As Lane reached his early teens, he gained a reputation as a vicious, angry, spoiled rich kid. Thrown out of all the best private schools in the state, his mother hired private tutors. He ignored them and did as he pleased during their sessions, claiming he could learn more in ten minutes than they could teach him in a week. Lane was intelligent but not often motivated – everything had come too easily to him. Learning meant browsing the internet and watching TV. But when he wanted something, he was persistent. This trait would be his saving grace.
Shortly after Lane’s twenty-first birthday, he decided he’d had enough of this life. His friends were boring, he got anything he wanted, there was very little real excitement outside of the day-to-day drama of the idle rich. Over the past few years Brick had introduced him to The Row, a rough part of the city where he would score drugs or hook up with prostitutes. He enjoyed the feeling of using people like commodities. Money talked in The Row, but even more alluring to Lane was the power certain shady characters held over the common people.
Lane decided becoming a cop would put him on the fast track to getting that power, even if it didn’t come with respect. He asked Brick to call in a favor at the 20th precinct. Not surprisingly, Lane passed the interview with flying colors, entering police academy and finishing six months later. Just in time for summer patrols in The Row. Knowing Lane wasn’t naturally tough, Brick made sure he was assigned a brute of a partner, Officer Brock Slattery. A former amateur boxer, Officer Slattery was known for his unnatural strength and aggressive manner of dealing with criminals. He was feared throughout The Row. Being on the take from a couple local crime bosses didn’t hurt his reputation either.
On their first patrol together, Slattery looked his new partner dead in the eye and said “I don’t care who you are, you ever fuck with me, I’ll kill you.” Slattery extended a meaty hand and shook Lane’s hand deliberately and slowly, the truth of his statement apparent in his deathly strong grip. “Now put a smile on that face.” Slattery said. “We’ve got criminals to catch” as he started whistling cheerfully. Lane sat in shocked silence, then decided he was going to like Officer Slattery.
