"There are, obviously, some high-ranking police officers in this city who are up to their brass buttons in graft. Rumor has it that a sort of 'department within the department' exists, ruled over by men such as these. You'll have to identify, and suspend, and then arrest, at least one of them."

"Before March."

"Before March," the mayor said.

"That won't be easy. There's a code of silence among cops. Even the honest ones tend not to 'rat' on the bent ones."

"That would be your problem."

"Yes, it would."

"And you'd have to make some inroads on other fronts… lead some raids on these wide-open gambling joints around town and these so-called 'policy' banks…"

Ness was nodding. "Those day-to-day illegal lotteries are what get cops on the 'pad' in the first place. There's a direct relationship between gambling and police corruption."

Burton narrowed his eyes. "Do you have any objection to leading raids yourself? We need your publicity value. We can't get that if you stay behind a desk."

Ness stood. He walked to the window, tan topcoat flapping, and looked out, smiling to himself.

"Before you leveled with me about the career risk entailed in this thing," Ness said, glancing back at him, "I was about to tell you my conditions for taking this job."

"Which are?"

Ness walked around to the front of the desk and leaned one hand on its top, the other clutching his fedora, as he looked Burton square in the eyes. "I was ready to say I would take the position on two conditions: one, that I not be deskbound, that I can be as active in investigative work as I choose, turning over the administrative duties to an assistant; and two, that I be given a free hand, without political interference. No whitewash jobs. Chips fall where they may."

"I see no problem with that."