Chapter 16: Morally Deranged Man
Ten Years Ago
Hello Mrs. Moon." one of the suit-dressed men said, stepping forward. "Firstly, I'd like to express my condolences on behalf of the Gomez family..."
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"They sent you here...!" Kacey was about to explode.
"As a matter of fact yes." The man said calmly, interrupting her. "I'm a representative of the Gomez family and this..." He beckoned to one of the men beside him, "... is our lawyer. And we've come to negotiate and reach an ultimatum."
"Same as us." One of the other men said, stepping forward. "I'm a representative of the Hopkins family and we've also come to reach an ultimatum as our way of extending our apology."
"Same here." another of the men said. 'I'm a representative of the Larson family and I'm here to reach an agreement."
"Same here." another one stepped out. "I'm a representative of the Perez family, and I'm here to do the same."
"Me too." another one said. "I'm here as a representative of the Butler's, and I've come to reach an ultimatum."
"So..." Kacey said, taking in the scene, "You're all from the families of the imbeciles who did this to my daughter?" She moved to the door and slid it open, "Get out! Get the hell out! I'm not reaching any damn ultimatum and I'll see to it that those bastards rot in jail for the rest of their lives! Get out."
"I think you might like to reconsider."
Then as if on cue, they all began to open their suitcases.
The Moon family's eyes dropped in utter shock as they beheld the scene in front of them... money!
Loads of cash!
All the suitcases the men were carrying were filled with money to the brim! None of them had ever seen such money in their life before.
If they took all that money, they would never have to worry about going broke for the rest of their lives!
"If you need more, you are open to let us know." one of them tempted.
As much as seeing that huge amount of money at the time made Kacey speechless, it also infuriated her!
What insolence! They all think they could buy them off?! They think that by shoving this money to their faces, they won't press charges?!!
How dare they?!
She made to explode "Get..."
"Please leave," James said calmly, cutting her off as he gestured them to the door. "We don't need your money, we just want justice."
"I think y'all making a pretty bad choice here." one of them said. "This is the easy way out. Do you think that by pressing charges and suing, you'll win? Against all of us? These five powerful families? You're solely mistaken. You'll only end up wasting your time, and money. Which is why we're here... to extend a heartfelt apology to you."
James was beginning to see sense in his words. Surely going up against these five powerful families won't do them any good.
They'll try to buy everyone off, the press, the police, and even the court, considering how powerful and influential they all are.
"Mom..." He turned to his mom, hoping to talk sense into her, but she wasn't having any of it.
"I don't give a flying fuck!" she screamed, "Get the hell out!"
Then, the gentlemen quietly closed the suitcases, and then, without a word, they matched out through the door the way they came in.
"Mom... I think they're right. We can't go up against them..."
"I don't care!" She retorted. "I'm not going down without a fight and I'm even more disappointed in you for trying to let them buy us off! Just look at the state your sister is in! She was raped and assaulted... and you're here telling me to take their money? I won't!"
Hours passed without a word from the police and Kacey was now sure that the police had no intention of calling them.
She decided to go to the station herself.
***
At the police station, Chief of Police Pete Hamilton lounged in his comfortably furnished office with a cigarette clenched between his fingers.
He was a tall, bulky man with fat cheeks and a baby face.
Lieutenant Paul stood in front of his desk and he gave out his report about Raven's assault case.
"Drop it." He said.
"I'm sorry, sir?" Lieutenant Paul asked.
"I said drop the case." The man repeated.
"But... we know who the assaulters are..." Paul began to protest.
"The Gomez, the Perez, the Hopkins, the Larson, and the Butler," Hamilton mentioned, "They are literally the most prominent families in Chicago and trust me, no one wants to go up against them. Not even you. They can rip you off your job and make you permanently jobless."
"I'm not afraid of them." Paul said defiantly "I'm not afraid of losing my job if it meant doing the right thing. This girl... Raven, she needs us. What use is the police if we can't stand up for our citizens at a time like this? Huh? We have proof that these kids have a hand in her assault, and I don't care if their families are powerful; all we need to do is to bring them to the court of law."
Hamilton sighed helplessly, rubbing his fat forehead "Ugh! This is why I hate you, always trying to be a hero... a hero without a brain! You still don't get it, do you? Nothing can be done. This case was already closed before it even began. All you have to do as a police officer is to persuade them and make sure they agree to settle with them."
"They bribed you, didn't they?" Paul said, his voice filled with disgust and disdain.
"What?" Hamilton echoed, "How dare you..."
"I can see it now, they bought you off and told you to hush this case because they don't want any mud on their name. Why else would you defend predators?" Paul asked, glaring down at his boss.
"Do you want to get fired?" Hamilton shot rising to his feet. "How dare you speak to your boss like that?"
"You are a disgrace to this reputable career, and it's people like you that give us, the police a bad name. No wonder citizens don't trust us anymore." Paul spat venomously, then he took off his badge and slammed it against the table. "I quit. I can't work for a morally deranged man who can compromise his conviction just for his convenience."
Hamilton's face was contorted with rage, no one had talked to him that way before. He wanted to lash out, but before he could utter any word, Paul spun on his heels and left.
"Get back here you piece of shit!"