Jungle Warriors, Crime Fighters

by Doug Houser

  Billy Hopkins shouted at Jamison, “Jesus Christ, some manners, please. Who do you think is going to clean up the piss that just ran down your leg? You goddamn son of a bitch, this is my house and you just pissed on my floor. You are one crude bastard.”

  Jamison was so scared he almost whimpered, but it was impossible to make a sound.

  Hopkins continued, “Next time you need to piss, let me know. You disrespect my house once more and I’ll cut your dick off. Understand?”

  Jamison did his best to nod in the affirmative. Hopkins continued, “I’ve got something for you to look at.” He opened the church membership book to the page with Jamison’s picture and showed it to him. “This you?”

  Again, Jamison nodded.

  Hopkins ripped the duct tape from around the back of Jamison’s head and off his mouth. He was pleased to see that a good bunch of hair from Jamison’s head was still stuck to the tape. Hopkins pulled the washcloth out of Jamison’s mouth. Hopkins then asked, “Thirsty?”

  Jamison’s mouth was so parched that he couldn’t speak, so he just nodded. Hopkins grinned and said, “Too bad. I don’t want my floor pissed on again and I’m sure you don’t want your dick cut off, so you’ll just have to be thirsty.”

  Jamison had salivated a little and managed a weak, “Please.”

  Hopkins got up and walked away. In a few moments, he returned with a glass of water. Before he held it for Jamison to take a drink he said, “Don’t forget, no pissing on the floor. See this knife? It’s the one I’ll use to cut your pecker off if you make a mess on my floor again.”

  Hopkins picked up the duct tape from the floor and attempted to cut through it with the knife. “See how dull this knife is? Just imagine how long it’s going to take to get your manhood cut off with this knife. And how painful it will be.”

  Hopkins held the glass up for Jamison to drink the water. He gulped it down.

  Billy Hopkins began, “Ok, now that you’re all comfy, we’ve got some business that needs tending to.”

  Jamison couldn’t contain his curiosity, even as scared as he was and asked, “Who are you? What is your name? What do you want with me?”

  “You can call me your best friend.”

  The look on Jamison’s face was a mixture of confusion, fear, and curiosity. Hopkins went on, “I’m the only one who can protect you from my partner. He wants to just kill you and be done with it. So far, I’ve been able to talk him out of it. But let me provide you with a little perspective. He and I have the same martial arts instructor. We’re about the same size and strength. We work out together all the time. Every technique one of us knows, the other does too. So, if it came down to a physical confrontation between us it would be a matter of wills that would determine the outcome. The problem for you is, I don’t have much will to save you. What that all really means is that I’ll continue to talk with him and try to keep him calm, as long as you cooperate. Fully. But talking to him is as far as I’ll go to save you. Right now, he’s down at the lake trying to catch some fish for dinner. There’s nothing like catching fish to mellow a man out. You’d better hope that some of those fish are biting.”

  Jamison asked, “Why does your partner want to kill me?”

  “Jasmine Williams is a friend of ours.”

  “I don’t know any Jasmine Williams.”

  “You threw acid in her daughter’s face. Luckily for you, the girl can still see out of her left eye. You’d better hope that the doctors are able to save her right eye. If she loses that eye, my partner will go berserk.”

  “Honest, I didn’t do that. How could you possibly think I did that? The police have stated that there were no witnesses to that unfortunate incident.”

  “You are damned lucky my partner didn’t hear you say that. I’m warning you in no uncertain terms. Don’t deny that you did it again. Period. I’ll tell you this. What the police were unable to discover, and what you didn’t see, was the lady walking her dog across the street from where you threw the acid in Keisha’s eyes. You were so intent on carrying out your despicable act that you didn’t notice anyone, did you?”

  Lucas Jamison went white as a sheet, but didn’t say a word.

  “Now, listen very carefully,” Hopkins continued. “You know it was you. We know it was you. There is no possible way to talk your way out of this. Don’t try. Your complete cooperation is the only thing that can save you. Are we clear?”

  Jamison stared straight ahead with panic written all over his face. He remained speechless.

  Hopkins grabbed the knife and thrust it against Jamison’s crotch. I said, “Are we clear?”

  Chapter 30

  Hopkins waved the church membership book in front of Jamison’s face. “Who drove the car?”

  Jamison stared at him blankly.

  Hopkins wiggled the knife in front of his face. “I am only going to ask you one more time. Who drove the car?”

  Weakly, Jamison said barely audible, “Odell.”

  “Odell who?”

  “Dwyer. Odell Dwyer.”

  “What’s your pal Odell’s address?”

  “He lives over on College Hill Road. I don’t know the number. And he’s not my pal.”

  Hopkins walked a few steps away, pulled out his cell phone. As soon as Davis answered, he said, “Odell Dwyer. Somewhere on College Hill Road.”

  Davis immediately responded, “Ok. See you soon.”

  Hopkins slowly strode back to Jamison, stopped in front of him and looked at him for a long interval. He then asked, “What brokerage firms do you use?”

  “What?”

  “You know, buy and sell stocks, bonds, options, that sort of thing.”

  “Charles Schwab, Merrill Lynch and Fidelity.”

  “Which one do you like best?”

  “They’re all good for different things.”

  “Like what?”

  “Well, I use Schwab for trading stocks, Merrill Lynch for municipal bonds and Fidelity for mutual funds.”

  “Ah, I see. I’d like to look at the accounts you have with those brokerages.”

  “What?”

  “I want to see how you invest. Give me your customer ID and password for each of your accounts.”

  “I can’t do that.”

  At this point, Hopkins pulled two photos out of his pocket that Peeps had provided. The first was a morgue picture of a crash victim. However, given the angle of the shot, it wasn’t evident that the subject was dead. One of his eyeballs was popped out of its socket and lay on the victim’s cheek. The optic nerve, arteries and blood vessels that held it suspended there were clearly visible. The second picture was of the same victim with the eyeball totally removed, leaving only entrails visible. Hopkins spoke solemnly. “My partner’s nickname is Popper. Do you have any idea how that name originated?”

  “No, I can’t imagine.”

  “Well, he developed a skill that allows him to pop people’s eyeballs out of their sockets. He can do it with either his thumb or forefinger. He inserts one of them somehow and then just pops the eyeball out. He does it when people don’t do what he wants them to do. Here’s a picture of one of his victims.”

  Hopkins held the first picture up for Jamison to look at. Jamison’s face provided a perfect picture of his fear, revulsion and defeat. Hopkins continued, “Then he holds the eyeball between his thumb and forefinger and aims it around in different directions; circles, triangles, rapidly back and forth, up and down, constantly changing speeds. Absolutely drives people crazy. Then he takes them out doors and finds some dog shit or some other kind of feces. He inserts some into the empty socket. Soon the flies enter and lay their eggs. It doesn’t take long for the eggs to become maggots and they begin to crawl around inside the eye socket looking for something to eat. Imagine what it feels like once they discover the optic nerve and go to work on it.”

&n
bsp; Jamison lost control of his bladder, again. When Hopkins saw what was happening, he had to turn around and pretend to be checking his phone for texts so that Jamison wouldn’t see the smile on his face. It was all Hopkins could do to keep from breaking out in laughter. After a few moments, he turned around and exclaimed, “Goddammit, you piece of shit, you pissed on my floor again. I told you what was going to happen if you did that. But, maybe I’ll give you another chance. If I knew that my eyeball was going to be popped out, replaced with dog shit and the socket filled with hungry maggots, I’d probably piss my pants too. I think that we’d better go outside before I tell you the rest of this.”

  Hopkins walked around behind Jamison bent down and lifted the chair with Jamison taped to it, then carried him out the front door onto the grassy area in front of the cabin. He put Jamison down and said, “By the way, here’s where you’ll come when you need to take a shit or piss. I cut out the middle of the chair bottom while you were sleeping and ripped your pants and underwear so you wouldn’t foul yourself. In the future, let me know when you need to be brought out here.”

  Jamison said nothing and stared at the ground.

  Hopkins was enjoying the one-sided banter and kept on talking. “Ok, you might be wondering where the dog shit could come from way out here. Don’t worry. There will be plenty. My partner has a dog. It’s a Rottweiler. His name is Tyson. Tyson shits a lot. And guess what Tyson loves as a special treat?” Hopkins took the second picture out of his pocket and showed it to Jamison. “This is the same guy that was in the first picture I showed you. Only difference is, the first picture was after Popper did his thing. This one is after Tyson did his thing.”

  Hopkins was glad he had brought Jamison outside.

  Billy Hopkins took a long look at Jamison. He then said, “Up until Popper lets Tyson have his treat, there’s a chance that the damage to the eye socket can be repaired, the eyeball re-inserted and sight could return to normal. Of course, once Tyson has his delicacy, that’s it. Now, if the individual still doesn’t cooperate, Popper begins the same routine on the other eye. Questions?”

  Jamison opened his mouth but promptly shut it without saying a word.

  “C’mon, man, don’t be shy. What do you want to say?”

  “How long are you going to keep me here?” Jamison stammered.

  “Depends on how long it takes for you to cooperate.”

  “My wife, she will be worrying. Can I call her?”

  “I’ll take care of that for you.”

  Hopkins took Jamison’s cell phone, looked in the directory for her number and called the number. When she answered, Hopkins said, “May I please speak with Mrs. Jamison?”

  “This is she.”

  “Ma’am, I work for a private detective agency. We’ve been hired by a young man to follow his wife. He believes she may be having an affair. Last night, she met your husband at a restaurant. After they ate dinner, they went to a hotel. They went to a room to which they already had the key. They’re still in that room. We just wanted you to know that your husband may not be home for dinner tonight either. He appears to be otherwise occupied.”

  “What? How do you know it was my husband?”

  “Ma’am, everyone in this town knows who your husband is. He’s very recognizable.”

  “Oh. My word. I, I, he, he, …” Mrs. Jamison started to cry.

  “I’m very sorry, ma’am. We’ll file a report with our client about his wife’s activity. With regard to your husband, this matter is between the two of you. We just wanted you to know what has transpired. He may realize that they were followed. He appears to wish to remain out of sight, but he is safe and he’s not missing. Goodbye, ma’am.”

  Hopkins shut Jamison’s cell phone and said, “There you go. Now she won’t have any worries. Ok, so would you like to explain all of this to your wife with two good eyes, one eye or no eyes? Your choice.”

  “Oh my God! What have you done?”

  “Not much, yet. I’m generally a slow starter, by nature. Let me have a look at your accounts and we can be done with all of this rather quickly. Otherwise, while we’re waiting for Popper and his dog, Tyson, I can think up some dirty tricks. Maybe I’ll talk with some of your clients. Maybe I’ll talk with some of your friends. Maybe I should call your office. Maybe I can call other members of your family. Hell, if Popper takes long enough getting here I might be able to talk with everyone in your phone directory. You won’t believe the crazy shit I can think up.”

  By this point, Jamison was way past the point of being able to think straight. He had never been so scared in his life. He had no idea what this monster might actually do to him. And it sounded like his partner was an even bigger threat. He whimpered, “All right. Look at my accounts.”

  Hopkins carried Jamison in to the cabin living room and got on the computer. Then he went outside to call KC. Hopkins greeted KC with, “Hey boss, I just wanted to report in and give you an update.”

  “Well, how are you guys doing?”

  “Davis is in town, picking up Jamison’s driver, a guy named Odell Dwyer. Jamison is here with me. I have his accounts open.”

  “Great! How much does he have?”

  “Are you sitting down?”

  Chapter 31

  KC replied, “I can stand for this. Just tell me. How much money is in his accounts?”

  “Almost ten million smackaroos. He’s got just over a million in a cash management account and when you total the securities all up, over eight million in stocks and bonds.”

  “Good. Wonderful. Now we’re going to let him pay for his sins. Here’s what I want you to do. Sell half of each holding he’s got. You’ll have to wait two days for the settlement of the sales. When the funds show up as “available to withdraw,” transfer them to the special account. Based on what you’ve told me, the total transfer should be a little over four and a half million, right?”

  “Right, just over four point six, actually.”

  “Ok, good. When Davis gets there with Jamison’s driver, you guys figure out how this Dwyer fellow is going to pay. Don’t hurt him. Just make sure he pays. I’m sure you guys won’t have any trouble thinking of something.”

  “No, sir, we surely won’t. Have you talked to Cheryl?”

  “As a matter of fact, I did. We talked a couple of hours ago. They’re all going to the hospital today to see Keisha. In fact, Cheryl, Jasmine and Marcus should be there right about now. The Doc is going to tell them if Keisha’s right eye will be all right. My understanding is that the last time they unwrapped the bandages she could discern light from dark. He thinks that when they unwrap today, he’ll know if her eye will be able to fully heal. Why don’t you call Cheryl in a couple of hours? Jamison might have some interest in the outcome, if you know what I mean.”

  Hopkins laughed and said, “Yes, sir. I know exactly what you mean. Is there anything I can tell Cheryl and Jerome about the money?”

  “Until it’s transferred, just say that Jacoby and I are working out the details on how to use it and that I’ll talk to you guys about it before you leave. You can also tell them that the results are good. I’m going to go meet with Jacoby right now. Good job, Billy. I’ll talk with you soon.”

  “Thank you, sir. Good bye.”

  Hopkins answered his phone and was greeted with a deep voiced, “What’s up, Billy?”

  “Just babysitting while I’m waiting for you.”

  “Odell’s sleeping in the back. We’ll be there in a half hour or so. Have you heard from Cheryl?”

  “KC told me they were all meeting with the doc at the hospital. I was just about to call her. Have you talked with her?”

  “No, I thought I’d wait until I got there to call.”

  “Ok. I’m going to take Jamison back outside before you get here. Every time he gets scared, he pisses himself. You go by the name “Popper,” by the
way. When you get here, we’ll call Cheryl. No matter how Keisha’s eye is, we’ll use the phone call to scare Jamison some more. Do your best not to bust a gut laughing when he pisses himself. I want him scared enough so that he’ll convince Dwyer to tell us the truth about his assets. Did you see his house?”

  “Yeah. It’s pretty much a mess. Cars don’t look like much either. My guess is that he’s just a gopher for Jamison. I don’t think he’s all that well fixed. In fact, I’ll bet he doesn’t go to that church either. Not the type. Did you get any money out of Jamison?”

  “Yep. That went pretty well. Sounds like we’ll have to punish Dwyer some other way. KC kind of gave us the green light to do anything except hurt him. We can talk about that before he wakes up. We might as well keep Dwyer blindfolded. No need having two of them knowing what we both look like, especially if we don’t have to intimidate Dwyer. As a matter of fact, maybe there’s no use in having Jamison see you either. Does Dwyer know you’re black?”

  “Nope. He never saw me.”

  “Ok, let’s keep it that way. Does he have his cell phone with him?”

  “Yeah, he had it. I’ve got it now.”

  “Good. I’ll see you in a few.”

  Jamison and Dwyer were outside, firmly taped to their chairs, sacks over their heads, sitting side by side. In a conversational manner, Billy Hopkins began, “Well, Jamison, now that Popper is here, let’s find out how Keisha’s right eye is. I’ve got you blindfolded so Popper won’t start salivating just looking at your eyes. But if she’s not going to be totally ok, I’m afraid your days of ogling the ladies are gonna have to end. You’d better hope that her doctor is as good as everybody says he is. Actually, now that I know you a little better, I’ve changed my mind. If Keisha has lost any of her sight permanently, I’m not going to try to talk Popper out of doing whatever he wants to do to you. If she’s not going to fully recover, I’m going to be as mad at you as he already is. Here goes.”

  Billy hit the speed dial number for Cheryl’s cell phone and waited for an answer. Cheryl answered, “Hey, Billy, what’s up?”