Hard Choices, Pt. 4

As Dan followed Randall through town from a safe distance, my mind reeled. I couldn't stop thinking about our conversation.

Did Josh know about Dan's sister? Is that why he was so eager to get us together on this? Or was it just coincidence? No, I don't think so... It's too much for it all to be coincidence. He has to know.

I turned my head to look at Dan as he drove, his fedora seated attractively on his head, his choice in clothing colors complimenting his light brown skin nicely. A muscle twitched along his angular jawline in concentration. His dark brown eyes were focused and fierce, yet... also gentle and kind.

He was such a conundrum.

The man before me now is not the man I met yesterday. This man has a purpose, a calling. A reason to be.

And I do too.

This venture --short as it's been so far-- has done things to me that I never expected. I feel bolder. Braver. More ready to face the unknown. And this man is partly the reason for it.

Sharing this cause, this... mission... has given us both something we didn't have before.

Drive.

I haven't felt this determined since I started my event planning business five years ago. I mean, I still enjoy the work, but... It doesn't fulfill me the way it used to.

Doing this? Chasing a bad guy to get him off the street... This feels good. Really good.

"Do I have something on my face?" Dan's voice snapped me out of my reverie.

I've been staring at him this whole time.

Side eyeing me, he grinned, waiting for my answer.

"No, no, of course not, I..." I blushed fiercely. "I zoned out for a bit, sorry."

He chuckled warmly.

"Don't worry about it."

I nodded and shifted my attention to Randall's car, which was slowing down. His right turn signal started blinking, and I looked over to his destination.

"Why is he going to a cafe all the way on the other side of town? It's not even lunchtime yet."

Dan frowned as he prepared to turn as well.

"I do not know, Maddie, I do not know." He tossed me a small grin, knowing that I noticed his use of Josh's name for me. "But I'm ready to find out."

"Mhm." I scan the cafe's parking lot, looking for anything suspicious. "Do we go in?"

"Certainly not... Here is safest."

"Right, of course." Idiot! You know that! I mentally berated myself. I was such an amateur.

We watched Randall get out of his car, and head for the door, only to be met by a woman about his age. He smiled upon seeing her, and she stood on her tiptoes to kiss him.

They spoke for a minute before he gallantly opened the door to let her enter the cafe in front of him.

"Who's that?" Why does she look so familiar? I wondered.

"That's Randall's wife, Stacy."

That's what it was.

"I've seen her picture in their house."

Dan's head swiveled towards me.

"You've been in Randall's house?" He frowned.

"Well, yes. He hired me to do his wife's birthday party. That's how I knew he was married when Sheri introduced me to him. I already knew him. I haven't actually met the wife though."

"Huh." His brow creased in thought.

"What is it?"

He shook his head slightly, as if debating the importance of it.

"Didn't happen to see anything interesting in there, did you?"

I stopped for a moment to think...

"No... Not that I remember, anyway." I frowned. "Wait a second, there was something."

"Yes?" He prompted, expression hopeful.

"When I was there getting the lowdown on my rules for decorating the place, a guy showed up... A big guy. At the time, I just thought he was a friend, like Randall said. But thinking back on it now... He kinda looked like a..." I shook my head. "No, it's too much of a long shot."

"Nothing's too much of a long shot at this point. A long shot could be just what we need to sink this."

"Well... He looked like he might have been in a gang. I remember feeling really uncomfortable around him. He had tattoos, too. One of them was the number five on his neck in red ink..."

Dan's expression changed. Something I said had startled him. He looked in the direction of the cafe where Randall was sitting, and then back at me, silent and grim.

"Does that... mean something, Dan?" I almost didn't want to know.

"Yes, it does, Maddie. It means that Randall is mixed up with some bad people. Very bad people."

He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, staring at Randall, but I could tell he wasn't really seeing him. He was in another world.

He reached back and retrieved a box from the back seat. Opening it, he got out a camera.

He asked me to hold it while he put the box away. Then he retrieved it from me and started taking photos of Randall and Stacy.

Randall's hand rested familiarly on his wife's over the table, and they were conversing amiably. He leaned in to whisper something in her ear. I could hear the shutter sound as Dan took photos.

After a few minutes of photography, he handed me the camera and spoke.

"Take that to your friend. It's all she needs to see. Trust me, a picture says a thousand words. I tried to zoom in on the wedding rings as best I could." He reached into his jeans pocket and retrieved piece of folded paper and handed it to me. "I dug this up last night. It's a copy of their marriage certificate. I'm sure as soon as your friend sees all this, she'll come to her senses."

He started the car and put it in gear, pulling onto the road and heading back in the direction of the coffee shop we met at.

"That's it? This takes care of Sheri, but what about Randall? He's gonna get out of this scot-free!" I felt my frustration growing at Dan's apparent change of heart.

He was silent for a moment.

"No, Maddison. He won't. I'll make sure of that." He looked me in the eye for a moment before continuing. "But I want you out of this. That man you saw... I'm pretty sure I know who he is. And who he's involved with. I'll take Randall down, I promise you. But I don't want you anywhere near it. If something went wrong, and you got hurt... I'd never be able to look Josh in the eye again." His use of Josh, rather than Joshie did not escape me. "I'd never be able to look myself in the eye again." He added.

I shut my mouth, cutting off my rebuttal for a moment. I considered this. And then decided I didn't care.

"You can't get rid of me. I'm in this now, and there's no changing that. Let me help you. I have as much stock in this as you do."

His jaw clenched and he swerved a little.

"You don't know what you're asking, Maddison. You don't know who you'd be dealing with."

"Then tell me. Tell me everything."

We stopped at a red light. He looked me in the eyes for a long moment.

"You're not gonna back down on this, are you?" He asked.

I shook my head.

"Ok then. I'll tell you everything. And then you have one last chance to back out of this. Which you will. Because there's no way I'm allowing you to come with me."

"Danny boy, you know that if you don't bring me, I'll just have to hide in your trunk so you take me without knowing about it. I'm coming. Get used to it."

He chuckled sardonically.

"We'll talk at my place."

***

He cleared a space for me in his cluttered but clean trailer, and gestured for me to sit, which I did.

Dispensing with any further hospitality, he got right to the point.

"That man you saw... Was he missing his left pinkie finger?"

I tried to reconstruct his image in my mind...

"Yes, I think he was. Why?"

He nodded grimly.

"His name is Enrico De Vicci, and he is a member of a gang called the Bloods." I gasped. "You've heard of them, I see."

I nodded dumbly.

"Then you know that they specialize in armed robberies and drug trafficking. And they're very good at what they do." He sighed.

"I'll be honest, I have no earthly idea how a guy like Randall got mixed up with them. True, he has no morals, but... it just doesn't make sense. This will need to be handled with the utmost caution. One slip-up..."

"And we don't get a redo." I finished for him.

"Exactly. Now are you sure you still wanna be a part of this?"

I considered for a moment before answering... I could just let him do his job, take the evidence to Sheri, and put all this behind me. But... What if I can help? What if me being there makes the difference between life and death? But what if it distracts him? Makes his job harder, ends up being more harm than good?

There was no right answer to my questions. I only knew one thing.

I have to try.

"Yes, Dan. I'm with you until this is done. Stop at nothing, remember?"

He stared at me for a long moment. He nodded slightly.

"Good. Because as much as I want to keep you safe... I am gonna need help." He admitted reluctantly. "I'm a very capable man, but even I need a hand sometimes." He chuckled hesitantly.

This was a rare moment of vulnerability in this otherwise confident man... I liked this side of him too.

"So, what's our next step?"

He grinned, once more the guy who knows it all.

***

Dan slowly pulled the car up to a dilapidated warehouse, scanning our surroundings for danger. Finding none, he came around to the passenger side and opened the door for me.

We cautiously made our way inside, taking care to avoid stepping on all the debris lying around. Tetanus was the last thing either of us needed.

We were here to meet with an old friend of his... An ex con man who has a brother in the Bloods gang. Dan used to use him as an informant back in the day, but they'd been out of contact for years.

"I can only hope he's still here." Dan spoke quietly.

I nodded, and then nearly jumped out of my skin as a strong New York accent cut through the eerie stillness behind us.

"Can only hope who's still here?"

Turning, we saw that the voice belonged to a tall, lean man around Dan's age, wearing a blue Hawaiian shirt that was unbuttoned at the chest, and off-white beach pants that reminded me of Brad Pitt in Ocean's 11.

His shaggy blonde hair fell across his eyes, and reached his ears. His green eyes peeked out at us from underneath his light brown Homburg.

"Danno? Is that you buddy?" He was obviously shocked to see us.

"Hey, hey, Gino! How you been?" Dan walked up to meet him, and the two men exchanged a handshake and brotherly embrace.

"And who's this pretty little thing you've got here, Danno?" His eyes raked me up and down. His gaze was unashamed, but also not directly too rude.

Dan moved back to my side, and placed a protective hand on the small of my back.

"Gino, this is my friend's baby sis, Maddison. Maddie, this is Peter Genoa."

Introductions made, Gino took my hand and placed a kiss on the back of it.

"Please, call me Gino. It is a fine pleasure to meet you, Miss. Welcome to my humble abode." He gestured grandly at the space around us.

"It's nice to meet you as well... Gino." I offered a friendly smile. "Nice digs."

He laughed. "If you really think so, then feel free to stay a while." He winked at me.

Dan laughed heartily.

"Gino, Gino, Gino... you haven't changed one bit, have you? Ever the ladies man."

"Hey, hey... You know I never will, Danno."

Their laughter was infectious... I couldn't help but join in.

Then Gino's expression sobered.

"Now, Danno, you know I always love seeing you, but it's been years since you've darkened my door. What brings you here?" Gino's gaze slid to me.

Dan's hand around my waist tightened a bit.

"We need some information."

"I gathered that. What do you need?"

"We're looking to find out why a man named Randall Bowing is affiliated with the Bloods. And we need enough proof to take to the police."

Gino's eyebrows shot up.

"Bowing, huh?"

Dan nodded.

Gino frowned slightly.

"But what's this 'we' business? I know what your beef with Bowing is, but what does she have to do with it?" He looked over at me. "No offense, Miss."

"None taken." I said. I decided to answer his question before Dan could.

"I'm here because he's pulling something very similar on my best friend that he did on Maria. And I need to stop him in six days." I looked him squarely in the eye. "Can you help us or not?"

Gino narrowed his eyes.

"She's quite the spitfire, ain't she, Danno?"

Dan chuckled. "Oh, you have no idea."

Gino grinned.

"Of course I can help you out. Be back here this time tomorrow afternoon. I'll have your information."

"Thanks Gino," Dan began, placing his free hand on Gino's shoulder. "Really. Thank you. We both truly appreciate it."

Gino nodded to both of us and bade us goodbye.

"Well, that was pretty painless." I mentioned as we got back in the car.

"Yeah, it was. You handled yourself well back there."

"Really?" I asked, not sure if he was just saying that to be nice.

"Really." He replied, looking over at me before backing out of the driveway and getting on the main road.

***

When Dan pulled into the coffee shop parking lot, I hesitated before getting out of the car.

"Thank you," I began, "for letting me a part of this. I needed to feel like I was doing something, and you've granted me that."

He nodded, tucking a stray wisp of hair off my face and behind my ear.

"I know you did. I remember being right where you are. And as much as I wish I can make you stay home... I know you can't do that. If I don't let you come with me, I know you'll go on your own, and I can't let that happen." He offered a lopsided grin. "Besides, work is a lot more fun with you around."

We laughed.

"I should probably get going." I said quietly.

"Yes, you should." He agreed. "I'll see you here again bright and early? Another stakeout is in order after we abandoned our target for half the day today."

I chuckled. "Bright and early."

He came around and opened my door for me.

"Goodnight Maddie." He said after walking me to my car.

I opened the driver's door and got in.

"Goodnight, Dan."

He smiled and closed my door.

He waited until after I pulled out and was on the way home to get back in his own car and do the same.