DARK AGENDA

RJ puts the tape in his VCR and then presses play. He sat in his recliner and watched the video. What he seen so far looked like a Broadway show, but as the camera zoomed in it was Sykes dressed in drag. RJ laughed outloud after seeing his foe wearing female garments. On the videotape, John was doing a female impression of Judy Garland singing "Somewhere Over The Rainbow". He then dressed as Marylin Monroe and later Liza Minneli. John's drag queen act went on for several minutes until the tape cut to another scene. It was in an old and decrepit building. Sykes had put a gun to a man's head and he was screaming for his life. The man was bruised and bloody and begged John to spare his life for the sake of his family. John ignored the man's plea to live and he pulled the trigger and shot him dead. The man fell to floor and Sykes fired his revolver again to make sure he didn't survive. The videotape stopped shortly after.

RJ then came upon an article in the briefcase that read "Detective found slain in Crackhouse". He also read some followup articles about a junkie who was arrested for the murder of the cop and later sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. After reviewing all the incriminating evidence against Sykes, RJ was convinced that he had enough ammunition to destroy his adversary for good. The only thing RJ needed to do was confront John and make his life a living hell. Satisfied with what he saw, RJ took the videotape out of the VCR and put it back in the briefcase along with the documents and photos of Sykes in drag. He then took his briefcase into his bedroom where he went to sleep dreaming of retribution and respect.

The next morning the man who met with RJ at Crossroads Tavern is at the Llanview Airport talking on his cellular phone to his contact in Washington D.C.

"It's done." He said to his D.C. contact on the phone.

"Good work." The man's D.C. contact enthusiastically said. "Your payment will be forwarded to your account in the Cayman Islands within twenty-four hours."

"Thanks." The mystery man hangs up the phone and gets ready to board his plane to the Cayman Islands.

The scene switches to D.C. where the mystery man's contact is cloaked in the shadows of his office overlooking Capitol Hill. On his desk are pictures of RJ, Tea, Sykes, Andrew and other residents of Llanview PA. He turns off his desk light and the scene fades to black.

Later that day, RJ follows John Sykes from the Police Station to the Llanview Cemetary. RJ parks his car in a discreet spot and quietly trails behind John. He hides behind the bushes and observes Sykes from afar. John is unaware of RJ's presence. His mind was on his weekly visit to the gravesite of Senator Graham. Once a week, John would come to the cemetary to honor the man who adopted him and treated him like he was his own flesh and blood.

A tear would run down his cheek as he reminisced about his adoptive father. Although their relationship was strained before he died, John loved the Senator unconditionally. When he made the decision to stand up to him and tell the truth about Graham's involvement in the murder cover-up of Drew Buchanan, he lost him. Now that the Senator was dead and Barbara's in jail, he was alone. Doing the right thing cost John the one thing he had in this world: family. Since then John has been looking for a place where he can fit in. Sykes thought the police force was a family unit but he wanted something more than stakeouts and arresting perps. He wanted a family. Someone to celebrate the holidays with as well as a sense of belonging. John pictured Tea and him getting married and having kids. Sykes saw that as his key to having a family and prayed to God that it would come true. He's also been curious to investigate his biological family background. John was anxious to discover his roots and where he came from. He wanted a better understanding of who he was as a person by researching his heritage. John felt that there was a part of him that was missing and he wanted to be whole by finding the unknown half of himself.

Sykes' moment of silence was disturbed when he heard sounds from nearby.

"Who's there?" He asked as pulled out his gun. "Come on out and identify yourself." Demanded John.

RJ emerged from the bushes with a smile on his face. John wasn't pleased to see RJ. He put his gun away and asked him what he was doing there.

"What brings you to this neighborhood, Gannon? Are you following me?"

"Me? Follow you? Naw. I have better things to do with my time." RJ sarcastically said.

"Stop screwing with me and tell me why you're here, Gannon?"

"Actually I'm here to deliver you a message." Remarked RJ.

"So you got a job at Federal Express?"

"Yeah I'm a courier. I decided to personally give you this envelope. Don't worry, it's not a letter bomb."

RJ hands Sykes the envelope. John opens it up and his mouth drops to the floor.

To Be Continued....