Fool's Eye

by Gregg Burton

  I watched the black Lincoln drive slowly away before closing my eyes and saying the three names three more times.

  I entered the bodega to find the same Spanish man Malik had called Papo was at the counter. He saw me and nodded. I nodded back and walked down the aisle leading to the casino door. Once I got close to the entrance, I heard the buzzer and went inside to start my play.

  Chapter 15

  The casino was open for business. It wasn’t the Trump or The Tropicana, but if you didn’t do a double take, you would swear it was. The four slot machines on the wall to the side were occupied by two old Asian women dressed to impress and making forty look like real women should. There were two sisters standing behind them showed off the bodies they knew they were blessed with. Next to me was the bar, where the bartender was tossing bottles into the air and putting on little shows for the “Haven’t seen you in forever” couples, along with the “I’m glad you came” couples, and the “Hi, nice to meet you” couples.

  The far end of the room showed that this place had more of the finer things New York liked to offer. The first time I ever stepped inside the place, it looked nothing like it did now. If all of this was a con, if all the people were paid actors, then I had to give Ace his props. There was no way you could pull off something on this level and not be called a genius.

  However, there were four guys present that would have fit in a different kind of set-up. A man in his mid-fifties was the first one. He wore a light brown leather jacket, dark brown slacks, and some outdated brown shoes. The men next to him matched his appearance––all were in their early to mid-fifties and each one dressed in slacks and leather jackets. I don’t know why, but something didn’t sit right with me.

  The center of the room was where all the action seemed to be taking place. The first table had a small circle of spectators wearing jewelry fit for the most elite. Women were tiptoeing around in the latest designer fashions, from Jimmy Choo and Louis Vuitton. Men were dressed in various designer jackets that were tailored to show a perfect ‘V’ in the back when buttoned. Everyone surrounded a small poker game.

  However, the table directly in front of it… Well, that had to be the main event. I saw women extending their diamond-encrusted necks just to get a glance at the game. Men quietly talked amongst each other, placing side bets on the outcome of the game. It had to be the table where Simon was located.

  I slowly maneuvered my way through the small crowd to get to the front of the table. I saw Simon holding two cards in his hand. His posture was straight. The crisp, black button-down shirt and slicked-back hair gave him the semblance of a young gangster. His sky blue eyes were intimidating to look at. He showed no expression as he stared across the table at his opponent and enemy––the man we all knew as Ace. To Simon, he was Mr. Leblac.

  Ace’s demeanor was completely opposite from Simon’s. He had a slight grin on his face. His eyes sparkled with the knowledge that everybody else didn’t have. His pinstripe navy blue suit stood out from everybody else’s wardrobe. It was a suit fit for a king, and Ace treated this room like it was his kingdom. Jim Payne, or Mr. Daniels, sat next to Ace wearing a charcoal suit that fit him to the tee. He must have felt me looking at him, because he looked up at me and smiled. Then, he looked back down at his cards and told the dealer, “I fold,” lightly flinging his cards across the table. A larger man sat between Jim Payne and Simon. He had shifty gray eyes that kept going back and forth between Simon and Ace. The man seemed nervous. Sweat was forming around his bald head. He kept fiddling with his chips.

  “Mr. Peterson, the bet is fifty thousand. What are you going to do, sir?” the dealer asked.

  Mr. Peterson looked at his cards again, and then counted his chips. He shook his head as he stuttered, “I…I… fo…fo…fold.”

  “Mr. Newman, it’s your call. The bet is fifty thousand.”

  Redirecting his eyes from Ace to the dealer without looking at his cards, Simon said, “I’m all in.” He then pushed forward his remaining chips.

  “I count a hundred and twenty thousand.” The dealer said. “Mr. Leblac?”

  He smiled. “Call.”

  The small crowd released a couple ooh’s and ahh’s.

  There were five cards in front of the dealer: an ace of clubs, king of hearts, queen of clubs, jack of clubs, and queen of diamonds. Watching closely, we all waited for both men to turn over their cards. Simon broke into a smile as he revealed his cards first.

  He said, “Well, Leblac, it seems you just met your match.”

  He had two queens. The crowd started clapping and cheering. I didn’t know exactly what it meant, but it must’ve been good. Simon started clapping himself and yelled, “There’s no way you can bet that!” He stood to rake in the chips.

  “Hold up, son,” Ace said, stopping him.

  I saw the fire return to Simon’s eyes when Ace called him son.

  “I think this could.”

  Ace slowly turned over his cards to reveal a king of clubs and a ten of clubs. The room lost it. People acted as if they had just seen a magic trick.

  Simon flopped back in his seat and mumbled, “That’s not possible. That’s just not possible.”

  The dealer shouted over the crowd. “Mr. Leblac wins with a royal flush!”

  Ace stood. He walked over to Simon, patting both Mr. Daniels and Mr. Peterson on the shoulder as he went. When he got to Simon, Ace held out his hand. “Good game, son.”

  Simon’s head was down, but he picked it up with the look of the devil in his eyes. As he rose from his seat, I could tell something was off.

  “I’m not your son,” he mumbled.

  “Excuse me?” Ace said politely. “I didn’t catch that.”

  “I said, I’m not your fucking son.”

  This time, there was visual anger in Simon’s face. Everybody saw it, especially Ace.

  “Calm down, Mr. Newman. There is no reason for you to get so upset. I didn’t mean it like that.”

  Suddenly, Malik appeared. “Mr. Leblac, he knows that. He’s just a little upset from losing. Right, Simon?”

  Despite the fact that Simon and Ace were seconds away from rolling on the floor, my heart smiled when I saw Malik. My first thought was to run to him and try to get an answer as to why he hadn’t called me all day. In light of the events transpiring, though, I decided to delay that act.

  Simon, on the other hand, looked at Malik like he was crazy. Then, he saw Malik make a head nod toward the four men who were playing the slot machines. I said were playing because they had started to make their way towards Simon and Malik. I took that moment as a sign to introduce my presence.

  I ran between Ace and Simon, faced Simon, and said, “Simon, we need to talk.” I then looked at Malik. “Hey, Martin. I need to talk to you, too.”

  With Malik’s help, I forced Simon away from the table.

  When we were out of harm’s way, I said to Simon, “What are you doing? I asked you not to play anymore. How much are you down now?”

  Simon shrugged. “Look, don’t worry about it. I just need you to help me get access to my account without my father finding out.”

  I looked back at Ace’s goons. “Simon, I’m more worried about making it out of here alive.”

  Malik agreed. “I’m with Linda on this one, dude. Not only are you in debt with him, but you just disrespected the man in his own place. You really need to chill out before you get us all killed.”

  Simon’s ego was still controlling his mouth. “I’m not afraid of that French bastard.”

  “Seriously, Simon, if you don’t chill, I will leave you and your ego here to deal with Mr. Leblac. Martin will leave you, too. Right, Martin?”

  “I have to be honest. I’m getting a little nervous. I’m no punk, but I think we’re getting in over our heads. I’ll say this, if you don’t come up with the money you owe him, we’re all in a shitload of trouble.”

  It took a second for Simon to realize what was really going on. Once he understood t
he depth of our situation, he looked at me. “Linda, I’m in big trouble. I owe him over two hundred thousand dollars.”

  Malik slapped himself in the head. “Oh my God, we’re dead! Why did I talk to you on the train? You just got us all killed!”

  I just shook my head. “This is crazy, Simon. Nobody loses two hundred thousand dollars playing poker. It’s just not possible. And, how did he let you play for that much anyway? To them, we’re just kids.”

  Simon’s voice was soft. “I told him who my dad was, told him to check me out. Once he knew I was telling the truth, he gave me a half a million dollars credit.”

  “What?” Malik and I said in perfect unison.

  “Are you one of George Bush’s illegitimate sons or something?” Malik asked. “Because I don’t know too many families in Texas that have that kind of money.”

  “Let’s just say mine does.”

  Malik threw up his hands. “Say, bro, you don’t need to catch an attitude with me. I’m on your side. What we need to do is try to come up the money. Can you call your dad?”

  “No, that’s not going to happen. Linda, can you call your friend?”

  “I told you that I will know something by the morning.”

  “So, you can’t call her now?”

  “No, Simon, I can’t. Now give me your wallet.”

  “Why?”

  “If you want to get out of here alive, you will give it to me.”

  He handed me the wallet. I took his ID out, and handed his wallet back to him.

  “What are you going to do with that?” he asked.

  “I’m going to give it to Mr. Leblac and see if he will take it as collateral. We don’t have much to work with, since you don’t want to get your father involved. I’m sure my girl will come through tomorrow, but that’s tomorrow.”

  “Okay, but your friend better come through tomorrow.”

  I got a little upset when he said that. I hated to feel threatened, so I put Mister Bad-ass in check.

  “First of all, don’t tell me what I better do, ‘cause I don’t have to do shit. Secondly, what do you think Mr. Leblac’s going to do when YOU don’t pay him, huh? What, you think he’s going to break your leg or something? No. The first thing he’s going to do is call your beloved father who you seem to be so afraid of. What then, huh? You must know, because you’re sure trying to keep him out the loop. So, the next time you try to disrespect me, I’m out of here and you can handle this shit by your damn self. We clear?”

  Only after I finished talking did I realize Malik was behind Simon motioning for me to stop. It was too late. The damage was done. I turned my back to Simon and prayed I hadn’t just ruined everything.

  Simon touched me on my shoulder. “Linda?”

  I turned around.

  “You know what? You’re right. I didn’t have the right to disrespect you. You’ve been really cool. I’m sorry. Now, can you get us out of here before something bad happens? I need a drink right now.”

  “That makes two of us,” Malik said.

  “You two are a mess. Let me go talk to Mr. Leblac and see if I can get us out of here in one piece.”

  I turned around to walk to Ace, and I blew out a sigh of relief. I heard Malik say to Simon, “Man, are you crazy talking to a black woman like that? I thought she was going to claw you.”

  Simon responded, “Bro, for a second, so did I.”

  I can’t wait to talk to Mr. Martin Lawrence alone. I’ll teach his ass something else you’re not supposed to do to a black woman.

  Ace began speaking to me as I was walking toward him, “Is everything alright over there, young lady?”

  “Hmmm…yes, sir, it is. Actually, we were wondering if it would be alright for him to pay you tomorrow. Two hundred thousand dollars isn’t just something you keep in your pocket, you know. As a show of good faith, Simon wants to leave his ID with you.”

  “You tell Mr. Newman that’s not necessary. I know it’s not easy for anybody to come up with that kind of money overnight. But, you tell my short-tempered friend that if he needs an account number to wire the money to, just let me know. You can also let him know that I will give him a chance to win it all back or even double his money.”

  “I don’t get it.”

  “For some God-awful reason, Mr. Daniels wants to rematch Manuel and Mike ‘The Sledgehammer.’”

  I was actually shocked. “Really?”

  “Yes, really, young lady. Tell Mr. Newman if he wants to win all his money back to bet on my boy. Now, I think it’s time you kids leave. Take my card and call me tomorrow. I will give you the time and location for the fight then. Also, my account number is on the back of the card in case he doesn’t want to bet and just wants to pay his debt.”

  I took his card and thanked him for being so understanding. Then, I walked back to the boys with a false mask of failure.

  “Here’s your card. He didn’t want it.”

  Malik buried his face in his hands. “Oh my God, we’re dead.”

  Simon looked at Malik like he was a scared little girl. As he took his ID, Simon asked, “So what did he say?”

  “He said you have until the end of the night to transfer the money you owe him to the account on the back of this card, or we’re all dead.”

  I gave the card to Simon and looked for a facial expression, but there was none. I don’t think he cared about dying. The way he squeezed that business card, it was like he imagined it was Ace’s neck wrapped around his fingers. Feeling threatened wasn’t something Simon was accustomed to. I’ll tell you this-Ace really knew how to push Simon’s buttons.

  Before he caused a scene, I quickly confessed the truth. “Simon, don’t look over there at him like that. He said we could leave and he would also give you a chance to win your money back. Let’s get out of here and I will explain everything.”

  Simon didn’t move. It was like he didn’t hear me talking.

  Malik tapped Simon on the shoulder. “Say, bro, we should really listen to Linda, because it’s getting tense in here. Besides, I know of a party we can go to and unwind a little. So, let’s just get out of here.”

  Simon turned to look at his cowardly friend. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Let’s go before I hurt somebody.”

  At that point, I couldn’t tell if he was talking about Ace or Malik.

  Chapter 16

  I was getting anxious. My body was feeling tense emotions. I had given myself to Malik, and now I needed him near me. On the outside, I was playing the perfect con, but on the inside, I was a mess. I wanted to know why I felt the way I did. I started to wonder if Malik cared for me the way I cared about him. I told him I wouldn’t catch feelings, but I guess I didn’t know my body as well as I thought.

  Feeling uneasy, I sat in the middle of Malik and Simon in the back seat of a black Town Car. Although I sat an even distance between the two, all of my energy was pulled toward Malik.

  We had just pulled off to go to some party Malik invited us to. I really wasn’t in the mood to party, though. I really wanted to get Malik alone to talk, but I had to put personal feelings aside and wait it out.

  Malik instructed the driver to go to the Brooklyn Bridge. Then, he told us that we were going to get out and walk from there. Simon kept himself busy by looking out the window. Malik started talking to the driver about the world coming to an end.

  Malik was saying, “New York had like, what, three major blizzards this year? It even snowed a lot in Texas, man! Then, you add in all of the earthquakes and the war that’s going on in Libya? What about what happened in Egypt this year? Come on, 2012. That’s all I’m saying.”

  The driver laughed at Malik. The cabbie looked at him through the rear view mirror “You know, you Americans watch too much TV… 2012? That’s like when the world was going to go back to the stone ages in the year 2000. Remember the Y2-”

  “STOP!” I yelled.

  The Town Car came to a screeching halt as a black SUV pulled out in front of us. Simon, Malik, an
d I used the back of the front seat to support us. For some reason, I looked behind us as if we were going to get rear-ended. That’s when I saw another black SUV caddie behind us. Four Asian men stepped out of the SUV in front of us, like they had all the time in the world.

  The driver stuck his head out of the window, and shouted, “Hey, what the hell are you doing? Move your truck!” The driver quickly put his head back in the car and said, “Oh shit! They have guns!”

  I could hear him trying to force his window up by the clicking of the button for the power windows. When I looked behind us again, Asian men stepped out from their black SUV and started walking toward us with their weapons drawn. They were more in a hurry, and made to our windows before the crew in the front did. My first thought was that this was another part of the con Ace and Malik didn’t tell me about. I looked over at Malik to get some type of confirmation, but the look in his eyes let me know this definitely had nothing to do with taking Simon’s money.