Partners In Arms (closed)

[heartofcourage]

http://images.fashionmodeldirectory...ges/2010/fc31601275e55a6a820c9a303a62315e.jpg

Elizabeth Cowen was a Midwestern girl by birth. She’d grown up on a farm in the heart of Kansas, wheat and cattle as far as they eye could see. When she entered college, she ran to New York City the first chance that she could get. The big city held a certain draw for her and she was the top of her class at NYU, graduating with a degree in criminal justice.

She had started a business as a private investigator shortly after her graduation. She was good at what she did and made most people at ease with her blonde good looks. She liked that she was unassuming. It made it easier to get the information that she needed when she was on a job.

She hadn’t had a big profile case in the four years since she’d opened her business. It was mostly staking out people that thought their spouses were cheating on them, business men that wanted to get the upper hand in a business dealing, and companies that wanted background checks done on prospective employees.

Everything changed the day that she’d gotten a call from Max Leone. Leone was a member of the powerful Leone family that live in New York and Florida. They were wealthy and had ties to the Mafia. His cousin, a woman named Marta, had gone missing from her home on Long Island. She was being alerted to the case and the fact that there was a private investigator from Florida that would be coming to join her investigation.

That’s how she found herself standing in La Guardia airport, a trench coat cinched tightly over her black dress as she waited for this man to show up. His flight was fifteen minutes late already and she was growing impatient of waiting.

 

[BRIGHTWELL]

Mike Futures

Mike Futures named partner in the Investigative firm of Futures-Carr-Hyde-Ketchem of Palm Beach Florida.

Some back round on Mike. Mike was born in Conneticut. His father was a man of connections. Not a shady kind of guy just some one everyone seemed to know. A friend to cops and low lifes. Mike attended public school k-12 like most of the other kids in his town. Since he was close to New York a feild trip to New York City happened every now and then.

After high school Mike joined the Army. He spent several years in Germany then Italy. Upon returning he served at Fort Meade and made a name for himself. After several years serving there, he was eager to find his own way.

Several years of bouncing around he found a case fall in his lap. A woman had gone missing. She had been in Israel on on her way to Arkansas. She was a buyer for a major departmant store. Her specialty was Middle Eastern rugs. She had traveled all over to find $500 rung that could be made on the cheap then sold for a big mark up. Mike found her body and diamonds and gold threads in the rugs. ICE became involved and so did the media.

He was said to of broke up the Flying Carpet case. From then on the cases kept coming. Soon he had a Black American Express card. And the money started rolling in. After a couple years the load got to heavy and he took on partners. Now FCH&K have offices in several major cities. Palm Beach, Fort Worth, Portland and Kansas City. A named partner in each office.
.........................................................................................................................


The Delta flight from West Palm left late. Too many airplanes taking off at the same time. All so known as rush hour. The flight was not bad, it gave Mike time to look over the case. Things were still a little foggy as he was concerned. He received a note that an opertive from the area would be meeting his plane. He had worked with locals before, some times they worked out some times not so good.

Mike looks out the window while they desended through the dark gray clouds. It looks like its going to rain. 'Oh great a rainy day in New York' Mike thinks. Suddenly the the over head speaker says. "Welcome to New York City the tempature if 85 the skys are cloudy and it just might rain. Thank you for flying Delta Air Lines and have a wonderful day!"

 

[heartofcourage]

Elizabeth sighed as the sky above her rumbled with thunder. Just what she needed was a rainstorm to ruin her day. She pulled the coat tighter around her and pulled out a sign that simply said Futures on it. Hopefully he would see it and she wouldn’t have to go wandering around the airport like an idiot.

Sighing, she shifted from foot to foot impatiently, her heels making a clicking noise as she waited for her new partner to appear. She didn’t know why the family felt the need to put two investigators in charge of the case, but she sincerely hoped that their styles wouldn’t clash and they could at least get along for the sake of the investigation. When there were missing people involved, it sometimes meant bad things were afoot.

 

[BRIGHTWELL]

Sam( Mike Futures)

Mike walks down the jet way and his cell phone rings. As he reaches the gate area he takes his phone out of his jacket. "Yes?" he askes.
"Mike this in Hildi at the office. I have the name of your contact in New York its Elizabeth Cowen. This thing may be going south quickly. Word has it that Max Leone is part of the action."

Mike stops and looks at the crowd as they pass by. "Let me get this straight this in a mob case?" Mike leans against the wall of the terminal. "Ok, none of this was in the case file. I hope Cowen can bring me up to speed on this. Thanks Hildi, I got to get my checked luggage. I will let you know where I'm staying!"

Mike follows the rest of the passangers from the Delta flight down stairs to the baggage area. After a few minutes Mike finds his bag and turns to leave just in side the sliding doors stands a woman. A blond in a tan trench coat holding a sign Futures.

Mike smiles "Ok you must be Elizabeth, I'm Mike But for the sake of this trip call me Sam....Sam What ever you want."

 

[heartofcourage]

Elizabeth was surprised when she first saw the man approaching her. He was older, certainly, but handsome. He looked like something out of an old movie, with his hat and long coat. Then he spoke and the corner of her mouth quirked up at an angle.

“Sam? Seriously?” She asked him, her Midwestern accent coming through as she put the sign away that she’d made and stared at the man for a moment. “Alright, Sam, I’m Elizabeth Cowen. If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to the car and then to your hotel. I think we have a lot to talk about.”

She pulled an umbrella from her pocket as a downpour started outside and she exited the terminal, waiting to see if he were following her. When he looked like he was in line, she started towards the parking lot that her vehicle was in. She drove a nondescript sedan that was a few years old. Nothing flashy and something practical. She popped the truck and slide into the driver’s side, waiting for him to finish stowing his things.

 

[BRIGHTWELL]

Sam Seriously

“Sam? Seriously?” her Midwestern accent coming through “Alright, Sam, I’m Elizabeth Cowen. If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to the car and then to your hotel. I think we have a lot to talk about.”

Mike smiles and follows Elizabeth out of the terminal and into the parking lot. The nondescript sedan is a few years younger then my Ford I use on my long driving trips. Still it serves our needs. Mike throws his bag in the back, shuts the trunk and climbs in.

He looks at her as she drives away. "So where are we going?"

 

[heartofcourage]

"Well, Mr. Leone is putting you up at a hotel on Long Island." She said as she turned out of the parking lot and onto the street. It was busy that time of day even in the pouring rain. "I guess he figures you'll do more work if you're in the center of everything."

She glanced over at him and shrugged. She personally didn't like when clients got involved in her business. She liked to do what needed to be done and then be on her way. With clients it got messy and could seriously jeapordise things.

"Unless you're hungry after you flight. We could stop and pick up some food and I can take you to my office. I've got some files there that you might want to look at."

 

[BRIGHTWELL]

center of things

'Oh lovely we're going on the LIE in rush hour traffic will be a real pleasure'. Mike leans back and lets Elizabeth drive.

"Unless you're hungry after you flight. We could stop and pick up some food and I can take you to my office. I've got some files there that you might want to look at."

Mike started thinking. "You know what, I know a place in Mananasset its on the way, just get off at Shelter Rock then right on Northern Buld. Its the right after the turn its Nick and Pedro's. nice place. Then we can go to your office and show you the files. And we can take it from there."

Mike watches as the rain continues to pound down, traffic starts to slow to a crawl. The wipers are doing there best to move the water off the windshield. All he can see ahead is a string of red tail lights.

"By the way where is Mr. Leone putting me up?" Mike is trying to stay calm in the long slow battle to move up the Long Island Express Way. Also known as the worlds largest parking lot.

 

[heartofcourage]

“The Hyatt, I believe. Executive suite.” She said, glancing over at him as he started thinking about where he wanted her to go in Mananasset. She nodded and got into the right lane that she needed as the traffic slowed to a crawl in the rain.

“Mr. Leone is an interesting sort. He’ll keep you in style as long as you do a good job.” She mentioned as everything ground to a halt around them. “What have you come up with so far on the disappearance? It seems to be all dead ends from my end. Then again, the Leones haven’t been very forthcoming with some details and in my opinion that looks a little suspicious.”

She turned on the AC and sighed, letting the cool air wash over them as they waited for the traffic to thin out. “When you’re working with a mob family I suppose that’s pretty par for the course though.”

 

[BRIGHTWELL]

Martha Decatto

Mike sat lookingat the windows fog up. Back in high school days it ment he was get some. Now, he rolled the window down and the cooling wet breeze clear them up. He looks over at Elizabeth, a rather attactive woman.

" What have you come up with so far on the disappearance? It seems to be all dead ends from my end. Then again, the Leones haven’t been very forthcoming with some details and in my opinion that looks a little suspicious.”

Mike nods"I can understand that, the New York end of this is very cloudy. " Mike pauses as te windows on his side clears. " In Florida, Martha Decatto has several businesses. So are lagit others not so much. Decatto real estate is all over the map down there. She has four offices in Palm Beach county allone. With the real estate business as it is down there its a bit of a surprise that she manages to stay afloat at all." Traffic starts to move some and mike takes it a a good sign.

"Then she has several large groves in the western part on the state, she also has some interest in sugar cane." Mike pauses and looks out the window as traffic picks up some. "Most of her holding in Florida, on paper look good. Its her over seas stuff that rattle the cages some. And, I might add brings in a more New York flavor. And suspicious is a good word for what is going on. I think some kind of smuggling is going on. The New York angle is a good starting point. Its just a matter of following the bread crumbs before the birds get them!"

...................................................

occ: sorry I missed the AC part.

 

[heartofcourage]

“Decatto married a man named Joe Decatto. He’s known around here as a real estate magnet and he owns a lot of property on Long Island. The problem is that he’s currently being investigated by the NYPD for illegal business dealings. Mostly money laundering and two murders. The charges won’t stick, of course.” Elizabeth said, looking over at Mike as the traffic started to flow and she was finally able to pull the sedan along at a faster pace.

“They had a good marriage from all accounts and were married for almost 10 years before she found out that Joe had a pension to things with a dick. She didn’t want to be second fiddle in the relationship and they divorced two yeas ago. He has been paying her sky high alimony ever since. I had thought that it would be an open and shut case but Decatto has actually been very attentive about paying for anything that Martha needed.” Elizabeth had done her research into the private lives of the Decatto family and the Leone family and she had come up with a lot of questions and no answers.

“She was dating a Russian male model here in New York named Gregori Stranoi. He is from Moscow and the word on the street is that he’s also a smuggler. Maybe that might be a good place to start.” She turned on the turn signal and got into the lane that would take them towards the restaurant that Mike had mentioned.

 

[BRIGHTWELL]

Nick and Pedro's

Mike is looking out the window lost in thought. 'A Russian connection.' Nick nods his head. "OK, this is your town, I have a few ideas, I'll tell you what I think. First we stop at Nick and Pedro's have a nice meal and get a bottle of vino ta go." Mike watches as they pull off the LIE and turns North on Shelter Rock. Traffic moved evenly through the rain which is lightening up some.
And then right there they are Nick and Pedro's.

"When we get done we go to your office here on the island. Get your files on Gregori Stranoi, Martha Decatto, and Joe Decatto. Then we go to my place at the The Hyatt Executive suites have the wine look over the files. In the morning we check thing out with Max Leone, then go down to Brighten Beach and sniff around down there."

They walk in to the restaurant and are seated. "To tell you the truth, I'm not to comfortable with the idea that we could have a Russian mafia and Italian connection. And it may end up being an expensive case for Mr. Leon. I have a feeling that Moscow is not in the picture. Maybe Odessa on the Black sea or even Rostov on the Sea of Azov."

 

[heartofcourage]

Elizabeth looked over the nicely decorated dining room as she followed Mike to their seat. She sat down and listened to his comment about how this would be expensive for Mr. Leone. She laughed softly under her breath.

“Mr. Leone can afford it.” She sad as she ordered and asked for a glass of red wine. “He seems very adamant that we find Martha. From what I know he and his sister were not on the best of terms. I had also thought that perhaps a turf war was going on but from what I’ve heard on the street, the two of them were working things out. There is another brother, Arnold, that lives in upstate New York, but he’s been rather quiet and seems like a good guy.”

She looked across the table at Mike as he mentioned going to Russia and she held her breath, not really wanting to go on an international flight. Flying made her nervous and wasn’t on the top of her list of things that she wanted to do.

“Well, you’ll love the rumor that Martha was pregnant by a man that wasn’t Gregori. Just complicates the whole matter, doesn’t it?” She gave Mike a grin at that piece of information. She’d been unable to confirm or deny that Martha was indeed pregnant, but it would make sense to her that Gregori with his notorious temper took out his girlfriend after finding out of her affair.

 

[BRIGHTWELL]

Mike sits and listenes and Elizabeth tells more of the tale. "This case keeps changing the more I hear. At first I thought that this as a smuggling case. Now its sounds like a family feud." The waiter comes over and brings Elizadeth her glass of wine. He looks at Mike.

Mike Smiles and looks at the lunch menu. "Yes I'll have the Lingunie alle Vongole(white baby clam sauce over lingunie) and a glass of Pinot Grigio Lagaria with the meal and a bottle of Pinot Grigio Santa Margherita to go afterwards." The waiter nods and leaves.

"So its agreed tomarrow morning we will go visit Mr. Leon. This is your end of the case. I think it would be best if you took the lead with Mr. Leon. You introduce me as"helping you" on the case. And lets keep "My offife" out of it. I'm Sam, here to help from out of town, just that or Sam what ever from some where."

Mike pauses. "I understand he is your client, I just rather that word did not get out that a big gun from Palm Beach is on the case. It will be better for you if it looks like I am in the backround. Then when we go down to Brighten Beach tomarrow I can take a more active roll. The thing is, if this is a blood fued. It could get messy. Russians, Italians and babies, Oh my!" he says with a smile.

 

[heartofcourage]

“I’ve found that most of the cases involve a family feud. My bet is that Martha is relaxing on a beach somewhere in Europe, laughing at everyone as they scramble around to find her.” Elizabeth said, taking a sip of her red wine and looking at Mike.

“I have no problem taking you to Mr. Leone, but I’ll tell you that he’s not very forthcoming with details. He’s very quiet and doesn’t want anyone looking around in his personal life.” She laughed when she thought that Mike would see this as an easy in and out kind of interview. “I’ve been working with him for a while now and it’s like pulling teeth for any information.”

She smiled at his joke and glanced down at the food that was served. It looked delicious and her stomach growled loudly. It had been a while since she’d had anything to eat. In her line of work, moments of peace and quiet were hard to come by and her stomach was usually tied up in knots.

 

[BRIGHTWELL]

“I have no problem taking you to Mr. Leone, but I’ll tell you that he’s not very forthcoming with details. He’s very quiet and doesn’t want anyone looking around in his personal life.I’ve been working with him for a while now and it’s like pulling teeth for any information.”

"What I have found is that some times misdirection can get you more then you think you have." Mike pauses. "Ok, most direct question will give you a base line answer, that being a limited guarded answer. What people put on there walls reflect themselves, why? Because they live with it day in and out. Its what they allow you to see. So this is a an opening." Elizabeth is eating and listening to him. "It important to note where he brings you to speak to you. He is sending you a message. For instance if he meets you in the kitchen he sees you as hired help. If he takes you out side and walks around, means he has secrets in the house he doesn't want you to know, because he doesn't trust you."

Mke attacks his food and sips his wine then continues. " Now the other side of the coin, say you chat in his library, he is telling he doesn't mind showing whats in his head. The best is his den or favorite room, trophy room, smoking room, play room and of course the bed room, I think you can figure out what his mind set is. So think back to where he spoke to you. What room were you in? Was it always the same room? Did he bring you out to the garage with the door open?" Mike pause to let her contemplete on that thought.

"As for Martha, I stll think the Russian angle is in play. With her husband under the microscope, she is looking for some kind of cover. And her Russian boy friend can get her that. Thats why I want to go down to Brighten beach tomarrow." Mike watches Elizabeth as she eats. "I gather you like the food, I think you will love the wine later."

 

[heartofcourage]

“You think I’ve been to his home? Oh, no. I’ve either met with him on job sites or at his office in lower Manhattan. It’s what you would expect from an upper level executive. Clean cut, monotone, modern, with a few family photographs on his desk.” Elizabeth savored the taste of the fettuccini that she’d ordered, taking a sip of her red wine as she continued to listen to him talk. “Like I said, you’ll be hard pressed to get anything out of Mr. Leone.”

She laughed as he went over all the options in his mind, telling her just what he thought. “You are a strange man.” She said with a grin on her face to soften the blow of the words. “Wining and dining me like I’m a client. Is this how you treat all of your partners?”

 

[BRIGHTWELL]

“Wining and dining me like I’m a client. Is this how you treat all of your partners?”

Mike smiles to himself. "I have three partnres. We have offices all over the country. I guess you can get me out of Palm Beach, but never get the Palm Beach out of me. This is business for me. This is how I work. Out on the fly here, there and every where. Its a little like the army hurry up and then wait. Hurry to the airport, then wait for the plane. "

Mike finishes off the last of his food and leans back as the waiter walks up to him. "That was fine, that botle of wine and the check, please." He looks at Elizabeth while pulling out his wallet. The waiter returns with the bottle of wine. Mike opens his wallet and pulls out a Black American Express card and hands it to the waiter. As he waits he has a thought.

"Do you know where he lives, this Mr. Leon? I think we should pay him a visit. Maybe after we go to your office. He may give us more on his home turf then in his office."

 

[heartofcourage]

“Well, I should have said all your pretty partners.” She laughed at the look that the comment gained. She listened to him tell his story about his partners and how they were all over the country. “In this profession you spend a lot of your time waiting. I shutter to think about if I die and I’m forced to relive my life how much of that life has been spent waiting for people.”

She watched as he pulled out a black AmEx card and her eyes went wide. She operated a little small potatoes business, but it seemed like this man was running with the big dogs. She looked at the bottle of wine and nodded her head, a grin on her lips. Her certainly had good taste.

“He lives on Long Island. I can take you to his home, but I think it would be better if we had a game plan before we started on that end.” She said. “He’s a tough nut to crack.”

 

[BRIGHTWELL]

“He lives on Long Island. I can take you to his home, but I think it would be better if we had a game plan before we started on that end.” She said. “He’s a tough nut to crack.”

Mike waited for the waiter to bring back his card. When he did Mike looked at the bill added 20% to the bill. And signed the credit slip. He smiles at Elizabeth. "I think we should be getting to your office so we can figure out our next play. After all it takes a big hammer to crack a tough nut." Mike lead her to the door and opened it for her. As she walks out he says. "I've never had a pretty partner only pretty ugly ones."

They returned to her car. The rain had stopped and the air is warm and muggy. The famous Long Island humidity is making it self known. "Can we take the back roads rather then the LIE?" Elizabath pulls out of the small parking lot and turns East.

"If you are asking about some of the ladies that I've known in my life, yes I treated them all the same. In different ways in different places, but all ways first class all the way. That is the only way I know. Class begets class, success begets success. Once you get that first big score, you keep it at that level. If you look back the past may catch up with you. Thats why I focus on the Future, Mike Futures, that is." Mike Laughs at his own joke.

 

[heartofcourage]

“Then I guess I should feel flattered.” Elizabeth said as he mentioned that he’d never had a pretty partner before. She slipped into the car as he held open her door and she started the car. When he had slid into the passenger seat, the pulled out of the parking lot and took the direction that he suggested.

She listened as he spoke, a smile playing on her lips as he talked about class and success. She always thought that she was successful herself, but sitting next to him it seemed that only time would tell. She hoped she’d be able to keep up with his fast pace way of thinking. It would be a wild ride.

After driving for another fifteen minutes, she pulled up in front of a multistory grey building. Her office was on the third floor and it was rather small. She shared the building with a bank, a law office, and a bail bond office. It was a mishmash of different people from different walks of life, but it suited her needs.

“Come on and I’ll give you the grand tour.” She said as she slid from the car with her keys in hand, waiting to see if he would follow.

 

[BRIGHTWELL]

grand tour

Mike forces a small smile when she pulled up to the gray multi story building. The bank was a small neighborhood banch of a bank he had never heard of. Then he saw LA Grand Building carved above the main entry.
“Come on and I’ll give you the grand tour.” she said looking back at him.

Mike opens the door and looks around and sees a rent-a car office. He takes note of it. He may need a car to drive himself some where later on. He closes the car door and follows Elizabeth. The building look clean with a fresh coat of paint. Elizabath is standing in front of the only elevator.The door opens and they walk in. In a few seconds they are on the third floor.

The first think Mike sees is E Cowen Investigative Services. Next was a law office, and a bail bond office. Mike could hear some one bouncing a ball off a wall. Mike follows Elizabath to a glass door with the same name as is on the wall sign. Elizabeth unlock the door and it creaks, as she shows Mike in. The ball stops hitting the fall.

A voice calls out "OH Lizzy, your machine must be broken, because your phone keeps ringing every 20 minutes, It woke me up, twice!"

 

[heartofcourage]

Elizabeth rolled her eyes as they entered the office and she spotted her assistant sitting lazily behind the desk. Danny was a former cop that had been forced to retire due to an injury he received after a high speed chase had resulted in a high speed crash. His shoulder had been destroyed and even though he had rehabbed successfully, he was a liability to the police department.

Not that he wasn’t good at what he did. He could get information from police informants that she could never dream of getting. He was a good guy that had been given a hard break in life. And now he lounged around her office, answering phones when it was convenient and maybe following up on files. And throwing that damned tennis ball against the wall. The wall was tinged yellow in areas from how many times he did it a day.

“Well, did you ever think to check the fax machine?” She asked him as she let Mike into the office behind her. “It’s probably out of paper just like the last time.”

She glanced over her shoulder at Mike and sighed. This wasn’t the first impression that she wanted to make on him. “Mike, this is Danny Reilly. Danny this is Mike Futures. He’s here to work on the Leone case.”

 

[BRIGHTWELL]

Sam Gliebeck

"Mike, this is Danny Reilly. Danny this is Mike Futures. He’s here to work on the Leone case."

Mike gives Elizabeth a quick look and puts on a big smile and shakes Danny's hand. He looks at Elizabeth and shakes his head then looks back at Danny. "Ah shucks is Lizzy always this funny? I mean i just met her at the airport and she's been crackin me up. Mike Futures who has a name like that, my name is Sam, Sam Gliebeck the last of the Texas Jew Boys. I was tellin Lizzy here, that that ride in from Houston was as smooth as a baby's bottom. I think he muss'a bin a Texas boy!" Mike walks around the office looking at the pictures on the wall till he found what he was looking for. He looks at Elizabeth's diploma from NYU.

"Good golly, Miss Lizzy you went ta a real school, NYU, that here in New York right? I was thrown out of the Army, I went Awol too many times. While I was a night watchman I took a correspondence school courses. I did al right, I just had a little trouble witt that legal stuff. "

Mike flops down in a chair in front of a desk. "Ok miss Lizzy, where be them papers on this here DE'bone fella?"

 

[heartofcourage]

Elizabeth clenched her teeth at the nickname that she detested. She sighed as Mike started pouring it on thick for Danny and she simply moved past the two men into her office. She left the door open for Mike to follow her as she opened the filing cabinet behind her desk and started pulling out the files that she had on the Leone case.

“Knock it off.” She said as he sat in the chair in front of her desk, lounging in it like he owned the place.

“Take your pick. There’s a little in each file.” She said as she placed three large file folders in front of him before she moved back into the main office to get a cup of coffee.