Chapter Thirty Three

Stephen

Stephen - Lachie, just spill it. We’ve been through hell and back these past few years. One more problem won’t make a difference.

Lachie - Detective Grounds knows you’re planning to sell your clubs.

Stephen - And what does that mean for us?

Lachie - It means they know you’re not planning to return to Chicago. They’re looking for you elsewhere now.

Stephen - Should we be worried? Do we need to move again?

Lachie - Not at the moment. We’ve been careful to leave no trace of your whereabouts after your first stop. If anything, they’ll be looking for you in Canada because there’s no evidence of you leaving from there.

Trinity - And you’ll let us know if anything changes, right?

Lachie - Absolutely. If there’s any reason to worry, I’ll call you immediately. The marshals will prioritize your safety. But for now, we need to discuss our next steps with Detective Grounds. Time is crucial. The longer we hold him, the more suspicious his colleagues will become. We need to act fast.

Stephen - How soon do you need an answer?

Lachie - Within the next few hours.

Clint - Give us some time. We need to talk to Benji. We understand your position, but we can’t make this decision without him. It affects him too much, Lachie.

Lachie - I understand. I’ll be unavailable for the next two hours, but Benji can call me after that.

Stephen - Thanks, mate. We’ll talk soon.

We end the call and head outside with fresh cups of coffee to discuss everything.

Dave - I can’t see Benji agreeing to this.

Clint - I can’t either. And honestly, if I were in his shoes and Mia was involved, I’d want the guy dead too.

Stephen - I can’t argue with that.

Trinity - Can’t we use him like he used us?

Stephen - I don’t know, baby. It probably depends on how the feds want to play it.

Benji - And let me guess, Lachie wants to give him the deal he wants.

Stephen - Hey, man. Didn’t hear you come back down.

Benji - So what’s he saying?

Stephen - Basically, they want to use him to gather more information that the Captain and Chief are the ones behind all this.

Benji - Is there another way?

Stephen - Lachie said they have enough from Grounds’ phone to implicate them, but not enough to prove they’re the ones pulling the strings.

Benji - Did he mention immunity at any point?

Trinity - I don’t think so.

Clint - I don’t remember him saying that. He mentioned cutting a deal.

Stephen - I’d have to ask him again, but I don’t think he mentioned immunity. Why do you ask?

Benji - I won’t accept an immunity deal.

Mia - Sorry, I’m not familiar with all the legal terms. What’s immunity and why are you so worried about it?

Benji - Immunity is an agreement between the courts and lawyers. It’s a promise that they won’t use what you say against you, either to find other evidence or for prosecution. It’s a strong form of protection. More often than not, if you have immunity, you won’t be prosecuted for the crimes. I won’t accept it, Stephen. He shot Maddie!

Stephen - Mate, I’m not going to ask you to accept that. I promise you, I wouldn’t accept that if I were in your shoes.

Clint - Bro, are you okay if we talk to Lachie and make sure that even while he’s cooperating, he’s still charged? Maybe with lesser charges, if that’s possible. Once he’s inside, we can handle it.

Benji - Shit! I’m so angry right now. That bastard should have just denied everything. They could have charged him with everything. He’s just trying to save his own ass.

Dave - We know, mate. And we’ve got your back. Whatever you need, just say the word.

Maddie - Benji, even if he’s offered immunity, there are ways around it. Lachie can explore Statutory immunity.

Benji - Yeah, but not for shooting you. He’ll walk free on that.

Maddie - But, baby, we can get him on everything else. He falsified his entry into the Chicago police force, he was involved in criminal activity with the drugs. I know you’re angry, I am too, but we have to think logically about this.

Benji - I am! He tried to kill you, baby.

Maddie - No, baby, he was trying to kill you. That’s hard for me to accept too, but one way or another, we have a chance to step this up and take action. But it has to be your call, baby.

Mia - Sorry to interrupt, but what is Statutory Immunity?

Maddie - Statutory immunity means that a federal district court judge reviews the potential testimony you would give to a grand jury or in a trial and then decides if you have a legitimate Fifth Amendment right. He does have a right to remain silent, and that judge can order him to speak at that proceeding.

In exchange for that, because you still have a Fifth Amendment right, what you say can’t be used against you, either directly or indirectly in terms of the government finding other evidence to use against you.

Benji - So basically, he couldn’t be tried for his involvement with the drug smuggling ring. But we might still be able to charge him for attempted murder, as long as he didn’t mention it in the hearing.

Maddie - Although...

Benji - Although what, baby?

Maddie - If he did mention it and it implicated the Chief and Captain as the ones who ordered it, they could be charged for premeditated and attempted murder.

Benji - But he still pulled the trigger.

Maddie - So we have the feds charge him as an accomplice. He would still do time.

Clint - And once he’s in, I’ve got it covered, mate. I’ve got your back.

Benji paces, looking stressed. My wife steps up, hands him her lit spliff, and pulls him into a hug. We see her whisper something to him and wait to see his reaction. He nods, seeming to agree with Trinity, takes another long drag from his spliff, and sits down.

Benji - Tell Lachie to make the deal, but don’t offer full immunity. If Grounds wants full immunity, the deal is off and he goes down for everything.