on like this forever - chapter 2, part 2: kosalski

by bofa

sergeant kosalski was standing in a doorway. at eddie's surprise he laughed. "what's up, eddie?" kosalski was the most hated cop in town. everyone was afraid of him. no one could get the best of him. not too many tried. yet eddie kept a poker face. war had not yet been declared. and kosalski would deal. in fact, that was all he ever did. treachery was his road game. "i am a little surprised to see you here," eddie said. "never too early to talk to an old friend." kosalski replied. "great," replied eddie, kosalski nodded at the door behind him. "enter." nothing else for it, eddie decided. nothing good could come of this. "you remember kenny, don't you?" he asked kosalski. "how could i forget him?" as he spoke, kosalski opened the door. darkness was inside. before eddie's eyes could adjust, kosalski grabbed by the arm and pulled him inside. eddie stiffened momentarily. eventually his eyes adjusted. now he knew where he was. harry miller's place. in the old days harry miller had a haberdashery here. sure. but what was kosalski's game? "eddie, i am sure you are wondering why i brought you here today." "sure." "to be frank, i was kind of wondering that myself." "frankness was always your game." "right." "i remember this place - harry miller had his haberdashery here." "eddie, you amaze me. you must have hardly been born when harry miller had his haberdashery here." "no. i used to buy my hats here." dusting off a chair beside the window, kosalski sat down. "all right, let's get down to business." turning to face kosalski, eddie listened. "concerning kenny," kosalski began. "he has got to go." at this, eddie made no immediate response. "my thinking," kosalski continued, "is that consolidation is the wave of the future." perfect, thought eddie. eddie knew this was the moment he had waited for all his life. victory was in his grasp. everything he had ever done tended toward this moment. "no argument here," he answered kosalski. "to tell you the truth, i expected a little more resistance," said kosalski. "unless you and kenny aren't such pals as i thought". all right, eddie thought, he's trying to set me up here. 'let's get one thing straight, detective, kenny is no friend of mine." "let me ask you, eddie, do you have any friends?" "yeah, i got friends." "tell me about them" "hey, what is this?" "eddie, i can't do business with someone if i don't know about them." "you're the cop, you got sources of information." "how shall i say this?" at that moment, as kosalski was playing with eddie's head, kenny was talking to sam kennedy. "decisive action is required." "decisive action," the attorney repeated. "right, i hear you. but you can't be too careful" "i want you to file a wrongful death suit against eddie for johnny's murder. for good measure, throw in a pain and suffering suit for johnny's mom" taken aback, the lawyer was almost at a loss for words. "eddie doesn't have any money - at least he doesn't have any assets." "doesn't matter - we are sending a message. a message that we aren't a bunch of street punks. perhaps eddie and his pals will see that we have other weapons in our arsenal" "arsenal - that's a big word." "right - and i got big plans." turning to the window, kenny watched the raindrops sliding down.