"He's wired up, Tony!"
"Fuck, Mike. Do you mean what I think you mean? This is a friend we're talking about here, you better be real sure!"
Tony looked at the other man, an expression of disgust on his face. He disliked cops on general principal and a crooked cop was even worse, but detective Mike Green was useful. He had a habit. He gambled on anything: the track, cards, ball games; anything where money changed hands. He was currently into Tony for three grand. Not a huge sum of cash from Tony's point of view, but on Mike's salary it was tough to pay it off and Tony was quite happy to offset the cop's debts against information the he could supply. This information, though, had shocked Tony to the core.
It was true that the police department were always trying to find something they could get Tony's crew for and this would not be the first time that one of his men had turned against him and worn a wire - but they were talking about Christopher. The same Christopher that Tony had groomed to one day take over his own position in their crew. He had personally taught him all about the business; how best to collect payments and kick-backs and how to infiltrate and manipulate the unions. He had shown him how to carry a gun so that it was completely concealed and he had shown him how to use it. Mostly, he had shown him how to command respect from the rest of the crew, the other wise-guys. Could Christopher really have turned against him? Could he have turned rat?
Tony thought long and hard before he spoke again. He looked around him. This patch of waste ground was the usual meeting place for him and detective Green. They wouldn't be seen or overheard here.
"I need proof before I act on this," he almost shouted at Green. "There's no way I'm going to do a fucking thing without proof!"
"Go see him now then, Tony. Ask him outright. Trust me, you know I wouldn't bullshit you on something like this!"
Tony nodded silently. His mind was full of thoughts and not pleasant ones. As he slowly walked back to his car he kept thinking of Christopher. Something had to be done. If this information were true, then something definitely had to be done.
"What's up boss?" asked the driver of the car as Tony slipped into the passenger seat.
"I fucking hate cops!"
"We all hate cops, Tony. But y'know, Green's been useful to us over the years. Without his information from the police department we -"
"He said that Christopher's a rat, Ray!" Tony interrupted. Ray looked over at his boss, the same unbelieving expression on his face. "You're shitting me!"
Tony lifted his eyes and looked directly back at his driver. Ray had been a loyal crew member for over ten years and knew Christopher just as well as Tony did. Ray saw his boss's expression and took a deep breath to steady himself.
"Jeez, you're not shitting me, are you? What are we going to do boss?"
"I need to think," said Tony, "I just need a few minutes to think. Take me to Christopher's house."
The drive across town was a quiet one. Ray knew that his boss was trying to rationalize the situation and was not about to break the man's concentration with idle chatter. He knew his boss to be a hard, but fair man and he was glad that it was Tony's decision to make and not his.
"Pull up here." Instructed Tony as they neared their destination. Ray tooled the big car into a parking bay and switched off the engine. He guessed that his boss had a plan.
"Come with me, Ray, we're going to sort this out once and for all!"
The two men exited the car and walked towards the front door of Christopher's house. Tony knocked loudly and waited. He could hear the voices of his one time friend and Christopher's wife, Celia from behind the door.
"Oh, hi Tony. I wasn't expecting you." Said Christopher as he opened the door.
"You going to invite me in?" said tony, smiling broadly, "or we gonna spend all day out here?"
"Shit! Sorry boss, come on in. You want something to drink?" Tony shook his head. As he entered he saw Celia busy in the kitchen. Christopher's wife was considerably younger than he, and a very good looking woman. Before they were married she had quite a reputation with the men. Chris thought that all that had stopped once she had settled down with him, but most of the other guys knew that she had strayed several times and Tony had had occasion to speak to her about her actions in the past. Tony nodded to her as he caught her eye then turned back to Christopher..
"You don't mind if Ray joins us do you?" said Tony, not waiting for an answer before continuing. "We just want to have a chat with you."
"Sure." said Christopher, "lets go into the den."
Christopher was nervous. He had every right to be. There was something in Tony's eyes that worried him. Frightened him. The secret microphone that the police department had provided him with was still taped to his chest under his shirt. He turned as he heard Ray close the door behind him. He suddenly felt very alone.
"You got anything you want to tell me?" said Tony. Christopher looked at the ground silently. It was obvious his boss knew something.
"Open your shirt" demanded Tony. He was almost certain now, but he still wanted proof.
As there was still no movement from Chris, Tony motioned towards Ray. Ray moved towards the figure in the centre of the room and, holding his arms tightly, ripped his shirt down the front. All three men stood in silence as they looked at the obscene shape of the microphone.