It wouldn't stop Francine Berkowitz, that was for sure. She was a vulture, who'd just find another front for her crusade against MJT. She was just as much of a seducer as Pressman was, just in another fashion.
Another option came to my mind. It was risky, but it could end things quickly. "Give me what I need, Scott," I said simply. "Let me take Berkowitz down. It won't solve all your problems, but it'll at least prevent your wife from fucking over another innocent woman. Tell me, didn't you ever love her?"
Pressman made a sound that was halfway between a laugh and a sob, and I knew the truth. He still did, he probably always would. Love is like that sometimes. "You think it would change her?"
I shook my head. "I don't know. But there's a chance. You know Berkowitz, she's as much of a fucker as you and Melinda are. I can't guarantee you anything, except a chance."
Pressman thought about it for a moment, then looked towards me again. "Let me think, Snowman. How can I get in touch with you?"
It was an opportunity. I'd take it.
Chapter 11
Patrick
I was nervous when Mark told us about his activities. The second part, about tracking down the cop who'd harassed Tabby, was pretty boring. There was nothing much we could do at the time about the cop. He'd technically done nothing illegal, and while I was plenty pissed off, even I knew that sticking my nose in would do nothing useful. It’d only give him the satisfaction of knowing he’d succeeded in pissing her off.
It was his earlier visit with Scott Pressman that gave me my opportunity, however. Ever since getting shot, I'd worked hard, not only in being a member of the city council, but in training. I was in pretty good shape before, at least I thought I was, but now I was in better shape than I’d ever been. With such a beautiful girlfriend, the public just kind of assumed I was getting in shape to keep up with her. It had even garnered one comment from a morning radio jock calling me the "Hot City Councilstud." Tabby had insisted the station send us a copy of that show, and I found out that her ringtone on her phone for me was now "Hot City Councilstud."
But that wasn't the reason I was working so hard. Okay, not the only reason. Instead, I was busting my butt because I wanted to earn Mark's trust and be allowed back on the streets with him. I knew that he could probably handle it himself, and that I could be of use with my City Council position, but I wanted to do more than that. I'd trained for months now, and as Christmas approached, I felt the itch inside me.
It was my desire to make the city better that fueled me through the workouts, through the study sessions with Mark and Sophie. I learned more about the city, about tactics and urban combat than I had ever imagined. I learned how the different criminal groups in the city operated, far beyond the basic understanding I had from my teen years. I studied how economics, social structures, and even cultural conflicts were used and exploited by the different powers in the city to feather their nests while sucking the blood from the very people they were alternatively cozying to and exploiting.
It was a crash course on how to become one half of a two man wrecking crew, and how to be a walking disaster by myself if needed. I was also taught how to be a manipulator, a shadow, the ghost in the walls if I needed. As I looked back on how I'd acted the first few weeks by myself, I agreed with Mark. I was lucky to not be a corpse in the graveyard. Still, I wasn't ready yet, despite the itch I felt inside. It was that frustration that was fueling me when I was lifting that Friday night, just a few days before Christmas.
"Slow down," Sophie said, sitting inclined against a soft pad. She was so close to giving birth that I didn't think she should be in the gym, but she insisted, saying that sitting around the house all day left her feeling like a lump. Still, I insisted that she at least relax, and that I do all the loading and unloading of my equipment. She could talk, she could offer coaching and motivation, but I wasn't going to have her lifting weights. "You're not giving yourself enough rest."
"Out there, I won't get a chance to rest," I grunted in reply as I tightened the wrist strap on my gloves. "There are no rounds out there."
"And if you're throwing punches for that long, you're going to be in deep shit anyway," Sophie replied.
I huffed and nodded, wiping my forehead. "Fine. I'm warmed up enough anyway."
Sophie kept her silence as I started my workout, only talking in my rest periods. "What's biting at you? I know it's not you and Tabby, you two are doing better than ever."
"No," I admitted. "Things are great there. We've even talked about moving on to becoming physical again."
Next rest period. "So what is it?"
"I'm tired of being on the sidelines."
Sophie waited for me to shift to a less intense exercise, then continued. "Do you think you're ready?"