Grand Opening

by Carl Weber

  “Ain’t nobody going to help you. This is my fucking world. Bitch, you think you special or something? I ought to kill you dead right now! And I will if you don’t keep your mouth shut.” The way he was beating the shit out of me, I thought that he would make good on his words and end my life right there.

  I might have lost consciousness for a minute, and the next thing I knew, Levi was holding Sam up by his neck, dangling his feet off the floor. Levi hit him one time, and he went flying across the room.

  “Levi!” I breathed, relieved to see this man coming to my rescue. All I wanted was to get out and go anywhere but there. I rolled over, grabbed the wall, and then I raised myself up in time to see two of Sam’s henchmen swinging baseball bats at Levi’s body.

  “Make that motherfucker pay! Bitch, you will learn about putting your hands on me.” Sam ordered them, like the no good dogs they were, to do his dirty work. These guys were always a step or two away, ready to punish whoever had wronged their boss.

  I ran toward them, trying to grab one of the bats, only to have it come down on me. Seeing me get hit must have given Levi strength, because all of a sudden he let out a roar.

  “Sh–Shirley!” Levi threw both men at least six feet away then began beating them with his fists. He had this almost barbaric look on his face as they fell to the ground. He turned and headed toward Sam.

  Unfortunately, he’d barely gotten his hands on Sam before the twins came out of the crowd, picking up the bats. Levi was a bad-ass man, but even he couldn’t stand up to the twins swinging bats, so it didn’t take long for him to fall to the ground.

  “Move out the way!” Sam hollered at them, pointing a gun at Levi. “I’m gonna kill this son of a bitch.”

  John

  44

  I picked up my shot of tequila and downed it. The alcohol hitting the back of my throat had a mind-numbing effect on me, and I certainly needed it, considering the fact that I was still stuck in Waycross worrying about my family, not knowing what type of danger they were in. I glanced around the bar to distract me from my thoughts. Everywhere I looked, beautiful, half-naked black women of every shade were prancing around in stilettos. It almost reminded me of Tijuana, Mexico. The two sexy women seated on either side of me were certainly reminding me of how lucky I was to be a man.

  “Another round!” I told the bartender, who poured three more shots and slid them in front of us.

  “I like this!” I said as we clinked glasses and downed the dark liquor. Lou Duncan had suggested I come here after I’d punched my hand through a sheet rock wall.

  “You ready to go upstairs?” the one who told me her name was Little Momma whispered in my ear.

  Not to be outdone, Destiny, the one who looked to be a mixture of black and white, slipped her hand into mine as we got to our feet. They stood on either side of me as we moved to the staircase and headed up. These two women had made me a world of promises, and I wanted nothing more than for them to prove to me they weren’t liars.

  “Make him pay! Motherfucker, you will learn about putting your hands on me!” a man shouted from across the room. There was some type of altercation, and a crowd had gathered, but I couldn’t see anything, and I wasn’t that interested. My mind was focused on one thing, and that was these two. As I ascended the stairs, the altercation grew louder. I heard a loud thud, like something striking a slab of meat.

  When I reached the top of the stairs, I turned and looked out over the crowd. I wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol causing me to hallucinate, but I had to take a second look, because the large man being beaten with baseball bats looked very familiar.

  “I know that man,” I said to both the women, who were also riveted, watching two burly goons wielding baseball bats repeatedly striking the man’s body. “That’s one of the Duncans?”

  Little Momma gasped. “Yeah, that’s Lou’s brother Levi Duncan.”

  Destiny mumbled her response. “Damn, I ain’t never seen him get his ass beat.”

  “That is a very simple man,” I said, adding my observation. “And very kind. He doesn’t deserve that.”

  “Whoa! Oh, shit! He’s got a gun! Run!” People started to scream and scramble, and that’s when I saw the man everyone called Big Sam holding a gun on both Levi and a woman I hadn’t noticed before, cowering over him on the floor.

  “Move out the way,” Big Sam shouted. “I’m gonna kill this son of a bitch, and I dare somebody to go to the police.”

  “Don’t!” Destiny’s voice squeaked as I took a step down the stairs. “Don’t get involved. Sam will kill you too.”

  “That man and his family are my friends. I would only hope they would do the same for me and my family members,” I said before racing down the stairs and across the room. With all the commotion, it was easy for me to creep up behind Sam, pulling both of my guns out of their holsters under my sports jacket.

  “I’d put that down if I were you,” I said, pulling back the hammer on both pistols. The two guys stopped attacking Levi and seemed to wait for Sam’s orders.

  He eased his head around so he could see both my guns. “Obviously you don’t know who I am, friend. My name’s Big Sam Bradford. I own this place, and this man here attacked me. Now, if anyone should put their gun down, it should be you. That is, if you know what’s good for you.”

  “I don’t think so,” I replied, standing my ground, “and to be honest, I don’t give a shit who you are.” I leaned down, and together with the woman on the floor, we helped Levi to his feet. I still kept my gun on Big Sam. Levi could barely stand up on his own, but he seemed to recognize me. “Levi, me and you and this lady are going to back out of here.”

  “Listen, why don’t you go upstairs and help yourself to some of the best pussy east of the Mississippi?” Sam said, ignoring what I had just told Levi.

  “No, I don’t think pussy is going to be on the agenda today. Not anymore at least,” I said. I looked at the woman as she tried to help Levi steady himself. “You got him?”

  She nodded. Now I had the guns trained on Sam and his bouncers.

  “You better put that gun down, friend. Things are not going to end well for you if you get involved. Listen to me when I say, go and get some pussy and stay out of this,” he warned me.

  “Haven’t you figured it out yet? I am involved.” I gestured to Levi. “His family has been really good to me. If I believe in one thing, it is loyalty.”

  “The only person you need to be loyal to is yourself. This is your chance to do that.”

  “Sorry, but I’m not a play-it-safe kind of guy. My friends and family come first,” I said.

  The woman turned to me, her voice shaky with emotion as we hurried out of the building. “Mister, I don’t know who you are, but I appreciate what you’re doing. I want you to understand, though, that Big Sam is going to find you and kill you.” She looked sad when she told me, like it was an absolute certainty that my life was now worthless.

  “I’m not worried about a punk like that. But we do need to get away from here,” I told her as we emerged from the building and hurried down the steps with Levi barely holding on between us.

  “Help!” the woman hollered as we came down the stairs. The commotion sent a couple of guys from the business next door rushing out.

  “We need a ride!” I shouted, and just like that, one of the men opened a car near the curb and they helped us get Levi inside.

  When we got to the gas station, the woman, who had told me her name was Shirley, hopped out of the car. “LC, Lou, Larry! Come quick!” she shouted.

  The door flung open, and the three brothers came running. Both Lou and Larry were brandishing guns. I stepped out of the car on the other side as they helped get Levi out.

  “Who did this?” Lou yelled.

  “Sam,” was all Shirley needed to say

  Lou turned to LC. “I guess you was right. We are at war.”

  “I’m going to get that motherfucker!” Larry swore as the three brothers stared helples
sly at Levi, beaten to a pulp but luckily still alive.

  The looks on their faces told me that I would not want to be Sam. Shirley turned from Levi, remembering that I was there. “He saved Levi’s life,” she told them, pointing to me. LC stood up and came toward me, his hand outstretched. I accepted his sign of gratitude, but I knew at that moment that I had just witnessed the beginning of a war.

  Lou

  45

  “We got to get him to a hospital!” Shirley yelled in a panic. She was slowly coming apart at the seams as I sped down Route 38 toward the swamp.

  Once we had gotten Levi into my car, Larry and I took off with Shirley, who wouldn’t leave his side. I guess she felt guilty about what had happened. I didn’t know all the details about what had started the altercation, but I could only assume it was all her fault.

  We’d left LC, Harold, and John to secure the shop and meet us later, while NeeNee was right on our heels in Larry’s Duster.

  “Levi, you all right, bro?” Larry shook him but got no response. “He’s out cold, Lou. I think he’s bleeding internally.”

  I nodded but didn’t say anything as I smashed down on the accelerator hard. It took a lot for me to get riled up and lose my cool, but after what he’d done to Levi, Sam Bradford was a dead man walking.

  “What about LC? You sure he’s going to be all right?” Shirley asked, still in a panic.

  “He’s got Harold with him, and that guy John knows his way around guns,” Larry replied, turning to Shirley in the back seat. “He saved your ass, didn’t he?”

  I made a sudden turn down a dirt road.

  “What are you doing? This ain’t the way to the hospital. Levi’s dying! We’ve got to get him to the hospital!” Shirley shouted like she was the only one concerned about him.

  “I know what I’m doing, Shirley. You’re just going to have to trust me,” I told her as different options raced through my head. The last thing I wanted was to park my brother somewhere like a public hospital, where Sam could send his men to finish the job. Most people didn’t know it, but Sam had about fifty guys on his payroll doing different things throughout Ware County. None of them were as good at handling their business as the Duncans, but you got enough guys pointing guns at you and sooner or later someone was going to hit the target.

  “What do you mean? You can’t just dump him in the swamp and let him die!” she hollered, getting even more worked up.

  Larry once again turned to the back of the car, but this time he grabbed Shirley by the shoulder. “Calm the fuck down! We ain’t gonna let nothing happen to Levi, and we damn sure not gonna dump him in no swamp. There are people and places much safer than that white man’s hospital.”

  “Oh yeah? Like what?” Shirley’s tone challenged.

  “Like here.” I brought the car to a screeching halt then jumped out, running to the door of the old shack I’d pulled in front of. I banged on the door repeatedly until a woman answered. Before she could speak, I pointed at the car, trying to get my own words together.

  “Ms. Emma, it’s Levi. They beat him up real bad with baseball bats. He’s bleeding inside, and I don’t know if he’s gonna make it.”

  “So what you waiting on, boy? Bring him in,” Ms. Emma told me hurriedly before she went inside to get things ready for him. I ran back to the car, where Shirley and NeeNee were already helping Larry carry Levi to the house.

  It wasn’t a secret that Levi was a big man, but I never knew just how heavy he was until we carried him into that house where Ms. Emma’s kids sat quietly on the sofa. Not one of them made a peep as we carried him into the back room and laid him on the bed.

  “Okay, now y’all go on outside and let me do my work.” Ms. Emma waved us all out except for NeeNee.

  Larry and I did as we were told, but a weeping Shirley hesitated until NeeNee approached her. “It’s all right, Shirley. Ms. Emma knows what she’s doing. If anything changes, I’ll come get you right away. I promise.” NeeNee’s words seemed to be enough. Shirley nodded then followed us out to the porch, where we all sat on homemade rocking chairs.

  Shirley stopped her chair from rocking and spoke to Larry and me. “You know Sam’s not going to stop until he kills all of you, don’t you?”

  “He can try,” Larry responded, pulling out his guns to check them. “But he better pray he sees me before I see him.”

  Just as Larry finished his sentence, lights in the distance told us a car was coming down the road toward us. I immediately sent Shirley inside, drawing my .38s.

  “Get those kids to lie on the floor, Shirley,” I shouted.

  “How you wanna handle this?” Larry asked, shotgun in hand.

  “If anyone gets out that car without giving us the signal, shoot first and ask questions later,” I replied as the car pulled up beside mine with its high beams on. We couldn’t see a thing because of the bright lights, but we had our guns pointed directly at the windshield, waiting for them to make the next move. If they opened a car door, we were going to blow them away; it was just that simple. Although it seemed like forever, the car lights finally flashed three times and turned off, allowing me and my brother to relax.

  “Hey, don’t shoot! It’s me!” LC hollered.

  “It took you long enough to give the signal,” Larry chastised as LC and Harold hopped out of the car. “I almost blew your fucking head off.”

  “Yeah, well, it’s not my head you should be blowing off,” LC replied. I could hear the agitation in his voice. “How’s Levi?”

  “We don’t know yet. Ms. Emma’s still working on him,” I replied.

  LC sat down on the porch just as Shirley came back out of the house. “So, big brother, what do we do from here?” he asked.

  “It’s simple. Once I find out how Levi’s doing, I’m going to walk into Sam’s place and put a bullet in his fucking head.” My words were clear, calm, and serious as hell.

  “No, you’re not,” LC answered without hesitation. “You go down there and you’re not going to make it ten feet onto Oak Street without one of Sam’s goons putting a bullet in your head.”

  “If you know so much, then tell me, what the fuck are we supposed to do? You got a better idea? ’Cause we can’t let what happened to Levi go unanswered,” I growled, pulling out a half-smoked cigar.

  “We wait. Sam’s not crazy enough to attack us head-on. Not yet at least. By now Sam’s probably got Big Sam’s and half of Oak Street swarming with men. I’m sure he thinks we’re going to just rush in on his ass, guns blazing. He’s probably waiting on us to come right into an ambush. But what happens if we don’t?

  “Sam’s not a very patient man. You know that, Lou. Waiting will make him crazy, and while he’s going crazy, we start recruiting. There’s a lot of Vietnam vets out there outta work, isn’t there, Larry? I’m sure they’d like a nice fat paycheck.”

  “Uh-huh, I’m sure they would,” Larry replied.

  “Lou, we give Larry a week and I bet he could put together a pretty damn good team. A team already trained by the U.S. military.”

  “He’s right, Lou,” Larry replied. “We sit back and wait, and Sam’s ass will go fucking crazy trying to figure out what we’re up to.”

  “And when he comes to find out, I’ll personally put a bullet in his head,” LC said sternly.

  Larry, LC, and Shirley stared at me, but it didn’t take long for me to make my decision. “Okay, little brother, we’ll do it your way. We’ll wait, because you’re right—Sam’s his own worst enemy.” The smirk on my face said it all, but it dropped when the door opened and Ms. Emma and NeeNee came outside. Neither of their expressions looked encouraging.

  “Is he all right?” LC asked.

  She lowered her head with a sigh. “He’s still unconscious, but he’s alive. Your brother’s in pretty bad shape. He was bleeding inside, but I think I stopped it for now. He does, however, have a punctured lung, and at least five of his ribs are cracked. You do know whoever did this was trying to kill him, don’t you?”r />
  “But will he make it?” I asked.

  Ms. Emma looked me straight in the eye. “I’m not sure. It’s a miracle he’s alive at all with the beating he took. All we can do now is pray and hope he wakes up soon.”

  Big Shirley

  46

  After four hours of waiting around to see if Levi would wake up, Larry and NeeNee headed home to bathe, get some rest, and feed Levi’s animals. LC and Harold had left to check on John back at the gas station, so that left Lou and me, sitting on the porch talking about our good friend Sam and why and how all of this had all happened. I had to wait for him to pick his jaw off the ground after I told him about the compromising position I’d caught Sam and Jefferson in.

  “What are you trying to say? Sam’s a sissy?” Lou shook his head, still in disbelief. “No way. I’ve seen that man fuck a hundred women.”

  “And I’ve seen him fuck two hundred, including me, but that don’t change what I saw, Lou. Jefferson was sucking Sam’s dick. That’s the reason he went after me in the first place. Levi was just trying to protect me,” I said, wiping away tears. “So in a nutshell, Levi’s lying in there because of me. This is all my fault.”

  “No, it’s not. This thing between us and Sam has been a long time coming. No matter how much I tried to play peacemaker, Sam and LC weren’t going to get along. If it wasn’t Levi, sooner or later it would have been LC—and no way can our family afford to lose him. He’s our future.”

  “You really think LC is something special, don’t you?”

  Lou turned to me and nodded. “Don’t you?”

  “Yeah, I guess I do.” I yawned, covering my mouth.

  “Come on, Shirley. You look tired. Let’s go inside and get a little shuteye. Ms. Emma’s got a pallet set up for us in the back bedroom.” Lou stood up and stretched. “Hell, a little pussy’ll put my ass right to sleep.”

  I didn’t respond at first. I just stared at him, shaking my head. “Sorry, Lou. We’re not at Sam’s place anymore.”