#rocky bandello | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

jadeee · 7 months

Text

Vendetta Ch. 11: Breaking News

The Valentinos make the front page and Martin finds new evidence.

📰 read chapters 1 - 10 here!

Warnings: angst, swearing, & murder

Word Count: 2.7k

divider by @saradika ©️

Questions burned in her belly but she started with, "What are your guidelines?"

"The obvious one is about the trial. As you know, we can't say anything."

"No questions about the previous trial or my history with Floyd." Nicky said.

MJ nodded as she waited for more yet the silence lingered for a few seconds.

"Are there any other guidelines before we continue?"

You shook your head and Nicky said "Nope."

"Well," she grabbed her notepad "I wasn't going to ask about the trial or Floyd Capo."

Nicky's brows pinched together "What's your angle?"

"There is no angle, only the facts and the facts are that you're people." She saw how he mulled over her words "You two aren't some spectacle. What you're going through shouldn't be seen as entertainment."

After a moment of silence, he turned to you "You're right about her."

She smiled at the thought of being spoken of highly despite not being present. MJ picked up her pen and looked at you both with eager eyes. "How did the two of you meet?"

You chuckled and he smiled bashfully.

As the minutes flew by, you melted into your chairs. The hard lines of his brows began to soften when he talked about the first time he saw you. The walls you'd built over the last few weeks crumbled slowly at MJ's warm presence. Her hand cradled her face while you shared memories of moving into your new home.

"That reminds me of the turkey in the yard."

"Oh," he brought a hand up "absolute chaos."

"You should've seen your face."

"I was terrified!"

MJ chuckled, "For Stella?"

"And the turkey." He said.

Your shared laughter filled the room and she closed her notebook.

"Thank you again for giving me this opportunity."

You nodded "Of course."

She stood up, "I can send you the final draft before it's printed."

"No need, we trust you." He stood and you joined his side.

"Should we call a cab for you?"

"No, actually. I'm staying for a friend."

"Well, enjoy the party."

Nicky offered her his hand, "Don't work too hard."

"That's the only way I know how." She shook his hand.

While you wrapped up your interview, Rocky had his own important business to tend to. He ducked into a space away from the noise and reached for the phone on the counter.

Wisps of smoke danced in front of Martin's face. He studied the various notes sprawled out on his desk with squinted eyes. The phone rang with a shrill which disturbed his peace.

He exhaled the smoke and picked it up, "This is Martin."

"It's Rocky Bandello."

"Mr. Bandello, how can I help you?"

"It's the other way around this time."

Martin leaned back in his chair as Rocky continued.

"Chris told me you need some dirt on Floyd."

"I wouldn't call it that but –"

"Anyway, listen," Rocky paused "I used to know a guy who knew someone close to Floyd. There was talk of a kid who flipped on him."

His eyes widened "Was this kid... wait a second," Martin flipped through his notes "Maurizio Botticelli?"

"Hell if I know."

He shook his head "Well, what happened to him?"

"That's the thing. Nobody knows for sure but people were saying his body was dumped at a construction site."

"When was this?"

"About ten years ago."

He grabbed his pen then scribbled on a nearby sheet of paper.

"Ever heard of Gramercy Park?"

His hugged the phone in the crook of his neck, "I'm afraid I haven't."

"That's where the kid's buried, if he's even there. I wouldn't put it past Floyd though ..."

The pen teetered between his fingertips, "How old was he?"

"I think he was thirteen. Somewhere around there."

He tightened his grip on the phone "Right," he said before adding to his chicken scratch.

"It may not be true, but I thought it could help."

"I'll look into it."

Just when Martin pulled the phone away, Rocky spoke again. His voice was distant but Martin caught it.

"What was that?"

"I said, be honest with me. What are the odds looking like?"

"It's not about the cards, it's about how we play 'em."

Even though Rocky was silent on the other end, Martin swore he heard him smile.

"Enjoy the party, Mr. Bandello."

"I think the party's over for me, kid."

"Get home safely then."

"You too."

Martin found the number for the Parks and Rec Department of New York City but realized it wasn't any good when he remembered the time difference. He glanced at his clock on the wall and shook his head.

"It's nearly ten at night there."

His chest rose and deflated as he leaned back into his chair. A hand rested on his cheek, tired eyes looked over the pile of papers on his desk. The sound of the clock filled his dull office. Tick-tock. Floyd Capo. Tick-tock. Intent to murder.

"I can't use that. Double jeopardy..." he smacked his teeth then looked up at the ceiling.

Tick-tock, tick-tock. The kid, he thought, only 13. He picked up the phone and dialed a number.

"Martin Alonso calling for Arturo Ricci."

He glanced over his notes until the gruff familiar voice answered the phone.

"What do you want?"

"To know where Floyd dumped the body of a thirteen year old."

There was a brief pause.

"I guess I'll just call one of the other guys and they'll get a better deal. They already flipped on you too."

Martin moved the phone a few inches away from his face then grinned when he heard the man plead.

"Wait a second!"

He held the phone to his ear.

"Look, I didn't do it. Okay?"

"So, why are we still talking?"

He spoke in a hushed tone "Because I know who did. If I tell you, can you get me out of here? For good."

He pinched the bridge of his nose, "I'll work something out."

"I'll see you tomorrow at 9. Until then, keep your mouth shut and your head down."

Arturo hung up without another word. Martin placed the phone back onto the receiver and loosened his tie.

Martin practically rose before the sun did. He'd only had a cup of coffee when he called New York City's Parks and Rec Department. His request was anything but simple: a list of parks built a decade ago along with all construction companies who'd worked on these projects including employees.

When the person on the other line politely refused, due to "lack of manpower", Martin reminded him about the weight of this case.

"How do you think New York parents are gonna feel when they find out lil' Johnny and Suzie are swinging over a dead man?"

The line went silent.

"I want park names, employee's numbers, and time cards or you'll be unemployed before lunch. Is that what you want, Thomas?"

There was a brief silence, "What boroughs do you need, sir?"

"All of them."

"Should I also write down the construction company and their contact?" Thomas asked jokingly with a sneer.

"It's like you read my mind, Thomas." He set the phone back onto the receiver.

He finished getting dressed before heading over to see his most compliant informant. The phone rang as he straightened his tie. He rested it on his shoulder while smoothing down his shirt.

"Hello?"

"Yes, is this Martin Alonso?"

He straightened his posture, "Yes, who is this?"

"This is Jonathan Morris with the New York City Parks and Rec Daprtment. I'm the manager and I've just been informed of your rather detailed demands."

"You understand how important it is then that I have those documents." He shared an annoyed glance with himself in the mirror.

"It's unlikely we'll be able to complete your request. Especially by the end of the day."

"I see... Mr. Morris, can you clarify something for me?"

"Sure." He said.

"You want to abandon your due diligence as a citizen of this country and let a criminal out on the streets? Again?" He chuckled in disbelief.

Jonathan cleared his throat "No, sir. I simply-- all I'm saying is--"

"Don't explain it to me," he said "explain it to the cops when they get there."

"Sir!" He spoke with an urgency, "I'm not helping a felon by denying you these documents. I'm simply saying, they may not be in your hands by the end of today." His voice cracked in several places, along with his pride.

"You have one day to get me those documents or you will be charged with obstruction of justice,"

He nodded his head even though Martin couldn't see it.

"Have Thomas call me at my office once it's done. I already gave him the number."

"Yes, sir." Jonathan said quietly.

The damp air felt too familiar in Martin's nostrils. He signed the clipboard and the guards greeted him by name. They checked his belongings before sending him on his way.

He unbuttoned his jacket then sat down at the table. The quiet room was eerily comforting in that moment. Where men his age would be atuned to the honeyed voices of their wives, he felt an odd peace hearing the distant clamor of the prisoners. The iron bars of the door clanged and he came to. He opened his eyes to look at Arturo who was being guided to the seat by a guard.

"No black eye or bruises? Good." He nodded approvingly as the guard cuffed Arturo to the table.

Arturo chuckled "Aw, you worried about me?"

The guard walked off to leave the two alone.

"You're my golden ticket." He leaned forward "So, talk."

"Not until I get my deal," he tapped the table "like we said."

He clenched his jaw "What do you want?"

"I want to get out of here."

"And go where?" Martin asked with a hint of hopelessness.

"Anywhere he wouldn't find me." He averted his gaze and thought of the different possibilities. "What about somewhere tropical? Like the Bahamas?"

"So they could kill you with a coconut in your hand?" He chuckled.

The two were silent for a moment before he spoke again. "Alright," he scribbled onto a paper and slid it toward Arturo "How about this?"

He read: Arkansas. New identity. NO family, friends, or girls.

"But," he pulled the paper back "that's only if what you say is true and it helps me get this guy for good."

Arturo gestured to his pen. He handed it to him and watched him write on the page.

"This is all I know," he set the pen down "I didn't know the guy who did it but I saw him once. He still works for Floyd and he's back in New York."

Martin held the paper up, which read: Umberto Gavassi, along with an address. "Maurizio Botticelli," he set the paper down "You don't have any other details? No dates? Times?"

Arturo shook his head "But you can get me out right?"

Martin stopped himself from saying otherwise and squinted at the half-truth he was about to tell, "Yes."

Arturo smiled "Thank God."

I wouldn't do that just yet, Martin thought. "Do you know if Floyd did this with anyone else? Any other kids?"

Arturo shrugged, "I don't know but he usually got kids to work for 'em. Hell, some of us started when we were Maurizio's age."

"Who?" Martin held his pen in his hand as Arturo listed off names. "How old were you, Arturo?"

"9, 1o." Arturo shook his head "I should've been jumping rope but I was jumping fences. I actually remeber seeing Umberto back then too. Some kid got caught on a job we did but he got out somehow. We saw him the next day where we met up... Umberto came in and pulled him out of the room and we never saw him again... his name was," Arturo snapped his fingers "Cliff Wallace!"

Martin added the name to the list yet Arturo kept speaking.

"Yeah, he was the same age as me then. One of the guys always said that Umberto probably pushed him off a cliff." Arturo scratched at his incoming beard as tears stung in his eyes.

"How fitting." Martin deadpanned, "Cliff have any siblings? You know his parents?"

Arturo shook his head "No. I don't know but that other kid Maurizio had a sister who followed us almost everday for months after he went missing."

Martin flicked his eyes up at him and Arturo said, "Sabine."

"Arturo, if this is true and I find evidence. You can pack that suitcase."

Martin closed his notebook with a certain finality then placed it in his briefcase.

Arturo clenched his jaw and nodded. He tried not to show his excitement but the buried smile, peeked through.

Martin barely set his foot into the office when his assistant, Agnes, stood up.

"Sir, you have those papers from the parks and rec department. I put them on your desk."

"Thank you," he sighed as he sat down in front of the mountain of papers. Agnes pulled up a chair and helped him review each paper. The sun was starting to set when they finally made a crack in the case.

"Gramercy Park?" A man said over the phone "No wonder you couldn't find it, they renamed it in the middle of construction! It's Peace Grove now."

"That makes sense," Martin sat back in his seat and gestured for Agnes to stop sifting through papers. She sat back and listened to the conversation. "Listen, Robert, I have some questions for you about when you worked there. At the site."

"Who are you again? A lawyer, right?"

"Yes, my name is Martin Alonso and I'm a lawyer in California. I'm working on a high profile case and your answers can help me put someone away for a long time."

"Oh," Robert went silent "that's a lot of responsibility. I don't want to be involved in any mess."

"No, no, Robert. You'd be a huge help!"

"Mhm... what'd this guy do anyway?"

Martin sighed "We think he killed a kid and buried him at Peace Grove."

"Dear Lord..." Robert went quiet. "Alright, what do you need to know?"

Martin gestured for Agnes to take notes "Do you remember seeing anything strange while working on the site?"

"Let's see... that was about ten years ago..."

"Anything will help, Robert. Even if you heard or saw anything or anyone strange."

"Now that you mention it, I remeber coming back to the site one day and the first layer of concrete was already down for the slide. We had everything prepped the night before but we hadn't laid the foundation yet. I just thought it was the new guy, he was always going 100 miles a minute."

"So the foundation was laid but your crew didn't put it there," Agnes wrote down what Martin summarized. "Did you see anything else that was strange?"

"Yeah, in that concrete there was some pieces of what looked like fabric. Just little drops. Y'know the stuff we had was so cheap I thought maybe it came from our uniforms or somethin'. I didn't know it was a kid... Lord have mercy." Robert said in a hushed tone.

"Robert?"

"Hm?"

"Do you know anything else?"

"I'm sorry, that's it."

"Is Peace Grove still open to the public?"

"Oh, yeah! Those children go there everyday. It's not in a good part of the neighborhood but anything to keep them off the streets."

A sadness flashed across Martin's face at how it didn't work out for Maurizio or Cliff. "Did you see this with any other construction sites you worked on?"

"Look, I barely remeber what I wore yesterday. You'd have to ask my wife!" He chuckled then returned to his somber tone "Listen, I'm sorry but if you need me to speak in court. I can. Anything for that poor child."

"Thank you, Robert."

Martin placed the phone back onto the receiver.

"Write up a warrant to break ground on Peace Grove in New York and call NYPD," he stood to his feet "they need to search for Maurizio's body."

Agnes noticed the sadness that remained in his eyes. "I didn't want to say this earlier with the case going on but your wife called."

Martin froze in his tracks and Agnes shifted to look at his face.

"She wanted to see how you were doing."

"NYPD will want to check where the slides are. That's where his body should be." He left the room without saying another word.

Author's Note: This was long overdue but thank you to everyone who's been patient with me. I know I keep saying it but I'm honestly glad that people are still reading this - sometimes I think it's lost traction because of all my hiatuses and fads and whatnot but I'm glad that's not the case. Alright, I'm done being sappy 🥀 I hope you enjoy the next chapter just as much, if not more! < Previous Chapter | Next Chapter >

#nicky valentino fictif #fictif nicky valentino #fictif nicky #nicky valentino #nicky valentino vendetta #nicky valentino x mc #nicky valentino x reader #madebyjade #fictif #fictif two against the world #fictif tatw

7 notes · View notes