Black Gangster

by Donald Goines

  Ruby laughed coldly. "You're supposed to be coming back from there on the train, aren't you, darling?"

  Roman broke in, attempting to change the subject before sparks started to fly. "You know, Prince, I'm kind of glad to be gettin' the fuck away from here today. When that shit jumps off, it's going to raise plenty hell for some people."

  "Maybe," Prince replied shortly.

  "I done tried, but I just can't see no reason for rippin' off that gun shop, man. What do we need with all those guns? It ain't goin' do nothing but bring more heat down on us." The baffled note in Roman's voice revealed that he was really upset by Prince's plan.

  Ruby drove in silence, and when she hit the expressway she put her foot on the gas. At this hour in the morning there was very little traffic. She caught the outside lane and stayed there, passing everything in sight.

  "We aren't really in that much of a hurry, dear," Dot said coldly, her words dripping with sarcasm. "We really have plenty of time, you know."

  Prince smiled self-consciously. It was rare that these two women could come together without one of them trying to hit a tender nerve that the other couldn't conceal. "I have to disagree with you, Roman," he began. "It's very important that we have enough guns to go around. In this day and age, any organization like ours has to have plenty guns or the police will kill you like a dog every time they catch you in the streets."

  "I can dig where you're coming from, Prince, but our thing ain't about that, man. We are supposed to be going for the buck-hard, green cash. It ain't about open conflict with the police."

  Prince snorted. "You can't help but have conflict with the man, baby. No matter how hard we try, we goin' run into trouble with the police. So the best thing in the world for us is to have some shit to return an eye for an eye. Dig this, man, we can't allow the man to shoot down our people whenever they feel like it, like they did Shortman."

  Roman cut in. "Some police got shot down first, Prince, before anything happened to our people."

  "Damn that!" Prince exclaimed. "It ain't our problem to worry about every pig that gets shot down in the streets. That's their job, baby. That's what the city hires them for. What I'm trying to get across to you is that, from now on, every time they retaliate on one of our people, we goin' sock it right back to them." Prince tossed him a skeptical glance, then continued. "What you don't understand, Roman, is that whitey don't understand but one thing-violence. Brutality is his way of life, baby, so he don't respect nothing but violent measures. If you don't show him that, he goin' keep his foot right in your backside."

  Roman shook his head, baffled. He could feel that this day spelled big trouble. It was just a matter of time now, the way Prince was going. It couldn't possibly last. He began to wonder if Prince could be insane. It was possible, he thought. All this killing lately had to be the work of a deranged mind. No sane person could order wholesale murder without any qualms. He glanced at Ruby and wondered if she had any idea of just how mad her man was becoming.

  Suddenly, Ruby left the freeway and pulled in towards the airport. They parked quite a way back from the main entrance and walked the rest of the way. Ruby and Prince followed closely behind Roman and Dot.

  "You sure everything is set up, right, Roman?" Prince asked quietly.

  "Oh yeah, baby. We called before we left and everything is ready. That young dago I been dealing with is really into something," Roman said. "He's really big time, Prince, and I mean big time."

  Prince smiled slightly but did not bother to answer They continued in silence until Ruby spoke up.

  "This really is a big thrill for you, ain't it, Dot? An old country girl like you gettin' a chance to ride on the white man's big iron bird. Girl, I'll bet you ain't goin' know how to act once you get back from that old big city you goin' to." Ruby laughed loudly as Dot stared over her shoulder. There was no concealing the mounting rage in her eyes. Roman put his arm around his woman's shoulder and felt it unyielding, a sure sign of anger. He knew if Ruby kept baiting Dot, there would be an explosion he didn't want to see.

  Prince watched the two women and laughed. He pulled Ruby's arm. "That's enough, baby," he said lightly. "We don't need no floor show out here between you two."

  Roman stayed at the rail with them until Dot bought the tickets, then they waited together silently until the loudspeaker informed them that their plane was loading on Ramp Six.

  "You wait here and watch them go aboard," Prince instructed Ruby, then made his way to the telephone. He dialed a long-distance number, and when the receiver was picked up at the other end, he asked for room 48. He waited patiently until the night clerk put his call through, then he said four words, "They're on the way," and hung up.

  As he went back to rejoin Ruby, she met him halfway. "Our little pigeons are on their way, daddy." She put her arm in his and they walked from the airport arm in arm.

  Roman settled back in his plane seat. His mind was working ten miles a minute. He touched the envelope containing the money. It wouldn't be any problem, he reasoned, just to keep on traveling. They had enough money to last a while, and when it was gone, all they would have to do would be to make a trip back to Detroit and slip down to the bank one afternoon and get out the twenty-five thousand they had stashed there. The gang was headed for prison, there was no doubt in his mind about that. You couldn't toss bricks at the prison walls day in and day out and hope not to get caught. There would be no better opportunity than now, he reasoned, to step right away from it all before he was caught up in the madness.

  "Dot," he began, "how would you like to just keep on going?" She stared at him surprised. "I mean," he continued, "when we reach Chicago, we just catch another plane out for the West Coast."

  "What about the dope, honey?" she asked.

  "Fuck the dope," he replied harshly. "Let's just get the hell on away from it all. Just keep on going. We got ten grand right here, and we can always come back and get the rest of our money."

  The airplane hit an air pocket, causing her to clutch at her seat. "Roman, don't talk crazy. We ain't got no clothes with us or nothing. When Prince finds out we done pulled up with the ten thousand, he goin' go over to our place and take everything out that ain't nailed down."

  "So what?" Roman asked sharply. "We ain't got nothing there we can't replace, have we?"

  "Sure, you can replace it," she replied sharply, "but just look at how much it's going to cost. Don't forget, I left two mink stoles there that I damn sure want. Just stop and think for a minute, honey, please. If we run off with the ten grand, it's going to take that much money just to replace the stuff we left behind. All your suits, plus them alligator and lizard shoes of yours, baby. No, we can't do it like that; we got too much to lose."

  She had a point, he bitterly agreed. He had a wardrobe any man would envy, and it had taken him a long time to get it. For the first time in his life he had enough clothes so he never had to worry about what to wear. Too many years of having only one pair of shoes, one pair of pants, sometimes not even one dress suit to wear, came back to his mind. You don't forget hardship overnight.

  "You're right," he said suddenly. "It's too much to just up and leave."

  Dot smiled slightly. "All we got to do, Roman, is plan. When we return, you're going to have all the responsibility of the dope money. Why take off with ten grand when, with a little patience, we might be able to string for another twenty-five or fifty grand if things hop off right." She laughed at her own cleverness. How stupid men were, she thought. Roman, Prince, all of them. Any woman, except that foolish Ruby, she reasoned, could get anything she wanted out of a man if she used her wits.

  The pilot announced the landing. Everyone began to fasten their seatbelts. Dot sat back in her seat, proud of the fact that she knew what her future would be. It wasn't everyone who could control their destiny as well as she planned on controlling hers and Roman's. He was a lucky man, she thought, to have her standing beside him. He was so easy to lead. At times she wondered how he had managed
to rise so high in Prince's organization. There was a man, she thought. If she could only move Ruby out of the way, it would be nice taking her place. She frowned slightly. What Roman feared was a possibility. Things couldn't last the way they were going, so maybe it wasn't such a good idea wishing she were Prince's woman. When the castle fell, everyone close was sure to fall with it.

  The plane came down on the runway, took two bounces and landed for good. People were already unbuttoning their seatbelts. It took about fifteen minutes to get clear of the airfield and run down a cab.

  Dawn was breaking out over the city as they leaned back against the seat of the cab. Dot rolled up the window to escape a cold blast of the September wind. As the cab left the freeway, she stared out the window in disgust.

  "It looks just like one great big slum to me," she remarked as they entered Chicago. "I don't think I'd like this city. Just look at that!" she exclaimed, pointing out the window at some dirty tenement buildings.

  The cab driver glanced at Dot in his rearview mirror. The little black bitch, he cursed under his breath. He turned into the driveway of a motel.

  "This is good enough," Roman said to the driver, as he glanced out at the name of the motel. The Desert Inn was large and modem with a swimming pool. At this time of day, there was no one about. Roman glanced at his watch after paying the cab driver. It wasn't even six o'clock yet. He shook his head in wonder. They had left Detroit at four-thirty; now here they were at the end of their journey in less than an hour and a half.

  The female nightclerk glanced out the window at them as they walked up the pathway. She watched them from her desk until they stopped in front of number 16. When the door opened and they went in, she returned to the paperback book in front of her.

  Tony stepped back to allow them to enter. He smiled at Dot, then closed the door behind them. "How was the trip?" he asked politely.

  Roman's eyes scanned the room; the half-open bathroom door caught his attention at once. "Is it all right if I use your toilet?" he asked casually. Ten thousand dollars was a nice piece of money, so he wasn't taking any chances, even though he had done a little business with Tony in Detroit.

  Tony walked over to the dresser and opened one of the drawers. "I'm afraid not," he said coldly, then whirled around, a long-barreled thirty-eight in his hand. Dot managed a light scream before he hit her across the face with the gun.

  Roman started to make a move in their direction, but a sharp blow in his back caused him to wheel around. Racehorse stood behind him grinning, the pistol in his hand aimed right at Roman's chest.

  "What the hell is going on?" Roman demanded with as much authority as he could manage. "You guys must be out of your minds if you think Prince will stand still for me being stuck up."

  Both men laughed. "Don't worry about Prince," Racehorse snarled. "We'll take care of him when the time comes." He ordered, "Set that goddamn money out, now."

  Roman fumbled with his inside pocket, shaking uncontrollably. He managed to pull the long envelope from his pocket. "Here, take the money, man, just don't hurt us."

  Tony laughed and pushed Dot towards the bed. "Say, man, take a gander at them big hips on her, will you?" he said as she sprawled out on the bed. "You think we ought to take a little time and find out what she's got that keeps our boy here so happy?" He laughed, glanced at Roman's face, then started to laugh louder. When he managed to stop, he said, "Take a look at him, will you. The guy's more worried about us bustin' out his woman than he is over the ten grand."

  Racehorse grinned, then made an impatient gesture. "Get your ass on the bed beside your woman, boy. Don't nobody want none of that stuff."

  "Speak for yourself!" Tony exclaimed, then grinned when Roman glared at him. "We better tie the boy up first. He might try to be a hero or something." Tony opened up the dresser and pulled out some rope. They tied Roman tightly to the bed, his arms above his head, his feet together, with the rope tied to the springs under the bed. Racehorse tied the ropes, making sure Roman couldn't move an inch.

  "Please, please, just tie me up," Dot begged as Tony ran his hands over her breasts. He stuck one down inside her blouse, fumbled around and removed it as she squirmed and moaned.

  Racehorse watched him unconcerned as he removed some more rope from the drawer. "You having fun with that dark meat, Tony? She don't move me at all," he said in a matter-of-fact voice. He tossed Tony the rope. Tony tied Dot's hands first, then, before tying her feet, he ran his hand inside the top of her pants. When she started to cry, he slapped her viciously.

  "Stop that goddamn whining, bitch," he ordered, pushing his hand deeper in her pants. "Sonofabitching pants is tight as hell," he said. Roman struggled with his ropes, but they wouldn't give.

  Racehorse laughed, pulled the envelope out of his pocket and counted the money. He laid five thousand dollars on the dresser, then glanced at Tony. "You really want to knock some of that off, man?" he asked abruptly.

  Dot began to kick her legs wildly as Tony's fingers found what he had been searching for. He played with her for a while, then removed his hand. "Naw, man, I don't think so. It felt kind of big to me. Help me tie her legs down, baby. I don't want this bitch to kick me in the face." They worked quickly to subdue her, and after tying her firmly to the bed, Racehorse began to wipe the room clean of fingerprints.

  Tony gagged Roman and Dot, making sure that no matter how much they struggled, they couldn't dislodge the knots from their mouths. He took his share of the money from the dresser, then spoke to his partner. "You better take off, buddy. I'll take care of the rest of the business here." He slipped on a pair of gloves.

  "Mellow, baby, I dig that," Racehorse replied and turned back to the bed. With one swift motion, he ripped Dot's pants down. "I don't know, Mellow, it might be all right. It's good and goddamn hairy," he said and walked towards the door laughing.

  When the door closed behind him, Tony walked over and peeped out the blinds. He watched Racehorse walk down the driveway and start up the street. "You know, honey," he said to Dot, "I didn't really want no audience, you know what I mean?" He laughed brutally.

  Roman's eyes followed him closely. He swore to himself that he would remember every goddamn thing about Tony, and one day he would settle the score. He still didn't realize that he would never get the opportunity.

  Tony sat down on the bed beside Dot. He ran his fingers up between her legs. She couldn't kick now, so she just lay as still as possible. He stared down at her, then ripped her blouse off. He stared at the dark nipples. He took one in his fingers and squeezed it tightly, playing with it until it became hard.

  "Hey, man," he yelled. "Look at your woman, she's gettin' hot as hell over here. But she ain't nowhere near as hot as she's going to be before it's all over." He tossed back his head and roared at his own joke.

  Dot stared up at him; she wanted to spit in his face, but the gag prevented it. She was as helpless as a baby. She closed her eyes as she felt his fingers begin to play with her again. Hurry up, she pleaded silently. Just hurry and get it over with. She would give Roman plenty hell about this when it was over.

  Tony got up suddenly from the bed, tired of playing. Dot tried to watch him out of the corner of her eye, but he went into the bathroom. She closed her eyes for a second, then felt something cold splash on her. Her nose told her what it was immediately. It was gas. She opened her eyes and stared frantically at Tony. He was slowly but carefully soaking the bed with gas. She tried to open her legs, to tell him it was all right, do whatever he wanted to, but just please turn her loose.

  Tony didn't even bother to look at her. He was an expert; he had a job to do, and he didn't leave anything to chance. He removed a straight razor from his jacket pocket. He grabbed Roman's head, twisted it sideways, then made a quick slice with the razor. Blood shot across the room.

  Dot could feel herself gagging. She felt tears running down her cheeks as her eyes grew wide with terror. This couldn't be happening, not to her, she told herself, but there was no
avoiding the truth. She felt Tony's hand on her head and tried to plead with him with her eyes.

  He glanced down at her once, then make a quick slice with the razor. He slowly checked his clothing for bloodstains, then lit a match and dropped it on the bed. There was a loud swoosh, and the bed went up in flames.

  He opened the door and slipped out, not bothering to glance back. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was a job well done.

  14

  THE AFTERNOON SUN had come out and the autumn day was beginning to take on the glow of Indian summer. People were out on the sidewalks standing around and gossiping, anything to keep them out of the stuffy, smelly flats they called their homes.

  Ruby drove slowly down the crowded street, watching for the kids darting in and out of traffic. She had to stop and wait until a boy chased a beat-up football across the street. Prince glanced up from a paperback novel he had been reading. He watched the boy pick up the ball, almost under the wheels of the Cadillac, then run back and join the crowd of boys who had been watching from the curb. They waited until the cars drove past, then reentered the street to continue their game.

  Ruby pulled over and parked beside the curb. "You want me to wait, or would you rather I come back for you later on?"

  Prince glanced up and down the street. "There's a drugstore down there, baby. You can walk down there and get you a pop or something while you wait on me. It shouldn't take me too long to finish up here, so make sure you hurry up back." He climbed out of the car, then waited until Ruby had got out, too, before continuing on his way.

  Prince stopped on the second floor of the apartment house. His knock was quickly answered by someone peeping through a small hole in the door. Quickly the door opened and Prince stepped into the room. Men were lying all around the apartment, each with a weapon under his armpit in a shoulder holster.