Neon Nights

by by: Anthony mayfield

  Mr. Olsten took Johnny's hand, pumped it up and down a couple of times, smiled and said, "Right this way, Mr. Angel.' They weaved their way through a maze of desks until they came to Mr. Olsten's office. Mr. Olsten opened the door, invited Johnny to have a seat, and began to look through a file cabinet for the appropriate loan papers. Johnny looked at Mr. Olsten and thought, 'I've seen him somewhere before.' Noticing Johnny's inquisitive expression, Mr. Olsten asked, 'Is there something wrong Mr. Angel?' 'No, nothings wrong, it's just that I've seen you somewhere before and I was trying to figure out where.' 'Perhaps I can assist you there too. You saw me earlier today at True Liberty church. I'm an usher there.' 'That's it.' Johnny exclaimed. Mr. Olsten smiled again, sat down and asked, 'Now, Mr. Angel, how much money do you need, and what do you need it for?' 'Well, I really don't know how much I'd need, but rd like to use it for a guard and messenger service." 'Do you have any experience in those fields?' 'Oh yes. I've been guarding people and de­livering messages since the beginning of time." Johnny answered. 'I beg your pardon?' 'What I mean is that I've been doing this sort of work all of my life.' 'I see.' Mr. Olsten suspiciously replied. 'Mr. Angel, approximately how many people would you need your business to house?' 'Not less than ten.' 'Alright, one last question, before we proceed, how much money do you have to invest in this business?' 'See Lord, I knew I'd need that $5,000 dollars, now here I am looking like a fool in front of this man.' Johnny thought. Looking into space, he answered, 'None.' 'None! Surely Mr. Angel, you can't believe that you can

  enter a bank and expect to get a sizeable loan without any credibility or money? Who sent you anyway?"

  'Now what, Lord.' Johnny whispered. The Spirit of the Lord spoke, 'Tell him, I AM sent you.' Boldly, Johnny proclaimed, 'I AM sent me.' Taken aback, Mr. Olsten replied, 'That being the case, you have an impeccable reference, indeed. Being sent by him, I am certain that he has something in mind that will fulfill your needs and appease any suspicions by bank officials. Let us begin, so that we might discover that which is presently hidden. Do you have any assets at all?' 'Assets?' 'Yes. You know, a house, a car, furniture, jewelry, anything of value.' 'Yes, I have all of those.' Johnny cheerfully replied. 'Good. Now we're making progress. How much is your house worth?" 'I have no idea.' 'Do you own it free and clear?" 'Free of what?' Johnny asked. 'Free and clear of any leans.' 'I guess it's free and clear, I haven't noticed anything leaning on it.' Mr. Olsten burst out into a hearty laugh. 'Oh my, Mr. Angel, you are a delightful person. So innocent, so naive. It's as if you've lived your life in another world.' Johnny smiled, 'It seems that way doesn't it?' 'Alright Mr. Angel, let's try this. Do you owe anyone any money for your earthly possessions?' 'No sir." 'Good. Where is your house located?' 'It's in Briarpatch.' "Briarpatch, very good. Now we are getting someplace."

  He pulled out a huge real estate book that seemed large enough to hold information on every property in the state. Looking at the property values of homes in Briarpatch, he said, 'Hmm, the least expensive house in Briarpatch is going for $180,000 dollars.' 'Bzzz.' The intercom on his desk interrupted his train of thought. He pushed a button and began speaking out loud, 'Yes, Miss. Henson, what is it?' 'It's a quarter to three sir, you wanted me to remind you of the auction today.' 'Oh, that's right. It had totally slipped my mind. Thank you, Miss. Henson." 'You're welcome sir.' 'click.' She, or rather her voice was gone, Johnny thought, just like that.

  'I'm sorry Mr. Angel, I have to go downstairs to conduct an auction for a repossessed piece of property. If you'd like, you're welcome to tag along. It might be something of interest to you.' 'Sure, why not.' Johnny said. Mr. Olsten and Johnny were down stairs in the auction room in a matter of minuets. There was only one other person there and he'd come to bid on the property. Mr. Olsten scanned over the information pertaining to the property being auctioned; he eyes lit up and in a faint whisper, he told Johnny to bid on the property. 'With what?' Johnny asked. But by then Mr. Olsten had taken the podium.

  The man who had been waiting was a real estate speculator who had gotten an inside tip that the property was being auctioned. Since the property had been repossessed only hours

  earlier, no one else was supposed to know about it. The bank wanted to have a quick auction in hopes that no one would show so that they could sell the property for market value.

  Needless to say, the speculator was a bit unnerved when he saw Johnny sitting next to him. Mr. Olsten opened the bidding at $29.542.19, which was the exact amount owed on the property. The man next to Johnny motioned which his hand to accept the opening bid. 'Do I hear $30,000 dollars?' Mr. Olsten cried while eyeballing Johnny. Uncertain of what was going on, Johnny timidly raised his hand to accept the higher bid. 'We've got thirty thousand, do I hear, thirty five thousand?' 'Thirty five thousand.' the speculator yelled. 'We've got thirty five thousand, do I hear . . .' Before Mr. Olsten could finish, Johnny shouted, forty five thousand.' Surprised, yet pleased, Mr. Olsten continued the bidding. By now, the speculator was noticeably agitated. He had a look of disdain for Johnny and the auctioneer all over his pinched face. 'Listen,' he said rather confidently after sizing Johnny up, 'why waste time, I'll give you sixty thousand dollars for the building right now; it's my final offer.' He stood up, reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his checkbook and proceeded to write a check. 'Sixty thousand once.' Mr. Olsten yelled in a voice loud enough to quiet a noisy crowd. The man looked at Johnny, who was sitting motionless. 'Sixty thousand going twice. . . .' A smirk slowly spread across the man's face. Sixty thousand going, going . . . ' 'Seventy thousand dollars.' Johnny shouted. The speculator eyed Mr. Olsten like a boxing fan would a referee who had just made a long, slow, loud count. He turned back and stared at Johnny. His look of confidence had eroded into the smirk, which disappeared as quickly as it had come. He slapped his checkbook closed and disgustedly strode out of the room as he heard Mr. Olsten say, 'Seventy thousand going, going, gone." Excited, Mr. Olsten congratulated Johnny on his purchase. Still bewildered, Johnny commented, 'Thanks, but how will I pay for it?' Smiling broadly, Mr. Olsten answered, 'Follow me, I'll show you how.'

  On the way back to the office, Mr. Olsten gave Johnny the history of the building. 'The building belonged to a Cecil Carrington; he was a drug and prostitution kingpin with operations locally and abroad. It seems that two of his men were savagely killed; although they were mutilated and burned beyond recognition, it's been determined that they were Carrington's men. The police believe that Carrington was behind the killings. He had been under investigation for several months. After the murders, the police and FBI began to dismantle his weakened empire. He had purchased the building you've just purchased a little over a year ago. He paid cash for all but the balance that remained on the property today; and then, he just quit paying the monthly note. No one knows why he didn't pay the whole thing off, it's not like he didn't have the money. At any rate, to make a long story

  short, the bank foreclosed and held the auction today to recover its initial investment.' 'Why would the bank hold an auction so quickly?' Johnny asked. 'Good question. My guess is that the bank had hoped that by having a quick auction, no one would show up, which would have meant the bank would have ended up owning the property; but, things went awry. First of all, Jehovah sent you to the bank today, of all days and then some in the bank had to have found out about the quick auction and alerted that speculator who was here.' 'What do you mean of all days?' Johnny asked. 'I mean that this is our slowest day. Usually we have more loan officers free than we know what to do with on Wednesdays, but for some reason, when you came in, all of them had evaporated. If one of them had waited on you they would have rejected you politely, yet immediately. Then, I happened by and, well, you know the rest.' 'I thought the bank was in the business of lending money, why would they want a piece of real estate?' 'Wrong, Mr. Angel. The bank is in the business of making money. That's why it wanted to purchase the property. You see, Mr. Carrington owed $29,542.19 on the property, however, the building's present market
value is $750,000 dollars; which means that you have just purchased a $750,000 dollar building for $70.000.' 'Glory to God!" Johnny shouted. 'Isn't God good?' 'All the time Mr. Angel, all the time.' But what about this Mr. Carrington, I met him when I first got to St. Louis under unpleasant circumstances, If he finds out that I purchased the building can he, somehow, get it back?'

  Mr. Olsten chuckled, 'My dear Mr. Angel, first of all, once a property is foreclosed on, the previous owner doesn't have any rights to it. Therefore, it could be sold without the buyer owing the past owner anything. Second, even if Mr. Carrington had a legal interest in the building, I doubt very seriously that he'd pursue that interest due to his unfavorable position with the IRS and law enforcement officials; furthermore, it was reported earlier today that Mr. Carrington had eluded the police and was heading out of the country. So you see, there's really nothing to worry about.' 'Well, maybe there is one thing?' Perplexed, Mr. Olsten asked, 'There is? What on earth could that be?' 'Money. I don't have any. How will I ever pay for the property?' 'Mr. Angel, never underestimate the power of our God. When you leave here today, you will have a note, a business, and money in the bank. I guarantee ii'

  'They reached Mr. Olsten's office. He went to the file cabinet, pulled out more papers, asked Johnny a ton of questions, helped him with the answers, and had him sign enough papers to make a telephone directory. After all the papers had been filled in and signed, Johnny's fingers ached and cramped. Mr. Olsten, then, began explaining to Johnny what had just transpired. 'Ok Mr. Angel, this is what we've done. We placed a value of $280,000 dollars on your house then we refinanced the house for $255,000 dollars. You used $70,000

  dollars to purchase the building, and, since it has more equity than your house, we took the lean off your house, making it free and clear, and placed it on the building. The cost for paper work, and general bank fees came to five thousand dollars. With that, you now have a monthly note, due the first of every month beginning in forty five days, of $l,851.50 per month. In addition to that, you have a total of $180,000 dollars in an interest bearing checking account in this bank. You are now prepared to start your business.' Johnny sat there shaking his head, with a blank, unbelieving look on his face. He thought of the conse­quences had he not been obedient and put the money in the offering like he was told. Then he considered that, as a result of obedience, in exchange for five thousand dollars, he re­ceived well over $600,000 dollars. 'Whew; Father, you're too much.' Johnny mumbled. 'This is for you, Mr. Angel.' He pushed a folder full of papers across his desk to Johnny. 'That folder contains copies of all the papers you signed today, plus a check book, and a list of companies that I personally know are in search of guards and messengers. You can tell them that I referred you to them. 'This is too good to be true. I guess the only thing for me to do is to go out and buy office supplies." Johnny said. 'Contrary.' 'Huh?' 'What I mean, Mr. Angel, is, it won't be necessary for you to purchase office supplies. When the property was seized, all of the equipment left behind became property of the bank. Mr. Carrington never tried to move anything because he probably was afraid of being captured. After the FBI removed everything drug related, all else was left behind. Consequently, the building is stocked with paper, desks, word processors, computers, and file cabinets. In short, it's furnished with everything you'll need to get a good start.' 'Yeah, but won't I have to pay for those things?' Johnny asked. 'You already have.' 'I have?' 'Yes. I made the sale of the property conditional on the contents being sold with it, so you now own the property and everything in it.' Johnny was out done. He didn't know what to do or say.

  Mr. Olsten buzzed his secretary, moments later she was standing in his doorway. 'Yes, Mr. Olsten.' 'Ms. Hollis, please take these papers and put them in the appropriate files and then order Mr. Angel some additional checks.' 'Sure.' she replied. 'Oh, in whose name do you want the checks?" Mr. Olsten asked Johnny. 'Whose name?' 'Yes, in your name or your company's name?' 'Oh, in my name, please.' The secretary scanned the papers and quickly found Johnny's home address. 'Is this where you'd like the checks sent on Cherry Blossom?' she asked. 'Yes.' he replied. 'Isn't that in Briarpatch?' she asked. 'Yes it is.' 'You must be excited about the way the mayoral election is heating up?' 'I beg your pardon?' 'Didn't you read in the paper today about mayor Matthews being opposed by someone named Thayer Diamond?' 'No, I hadn't read that.' Johnny answered. 'Mayor Matthews isn't as pure as he claims to be. Thayer Diamond says that he can and will prove that Mayor Matthews is crooked.' 'Why that's preposterous, sheer and utter poppycock Ms.

  Hollis. Why you know yourself that Mr. Matthews is a member of my church and he has been for nearly as long as he's been in office. And if I can vouch for any man's morality, outside of my own, it's Mr. Matthews.' 'Sir, I'm not the one making these accusations.' Realizing that he'd gotten a bit flustered, Mr. Olsten calmed down. 'You're right Miss. Hollis, please forgive me. It's just that, when I hear a good name slandered, well, you understand.' Politely, she answered, 'Yes sir, I understand.' With that, she turned and exited the room.

  Mr. Olsten pulled a newspaper from his desk drawer and read the article. 'Hmp. I don't know who this Mr. Thayer Diamond is, but if he thinks that he can come here and upset Mr. Matthews on a morality issue, he's got another thought coming; and I hope it reaches him in time.' For the moment, lost in the article, Mr. Olsten forgot that Johnny was there as he read half aloud and half to himself. 'Poppycock, pure poppycock.' he said as he tossed the paper aside.

  'Have you been a member of True Liberty long?' Johnny asked. 'What? Huh? I'm sorry, I didn't hear the question," he said composing himself, 'would you please repeat it?' 'I asked if you had been a member of True Liberty for a long time." 'I guess you can say that, I've been there as long as its been in physical existence. I'm the pastor.' 'The pastor! I thought you were an usher.' Since I work during the afternoon midweek service, I am unable to preach during that time. So, if I can get away to attend, like I was able to do today, I will go and usher or do whatever I can in the brief time that I will be there before coming back to work.' 'I see.' Johnny said. Mr. Olsten slipped back into deep thought. 'Are we finished here?' Johnny asked. 'Oh. Yes, yes we're finished. Everything is in order, if you have any questions just give me a call.' Johnny stood up and said, 'I really appreciate all of your help, thank you very much.' He extended his hand. Mr. Olsten grabbed hold and gave it a lifeless shake before letting it slip from his grip. Johnny bid him 'Good day' and left him to his thoughts.

  On his way out, he asked the secretary, "How long will it be before I can write a check?' 'You can start today.' she replied. 'Good.' He hesitated for a minuet and asked, 'Will you show me how to write one?" She looked at him as if he were joking. When she saw that he wasn't, she said, 'Sure, there's nothing to it.' She showed him how to write checks and how to keep his checkbook balanced. He tore out one of the checks and asked her if she had an envelope and a piece of paper. He wrote out a check for fifteen thousand dollars to True Liberty Church. A note accompanied the check which, read, "What you have done unto me, you have done unto him who sent me. Be Blessed. This check represents tithes and offerings on the money in my checking account. Serving Him, Johnny Angel.' He stuck the

  note and check in the envelope, wrote Mr. Olsten's name on it and asked the secretary if she would be sure that Mr. Olsten received it. She said that she would; he thanked her and slipped out, hardly noticed by anyone.

  Later that day, after having gone by to examine the property he had purchased, Johnny, and Michael worked out, prayed and talked. Nancy was still cold toward Michael, nevertheless, undaunted, he proceeded with caution.

  Chapter 9

  Kenny Matthews lay silent in bed listening to as a distant airplane soar overhead. He groaned, rolled out of bed, and landed on his knees with a thud. His wife laid motionless on the other side of the bed, sound asleep. 'Good.' he thought. He hoped that she would sleep, undisturbed, for a few more hours. She'd been up most of the night crying about the article that had appeared in t
he newspaper. Pastor Olsten had come by and prayed with them. It wasn't that she believed the article, it was the fact that they had to defend themselves, publicly, against a bold lie. He crawled out of the room into the hall. There, he prayed that The Lord would avenge him of his adversary and that God would give him the strength, as well as the appropriate words to survive a press conference which had been scheduled for 6 p.m. There he would meet his accuser for the first time.

  Within seconds, that same airplane was soaring effortlessly over Johnny and Michael; who had just finished a refreshing prayer and were on their way out the door for their morning run. Nancy was peeping out the window at them as they took off. Even though the days since the dinner had passed rather quickly, she had to admit that there was a definite difference in Michael. 'Ever since he started to hang out with Johnny, he'd changed.' she thought. It was kind of erie. For some unexplainable reason, despite the short length of time, she knew that, unlike any other time, Michael was sincere about having changed. He was soft spoken, yet authoritative. And he wasn't spending nearly as much time at work; his routine was the same every day after work too. He would come directly home, pray, talk with Nancy, and then go over to Johnny's house for more prayer and a workout, then he would return home. Whenever he was around, for the most part, she would pretend not to notice him, but she did. She noticed that he had lost a few pounds, not much, just enough to notice.

  'Whew, pant, pant.' Nancy turned and was startled to see Michael standing behind her. 'Michael, where did you come from?' she asked. "Johnny and I just finished our run. Why?' 'No reason. It's just that you startled me; I hadn't expected you to be back so soon.' 'Yeah, well we've gotten the three miles down to twenty one minuets. That's seven minuets per mile. Shucks, I think that Johnny could run it in two minuets, that guy must have wings. Tomorrow we are going to start a five mile coarse, I hope that I don't poop out.' 'Twenty one minuets, she thought, man, have I been daydreaming that long?' She jumped up and ran for the shower. 'Oh no you don't.' Michael said playfully. 'You've had plenty of time to shower for work. I'm first.' He grabbed her arm. She'd forgotten herself and was caught up in the moment. Giggling like a high school freshman talking to the senior quarterback on the football team; they began to wrestle and ended up on the floor. Sweat from Michael