“If you want to be,” he replied.
“Always,” she said and kissed him on the cheek. “Thanks Colt.”
***
“She couldn’t hurt a flea,” Judy told Billy when she got into the car. “God, I’m so hot.” She was seated next to Billy Brown in the front seat of the car. They left the hotel, and Brown pulled into the nearby empty Transworld Center parking lot to allow Judy a chance to rearrange her clothing and calm down.
“So, what was that fight about?” Billy asked coyly.
“Wait, I have to make a call to someone. Give me your phone,” Judy demanded. She dialed Pierce and reported that she had the map. Their conversation only lasted a few seconds.
“What is this about?” Billy asked.
“Fighting makes me so horny,” she said as a plea. “I’ll tell you after we have sex.” She had used Brown’s special services before.
As she was preparing, he looked over, saw her purse and opened it. The map was clearly visible. Billy knew how to get Judy to spill the beans.
***
An hour later, Brown was on the phone to the lawyer Paul. “Seith, you ain’t gonna believe this. These freaks are after some sort of Aryan history thing. Judy says it proves the Aryan race is better than everyone else. Some guy is giving them something like a hundred million dollars and a lot of land on Long Island. They think a whole bunch of supremacy type dudes will join them and start a new nation. This is scary, man.”
“So, that’s what this is all about,” the lawyer said thoughtfully. “The feds are on the case, too. The problem is that if the feds get the tablet, it will surely be in the news and would accomplish the same thing as if Kroll announced it. Blacks will be chased back to Africa or worse. I knew these assholes were trouble. How did you find that all out anyway?”
“Let’s just say Judy Kroll can’t keep a secret when she is hot.”
Chapter Seventy
Agent Chen was standing in Detective Heinz’s closed-door office with her head down. She felt ashamed and regretful. She hadn’t changed her clothes yet, and looked like a refugee from a foreign country. Heinz was teeing off on her. “Just tell me why? Why would you pick a fight with Judy Kroll?” Heinz flapped his arms in agitation. “You knew we needed evidence but you impulsively attacked her. How stupid can you possibly be? What if she had some shooters nearby, huh? Well, say something Agent Chen.”
“I, I…” was all she could say; she was crying.
“You continue to be a loose cannon, always trying to bull through everything. You could have gotten all of us killed. What do you have to say to that, huh?”
“Carl, please, let me explain,” she pleaded. Real tears flowed down her face.
Banyon, who was listening in the other room, decided to intervene. He threw the office door open and walked inside.
Heinz loaded up. “What the hell are you doing in here? Get out,” he screamed and pointed.
“Why are you yelling at her? It was my fault,” Banyon said.
“What the hell do you mean?” Heinz demanded with narrow eyes.
“Judy was feeling me up, and was looking for a mike. I was afraid she was about ten seconds from finding the one on my chest. None of us thought she would be so bold. I was feeling violated. Stop yelling at Loni; don’t you see, I asked her to help me. Hell, she didn’t even start it — Judy pushed her. You saw it. All Loni was trying to do was to prevent Judy from finding the wire, Carl. She’s a hero. I didn’t know what to do. She’s one resourceful woman. She even sacrificed her dignity to help me — she did nothing wrong.”
“Is that right, Loni?” Heinz’s asked. His voice softened a little.
Banyon knew that Loni would not stand up for herself, as it was a part of her upbringing. Damn Chinese heritage, he thought. They are too humble sometimes. He stepped over to Loni and hugged her. “When we’re done with this mess, I owe you a dinner, okay? You can bring anyone you want, even this pigheaded chauvinist.”
Banyon continued to hug her, and felt a tiny peck on his cheek. He knew she realized he had saved her.
“Well, uh, you know, maybe I didn’t have all the facts. You’re right, Colt,” Heinz backtracked. “If the roles were reversed, I would have reacted differently. Thanks for giving me all the facts. You know this is hard work and …”
“Carl, tell her that you’re sorry already, and then she can stop hiding behind me.”
“Yeah, well, Loni, I am sorry. Do you forgive me?”
“Wait,” said Banyon, “don’t answer yet.” He closed the blinds. Someone pinched his butt as he walked out and slammed the door.
Chapter Seventy-One
Only a few feet away from Heinz’ office, Seith Paul was hard at work on his illegal phone. He believed he had found a way out of jail. He also knew the right buttons to press to get his way. He realized the impact of the tablet on black people, but his goals were, as always, very selfish, and financially oriented. He decided he could depend on the publicity to get him out of jail. If he got his hands on the Aryan tablet, he could blackmail the freaks, get a lot of money from them, and then snitch on them to the police. The cops would have to let him go. He would be a hero, another Martin Luther King. People would invite him on their TV shows. He would get endorsements, and maybe even have a movie made about him.
He dialed Browns number. “Billy, I’ve been thinking. If the Aryan tablet gets into the hands of the cops, we’re in just as much trouble as if it were in Kroll’s hands. They would have to let it go public. The Aryans would still be able to use it to send us back to Africa. The only way to stop that is to steal it ourselves.”
“Yeah, man, I already know that. But how we gonna do it?”
“From what I can gather, an announcement will take place tomorrow night. That means they don’t have the tablet yet.”
“Yeah, that’s true, man. But some of those guys are going out today to jump the claim and get the tablet.”
“Hmm, how we can stop them?” Paul wondered out loud.
“Wait,” Billy yelped. “I’ve got the number for the old geezer who has the tablet. The number is in my cell phone — his name is Walter Pierce.”
“Good, give it to me. I’ll call him and warn him they are getting in early. Hopefully Pierce will protect the tablet and keep it under wraps until the meeting, right?”
“But what does that do for us? I mean, will he even believe you? Remember, he’s a Nazi.”
“I’ll think of something,” the resourceful lawyer replied.
“But won’t the freaks find out that someone called and tipped off Pierce?”
“Yeah, but by then it will be too late,” Paul said as ideas flashed through his brain.
“What the hell are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking that it is about a sixteen-hour drive to where the tablet is located. If we get together about a dozen of the boys with guns, you could get there in time to steal the tablet before the meeting.”
“But how we gonna get the thing if you tell Pierce to hide it?”
“Let me worry about that — I’m a lawyer, remember.”
***
It took Paul two hours to decide what to do. He then called Pierce.
“Hello,” Pierce said casually into the phone.
“Walter Pierce, please,” Paul opened.
“Who is this?”
“My name is Bob Wilkosz. I’m a reporter with the Sunsetter News. I’m sure you know who we are,” Paul said.
“What do you want, Mr. Wilkosz? I am very busy right now.”
“Well, some informed sources told us you plan to announce an important discovery tomorrow. It has something to do with an Aryan historical find. I want to confirm the story, and see if you’ll allow me to come and take some pictures. Our readers love this kind of stuff.”
“Sir, even if your paper, which I call trash, was reputable, I have no comment.” The old man calmly said into the phone.
“Well, sir, as I understand it, several white supremacist type
s are flying out to see you this afternoon. They have directions to a secret location. It seems they are going to dig up some artifact which you know about. Am I getting close? Can you confirm that?”
“Mr. Wilkosz, I’m over ninety years old. What would I be doing with an old artifact? I can barely see, and I don’t read Aryan. Ha-ha! Good day to you.”
Paul hung up his phone. He thought Pierce was an arrogant son of a bitch. He sounded German to him. Bet he is the head Nazi. At least he now knows trouble is on the way. I’m sure he will hide the tablet. Paul had bought some time. He needed to check in on Brown but waited until the late afternoon. He had other calls to make.
***
“Billy, are you on the road yet?”
“Yeah, man, I got twelve guys in two vans. We’ll be in Westhampton by noon tomorrow. I’ll call you when we get there.”
“I spoke to Pierce, told him the ‘boys’ are heading his way. I bet the package isn’t even at the spot. This guy isn’t stupid. There is more to this plan. I’ll work on it. Man, this is big — lots of money involved. Don’t worry; you’ll get your share. Call when you get there.”
***
Brown hung up the phone. He knew Paul was only thinking about the fame and money. Seith Paul didn’t give a shit about anything or anyone else. Billy believed that if the tablet were to get into the papers, every white dude would think they had a right to push Blacks around. Well, I’ve got news — the boys and me were gonna get that Aryan thing and destroy it.
He didn’t want that kind of stuff lying around to cause him trouble.
Chapter Seventy-Two
Banyon waited inside the police station lobby for the Patel twins to pick him up and take him to the airport. He was pretty happy. He had earned two grand today and was vindicated on the accident which happened a year ago — and no one was chasing him. He made some new friends, both male and female. To top it off, he had landed a job interview on Tuesday and now was going traveling with two delicious ladies. Things were looking up.
Suddenly Loni appeared. She had changed into black stretch pants and a white T-shirt. Her hair was brushed and lay long and flat against her back. She had applied some makeup and lipstick. She looked stunning.
“Hi,” she said to Banyon in a soft voice as she walked up next to him.
“Hi, yourself,” he responded as he rocked back and forth on his heels.
“Getting ready for your trip?” She asked in a very polite sweet voice.
“The Patel sisters will be here soon to pick me up,” he explained. “I’m not sure what I have gotten myself into, but at least I’ll get to visit my hometown.”
“That’s Westhampton, right?”
Banyon now wondered why Loni was making small talk. It wasn’t her style. “Have you got something that you want to tell me?”
“Yes, I do,” she said and nodded her head. Her long hair cascaded across her face. She pushed it back. “Colt, I want to sincerely thank you for saving my career, and maybe my personal life as well,” she said humbly.
“That’s what friends are for,” he replied.
“No one has ever done anything like that for me before. You told a bit of a lie though. Why did you do it?”
“I wanted to show you friends could be your best asset. You need to learn to let people help you. Besides, it was entirely my fault.”
“How can you say that?”
“When we decided to become friends, I didn’t explain the rules to you.
“Rules, I didn’t know that there were rules,” she replied in confusion.
“Friends do not judge a friend is the first rule,” he said. Then friends wait until asked before they jump in and help each other, and finally, they help when asked, regardless of the circumstances. Do you understand now?”
“It sounds different when you say it that way. I just wanted to protect you from her. I couldn’t stand her touching you,” Loni said in frustration.
“Loni, please stop protecting me unless I ask for your protection, okay? You do not need to do anything to keep me as a friend. I’m your friend, period.”
“Colt, how can I ever repay you? I have so little to give you. I have been raised to always repay my debts. I have to give you something.”
“Give me a smile; trust me, it’s worth it to me.”
“There must be something …”
Banyon cut her off.
“Look, I love being around you and being your friend. You are a most unusual woman. It’s a long life; let’s just see where it goes. Okay, now give me a big hug and wiggle while you are hugging. Then let’s go have a cigarette.”
“That sounds a lot like foreplay,” Loni remarked with a smile.
“I know,” he replied.
***
As the Patel girls pulled into the parking lot, they saw Agent Chen and Banyon smoking a cigarette out in front of the station house. As was their usual custom, they just looked at each other to communicate.
The word, “trouble” flashed between them. Banyon walked over to the car and got into the back seat.
“Did you bring my bag?”
“Why do you need a change of underwear?” He was shocked. The frosty reply came from Previne.
“Why would I need a change of underwear?” he repeated, in an equally frosty tone.
“We noticed your girlfriend changed her clothes.”
“Look, you two, stop being jealous. Loni saved my bacon today. Her clothes got ripped; that’s why she changed. I never touched her.”
Pramilla interceded. “Previne, leave him alone. We are heading out for a great adventure today. Let’s have fun, okay?”
“Okay, you are right,” Previne agreed. “I’m so excited. So your son Mitchell will pick us up?”
“Yeah, he told me he would.”
“I can’t wait to meet him. Is he like you?” Pramilla asked.
“I don’t even know how to answer that,” Banyon replied sincerely. “You girls measure things in a different way.”
“Has he ever been to your old house?” It was Previne asking again.
“Sure, he was a teenager when the house was finally sold. He stayed there many times with me.”
“So, has he seen the ghost, too?” Previne quickly asked.
“He says he has. By the way, I have to tell you I’m not comfortable with our breaking into the house at night.”
“Don’t be silly, Colt. We aren’t going to break into the house; I have a key,” said Pramilla.
“How on earth did you get a key?” asked a puzzled Banyon.
“We have a key because we own it,” Previne explained.
“What?”
“That’s right,” said Pramilla shaking her head. “From the stories you told us, we are sure the house is truly haunted. Is Mitchell as sexy as you are?”
“Wait, you are changing the subject. How did you get a key?”
Previne answered, “I told you. We own the house. We bought it yesterday. A shell company owned the house, and the owner was willing to sell. We made him a good offer. This is very exciting.”
“Why would you buy my old house?” asked a confused Banyon.
“That is simple, silly one,” Previne replied with a purr in her voice. “Once we connect with the ghost, the house will be famous, and we will own it.”
“That seems a little too convenient,” a skeptical Banyon noted.
Pramilla suddenly said. “Do you want me to get in the back with you to celebrate?” She started to climb over the front seat, and landed on his lap. Banyon could not help but wonder what they were hiding.
Alarms were going off inside Banyon’s head. How could they have bought the house so quickly? How did they find the owner? Who financed the purchase? And every time I try to find answers, they gang up on me with sex.
Chapter Seventy-Three
Heinz walked into the lockup to check on the people that had been put there. Ula Woods was on his mind even though she wasn’t there. She and the boys were sitting in custody
in an FBI safe house until the case was cracked. He wasn’t sure how many charges were going to be levied against the gang, but they would be off the streets for a long time.
The assistant DA on the case told him there would be at least a year’s worth of trials. Also, there would be issues involving charging them separately or jointly on some counts. Then, of course, there would be the usual plea bargaining, and trading for information on other members, and on and on. The DA, who was twenty-six, felt he would be well into his thirties before it was over. Dean and the other cops involved also created different scenarios. Streamwood was going to be a busy police station for a long time.
As Heinz neared the cell where Sieth Paul was being held, he heard Paul talking to someone. He peeked around the corner, and saw Paul sitting on the metal bed with his legs crossed. His back was leaning against the wall, and he was acting like he was in an office. Heinz was surprised when he noticed Paul was talking on a cell phone. Just then the lawyer looked up and saw Heinz standing outside his cell.
“Uh oh,” Paul exclaimed. “B., gotta go, I think I just lost my phone privileges. You know what to do, bye.”
Heinz stuck out his hand. “Give me the phone, Seith. You know you aren’t supposed to have a phone in here.”
“Sorry” was all Paul said as he handed him the cell phone.
***
A few minutes later, Heinz stopped by Loni’s desk. She didn’t look up as he moved in very close to her. Her hair held the sweetness of her recent shampoo. “Hey, good-looking,” he called out. “Have you recovered enough from your ordeal to do some research for me?” He offered the startled woman a cell phone.
Her head jerked up. “Carl, you snuck up on me,” Loni said with a blush. She immediately stood up, turned towards him and accepted the device. She looked deeply into his eyes, searching for a clue to his mood.
He chose his words carefully, but they came out awkwardly anyway. “I want to tell you that everything’s all right with me, but unfortunately there are too many people around right now to express that visually.”
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