Chapter Twenty Two

Stephen

I plant a final kiss on my little pea pod and start to rise from the floor.

Stephen - Let’s get showered and dressed, baby. We need to head back to Phil’s and sort this mess out so we can get home to our kids.

Trinity - Okay, daddy.

I extend my hand to help my wife up and we head into the shower to get ready. I wait for Trinity to finish dressing, grateful that she doesn’t take too long.

When she steps out, I can’t help but smile.

Trinity - Why are you smiling, baby?

Stephen - You look stunning, wifey. I was just thinking about how lucky I am.

Trinity - I keep telling you, baby, you don’t give yourself enough credit.

I place my hands on my wife’s hips and turn her to face the mirror.

Stephen - Look right there, baby. Do you see that? That’s heaven to me.

I point at her reflection in the mirror.

Stephen - And the only thing that could make that view better is when our baby starts to show on you.

I rub her belly and plant a kiss on her neck.

Stephen - I love you, doll.

Trinity - I love you too, baby.

Stephen - Let’s get going.

I take my wife’s hand and we head down to the car, starting our drive to Phil’s. About halfway there, I pull into a cozy café so my wife can feed our baby. I’m sure she must be hungry after this morning’s workout.

Trinity - Thanks, baby. I needed that refuel.

Stephen - I knew you would, love.

We get back in the car and arrive at Phil’s not long after.

We get to Phil’s and after greeting Marci, she informs me that Phil is already in the back with the boys, as Sergio arrived back earlier this morning.

Stephen - Let’s go, baby.

She looks at me, surprised.

Trinity - Really?

Stephen - You can stay up here, babe, if you’d prefer? I don’t mind, darling.

Trinity - No, baby, it’s fine. I just thought you’d prefer me to stay up here.

Stephen - Let’s go, babe.

I take her hand and we head outside.

Stephen - Baby, I prefer having you by my side and knowing you’re safe. But to answer your question, I know the boys well and if I don’t take you down to meet them, they’ll just come up and pester you anyway. You saw through it clearer than I did last night, so I want you here. You’ll be a huge help. Most importantly, though, we promised no secrets, full disclosure. So let’s do this, wifey.

The smile she gives me is everything I need right now.

Trinity - Okay, daddy. Let’s do this.

We reach the shed and as I go to open the door, I turn to my wife.

Stephen - Ready?

Trinity - Always with you.

I quickly kiss her hand and open the door. As we step inside, I see her mouth drop in shock at the sheer size of it.

Trinity - Holy shit!

I chuckle to myself.

Stephen - You okay there, momma?

Trinity - I didn’t expect it to be this big.

Stephen - That’s what she said.

I wink at her and she bursts out laughing.

Trinity - You’re bad.

Stephen - You love it. Let’s go find these guys.

Stephen - Phil, Eddie, where are you?

Philippe - Surveillance Room, Stephen. Come on through, son.

I lead Trinity to the surveillance room and, stepping aside, open the door for her. Inside are Phil, Eddie, and Sergio. They all turn to look as I open the door.

Sergio - My boy! Welcome back, son. It’s good to see you.

Stephen - Sergio, how’ve you been?

Sergio - All the better for seeing you, kid. And who is this pretty little thing?

Stephen - This is my wife, Trinity. Trinity, this is Sergio. You know Phil, and that’s Eddie.

Sergio - Get out! Seriously? She’s yours?

We all laugh.

Stephen - Well, I’d say I’m more hers. I know who the real boss is.

Sergio - Good work, young lady. About time someone put him in his place.

Trinity - It’s lovely to meet you all.

Eduardo - Yeah, Phil’s right, son. You’re definitely punching above your weight. Don’t screw it up. You won’t do any better.

I burst out laughing.

Stephen - I have no intention to, Eddie. Don’t worry.

I see my wife blushing at all the attention and pull her into my side.

Stephen - So, I brought this little genius with me today because she may have found the missing link for us last night.

Eduardo - Damn! Not just a pretty face, bonita.

Stephen - Hey, knock that shit off. I’m watching you.

Eduardo - Hahaha, okay, son. Calm down.

Sergio - Shit-stirring prick, Eddie. Hahaha.

Philippe - So, what did you figure out, sweetheart?

I pull out a chair for my wife to sit down and start making her a cup of tea while she fills in the guys.

Trinity - Well, once we got back last night, my husband was bringing me up to speed on everything you found. What struck me as odd was how, in the limited time Chad had been stealing from you, he managed to escape with so much. My concern with this is that when the incident with Mike went down, he expressed to me that they didn’t have enough evidence to pursue any charges. And that’s where the problem lies for me.

Philippe - How so, sweetheart?

Trinity - Chad worked with Stephen for over six years when the incident happened, and Mike had been there for around eighteen months. So, if Chad was able to steal over 500k worth of stock in six weeks here, how could he have not provided a DEA agent with sufficient evidence over a period of eighteen months to lead towards a successful conviction?

Stephen - Also, Mike and Clint regularly went out on drops together. He was fully aware Clint was effectively my second in command, so he had ample opportunity to obtain proof or at least lean on Clint to turn. So, as my wife asked last night, why didn’t he?

Eduardo - So, hang on. Let me get this straight. Mike was DEA, although Mike is no longer a problem as we all know, right?

Stephen - Correct.

Trinity - Yes.

Eduardo - Chad was doing a drop and got caught by the cops who were watching him?

Trinity - Yes. Mike explained this to me on the night of the incident as he was holding me hostage. At the time, he was rambling about ruining the operation.

Eduardo - Right...

Trinity - We all assumed the operation he was referring to was the undercover DEA sting once we found out who he was.

Sergio - Of course, makes sense.

Trinity - However, even though the police have tried to actively investigate and arrested both Stephen and me, charging us with his death unsuccessfully, they have yet to make any arrest or mention of the “operation,” so to speak. Which got me wondering why.

Stephen - Especially considering I have video proof that Chad did hand off stock to Mike. Clint and I caught them in the middle of an exchange in one instance and following that went back and reviewed the surveillance you told us to set up, Phil.

Trinity - So, I asked my husband, how could they not have any evidence?

Eduardo - That's a good question, bonita. What did you come up with?

Trinity - What if the DEA never got that stock from Mike? Could that be why they can't move forward? And was there another operation Mike was talking about that got ruined that night, not the undercover sting?

Philippe - Like a side hustle, stealing from your boss to sell for your own profit, for instance?

Stephen - Exactly.

Sergio - That's smart, sweetheart. Are you sure you don't want a job?

I can't help but smile at my wife. Damn, she's good.

Trinity - This one keeps me busy enough.

She says, pointing at me.

Eduardo - So, what's the next step? How do we confirm this?

Sergio - I go back out and do what I do best.

Stephen - Tracking.

Sergio - Exactly. Now that we have a lead on why and where he might be in the UK, I think it's time for me to pay Ireland a little visit.

Trinity - And what do we do in the meantime?

Eduardo - You can come and help papi here, bonita.

He winks at my wife and I burst out laughing.

Stephen - And here I thought Paolo was the one to watch out for.

Philippe - How close have the cops actually gotten, son?

Trinity - Actually, sweetheart, that's what you forgot. Remember when we were talking, we wanted to look more into Mike's background.

Stephen - Thanks, baby. That's why I brought you. I had completely forgotten about that.

I grab my wife's hand and pull her up as I sit down, guiding her to sit back down on my lap.

Stephen - Detective Peters has been coming at us hard. He and the DA have been trying to pin the murder on us.

Eduardo - No body, no murder, filho da puta.

Stephen - Which Benji has been successfully arguing so far. However, the cops messed up with Trinity's case.

Philippe - How so?

Stephen - They arrested my wife on a warrant for the murder of Mike Suarez.

Sergio - And that's the undercover agent, right?

Stephen - Correct. Only they formally charged her for the murder of Daniel Rodriguez.

Eduardo - Hahaha, amateurs.

Philippe - Sounds like you don't need to worry about this detective too much. Benji should be able to outsmart him.

Sergio - And I'm guessing Daniel is the real name?

Stephen - Correct, and Mike is the undercover name. They messed up the paperwork on my case by charging me for the murder of an ex-employee of mine, Daniel Rodriguez, when clearly my records show no one by that name ever worked for me. Nor do I know anyone by that name.

Eduardo - Hahaha.

Stephen - And Benji asked the same question you did, Eddie. Where's the body and the forensic report if he was murdered?

Philippe - So, what do you need from us, son?

Stephen - I need a background check on this agent. Mike Suarez is his undercover name and his real name is Daniel Rodriguez. If Detective Dumbshit wants to keep coming at me, and especially my wife, I want to be prepared.

Eduardo - Okay, son. Give me until tomorrow.

Stephen - Thanks, Eddie.

Philippe - Go spend some time with your wife. We can all meet back here tomorrow at five o'clock. We'll give you what we found, then have dinner before you both head back.

Stephen - See you then, boys. Thank you.

Eduardo - You're too pretty for prison anyway, boy.

Everyone bursts out laughing.