Chapter 6 – See Hugh Later, Jackie & Epilogue

Jackie sat in front of Hugh in the kitchen while she dabbed away her tears with a handkerchief. Malcolm stood behind her rubbing her shoulders. “We are so used to our family getting investigated because of their shady activities, I wasn’t shocked to find out about you. So, when you showed up undercover, Malcolm had someone lift your wallet briefly to confirm who you were, and then warned me to be on my guard because you could be using me to get to them. But, he also knew I was attracted to you and would enjoy being wined and dined by you. He encouraged me to date you. So, I decided not to blow you off.” She blew her nose.

“So, you knew I was a cop all along?” He feigned surprise.

“Pretty much, and a pretty damn cute and sexy one too.” she added. He smiled back. “I really enjoyed the time we spent together. I really wanted it to continue. I needed to know I was attractive as a woman. And you were bringing it out in me. And I so appreciate it. Thank you! I wasn’t going to lie to you forever. Just long enough for us to get to know each other. Maybe have you fall in love with me.”

Hugh’s voice was sympathetic. “You are very attractive. I want you to know, you mean a lot to me too. But, now, how can I help you? You just blew my cover. I am useless. I was sent here to find out about your family. Now I have to return and that hurts too since I think I have fallen for you.” Hugh didn’t want to let on that he knew that they knew. This was getting awkward. But since she was being honest about her feelings towards him, so was he.

Malcolm interjected, “We knew that you would have to leave if we told you which was our other option. We were just going to let you spin your wheels dating Jackie. However, the family had other plans. As a result of my helping change Jack into Jackie, the family has been pressuring me into doing something I don’t want to do which means I may know things that I ought not to know. And it may involve you. Or, rather, it involves your precinct which is why I suspect you were sent here.”

Hugh sighed and nodded silently in agreement. Malcolm continued. “I have a narrow window to help you help us. And right now, the family doesn’t know you are a cop yet. They soon will once they figure out I lied to them and kept a report from them. So, you have to help me or I will be forced to do something I would rather not. And once I do it, no one will ever be happy again on your side. I think you know what I am talking about. I don’t want to say anything more because I want to leave Jackie out of this.”

“Yes, I want to help too. I just don’t know how I can help.” Hugh said with frustration.

A voice came from behind them. Agent Polk said, “I do. We can make you a deal Malcolm. In fact, I have the paperwork right here to show we mean business.” She held out an envelope.

Malcolm turned and looked totally shocked. “Who the hell are you? Where did you come from? And how can you help?”

“Take it easy, please. Relax, the both of you. My name is special agent Dana Polk. I am with the F.B.I. and I have been authorized to offer you a deal. And I think you can guess the nature of the deal already.”

“Okay, I can, but can you allow Jackie to go home, please? I don’t want her involved or to hear any of this, okay? You are right, I think I know what you are going to offer me and I don’t want her to hear the rest of this or even your offer until she leaves.”

Jackie looked up at Malcolm with a worried expression. “Trust me Jackie. The less you know, the better. You wouldn’t have seen me anyway. They would have sent me away for several years. This way, I can get off the hook and the family can’t take revenge on you. I don’t think they fully accepted you. It was all for show just to make me feel good. So, if I go with them, you will be safe and not mistreated.” Malcolm began to tear up. It was clear he knew he was saying goodbye to someone like a sister to him.

Agent Polk bent down and took Jackie’s hands. With a woman to woman’s gentle touch, she pronounced, “We promise, we will let you see him. We will arrange for you to have irregular visits. You will see him more than you would have if we pursued this to another conclusion where he would be incarcerated. He will be safe and sound. And happy too.”

Jackie began to cry. Tears flowed down her cheek. She clearly looked scarred to everyone there. “Are you sure Malcolm?”

“I can’t see any other way, Jackie. That was the risk I took in helping you and I knew it.”

Jackie got up, turned around, and just held Malcolm. He calmed her down. “It is okay Cos, I will be fine. You dry those tears. You go home and look like nothing has happened. I will take it from here. Trust me. You have to put on your best performance when you leave here. Do it for me!”

Jackie let go and turned to hold on to Hugh, “Hugh, please tell me I will see you again too? I don’t care if you are a cop. I never did. You have come to mean so much to me.”

He melted in her embrace. “I will do my best sweetie.” he looked at Agent Polk for direction. But, he felt good that his being a cop didn’t really matter to her, so he hugged her even harder.

Agent Polk’s voice was filled with compassion as she approached Jackie. Hugh let go and turned her around to face agent Polk, but kept his arms around her in a reassuring embrace. “I don’t see why not Jackie? I think the two of you found romance in a bad circumstance. I think it would be sweet if you two continued.”

Polk changed the subject. “Anyway, I don’t think it would be wise for to be hiding out with Malcolm anyway in witness protection. Your prescriptions for your hormones are too easily traced. There is no way we can protect Malcolm as well if you go with him. It is best if you stay here and not go with him. You are somebody that should never go into witness protection if at all possible. It would kill you.” Malcolm nodded in agreement.

Jackie looked pensive as she thought for a moment and then announced, “All right. Under one condition.”

“What’s that?” asked Hugh.

“That I am included as well as Mom and Dad on whatever offer you have.”

Agent Polk resisted and said, “We shouldn’t need to really. You three aren’t involved.”

Malcolm looked as though a light switch turned on. He spoke up, “No, wait. Hold on. She is right. If you include them, then you taint the link to me and protect her and me. It is the rest of the family that I need to worry about. By including her and her parents, you create a bubble around me and her. Don’t you get it!?”

Doyle, who had been closely listening, for the first time, spoke up with authority. “He is right. Wow! That will create a hell of a firewall!”

“My folks are retiring anyway.” Jackie pleaded. “It means I can be there for them knowing they won’t hold sway with the rest of the family and be forced to be a part of their planning sessions. It is a win win. Please agent Polk?”

Agent Polk thought for a moment and then said, “Okay, Hugh, your boss will need to get on the horn. Arrange for it with the boys at the state’s AG department. I think that is the only way it will work.”

“You get us the paperwork before the deal goes down tomorrow and you have my utmost cooperation.” Malcolm said. “But, that only takes care of state, how about Federal?” he looked at Hugh.

“My captain is on the way here, he can arrange it with the state’s AG. We can get you all covered too. Maybe he can arrange for Federal too.” Hugh proudly and confidently said.

“Okay, I will go then. I just want to make sure that I can live my life in peace without having to worry about my family.” Jackie said.

As Hugh held Jackie, he whispered into her ear, “I love you. I will make sure everything works out.” He then bent down and kissed her full on the lips. She responded and drew his ear to her lips and said, “I know you will. I trust you and Malcolm. I am sorry I lied to you and didn’t tell you I knew you were a cop. I was just so attracted to you. I wanted you.”

Hugh was pleased that he was so handsome to her. “That is okay. I was attracted to you from the start too.” Hugh felt proud that he had such a profound effect on her.

After she had left, Malcolm said, “I am not going to say anything more until you captain gets here and I get official word on both sides. I am sure you understand my situation?”

Agent Doyle commented, “That sound very reasonable. Especially as it will be a big help to those officers in the 130th precinct.” Hugh nodded in agreement. He knew what was at stake.

Later in the day, Hugh was assigned to pick up Captain Connolly at the Airport. Hugh came into terminal C at DFW Airport and parked. He went into baggage claim and found Captain Connolly picking up his bag. On the way back to Fort Worth, Connolly asked, “Does it really look like we can get all the funds back?”

“Yes. But, I think you should talk to the Feds first. They asked me to let them do the talking, if it is okay. They have taken Malcolm to a safe house which is where we are going.” They turned off on a dirt road and took a bend and he stopped for a moment. Hugh waited and a green light shown in the bushes to indicate they hadn’t been followed. He traveled down several houses until they got to a single story ranch. He pulled in and he could seen agent Doyle come out to greet them.

“Keep your stuff in the car, Captain. We’ll sit down with Malcolm first.”

Agent Polk sat at a table. “Before we begin, Capt. Connolly, I want to do something first. Please just don’t say anything. Just observe.” He turned to Malcolm who was sitting there. “Malcolm, I am going to show you a photo line up of people whom you should have never have met. I want you to pull out any photo of someone you may have met and talked to at some time. Doing this doesn’t establish anything other than you know the person and I can’t use it against you in a court of law. Do you understand?”

Malcolm nodded. Agent Polk placed about ten photos on the table. He looked them over and pulled one of them out and handed it agent Polk. “Thank you Malcolm. We will call you back in a few minutes. Your cooperation has been noted.”

An agent led Malcolm out of the room. Agent Polk handed Capt. Connolly the photo. “Do you know this person?”

Capt. Connolly looked up at agent Polk with a surprised expression. Then he showed the photo to Hugh whose face turned equally surprised. Agent Polk spoke, “I am sure that you both recognize the F.B.I. liaison, agent Fielder, who has been helping assist you find your lost funds. This was your mole. And for this reason, I am going to ask you both to never divulge any of the information we develop over the next day or so in this investigation. I am sure you understand now that we have found a mole in our department, we plan to exploit him and use him for quite some time. You just tell him that he is a confidential informant and is a trade secret.”

“Oh yes, I can see that now.” said a rather smug Capt. Connolly. “I am sure that it wasn’t pleasant to find out one of your own is on the take.” It was obvious the Captain was enjoying finding out the F.B.I. can be corrupted too.

“No it wasn’t. And that is why we have to do this right. Can I call you Robert? My name is Dana.”

Feeling befriended, Connolly quickly agreed. “Yes, by all means Dana.”

“Here is our situation, Robert. You need to originate the request for immunity with the DOJ so it looks like you went over agent Fielder’s head. You have officially developed an informant who can help you get the funds back. You need to get immunity for Federal banking fraud for four individuals. Then, you need to contact your AG for the same thing at the state level. It looks like after you get the four immunity, you will be seeing the funds returned within hours. Otherwise, the funds will be lost forever. The situation is desperate. How does that sound, Robert?”

“Magical. Who will take the credit? Us or you?”

“You will, of course. Our names have to stay out of this for obvious reasons. However, we will be doubly blessed. On the one hand, we will be able to track the movements of agent Fielder and use him without his knowledge. Two, Malcolm will be neutralized as a money launder for the Irish Travellers. A third blessing will be over time Malcolm may disclose certain aspects of the Travellers business dealings in exchange for seeing his cousin more frequently. So, frankly, you can have all the credit. I would rather collar the bastards.”

Feeling generous, Connolly agreed. For the next two hours, he was on the phone with the New York AG and the D.O.J. with superb results. They were Fed-exing him the paperwork. It would be here tomorrow at 10:00.

“Okay, my attorney will be here at 10:00 tomorrow. Once he takes it and leaves, we will get to work. Thank you Captain. I think you will be happy by noontime.” Malcolm said. He was very pleased.

“You mean that I can take tomorrow’s last flight to JFK at six and receive a hero’s welcome.”

“Yes. But, you are going to have to let me meet with Jackie’s parents for lunch at Joe T. Garcia’s. They are going to give me something. I will then meet you in the parking lot. We will have to do some quick work in order to make this work.”

About ten in the morning the next day, a courier arrived at the safe house. Malcolm’s two attorney’s looked it over. Forms were signed by Captain Connolly and Hugh witnessing their transfer to the main attorney.

Once they left, Malcolm began to speak. “I can now confirm that the photo you showed me yesterday agent Polk is the family’s mole in the F.B.I. He is a main reason my family often outsmarts you. Capt. Connolly, in a few hours, my uncle will be giving me a series of bank account numbers he has received from the family. With them, I will have access to about $15 million that has been in those accounts for a while. As soon as I get them, I will be doing some banking using a laptop. I will reroute the money through a specific bank and through a particular individual who has agreed to turn traitor. Now, where is the list of accounts that need to be refilled?”

Connolly looked shocked. “Um, no. Nobody told me to have that.”

“We have a problem then. I need to send the money to the guy who will refill the accounts before I initiate the transfers or you won’t get the money back. Get on the phone and get those accounts right away.”

In the panic of the next hour and a half, Connolly secured the accounts and confirmed them. As he got them, Malcolm entered them into a spreadsheet with a dollar amount needed for each account. As soon as he got the last one, he created an CSV file and then a batch script while they were driving him to Garcia’s and emailed it to the Cayman Islands.

He went in with his laptop and they saw the Hallard’s go in for lunch. They were there for about forty minutes. Malcolm came out and got into the car. The Hallards saw him get in a car that wasn’t his and started to run after them. They pulled out of the parking lot quickly and headed up to I-820.

“Whew, have your friends at the 130th check their accounts, Captain.”

He called. “Fred, how does your account look?”

“Nothing yet, eh. Try again. Maybe it takes a moment.” Connolly was looking at Malcolm with concern.

“What? Really! How much? Check the other accounts. Yes, I’ll wait. Yes, yes, uh uh, all of them look like they should?” Capt. Connolly smiled and looked at Malcolm.

“You won.” said Malcolm. He turned to look out the window with a sad look. “And I’ve lost.”

Agent Polk piped up. “Malcolm, before you go off, we have arranged a quick meeting with Jackie. Is that okay? We made sure she wasn’t followed.”

“Thank you. That is very kind of you.” Malcolm seemed teary eyed at the news.

They pulled into a building near Alliance. It was museum for aircraft. Old aircraft. As they pulled around to the hanger, Jackie was standing there with a strange woman. When they pulled to a stop, Malcolm jumped out and ran to her. They embraced.

“I love you Malcolm. You take care of yourself. I am going to miss you very much.” Jackie said. Hugh quietly joined them along with the rest of the agents.

“You too Jackie. I got Federal and state immunity for you and your parents in addition to me. They can’t interview you or them according to the agreement. That way you all can stay out of witness protection. I don’t have the same exact agreement. But, you won’t know where I am.”

Jackie cried. “I understand. I just didn’t want to see you pay for my mistake.” She motioned to indicate her body.

“You didn’t make a mistake Jackie. You were meant to be a woman. And a beautiful one at that.” Hugh added hoping it would make her feel better. She smiled weakly at him and mouthed ‘Thank you.’

Capt. Connolly walked up to Jackie and offered her his hand. “Beautiful lady, I wish to thank you. If it hadn’t been for Hugh’s love of you, my fellow officer’s would have lost their retirement. You are welcome to visit him anytime.” He leaned into her ear and whispered, “I hear that Hugh is madly in love with you.” She blushed.

“I am with him too.” she said sweetly brushing away more tears.

After a final hug, Malcolm left with the agents. “Can we drive you home Jackie?” said Hugh.

“No, my car is here. I will meet you at the airport before you go in. I heard you are going out on the last flight of the day. I am going to miss you Hugh. Captain, can I have a few minutes alone with him, please?”

“By all means. Knock yourselves out you two.” He winked at the both of them.

They wandered into a room that was a mock up of a flight room for a fighter squadron. “Hugh, I love you. Can’t you stay?”

“I wish I could. I have a job back there waiting for me. I could look for a job closer to you if you would like?”

“Yes, I would like you too. I just never thought I would feel this way about someone before.”

“Nor I. You mean the world to me Jackie.”

“Can I see you off at the airport somehow? I know it is last minute.”

“You can’t go in, but you could help us get to the gate at the Terminal A ticket counter for flight 725. Our flight leaves at six something and we need to get there around four thirty. We need to get rid of the Mercedes first.”

They headed down the road to the airport. Jackie was with Hugh while the Captain dropped off the Mercedes at Carmax for resale. Then Jackie took them to the airport which wasn’t far away.

At Terminal A, the Captain went into the terminal and left the two of them alone.

“I heard from my folks while you two were doing the paperwork for the Mercedes. They are pissed. But, Malcolm’s lawyers gave them the immunity papers. They look bad to the family now. They can’t do business with them anymore. Nor will the family want anything to do with them because of the return of the funds. They understand that if they retaliate against us, Malcolm will divulge even more family secrets.”

“How does it feel to be out of the family now.”

“Good and bad. I love them all. I grew up with them. But, I don’t want to be around all that fraud. You couldn’t say anything.” Just then, the two of them saw Mark come into the Terminal.

“Hey Sis, Hugh. Mom and Dad insisted that I keep being your chaperon and dropped me off. Sorry guys. I will look away.”

Hugh and Jackie looked at each other and laughed.

“I have to go in now, Jackie. See you soon, I hope?”

“What do you think?” She reached up and pulled his head down and gave him a passionate kiss.

Mark made a grifting sign to her and walked away towards baggage claim. The sign meant, “I see nothing, I hear nothing, and I say nothing.”

Epilogue –

Through the large window from baggage claim at Dallas-Fort Worth airport, Terminal A, Jackie looked at Hugh standing in the queue to board his flight home. It was one of the few places in the Terminal that one could see a departing passenger leave. Captain Connolly had already gone in as a first class passenger. Hugh was in group 4. He turned to her to wave goodbye. He smiled. He clearly loved her. She wiped away tears, smiled, and waved back. Mark came along side her and put his arm around his sister and waved at him too. Hugh turned after his boarding pass was scanned and blew her a kiss. She blew one back at him and waved enthusiastically at him while tears flowed down her cheek until he disappeared from view.

Back in the car, Mark could ask to be filled in. “What did Malcolm do and how and why did he do it?”

Jackie said, “You will find out anyway from Mom and Dad. Through someone Malcolm helped at Lockeed-Martin last year at the Joint Base near us, he gained access to the General Accounting Office, GAO’s, mainframe and figured out how to redirect small amounts of money to a central account. The problem is that it was too traceable and someone might notice that the money siphoned off was going to a civilian account.”

“What was the solution?" asked Mark.

“It was best if it went to a governmental account. Then it hit Malcolm, if he had the funds moved to a government account that didn’t have to report back to the GAO, they wouldn’t notice the actual final destination was to us.”

“I assume he figured out a way around it?”

“Oh yes, after he figured out accounts he could raid discretely, he found it would be around $15 million at least that he could get without raising any warning bells. Then it occurred to him that if he could find accounts that people were desperate to keep on the other side of where the final destination was, they wouldn’t be interested in tracing it back if they felt the thief was under witness protection.”

“So, why did he select the NYPD?”

“The only governmental agency which didn’t have to report to the GAO that could handle a $15 million dollar swap was a city police agency known for getting large amounts of Federal Dollars. NYPD gets billions of Federal dollars to protect the U.N. among other things. After some thought, Malcolm deduced all he had to do was find a typical precinct to rob of their retirement accounts. And then fill it back up with Federal dollars some months later and make them stop from tracing the funds.”

“How did he insure you would be chased by Hugh?”

“He didn’t exactly. He bugged Captain Connolly’s office so we would know where to go. We also knew they were stupid enough to think the job would be better done by them and not the Feds. It just happened that we did something equally as stupid in leaving a bill in the ATM that directed him to Forth Worth and possibly us. So, Malcolm had to get even more drastic than his original plan to keep them in the dark and use my accidental sex change as a means of deflecting suspicion from us for good and use it to disrupt their plans too. We had to make them believe they caught the thieves while at the same time thinking we were innocent.”

“Then how about the mole?”

“He is being framed as it were. He has been for months. Agent Fielder is terrible with money, so we are funneling money into his bank accounts a little at a time. Should it be needed, a review of his bank accounts will cause him some grief. That will keep the Feds away from the NYPD.”

“Brilliant plan. Brilliant recovery. And very sneaky. Witness protection? That isn’t where Malcolm really is now, is he?”

“No, of course not, he is getting plastic surgery and getting his identity changed thanks to a Doctor Travis who did my surgery. We will see the new Malcolm in a couple of months. But, for now, Hugh and the captain believe he is in witness protection and we plan to keep it that way.”

“How did you convince them that you guys didn’t do it?

“Luckily, just as Hugh was on his way, Malcolm found someone who could pose as an F.B.I. agent in exchange for Malcolm’s talents. Mom and Dad worked with Malcolm plus the faux agents to make sure things were chaotic for me and Hugh. Now, Hugh and the captain are heroes back home for getting the money back but have been ordered to keep it a secret as to how they did it. The Captain and Hugh are just going to tell their fellow cops that a bank in the Cayman’s intercepted the money and returned it thanks to an informant telling them where and when to look thanks to an immunity agreement.”

“What prevents the clients from telling on you?”

“Malcolm helped his clients, the phony F.B.I. agents, launder two times what we gained. So, if they rat on us, they lose far more than we will. And frankly, she and her partner enjoyed convincing Hugh and his captain that Malcolm would betray the family, would become ‘an informant’ and the family would lose their best money launder ever to witness protection who, down the road, might reveal more information. As a result, Tess gets a third and still works for the family in secret now. I get a third and get to retire. And Mom and Dad get a third and their retirement is secure too. We all win, so to speak. And by the time the GAO figures out what happened, in about twenty or more years, the statue of limitations will have long run out and we will be safe to keep the money anyway.”

“So, Mom and Dad really aren’t mad at him or you? That is a relief.”

“Oh no. Far from it. They are very happy, except, of course, for my so called accidental sex change. Malcolm told them there was a way it could be used to our advantage if they let him. So, the whole ‘will the family accept me’ ploy was birthed which helped me with the family and create a plausible reason for Malcolm to turn. It also helped me come out in a way that helped me be accepted.”

Mark was bowled over. “Wow! Malcolm’s plan worked brilliantly. Except for your accidental change.” Mark looked at her and winked. “Will you see Hugh again?”

“I hope so. Thanks for not telling the family I wanted the change all along. But, now that I am in retirement, I don’t believe our relationship will be over for a long time. Maybe never. I would enjoy starting a family with Hugh. He is a lovely man.”

“How do you know I won’t rat you out?” Mark said playfully.

As they pulled into her place, she turned to Mark and said, “Because you found me one night crying my eyes out and learned of my terrible secret. You told me that you would help and you did. You helped Mom and Dad accept my transition when they found out about it. I am so grateful to my little brother.”

Mark reached over and hugged her. “Yeah, I knew once you made the transition, your days as a grifter were over. You were a good brother to me when I needed you the most and you looked out for me growing up like a second mother.”

“Thank you. I love you kiddo. You study hard at school. Malcolm plans on using you as a front man for his special talents.”

They got out of the car and walked up to her door with their arms around each other.

“I get the Xbox, right?”

“Is that really all you want?”

“It’s all I want. I love you too much to ask for more.” Mark said. “I want you to have a good life.”

She hugged and kissed him on the cheek. He hugged her back.

“Come on Mark. I have to go in and pack quickly. I think I hear New York City calling me urgently.”

(To be continued in other stories …)

Copyright © 2017 by AuP reviner

[Author’s note: Years ago, as a young lad, a friend of my brother said that the movie The Sting was so clever that he knew of very few people who could do what that movie did in either prose or on the movie screen, which is fool the audience and surprise them with a sting that was controlled from beginning to end. When I said I thought I could, he told me that I didn’t have that in me. I have lived with that challenge for years. I was watching The Sting a couple of weeks ago when it hit me. I said to myself, ‘Maybe I am ready to take on that challenge now!’ So, like Captain Ahab, I have attacked the beast of creating my own ‘The Sting’ in writing this story. I hope I have done the movie justice that inspired me and met the challenge rather than letting myself be drowned by my own hubris in attacking the big white whale.

I pray I have done a good job and entertained you. Let me know if I have given you a decent, or good, or great, or excellent ride in the comment section below.

Stand by for the further adventures of Jackie Hallard. I plan to have fun with her. – AuP]