Battle for the Power

Chapter 17: Fake Information

In the two months, I was absent from my work no one in the mafia found any leads on who killed Zane. I've been working for two weeks on it, starting with nothing. I've claimed my own room with whiteboards and tables all around it. Over the two weeks, they've gotten scattered with anything and everything I could find. Pictures from video surveillance that night led to only the back of the killers' heads; no faces were to be seen. 

After the first week went by I wondered how the Rivers family knew that Zane was alive. They had a file, but how did they get the information from within the Russ mafia. That whole week I gathered as much as I could and it didn't make much sense. I scheduled a meeting with Benny Rivers, the weaker brother, to try and get information. When I told Tom he got worried and told me that I shouldn't take meetings so soon. I told him I have found more in a week on the case then the two months him and his men tried to work it out. He went speechless and didn't stop me. This afternoon is the meeting, I wonder what information I can get. 

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         "Benny, how have you been?" "Very well, how was your recovery?" "It was a relaxing break, but I'm back to work now, as you can see." "Yeah, about that, why exactly am I here?" "Well I assume you have heard, Zane died and we are looking for his killer. I brought you here to try and comprehend how and where you got the information about my brother being alive." He gulped and looked down to his feet. "All I did was deliver the information." 

"Benny, I find that hard to believe, when I was looking into your family's time frame and the time in the file you gave, it doesn't match up. You said in the file that your father Flynn gained the information himself the last week of May. I assume you know that your father was in the hospital from the second week of May to the second week in June, a whole month in the hospital." 

He gulped again. "Okay, he was in the hospital during that time, my brother and I got a package in the mail with that file and a letter telling us to give it to you or our Father would die." I looked at him with pure anger. "I trusted you and your family, Benny. You did what you had to do to protect yours, resulting in ruining mine. If you take anything away from this meeting is you never screw with me or the people I care about. In this business, you can only trust so many people, and eventually, those you trust get killed or stab you in the back and then throw a bomb in your face." You stood up from behind the desk and walked over to the door opening it. 

"You just stabbed me in the back and threw a bomb in my face, I suggest you leave. I expect you to give me any and all information you can give me as soon as you can, or be expecting some rather unpleasant company in a few days. Tell your father I hope he is doing well." You smiled sweetly and evilly. "Okay I will have the information ready, should I come by again?" He asked nervously. "No, I think I will have Tom retrieve it from you." He gulped nervously and scurried out the doorway. 

You walk back around the desk and pull your phone and place it in your pocket. You walk out of the room closing the door behind you. Walking down the long hallway you make your way to Tom's office. When you walk in he was typing along on his computer.

"Hey, how did the meeting go?" He asked with concern. "Um, as good as it could go with all things considered." "You look upset, what happened?" "No shit I'm upset. My best friend is dead, I spent the last two months in the hospital, where no one found anything on his murder, but miraculously when I come back to work for two weeks I find quite a bit." You shouted. 

"Still don't know what happened." "I found out that they were mailed the information and threatened to give it to us." "Oh, that sure does sound like something the Russ son would do, to initiate the rise of their mafia again." "Yeah, it does. I'm starting to feel that going after Carson without second-guessing the information they gave us was a bad idea." "At least you now have your brother back." "Haven't really seen him much." 

Hesitantly he mumbled, "Yeah, he's been avoiding you. He blames himself for what happened to Zane, and how it is affecting you. He feels awful, to the point while you were in the hospital he almost ran away back into hiding. We have in full supervision twenty-four/seven." "Wow, why didn't you tell me?" "I was going to sooner, but he asked me not to." "Oh." You said looking at your feet. 

"It's getting late you should go to bed." "Yeah I would, but there's no point." "Why?" he asked concerned. "Remeber the nightmares I got when in the hospital? They kinda came back a couple of days ago." "You should have told me sooner." "Why?" He looked you in the eyes and took your hands into his, "Because I care about you and I love you. Now I don't care if you refuse or not but you are moving into my room. I will protect you, if you start to have a nightmare then I will wake you up." Your cheeks went a shade pinker and you hugged him, "I love you too."