First Impressions
Part 38
By Kellie
Carmen was sitting beside Mick’s bed holding rosary bead as she prayed when Danny and Michelle entered the room. Frank, Agent Munson, and a couple of other agents stood outside the door. A nurse was putting an injection into Mick’s IV. Danny looked at her as he softly spoke; "I take it that there hasn’t been any change." The nurse nodded affirmatively as she made a notation on Mick’s chart and then left the room.
"Daniel, look at what you’ve done to your brother," Carmen said in a near whisper. "This is your fault."
Michelle reached out and grabbed Danny’s hand in a silent gesture of support as she saw him bite his lip as he listened to Carmen’s words.
Danny spoke firmly, "Mother, Mick did this to himself. I wasn’t the one who drove him into a world of drugs and violence, you did that all by yourself. Eventually, Mick was going to end up like this or worse, he was going to end up dead. You have no right to place any blame for this on my shoulders. Mick would never have been after Michelle or me if you hadn’t ordered him to hit that police officer, David Grant."
Carmen stood and furiously replied, "Mick never would have needed to take out that cop if you hadn’t been working with Grant to bring down your own family."
"Mother, I didn’t seem to have much of a choice. I came home on a leave of absence because Abuela asked me to come back and do something about Mick’s problems. She even convinced me that you wanted that, too. Once I got back, it didn’t take long to figure out that wasn’t true. You immediately started a full court press to get me to become part of the family business – all those conversations about family loyalty at the dinner table, talk of duty and responsibility. I knew that was your subtle way of trying to pressure me to take my place in the family. I couldn’t live that way. Once I saw how things were being run, it didn’t take me long to decide to help bring down my own family. Drugs had turned Mick into a monster and you mother, I can’t even begin to describe what’s become of you. When I was a child, you were loving, kind, and attentive. Now, you’re just cold hearted, greedy, and vindictive." He stopped and looked up at his mother, "What happened to you, to our family?"
Carmen sat in stunned silence at Danny’s outburst. As his words sank in, a tear began to fall down her face. Finally, she began to speak, "Daniel, I can’t expect you to understand how your father’s murder affected me. I was so hurt that he had left me here alone to raise you children and run the business. I guess in order to cope with the difficult decisions the business required I began to shut down my feelings. After years of making all those choices, I guess it became easy to accept things that I would have totally abhorred years ago. So, I guess, maybe you’re right, Daniel. I am responsible for what has become of your brother."
"I never thought you’d admit that, Mother." Danny paused as he felt Michelle’s hand tighten around his. "Mother, there’s something we need to discuss."
Spotting the agents standing outside the ICU window, "I take it that the agents in the hallway are here for me."
"Well, that all depends on how you respond to what I have to say," Danny replied.
"Okay, I’m listening."
"Mother, there’s enough evidence now to send you away for a very long time. I’ve gotten the authorization to offer you a deal. In exchange for your testimony against the other families, you won’t face any charges. You’ll be placed in the witness protection program and Mick can be placed in a rehab facility near where you’re be relocated to. Pilar can join you if she wants and so can Abuela."
"I see. What happens if I refuse the deal?"
"Well, you’ll be arrested and I’ll be forced to testify against you in court. Mick will probably end up in a Medicaid bed at a state run facility and you’ll probably be behind bars for the rest of your life."
"I guess with your testimony and the evidence you’ve gathered, I would be wise to take the deal."
"Mother, I need you to understand something. I’ve never had any desire to investigate my own family, much less testify against any of you. When I came home and found what had become of Mick and saw how things were, I realized we weren’t a family anymore. I want my family back. This deal is the only chance we have at doing that. Since I work for the bureau, I’ll be able to keep in touch and eventually visit. That’s something most people entering the program don’t get – the opportunity to maintain contact with their families outside the program. We’ll always have to be careful, but it’s the chance I see for us to get our family back – the one with the caring and attentive mother."
Carmen sat in silence for a long time while Danny and Michelle took seats in the chairs on the other side of Mick’s bed. Agent Munson’s knock disturbed Carmen’s contemplation of the deal she was being offered. Danny nodded for the agent to enter.
"Danny, we need a decision now. The Attorney General is on the line wanting to know if she should send the warrants to the judge to be signed."
"Yes, sir. Mother, what are you going to do?"
"I really don’t have much of a choice. If I don’t take the deal, all of my family will suffer far more than they would if I refused. Tell the Attorney General I’ll testify."