The Spread of Corruption (Tatcon x Rogue)

[Tatcon Valdez]

New morning, same office, new partner. He hated change. It always made his life that much more difficult to deal with. He had a system. It was meticulous. It was exact and it was watertight. Every time his partner changed it was always a new challenge to try and maintain the peace and comfort he had etched for himself in this place. Oh well, time will tell.

Drawing in a deep breath Corporal Jordan Vega stood up and walked over to the coffee machine, adjusting his belt around his waist to deal with the movement of sitting and standing and walking...ugh, it was such an effort sometimes. Unlike most at his rank, Vega had made a point of maintaining his physical health. He was known as the "Senior-Ranking Gangsta catcha." Everyone ignored the intense grey eyes that were usually behind sunglasses when outside, the secrets hidden behind them...and the fancy titanium watch around his wrist. Small details which painted a bigger picture. In reality it didn't matter much to the force, Vega caught big fish, completed cases and ran a good ship. On the surface, he was idylic.

Slowly pouring the cream and sugar in to his coffee he sighed. He was intentionally wasting time before going out and actually getting to work, lazily running a broad hand through his short salt and peppered coloured hair. He had gone grey a little earlier than most...maybe his history held the secret, but that was his own for the moment, assuming his new partner wasn't too nosey...whoever she was.

 

[Tatcon Valdez]

He would be slow to saunter back in to his office, and despite the attractiveness of his apparent new partner, he didn't get too caught up in the sensation. Instead, he simply gave a small sigh and stepped in to he room. "Officer Bailey, I pressume?" He asked, and despite his last name, a rather obvious Polish accent snuck through on his words, as he extended a hand towards her as he came to stand beside his desk. "Corporal Vega." He continued, waiting for her to either accept his hand or not, before sitting down at his desk. Once there he straightened the black, long sleeved dress shirt so it was in it's proper place, and then he looked back over to her.

"Might as well get to know you before we go anywhere. Where did you come from, what did you do, who are you as a person. I don't trust the reports as far as I can throw them." He said plainly, throwing her file on the desk before crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back in the chair. One had to commend him on his willpower; the whole time he was looking at her his eyes never drifted from her eyes. Actually, one might consider the constant eye contact slightly unnerving, but it was up to her to decide that.

 

[Tatcon Valdez]

Jordan would listen to hear intently, analyzing and disceting every moment, word and tone she used to detect whether she was telling the truth, taking him for a spin or just making a ruse. From what he could tell though, her file was perfectly right: she was the paragon of righteous cops. This could get a bit interesting, but judging by the way she talked, he would probably be safe to continue on in his business without much impedence. She didn't seem like one to get in the way of her fellow police officer.

"Well, that does it then. Gives me a pretty good picture overall....welcome aboard." He said in reply once she had finished, sitting himself up straight again as he grabbed his cup of coffee. "We have a few assignments to do today, nothing big, just a few things to get your feet wet. If you drink it, there's a fresh pot of coffee out there, but for everything else, you're going to have to wait until we get on the road." He chuckled twice at that, "For such a large detachment, we're not really well stocked."

After that he slid a folder over to her. "Memorize those faces there to start. They're people you're going to run in to a lot. I can't tell you exactly who they are besides their names..but for the moment that is all you need to know." He continued, before opening a folder of his own, and returning to his coffee.

 

[Tatcon Valdez]

He would give a smile and a stifled chuckle to her comment on coffee and her personal penchance for alcohol (when the time was right, naturally) and would silently resume reading through his files as she took a look at the folder he had handed her. He had originally been concerned with the way she dressed, but judging by how she looked and carried herself it probably wouldn't be a problem. Which is good. He would just idly drink his coffee as he read and she did the same, but then she had to go and ask the question.

"The problem is that we have an epidemic of organized crime here. Men like him are kept low key, but on file because they provide us with a lot of information. We have no serious incriminating evidence, he stays free and we keep getting what we need to catch the people who are tearing this city apart." He replied. It actually was the absolute truth; the man whose file was in her hands was one of the many informants the department have to keep tabs on all the big players in the city, however how they obtained the information and what this man had actually done before were details he didn't feel she needed to know.

"But to answer your question, we know a lot." He said with a smirk as he grabbed a thick bit of paper from a second file. "Just in case he becomes trouble, or stops fulfilling his duty. The sad nature of being a law enforcement official dealing with people who think they are above us." He continued, before putting the paper back in the folder, and then put it away. "So, where do you like to go for breakfast?" He asked her, stashing a few of the other folders in to his desk before walking over to his coat rack and grabbing his leather jacket. "Since you're the newbie here, it'll be my treat."

 

[Tatcon Valdez]

"Oh, we know exactly he got to where he is. We just offered him a better deal." He answered to her first question, stepping out of the office and waiting for her to exit because closing the door and locking it behind her. "The fact of the matter is we do not want to lose valuable officers when we have such a useful source of information. It's damage control." He was becoming aware that she musn't of had the same problems where she was from, or they decided to use more wasteful methods for getting what they needed. Either way, he wasn't searching for her approval, in the end their use of informants was common knowledge around the department and he hadn't specifically asked for her to be assigned with him.

"And suit yourself." He answered shortly as they walked among the desks of their fellow officers. "Did you pick up your firearm yet? You probably won't need it, but it's always better to be save than sorry." He added, being one of the few plainclothes police officers who kept some of his equipment on his belt, though his gun was kept safe in a shoulder holster. The rest just looked like he loved his gadgets.

Either after they collected her registered gun, or if she already had they would make their way out to the black Crown Victoria they used for doing their leg work, the lights and other identifying markers tucked away so they would not be easily recognizable. "There's a good little café down on 32nd street. They have a little bit of everything, so I make sure to introduce everyone to it." He said with a smile, and for once it actually seemed genuine. Getting in to the car he would wait for her before pulling out, and heading further in to the downtown core in search of the aforementioned café.

 

[Tatcon Valdez]

Ordering another cup of coffee, Jordan nodded a few times to her. "Sadly, there is a need here. Too many problems, not enough officers. Honestly it forces us to do things we'd rather not do..." He said, the final few words trailing off as he looked out the window towards a man who was heading towards the diner. "What fantastic luck." He said, before looking at Liana for a moment before smiling. "Be back in a second." And he slipped from the booth quickly and out the door, but not before she would hear him clearly say "Morantini, you slimy bastard!"

Assuming Liana would look back towards the man Jordan was talking, she would probably catch him starting to turn to run, before Jordan had tackled him before getting around the black Crown Vic. Then the drama started, as Corporal Vega picked the man up by the scruff of his collar and stood him up. Then the conversation started, relatively inaudible behind the glass of the café. It would quickly appear however that it wasn't going well for the one named Morantini, as Jordon seemed to smack the man's head a few times off the back of his car whenever the man disagreed. After about a minute of this the man would reach in to his pocket, produce an envelope and hand it to Vega before the officer let him go and let him run. It would be then he would start to head back to the diner, and invariably the questions that would come with the event.

 

[Tatcon Valdez]

Jordon scoffed when she insinuated the man was an old friend, pouring some coffee and cream in to his coffee before taking a long drink of the caffinated beverage. "Hardly. The people who serve as informants are usually weak willed and cowards, so whenever their bosses even pretend to be on their case they start freaking. Marco there was one of them. Bribery doesn't work to make them do what they have to, so sometimes...well...you saw." He said, pointing towards the outside as he concentrated on his coffee once more.

When the time came, he would order a pancake and some sausage as he seemed to drop in to a deep level of thought. It was then he took the envelope out of his jacket and looked at it, opening it just below the table and out of sight. Right after the final rip was heard, he would shift a bit in his seat, before pulling out a small piece of paper. "Hmm...some trading going on between the families. This should be interesting." He said to himself as he put the note away. After a moment he would look across to Liana, and sighed.

"Suppose you want an explanation of what is going on around here, don't you?"

 

[Tatcon Valdez]

Taking in a slow breath, he would get ready to tell her, however at the sound of her tone he would give her a lone glare. Though normally a negative connotation, he was actually quite teasing with the look, and after that he would launch in to a brief history of the criminal scene they were involved in. Before he started, however, he looked around to make sure they weren't being paid attention to, because such information wasn't completely public knowledge.

"Alright, basic plot. Three families, all members of the Italian Mafia families of the east coast. I know, sounds just like a crime show, except now you're part of the script, and you're on the losing side. They are massive families, and they are rich. They are the Montesorri's, Auditore's, and Scapelli. They're pretty much all equal, and they do not like each other, but they are not adverse to working together should it prove useful to both parties. What they do have in common is their dislike for us. However, some of their small men are easy to persuade, and we use that to our advantage; that is where the informants have come from. Not everyone has the will to be a criminal, or the will to resist police officers with threats and cash." He said, before taking a sip of his coffee to wet his whistle, before continuing on a bit more.

"Be careful on saying what you do. The families have many allies and hitmen who would love to beat around a cop. They won't really kill us...that brings more trouble than it's ever worth. You probably know that. For you Bailey...you probably will only have to deal with informants unless they contact us first. The rest is good ol' police work."

That was about the details he was willing to share at the moment, he was pretty sure she was keen enough to catch on. After that speel he turned his attention to his food, digging in to it and starting to eat quite happily.

 

[Tatcon Valdez]

If asked objectively if he would even trust himself, he would reply with a resounding 'never'. He was aware of what had happened in the past, and the mistakes he was making now but for some reason, he simply couldn't bring himself to care. Though when he caught her glance, he only raised an eyebrow, and resumed eating. "Try to measure me up officer. Trying to guess what's going on with this strange, strange corporal?" He half-asked/half-teased. The tone of his was not especially confrontational, more curious as to what he was feeling about her was absolutely true. Yep, she was going to be a bit difficult to work with if she ever caught wind of what was going on...like the thousand dollars he had slipped in to his pocket from the envelope.

He was pretty quick to finish his food, waiting patiently for her to finish by getting another cup of coffee as he watched the world pass by outside the window. "It's a crazy place..this city. Why did you come here?" He asked, looking back over at her, almost admiring her eyes for a while before he remembered the nature of their professional relationship..and especially the way she looked at him with such distrust.

Again..he couldn't really blame her.

 

[Tatcon Valdez]

He grinned passively to her statment on his conduct as he brushed off the rest of his coffee, before sitting back in his booth. "Violence happens all the time in this city, and what I did wouldn't seem too strange, assuming they don't know I am a police officer. Some people will question it of course but what I have in the envelope is for our eyes only, hence the seditiousness." He retorted, before sliding out of the booth and pulling his cars keys from his pocket. "We do have things to do officer, so how about you drop off your car, see if they have your desk ready for you and I'll be back shortly. I have an errand to run." He said, quite predictably cryptic as he stepped out the door before her, and headed to his car.

His errand was a followup to the note he had read, his stop being one of the informants who had proven to be the best information broker the police had in that particular family. A tall, Aryan German who wore a stark black business suit met Vega outside an old warehouse, and it was apparent that it was a pretty desolate place. Words were shared and money passed hands from Vega to the man along with smiles and mocking laughs. The meeting would take five minutes, and then the crooked police officer was off again, probably to make another stop to wrap this all up nicely.