Sullivan does not betray Costello, but improving police deployment causes Costello's temper to make him slip up. Ending Version 1.
Sullivan does not betray Costello, but the improved police deployment causes Costello's temper to make him slip up. Ending Version 2.
Suppose Costello's lawyer never contacted Billy and just buried the stash or gave it to someone else? What then?
This story is told from the point of view from Detective Sergeant Dignam beginning the night of the Chinese deal. As the night goes on he begins to smell a rat, and he might know who it is.
Why should Billy have tamely accepted Sullivan's claim to have taken over from Queenan without real proof? In real life Billy would have decided to check Sullivan out.
Sullivan hacks into the files. The FBI details (chapter 9) are based on news reports of the time. Sullivan's fate, based on a reported sequal to The Departed and a certain comical real life documentary, seemed rather appropreate.
Sulllvan gets the informant list from Queenan, but not the results that he expects.
Billy finds out what Costello thinks of him while keeping Sullivan in the dark. Oh Oh.
Billy gets arrested on purpose after making Sullivan bleed.
Billy was really treated badly by the cops, to Dignum he was just garbage while Ellerby was seen acting and thinking like a thug. In fact, what's the difference between a cop and a crook? Only Queenan was decent to Billy. So what if Ellerby had been happy to let Dignum go ...
What if Billy never sees the letter; after all, Sullivan was really careless leaving it lying about. Given his earlier efforts to keep it from view, he should have put it in his desk. Note, I wonder if the scriptwriter slipped up technically. The Departed is set in the 80's. CD's were very new then. Would a CD burner and copying facilities be that easy for Billy to get hold of?