Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 98398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
“Okay… that explains why you would back off, but—”
“Actually, no, when I found that out, I was even more determined. I figured I would have to be the one to bring them down since my family is wealthy enough to always have security. They were protected. I thought we were untouchable until I found out that the Irish mob worked with another family. A family I thought was legitimate.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, not following.
“The family of a friend of mine from school. A man I thought to be honorable and as aboveboard as the one percent of the one percent got. I found ties between the mob and his father. If his father was working with them, then I wasn’t just dealing with a bunch of thugs, and I wasn’t as convinced I could keep my family safe.”
“Oh.” Anyone else and I would be positive he dropped it just because his friend was involved, but the way his fingers tightened into a fist at his side and his shoulders tensed made me think that he was angry. A favor wouldn’t make him angry.
“I asked him about it, and he confirmed all of the rumors. My friend told me that he had already made plans to distance his legacy and his business from the mob but while his father was in power, he wasn’t able to do that. He needed to get control of more of the business, and then sever all ties. He wanted to be separated from these men before someone finally brought charges that stuck, and his empire was taken down with theirs.”
“Did you believe him? That he wanted to separate from them?” I asked.
“Yes. With the men I went to school with, it was always best to trust but verify. When I looked into what he was saying, I found out that he was right. If I were to take down this mob, there would be no way to stop the damage from spreading. At that time the two were too closely linked, and if I took on one, I had better be ready to take on them both. So I decided what I was going to do was give him time, not a lot, but enough so if he wanted to, he could sever those ties. I was giving him time to prove himself because I didn’t believe that he should be brought down by the actions of his father. Not to mention his family’s legitimate business has a bigger GDP than most countries and putting more people out of work and on the streets is not my intent.”
I nodded, kind of understanding where he was coming from, at least in theory. “So your friend, he has severed those ties, and now you’re free to go after them without hurting him?”
“Kind of. It’s actually gotten a little bit more complicated. He has made the move to separate the ties, which is great, but more importantly, he married my sister. And now I’m worried that this group might try to retaliate for the loss of business by grabbing my sister. So now it’s not a matter of just keeping New York safe, it’s a matter of keeping my family safe.”
Harrison sat back and pressed his palms into his eyes. The stress of these long nights were clearly starting to weigh on him.
“Okay,” I said, nodding.
“What do you mean okay?”
“Just that, I mean, okay, let’s get the scumbags off the streets before they go after the people important to you or, really, anybody else. Even the people who aren’t lucky enough to have the district attorney as a brother still deserve that protection. So let’s build this case and lock up the bad guys.”
He looked up at me, then smiled and nodded and placed the order for greasy Chinese food, and we got back to work.
We worked for a few more hours, uncovering different trails, adding to the files of names and dates that were growing. First looking for dirty cops, and the politicians they had influenced, possible crimes they may or may not have been linked to including everything from racketeering and blackmail to mugging, drug possession with the intent to distribute, and whispers of human trafficking. There was so much this family was tied to I was afraid to ask why his friend’s family worked with them. I was pretty sure at this point I honestly did not want to know.
“Do you know when you’re going to press charges?” I asked, mostly for the excuse to look up from the paper and blink. This work really did take four times as long when it wasn’t done digitally.
“As soon as I have a clear view of who is involved and enough evidence to make sure that I can get a fair trial. I want to make sure that I know each judge they’ve paid off, every prosecutor that they have blackmailed. I need to know it all so I can assemble the best team and force any compromised judges to recuse themselves. This case needs to be beyond airtight because it will go to trial.”