Vice Cop Ch. 07

For some time, she had fallen under the magnetic charm of the Russian lady with a criminal boyfriend. She was Leo Mendoza's woman, and Leo was a big-time Columbian drug lord, whose sordid business was not only bringing illegal drugs into the US, but illegal pornography that involved minors and dark and disturbing snuff films, all shot in his native Columbia. He had kidnapped American tourists and held them hostage for ransom, had always eluded the authorities and had a grip on Columbian government which was corrupted.

He was known as the Red Devil. And as that was true of him, Marina was the Devil's Bride. She had seduced Candy into a fast-paced world of crime and underworld glamour. Soon, their evil pleasures included murder. Candy murdered to please Marina and Leo. She had killed innocent people in Florida and before long; they got an even greater satisfaction from killing police officers.

It became not only a pastime for them, but a skilled art form. Candy would lure a cop into her sensual web, become their lover and then kill them. Kyle Lennox was her next victim, but she knew it would take a long time to carry out her plan. New York City was new to her and she needed time in gaining Kyle's trust. Plus, she wanted to use him. Having a cop by her side was advantageous to a criminal.

* * * * *

"How long have you been dating this girl?" Hudson said to Kyle.

They were on patrol duty, but nothing was happening and it was one of those dull, uneventful days that had characterized their lives as officers. Their patrol vehicle circled different streets in Manhattan one evening. Kyle and Hudson were still partners and they were both reporting to Chief Barry Hiller. No other cops shared the sense of companionship and camaraderie as these two. But lately, Hudson noticed that Kyle had become withdrawn, distant and refused to talk about his life, his personal life that was.

"I don't know, seems like a long time," Kyle responded, "even though it probably hasn't been that long. I met her during harbor patrol. You were there. Remember when that cruise ship crashed into that yacht and a few people died that night?"

"You've been seeing her since then?"

"Yeah."

"Why don't you tell me more about her? You don't explain much. If she doesn't work like you said, what does she do all day?"

"I don't know. She just spends a lot of time with her friends when she isn't with me."

"Are her friend good people?"

"I haven't really met them. She doesn't want to introduce me to them."

Hudson lifted his chin and his eyebrow. He regarded Kyle with a look that made Kyle uneasy. Because Hudson was driving, he returned his gaze to the road ahead. A moment of silence followed.

"Kyle, don't you think there's something wrong with the fact she doesn't want you to know about her friends?"

"What ...what do you mean?"

Hudson drove into another street. They were approaching Central Park.

"I mean, you're a cop," Hudson continued, "she knows you're a cop."

"So what are you getting at?" Kyle said, this time raising his voice a bit.

"She is not telling you about her friends or their lifestyle so she might be covering up something bad. They could be doing something illegal that she doesn't want you, a cop, to know about."

"Jesus Christ, Hudson," Kyle said, "and I thought I knew you. Aren't you happy for me? I haven't had a girlfriend since I left my hometown and my family. You don't know what this means to me, that someone love me.

Hudson was silent and continued to steer, turning a corner and onto a street that led to the Park.

"You know what your problem is? You're jealous of me. You're envious."

"What?"

"You heard me. This is about me having a girl and you don't have anyone. No girl has taken an interest in you since Sonya. You're attitude is a big issue. You're so smug."

"Listen, will you? It's not that at all. I'm just worried about you. This blonde chick is hiding something from you and she doesn't want to get her friends in trouble with the law."

"You're always thinking like a cop, even when you're out of uniform, Hudson. Stop it. Not everyone breaks the law. Not every one is some criminal. You've seen too much crime in your life, too much of that Mafia stuff. Candy is not a bad person and I will have to ask you to leave her alone."

The rest of their patrol duty was conducted in silence.

THIRTEEN

Candy had learned that Kyle was doing harbor patrol again. She told Marina and Leo about it one night when they were in their Manhattan luxury apartment. They had just come home from dancing at a club and were leisurely smoking cigars.

"This Kyle can be of use to us," said Leo Mendoza, with a grin, "before we have him killed, we could really use him for our business."

"Just what do you mean?" Marina said, "are you nuts? He's a cop. He can't know what our "business" is all about."

"Woman, listen to me," Leo continued, "I mean for us to act with tact and discretion. Let me talk to Candy."

He turned to face her. She was smoking with a stupefied face. She had taken another drug at the dance club, but this one had mellowed her and calmed her.

"Candy, I need you to do something for me."

"I'm all ears," she said to him.

"In a week, my men in Columbia will bring a ship to New York City Harbor with marijuana, cocaine and LSD. We intend to sell them to as much of the young folks in the city as we can. But as you know, harbor patrol is always on alert about drug trafficking through ships. So why not tell your pal Kyle that your dad who is in importing-exporting will be bringing cargo for trade with America."

"When in reality it will be your Columbian guys," Candy said.

"That's right. He'll never know the truth if you lie to him about the ship. The ship will pass into the harbor successfully."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Great. I knew it was a wonderful idea to have you in our company."

He gave her a kiss, his mustache brushing against her lips. This made Marina angry and she threw a champagne glass at him. It broke in his head but did not cause him harm.

"You bastard," Marina said.

They all began to laugh.

* * * *

Hudson had fallen ill and took in a sick day when Kyle saw Candy by the harbor within his harbor patrol route. The night was cool, as it usually was by the Atlantic waters and the city skyline was aglow like myriads of diamonds, casting beautiful Candy in an alluring light.

"Candy, what are you doing here?" Kyle said to her.

Her top was cut so that her shoulders could be seen and it fit tight on her body. Her little skirt showed off her slim, girlish figure. She looked like a little lost girl. Kyle took her hand and invited her onto the boat.

"Aren't you on patrol? You can't socialize right now."

"I have time for you, always."

They kissed as the boat sped across the waters. The Twin Towers loomed high in the distance. They held each other for a moment. She looked so beautiful and he felt that surge of manliness again, like there was nothing he wouldn't do for her.

"I need your help," she said.

"What is it?"

"My father has been wrongfully accused of illegal trafficking. He has enemies everywhere in the US, because some of his partners became corrupted. And in New York, some have accused of him dealing in drugs."

"That's terrible. But if he's not a drug lord, and he can prove it, what's the problem? Money can buy him his innocence."

"It's not as simple as it sounds."

She had a way of talking. She had a dulcet but melancholy-sounding voice, as if she lived a meaningless life she wanted to be free of. In his male vanity, Kyle had believed that she had come to him for salvation. Perhaps she would stop doing drugs and living an idle life if she settled down with him to live a straight life.

"A ship of his is coming to the harbor tonight," Candy said, "and I know that some of the cops on patrol will search him unnecessarily. It would cause my father great shame if that happened. Please, please help him out by just allowing his boat to come through without a hitch. I can assure you, my father is no criminal. He's a good old man from Canada....and I love him. "

"I believe you, Candy. I'll be sure that the ship goes into the harbor. Stay here with me until you spot the ship and I'll let it pass."

"Oh, Kyle, I can only thank you with a kiss for now.....but later, we can make love."

Kyle embraced her possessively and they kissed passionately. Candy grinned with pure satisfaction........................

Photographs of his dead police dog, his dead best friend Kyle and of the romance with Sonya that had died years ago.......

Hudson stared at the photographs for an eternity, with a sad longing and nostalgia. He sighed and felt very tired. It was 1986. It felt like he had been a cop for too long but yet he was far from being a veteran cop. Others had been with the Department for years -- Barry Hiller, Mason Holmes, and Lieutenant Isaiah Dante. Hudson wondered what the future would bring, not just as far as life as a cop in the Big Apple but in a new home he had finally gotten for himself.

Too tired to move another piece of furniture, Hudson removed his clothes, save for a pair of tight black brief underwear and went to bed. The heat of the night was bothering him before too long and he was up and about his bedroom.

He went to the kitchen where he had only stored some milk and basic essentials. He drank the milk and hoped that would get him sleepy again. When he returned to his bedroom, he noticed that the neighbor, whose apartment was built exactly like his -- two stories with the top floor being only the attic, was also up and sleepless. He couldn't see well in the dark so he strained his eyes to see well.

He noticed it was a woman, and from the looks of it, a woman living completely alone in that house. She was beautiful, though he could only see her dark profile by the window, and he liked what he saw -- curves, and a strong, tight, sexy body.

Curious and somewhat aroused, he watched as she walked about in a sexy baby blue negligee. When she turned on the light to her bedroom, his jaw dropped. He felt like he would get a heart attack out of the sheer surprise.

It was Lexa O'Neil.

To Be Continued...