THE GREAT DETECTIVE

It’s 6:00 am and the next morning, Henry Stone, a young 27-year-old detective, tall, slim, with blue eyes, brown hair, and a light complexion, wakes up for another day at the New York Police Department 17th Precinct. After getting dressed and putting his gun belt and badge on, he joins his best friend and roommate Felix Blaze for breakfast. Felix, also 27, is tall and slim like Henry but has blonde hair, brown eyes, and a light tan complexion. He and Henry have been friends since they were teenagers. Henry was adopted by Felix’s parents, and they have always been there for each other. They now live together in an apartment at Apartment LUXE on the 5th floor, apartment #556. Henry also helped Felix get a job at Charnas Law Firm three blocks from the 17th Precinct as a Law Attorney. Felix’s office is on the 3rd floor. They are known as “THE POWER DUO” and have put many felons behind bars. It’s hard to separate them. As Henry walks into the kitchen, he is greeted by Felix cooking pancakes, eggs, and bacon.

“Morning, bro!” says Felix.

“Morning, Felix,” says Henry. Henry and Felix smile at each other, showing their brotherly bond. As they dig in and read the newspaper, they engage in conversation.

“Are we still getting lunch today?” asks Henry.

“I should be done with my meeting on the new case by one,” Felix responds.

“One it is. See you then!” says Henry. They go back to reading the newspaper. Henry looks up and sees it’s time to head to work.

“Later, bud!” says Henry.

“Go get ‘em!” Felix replies.

“I always do.” Henry and Felix do their secret handshake they made up after they met and got along to become best pals. Henry gets in his blue mustang undercover car and heads to the 17th Precinct.

Henry parks and goes to his desk on the 6th floor to finish up some paperwork. His coworker, Captain James Flint sat at the desk next to Henry’s. Flint is a 32-year-old man with a tall, muscular body, brown hair, blue eyes, and light-skinned. He is also a well-respected officer, intelligent, and kind-hearted. Henry and Flint start talking about work, and a few minutes later, the Chief calls Henry into his office.

“Detective Stone, can I see you in my office for a minute?”

“Yes, sir! Be right in.” Henry heads to Chief Delgado’s office. The Police Chief, Don Delgado, is an experienced officer in his 50s, tall, broad-shouldered, with short black hair, brown eyes, and a light complexion. Henry takes a seat in front of Chief Delgado’s desk. A few seconds after Henry takes his seat, Chief Delgado breaks the silence.

“How is your morning going, detective?”

“It’s going well, sir. Thank you. How are you?”

“I’m great. Thank you for asking,” says Chief Delgado. “I have an assignment I want your help and experience with if you’re up for it.”

“Yes, sir. I’d be happy to help. What’s the assignment?” asks Henry. A smile comes across Chief Delgado’s face.

“Great! I knew I could count on you.”

“My pleasure, sir. Happy to help.”

“There have been many burglaries, arsons, thefts, robberies, and homicides happening in our district. I want you to patrol Midtown East, from East 45th Street to East 35th and Park Avenue to the East River.” Chief Delgado sees a worried look on Henry’s face.

“You alright, detective?”

“Yes, sir,” says Henry apologizing. “That’s a big section to patrol.”

“You will have Captain Flint to help you on the other end and will meet you in the middle. If you see anything suspicious, radio in, and we will have units on standby for backup if needed.”

“Thank you, sir. I appreciate it. I will get ready and head out.”

“Sounds good, detective. I appreciate it,” said Chief Delgado happily.

“Just doing my job, chief,” Henry replied cheerfully. Henry walks to his desk, gets his stuff, and walks out with Flint. He goes to the main floor and gets his K9 Zeus. Zeus could hear Henry coming and was excited to see him. Henry opens the cage door and bends down to pet Zeus. Zeus is a well-trained German Shepherd with a thin muscular body, brown with black from the neck to the end of his tail, a brown face with black around the eyes, and a black muzzle.

“There’s my good boy. You ready to go for a ride?” says Henry to Zeus. Zeus barks in agreement. Henry has been with Zeus since Zeus was six months old. Henry trained with Zeus for six months, and they graduated at the top of their class. They have worked on cases for three years together. They join Flint, and they all walk out to the parking lot to start their patrol. Before starting patrol, Henry calls into dispatch.

“Dispatch 10-69 Detective Stone and K9 starting tour of duty around Murray Hill accompanied by Captain Flint.”

“Detective Stone 10-4. Be safe out there,” replies dispatch.

“Dispatch 10-4,” answers Henry. Henry stops his patrol and drives around Murray Hill, keeping an eye on the area. At 12:30 in the afternoon, Henry finishes patrolling the area and heads back to the station. Once he arrives, he puts Zeus back in his kennel and goes back to his desk. Shortly before one, Felix arrives, and he and Henry go to lunch. They walk to the street behind the 17th Precinct and go to Potbelly Sandwich Shop. They were seated by the hostess and looked at their menus. Henry orders a bacon cheeseburger, his favorite sandwich, and fries. Felix orders the classic BLT and fries. While eating, they chat about their day so far.

“How’s work going, Felix?’ Henry asks.

“It’s going well. Just the paperwork is piling up like always, but it’s alright and just how my profession is. How is being a detective?” asks Felix.

“It’s going very well,” Henry replies. “The pay is good, and the investigations are more interesting. I have an assignment to figure out who is committing all the crimes that have been going on the last few weeks.”

“Just be careful, mate,” says Felix, concerned. “You don’t know who to look for and who you may be dealing with.”

“I will, man. I’ll figure it out and stop them. I promised your parents we’d take care of each other. You’re family. You and your parents are the only family I have,” Henry affirms, smiling.

“I know we didn’t get along at first, but I’m glad we became friends,” says Felix. Henry chuckles.

“Me too, man.”

Henry remembers the day he arrived at Felix’s house. Henry was in foster care and was fostered by Felix’s parents. Not much was known about Henry’s birth parents. Henry was 13 when he was found alone in a forest in Central Park called The Ramble. A woman found him while hiking and took him to Child Protective Services. Felix’s parents took him in, and at the age of 16, they adopted him. Henry and Felix had to share a room, and Felix wasn’t happy. One night Felix pulled Henry from his bed and began to punch him repeatedly, taunting him.

“Come on, foster boy. Fight back. Or are you a pathetic worm?” Henry, fed up, yells and kicks Felix off him. Felix looks at Henry, surprised. He stands up with an angry look in his eyes. Felix gets up and rushes at him, and Henry throws him across the room. Henry picks Felix up by his shirt, lifts him off his feet with one hand, and puts the other into a fist. Just then, Felix’s parents rush in and see Henry about to punch Felix. Henry drops Felix, and he falls to the ground breathing heavily. Felix’s parents rush to him to make sure he’s okay.

“You okay, sweetie? What happened?” Felix’s mother asks. He tries to catch his breath and looks at Henry. Felix’s parents also look at him. Mrs. Blaze gave Henry a worried look. He looks at Felix’s dad, who had an angry look on his face. Henry, almost in tears, runs from the room and out the door. He runs to a big oak tree at the edge of the yard and sits on the other side of the stump. He buries his head in his hands and cries. Henry felt ashamed that he won’t ever have a family again. He doesn’t even remember his old life and where he came from. After a while, Henry falls asleep.

As the sun rises, Mr. Blaze comes out looking for Henry. He finds him curled up by the oak tree asleep. As he approaches, Henry wakes up and scoots up close to the tree, afraid.

“It’s okay, Henry,” says Mr. Blaze. “You’re fine. Felix told us what happened, and we got worried.”

“I’m sorry. I was scared, and I don’t know how I did it. It all happened so fast.” Henry said, crying. “I’m so sorry.” Mr. Blaze takes Henry into his arms and hugs him.

“It’s alright, kid. This is new to all of us. We are a family and need to not be physical and learn how to get along. Alright?” Henry nods and dries his tears. Mr. Blaze picks up Henry, and they walk back to the house. Once inside, the two kids come together.

“I’m sorry, Henry. I shouldn’t have hit you.”

“I’m sorry too,” replies Henry. They turn to Mr. Blaze.

“We are a family, and we need to get along. Henry has no one but us, and we need to show him he is safe and cared for here. Is that understood?”

“Yes, sir,” replies Felix and Henry.

“Good. Now go play and don’t fight,” says Mr. Blaze. Henry and Felix ran off to play. As time went on they slowly became like brothers with a close bond that couldn’t be broken by even death itself.

Back at Potbelly, They finish their lunch and pay. Felix looks at Henry.

“Thanks for lunch. Be careful on the road,” says Felix worryingly.

“My pleasure and I will. We have been bros for 11 years and buds for 13-14 years. You can’t get rid of me that easily,” replies Henry. Felix chuckles and gives him a hug.

“You are the best man I know,” says Felix.

“As are you,” replies Henry. Felix gets in his car and heads back to work. Henry’s phone rings and he hears Chief Delgado’s voice on the phone.

“Detective, you there?” Chief Delgado had an uneasy tone to his voice.

“Yes, sir. I’m here. What’s wrong?” Henry replies.

“We got a call of a young woman’s body found in an alleyway at the cross-section of Lexington Avenue and East 41st Street.”

“Oh my gosh. That’s terrible,” says Henry, shocked.

“Yes, it is. Get down there as soon as you can.”

“I’m on it, chief.”

Henry got in his car and raced to the scene. A few minutes later, he arrives on the scene. A barrier is set up, and all the roads in a five-block radius are blocked off. Henry reports to dispatch when he arrives.

“Dispatch 10-85. Detective Stone on scene,” says Henry.

“Detective Stone 10-4. Acknowledged,” Dispatch replies. Henry walks up to the scene and meets up with Captain Flint. As he approaches, Henry calls out to him.

“How’s it going, captain?” Captain Flint looks at Henry.

“Hey, detective. Just the usual. Being busy.” says Flint. They shake hands and walk up to the body.

“Do we know what happened?” asks Henry as he and Flint approach the body.

“The Crime Scene Unit and Homicide Analysis Unit have examined the body. Her clothes have been ripped, and her body is covered in bruises, black eyes, and marks on her neck like she was strangled,” says Flint.

Henry’s eyes widened. “She was strangled?”

“Yes, detective,” says Flint. “She seems to have struggled, but her attacker was too strong.” Flint looks upset as Henry kneels down to the body and pulls back the sheet. What Henry sees shocks him, and he has to push back tears. The victim is a young, tall, slim woman with blonde shoulder-length hair, blue eyes, and her light complexion seemed to shine in the sunlight. She was covered in bruises, her right eye swollen, and her clothes were ripped in many places. It was true that she struggled to break free. Her eyes were wide, and the bruises on her neck showed great force was used to kill her. Henry covers the body, and after taking notes, he heads back to the station. Henry gives his notes to Flint and sees an autopsy report on the girl’s body.

After reading, Henry looks up, shocked and confused. Apparently, the woman was raped and killed late the previous night. Not only that, there must’ve been two or three people involved. The bruises on her arms showed she was held down and restrained as the incident took place.

The woman was identified as Katie Fallon, age 19. Henry looked disgusted and went back to his desk. He searched for the name of the girl found at the scene. A few minutes later, an address came up. The address was to the Beresford Apartments located at 405 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10174. Henry writes down the address and heads to his car. He arrives at the Beresford Apartments, walks into the lobby, and heads to the front desk, where a woman with dark hair is standing.

“Good afternoon, sir. What can I do for you?”

“I was wondering if you can help me?” Henry says, smiling. The woman smiles back.

“Of course. What do you need?” says the woman. After a short sigh, Henry tells the woman why he has come.

“My name is Henry Stone. I am a Detective from the NYPD, 17th Precinct. I am looking for the parents of a young woman named Katie Fallon.”

“Is something wrong?” asks the woman, looking confused.

“It’s of a sensitive nature that I need to tell them personally. It’s important.” The woman looks back at Henry.

“I can try to give them a call,” says the woman. Henry thanks her and takes a seat while the call is made. A few minutes later, she beckons Henry over.

“They have answered and given permission for you to come up to the apartment. They are on the 30th floor, apartment #3017.” Henry thanks the woman and heads up to the apartment. He knocks on the door, and within a few seconds, the door opens. A tall man with dirty blonde hair about Henry’s size, blue eyes, and a light complexion answers the door.

“Hi, I’m Henry Stone from the NYPD. The woman in the lobby called for your permission for me to come up. May I come in?” asks Henry.

“Of course, detective. Come in.” The man beckons Henry inside. “I am John, John Fallon,” he says as he shakes Henry’s hand and gestures to him to sit. A tall, petite woman with long wavy brown hair, brown eyes, and a light complexion, like John’s, is also in the room.

“This is my wife, Jane. Jane, this is Henry Stone. A Detective from the NYPD,” says John. Henry stands to shake her hand. He sits back down as Jane sits next to John. John Fallon is a Realtor at Walluck Management. While Jane Fallon works at Wells Fargo as a banker.

“I’m sorry to intrude, but I have something important to talk to you about. I’m here to talk about a young girl named Katie that supposedly lives here,” says Henry. The Fallon’s look at each other with concern. A few minutes later, John answers.

“Katie is our daughter,” says John. Henry felt a shortness of breath, realizing what he was about to tell them. After composing himself, Henry tells them why he is there.

“I don’t know how to tell you this, but your daughter was found dead in an alleyway located on the block at the cross-section of Lexington Avenue and East 41st Street,” Henry discloses.

His face becomes flushed. “Oh my gosh! That’s right where I work,” says John. “She was killed a block from here.”

“How did she die?” asked Jane in tears.

“She was assaulted in the street by at least three men. They dragged her into an alley and raped her as two held her down. She struggled to get away but was strangled to death. The sight of her was unbearable,” Henry answers. The Fallon’s are overwhelmed with grief, and Jane begins to weep for the loss of her daughter and runs into the hall leading to the bedroom. Henry and John look at each other.

With sadness in his eyes, Henry apologizes to John. “I am so sorry for your loss. It pained me to see her body. I promise you I will do what I can to find those responsible. You have my word,” He then gets up and heads to the door.

“Will you kill them, those who are responsible?” asks John. Henry turns to see John standing with anger in his eyes.

“If it comes to it, yes,” says Henry. Henry leaves and heads back to the station. On the way, he gets a call from dispatch.

“Attention all units in the area. We have a 10-39. An assault with personal injury. Use caution. The offender is a 10-42, armed and dangerous.”

“Dispatch. Detective Stone 10-12. I am available. I need a 10-10 on the 10-39,” Henry replies.

“Detective Stone. 10-39, located at Fox Horan & Camerini LLP 885 3rd Avenue,” Dispatch replies.

“Dispatch 10-4. Acknowledged,” says Henry. Henry races to the location of the incident. Once he gets to the scene, he calls dispatch.

“Dispatch, 10-85. Stone at the scene,” says Henry.

“Stone 10-4. Acknowledged,” answers dispatch. Henry gets out and sees a man on the ground holding his hip, bleeding and yelling in pain. Henry radios in for help.

“Dispatch, I need an ambulance to my location.”

“Stone 10-4. Acknowledged. Ambulance on the way,” answers dispatch. Henry gets a rag and holds pressure on the man’s wound. He asks the people around what happened. A woman said that three men confronted the injured man yelling at him, and started to beat him. Then as the injured man tried to get away, he was shot. The three men ran around the corner to the Lexicon Night Club. Then the woman described the three men to Henry.

“They wore inexpensive-looking suits. Two were in black with white shirts, and the one with the gun was in a navy-blue jacket,” says the woman. A few minutes later, an ambulance shows up, and the EMTs jump out and rush over to the injured man. They stabilize him and load him into the back of the ambulance. As they drive off, Henry walks around the corner. As he turns, he sees the entrance to the Lexicon Night Club. Henry heads back to his car and radios for backup.

“Dispatch 10-17. Stone in need of assistance at the location,” says Henry. A few seconds later, he is answered by dispatch.

“Stone, what is your location?”

“Dispatch, 10-10 is Fox Horan & Camerini LLP and heading to the Lexicon Night Club.”

“Stone 10-4. Backup is en-route to your location.”

A few minutes later, Flint shows up with two more officers. “Thanks for coming,” Henry says as he walks up to Flint, shaking his hand.

“No problem, detective. What’s up?” says Flint smiling.

“I am told three men shot a civilian and disappeared into the Lexicon Night Club.”

“I’m going in and need your help.” Flint smiles at him.

“Sounds good, detective. We got your back,” says Flint, as he nods at Henry. “Lead the way,” says Flint. Henry nods back, and the four of them head into the nightclub.

The club was full of people. Almost all the tables, and half the seats at the bar were filled. Henry looked around and didn’t see anyone suspicious. Henry turns to Flint.

“I’m going to ask the bartender if she has seen the suspects walk in within the past 10-15 minutes,” says Henry. Flint nods.

“Sounds good. We’ll split up and look around. We’ll call in if we see or find anything.” Everyone went off in different directions while Henry walked to the bar. Once he got to the bar, he called for the bartender’s attention. The bartender was a woman in her 20s with long black hair tied to the back into a ponytail, and green eyes. Once she came over, Henry asked her some questions.

“Hi, I’m Detective Stone and was wondering if I could ask you a few questions?” The bartender looked confused.

“Ummmm, sure?” said the bartender. “How can I help?” Henry smiles at her.

“Thank you. Did you know that there was an issue earlier on the other side of the building today?”

“Yeah, some people were talking about it when they came in. That’s awful what happened,” the bartender replied.

“Yeah, it is. Witnesses said that three guys were involved. Two were in all-black suits with white shirts. The other was armed and was in a navy-blue suit. Has anyone come in the past 15-20 minutes wearing that?’ Henry asks. “They were seen disappearing around the corner into this club.”

“The security that works here are in black suits. I did see a man with a navy-blue jacket come in a few minutes ago. He was taken to the back by security,” said the bartender. She points to the door to the left of the restrooms. Henry thanks the bartender and notifies the other officers.

“Alright, guys. I have a lead on our suspects. The bartender said men that match the descriptions we were given headed back through the door left of the restrooms. I’m going to head that way and look around. Flint, you’re with me. Everyone else, stay by the exits in case we have runners.”

“I got your back, Stone,” says Flint. Henry and Flint sneak to the back and look around. They hear voices coming and hide in the closest room. The room they went into looked like a hangout place, except there was a huge desk on one side. The voices were getting closer and closer. Henry and Flint looked at each other and hid as quickly as possible. Seconds later, the door opens, and five men walk in. Three were in black suits, one in a navy-blue jacket, and the last one was in a dark gray suit.

The man in the dark gray suit was a tall, muscular man, with dark brown hair, brown eyes, and a tan complexion. He took a seat at the desk, and one of the men in black suits stood behind him on his left. The man in the navy-blue suit stood in front of the desk with the other two black suited men behind him. The man in the gray suit started to yell.

“What the hell have you done?” yelled the man. The three men in front of him looked at each other. “You injured a man down the street from my building, and now the NYPD is on to us. Four officers are here right now looking for those responsible.” The three men were freaked out. The one in the navy-blue suit spoke first.

“I’m sorry, sir. We didn’t mean to gather a crowd. The man deserved it,” he said. The man in the dark gray suit laughed.

“What on earth could that man do to you? Absolutely nothing! This is your problem. You created it; you fix it. I don’t want to see you in here till it is done, or I will kill you myself,” said the man in the dark gray suit.

“Yes... Mr. Slade,” said the man in the navy-blue suit. The three men left. After they left, Slade laughed with the guard next to him.

“Those men are morons. What does it take to find good men these days? I’m Viktor Slade! The biggest crime boss in Manhattan. We can’t have Henry Stone on to us. It’s not time for him to find out,” said Slade.

“Yes, sir,” says the guard, turning to Slade. They both leave the room, and Henry and Flint come out of their hiding places. Henry looks shocked.

“Who is Viktor Slade, and what does he want with me?” Henry says, confused. “How does he know me?”

Flint looks at Henry. “I don’t know. Let’s get out of here and head back to the station. There we’ll find answers to what Slade has planned and find out why he is interested in you,” he says.

They sneak out into the hallway and find the back exit. Henry contacts the other two officers to head back to the station and that he and Flint are on the way back too.

The next few hours at the station are busy for Henry and Flint. They searched for any info on Viktor Slade but couldn’t find anything. Henry goes to Chief Delgado for help. He has to give Henry clearance to access the files. Soon Henry and Flint have found Viktor Slade. Slade has become the most powerful crime boss in Manhattan and has many on his payroll. One file would not open for Henry. It was labeled Slade and Detective Stone. Why was there a file for me and Slade he thought. Henry was even more confused, and then a virus corrupted the file. Chief Delgado wouldn’t show the file to him because of clearance and that the assignment would get personal.

“Why would this be personal? I don’t know this man!” said Henry angrily.

Chief Delgado looks back at Henry. “Well, he seems to know you. I would like you to catch and arrest him. Not go looking to find answers to why,” Chief Delgado says. Henry storms out of Chief Delgado’s office angrier than before and goes to his desk. He looks back at the picture of Slade on his computer. Flint comes back to his desk.

“You alright, Henry?” says Flint. Henry looks up at him.

“Yeah. I’m off. Gotta run an errand before heading home. See you tomorrow,” says Henry.

Flint smiles at Henry. “Sounds good, detective. Have a good night,” he says.. Henry gets in his car and heads to the Lexicon Night Club. He walks in and looks for any of the security guards he saw earlier. As he approaches the bar, he feels something on his back. A security guard put his hand on his shoulder with what felt like a gun pressed against his back.

“Mr. Slade would like to see you. Please come quietly,” said the guard, whispering in his ear. Henry looked back and saw a smirk on the guard’s face. They led him to the back office he and Flint hid in earlier that day. The door opened, and in the chair at the desk was Slade.

“Good evening, Henry. It’s been a long time,” says Slade evilly grinning at Henry. Henry glares at him while the two guards sit him in a chair in front of Slade’s desk.

“How do you know me?” demands Henry. Slade looks at him thinking what to say. After a few minutes, Slade finally answers.

“I’ve known you ever since you came here to New York. The woman who found you was my wife. She brought you to our home till Child Protective Services showed up. You were 13 and got placed with Felix’s family. You stayed with them until you turned 16 when they adopted you. You were great in school. You and Felix were always together. I assume you are to this day.” Henry looks back at Slade with anger and shocked disbelief. He remembers being in the forest, a woman finding him, meeting Slade, and then leaving with Child Protective Services. He didn’t know what to say for what felt like the longest time. Finally, Henry was able to put his thoughts together.

“How do you know all that? You weren’t there after Child Protective Services picked me up,” says Henry.

Slade looks back. “I’ve always been there. How do you think you got into college with a four-year scholarship, got hired straight away, and was able to become a detective so soon?” Henry looks at Slade with shock in his eyes.

“You did that?” he asks.

Slade smiles back at Henry. “Yes. I paid for it all and made some calls. I’ve always been there. Now it’s time for you to work for me and keep the cops off me when I do business. How does that sound?” Henry didn’t know what to do.

“Can I have some time to think?” asked Henry looking back at Slade.

“Of course. I will give you till tomorrow night. Boys, it’s late, and Henry has a long day tomorrow. Good night, Henry,” says Slade. Henry leaves, and Slade looks at his guards. “Follow him,” he says menacingly. His guards leave the room and radio the others. Henry walks towards his car, gets in, and heads home. Slade’s guards park on different sides of Henry’s apartment building to watch him.

END OF PART 1