Notorious

by Kiki Swinson

  “Because I shitted on a lot of them and the ones I didn’t shit on, I turned my nose up at. So I had a lot of enemies who were waiting patiently for my demise. And when I finally fell on my face, I was the laughingstock of Miami. Do you know how humiliating it is to have all the power in your hands one day and then lose it the next?”

  “Yes.”

  “No, you don’t!” I snapped, tears beginning to fall from my eyes. “I was a very powerful attorney and a junior partner at my firm. No one could touch my acquittal rate. No one! I was the best and I had millions of dollars to prove it. I even had clients who were my friends. They loved me. They showered me with expensive gifts like diamond bezel Chopard and Rolex watches. I even got an Aston Martin a few months back. You see, I was well respected and I couldn’t be touched.”

  “Somebody touched you,” he interjected.

  “That’s because I left myself open. I became vulnerable and too consumed with money and the fame.”

  “Well, it’s over now.”

  I stood there with a blank expression on my face. I didn’t know how to react to Mario’s statement. Holding my bath towel up with my hands, I said, “What’s going to happen now?”

  “I don’t know. You tell me,” he said flatly.

  “I want to turn myself in so I can get this mess behind me and get on with my life, but I’m afraid.”

  “What are you afraid of?”

  “The Feds and the DEA aren’t the only people looking for me.”

  Puzzled, he shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. “Well, who else is looking for you?”

  I took a deep breath and then I said, “I was representing a client named Sheldon Chisholm. He was the boss of a Haitian mafia down in Miami with murder and drug charges pending against him. Well, after he gave me a hefty retainer, I promised him that I would be able to get him an acquittal, since I had the right people in place to make his evidence disappear. When we parted on good terms, he was happy and so was I. Well, shortly thereafter, my inside operation within the justice system was sabotaged, so the acquittal I promised my client went right out the window. And when I went to him and told him that things might not work in his favor, he threatened my life. So, here I am.”

  “Ahh man! You got a lot of heavy shit going on in your life!” he commented.

  “I know, and that’s why when I came here and saw how peaceful life was, I wanted to be a part of that. But I also knew that it wouldn’t be long before my situation back in Miami would rear its ugly head and I’d have to deal with it.”

  “I don’t know, Yoshi. This is some serious shit!” He turned his back to walk over to the window. He peeped behind the curtains and then he pulled them back. When he turned around to look at me, I had taken a seat on the edge of the bed.

  “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I can’t let you turn me in if—”

  “That’s not what I’m about, Yoshi. I don’t do shit like that. But at the same time, I’m trying to figure out how I would fit into your life with all that shit you got going on.”

  “All I need is a good attorney and I’ll turn myself in.”

  “But I don’t know any attorneys around here who would want to pick up a case like yours. That shit you’re in is probably too high-profile for them. I mean, how would they defend you in a case riddled with murder and corruption? It would be next to impossible.”

  “My case isn’t that complicated. All you have to do is point in the direction of the most qualified attorney in Virginia, and I would stand beside him and assist him.”

  “I don’t know that any attorneys are on your level.”

  “I’m sure you know someone. Just take your time and think about it.”

  He fell silent for a second, deep in thought. About five seconds later, he scratched his head and said, “Maybe I can call Saks or Brocoletti and see if either has a license to practice down in Florida.”

  “How long have they been practicing law?”

  “Brocoletti has been on the scene for at least fifteen to twenty years. And Saks is a three-generation law firm.”

  “Well, call Saks first and see what they say. And if they can’t defend me, then call that Brocoletti guy, because I’m ready to get my life back on track,” I replied, getting to my feet.

  Mario reached for his BlackBerry. But before he grabbed a hold of it, I threw my arms around him and buried my face into his chest. “Please don’t leave me. I need you.”

  He rubbed his hand across my back. “I won’t,” he assured me. “You don’t need to worry.”

  While we were embracing, Mario’s BlackBerry started ringing. He pulled his phone from his holster and answered it. “Yo, what’s good?”

  “You got that bitch wit cha, don’t cha?” I heard Maceo’s menacing voice echo through the phone.

  I pulled back from Mario. I wanted to give him enough room to say whatever it was he needed to say. “I don’t know what cha talking about,” he said calmly.

  “Nigga, stop playing games with me. I got your boy Gene and Carmen right here and they told me you got the ol’ girl with you.”

  I couldn’t have heard that right. I squeezed Mario’s hand, my question in my eyes.

  Before Mario said another word to Maceo, he looked at me and muffled the phone. “I’m sorry, baby, but he’s got your cousin,” he whispered.

  I damn near screamed when Mario told me Maceo had Carmen. At that very moment, I wanted to rip Maceo’s fucking head off. The ruthless Yoshi was trying to rear her ugly head. I wanted so badly to snatch the phone out of Mario’s hand, but I held my composure and allowed him to handle the situation, while I made a plan of attack on my own.

  “Where are they now?” Mario asked Maceo.

  “Nigga, don’t worry about them. They are in good hands. You just need to bring me that bitch and do it like right now,” he demanded.

  Maceo started yelling like his fucking mind was going bad. Mario started to hang up on him, but I begged him not to do it. My cousin Carmen’s life was on the line and I wanted to know what price I needed to pay to get her back. “Lil bro, won’t cha just let Gene and the girl go? She ain’t done shit to you.”

  “Nigga, I ain’t your bro. You a traitor, nigga! I got shit for you,” Maceo roared through the phone.

  “Come on now, Mace. I ain’t never turned my back on you and I ain’t gon’ start that shit now.”

  “Nigga, fuck you! You hiding that bitch out so I can’t find her. I’ll tell you what, if you don’t bring her to me by nightfall, I’ma kill her cousin and Gene right here on the spot,” he threatened.

  Mario muffled the phone again. “He told me that if I don’t bring you to him by nightfall, he is going to kill my man Gene and your cousin.”

  Fear consumed me that instant. Here I was trying to regroup so I could get my life back on track, but then I was faced with a decision. Do I save my own life and haul ass back to Florida where Sheldon wants me dead? Or do I stay here and fight Carmen’s battle? I knew I had to make a decision right then because Maceo was on the other end and he wanted an answer. I thought about what Carmen had added to my life since I’d been in town. And I thought about if the shoe was on Carmen’s foot how she wouldn’t hesitate to give her life in exchange for mine. That’s just the type of woman she was, and I respected the hell out of her for it.

  Without thinking about it another second, I said, “Tell him you’re gonna bring me to him but he cannot lay one finger on her.”

  Mario got back on the phone and relayed the message. From there Maceo gave him specific instructions on where and what time to meet him. But before Maceo hung up his phone, Mario said, “Why don’t you let Gene go right now. He ain’t got shit to do with none of this.”

  “A’ight, you got it!” Maceo replied and then we heard a loud shot. BOOM! Mario and I both jumped. The loud gunshot magnified through the receiver and almost shattered both of our eardrums. “You heard that shit, nigga? I just shot your right-hand man in the motherfucking head. I told
you I ain’t playing with none of y’all! So you better bring that bitch to me before her cousin be next,” he yelled. And then the call was disconnected.

  I sat back in a daze because I just heard this fucking maniac shoot Mario’s friend Gene in the head. How cold-blooded can he be?

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” Mario asked me.

  “I have to,” I said.

  “Look, I know that you want to save Carmen’s life, but I know my brother and he is not going to let her go.”

  “But I’m going to give him my life for hers.”

  “It’s not going to matter. He wants both of y’all dead. And it wouldn’t surprise me if he wants to take my life, too.”

  “Can we do something about it? I mean, why isn’t he locked up somewhere?”

  “I told you Maceo is a mental health case. He is a schizophrenic and he is supposed to take his medicine on a daily basis but he doesn’t. He did a ten-year sentence at Central State Hospital about five years ago for killing our stepfather. It doesn’t matter what he does to people, he will never be put behind bars for it.”

  “What does your mother say about his behavior?”

  “She died of heart complications about two years before Maceo snapped out on our stepfather and killed him.”

  “Does he have children?”

  “Nah, he doesn’t have any. He never had a woman long enough to get her pregnant.”

  I sat there and laid my face in my hands. I was speechless and had no clue about what I was getting myself into. I did know that I didn’t want to die and I didn’t want Carmen’s life taken either, so I had to come up with a plan and do it quickly.

  I looked back up at Mario. “What are you thinking about?” he asked.

  “I’m trying to figure out how we can get Carmen back without handing my life over into your brother’s hands.”

  Mario thought for a minute and then said, “We’re just gonna have to play it by ear. But one thing is for certain, and that is when we make the trade, you’re going to have to stay by my side.”

  “What if he starts shooting at the both of us?”

  “He’s not going to do that.”

  “But what if he does?”

  “He’s not going to do that,” he repeated himself.

  It was clear that he didn’t want to face the music. To my understanding, he didn’t have any answers for me, so he brushed it off. I could live with that. “Can you fire a gun?” he continued.

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “Never got around to shooting lessons.”

  “Well, don’t worry about it. I’ll have my burner with me so I’m gon’ make sure you’ll be all right,” he assured me.

  He and I continued to discuss our plans while I got dressed. I slipped on the sweat suit I purchased earlier at Walmart. Mario looked at it funny but he didn’t make a comment about it either way. Now wasn’t the time. Several minutes later he grabbed his car keys and told me to come with him. My heart was beating rapidly. I swear if I had to take a shit I would’ve done it right then and there. I noticed with each step I took, my stomach started doing flips. I grabbed hold of Mario’s hand and held it the entire way down to the car. I swear I didn’t want to let it go for nothing in the world. I looked at him one last time before we got into the car. “I’m putting my life in your hands,” I said solemnly.

  “Don’t worry. I got it,” he replied, and then he kissed me on the forehead.

  Blood Is Thicker than Water

  “Where are we going again?” I asked. “We’re going back across state lines.”

  “I know that, but where?”

  “We’re going to this old house we had in Hickory. It’s abandoned now but we used to use it for a stash house. It’s way in the boonies, surrounded by four acres of cornfields. Nobody ain’t gonna be able to see us back there because it’s dark as hell throughout the whole place.”

  “Why couldn’t we meet him somewhere else?”

  “Because that’s his spot. He’s known for going back there when he wants to get rid of bodies.”

  Hearing Mario tell me that Maceo got rid of the bodies he killed out there made me want to throw up. Right then and there I knew I didn’t have a chance to get out of this shit I was about to get myself in. There was no way God was going to save me from this. I figured that maybe it was my time to leave this earth. Who knew? I would probably be better off. Without further hesitation, I pulled out my cell phone and made a quick call to Grandma Hattie. She answered her phone on the second ring.

  “Hello,” she said.

  “Hey, Grandma. How are you?” I asked her, trying my best to sound as cheerful as possible.

  “I’m fine, baby. Where you been? I’ve been worried about you.”

  “I’m fine, Grandma. I just had to leave because something came up.”

  “Is Carmen with you? Because she hasn’t been home. And the manager from IHOP called this evening looking for her to see why she ain’t come to work.”

  I got choked up behind her question. I honestly didn’t know how to answer it. If I told her what was going on, I know her heart wouldn’t be able to take it. But if I lied to her, my heart wouldn’t be able to take it. I was literally stuck between a rock and a hard place and I had no idea how to come out of it. I hesitated for another second and then I said, “She’s not with me now. But I’m on my way to see her.”

  “Well, when you do, you make sure you tell her that her boss is not happy that she didn’t show up to work this evening. So, she better call ’em and give ’em a good reason why she was a no-show.”

  “I sure will.”

  “Don’t be nice when you tell her because she thinks life is a joke. It’s hard out here and I keep telling her that she’s one of the lucky ones who has a job. I also asked her why can’t she be a big-time lawyer like you. I mean, she was smart in school just like you were, but for the life of me, I can’t tell you what happened to her. She thinks it’s easy out here. Folks are getting laid off every time you turn around. So, you tell her I said she better get her act together before they fire her butt.”

  “I will, Grandma. Don’t you worry.”

  “Whatcha doing, anyway, hanging out with some men? That why y’all didn’t bring y’all butts back over here?”

  “No, ma’am. We just had a few things to take care of.”

  “Well, y’all be careful because there are some crazy folks out here.”

  “We will.”

  “All right, sweetie, now you take care of yourself. And don’t forget to talk some sense into your cousin’s head when you see her.”

  “I won’t.”

  “I love you.”

  “I love you, too, Grandma, and don’t you ever forget it.”

  “Believe me, I won’t,” she assured me.

  Immediately after I hung up with her I sat back and sank deeply into depression. I wished like hell I could’ve told her to rescue me. Or for that matter, pray for me. I knew she had a direct connection with the man upstairs so he would have heard her prayer loud and clear. I saw Mario looking at me through my peripheral vision, so I turned my head and looked at him.

  “Are you all right?” he wondered aloud.

  “No, not really. My grandmother made me feel so guilty on the phone just now. I felt like I lied to her.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “She still thinks that I am some big-time attorney and that my life is so peachy. She has no idea that I screwed up everything I accomplished. And if she knew that I was on the run from the Feds, she would be so disappointed.”

  “I don’t think she would. Just when you think a person would react one way, they do the exact opposite.”

  “Not her. She thinks so highly of me. If she knew that I was a fraud, it would hurt her poor heart.”

  “Stop beating yourself up. It’s going to be all right.”

  “I hope you’re right,” I said, and then I turned my head to look back out the window.

 
It was pitch black outside. We rode by thousands of trees and miles of fields with crops growing on them. The farmland here was massive, it was unreal. And even though it was really dark outside, I could see the silhouette of an old scarecrow hung up on a wooden cross stuck inside the ground in the middle of the field. It looked really creepy.

  “We’re almost there,” he announced.

  I swear I wished he would not have told me that. I was already a nervous wreck, but I was becoming a real basket case now. “How much farther we got to go?” I couldn’t help but ask. I mean, he did open the door for that question.

  “We got about ten more miles to go. So, if you’re having second thoughts, I’ll turn the car around right now.”

  “No, I’m fine,” I lied.

  “You sure, Yoshi?”

  “Yes, I’m sure, Mario. Remember—I am not doing this for me. I am doing this for Carmen.”

  He sighed heavily. “What if you can’t help her because she’s already dead?”

  “Don’t talk like that. He said he wouldn’t kill her unless I didn’t show up.”

  “I heard what he said, Yoshi. But I know my brother and I just don’t trust him.”

  I fell silent and thought about what Mario had just said. What if she was already dead? My going out to meet Maceo would be in vain. But what proof did I have that he would keep her alive? I guess I had nothing to go on but his word, so that’s what I intended to hold on to.

  The rest of the drive Mario grabbed my hand and held it. It felt good to know that he was by my side. I just hoped that we were the last ones standing.

  Making the Switch

  I was nervous as hell the entire drive to the place where Maceo wanted to make the switch. Mario kept running the plan over and over to me so I wouldn’t forget what to do. I tried to prepare myself mentally, but I swear it wasn’t working. All I could think about was what if something went wrong and I ended up dead. I also thought about Carmen’s well-being, too. I had to do this for her. And if nothing else, I had to make sure she would come out of this alive. I knew she would have done it for me without any questions.

  The closer we got to our destination, the worse off my stomach felt. I was consumed with fear and doubt about me not coming out of this situation alive. But, at this point, I knew that I had to leave everything in God’s hands, so that’s what I intended to do.