"C'mon, you're losing twenty-to-none. I didn't even know that could happen," said Gabriela, juggling a shiny dollar coin through her fingers. "Pick another."

"I don't know. Heads? Can you please focus?" said Franco, listening intently through a set of headphones.

With a flick of the thumb, the coin flipped into the air, landing on Gabriela's palm, smashing it into the back of his left hand.

"Tails. Man-- I mean, sir, you have terrible luck. That's twenty-one-to-none."

"Hush," said Franco, punching up a button on the dashboard in front of him, "we are live."

Speakers blared the crisp, slightly passive-aggressive voice of Dara Lynch around them. The bug they had planted in her office the other day was in the perfect vantage point to capture even the tiniest of whispers.

"...to ya, Dunne," she said, followed by some shuffling. "Now that everyone's here, we gotta discuss a few matters, namely, how we are gettin' fucked!" she said, followed by a loud bang.

"Someone's being a sourpuss," commented Gabriela, before being hushed by Franco.

"Ya might wanna close that there door, Dunne," said Dara, followed by a creaking sound, most likely the door being closed. Silence dominated the room, with only a slight shuffling heard in the background. Without any warning, the incessant sound of a bagpipe flooded the whole surveilance room. It created a sound seal that made the room vibrate with a piercing shriek.

"God dammit!" screamed Franco, punching the dashboard with his fists. "They're onto us!"

With a flip of the switch, the room went silent, except for a pair of earphones who kept blasting the obnoxious sound.

"They know we planted a bug," said Franco, hunched over himself. "Shit..."

"So..." trailed Gabriela, "What are we gonna do now?"

Franco cupped his hand over his mouth, tapping his index fingers above his nose. Gabriela had never seen his boss look like that. He was usually calm and composed.

"I have to make a call," he said while standing up. "Wait here, and if you can pick up anything, tell me."

He did not wait for Gabriela to respond before jumping outside. She did as requested, putting up the earphones, but nothing but bagpipes ever came from the other side. Gabriela passed the time by flipping the coin by herself. After being baffled by ten consecutive heads, Franco returned to the room.

"Saddle up, we're going outside."

Gabriela passed the headphones to a waiting officer, running behind Franco.

"Can you at least tell me where we-"

His hand soon found her mouth, shooting her a piercing stare. With his free hand, he placed a finger over his mouth, nodding slightly at her. She understood that he wanted her to keep quiet. She nodded.

They left the D.A's office in a flash, taking Franco's Sedan down Congress Street.

"I'm getting some really molest-y vibes from you, boss," said Gabriela, still fiddling the coin between her fingers.

"Sorry, but the ears have walls," said Franco, entering Bowdoin street.

"The walls have ears," corrected Gabriela.

"Same difference. We must act fast before we lose our chance."

"What chance? What ears?"

"You're aware that we are taking on the biggest crime family in Boston, right? You don't get to be that without rubbing shoulders with the authorities. They have ears everywhere. They have dirt on everyone."

"Including you?" asked Gabriela

"Including me," he confirmed. "You can't get where I am without rubbing shoulders with them. It's symbiotic."

"Then why are-"

"We're here," he said, pulling outside the Old South Church. The building was foreboding, towering over the pair like Goliath on David. The rough, gothic exterior contrasted heavily with the modern buildings surrounding them. People passed them left and right, not bothering to acknowledge the cathedral of decadence at the heart of the city, or the pair of feds standing in front.

"Come," barked Franco, opening a small side-door next to the main gate. It led to a dimly-lit foyer, which they passed without even taking a glance, before entering the main chamber. Old wooden pews filled the space between aisle left and right, leading up to an altar drowned in light passing through the multicolored glass adorning the farthest wall. Chandeliers upon chandeliers littered the ceiling, all lit up, yet, darkness still cascaded through the very foundations of the church. Wood and limestone fused and melted in archways swaying in shadows, taunting them from all directions. Everything in that room exuded a pressure that drowned Gabriela--hundreds of years of spinning sins and crimes, love and death. The walls have swallowed all, not telling, but ever-knowing.

Franco touched a water basin filled with holy water with two fingers, uttering a silent prayer before entering. Gabriela wanted to follow suit but was overwhelmed by the whole thing.

She felt eyes pinning on her as soon as she entered.

"I'll go light a candle, and then I will go. In ten minutes, there will be an Uber waiting for you outside," commented Franco, walking down the aisle towards the altar.

"Wait, what? You're gonna leave me here?!"

"I'm afraid so."

"Okay...why the fu--whoops, sorry, God. Why the...frick?"

"You must confess," said Franco, pointing at a small confessional by the side of the room.

"Confess to what? Pot is legal now, ain't it?" she said with a grin, trying her best to make light out of the situation, but Franco's stare was as grim as the building they were in.

"Okay, okay. I'll go." She didn't know where this was going, but she trusted her mentor.

The confessional was almost silly-looking compared to the rest of the room. A few wooden panels glued together with some rickety adornments that didn't quite match with the rest of the decor. The inside was even worse, with not even a wooden cross perched on a wall. Just the small room, as big as an airplane toilet, divided by a small grid. But she was not alone in there. There was someone in the other compartment.

"Father, forgive me, for I have sinned...I guess," said Gabriela, unsure of what to do.

"Well," said a clearly female figure, with a grave voice, "join the club."

"Father? I mean, Mother?" Gabriela asked. Peering through the grid, she could see that the figure had long hair.

"I have no children, but sure, whatever floats your boat, honey."

"So, I guess you are not a priest," said Gabriela.

"No shit, Sherlock, what gave you that idea?" said the woman.

Gabriela saw a blue light glow from the priest's side, followed by a puff of smoke.

"You're not supposed to smoke in here, you know?"

"It's an e-cig. Lay off, will you?"

They both sat in silence for a second. None of them initiated a conversation. Only the background noise kept them company.

"So... What are we doing here?" asked Gabriela.

"Job interview," replied the woman.

"I already have a job, thank you very much."

"Oh, really? How's that going for you? You are trying to catch an Irishman, but for what I know, you've only managed to get some Scottish."

"How did you-"

"Hush, child. I know everything. And you won't succeed," said the woman, puffing on the e-cig.

"Why?"

"They told me you were smart."

Gabriela took a moment to think of a reason. Any reason. "Is it because...they have dirt on everyone?"

"Bingo. See? You can be smart. Yes, they have dirt on everyone, but not on you. You're brand new. Clean. They can't wish you away. But you can't do it alone."

"And why is that?" asked Gabriela.

"Because of the same reason. You are way too clean. For this, you need an ally. Someone who can get their hands dirty."

"I suppose that would be you," said Gabriela.

"Bingo."

"Yeah, no, thank you," said Gabriela, standing up from her seat. "I don't get in bed with people who can't even show me their face. I'm just not that kind of girl, you know? I like to be romanced first. Go for a cup of coffee or something.

"Honey, you're not my type, either, but this is the only way. Think of it as a blind date. I can't take you out for some coffee, but I can give you a gift. Look under your seat."

Gabriela rummaged under the seat, and just as she had said, there was an old phone.

"Awn, you shouldn't have," said Gabriela. "Now I look like a dick for not bringing you anything. I suck at dating."

"An untraceable burner. No Wi-Fi, no data, no calls. Only messages," the woman said.

"And your contact info-"

"It's already in."

Gabriela went through the phone. Only one contact.

"Estragon? That's a weird name."

"A safe name," she said.

"Okay, sure, whatever, Estragon. My name is-"

"Vladimir, your name is Vladimir. We can't use names. Easily traceable," said Estragon.

"Sure. Whatever you say. But my dear Estragon, you have failed to account for something," said Gabriela.

"And what would that be?" replied Estragon.

"The fact that I don't trust you. What makes you think I wanna work with someone that said she doesn't mind getting her hands dirty?"

"Because you need me," said Estragon nonchalantly.

"I hardly-" said Gabriela, before her phone started ringing. "Excuse me, gotta take this. Aloha, Gabby speaking,"

"Hello, Ms. Reyes, is Detective Graham Dunne, from the Geber case?" said a deep voice on the other side.

"Of course. Detective Dunne, from the Geber case. What can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if we could talk a little bit about the case."

Estragon tapped the screen twice, grabbing her attention. "Put in on speaker," she whispered.

"No," she whispered back, covering the phone with her hands. "Why?"

"You wanted me to prove useful, right? Let me woo you a bit. You can have it as my first date gift."

Gabriela waited for a second, before deciding to comply. She pushed the phone as close to the grid as she could.

"Sorry! Yes, of course, I would love to discuss the case."

"Good. It's about the evidence. I thought that you made an erroneous assumption-"

"Oh, I don't make assumptions, Detective, and even if I did, I assure you they are not erroneous."

"C'mon, we all make mistakes. We are supposed to be together on this one. Throw a guy a bone. All evidence points at Mr. Wolfe. The tapes, the affidavit-"

"Cmon, Detective, we all know that evidence is circumstantial. The tapes don't show anything, and without fingerprints on the car, you can't really tell he did it or not. You did comb the car for fingerprints, didn't you?"

"No, the car was a wreck. It would have been a waste-"

"Wait, so you are telling me the car was good enough to determine that the brakes had been destroyed, but not enough to recover a print? That seems awfully convenient."

"Well, I...okay. That's one I'll give you, but-"

"And you know that affidavits without evidence might as well be just waste paper."

"What about the tapes?!" yelled Graham from the other side.

"Didn't we just discuss it?"

"No, no we didn't. You said it didn't prove anything, and I agree."

"Then why-"

"Wait, lemme finish," said Graham,"It doesn't prove that Mr. White had anything to do with the murder in any way or form,"

Estragon tapped the divider again. Gabriela understood that she should turn off the speaker.

"Fabricating a tape is rather easy to do, so that proves jack shit," commented Estragon.

"I saw them. They looked legit, but they don't show anything really incriminating. They even gave him some tapes with Mr. White on him."

"I see," said Estragon. "Ask him if he personally requested for those tapes."

"Why?"

"Just do it," said Estragon, puffing from her e-cig.

"Detective, did you ask for those tapes?"

"What do you mean? Of course I-"

"No. Think hard. Did you request to be shown the tapes yourself? Did you call them and asked them to show you those specific tapes?"

They were met with a stunned silence. "No, I don't recall. But wait for a second, I recorded that conversation."

"Mind if you put it on speaker so I could listen?"

"I don't see why not. Hold on."

They heard some rustling from the other side, quickly returning.

"Okay, got it. You still with me?"

"Yeah. Hit it."

A different voice sounded from the speaker. It was kind of distant but near enough to be understood.

"Of course not, Detective. I will also give you a copy of the tapes I am about to show you, for evidence. Before we start, I must make a small disclaimer. We at the Park Plaza hotel have a full cooperation policy. You are free to watch the tapes, make inspections of the premises; basically, everything that would help any investigation. We, however, defend the privacy of our guests and attendants above all else. We will not disclose any information regarding a guess who is not a part of an investigation. We explained this to your Captain and she-"

Estragon slammed her hand on the divider, making Gabriela jump on her seat.

"Wait," interrupted Gabriela. Estragon held two fingers to the divider. "Two things I wanna point out."

"Be my guest."

Gabriela turned off the speaker. "Okay, what now?"

"First, they gave him the tapes preemptively. Not the ones from the main suspect but the ones with Mr. White in it. Against their own policy. They say they don't give info on people not under investigation, but they gave him tapes on White. Second, he didn't even request them, it was Dara. That's a red flag. Why is the police Captain herself requesting evidence? That goes against the chain of command."

"Why would they do that?" asked Gabriela.

"They want to throw off suspicion from Mr. White. They try to show that everything is peachy so that he won't come asking questions later."

"Okay. Let's try this."

She tapped the phone alive again.

"First, you didn't ask for the tapes, or the copy. Did the Captain request them?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"And, they just said that they would not disclose information of anyone not on the investigation, correct?"

"Indeed, but-"

"Then why did they give you Mr. White's information? Was Mr. White part of the investigation at that point?"

"No," admitted Graham.

"Don't you find it a bit odd, then?"

A loud knock came from outside, making her jump.

"I'm sorry. I have to go. As I said, look into Mr. White. You will eventually find something interesting. Bye."

And with that, she turned the phone off. The door opened up, and a small boy dressed in robes appeared like an angel.

"Mr. Guidice asked me to let you know that your Uber is outside. Please step out."

"Thank you, I'll be right there," she said to the boy. "As for you," she said, turning to Estragon, but there was no-one. In a moment, she had slipped away.

The burner phone received a message.

"We'll be in touch. Beware."

I guess I have a partner now, thought Gabriela, stepping out of the confessional.

For some reason, she still felt those eyes staring at her from the darkness as she walked outside.

She had stepped into the lion's den, and the only way out was to fight back with all she got.

THE DEVIL'S SWING - END