Chapter 7

For the sake of avoiding any unnecessary entanglements with Joey accompanying her to the police station, she left him behind while she handled this on her own. With Joey's criminal record and history with the department, the last thing she needed was for them to receive any unwanted attention or harassment.

As for Layne, the only charge formally tied to her record was an old misdemeanor of public lewdness after a night of drunken debauchery on her twenty-first birthday. It resulted in a slap on the wrist and a wink in her father's direction.

When she arrived at the 1st Precinct of the NYPD, there was a lot of foot traffic outside the primary entrance. A podium was set up and surrounding it were several officers in their blues, various media outlets with cameras and recorders, and what could only be assumed to be assistants, civilians, and other interested parties.

A woman with short ashy blonde hair that was a little too long to be considered a pixie cut, was standing at the podium. From the appearance of her dress blues decorated with extra stars and service stripes, it was the Chief of Department of the NYPD.

The woman's voice carried a warm yet commanding tone. "Spearheading this new initiative, it is my honor to introduce you to New York's newly appointed Police Commissioner, Vincent Saito."

There was a round of applause from the surrounding crowd as a man in his late forties approached the podium in a navy suit, paired with an unoriginal white collared shirt underneath. His shiny black hair was just long enough to comb over to an off-center part. From the slight slant of his eyes and his skin tone, it appeared that he had a mix of both Asian and Caucasian heritages.

Everything about him was clean-cut and nearly too squeaky clean to be any sort of appointed official. This guy looked like he spent weekends coaching his kid's soccer team, feeding the homeless, and honing his golf skills on a country club green.

He shook hands with the Chief, gave a sparkling smile to the people, and if there had been a baby present, he probably would have kissed it, too.

Stepping up onto the curb towards the back of the crowd, Layne paused and began to watch whatever bullshit this guy was about to spoon-feed everyone.

Commissioner Saito repositioned the microphone in front of him before resting his hands on the edges of the podium. "Thank you, Chief Graham. It is with great pleasure that I would like to announce this city's greatest step towards cracking down on organized crime. With increased funding from an anonymous donor and partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, I am proud to announce the Unwind and Un-organize Initiative."

Layne raised a brow as she crossed her arms in front of her, her interest piqued. Every new commissioner that was appointed always rolled in with vows to do things differently. Each one of them ultimately just made a show out of their empty promises.

She listened intently to the man speaking to the masses about how he was going to crack down on organized crime in Manhattan. It was mostly the same shit she had heard before from law enforcement: more training, zero tolerance, and supposed accountability.

After the rundown of specifics on this new plan that was going to be implemented across the city over the next twelve months, Commissioner Saito began to take questions from overeager journalists.

One woman raised her hand high trying to capture the attention to be called on. When the Commissioner pointed at her, she gave a hopeful look and an excited smile. "Commissioner, as we all know, there is a concern about officers being swayed to look the other way and investigations being swept under the rug. Criminal behavior doesn't just stop at the front door of the NYPD. How are you proposing to put an end to that?"

To his credit, the new guy on the block took a moment to look thoughtful before selecting a response from a likely preplanned list of answers. "We hold all our officers and detectives to a high standard of integrity. If there is any reason to believe that integrity has been compromised, I will personally ensure that those involved will be harshly reprimanded." Yup, same old bullshit.

It would take time for any of this to get past all the red tape and bureaucracy, but Layne added the mental note to keep an eye out for any potential headaches this could all bring. It wasn't just a worry for her but for all the rampant and corrupt underground criminal factions.

Deciding she had enough of listening to all the political grandstanding, she walked around the sea of people until she squeezed by enough to get into the main entrance of the precinct.

Once inside, she went through the mundane and drawn-out process of trying to get information from the clerk sitting at the front desk. After having to repeat Liam's name nearly three times, present her identification twice, and be given the stink eye, she was finally escorted back to the holding area.

Despite Layne having triple-checked she had removed anything that could be construed as a weapon from her body before arriving, a small pang of paranoia nagged at her after she went through the metal detector. Fortunately, the machine remained silent and the officer guided her to a cell that held several men, one of whom was her disheveled-looking brother.

From the state of his hair, he must have been tugging at it and leaving it sticking out in every direction. He was in a pair of jeans and a loose-fitted tee, all of which had seen better days. Clearly displayed across his face was the stress of his situation.

"You have five minutes," the officer warned her, but when she looked at the man's hands, he subtly flashed his five fingers twice indicating she had ten minutes. Corrupt cops were one of her favorite assets during times like these. Layne nodded in acknowledgment before stepping up to the bars keeping Liam from being a free man.

The second he saw her, he stood up from the small bench and quickly approached. His hands each wrapped around a bar as he looked relieved to see her. "Layne, finally, you made it."

She stared at him, and while her face may have appeared emotionless, she was anything but. Layne wanted to tear him a new asshole for the stupidity of getting himself locked up.

Beginning to pitch his story, he blurted out the start of his excuse. "This is all a big fuckin' mistake."

Layne shook her head in disappointment. "Shut up, Liam. I don't want to hear another word from you until I'm done saying what I came down here to say."

Liam's hands tightened up on the bars in front of him while his lips were tightly pressed together in a strained effort to keep his words to himself.

"You know what some of the charges they have pending against you are? Assault of a police officer, driving under the influence, possession of a deadly weapon, resisting arrest. Oh, and the real cherry on fucking top? Bribery. Were you just trying to see what they could throw at you?" The second he opened his mouth, she lifted a finger to indicate she wasn't done speaking yet.

"Since you're unlikely to get out of here on a Desk Appearance Ticket, let me put this clearly for you so there is no mistaking what I will and won't be doing. I will not be posting bail for you. You can go to your arraignment and pray that the judge forgot his anti-senile pills that day. I will make sure that you don't have the dumbest fucking attorney show up to represent you." She stared at him without any hint of jest in her expression.

He gave a shake of the bars in his grasp before hitting one with the side of his fist. "Fuck you, Layne! You know damn well that Dad would have already gotten me the hell out of here."

Her eyes widened in disbelief before she scoffed. "Oh, really? What good would that do you, hm? You'd just turn around and do it all over again. Dad knew he fucked up with you. That's why things are the way they are right now, with me once again cleaning up your fuck ups. Only this time, you're not getting back the chance to sabotage it all again." Sometimes the best truth was the harsh truth.

The anger in his voice rose as he glared at her from within his cage. "You need to bail me out! It's my damn money, too." He clenched his teeth so hard she hoped his face got stuck like that or he cracked a tooth, preferably both.

Remaining the calmest she felt in years in dealing with her brother's bullshit, she shook her head again at him. "No, it's not. You spent every last dime on pieces of ass and who knows what else. We nearly lost everything! Everything, Liam. As far as I'm concerned, you don't have a penny to your name until I say you have earned it. If this is the lesson you need to learn to get your ass to that point, so be it."

Her feet brought her a step back from the cell, maintaining eye contact with Liam as he seethed at her with a deep-seated sense of loathing and hatred at that moment. She didn't care if he never spoke to her again after this, she was tired of his messes and inability to take responsibility for himself.

"I will let Walt Elkins know you will need representation at your hearing. It's the best you're going to get from me." Walt was the latest addition to Layne's growing team of assets. He was an expensive lawyer to keep on retainer, but his track record was noteworthy. Enough so that she felt confident that Liam wouldn't get raked over the coals, even if he did deserve it.

She let out a tired sigh. "When you do get out, come find me. If you want any part of this business, this bullshit has to stop."

Layne turned on her heel and walked back down towards the end of the hall where an officer opened up a door that led out of the holding area. The echoes of her brother's voice reverberated off the walls and into her ears.

Liam yanked on the unyielding bars again, this time with explosive frustration. "Bitch! I hope you fucking get eaten alive out there! You won't make it a month in this business without me! The others will never give you any more respect than they would a damn whore!"

When he noticed that his outburst wasn't capturing Layne's attention, he unleashed a raw yell. "Fine! Go! Go fuck that freak but he's only with you for the money and power! He will be nothing but a goddamn cum stain on our name, just wait and see!"

She paused at the doorway, her back to Liam as he hurled those last vile words. Layne gave a hard swallow trying her best to deflect the pain of the verbal attacks. One would have thought she had learned to ignore her brother's wielding of words as weapons by now.

In a perfect world, she had always hoped that with enough time, maturity, and healing, he would find his way to being a better person. She didn't expect anyone who worked in the realm of underground violence and crime to be a saint, but she did expect more from someone she shared a bloodline with. Maybe it was a lot to hope for, but a small piece of her had tried to hold onto that optimism for as long as she could.

With every bit of self-control she had left, she locked her jaw shut to prevent spewing forth her thoughts which were not meant for public ears. Especially not when she found herself in the middle of a police station.

She glanced over at the officer waiting for her to leave through the open door. Steadying her voice to hide how shaken she felt inside, she nodded at the man, "Thanks."

Layne left the holding area, left her brother, and had to tell herself that this all would pay off in the long run. A girl could dream, right?