++ For the past three months I have spent every waking moment at the beck and call of Vito Patone. Vito is Hysteria's right hand man. His top enforcer and for all intents and purposes Hysteria's Underboss. While Hysteria is the man behind the curtain, Vito is the man who runs things on the streets. Hysteria is feared in name only but Vito is the man that when you see him coming your way you turn around and walk as far away as fast as you can. And now I have become Vito's right hand man. Something that has not gone unnoticed by Vito's troops and has resulted in some obvious tension. Especially with those who still believe in doing things the old way.

With a name like Jackson Sutter, becoming part of La Cosa Nostra is not and will never be in the cards. Not in any official capacity that is. Which was part of the reasoning behind the cover name being what it is. Had we gone with a surname that was Italian it would have potentially given me the opportunity, to become a full fledged member of the Mafia. And while that would provide invaluable information to further our case, it would also open me up to the possibility of having to commit acts that would no doubt land me in jail. And I don't mean undercover jail, I mean hard time. Something that both I and Captain Burrell have no desire to see happen.

Many years ago a man named Joseph Pistone infiltrated the Mafia under the alias Donnie Brasco. Pistone spent 6 years undercover. The end result of which was a crippling blow being dealt to two of the famous five New York crime families. Pistone wanted the operation to continue even longer than the 6 years that it did. His belief would be that he could become a full fledged member of the Mafia. An act that when publicized would not just bring the Mafia down but embarrass them for years. Unfortunately for Pistone his bosses pulled the plug before that could happen. Fearing that if Pistone went any deeper, if he actually became a "Made Man", a term that signifies official admittance into the Mafia, Pistone would either end up dead or in jail for the crimes he would no doubt have had to commit to earn the that right. One of those crimes would most definitely be murder. In order to become an official member of the mafia one has to "make their bones" which means commit a mafia sanctioned murder, or "hit."

And that is where I find myself today. As I said earlier, part of the reasoning behind picking the name Sutter was to shield me from the possibility of having to commit a murder for the mob. Unfortunately a low life piece of trash named Ricky Packard has gambled away everything he owns, twice over and as a result Vito wants me to serve Ricky his final notice. Translation; he wants me to put one in Ricky's skull. A task that he has given me until the end of the night to complete.

I've spent the last hour and a half driving around Vegas in the pouring rain trying to figure a way out of this jam. Ricky needs to disappear one way or the other. Killing him is out of the question and telling him to get out of town really isn't a better option. Trusting a degenerate gambler and alcoholic isn't the smartest choice one could make and certainly not one that I am willing to risk my career and possibly my life on. I tried reaching out to Captain Burrell but so far have been unable to get any face time with him. So I drive and drive and pray that an answer comes to me. And that's when it happens ...sirens in my rear view mirror. ++

++ I couldn't possibly have been speeding, going too slow maybe. Pretty sure I didn't run any red lights or blow through any stop signs. This is the last thing I needed but what choice do I have? ++

"Pull the vehicle over."

++ Jesus Christ, over the loud speaker? Whoever these cops are they aren't fucking around. I pulled the car over to the curb and reached into my glove compartment to pull out my Undercover License and corresponding Vehicle Registration. As I do this I see two officers approach my vehicle, one on each side. I hit the button on my driver side door consol to lower the window. ++

"License and registration."

++ I hand the officer my documents without even looking at his face. Instead I keep my eyes on the officer to the right side of my vehicle. More accurately I keep my eyes on the officer's torso as the upper half of their chest and everything above is out of my line of sight. ++

"Do you know why I pulled you over?"

"I honestly don't Officer."

"Would you mind stepping out of the vehicle and placing your hands on the roof of the car?"

++ Well this escalated quickly. ++

"Is that really necessary Officer?"

"Are you resisting?"

"No Officer. Just asking?"

"Step out of the car now."

++ This can't be happening. Not now. I could get out of this so easily but I can't risk blowing my cover so handing this guy a get out of jail free card isn't really an option. I guess I have no choice but to do what he wants. I reach out of the window with my left hand and open the door, I then slowly get out of the car and place both of my hands on the roof allowing the Officer to pat me down. ++

"Is something wrong officer? You still haven't told me why you pulled me over."

++ And that's when I see her. The officer across the car from me. Officer Diaz. A member of Captain Burrell's Intelligence Unit. In a standard patrolmen's uniform. I guess it's possible she got busted back to patrolmen but I doubt it. She looks at me, and then past me to her partner and then back at me. She lets out a faint smile and that's when I realize what's going on. She nods to her partner who then grabs both of my arms at the wrist and pulls them backwards him, securing them firmly against my back. The Officer behind me then pulls out a pair of police issued zip ties and fastens my wrists together while giving me my Miranda Warning. ++

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you. Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you?"

++ Now that the charade is over I comply with the officer. ++

"Yes Officer."

++ The Officer behind me grabs the back of my head and escorts me to the back of his marked police cruiser. With his right hand he opens the back door and then proceeds to put me in the back seat of his car. When he shuts the door I finally see his face, while I can't remember his name I definitely can place the face as also being a member of the Intelligence Unit. Clearly this stop was not random.

We drove around for about 45 minutes, many times going in circles and doubling back to make sure that we weren't being tailed. Once the two officers up front were certain that there was indeed no tail they drove to a dimly lit underpass 10 miles outside of the city. Once at the underpass we remained in the car not speaking to each other for a few minutes until another car pulled up behind us.

Everyone remained in their vehicles for another minute or so and then the two officers in front of me both exit the vehicle. The same officer who had restrained me then opens the door and helps me out of the vehicle and then removes the restraints. ++

"Sorry about that Officer. Had to make it look as real as possible."

"I understand."

++ The passenger side door to the other vehicle opens up and out steps Captain Burrell dressed in street clothes, a blue Las Vegas 51's baseball cap on his head. As I walk over to where the Captain is standing the two officers who "arrested" me get back in their vehicle leaving just the Captain and I to speak. ++

"I got your message. Sorry I couldn't get back to you sooner. I had something I needed to care of. Are you alright?"

"Yes I'm fine but I am in a bit of a pickle."

"Talk to me about it."

"Vito has ordered me to serve a final notice to a guy by the name of Ricky Packard. A scum bag delinquent gambler who is into Vito for 50 large."

"And he thinks that killing this Ricky will help him get paid back?"

"We've gotten past that point. Now Vito wants him gone so that he never has to see this guys face again. "

"So what do you need me to do?"

"I need this guy to disappear. Can you put him in protective custody? Get him out of town until we bring this case home? Once that's done it won't matter that Vito wants him dead."

"Fine. What else?"

"I need proof that he's dead."

"Proof? What kind of proof?"

"I don't know, a staged photo maybe?"

"Easy enough. How soon?"

"I have until the end of the night."

"Jesus Christ kid, you aren't giving me much time here."

"I know, it's not ideal. But the alternative is worse."

"Yeah I'd say so. I've been reading your progress reports, it's remarkable what you've been able to get on these guys in such a short time. I thought these guys were smarter than this."

"Some of them are. Some of them aren't. Which reminds me..."

++ I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small device that is about twice the size of a thumb drive and then hand it to Captain Burrell. ++

"What's this?"

"Vito on tape ordering me to kill Packard."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"Great. We can cross him off the list of people we need to worry about. This will put him away for life. Conspiracy to commit. Excellent. Anything on Hysteria?"

"Nothing."

"We need something Garrett. Three months and we have nothing on the guy. He's the entire reason we are doing this."

"I know Captain. Believe me I know. Three months and I haven't even seen the man. It's like he doesn't exist...Which... What if he doesn't?"

"What are you saying?"

"You've been after his guy for a while and you've never gotten anything concrete on the guy. What if he doesn't actually exist? What if he is just a name? A distraction? It makes sense. Looking for dirt on the guy at the top of the pyramid only for him to not actually exist. It keeps us chasing our tails."

"He exists."

"How do you know?"

"I just do. Now get me something on him. Something I can use to bring him down once and for all."

"I know Captain. Hopefully getting rid of Packard will be what gets me in the room with him."

"Does Vito ever meet with him?"

"Yes. I just don't know when and where. Just that after the meetings he's usually always pissed off and the rest of us have to deal with him."

"Don't you drive him around?"

"Yes. But not to his meetings with Hysteria. He drives himself."

"Well then press him. Try and get something."

"Captain with all due respect I think doing that will only serve to make Vito suspicious. Things have been progressing well for me. It took me 3 months to get to where I am. To the point where Vito is ordering me to take people out. He depends on me. Let me stay the course and I promise you I will get something on Hysteria."

"A minute ago you were trying to tell me he didn't exist."

"I was simply providing alternative possibilities based on what I have observed while undercover. You made it clear that I didn't need to continue with that train of thought so I didn't."

"Fine if you believe staying the course will yield us the results we need then carry on. As far as the issue at hand, do you have an address for this Packard scumbag?"

"Yes I do."

++ I pulled a small piece of paper out of my coat pocket and handed it to the Captain. He unfolds the piece of paper, memorizes the address and then hands the paper back to me. ++

"Ok. I'm going to make a few calls. Be at that address in two hours. I'll handle the rest."

"Yes sir."

"Good. Are we done here?"

"Yes Captain."

"Good."

++ The Captain then turns around, removes his baseball cap and places it on the hood of his car. Ten seconds later another car comes down the alley and parks directly next to Captain Burrell's car. There is another moment of silence broken only by the sound of the rain hitting the metal exterior of the car. The back drivers side door of the car opens up and out steps Emma. She steps out from behind the door wearing a long black coat, no doubt in an effort to try and conceal the weight she has gained from her pregnancy. Ours eyes meet and immediately the tears start streaming down her face. I look over at the Captain in hopes of getting some type of confirmation that I wasn't dreaming. ++

"Captain?"

"That was the thing I needed to take care of. I'm going to make some calls you've got about 30 minutes."

"Thank you Captain."

++ The Captain takes his hat off the hood of the car and places it back on top of his head before reaching into his pants pocket and pulling out his phone. He hits a few buttons on it and the places the phone against his ear. While he waits for the call to connect he walks over to the passenger side of his car and gets inside. I look back over at Emma who is standing there in the downpour crying. I meet Emma halfway and we embrace. It's hard to describe the feeling I have being in her arms again but for the first time in 3 months I feel at home. ++

To Be Continued...

F A D E 2 B L A C K