without spending time trying to get Patrick inside, too.

No, she thought to herself, better to keep this professional for the moment.

That played right into their next topic of conversation when he asked why she was so dead set on cleaning up Capital City.

"Cleaning up the city and taking the family in a legitimate direction won't make you anymore money."

"No, in fact, it will cost the Family millions … billions in the long run," she responded as they walked their horses slowly through the majestic trees, some of which had been growing on this piece of property since before the United States had come into existence. "It's not about making more money. It's not really even about going legitimate, although, that is what I intend to do with the Parker holdings."

She gestured him to follow as she turned her horse toward a nearly hillock. They unhurriedly ran their horses up to the rise, and in the shade of an enormous elm, Penny turned her horse such that she could see out over the mansion and toward Capital City itself, laying low in the miles wide valley that surrounded an impressive river.

"It looks so peaceful from here," she said about the metropolis some 10 miles away. "But its not. It's a warzone. Oh, sure … maybe not literally. But this year alone there have been over 3,000 shootings. There have been 249 gun related homicides … 250 including the man who tried to murder me last night. And while much of that is not the cause of or related to organized crime … to the Five Families … most of it is, whether directly or indirectly."

Penny threw a leg over the front of her saddle and slid gracefully off to the ground. She walked away from the horse a few steps toward the city; she didn't bother securing the horse because she knew Jenny would stand right there until told to do otherwise. Sweet, calm and accommodating.

"And while I myself have never been a part of that violence," she continued, glancing to Patrick before looking to the city again, "I am now. I'm in charge of the Parker Family … the Parker Crime Family. I am the Donna."

There were two problems with that statement, of course. First, she had been part of that violence when she'd stood by and watched Richard Young executed on a municipal airport tarmac. Oh, sure, she hadn't pulled the trigger. But she'd known it was going to happen. Deep down in her heart, Penny knew her father hadn't been about to put that rapist and murderer on a plane headed eventually for Cuba. She could have stopped it. She didn't.

And second, Penny wasn't the head of the Parker Crime Family yet. Sure, she was the daughter of the late Don; and sure, she had inherited all of his legitimate estate. But she wasn't the Donna until the Lieutenants came together and made her so. And that hadn't happened yet. Arrangements were being made for such a gathering and coronation. But Connor wasn't convinced yet that Penny had the support of enough of the Parker Family's top goons for her to claim the title.

The reality was simple: the Parker Crime Family just might be heading for a civil war.

"And as Donna," she continued, taking on the responsibility that wasn't entirely yet hers, "I must make a decision. Do I maintain the status quo? Do I let the killings continue? Do my men continue to fight over turf on which to sell our poison or collect our protection money or get rich off real estate scams and illegal gambling houses?"

She turned to face Patrick, studied him a moment, and continued, "Or … do I make the decision that enough is enough … and turn my Family's efforts toward making Capital City a safer, happier, healthier place for its citizens?"

They didn't really get much of an opportunity to further discuss Penny's questions as the sound of an approaching vehicle caught her attention and caused her to look back the way from which they'd come. A golf-cart like electric vehicle was hurrying up the cobble stone path that followed the fence before ending at the gate through which they'd come. Penny recognized Connor sitting next to one of his men, who was behind the wheel.

"Wait her please," she said to Patrick with a worried expression. Before turning to walk slowly toward the approaching vehicle, she promised him, "This won't take long."

The cart stopped some 50 feet away, and Connor got out to meet Penny halfway to Patrick. They talked quietly enough to ensure that neither of the other two present men overheard them. Connor handed Penny a smaller manila envelope, not unlike those used for Hollywood cop movie payoffs.

She turned back toward Patrick as Connor and the cart headed back down the hill, and when she reached the detective Penny offered out the envelope, saying cryptically, "Yulee MacCormick."

The envelope wasn't filled with cash, though. It was full of documents and photos, much like the one Penny had shown Patrick the night before at Benito's. She turned to Jenny as she continued, "Yulee is one of my lieutenants, and he is the man who arranged the hit on me last night. In that envelope, you will find everything you need to know about him … including his current location and how many men are protecting him."

Once again in her saddle, she finished, "I would be very pleased and thankful if you and your Anti-Crime Team would apprehend Mister MacCormick and punish him. And I can guarantee you that the men and women who have protected MacCormick from prosecution in the past will not protect him this time around … just as I still can guarantee you that the men and women who allowed Richard Young to get away with what was done to Carla King won't get away from punishment should you take it upon yourself to pursue them."

 

[BeachBum25]

Patrick could not believe how talkative Penny was. She was talking so much that he was having a difficult time keeping up with her. He did not expect her to talk this much. His expectation from the head of the Parker Crime Family was that she would talk little and listen for his answers.

"I would love to clean up the town. It would be the one way to honor the memory of my parents. I am not sure it can be done, but I plan on continuing to do everything I can to make this a better place to live."

He heard the golf cart like vehicle approaching. He did not know what to expect, but then he saw the mouthpiece. He rubbed Devil's neck while Penny went to talk to him. When she returned and extended the envelope to him, he hesitated. Was she really trying to bribe him? Was there someone around filming or taking pictures of Penny handing him an envelope?

Just in case there was someone filming him, he opened the envelope and took out the papers that were inside. Without really looking at the papers, he slid them back into the envelope. He looked at Penny and shrugged his shoulders.

"I am not in the business of doing your dirty work. However, I will take a look at what you have given me and I will see if there is anything that I can use to get a warrant for MacCormick. If there is, I will make sure he is arrested and put away for a long time."

He folded the envelope and put it in the waistband of his pants. "I think we should probably head on back.If there is anything worth anything in this envelope, I will need to get to it quickly; before MacCormick figures out that you know what happened and gets out of dodge."

Patrick walked back over to Devil and mounted him. He waited for Penny to get on jenny and then followed her back. Once again, he didn't mind following her as they rode. The movement of her body on the horse made him think about her riding him; moving her wonderful body on his.

Once they were back to the stables, and turned the horses over to Katt, Patrick walked back to the house with Penny. "Penny, I am hoping that the information you have given me is accurate and true. I would hate to find out any of it is manufactured, because it would seriously negatively impact my willingness to work with you."

When they arrived back at the house he poured a little water from the pitcher still sitting on the patio, and he turned and faced her. "I would like to work with you. I think we could be good together." Holding the envelope up, he said, "if this pans out, it will go a long way toward me having confidence that we will be able to get along.

Patrick said goodbye and went out to the front of the house. He got his weapon and his cell phone from the mouthpiece and he climbed into the back of the limo. The limo returned him to his condo building. He went right to his Jeep and headed into work.

Sitting at a desk in the squad room, Patrick went through everything in the envelope. After roll call, Patrick kept two teams back and went over a plan to arrest the person who was responsible for the shooting at Benito's. He picked the two teams carefully; knowing they were good, honest cops like him.

The men questioned him about how he came about the information. He told them that it came from a CI that he had from his time in Patrol. They had other questions, including who the target was if there were only a couple of goons in there. Patrick knew this was a problem. He couldn't reveal that Penny had been there or it would compromise her and that wouldn't be the way to start off a relationship. He told them that the CI shared that MacCormick had sent the hitman in to take out a couple of the security guys for the Parker Family in an attempt to take control.

The teams headed out with Sgt. Kelly riding separate from the teams. The information that was provided turned out to be perfect. The teams were able to get close enough to disarm MacCormick's security, while Patrick was able to cut off the escape route MacCormick tried to take.

As Patrick took him down, he may have used a little more force than was necessary. He wasn't sure why he did it. MacCormick had never done anything to him. His crime was against Penny Parker. Was Patrick taking it personally that this guy tried to have Penny Parker killed? If so, why? Then he thought of that ass bouncing in the saddle.

After transporting him to headquarters, Patrick cuffed MacCormick in an interrogation room. He knew the guy would never talk, but he was going to give it a shot. After about 40 minutes of questioning and receiving no responses from MacCormick, he finally heard from the criminal. All he said was, "lawyer." That ended the questioning and resulted in Patrick doing the paperwork and charging MacCormick with attempted murder and conspiracy.

Once the paperwork was finished and MacCormick was transferred to Central Lockup, Patrick sat back and thought about what had happened tonight. This was more than taking a bad guy off the streets. There was much more. This was the sealing of a pact between him and Penny Parker. It was a done deal now. He hoped he wouldn't regret it.

After his shift ended, Patrick drove home and parked his Jeep and walked across the street to Clancey's Irish Pub. He walked up to the bar and ordered a Guinness and a shot of Tullamore Dew. He immediately downed the shot and savored the silky burn. Then he sat there with his beer. His mind was on Penny Parker, and it was not in a business sense. He knew it was crazy to think that she would even consider spending time with him for anything but their deal, but he had to admit, he was thinking about things he would like to do with her... and to her.

He finished his Guinness, paid his tab, and headed across the street to his condo. He jumped into the shower, and once again she was on his mind. He turned the shower on cold and then got out. Climbing into bed after toweling off, he figured he would call Penny in the morning to tell her that he had sealed their deal and that MacCormick was off the streets.

As he looked up into her eyes, his hands were on her hips guiding her up and down. He raised up to meet her every downward thrust. She was incredible. Her body was perfect, and she knew how to use it to maximize their pleasure. Her firm, perfect breasts bounced as she moved up and down on his hard cock. He reached for them.....Then his eyes shot open. He looked to the ceiling. Damn... a dream. The erection that he was sporting certainly wasn't imagined. Penny was in his head.

Getting out of bed, he decided he needed to go for a run to clear his head. After dressing, he headed out onto the streets of Capital City. As he ran, he tried to imagine what the city would be like after they had completed their joint project. Then, that image of her was in his head again.... he picked up his pace.

 

[TooDamnCute4U]

"I would love to clean up the town," Patrick told Penny. "It would be the one way to honor the memory of my parents."

As she listened to him speak of his parents, Penny couldn't help but think of the deaths of her own parents. Her mother had died of natural causes, nothing as sinister as being shot down on a dark street in the pouring rain as her father had. Her mother's death hadn't been a result of the criminal activity that had most assuredly been the cause of her father's demise. Yet, Penny still felt sometimes that if Capital City had been a different place during her mother's time, perhaps her mother might have lived a happier life.

After Penny handed over the envelope to him, Patrick told her, "I am not in the business of doing your dirty work."

When he finished putting her straight, Penny said softly but seriously, "The alternative to you and your ACT picking up MacCormick ... an alternative that includes Connor and his men … well … it is not a pretty one … nor is it something that would advance our future … yours and mine, Sergeant."

He knew what Penny meant, of course; she could see in his face that he didn't want her to send a small army after MacCormick. Luckily, she didn't have to do so. Late that evening, Connor gently awoke Penny from a nap she'd been taking in her father's library chair to inform her that MacCormick and his own goons had been picked up and were lodged in the City jail.

"And … the other thing?" she asked her trusted bodyguard.

"It'll be taken care of … Donna," Connor said with great respect.



"He's dead," the Desk Sergeant at the precinct told Patrick when he called the next morning with an update on MacCormick. "A fight broke out in holding, something about someone sitting in someone else's place … something petty. Before the guards could get into the cell to break it up, MacCormick was dead … broken neck. Sorry, Sergeant Kelly. There really wasn't anything we could do about it. We were overbooked … we had to put him in Gen-Pop … I wasn't told by the Mid-Shift Desk Sergeant who this guy was or how important he was to you."

What the Desk Sergeant didn't know was that the man who'd broken MacCormick's neck worked indirectly for Connor. He also couldn't know that as the killer had MacCormick in a choke hold, he whispered into the treacherous Lieutenant's ear, "Donna Parker says hello." Then … snap.



It was noon, and Penny was swimming laps in the Compound's Olympic sized swimming pool when Connor came out to tell her that the other thing had was done. She didn't smile; she only nodded. She didn't take pleasure in knowing that MacCormick was dead; she also dreaded how Patrick might react if he thought for a moment that she had been involved.

"And what about the other other thing?" she asked her consigliere, knowing full well that he knew about what she was speaking. "Where are we on that?"

"Judge Hancock handed in his resignation two days ago," Connor began. "ADA Thompson was found with a kilo of heroine in his Jag's glove box the day before that. And Federal Prosecutor Richards' computer is being reviewed by the Computer Crimes as we speak. It's encrypted, of course, but they have a crack team there. They'll find the tens of thousands of child porn pics within the day … tomorrow at the latest."

"Good," is all Penny said about the downfall of three of the most corrupt men in Capital City's law enforcement and judicial branches.

She turned to return to her laps when Connor interrupted, "This is gonna hurt us. These were our people … people we paid to do our bidding."

Penny contemplated his concern for a moment before saying, "It has to be done. I … I have to show that I'm serious about this … that this isn't just about cementing my control over the City."

"Show who?" Connor asked, already knowing the answer. When Penny's response was only to bite her lower lip and blush, the bodyguard and confidante reassured his boss, "You're doing what needs to be done. You're doing what's right."

Penny smiled in appreciation, then turned and pushed off to return to finish the 50 laps that helped to keep her delicious body delicious.

 

[BeachBum25]

Patrick was pissed when he got the news about MacCornick. He felt betrayed. It was no coincidence that MacCormick got his neck broken in the holding cell. The mid-shift Sergeant has to be on Parker’s payroll. Patrick felt like he had been played, and his anger was growing incrementally as he thought about it.

“I will be there in 20 minutes. Tell your mouthpiece I am coming, and make sure he doesn’t even think of trying to take anything from me.” He hung up the phone before she could respond. He went down to his Jeep and climbed in. Before pulling away, he took the time to take a deep breath. He did not want his emotions to totally control the interaction with Penny, but he wanted to maintain a great deal of the anger he was feeling.

He pulled up to the gate of the compound, and he flashed his badge at the guard. “She is expecting me.” Patrick waited for the way to be cleared and pulled inside. As he exited his car, the mouthpiece approached him. “Don’t you dare say anything to me. I know what you did. Just show me where she is.” They engages in a staring contest for a moment before he was led out onto the patio by the pool.

Patrick’s anger was diminished somewhat by what he saw. Penny looked fucking amazing in her swimsuit. He took a breath. “We had a deal about cleaning up this piece of shit town, and you break it on the very first day. If you were going to have him killed, why not just send your little bitch and his goons after him and not involve me?”

He stood in front of her, the sun at his back. He didn’t know what to expect from Penny. He just hoped she didn’t insult him by trying to act innocent. “Is that what you call cleaning up Capital City? If so, we are not even close to being on the same page, and I would have to say our deal is off, despite the fact that i was looking forward to working with you. I thought we had a lot in common and would be good together. I guess I was wrong.”

He turned around to leave and saw the mouthpiece standing nearby. Patrick turned back to Penny. “You better keep him out of my way. If I so much as catch him jaywalking, I am going to make sure he spends time in lockup, and you never know who might be there at any given time.

Continuing out, Patrick stopped when he reached Connor. “If you even think about interfering with anything I am doing, your little princess will go down hard. If you think I am bullshitting you, just try me.”

Patrick got in his Jeep and headed for Central lockup. He probably wouldn’t have any one to one contact with Penny Parker again after what he had just done, and there was a part of him that was disappointed in that. Actually, there was a big part of him that was disappointed, but she had betrayed him by having MacCormick killed in jail.

When he got to the jail, he found out that the Sergeant from last evening was off today. Patrick was able to get his home address from a friend in Records. Pulling up in front of his house, Patrick jumped out of his Jeep and confronted him. “You are responsible for the death of my prisoner. I don’t know how much Parker or the guy doing her dirty work paid you, but I hope it is enough for you to live off for the rest of your life. If you resign today, I will keep your secret. If you show up tomorrow, I will go to the media, and to the new ADA and make sure that you end up in that same holding cell.”

Once again, Patrick left without letting the person who he was talking to respond. He drove away, taking a few breaths to try to calm down. On his way to the mid-shift Sergeant’s house, he had heard about the ADA and his coke problem. That combined with the prior resignation from the judge was probably Parker’s way of trying to mitigate what she did to MacCormick.

Patrick really wished he could move beyond what felt like a stab in the back. He decided to take the night off. He called in to the desk Sergeant and told him he was taking a personal day. He went back to his condo, and decided to stop by Clancey’s. Chances were good he would have more than one on this visit.

 

[TooDamnCute4U]

Penny had barely finished her second lap after Connor's update before her cell phone -- always nearby -- began ringing out for her attention. She was hesitant to answer it; Patrick had surely heard about MacCormick by now, and Penny wasn't sure whether he'd be apathetic about it or pissed.

His tirade left little doubt at to that, though. Connor had remained there on the patio during the conversation, and when it ended he said casually, "We don't have to let him beyond the gate, Donna."

"No … let him in," she said. "I did this. I ordered this. I have to deal with it."

She finished her laps, plus a few more as she worked off her nervousness about seeing Patrick in his state of anger and disappointment. When he arrived, she was just coming out of the pool, her hair slicked back upon her skull, the water dripping down her body.

Connor had been told not to disarm Patrick, and despite his concern about it, Penny could see the shape of the weapon on the Sergeant's side as he approached. Penny wasn't concerned about her safety around Patrick; she knew he wasn't dirty, and the worse he could do was arrest her and take her in for questioning in the event. Even that he wouldn't do, Penny believed. He knew how dangerous it was for her out there beyond the Compound's walls right now, and she had faith -- even as angry as he was right now -- that he wouldn't risk her life by forcing her to come to the precinct.

“We had a deal about cleaning up this piece of shit town, and you break it on the very first day. If you were going to have him killed, why not just send your little bitch and his goons after him and not involve me?”

Penny's response was soft, almost meek. "He tried to kill me, Patrick."

But he was a cop, not a vigilante, and he continued displaying his outrage, finishing with, “I thought we had a lot in common and would be good together. I guess I was wrong.”

He confronted Connor on his way out as well. The reaction from Penny's protector was nil; he simply turned ninety degrees to the one side to indicate Patrick could leave if he wished. Connor gave the cop more space before he followed him off the patio, around the house. He didn't follow Patrick to his car, though, only stopping when the vehicle and the Sergeant's departure were in view.

Back at the patio, Connor asked Penny, "Where does that leave us?"

Drying off her body with a large, plush towel, all she could say was, "I don't know."



Across the street from Clancey’s from the back seat of her blacked-out Towncar, Penny asked Connor, "You're sure it's not a cop bar?"

"No, Donna," the bodyguard said for the fourth or fifth time. "It's just a bar. My man inside says he's sitting alone at the bar. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes," Penny said without hesitation, despite the fact that she wasn't sure at all. Connor hesitated before getting out to open her door, and when he instinctually turned to lead her inside Penny caught him by the arm and said, "No! He, um … he doesn't care for you much."

As if a child standing over a broken vase he himself hadn't touched, he playfully asked, "What'd I do?"

Penny laughed, reassured him all would be well with his world one day, and verified with him that she would be safe inside. Connor reassured her, "The bartender is a friend … personal friend, not Family friend … and I have 3 men in there, one of whom is actually a regular. They won't do anything to alert your friend … they won't even make eye contact with you, Donna. But they'll be there if you need them."

Penny hesitated for a long moment, simply staring at the bar's front entrance. She was nervous and not because she felt vulnerable. Connor had reassured her that the immediate threat to her life was over with the death of MacCormick and the dissolution of his portion of the Family. With their Lieutenant dead and gone, the goons under him had without exception quickly come to Connor to swear their loyalty to Donna Parker.

No, Penny's nervousness was entirely about facing Patrick. But she drew a deep breath, released it, and strode into the Irish pub. She hesitated inside the door for a moment to get her bearings. More than a few pairs of eyes looked her way and settled for a long ogle of her more casual yet still appealing appearance. Penny took note of which sets of eyes only briefly glanced her way, thinking, Connor's men.

Finally, Penny found Patrick sitting at the bar. From where he was he could see the pool table, the dart board, and the soccer matches on the television on the far wall. What he couldn't see was Penny … and she almost turned around and walked right back out again. But she drew and released another deep breath, smoothed her dress, and strode forth with her modest 3 inch heels tap-tap-tapping on the floor.

By the time she reached him, Patrick had seen her. He didn't seem surprised to see her, though. Hell, for all Penny knew, he'd known she was there the whole time. There were enough reflective surfaces into which he could peek and see the door. And he was a cop with cop skills. Did he have Spidey Sense, too, she wondered?

"May I join you?" she asked eying the empty stool near him. She sat whether he okayed it or not. The bartender arrived almost immediately, and Penny ordered, "Two of what he's drinking..."

And sensing that Patrick was here for the drink and not the currently nil-nil soccer match, she added, "...for each of us, please."

The bartender only smiled and turned to fetch the drinks. Penny turned her back to the counter to look out upon the bar and its occupants for a moment, then confessed, "I asked Connor to deal with MacCormick."

The drinks showed up, but Penny ignored them for the moment. She repeated the only words she'd spoken at the pool earlier in the day, "He tried to kill me, Patrick."

She looked to him now, for his response, then asked with a sincere tone, "Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

 

[BeachBum25]

He didn’t expect to see her again, but he FELT her enter Clancy”s. He did not turn to watch her approach, but he saw all of the males turn and look at her. There was something that wanted him to say, “NO, she is mine.”” Of course, that was not the case.

“Yes, I know he did. That is why I made sure to pick him up and get him off the streets. What you did makes you no different than all of the scum in the city. I have had many people try to kill me...... they are in jail..... not murdered.”

He went back to his Guinness, and downed another shot of Jameson. Turning back to the beautiful woman next to him. “What you did is everything that you told me you wanted to get rid of. I thought we would get rid of it together. I thought we would be a great team.” He shrugged his shoulders.

He had to admit that it felt good to be sitting with such an attractive woman. That did not mitigate that he was still posed off at her betrayal. “. You need to decide whether you are all in, or if you are just another organized crime leader that doesn’t give a damned about anything but settling debts.”

He wished that they were here under different circumstances. He would love to flirt with her and see where it went. “ so, who is on your payroll? The bartender? The guy down the bar? The guy in the booth? All of them?” He looked into her mesmerizing eyes waiting for her reply.

 

[TooDamnCute4U]

“Yes, I know he did," Patrick said when Penny reminded him that the man she'd had killed had tried to kill her first. "What you did makes you no different than all of the scum in the city.”

Penny smiled slightly, thinking At least he didn't say all the OTHER scum, lumping me in with them.

He went on with his chastising of her. It was far more polite than their confrontation pool side. "I thought we would be a great team.”

"We can still be a team," Penny said after Patrick finished. She looked around to ensure there was no one within hearing before she continued, "But you have to keep something in mind, Patrick. You are a cop. I'm the head of an organized crime family. As a law enforcement official, you have resources and knowledge to offer our team."

Penny almost sounded as if she was pleading as she continued, "But I have resources and knowledge to offer, too. And you can't simply dismiss what I have to offer because of who I am. I know things you don't know ... and I know people you don't know."

She made the mistake of looking away from Patrick toward a pair of random patrons. Patrick must have assumed -- correctly, as it was -- that Penny had people right here in the bar.

"So, who is on your payroll? The bartender? The guy down the bar? The guy in the booth? All of them?”

Penny only smiled as the two of them stared into one another's eyes. After a moment, she began digging in her purse as she said with a more serious tone, "And if you remember..."

She pulled out the now-folded manila envelope Patrick had left behind in Benito's and set it on the bar in front of him. She finished what she was saying, "...I tried to help you in a way you would have found acceptable ... and you fuckin' blew me off. "

Penny leaned in a bit closer and asked with an accusatory tone, "Exactly who is it who doesn't want to be part of our team, Sergeant Kelly?"

 

[BeachBum25]

He grabbed her wrist. He saw the two goons jump up and the bartender head in his direction. "Tell them to stand down Penny. It was just my way of identifying which ones were your guys." He smiled at her, but he did not let go of her wrist. He wasn't gripping it tightly, but he maintained a firm enough grip on it.

When her boys relaxed, he looked back into her eyes. "We can work together, but, as I told you before, it has to be my way. It can not involve anything like what happened last night ever again." He assumed she would pick up on the fact that he did not mention the killing of MacCormick, but she would know what he meant.

"If we are going to clean it up, it has to be done on the up-and-up. You and me working it together. I know you have sources that are not available to me. I am not saying, nor have I ever said, that we wouldn't use your sources." He paused and leaned in and whispered to Penny, "just no killing of guys that we have identified as being bad. Let the cleaned up criminal justice system deal with them. His lips brushed her ear... accidentally... or was it.

He released her wrist and turned back to grab his beer. Looking into her stunning eyes, he said to Penny, "I am sure we have had enough of a conversation for the night. Anyway, your goons and the rest of your team are waiting to escort you back to the compound. Maybe someday it will be safe for you to move around without an army. Might make for a different interaction between us."

He stared into Penny’s eyes. Patrick was looking for a clue. People gave a lot of information with their eyes. The first tell was always whether they maintain eye contact. Someone who is being deceitful rarely can look you in the eyes when they are doing it.

Patrick stood up and moved behind Penny and placed his hands on her shoulders. Once again, he whispered to her.“The decision comes now. Either we are going to do this or not. Either we do it the right way or we don’t do it at all. I am in. Are you?”

 

[TooDamnCute4U]

Patrick surprised Penny more than hurt her with his sudden grasping of her wrist. She couldn't be certain whether Connor's men at a nearby table had reacted more to Patrick's show of force or to the sudden look of surprise that filled her face. She waved them down with her free hand.

"Is there a problem?" the bartender asked when he got closer, looking between the two patrons.

Surprised as she was, Penny played the server's reaction as simply that of a man watching out for his customers; she didn't want Patrick believing that the man behind the bar was one of Connor's. "No … no problem. My boyfriend and I are simply having a disagreement about the color of shades I bought for the bedroom today."

She smiled to the bartender, asked if they could have that second round she'd asked for earlier, then glared at her captured wrist, then into Patrick's eyes. "Do you mind?"

He released his hold on her and lectured her again on how things were going to work if they were to work. Then, he stood, moved behind her, and laid his hands upon Penny's shoulders. Now, if he'd put his hands upon her like this yesterday, Penny would have been thrilled; her mind had been filled with all of the things she wanted to do with Patrick while naked and mussing up the sheets of her massive canopy bed.

But right now, she just wasn't feeling it. Just as Patrick had come to be disappointed in her for what she'd ordered regarding MacCormick, Penny had come to be disappointed in him for not acting on -- or even accepting -- the information she'd given him regarding the murder of his parents.

Penny looked over her shoulder to eye Patrick in her peripheral and in a soft but most definitely menacing tone said, "I'm going to assume that your familiarity with me is because you're drunk … and I'm not going to signal my eight men to get out of their seats and … correct your error in judgement..."

Then turning her head so that she could look directly into his eyes, she finished, "Sergeant Kelly."

Penny's heart was pounding with fury. This relationship of theirs had started out so good, she'd thought, so good in fact that she'd been fantasizing having his head between her thighs almost constantly since their first meeting. But now she was threatening to have him taken out back and beaten to a pulp, badge or not. And if the cop -- which was all he was to Penny in this very moment -- didn't remove his hands from her shoulders, she was going to give the solid rap on the bar's counter that would send her men this way, their number not being 8 but being a fully sufficient 3 plus the bartender.

If he did remove his hands, Penny would stand, tap on the manila envelope, and before heading out of Clancey's, tell him it was his turn to step up … for the team.

 

[BeachBum25]

Patrick could tell how pissed Penny was. This is what happens when you have two very strong-willed people. Despite the fact that they had the same, or at least a similar vision for Capital City, they each wanted it THEIR way. It was going to be a challenge for them.

He stepped away from Penny. "Drunk? No, I am not drunk Ms. Parker. I am trying to keep information between us and not allow anyone else to overhear; even your "eight men,,, nine if you count the bartender. None of them need to know what I know about you and what happened yesterday. I wanted to make sure I was not responsible for information falling into the wrong ears."

Sitting back in his seat, Patrick looked at Penny and he tapped the manila envelope sitting on the bar. "I did not take this from you at Benito's the other night, because I wasn't certain of your intentions at the time, and I was not certain who else was watching. I couldn't take the chance that what was really inside was cash, and that you had a camera hidden somewhere to get pictures of me taking it. I had to protect myself."

He pushed his drink away from him and picked up the envelope. "I thank you for the drink. I thank you, in advance, for the information in the envelope. If we are going to work together, I look forward to hearing from you how that will move forward. If I don't hear from you again, I will assume that you do not desire to proceed with our relationship... or our arrangement.. whatever you want to call it."

Standing up, Patrick winked at the bartender, "I guess I have to find a new place to drink now that I know your true loyalties." Then to Penny, "I do hope to hear from you." He walked out of the bar and across the street to his condo. He saw her limo sitting outside Clancey's and assumed that the mouthpiece was in there awaiting his boss.

Once in his condo, Patrick tossed the manila envelope on his bed, undressed and got into the shower. He thought about how the night went down. It certainly wasn't what he expected. When Penny walked into Clancey's, he was certain they would leave with an agreement. He didn't really expect that she was going to give up her criminal ways, but he did expect her to agree that murdering someone in police custody, especially someone that she had made arrangements for Patrick to pick up, was probably not in their best interest. Maybe he had pushed to hard. He might never know for sure.

He got out of the shower, toweled off, and climbed between the sheets. He opened the envelope and removed the contents; spreading them out across his bed. He could not believe what was in front of him. The plot to kill his parents was elaborate and involved many people at many different levels. Working this alone would take a great deal of time. He had no problem putting the time into it.

Needless to say, Patrick did not sleep. At around 5 am, he went out to the coffee shop next door to get a very needed caffeine fix. That kept him going until around 9, when he needed to do it again. Patrick decided to walk around the block to get the blood flowing before getting the coffee. After his walk, he went and got his coffee and went back to his condo to start mapping out his plan.

 

[TooDamnCute4U]

Penny waited several minutes after Patrick left before she herself left. She was trembling deep in her core from mixed emotions, unable to concretely decide which emotions those were or why she was feeling them. Unlike when she'd entered Clancey's, Penny exited with 4 bodyguards after Connor had entered and demanded it be so.

"So, do we still have a friend within the ACT?" her confidante asked once they were on their way back to the Compound. When Penny didn't answer, Connor let that topic go and, after a few minutes, reminded his boss, "Well, we have more important things to concern ourselves with right now anyway."



Two nights later, Connor led Penny into the master dining room of her home and to the chair at the head of the long, oak table at which sat 12 of the Parker Family's 14 Lieutenants. She explained that the 2 missing men were unavailable -- that was code for dead or on the run -- then jumped right into the topic of the unusual gathering.

"Within the year," she told them with a firm, confident tone, "this Family will be out of the business of death."

The reactions around the table varied greatly: nods of agreement from those who already knew that Penny had been preaching a different direction to her father prior to his death; to looks of surprise who couldn't even imagine such a thing happening; to smirks of doubt or outright disagreement with even considering giving up the very lucrative activities that often resulted in the deaths of others

She began giving details, but less than three minutes into her well practiced monologue, one of her most respected Lieutenants, Benjamin "Benny Bones" Bonner cut in with, "Abandoning the drug trade in the neighborhoods under our control won't stop drug sales in those neighborhoods. The need will still be there, and the other Families will seek to fill that need. They'll move their drug pushers onto our turf, and the only way we'll have to push them off of it will be via violence?"

"The other Families will not move their drug pushers into our territories," Penny said confidently.

Benny Bones laughed as he looked around for others who might agree with him. He looked back to Penny and asked with a sarcastic tone, "Why not? Maybe you went to them and asked Purdy please, don't sell dope in our 'hoods?"

"The other Families will not move into our zones of control … for dope, protection, prostitution, union manipulation, or any other graft," Penny continued her answer, hesitating before she said with a seriously sincere tone, "because we are going to eliminate the other Families."

Without exception -- well, not including Connor who had known this was coming -- eyes widened all about the table; even some mouths dropped open at the young leader's suggestion. Benny Bones's initial reaction of disbelief became a long, loud laugh that ultimately faded away as he saw total seriousness in Penny's face.

"You are going to start a war that will see hundreds killed … on both sides," he challenged. He gestured around the table to the other Lieutenants, almost all of whom were at least twice Penny's age of 24 before continuing, "We all have been through a gang war, my pet, you haven't--"

Connor took a step forward and demanded, "You will refer to her as Donna Parker."

Benny stared at the man for a moment, then challenged him as well. "I will not! Barnaby Parker was Don of this family, and you, my pet, are nothing more than his daughter. Not even his son!"

He stood from his chair a third of the way down the left side of the long table and swept his hand about the other Lieutenants, continuing, "Until one of us gets unanimous acceptance from the others--"

He looked back to Penny to finish, "--you, my pet … are nothing more than a pert pair of tits sitting where a once great man used to--"

Benny didn't get to finish what he had to say. Penny had begun standing during the man's rant, and taking a deep breath and telling herself You have to do this! she brandished the 9mm pistol Connor had pressed against her back unseen by the others, leveled it at Benny's chest, and pulled the trigger. The big man jerked at the impact, stumbling backwards to fall into his chair. Penny lifted her aim, tried to steady her lightly trembling hand, and pulled the trigger again. Benny's head jerked backwards, then wobbled about a bit before his upper body fell forward, crashing to the table and splashing redness all over the white linen table cloth.

The reaction about the table, surprisingly, wasn't nearly as varied as it had been when Penny made her announcement a minute earlier. The Lieutenants had seen one of their own executed at this table before; during this group's life, three men had met their end here for their failures, disobedience, or treachery.

The only difference between then and now was that a supposedly sweet and innocent girl had been the one to pull the trigger this time around.

Penny handed the weapon back to Connor, then moved her hands to behind her and locked them together … to hide the trembling in them. She looked about the men; they each, one by one, shifted their gaze from their dead comrade to their boss.

"I want to reassure each of you," Penny told them calmly, "that what you have seen here tonight is not the fate of those of you who will not follow me. I did not kill Benny because he refused to follow me. I killed him because he showed me disrespect."

She turned and began a slow walk about the table as she continued. "Each of you must make a choice … your own choice … without concern for what you think the others here will choose for themselves. The Parker Family is getting out of the business of death..."

As she continued, the double doors opposite her end of the table opened and two of Connor's goons entered, pushing before them a luggage cart filled with briefcases. Penny explained, "The choices offered to you tonight include … leave the Compound tonight … leave Capital City tonight … with your family and one of these."

One of the goons had place a briefcase on the table, turned it to face the Lieutenants, and opened it. It was filled with brand new packs of hundred dollar bills with the familiar mustard yellow strap indicating each bundle contained $10,000. Most of these men were savvy enough with money to guess that each briefcase contained $4 to $5 million dollars.

"Once I have eliminated the other Families and put this City on a path toward peace and tranquility," Penny continued, still walking about the table, "a second, equal amount will be sent to you."

The implication she was making was obvious: if they left with her money and did anything to delay her conquest of Capital City, they wouldn't see the second payment for their departure.

"The second choice being offered to you tonight is to choose me as your Donna," Penny said. By now, she'd reached Benny's still bleeding body. She stopped to study it for a moment and found herself relieved at not needing to heave what was in her gut all over the floor before these men. "In making me the leader of the Parker Family, you are agreeing to the course about which I have spoken here tonight. Any of you who decides to leave over the days and months to come … any of you who have been loyal to that point but who simply feel you cannot continue with my goals, you may leave … with your briefcase full of cash and a promise of a second one later."

Penny was at her seat by now as she went on, "There is a third choice, of course. Show me disrespect, as our friend Benny Bones did tonight. Betray me in any way. Warn the other Families … or conspire with them in any way. Work behind my back to maintain the bloody status quo that is ripping this potentially wonderful City at the seams."

She looked to Benny again, then scanned the others before she finished, "I think we know what happens to people who make that choice … do we not?"

Connor made a gesture behind Penny's back, and all of the Lieutenants -- save one, obviously -- stood to show their respect to the young, strong woman at the head of the table. Penny nodded her appreciation to them all, turned, and headed for the lounge in which those who would pledge their loyalty to her tonight would enter one at a time in order of seniority.



Almost two hours passed before Connor told an exhausted Donna Parker that the last of the men had made his pledge. She noted in a soft voice, "Nine. Nine out of eleven. Is that good?"

"In a sense," Connor responded. "It means you will only have to have two men quietly retired before you have to pay them another--"

"No!" Penny cut in. She told Connor in a firm tone, "I meant it when I said they could leave without any harm coming to them or their loved ones. They didn't want to stay … I don't want them to stay. Is that understood, Connor? Promise!"

He hesitated, not wanting to make a promise he couldn't keep. "Of course, Donna. I promise. No harm will come to them."

He refilled her glass from the liqueur that her father had always drank with his Lieutenants at such functions. He'd warned her earlier that -- with potentially 12 men coming in to meet her -- she needed to fake a full sip and only take a bit with each visit. Penny had failed to do so, though, and she was obviously tipsy and even tilting a bit when she tried to stand in one place with her feet to close together.

"Time for bed," Connor told her, gently taking her arm and giving her no choice.

They headed upstairs to her room, where Gloria -- Penny's personal maid -- was waiting to help her get into bed. As Connor was leaving, a now obviously intoxicated Penny asked Connor with a hopeful tone, "Will he still like me after I do what I have to do?"

Connor didn't answer immediately, and by the time he was ready to answer, Penny had fallen to the bed and was already on her way toward a deep sleep. Gloria and Connor met gazes, and as the latter left the former simply pulled a quilt over Penny. She would sit in a chair in the nearest corner, reading until it was time to help her lady properly prepare for a needed night's sleep.