Ivy's Twisted Vine Redux

by Latrivia S. Nelson

  “Shots fired! Officer down!” The officer struggled as he tried to pull his gun from his holster. “I’m hit. Do you hear me, I’m…” With a fade of life in his eyes, the officer swallowed one last bloody gulp before Antonio walked up and shot him in the head.

  “Oh my God! Why did you do that?” Hector shrieked in tears. “Why would you fucking shoot him?” Shaking in his now urine soaked pants, he instantly wished that he had not volunteered to help his brother.

  “Shut up with all that damned whining,” Antonio said pointing his gun at Hector.

  “This is not happening!” Hector wiped the tears and blood from his eyes. There was something new in Antonio’s eyes. “Antonio, I need to call Caesar!”

  “No, you need to stay here,” Antonio said shooting Hector in his chest. Pulling the young man from the side of the truck, Antonio jumped in the Yukon and pulled off with the other men following shortly behind.

  For a moment, as Hector watched himself drown in a bloody pool beside the now already dead police officer, he thought about how stupid this entire situation had been. Why did he volunteer to do this? To throw is life away. He cried and kicked, the pain shot through his body and he gasped for fleeting air.

  Hector held on to his last breaths debating what good thing he could do. He didn’t have the strength to call his brother and say goodbye. And in his last hour, he was angry at him for exposing him to this. Having no chance to receive his last rights, having no one to hear his last confessions, he reached over the officer’s radio.

  “Hello,” he said hoping someone on the other end would hear him.

  “Dispatcher 1-5-0. May I ask who this is? Please respond?”

  “My name is Hector…Hector Dominguez. I’m Caesar Dominguez’s brother. Umm…The drop went bad; Antonio Martinez shot me up pretty bad and left me here to die.” He coughed blood. “I am dying.” He began to cry, wheezing to breath in between the painful inhalations.

  “There is help on the way. Where is the officer that owns this radio? Please respond.”

  “Dead.” Hector looked over at him. “ But I didn’t kill him…Antonio Perez did. Now, we don’t have a priest for our last rights.”

  “Someone is on the way. Please hold on. Give me your exact location. Please respond.”

  “I see lights,” Hector said seeing five police cars approaching speedily with their lights and sirens. “But it’s too late.”

  “Hold on,” the female dispatcher said hearing his voice fade.

  “Caesar Dominguez is at 124 Clearborne. He’s at the old Clearborne apartments…building 202…apartment 4. That’s his headquarters. That’s where he is. Tell him that I sent you. Tell him it’s from little bear to big bear.” Hector said laying his head on the officer’s chest as he took his last breath.

  Chapter Eighteen:

  Caesar’s Last Stand

  Chapter 18

  CAESAR’S LAST STAND

  “Let’s round it up again,” Brooks said drinking a cup of coffee to stay awake. It was five o’clock in the morning and the entire Narc/Tact Unit had been activated to respond the officer killed only hours before in an abandoned warehouse lot.

  Nicola and Brooks had come directly in to the headquarters from the East End Grill still very much intoxicated. The entire team was in awe as they pulled up to discover that Mayor Henderson was there in his pajamas along with his entire staff as well as the director and deputy director of the police department.

  Nicola knew that this was going to be the biggest bust of the new unit’s history. All the news stations in town were covering the story and demanding immediate action. Finally, the day had come for the unit to serve its primary purpose. And Director Billings shared the same demand considering the officer killed was his only nephew.

  As the team gathered around him, Nicola took a long breath. “The boy found at the scene was identified as Hector Dominguez. He is Caesar Dominguez’s baby brother. Evidently, he was left at the scene after Antonio Perez shot him. Now, I know that at least two these are household names for you boys, so I won’t give you a history lesson. What I will say is that Caesar’s little brother left a sweet little parting gift for us…the address to the hideout of Caesar’s operation. Everyone knows that this guy had been moving like a gypsy in the city for months. So pinpointing him has been our main problem. This should unlock some very big doors for us. We want arrests. We want drugs and money. We want good clean kills if they become necessary, and we want no civilian casualties. Now Brooks has gone over in detail with us the tactical assault procedure that we will take according to the blueprints of the Clearborne Apartment building. We’re going to take them by total surprise early this morning while they still sleep. We’ve got a muzzle on the news stations to keep them from giving away too much information about what we know. We’ve got surveillance set up around the perimeter of the apartment. Now, I can tell you this, Clearborne is an old dope spot. There are only a few tennants in this hell hole and most of them are probably involved the movement of his drugs in some way. More than anything, we need to try to take Ceasar and Antonio Perez alive. Remember, we’re looking to get the bigger fish, Guerra, if possible. This is going to be our biggest bust. The entire city of Memphis is looking on for this one. No mistakes will be tolerated. Every action must be methodical, because ever reaction will be. So, let’s do this right the first time. Brooks anything to add?” Nicola asked as he looked out at his team circled around the NARC/TACT strategy table.

  “Just one thing…watch your six. All the training pays off today.” Brooks said looking around the room.

  **

  Caesar sat on an old worn out black leather couch staring blankly at the 57” television across the room wiping visible tears from his eyes. Having just received news that his brother was gunned down by a police officer from Antonio, he tried to control the anger and guilt that overwhelmed him.

  “I should have gone myself,” Caesar said with his head in his hands. “My baby brother is dead, because of me.” He stared blankly at the news giving vague details of the bloody shooting.

  “We just have to retaliate against these pig bastards,” Antonio said eyeing his crew to back him up. “I shot the white boy that shot him, but I knew I couldn’t save Hector. So we had to leave him there.”

  “No, I understand, Antonio. You did what you had to. I’m thankful that you got revenge for my brother, and you brought back the work. But I promise on my mother’s soul, there will be no rest for the Memphis Police Department after this night.” Snorting a long line of cocaine on the glass table in front of him, he sat back and watched the room spin. “We’re going to war.”

  “What do you want us to do?” Antonio asked sitting beside Caesar on the couch with an attentive ear.

  “Find out where Nicola Agosta and K.C. Brooks live, find out where their families live and then get back with me. We’re going to hit them at home the way they hit us.” Caesar felt the room begin to spin.

  “Why would we go after them specifically? They weren’t responsible for this?” Antonio knew the very mention of those two would create more trouble than he bargained for.

  “Tonio, you shot a fucking cop. They are coming for us. Who do you think the MPD is going to send to clean up this shit? Them….Agosto and Brooks. So, we have to hit them first. And hit them today.”

  “Right now, they don’t know that it was even us there last night? Why would we give ourselves up?”

  “Eventually, they will link Hector to me. And it will be no question about who did what. Right now, they’re not scared of us. No one thinks that we can carry our own, but it’s time to show them that we can. So, we start right at the top and take out their best fucking guys.” Caesar snorted another row of cocaine and laid his head back on the couch.

  Antonio rolled his eyes. Caesar had lost his mind if he thought that he was going to be involved in this shit. He had done enough. He had protected their interests when he shot the cop and brought back the blow. Now, he wanted to star
t a war with the NARC/TACT Unit? No way in hell. But for now, he would play along, until the time was right, and then he’d off Caesar too.

  “Fine. I’ll find out where they live today and we can hit them tonight.”

  “Today?” Caesar sat up and wiped the coke from his nose.

  “Yeah. You said you wanted it today.”

  “No. Now, Antonio.” Caesar said picking up his gun and waiving it. Go and get the information now.”

  “It’s five in the morning.” Antonio yawned tired from being up all night. “I need some sleep.”

  “You’ve got until dawn to get your ass out them streets and bring back an address for both of these mother fuckers,” Caesar said pointing the gun. “Hey, don’t forget who’s the fucking boss here.”

  Antonio raised his hands in the air and backed out of the room. “You are Caesar. I’m going right now.”

  **

  As dawn broke over the horizon, the NARC/TACT unit took its position around the perimeter of the Clearbourne apartments. Nicola was sitting out in the surveillance van communicating with Brooks who had taken a position under the steps leading up to Caesar’s apartment.

  Nicola’s stomach was in knots thinking about what could happen. He checked out all of the cameras before giving the order to raid. He heard Brooks give the signal to the team and from about 100 yards away, he and Captain Richards watched as they proceeded quietly up the stairs.

  **

  “Yo, let’s bounce. Caesar said we had to be out of here by dawn,” Antonio said slipping his gloc down in its holster. Yawning, he kicked the side of the couch where four other men sat half sleeping. “Didn’t I just say move your ass? Who’s the fucking boss here?”

  Restlessly, the men got up and holstered their weapons, tired of running errands and listening to Antonio’s crap. Antonio slipped on his shades and opened the door. Hearing a noise on the stairs, he looked over the rail to see men in all black and assault weapons coming at him.

  “It’s the fucking pigs!”Antonio screamed slamming the door.

  “Red one to Tiger, our position has been compromised, “ Brooks said quietly.

  “Tiger, you’ve got a clearance up the stairwell. They went back into the apartment. I repeat. They went back into the apartment.” Brooks knew that the small window of opportunity they had to surprise Caesar had closed. Gaining momentum, they ran up the stairwell before the men could come out and open fire on them.

  **

  Caesar jumped up immediately when he heard the word “pigs” come out of Antonio’s mouth. He grabbed the twelve gauge pump under his couch and felt for his .44 on his hip. High as a kite, he rushed into the back room of the apartment with his crew quickly following behind.

  “What are we going to do?” Antonio asked posted up against the wall of the bedroom.”

  “Hold them off as long as possible, and try to move the back way.” Caesar planning his escape route. He had no intentions of trying to worry about Antonio or any of the men in that room.

  Just then, they heard the door to the living room being stormed by officers. Antonio turned around with his 12 gauge opened up a round into the wall, penetrating straight through into of the officer’s vest. The shot was so powerful, it knocked Officer Landing off his feet and he slid into the corner. Officer Poliver grabbed Landing and pulled him out of the house, just as the other officers opened fire back into the wall.

  Nicola listened from the van as long as he could before he grabbed his gear.

  “Where are you going?” Captain Richards scowled. “We’ve got one down already, sir. I’m going in with my men.”

  In full gear, he ran across the street and up the hill with his fire arm in his hand and pointed down to the ground. He swiftly hit the stairs and found himself barely missing a bullet that wizzed past his head.

  “How’s Poliver?” he asked hearing screams from the next door neighbors scared for their lives.

  “He’ll make it!” Officer Landing screamed as he pulled Landing down the stairs.

  “I’ll take your position. You go and tell Captain Richards what it really looks like up here. We’re going to need some fucking backup.”

  **

  All seven men holed up in the apartment were down on ammo except Caesar who was still returning fire like a mad man. As he reloaded his weapon, three men in an opposite corner behind old wooden furniture were shot.

  “Fuck this,” Caesar said rushing the closet.

  “Why is he going in the closet?” one Antonio’s cronies asked scared to death.

  “It’s not a closet!” Antonio said shooting back. “It’s a entry way into the other apartment.

  “I’m going too,” one of the man standing up to run. Just as he stood up completely, Brooks got a clear shot and took it. Within seconds, the man was on his back dead.

  Antonio knew that the only way that he would make it out alive was to surrender. He would simply hold them off long enough to get Caesar out. He would need someone to pay for his lawyer when all of this shit went down.

  Caesar pulled the floor out of the closet and scaled the make shift ladder down into the bottom apartment. He could hear cops inside the apartment. Evidently, they had half ass secured the apartment and safely escorted the people living in it out. All except one. He looked over at a small child in the corning crying softly.

  “Shh” Caesar said putting his index finger to his lips. Showing the toddler the gun, he pulled the floor board out of the closet and slid down into the homemade tunnel he had prepared months earlier. The child watched quietly not making a sound.

  Upstairs, Brooks and Nicola had taken out all but Antonio and one other shooter hiding behind a mattress and tables. Still returning fire under heavy tear gas, but not seeming to be aiming directly at them, Brooks finally realized that they had to be covering for someone.

  “We need to get in that room, now” Brooks said to Nicola.

  Nodding, Nicola pulled out his last gas grenade and threw it into the room. Following Brooks, they stormed the room with gunfire. The man beside Brooks hit the wall and blood splattered across Antonio’s face.

  “Shit!” Antonio said visibly afraid. Throwing down his gun, he put his hands up as Nicola and Brooks stood above him with their guns pointed into his face.

  After apprehending Antonio, Nicola surveyed the room and realized that Caesar was nowhere in sight. “Where’s Caesar?” Nicola asked pushing Antonio’s face into the wall.

  “I don’t know. He wasn’t here. It was just us!”

  “Bullshit,” Nicola said looking around the room. “Where did he go? Where did he fucking go?” He put the gun to Antonio’s head.

  “Whoa,” Brooks said remembering the surveillance on the house. “Captain Richards is outside watching all of this. Don’t blow this. We’ll find his ass.”

  “The building has been secured, sir,” one of the officers said. “We found a child down stairs in the closet. We think Caesar went under the floorboards and got out?”

  “What?” Brooks said turning away. “How in the hell did he get away. You mean to tell me that it’s 200 fucking cops outside not doing a damn thing but securing this place, and you couldn’t even do that right?”

  Antonio smiled at Nicola. “I guess he was here.”

  “Oh this shit is funny to you, huh?” Nicola said walking back up to Antonio. “We’ll see if you’re laughing when the DA gives you the death penalty for shooting a cop and Caesar’s brother.”

  Antonio stopped laughing. How did they know that he had shot them? He wiped the blood from his face. “Look, I didn’t do shit. You got me mixed up with somebody else.”

  “We’ll see.” Brooks laughed. “Caesar is going to have your ass slaughtered one he finds out. And uh…he will find out.”

  “You should have shot him yourself when you still had the opportunity,” Nicola said giving the men the signal to take him away.”

  Antonio struggled with the thought of what Caesar would do to him as Nicola and Brooks tu
rned. And he knew that Caesar would. Suddenly, the room began to spin. He could feel heat under this collar. What would happen to his family, to his little girl? A uniform officer grabbed Antonio by the arm and escorted him out of the small, ram shacked bedroom. In a sudden rage, Antonio pulled away, turned fast and snatched the officer’s side arm from his pocket. The officer screamed gun, and tried to get the weapon away from Antonio, but before he could, Antonio pulled the trigger and unleashed one bullet.

  It was all in slow motion for Nicola. He turned to see Antonio with a gun; he heard the officer. But there was not even a second to react. All he saw was Brooks turn around to catch a bullet in his neck and fall the grown. Nicola and several other officers returned fire. They all shot Antonio, propelling his oversized body out of the vertical coffin into the livingroom. He landed in the floor happy with himself. Caesar would never believe them now. He had stood by Caesar until the end. His family would be safe. He took a few short breath and stared blankly into ceiling before he finally faded away.

  The muzzle was still hot when Nicola dropped his gun and tried with several other officers to stop the bleeding. Nicola wiped Brooks’ blood from his eyes and tried to put pressure on Brooks’ neck. It was no hope. Brooks had a shocked, angry look on his face. Blood oozed from his mouth. And he held onto Nicola’s hand for a moment. Then without any words, he looked over at the wall and was silent.

  The EMTs on site tried to get to Brooks before it was too late. But within only seconds he was dead. They rushed from injured officers as fast as they could. But silently, he passed. Nicola looked up from his friend, laying limp on the floor and felt himself burning with fire. He wanted to kill; he wanted to die, but more than anything, he wanted his friend back. He stood up with blood still covering his body and moved out of the way so the EMTs could load him up and get him to the hospital.