RJ was on his way to meet Sophia at the pool hall when he was stopped by Delmarco Delgado. It's been awhile since RJ saw Del, but he didn't think that his next encounter with him would be on a long stretch of road leading back to Llanview. Agent Delgado walked up to RJ's Sonota with a big grin on his face. RJ was unsure what to expect from the G-man, but he was prepared for whatever tricks Del had up his sleeve.
"Hey RJ." Del ducked his head in RJ's car. "How's my future brother-in-law doing? Step outside the car and chat with me." He smiled as he stepped away from RJ's vehicle.
RJ got out of his car and was very suspicious of Del. He knew that there's much more to this unexpected meeting that meets the eye.
"So what's on your mind, Del?"
"You are, pal. Heard about your house. I'm sure Bo and his men will find the guy that broke in wrecked your place.The culprit behind this home invasion won't get away with it." Expressed Del.
RJ quickly grabbed Del off-guard and threw him against a nearby tree. He then demanded to know what Del was up to.
"I have had it up to here with your buddy-buddy act. Who did this?" Asked RJ in an angry tone. Del fearlessly looked at him.
"RJ, do you really think you can scare me with this tough guy act? What makes you think I know who broke into your aparment?" In
quired Del.
"The FBI takes an interest in my love life and my home. This situation all makes me wonder what your true motivations are, Delgado. Come to think of it, you probably tipped off the cops about it. Am I right or wrong?"
"First of all, the FBI is not interested in your love life. Secondly, I don't know who broke into your home. Furthermore, get your damn hands off of me before you live to regret it." Demanded Del.
RJ removes his hands off of Del and continues to chat with him.
"I have a hunch that Sykes was the one who ordered the home invasion into my apartment, but I'm sure you had my home under surveillance and saw who did it. All I need from you is to tell me who was in my pad and I'll take it from there."
"You're way off base, RJ. Like I told you before, I don't know who did it." Denied Del.
"That's an unlikely story. Tell me something, this little interest in my life is your own independent investigation?"
"If you want to call it that, yes. My own agenda. You found me out, Gannon. Enough about me. Let's talk about you."
"Let's get something straight here. You're not worth wasting my physical energy, so don't think I punked down to you." Stated RJ.
"I never figured you for the soft type, RJ. Defensive, yes. Soft, no. Your heart, much like your head is hard like granite." Remarked Del.
"I'm not sure what's bigger. Your head or your mouth." Responded RJ.
"Your attitude doesn't surprise me one bit. I kind of expected this from you. After all, organized crime runs in your family. I'm surprised that Hank and you are brothers, considering the path he chosen for himself."
"What the hell are you implying by making that smart-ass comment?"
"Don't try to con me, RJ. I know all about your family. Your pops and your uncle use to run numbers for the Mob in Chicago. Your father eventually got out of the rackets, but your uncle remained in the policy business up until his incarceration and death in a prison riot."
"So you know a little bit about my family history. Are you writing a book about me?"
"No. But with all the information I have on you, I should."
"Now you listen, my father was an aspiring jazz artist and steel mill worker, who busted his ass for his family. I will not tolerate you disrespecting his memory like this since he's not here to defend himself. Watch your mouth." Warned RJ.
"I was establishing a pattern of behavior, RJ. Anyways, we need to get our plan in motion. I'm glad to see that you've gotten your priorites straight. Besides, you have one life to live and I'm grateful that you're living for yourself, and not for Dorian, Hank or anyone else for that manner. I'm happy to see that you're finally taking care of business and your life."
"You know, it's funny that you would mention "business" and "life" in the same sentence. It seems like you made it your business to butt into my life. I guess it's true about you G-men bringing your work home with you. Is being an interloper what you enjoy doing in your spare time?" Implied RJ.
"What I do in my spare time is none of your business. Let's just stick to the plan at hand."
"If there's any planning to be done, it'll be handled on my terms. NOT YOURS!" Exclaimed RJ in a loud voice.
"RJ, I know you have a distrust of the authorities, so I want you to forget that I'm a Federal Agent for a moment and just think of me as Delmarco Delgado, the civillian." Del persuasively said.
"If that was your intention from the begining, you should've tried that from the time you broke into my home. Not that it would've worked, but this cloak and dagger crap is wearing thin with me." Erupted RJ.
"I'm only serving in your best interest, RJ. What can I say? My sister and you would make a great couple. You both are stubborn, evasive and have a taste for the better things in life. So why don't you ditch that bar whore you been hanging with and pair up with Tea?" Suggested Del.
"Not that I'm enjoying this conversation, but I have to get going." Rushed RJ as he walked back to his Sonota.
"Wait! We still haven't discussed the plan for you to win Tea's heart." Reminded Del.
"If you must know I'm on top of that." RJ opened his car door and got inside his Sonota. He then put the key in the ignition and started the engine.
"You mind filling me in?"
"Why should I ?" I'm sure you have me under surveillance, even though you previously denied that. Just sit back and enjoy the show." RJ drives off.
Del knew RJ was too smart for his own good. Delgado put his hand in his coat pocket and pulled out the roll of film and smiled. "It's time to remind RJ who's really in charge." He thought to himself.
The scene switches to the pool hall in Llanview where Sophia is waiting for RJ to arrive so they could practice for the pool tournament. Sophie already started working on her pool game. She's been waiting for RJ to show for sometime now. It was during this moment that RJ was detained by Del. About an hour later, the pool hall was ready to close up for the night.
Sophia went to go use the phone in the pool hall but it was out of order. She walked outside to use the payphone to try and get in contact with RJ on his cellular phone, but all she got was his answering machine. She already left several messages so far. Sophia hung up the phone and called a cab instead. Since RJ was giving her a ride in his car, she didn't take her motorcycle. After she called the cab, Sophia sat down at a nearby bench and waited for the Taxi to show up.
An old, big and rugged man in his late thirties with short brown hair and a leather jacket walked up to Sophia and started to make advances at her.
"Hey baby. Need some company?" He asked.
"I'm all set. Thanks." Sophia politely said.
"Well I insist." The man sits down right beside Sophia and puts his arm around her shoulder.
"Can't you take "no" for an answer? Go away!" She yelled
"I love it when you women play hard to get. Let's have some fun, sexy." The man then put both of his hands on Sophia's arms and ensnared her in his tight grip.
Sophia was screaming for help, but there were no police around. All of sudden, Sophia was saved by an unlikely savior. Marco Dane was driving by and witnessed the whole event. He got out of the car and punched the thug that was hassling Sophia. Dane then twisted the thug's arms and kicked him in the butt and told him to get lost.
"Sophia what are you doing in this neighborhood ? This is no place for a lady to be sitting here alone. Oh, that's right. I forgot that you can take care of yourself." Marco sarcastically said.
"Marco, I'm not in the mood to listen to your sarcasm. Thanks for coming to my rescue."
"No problem. What happened to RJ? Shouldn't he be here?"
"Your guess is as good as mine. He was supposed to meet me at the pool hall, but he stood me up. Wait until I see him again?"
"Didn't I tell you that this RJ Gannon guy was bad news? He was probably with another chick while you were getting harrassed by a hood. You're lucky that I was here."
"I'm grateful that you got rid of that creep, but I'm not going to kiss your ass and tell you how much of a hero you are."
"That's just peachy. I'll remember that the next time I'm driving by and I see my ex-girlfriend's daughter getting manhandled by a bruiser with bad breath. You owe me one, Sophia. Don't you ever forget that."
"I thanked you for helping me, didn't I ? What more do you want ?"
"For starters, I want you to keep quiet about this whole situation to your boyfriend. Here's a Ben Franklin." Marco hands Sophia a one-hundred dollar bill. "You never saw me or that punk with bad manners. Got it?"
"My lips are sealed. Well my cab is here. Thanks for the cash. See ya. " Sophia gets in the cab and leaves Marco.
As Dane watched Sophia leave in the cab, he said to himself, "I love it when a plan comes together."
To Be Continued ....