It's Not Over

Chapter 3

Nick's POV

"A sniper?"
We walked into the into the house after having to deal with the questions from the earlier events.
"And you never thought of mentioning that?"
"I told you he had buddies connected to everyone and everything. Quite frankly Darren was the least of my worries."
"Than who are you worried about?"
"Jeff's brother."
"He has a brother?"
"Step brother, they were really close and he is involved with some bad people."
"Bad people?"
"He's a big time drug smuggler. He's known for his excessive revenge plots. He's turned on his own guys before, strung them up to pole and burned them both alive while their families watched."
I took a deep breath.
"We have to tell Liv"
"And do what? This guy, he's untouchable."
"Yeah we'll see about that."

"Marcello Ramera. How did we not catch this earlier he's like the biggest, baddest smuggler out."
We were at the precinct looking for any sign of the whereabouts of this guy. We'd come up with nothing.
"Amanda why didn't you mention any of this?" Liv asked.
"The same reason you shouldn't mention it to anyone. This guy, he's bad news."
"Okay but what's with the sniper guy? What's he got to do with this?"
"Darren needed money, his wife left him he had nothing. Marcello saw a man with tons of weapon training and took the opportunity."
"So Marcello is the mastermind behind this?" I asked trying to get a full understanding.
"Yeah. Marcello is out for vengeance" she looked at me "and he's not gonna stop till he gets it."

"You alright?" I asked her for the seventh time.
"Yeah I'm fine" was her respond.
Amanda hadn't been acting right since the incident at the park.
"No you're not. You've barely slept in three days and when you do you wake up screaming. It's about Marcello isn't it."
"No" she said to my surprise. "Not directly"
"What do you mean?"
I sat next to her on the sofa placing my glass of water on the coffee table.
"I've been bothered by everything for a long time, now Marcello is thrown into the equation."
"Amanda what's been bothering you?"
"Nothing, just never mind."
She got up and began walking away.
"It's not nothing Amanda"
She flinched at the sound of my voice.
"You can't bottle everything up" I said with a softer tone.
She was crying when she turned around.
"I can still hear his voice" she said "I can hear him telling me what to do, when to do it. He's gone, but I still feel like" she paused.
"He's controlling you" I finished what she began.
She nodded and wiped a tear off her cheek.
"I used to believe I was an independent, strong woman who could take care of everything herself. Now, now I sometimes question my value, if I have any. Maybe Jeff was right about me.
"Amanda" I began.
"I need to take a shower."
She walked away before I could say anything.

I got up early and met Olivia at the precinct long before anyone was there.
"He did it Liv" I said.
"What?"
"He destroyed her. Everything she was, everything she believed in, he took it from her."
I told her everything Amanda had said to me. She wanted to try to find something to hold onto, but I was right. Jeff had done what he set out for. He had brainwashed her so bad, she wasn't the lively, bold detective we had all come to know. Fin walked in as we sat in silence.
"What's up?" He asked.
"It's Amanda" Liv said. "She's not doing well."
"What'd you mean by that?"
Liv told him what I told her.
"I need to talk to her" Liv said.
"I tried to." I told her.
"Well I haven't"

"Come on"
"Where are we going?"
"The precinct, Liv wants to talk to you."
"What'd I do this time?"
I stopped and looked back at her.
"Nothing."
We got in the car and drove to the precinct.

Amanda's POV

"Have a seat"
I abided by Liv's command.
"Amanda, I know Jeff told you stuff about yourself, me. Look, I just want you to know he's a liar. Don't believe anything he told you."
I looked down. Dammit I knew she was gonna bring this up.
"He was right, about a lot of things."
"Like what?"
I got up and began toward the door.
"Nothing, doesn't matter"
"Yes it does. Amanda!"
I stopped in the doorway.
"Why do you care?"
I walked out.
"Amanda" she called after me.
"I'll get her" I heard Nick say, but I didn't stop walking.