They heard the door click shut behind Jenny. Daisy could feel the awkward lull in the conversation but didn't have the energy to figure out what to do about it. She could see Jasper clenching his jaw as if to hold his words back. He shook his head and plopped down into the chair Jenny had just been sitting in. She could see him tapping his thigh as he stared at her.
"Say it," she sighed.
"Now isn't the time for that," Jasper could see the sweat glistening on her forehead. Even from being awake for this long, she was struggling. From his own experience, he knew that Daisy was going through a lot right now. Berating her for her choices was the last thing he wanted to do. What right did he even have to scorn her?
"You need to heal first. Then, we can do whatever is needed from there." If Jasper had his way, Frank Gitano would be buried so deep his mother wouldn't hear him scream. But that was Daisy's choice. " I am having a consultant do a deep dive into your fiancé. Anyone else you want to check on?"
"Trinity Camorra." He nodded and texted the name to Max. Before he could put his phone away, a text came in from his right-hand man.
*You're gonna need to come down and deal with them.*
Evan Hardy could handle almost anything. He had served under his father, the old boss, before Jasper was born. After the boss had died, Evan had taught Jasper everything he had needed to deal with taking over the family. Today, he was as close as family.
He had been set to deal with the two cops that were accepting bribes yesterday. One of the restaurants they run tended to swing into a night club on occasion, but not enough to warrant a change in license. The cops had looked the other way for years until Jasper found out that the cops were availing themselves of some of the amenities of the restaurant for free so that they would continue to look away. Jasper had allowed this until the profits started taking a serious hit. Evan was sent in to investigate the situation. He must have found something else that went against the family code.
"I'll let you get some more rest. Feel free to call Jenny back to help you." Daisy just nodded and closed her eyes as he left the room. It wasn't long before the nurse came to remove her catheter. Walking to the restroom was difficult and the Nurse advised that she should have someone walk with her for the first week in case she fell.
The nurse also helped her clean up a bit and let her know that she should wait to take a shower for a few days until the surgery scars had healed a little. After changing her bandages and giving her another dose of medicine, the nurse left. Daisy waited for the medication to take effect. She wasn't used to narcotics, but the pain from the gunshot wound warranted the giant horse pills. After a while, Misty could feel the pain start to fade away and she was able to close her eyes and get some more sleep.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Jasper left his expensive cars in the garage and took an older non-descript compact car. The part of town he was headed to was rather unsavory and he didn't want anything luxurious to attract attention.
The further he went, the older and more rundown the streets became. Glass windows became plywood shutters and the concrete sidewalks cracked and crumbled in some areas. Graffiti covered the lower walls of the buildings and tents were set up in the alleyways. Here and there, men and women hid in the shadows to offer illicit services.
This was the part of town cops didn't go to unless they had a death wish. Before Jasper had taken over the business, it had been a lot worse. He was doing his best to clean things up, but it took time to convince the destitute that they deserved better.
Jasper pulled up to an abandoned warehouse deep in the heart of the slums. He could see Evan along with a few other men. As he walked up, none of them said a word and just held a door open for him. Evan led the way to a rickety elevator. The fact that the building still had power was a miracle. Jasper walked in and Evan pressed the button to the 8th floor.
"What is the situation?"
"As you already know, these two cops were taking bribes to look the other way. They approached the owners, Lila and Demetri Adams. They have two very young daughters ages 7 and 9." Evan sneered in disgust. "They threatened them."
"Are they safe?" Jasper's jaw clenched.
"They are, but not before those two men.." Evan ran his hand through his hair and growled. "The parents were beaten when they couldn't provide a bonus payment and they assaulted the daughters in front of them."
Jasper's vision flashed red, and rage welled up within his heart. The business was dangerous, but this was just a restaurant. Aside from looking the other way occasionally, the two cops just needed to stay out of the way. The fact that they thought they could do something so atrocious on his turf pissed him off.
"It sounds like the city is going to have a few missing persons cases." Jasper knew that the parents wouldn't be able to get justice for their children since their business was unlawful.
The elevator doors opened, and Jasper and Evan walked into the darkly lit space. Cubicles had been shoved to the sides until a large clearing had been made. A few more men were standing guard over the space. Two men sat tied to chairs in the dark. Their mouths had been taped over to keep them quiet and they had obviously been beaten.
"So, these are them?"
"Harris Summer and Aaron Ashford. Yeah, these are them." Jasper waited for a moment and ripped the tape off Harris' mouth. Blood welled up where the adhesive had ripped up parts of the skin.
"Do you know why you are here?"
"Screw you. You can't do this to us. We're cops!" Jasper could hear the muffled screams of Aaron behind the tape as he pushed and pulled at his restraints. The clang of the chair banging up and down off the floor echoed off the walls. Jasper grabbed Harris' jaw and held it still.
"Cops are supposed to serve the people and uphold the peace." Jasper pulled a knife out of his pocket and clicked it open. "What have you been doing." The man paled and Jasper pushed him away. He walked back to Evan who handed him an envelope. Jasper used the knife to rip open one side and photos spilled out.
"You disgust me." Jasper threw the photos at the two men. "Those are children." During Evan's investigation, he had found out that the two cops were childhood best friends. They went to the police academy together and even had an apartment together. But the reason they stuck together was to hide their twisted actions.
Since they were teens, they had been targeting children from 7-10 years old, grooming them before discarding them. Their favorite hunting ground was the poorest parts of town where crime was rampant, and the law only existed in fairy tales.
Lila and Demetri kids were just two in a long line of victims. Being cops, the families never reported them. Some of them had even disappeared. Jasper felt sick at the thought of their perversion and the damage they had done. Bribes were one thing, but messing with kids in his territory was a death sentence.
"Did you think you were safe? Or did you think that you could blatantly disrespect me?" The men trembled as they started down at the evidence of their misbehavior. Aaron stopped trying to break through the ropes holding him down.
"Spare me! It was all him! He…he.." Harris tried to make himself seem like a victim to the depravity of Aaron. Jasper knew that the more corrupt the man, the more likely it was that they would betray those around them.
"Shut up." Jasper walked over to Aaron and pulled off his tape.
"So, what do you say to your partner trying to put the blame on you?"
"It's total crap. Most of those pictures were taken by him. Please, spare me." Aaron began to cry.
"It's always the pathetic ones who do the worst things. Evan," Jasper called, "I think that we are done here. Untie them and put them in the elevator. We'll take the stairs." Evan and a few men cut the ropes and pulled the struggling men to the elevator. Jasper watched as the doors closed and the lights flickered out. In the elevator shaft, a loud creaking followed by a loud snap could be head.
Jasper and his men began walking down the flights of stairs. They could hear the elevator falling and crashing after the wires had been snapped. Even if the cops survived, this building was due to be demolished tomorrow. In its place, Cobalt Incorporated would be building government assisted housing.