by JL Schneider
Shelby looked like the old Shelby. He was happy and talkative. I looked at him, “You looking good, how do you feel?” He thought for some time “You know Jess, for the first time in a long time, I feel alive.” That was the same feeling I had days before. The adrenaline rush must have something to do with it. We finished breakfast and headed south. I decided not to take the direct route home. I headed south and decided to spend the night in Savannah. Saturday morning we continued south to Jacksonville. We hit I-10 west and drove to Biloxi. We stayed at a Casino and had some fun. Sunday we drove to New Orleans. I called Buckle, his guy had gotten the cash and we got the drugs. All was well.
At home all was also well. I had convinced Rachael to take a leave from her job and stay with me, Jasmine and Shelby seemed happy and she was responding well to the medication.
Shelby and I decided the AKs were just too hot to keep around. Late on Sunday night we drove down to Fort Jackson on the Mississippi river. I threw both AKs as far out in the river as I could. I knew in some FBI evidence locker was shell casings and bullets from these, they had to go.
I needed to replace the AKs but thought we needed something a little more reliable. I went online and searched for Gun Shows. Gun Shows are the great American loop-hold. If you caught a private seller and had the right amount of cash there was no ten day waiting period and no paper trail. The following weekend there was a Gun Show in Dallas. We decided we needed a road trip. We packed our stuff and the women in the car and headed west.
Saturday morning we dropped the women off at the mall and went to the gun show. Shelby paid the five dollar entrance fee to go in and I stayed outside watching patrons enter with their guns. After a couple of hours of watching I spotted a man headed for the entrance. He was carrying several guns but the one I took notice of was an AR15. I approached him and asked if he was going to sell the AR in the show. He said he was, if he could get the right price. I asked if I could see it and he handed me the weapon. It was the Sporter Carbine Model, perfect for my purposes. I asked what he wanted for it. He told me he was looking to get nine hundred dollars. He also had a couple of semi-automatic pistols stuck in his waistband. One was a 9mm M9 Beretta and the other was Taurus 9mm. I told him I would give him two thousand cash for everything. He couldn’t believe his luck that was much more than he could ever get in the show and much more than they were worth. I paid him in one hundred dollar bills and deposited everything in the trunk. Using the same method Saturday and Sunday I was able to equip us with another AR 15, two twelve gauge shotguns, and two additional semiautomatic pistols. Shelby purchased two K-Bar knives and six thirty round clips for the ARs. In the show there was a booth from the VIP Body Armor Company. We ordered 2 Covert Ops Vest to be shipped to my house within a week. All and all a successful trip; we had managed to spend another ten thousand dollars of our ill gotten gains.
We drove to Shreveport and all had a great time at the Harrah’s Casino. I could see that the women could get use to this spending money. But I didn’t care, I would either get more or die trying. We spent the night at Harrah’s Casino Hotel and drove home the next day.
Chapter 30
A few days later I made the delivery to the Calliope. No problems. They wanted the drugs and we were a good pipeline. They weren’t about to screw that up. I had over a million dollars in my bedroom closet. I wasn’t quite sure what to do with it. I couldn’t put it in the bank and I couldn’t spend it. Makes a nice decoration though. I split it with Shelby. He couldn’t do anything with it either, but it made me happy. We took the ladies out to a nice evening, and tried to spend as much as we could. We had a great meal, we were all like one happy family.
Shelby and I continued our pickup and delivery schedule at least once a month for the next two years. We learned the best methods of cover and concealment. We saw how the pickup men handled themselves and learned to read their posture. We were able to avoid problems by setting ourselves in the best possible position. We learned that the right amount of money can buy many things. We were able to acquire fake driver’s licenses and Social Security Numbers. These were expensive but could pass a careful check by the police. I never had a problem during the delivery. Always the same routine and same guys. I had a lot of money spread around to several offshore numbered accounts. Buckle had shown us how to accomplish that. All things considered, we were very successful at what we did.
Chapter 31
I knew sooner or later Jasmine had to confront her past. Somewhere out there she had a real family, but she was happy with Shelby. She had some memory of her past, but apparently the memories she did have weren’t that great. She made the decision to change her name and stay with us. I purchased the necessary document to make her someone else. She had a Birth Certificate, Driver License, Social Security Card, and bank account in the name of Jasmine Borne.
Back in Vietnam there was a feeling, when you were in the jungle you wanted to be out, when you were out of the jungle you wanted to be in. In a big way that was how I felt now. It had been over two and one half years since my wife had been killed and I was still doing this. Shelby and I had made dozens of pickups over the past two years and all had gone relatively easily. We had been prepared both of us wearing body armor and loaded for bear. Our reputation of taking no prisoners preceded us. But what I was doing didn’t feel right. I knew my late wife wouldn’t approve. I wanted out of this business, but the adrenaline rush was so strong I couldn’t wait to feel it again. I had two things keeping me in, the rush, and the video. If I could get my hands on the video, the decision to quit or not would be mine. There was zero chance of stealing it, Buckle was to smart, he probably put it in a safe deposit box just like I did the recorder. I could kill Buckle, but the video was sure to surface. I could force him to give it to me, but even if he did, how could I be sure it was the only copy. I really didn’t trust him and he didn’t trust me. Then I realized something, I was kidding myself, I could quit anytime I wanted. Buckle couldn’t do anything with the video as long as I had the recorder. I could walk away and not look back, the decision was mine. Now what was my excuse?
Shelby and I mulled over the problem for hours. I wanted to just walk away. I wasn’t even sure if that was possible. I wanted to talk to Buckle, he had apparently been doing this for quite a while. I wanted to see if he had ever wanted out. I called his office and set up a meeting that night. Harry’s Hideaway seemed like the likely spot.
We met at Harry’s at 8 PM. I wasn’t sure how to breach the subject, so I just came out and asked. “I want an honest answer. Have you ever considered getting out of this business?”He took a big swallow of his scotch, and told me the story I was afraid I would hear. “Yes, quite a few years ago I wanted out. The money is amazing, but the stress is just too much. I let it be known that I wanted out. I came home one day and found Rufus and a bunch of his thugs waiting for me. They had scared the hell out of my wife and locked her in the bathroom. I was told, point blank, quitting wasn’t an option. The only way you leave this business is in a body bag. They don’t want the flow interrupted. That causes them to look bad, and they can’t have that.” Gang violence wasn’t anything new in New Orleans and often innocent bystanders got caught in the crossfire. The threat was that Buckle and his family would become collateral damage. I had no doubt that the threat was real. I had another question, “I need to know, over two years ago I killed Dunn. What the hell did he do to deserve that, and who ordered that hit?” He was hesitant but answered. “Dunn came down here about six months before you eliminated him. He met with a rival gang. They were talking about setting up another supplier. Rufus couldn’t have that, again a threat to his power. He controls the whole local drug market. Ninety percent of the drugs sold in this town are from him. We don’t even know if Dunn accomplished anything down here. But Rufus didn’t want to take any chances.” Rufus had contacted Buckle to have Dunn removed. Since I had removed Allen I was the only other choice. I had taken care of Dunn and all was well in the local
drug scene. Buckle was his pawn and was kept in line through fear. There were two other suppliers, but they all sold to Rufus and his gang. Everyone dealt with Rufus or didn’t do business, even worse, died. I had only two choices, continue to deal with Rufus, or quit and suffer the consequences.
I didn’t like either of my options. I wanted out, but not in a pine box. There was only one other option. I looked at Shelby and he was smiling, I knew he was thinking the same thing. Rufus was our problem, we had to eliminate our problem. The solution wouldn’t be that simple. Rufus was a careful man with plenty of firepower at his disposal. This would involve planning and timing. If he had even a hint of this we would all be dead. Other suppliers were waiting in line to deal with him.
I told Buckle to forget our conversation had ever happened. He was a nervous wreck. He knew Rufus was dangerous. We had another drug pickup the following week. I told Buckle to confirm the pickup and Shelby and I would make it. We had been using neutral locations for pickup so I had to find another location. I didn’t want anything to change. I didn’t need anyone getting suspicious. I told Buckle I would call him with a pickup location.
I drove home and got on the internet. I picked Richmond for no particular reason, found a park online and called Buckle. The following Wednesday at 10 PM we would make a pickup. My plan was to inform the pickup man this would be our last transaction, we were out of business. Depending on his reaction I was going to try and follow him to his boss. If I could talk my way out of the business I would, if not, I would come prepared.
I had fallen in love all over again with Rachael; I wanted to be with her forever. I told her I was going to leave the business. I had more than enough money to keep us happy for all our years. My only problem was I need to get out without making waves, not an easy thing to do. She felt the same as I did, but didn’t want me taking any unnecessary chances, she had no idea what I had really been through. I had never told her about the three men in Hoboken or Alexandria.
I was acting as the middle man in the operation. I knew the supplier and the dealer, but neither of them knew each other. In theory this protected everyone. I couldn’t turn on one without drawing flack from the other. I was in the best and worst possible position. The best because I had only to handle the product for a short time. The worse because if I broke the chain, both side would turn on me. I needed to neutralize both supplier and dealer. A lot easier said than done. I had never met the supplier, and didn’t even know who it was. I knew Rufus was the dealer, and he had a gang behind him. I needed to know the identity of the supplier. I called Buckle; he only had a phone number and a first name, Sam. Not much to go on. I wasn’t sure how much the pickup man would know the following week, but it was all I had. I knew there was a good chance I wouldn’t survive this meeting. Buckle had assisted me in opening a few offshore bank accounts around the world. I had millions stashed in them, and I still had over a million in my house. I had kept the money in my closet in a large bag, it was dirty money, but dirty money spends just as well as clean. In the bag I also put a list of the numbered accounts. I took Rachael aside and told her I was going to get out, but it wasn’t that easy. I showed her the bag and the numbered accounts and told her if anything happened to me, It was all hers. She didn’t want money, she wanted a life with me. I wish it was that easy. I was determined to end this, one way or another.
The product had always been the same, ten packages of white power all bound in clear plastic, sealed closed with duct tape. I went to a local market and purchased ten pounds of powdered sugar. I had no real plan at the moment, but one thing I knew for sure, Rufus was not getting the real thing. I went home; Shelby and I made ten packages identical to the ones we had picked up before. I mulled over the situation for hours. I thought of trying to purchase a locating device, but I had no way of knowing what kind of car he would be driving or where he would park it. We would need to follow the pickup man to his car and then to his final destination. That would be easier said than done in traffic but it was our only option.
We had all the firepower we needed, but I knew we would still be outgunned. Our guns had been tuned and our shotguns had been modified for concealment. I didn’t want to die, but with all this firepower, I wasn’t going out alone.
I was hoping the situation with the pickup would be smooth. I still had Rufus to deal with but one thing at a time. We loaded all our gear in the trunk, including the money. I met with Buckle and told him he needed to take a two week trip, preferably out of the country. I told him I would call him when all was clear, if he didn’t hear from me, he might consider changing his country of residence. He argued, but my mind was made up. Business as usual wasn’t an option. I told him he could come with us to Richmond. He looked at me like I was completely insane. All of a sudden the vacation must have sounded like a good idea. I didn’t want to know where he was going. He just needed to disappear for awhile.
Chapter 32
Sunday night we arrived in Richmond. Monday we scouted the pickup area and planned Shelby’s concealment. We discussed where the pickup man would probably park and what direction he would enter the park from. We had now done this over two dozen times and had guessed right ninety percent of the time. We looked on every pickup as a tactical situation. It’s what kept up alive. On Tuesday we made several passes at the pickup point, but never stopped. If it was being watched we never saw anyone. I couldn’t imagine how someone in this business could be so careless. I guess the pickup man was just hired help and did the minimum amount of work.
Wednesday evening we made another pass of the park, nothing unusual. We were as prepared as we could be, hoping we hadn’t overlooked anything, we went to dinner. Our usual routine was to have Shelby enter the pickup area hours before pickup time. That wasn’t an option this time, I needed Shelby to see where the pickup man parked. That meant I was to make the pickup without backup. Not an ideal situation, but I didn’t want to get anyone else involved. I had Shelby drop me off where we thought the pickup man would enter the park. We would be in radio communications the entire time. I would give the money to the pickup man, follow him to his boss, and dump the drugs before returning home. I had the fake drugs hiding at home.
I entered the park fifteen minutes ahead of the scheduled exchange time. I had the money in a carry bag slung across my back. As usual I wore a long coat to conceal the AR 15 under my right arm. I was standing waiting when Shelby’s voice brought me out of my trance. He had seen a SUV park and two men enter the park. I didn’t like the sound of two men, but I assumed they used a cover man as I did. One man came out of the tree line about one hundred feet in front of me. I had to hope the second man was just there to watch, he must have stayed in the trees. The pickup man stopped thirty feet in front of me. He was carrying a large duffel bag. He bent to put the bag on the ground and suddenly came up firing. He had pulled a pistol from a pocket in the bag.
I felt a severe blow to my chest and was knocked off my feet. I couldn’t catch my breath and was in severe pain. I rolled on to my back and tried get up. Suddenly he was standing over me pointing a pistol at me. I could see his face in the moonlight and caught a brief smile. The smile faded as he suddenly tumbled forward and fell over me. I was disoriented but rolled on my side to face him. He was bleeding from the nose and struggling to breathe. He had dropped his pistol. I heard a shot behind me, then Shelby was kneeling at my side. The pickup man was still alive, but barely. I checked myself over. His shot had caught the bottom of my Kevlar vest just to the right of my heart. If it wasn’t for the vest I would be dead. Lucky for me Shelby, had followed the two men in the park and was watching thru his night vision goggles. He had seen the pickup man pull his pistol and fire before he could react. He had dropped him when he walked over to me and then took care of the backup man.
But I couldn’t understand why they had suddenly done this now. How had they known what I was up to? We knew we had to get out of the park fast. The pickup man was obviously dying and I could
have cared less. Shelby got me to my feet and shouldered the two bags. I didn’t know who this guy was, but I grabbed his wallet. I looked at the man who lay at my feet. He was probably thirty years old, dark completion, and stout build. The 5.56mm round from Shelby’s AR15 had caught him under the right arm. From the blood coming from his mouth and nose it probably went through his lungs. His dark eyes were beginning to glaze over. We struggled into the tree line and I saw the backup man lying by a tree. Most of the top of his head was missing. Shelby had been very close behind him when he fired. I took his wallet and got to the car. We drove out of the area. Back at our hotel we checked for damage, a lot of pain and a big nasty bruise, but nothing broken.
What the hell was going on? Was it just a coincidence that they had tried to take me down now? I didn’t think so, that was too hard to believe. They had somehow found out I wanted out and there was only four people who knew, me, Shelby, Rachael, and Buckle. Buckle had to have given us up. But why, and how could I prove it?
The only thing we left in the park was spent shell casing but I figured things would be getting hot. We packed our gear and headed out. Shelby was driving and I checked out the wallets of the dead men. Both had New Jersey driver’s licenses. The guy who had shot me was Sammy Peperoni, and the guy in the trees was Albert Morin. That didn’t tell me much, other than were both from the Jersey City area. We stopped at a pay phone and I called Buckle’s cell. I didn’t think he would answer if he saw my number pop up.
He answered and before he could say anything I asked “Why, why did you turn on us?” He stammered and stuttered, right then I knew he had done it. “What are you talking about, I don’t know what you mean.” I sighed, “You fucking know what I mean. You pimped us out. You told your contact I was getting out. You almost got me killed, so now, I’m coming for you.” Finally he regained enough composure and came up with a story. “OK look, I made the reservation like you said. They were waiting for us. When my wife and I came out of the house Rufus was there. He knew, I don’t know how, but he know. He told me to call the connection and let him know.” It was probably a bullshit story but I just needed to keep him talking.