Linda didn’t say anything she just looked at Robert with longing on her face, her blouse open and her breast still wet from his mouth. She backed away from him, fixing her clothes.
“It’s okay,” she said. “I’m not mad at you.” And then she rushed from the room.
Robert wanted to call after her but it was too dangerous. He fixed his own clothes and left the safehouse.
He walked the short distance to his apartment and his head was filled with images of death. He saw JFK’s head blown open, Malcolm X shot by a de facto firing squad, Dr. King hit on that balcony and then Robert Kennedy shot down in a crowd at close quarters.
Then he saw images of the war, the men he’d killed and the American soldiers who had died. He saw the riot victims and the fires of hatred. And finally, he saw his brother die and somehow it was all the same sick nightmare.
Death was changing the world, death with its finality, power and deep mystery was laying waste to everything and no force on earth could stop it.
Robert got to his apartment house and headed for his place, which was on the ground floor near the back. He reached for the doorknob and heard a noise inside. He did not have a gun but he always kept a knife on him. If there was someone inside, he had picked the wrong night and the wrong man.
Robert took out the knife and flung the door open.
Denise jumped up as fast as she could for a pregnant woman. She actually screamed a little and lifted herself sideways from the old sofa.
“Denise?” Robert said and his voice seemed to bounce off the cheap walls.
“You scared me,” Denise said. “What you doin’ with that knife?”
Robert put the blade away, a little ashamed. “Didn’t know who was in here.”
“The super, he let me in,” she said.
He went to her and as he got closer he could see that her eyes were red and she’d been crying. Robert hugged her and he felt the bulb of her belly against his. It felt like joy.
“I didn’t know what to do,” said Denise. “I saw Bobby Kennedy dead and I thought about what you said and I couldn’t stop crying and thinking about the baby.”
“It’s gonna be all right,” said Robert. “They won’t win. I won’t let them.”
He held her and was surprised that his bold statement did not sound hollow to him. He meant it. He would not let these forces ruin his life or that of his child.
Robert glanced next to the sofa and saw a suitcase that looked heavy and full. He smiled.
“I should be here, with you,” she said.
“Thank you. He kissed her then grabbed the suitcase and looked for a place to put her things.
**********
The next day, Robert got to the safehouse just after noon and found it filled with members. He mingled and tried not to have awkward moments with Linda but to no avail. She cornered him and made pleasant talk. He chatted with her and breathed easier when another member came and joined them. Robert extricated himself from the conversation and moved on.
Yusef arrived and the members assembled. They stood around Yusef in a big circle, as was their custom. Yusef had told them that this was the way tribesmen met in the Motherland, standing as equals. Yusef quieted the crowd and began to speak:
“My beautiful brothers and sisters,” he began. “Troubled times are upon us. The Black man still fights for his dignity while the White man is killing his own like dogs, trying to hold on to the racist status quo he created.”
There was applause at this and Yusef quickly quieted them down.
“If we are not careful,” Yusef said, “the movement will fall into the hands of the pacifists, the apologists and others in league with our enemies. The same tired ass niggas who take promises instead of truth, the same niggas who take laws instead of realities, the same niggas who take an ass-kicking and then open a Bible to heal it. If we want freedom, we must be willing to pay the ultimate price. I will not ask you to do anything that I wouldn’t do myself and I am asking you for your life in service of our cause.”
The room was stock-still and Robert could even hear the breathing of people near him. This was it, the moment when every soldier learns his worth.
“I have a plan to put our group in the forefront of the movement and focus the eyes of the nation on this city,” Yusef continued. “Detroit, home of the worst race riot in American history will be the cradle of our new movement! We will attack on three fronts, the paramilitary police, the government and the center of economic power. We will not follow the weak ways of dead leaders. We will force them to come to the table with a real bargain for freedom or we will burn this muthafucka down!“
The members were starting to applaud again when the doors to the room burst open and the place was flooded with police. They brandished automatic guns, pistols and shotguns.
The room fell into chaos.
Some of the members tried to run, others fought but the cops were well-armed and organized.
Yusef struggled against two cops and his face held an anger which none of them had ever seen.
Soon, all of the members were facing the wall spread-eagle and the cops were patting them down and removing knives from their person. Yusef insisted that the guns be kept away from the members in the safehouse for just this reason. They could avoid a weapons charge if they were raided.
The two Vanguard members who were posted outside to guard the meeting were hauled in handcuffed and thrown to the floor.
The leader of the police, a thin, hard-looking cop walked over to members lined up against the wall. He went down the line, and then stopped at Yusef.
“You the leader?” he asked. “I saw you standing in the middle of this gang.”
Yusef didn’t answer he just scowled at the cop. The cop hit him hard in the ribs and Yusef fell to one knee.
“I’m only going to ask you one more time,” said the cop. “Are you the leader?”
“Fuck you,” said Yusef.
The cop hit him with the butt of a rifle and Yusef fell to the floor. Robert jumped away from the wall only to have a gun placed at his temple. He threw up his hands and was shoved back to the wall.
“Cuff ‘em!” yelled the leader. “We know who you are and your little game is over,” he said to the members. “Fucking ungrateful traitors. I suspect my men will find drugs on these premises and you all will be charged.”
“Ain’t no drugs in here!” someone shouted.
The cops began to handcuff the members when Robert saw movement from the corner of his eye. He turned his head toward Yusef who was moving on the floor beside the cop leader. He didn’t yell at him to stop. He wanted Yusef to do what he was obviously doing.
Yusef was reaching for the cop’s service revolver.
Yusef grabbed the gun and the cop leader turned just in time to see him take it from his holster.
The cop was too close to Yusef to get a shot with the long-barreled rifle and so when Yusef raised the gun, the cop would be dead.
Yusef leveled the barrel and a shot rang out. But it was not a pistol shot but the big bang of a rifle from another cop who saw Yusef and reacted. Yusef was hit in the chest. He flew backwards and the gun was lifted into the air. Yusef fell on his face and lay there, dead.
The other members were shocked. Some cried and others even tried to fight but the cops beat them back or intimidated them with guns. He was gone and there was nothing they could do about it.
“Fucking bastard tried to kill me,” said the leader incredulously. He was breathing hard obviously shocked by Yusef’s attempt. “Did you see that?”
“One less to worry about,” said the man who had shot Yusef.
The leader took the cop who had killed Yusef and went to another cop and whispered something. This man took it to several others who nodded.
The cops then took four of the men, including Robert and lined them up on the wall away from the others.
“I guess we’re gonna have some casualties here,” said the leader. “Turn them around
.”
Robert and the others were turned around and several cops leveled their weapons at them. The remaining members looked on in horror. Some cried, others prayed.
“Stop!” said Bohan. “I’m a cop!”
“Get your black ass back on that wall,” said the leader.
“No,” said Bohan. “I’m undercover and if you shoot me, your asses are going down. You just blew a year of work here.”
Bohan’s voice was different now. His Black inner city dialect was gone and he sounded more proper and educated, more like Yusef actually but not like whom he had presented himself to be.
The cop leader thought about this. He looked at another cop, and then turned back to Bohan.
“How do I know you’re telling me the truth?” he asked. “And if I think you’re lying, I’ll shoot your black ass myself.”
“You can check with Agent Thomason at the FBI and the local liaison, Detective Dietrich at Detroit PD. My UID is 13970.”
The leader dropped his rifle. The other cops did as well. Bohan dropped his hands and sighed a little.
Suddenly, Yusef rose from the floor.
“There’s your mole,” said the leader. He took off his police cap and a cascade of long black hair fell out onto his shoulders.
Robert stepped away from the wall and stood next to Yusef and the cop leader. Bohan’s mouth hung open as he looked around at the cops who were all smiling.
“Let my people go,” said Yusef deadpan. The phony cops began to release the members.
“They’re friends,” said Yusef to his followers. “They are from the Dark War Front. Do not hurt them. We’re all friends here. To Bohan, he said: “Except you.”
Suddenly, a man charged at Bohan. It was Vince. He hit Bohan with a running punch and toppled the big man to the floor.
“Muthafuckin’ rat!” said Vince. He kicked at him on the ground.
Bohan jumped to his feet ready to fight but he met the barrel of a gun in the hand of Yusef.
“This one’s not loaded with blanks, Bohan,” said Yusef. “Handcuff this nigga,” he said to Vince.
Bohan was handcuffed as the rest of the cops took off their disguises.
“You owe me big for this,” said the leader. “I had to shave for you.”
“And I will repay you, David,” said Yusef.
David and Yusef shook hands and hugged as the White men started to leave the room.
The Vanguard members huddled around the traitor and glared at him. Robert saw the look of hate in Linda’s eyes and it froze him.
“You all can thank brother Robert for this,” said Yusef. “He brought us a little trick the man used in Vietnam. I’ve suspected that we had a mole for a long time and now we know.”
There were murmurs of approval and applause and Robert felt someone clap him on the back.
“Now, you little faggot,” said Yusef. “We want to know what you’ve told them about us.”
“You can’t kill me,” said Bohan. He was looking right into Yusef’s eyes and surprisingly showed little fear. “They know I’m in.”
Yusef hit him hard in the face. “Answer my question!”
“Let me,” said Vince who clearly felt more betrayed by the man he had called friend.
“I’m not telling you anything,” said Bohan.
“Our friend here is a faggot,” said Yusef to the crowd. “The cops sent us an undercover cocksucker to do a man’s job.”
“You fool,” Bohan laughed. “I used that story to throw you off my trail. Figured you’d hold on to that and stop looking at me.”
“Well, it worked,” said Yusef. “You had me fooled but you didn’t fool brother Robert.”
Then Yusef kicked Bohan in the balls, dropping him to the floor.
“And I got your fool,” said Yusef.
Bohan caught his breath and stood. It took him a while and Robert was actually impressed by the effort. He was tough; there was no doubt about it. “You’re crazy, all of you,” said Bohan breathlessly. “This so-called movement will fail.”
The members cursed and spat on him. Yusef stopped this with a hand held high.
“Hold on people,” said Yusef. “We’re not communists. Let the man speak. Go on, say your peace.”
“The government is too big,” said Bohan. “It’s too rich, too powerful and you don’t have enough support to win.”
“We don’t need to win,” said Yusef. “Tell him, Robert.” He looked to Robert who didn’t know how to feel about Bohan now. He was a rat but he had attained a respect for him over the last few months.
“The Viet Cong know they can’t win the war,” Robert began. “But they’d rather die than live under our boot. So, they fight to weaken us, hoping that others will join the fight and take us down. That way, they can’t lose.”
“And that’s what we’re doing,” said Yusef. “We ain’t got to win. We just gotta survive long enough for this country to fall.”
“You’re crazy,” said Bohan. “People are tired of all this violence. In the end, you’ll die and nothing will change. If you let me go, I’ll work with you for leniency.”
Yusef laughed and the others joined him. Robert just looked grimly at Bohan knowing that he would soon be dead.
“Okay, I’s be seeing yo’ point,” said Yusef in a fake drawl. “We’s caints beat da White man. He be too big an’ strong fo’ us little Black chil’lins.” This drew peals of laughter from the members. “Your days are numbered,” said Yusef in his normal voice. “I oughta burn you right now.”
“Yusef,” said Robert. “We need to think here. First, we got to leave this place and find another one. It’s not safe here no more. Second, we got to get him to talk. We can’t know how much they know until we get it out of him.”
Yusef thought only a moment about this. There was undeniable wisdom in what he had just heard.
“We gotta move, people,” said Yusef. He gave orders issuing assignments off the top of his head, coordinating teams and leaving no detail unattended. He was masterful and Robert could see how he had become the leader.
Yusef was one of the ones that got away, a brilliant man who had not reacted well to the limitations associated with his skin color.
Yusef gave Vince the assignment of transporting their prisoner away. Yusef walked over to Robert and put a friendly hand on his shoulder.
“I can see who’d take my place if I should fall one day,” said Yusef.
“It’s bad luck to say stuff like that in a war,” said Robert.
“I was a little worried about you, Robert. I didn’t really know if you had ambition beyond justice for your brother but I can see I was wrong. I apologize for that.”
“No need,” said Robert.
“Just know that I’ll always remember what you did here today, man. It was brilliant.”
“Just playing on the team, boss,” said Robert and he smiled.
Yusef’s face suddenly turned very serious. “I really meant what I said about putting myself in danger in this plan. I might not come out of it alive so I need to know that you’ll step up. After what went down today, no one will question it.”
Robert didn’t answer. He extended his hand and they shook on it. Not any of the cool handshakes the brothers did these days, just a plain, old-fashioned deal binder.
Vince hit Bohan one more time for good measure then he and two other men dragged him off after tying his feet together.
Robert walked through the chattering excitement of the moment. He ignored the slaps on the back and the handshakes from his comrades. He headed to the door, back in soldier mode.
25
POLAROID
Thomas’ mood had been somber for days. The death of Bobby Kennedy had not touched off riots, but it had thrown the nation into an abiding depression. The flag was at half-mast and it seemed to Thomas that it had been there for the last year.
The reports were that one man had committed the assault but there were already rumors of a conspiracy and talks of a fam
ily curse. The eldest Kennedy, Joe had also died young. When you added Jack and Bobby to that, it seemed like terrible fate.
So many great men had fallen. America was becoming like many of the banana republics around the globe. Don’t like a leader, kill him. Don’t like the government, wait a day; there’s a new one coming.
He thought about Sarah as he walked to McGinty’s. Sarah and her friends wanted to change the country. Everyone talked about the Negroes but young White kids were rebelling too. They defied the draft and burned their cards and bras. They protested the war and questioned the honesty of their government.
It was unheard of and Thomas just didn’t see the logic in it. The government had always taken care of its people. If you didn’t trust your government that meant you didn’t trust yourself.
McGinty’s regulars had stopped giving Thomas a big reception when he arrived. Thomas didn’t know that this meant he was now a regular too and their corruption had been completed. The regulars only loved you until you became like them and then they resented you because you were like them.
Thomas pulled up to the bar said nice hellos and then poured liquid redemption down his throat.
He toasted Ned on the first round. A big picture of him had been placed behind the bar. As Thomas raised his glass so did everyone else.
He avoided the advances of Barbara who was wearing a low cut dress that left little to the imagination. She rubbed, flirted and swung her cleavage under his reddening nose all night but he resisted.
Thomas was sober enough after a few hours to go home. He got there and walked inside ignoring the mess. He hummed and old Irish song, one of the ones Cahan had always sang to him as he slowly fell asleep amid the debris of his life.
The next day, he got up and cleaned up the place, salvaging as much as he could. When he was done, he was left with a lot of emptiness. It matched his insides, he thought. Losing Sarah and the respect of his coworkers had drained him like the city was being drained of White faces.
Dark Town Redemption Page 20