“You can’t just leave him there!” I screamed in the backseat. I turned around as far as I could looking out the back window. We were a half a block away and I could see Charlie starting to squirm himself awake. I wish I could have done more than just sit there like a kidnapped child. The handcuffs… I looked down my metal bracelets.

“Charlie’s a big boy, he’ll be fine.” Sean Wayne smugly replied. “He’s tough you know he was a Marine.”

That was supposed to make me feel better asshole, I thought to myself. I tightened the chain by pulling my hands apart as far as I could. I should take the chain and wrap it around his neck and choke him the fuck out. It wouldn’t take long but it would make an actual murderer and that’s the last damn thing I needed. “Where in the hell are you taking me?” I asked firmly.

“Somewhere, where we can talk. Away from the Syndicate…” He replied. Was that even possible? I asked myself.

“How did you even find me?” I sounded more pissed than scared.

Sean laughed aloud and for a few seconds before replying, “It wasn’t hard to find you at all… I’ve been tracking you ever since I got out of the pen and man do you leave a mess. All I had to do was follow the line of random ass explosions. So do you like the way the Syndicate tries to take people out?” He pulled into a Motel 6 thirty minutes outside the city. He got out of the car, paid for a room and got back in the car within five minutes. I thought about running out but the damn child lock was on and by the time I climbed to the front seat, he would have caught me. No one was around nor outside. Sean parked right in front of room sixteen. Again, he hopped out of the car but this time before opening my door, he looked around then pulled out his gun. As he opened the door I starred into the barrel of gun irritated this was happening to me. “I would just ask you to get out but I know you’re not going to so…” He waved the gun pointing towards the door indicating for me to get out.

He yanked my arm towards him and walked me to the door. Once inside he gently guided me inside then quickly closed it behind him. He looked outside through the curtains then closed them shut too. The room smelled like shit… stale cigarette smoke engulfed everything in the room. There was old gun stuck in several places on the floor and bed had visual stains. Gross… “So, this is where you get your revenge? In a motel? Classy…”

Sean huffed while shaking his head, “No quite the opposite actually. I just saved your life.”

“You weren’t the one who took out Victor from the rooftop next door and shot the RPGs?” I was confused. Everything happened so damn fast. In a timespan of only a few hours. One minute I’m waking up from loud noises to getting blown off my fire escape staircase into a pile of trash bags. To ending up with this fucker…

“Nope.” He casually replied. “But when I got out, I had to disappear myself. The only way I was going to get close to you was to be unseen. That bastard Bernard thought I was going to be on my knees for him for letting me out. I disappeared into the shadows ” Sean walked with a limp on his right leg. I watched him walk to one end of the room back to the window.

“I don’t understand. I’m the one who put you in prison for the last five to six years and you don’t want your revenge? Then why do all of this? How are you saving my life? I tried and obviously failed to destroy yours.” I asked as I plopped down on the corner of the springy bed.

Sean took his hand and combed his light brown hair back. There was a huge scar on his forehead right above his left eyebrow. His hair covered well until he pulled it back. He exhaled deeply before replying, “I’m not mad at you… You were just following the bread crumbs Consuelo and Bernard laid out for you. The Syndicate used you to frame me for your father’s death. It’s time you know the real truth about why all of this is happening and it’s not over three hundred million. I know this shit sounds fucking crazy coming from me but you have to understand that now I have a chance to finally finish what Douglas, your dad and I started before shit hit the fan. The only thing I require is for you to trust me… If I wanted you dead, I would have killed you days ago.” I stared at this man trying to separate emotions from facts. I stared into his dark brown eyes wondering what the hell was he about to tell me. I wasn’t going to lie, it intrigued me that he was so eager to me why he saved my life.

I nodded agreeing to what he said of me, “Go on, I’m listening… How did you get framed?” I needed him to think I trusted him. I didn’t feel threatened as much anymore but the whole situation still seemed weird.

I watched him limp over to the dresser and grab the remote to the TV. He turned it on and turned up the volume. He was acting so paranoid that it made me nervous. All I kept reminding myself to do was to stay calm, who the fuck knows what could happen. He walked back over and sat down in the raggedy black cushioned chair that was tucked under a small two person table. “Well, for starters, I’m not the one who murdered your father… but I can tell you who did. Before I get there let me start from the top… The Freeside Police Department originally made the Syndicate to keep the gang families on leashes. Originally, the treaty was meant to give them a playground to operate in. The plan was to monitor and control how they conducted their businesses instead of fighting them all the time. Tax them for their activities and make sure they didn’t operate around neighborhoods or schools. We literally made our own Red-Light District, you know that. The violence was getting so bad that the treaty almost felt like can’t beat them join them type deal, but it worked. At first, things started to get better but the corruption within the police department made the lines blurry. The plan backfired in our faces and now you can’t tell who are the good guys and who are the bad.” Sean reached for his pack of cigarettes. He pulled out one with his lips and then offered me one.

I nodded my head saying, “No thanks.”

Sean shrugged his shoulders and continued with his story, “Well none of this would have worked out without your dad, Derek stepping in. He knew a lot of the gang members because he grew up with all of them. The leaders of the BK5 Joseph James, most of the Latin Folks which was ran by the Consuelo family plus the families in China town. Derek was the glue to making the Syndicate work, which is why he had a seat at their table. I started to think the reason he wanted the Syndicate was so he wouldn’t have to keep arresting his childhood friends. He was bound by his professional and duty to follow the law and they were bound by the streets and its law.”

I was listening to everything Sean was saying, trying to piece together the story. Everything he was saying just clarified what Jason had told me. The origin story at least. I don’t think he knows it was my father who started the whole thing. The accounts being in my dad’s name and he was apart in stealing from the Syndicate, which led to my question, “Why did you, Douglas and my dad steal the three million? What led to that?”

He smirked before replying, “I was getting there… After a few years had gone by, Derek and I started noticing the major differences in our police department. So much so that your father started to hate what he had created. He said we didn’t fix the situation we just added on to the problem. Too many police officers in Freeside were starting to take the law into their own hands and that’s not how it was suppose to work. So, one day your father and I came up with a fail safe for destroying the Syndicate. When we approached Douglas with our ‘fail safe’, it was easy to recruit him. Douglas hated Consuelo and any way he could fuck with him was a good idea to Douglas. He was looking for a way out from underneath Consuelo and his control. He never wanted to use his businesses for laundering the money, even though his was their accountant. Stealing the Syndicate’s money little bits at a time allowed us to invest it into an underground program that would triple what we invested. Douglas came up with the idea to cipher to the money from the fake offshore accounts associated with the police officers. Skimming a little from here and a little from there no one really could notice how much we had taken.”

“A war started over the three hundred million you stole. Now all the gang families don’t care who gets in their way to find it. Some of them are at each other’s throats while the rest are willing to blow everything up trying to kill me. I got thrown in the middle because of what you all did! I lost everything… My business, my reputation, and now my home. Some fucking fail safe!” I interrupted. It was blowing my mind how Sean was just casually talking about how they started this shit storm.

“You lost everything? I walk around with a limp because ex police officers as prisoners don’t mix. The first thing I did once I got out was to find you so WE can finish this. Ally the fail safe can still work. I know Bernard helped me find the technicality that released me so I can help him find the missing money but what they don’t understand is they’re never going to find it. The money Douglas invested for us was about three million when we started. By the time your dad passed the amount rose and tripled to about one hundred million. Those Syndicate idiots just realized what all had been laundered when Douglas died but the real amount that is sitting waiting for us to access is around 1.3 billion.”

I stood up off the small full size bed, “What?! And Consuelo doesn’t know about this yet? I don’t understand how the stolen money is the fail safe that can take down the Syndicate. How does this relate to my father’s murder?”

Sean slowly shook his head, “He does now! Consuelo was never trying to kill you, he wants to recruit you. He knows we are the key to accessing the accounts Douglas created we only have the permission to open it. There’s a trick to accessing the money and I think Consuelo finally caught on to it. There’s only four of us that has access. We thought this whole time there was only the three of us that had the access. Derek secretly put on you down as a backup two days before he died.” He got up and looked out the curtains again. Instead of sitting down he walked to the small refrigerator and grabbed two beers. He handed me one then sat back down. “Are you hungry? I can order us some food. I’m starving.”

“I could use something to eat… How long do you plan on keeping me here?” I asked.

“Until I know you’re off the radar. Honestly, I’m testing something. You’ll know what I mean when it happens.” Sean pulled out a menu to Chinese food that was near by. I didn’t even realize that the time was almost noon. He ordered us both of us some food before returning to his seat. “Now back to what I was telling you… The fail safe was to gather up enough money to not only get the evidence against the organization but to buy back to businesses under the Syndicate’s control. We were going to pull the plug on the Syndicate. End it all once and for all by getting everyone involved arrested. Douglas figured out a way to multiple the money and keep it hidden. Your father was going to take the organization to the FBI. The day before we were ready to pull that plug your mother was murdered. I don’t know how much you know about what really happened but that’s what drove your father over the top.”

I was about finished with my beer when I sat the can down, “He told me that she died in a fire at her job when she was leaving. Now you’re telling me that’s not true either? And don’t forget you said you know who killed my father. I’ve been waiting for you to get that part.” I huffed from being a bit buzzed on a empty stomach.

“Your mother’s death is what led to your father’s death.” There was a knock at the door and it was the Chinese food. Sean paid for the lunch then quickly closed the door. “Your mother worked at a laundry factory where they cleaned and pressed clothes. She loved by everyone and like a big sister to most of the younger girls that worked there. One of the young girls had this boyfriend who was not so nice and loving towards her. The eye witnesses told the police your mom noticed one night she was missing from the usual carpool group and decided to go back inside the factory to look for her. No one knew at the time the girl and this boyfriend were having a fight inside near the machinery. The driver mentioned hearing someone scream before the building went up into flames. Just before the building caught fire the carpool group saw the boyfriend running out the side door by himself. The reports said your mom and the girl died from blunt force trauma to the head, meaning they were hit with something hard. The fire didn’t kill them it was just to cover up what the boyfriend had did. After the investigation, CSI discovered a zippo by one of the gas lines that powered the machines. That’s why the building went up so fast…”

“Ok wait… I still don’t understand why kidnap me to tell me all of this?” I ate up everything Sean said… still reluctant and upset he was sitting right in front of me. Why would my dad tell me a different story? A small ball started to form in my throat as my eyes filled with tears. Hearing the truth about how some young stupid punk struck my mother to cover up what he had done. To save his own ass… My stomach started to feel tight. I wanted to puke from my brain being scrambled around so much. I having trouble processing it all. I tried hard to refocus on what Sean was saying as he finished explaining what really happened to my mother.

He looked down at the floor then said, “Because little Alice, I don’t want you to end up like your parents did. You deserve to know the truth so let me tell what you need to know… I know how crazy this sounds but at least knowing the truth will help you decided which rabbit hole you want to jump through. I’m hoping you’ll make the right choice on your own.” I nodded then coughed in my fist. Sean wasn’t a threat to me he was a threat to the Syndicate. “So, after piecing together the eye witness clues and the evidence we found, we discovered the girl’s boyfriend was the son of the notorious leader to the Irish Mafia. He was the son William Murphy.”

My jaw dropped when I heard the name, “You mean the Willie Murphy? It makes sense someone like him would hold a seat at the table in the Syndicate. He’s single handedly responsible for everyone in the city having a gun at home. Whether it’s legal or not. He’s family business are the main firearm suppliers on this side of the country.”

Sean didn’t blink an eye instead he slowly nodded and said, “Yes, I know… Which made his asshole of a son untouchable. Finding that out really put everything into prospective for us, the police, and working with the Syndicate. Derek lost his mind rightfully so when he heard the news to who had murdered his wife and that young girl. He went to Consuelo and demanded justice. He demanded the Murphy boy to be turned into the police. That the boy broke the Red Treaty by committing a crime that wasn’t covered plus he murdered a police officer’s wife. Instead of following the rules however, Consuelo decided to turn his back on the treaty and defend Murphy’s son. The boy got off on a technicality just like me and only served three months in probation for two counts of murder and arson to a private business.” Sean stuffed the last piece of egg roll in his mouth and washed it down with the rest of his beer. “Impossible right? Wrong! It helps when your daddy has judges under his belt. The rumor goes Willie Murphy gave a custom designed Desert Eagle to the judge that gave his son the slap on the wrist. The gun cost him fifty thousand dollars.”

“So what happened? My dad didn’t try to go higher up to get this Murphy boy’s charges to stick?”

“He did. Derek tried hard to get the right prosecutor to do their jobs but the Murphy’s family reach was too much. This man had everyone paid off to keep his heir from going to prison. It ate away at your dad for years. He couldn’t think about nothing else besides his revenge until ultimately he decided to go after Consuelo himself, despite the plan to pull the plug on the Syndicate. I tried hard to get him change his mind but nothing worked. I mean, I understood… He lost the love of his life and the mother of his child all to an organization he helped create to keep the peace.”

I was piecing his story together on my own, “Consuelo murdered my father?” Just before Sean answered my question someone busted down the motel room door. Both Sean and I took cover surprised by this person’s dramatic entrance. I looked up and it was Charlie… He pulled a pistol out from his coat, cocked it back then pointed it directly at Sean. Without much time to react, Charlie pulled the trigger shooting Sean in the top of his shoulder making him fall on the other side of the bed. I jumped up and screamed, “No! Charlie no, wait!” I ran to the other side of the bed and pulled Sean into my lap. I held down his shoulder the best I could. “Hold on, I’ll get you to the hospital.”

“Now you know who I was looking for… They’ve always had their eyes on you Ally.”

“Sean hold on please! You didn’t tell me who killed my father! Who killed him? Please!”

Sean looked up at me and coughed a few times. It took him a minute to answer but he softly replied, “Not the Consuelo you’re thinking of… the other one. The one who so called loved and befriended your father the most. The one who you call Godfather…” He held his shoulder moaning in pain.

“You mean Julius Consuelo? Sean stay with me please!” I started to act quickly. I reached in my pocket and pulled out my phone to call 911.

Charlie walked around me and bent over to grab Sean by the collar. “Where can I access the money asshole?”

He coughed in Charlie’s face then laughed as blood splattered from his mouth. He slowly turned his body towards me and grabbed my pant leg. When I looked down he said, “Everything you’ll need is inside your dad’s favorite book…” He coughed again, harder this time. “You and I are the only two who have access to that account. We can still…” Sean passed out before he could finish. The blood oozed from his shoulder like a faucet.

I looked up at Charlie who looked confused I wasn’t happy by the rescue. “What did you do?”

Charlie kicked the bottom of Sean’s foot before saying, “Saving you, what else does it look like?”

For the moment, I was willing to let go of the fact Charlie had a way of tracking me. Charlie or Consuelo… I believed everything Sean had told me. I believed once he found out I had been thrown in middle like he once was, he had to help me. Should I hang on every word? Sean would have explained the story if Charlie hadn’t burst through here like he was the damn police. Now I don’t have a choice but to hear it from the source… Did Julius Consuelo aka Priest and my Godfather murder my dad? Why? I slowly looked up at Charlie and said, “After the ambulance arrives, I need you to take me to Priest Diner…”