Time is Money

by Silk White

  “I know you getting ready to move and everything so I didn’t want to ask you for no money.”

  “So you rather ask me to rob a bank?” Ghost gave him a suspicious look. If he hadn’t been dealing with Randy for over fifteen years, he might have thought something was up, but since it was Randy, so he looked past it. “Listen Randy if you’re strapped for cash, I’ll help you out. We are like family and family always supposed to look out for family.”

  As soon as the words left Ghost lips, Randy immediately felt like a piece of shit for even agreeing to set his crew up and hang them out to dry, but now he was at the point of no return. Even if he wanted to back out of the deal, it was too late. “You sure that won’t be too much on you with you leaving and all?”

  “It’s never too much for family,” Ghost said finishing his drink and standing up. “I’ll have something for you when you come to my party next week.”

  “I really appreciate this,” Randy replied. “Anything you need me to do for you?”

  “All I need you to do is to take care of yourself when I leave and looked after my sister while I’m gone.”

  “I thought she was going with you.”

  Ghost sighed. “She’s her own woman and she said she’s staying here.”

  “You going to let her?”

  Ghost nodded his head. “It’s time for her to grow up. I’m out so if you need me you know how to reach me.” He stopped at the door and turned around. “And I know you didn’t get robbed for all your money. You back gambling again aren’t you?”

  Randy nodded his head yes. “I’m sorry Ghost.”

  “Did you really get robbed?” Ghost asked.

  “No I lost all of my money gambling,” Randy admitted. He had actually lost most of his money gambling; not to mention the money that the police had taken from him. He figured that Ghost didn’t really buy his getting robbed story so he decided to be honest.

  “I’ll have something for you when you come to the party next week,” Ghost said and then made his exit.

  Once Ghost was gone, Randy quickly snatched the wire from his chest and tossed it to the ground. “Fuck!” he cursed loudly. That was too close of a call for his liking. If Ghost found out that he was wearing a wire, he could only imagine what Ghost would have done to him. Randy quickly pulled out his cell phone and called Stone.

  “We need more,” Stone answered.

  “What you mean you need more?” Randy snapped.

  “He didn’t admit to robbing no banks and he didn’t agree to rob another bank with you. We have nothing on him,” Stone told him. “If you want to walk, then you better give me something that I can work with.”

  Randy hung up with a frustrated look on his face. “Fuck this shit! Whatever money Ghost gives me next week I’m just going to use that money and go on the run,” he told himself. He knew there was no way that Ghost would agree to rob another bank. Ghost was out and once Ghost’s mind was made up, it wasn’t no changing it. Randy grabbed a bottle of liquor, turned the bottle up and guzzled the liquid fire as if it was water. He had to figure something out and figure it out fast.

  Chapter 18

  It Just Got Real

  Ghost stepped out of his Range Rover and entered the fancy building where his lawyer’s office was held. On the ride over, Ghost’s mind was stuck on him and Randy’s conversation. He had never heard such a bullshit story in his life, but since he didn’t know what Randy was up to, he decided to play along. Randy had been known for being a notorious gambler so Ghost just figure he gambled most of his money away like he’d done in the past. Ghost’s plan was to give Randy $250,000 and then disappear to Hawaii and never be seen or heard from again.

  “Hey, how are you doing Jessica? Can you tell Mr. Goldberg that I’m here to see him please?” Ghost asked, smiling at the receptionist.

  “Sure thing Mr. Ghost.” Jessica picked up her phone, pressed one button on the speed dial, spoke to the person on the other end, and then hung up. “Mr. Goldberg is expecting you,” she told Ghost.

  “Thank you,” Ghost said and then headed to the office that rested at the end of the hall. He entered the office and spotted his lawyer.

  Mr. Goldberg sat, leaned back with his feet kicked up on his desk, and a cigar in his mouth. “Good to see you again Ghost,” Mr. Goldberg said smiling as he got up and shook Ghost’s hand. “How can I help you today?”

  “As you know, recently I invested some money with Brent Harrington’s company,” Ghost said. “I need you to call his office and let him know that I may need to take $250,000 from what I invested.”

  “What’s wrong Ghost; money getting tight?” Mr. Goldberg asked. For as long as he knew Ghost, he knew the man was well organized and always thought three steps ahead of everybody else.

  “No it’s not me. I’m just trying to help out a good friend of mines.”

  “Be careful Ghost. Friends and family have been known to stab people in the back faster than strangers,” Mr. Goldberg said as he picked up his phone and dialed Brent’s number.

  Ghost sat back and began to think about Dana and her new boyfriend. When the confused look that Mr. Goldberg had on his face, it grabbed his attention. “What’s wrong?”

  “It says that Brent’s number has been disconnected,” Mr. Goldberg said. He tried the number again, and shook his head. “The number has been disconnected. Do you have another number I can reach him at?”

  “No,” Ghost said shamefully.

  “I’ll check his website.” Mr. Goldberg tapped a few keys on his keyboard and shook his head with a disgusted look on his face. “His website has been taken down as well.”

  “Tell me this is a joke,” Ghost said seriously.

  “I’m afraid not,” Mr. Goldberg replied. “How much money did you invest with this dirt bag?”

  “Two million.”

  Mr. Goldberg whistled. “Damn that’s a lot of money. I hate to say this, but I think your friend Brent Harrington ran a scam on you.”

  “No this can’t be happening,” Ghost said shaking his head. He had invested his entire life savings with Brent. All the money that he had risked him and his sister’s lives was down the drain. Now it all felt like a bad dream, but unfortunately for Ghost, this wasn’t a dream. It was reality. “That was all of my money.”

  “Ghost if you need it, I can loan you $10,000,” Mr. Goldberg offered.

  “Nah I’m good. I’ll call you in a couple of days.” Ghost stood to his feet and then made his exit.

  Ghost slid behind the wheel of his Range Rover and banged on the steering wheel as he cried his eyes out. The feeling of losing all of his money had completely broken him down to the point of no return. “What the fuck am I supposed to do now?” he asked out loud. Ghost was mad at himself for being stupid enough to trust Brent. He didn’t know what he was going to do, but what he did know was that something definitely had to be done.

  Chapter 19

  Is It Real

  “Do you love me?” Dana asked, taking a sip from her glass of wine. Her and Stone had spent the entire night making love and now they were sitting, relaxing in Dana’s hot tub getting their thoughts together.

  “Of course I do,” Stone replied as he slowly gave Dana’s foot a strong handed massage. The two of them were really getting hot and heavy for one another and neither cared what anybody thought about it.

  “I had a long talk with my brother.”

  “Oh yeah?” Stone asked. “How did that go?”

  “Better than I thought,” Dana smiled. “He’s starting to accept me as a woman and not just his baby sister anymore.”

  “Did you tell him that you weren’t going to Hawaii with him?”

  “Yeah I told him.” Dana took a sip from her glass. “At first he wasn’t really feeling it, but the more we spoke, the more he began to accept it.”

  While Dana spoke, Stone’s mind was elsewhere. Visuals of the man they called Ghost popped up in his head repeatedly. He couldn’t wait until it was time to arr
est the mastermind behind all of the bank robberies. He hoped and prayed that Randy would come through with his promise and convince Ghost and his crew to try and take down another bank.

  Once the two were out of the tub, Stone checked his phone to see if he had any missed calls or messages. When he turned back around, he saw Dana standing behind him with her hands hid behind her back and a smile on her face. “Close your eyes. I have a surprise for you,” she told him.

  “Huh?”

  “Close your eyes baby,” Dana said excitedly.

  Stone closed his eyes and waited until Dana told him he could open them. Stone opened his eyes and saw a beautiful diamond studded Rolex sitting in a box.

  “Surprise!” Dana shouted extending the box towards Stone.

  Stone looked down at the diamond watch with a shocked look on his face. The watch was beautiful and from the looks of it, very expensive. “I can’t accept this.” He held the box back towards Dana.

  “It’s a gift from me to you,” Dana smiled. “You are my man now and my man wears nothing but the best or nothing at all.”

  “This watch had to have cost you a small fortune,” Stone said as he slid the watch down on his wrist and watched as the diamonds danced in the light.

  “Money is no object when it comes to you,” Dana said. She had saved most of her money from the bank jobs so she wouldn’t lose any sleep over the money she spent on the watch. The truth was, she loved Stone, and would do just about anything to keep him happy.

  “You sure you can afford this baby?”

  “Stop worrying about money baby,” Dana laughed. “I got us.”

  Stone was about to reply when he heard his cell phone ring. He looked down at the screen and saw Captain Fisher’s name flashing across the screen. “Hold on baby, I have to take this.” He walked off and answered his phone. “Yeah.”

  “Randy is about to try and meet with another member of the bank robbery crew so we can put a face to everyone. You might want to get down here quick,” Fisher said and then ended the call.

  Stone turned around and saw Dana looking at him with an upset look on her face.

  “You have to go don’t you?” she asked in a voice barely above a whisper.

  “Yes baby but I won’t be back too late,” Stone promised.

  The ringing of Dana’s phone grabbed her attention. She looked down at her phone and saw Randy’s name dancing across the screen. She quickly hit ignore and turned her attention back to Stone. “Baby can’t you just stay for a little while longer?” she whined.

  “I can’t baby,” Stone said, pulling Dana in close for a hug. “I’ll try to be back in three hours tops.” He kissed Dana on her forehead and then made his exit.

  Dana stood there naked with a sad look on her face when her cell phone rang again. She was getting ready to hit ignore again, but paused when she saw Ghost’s name on her screen. “Hello?”

  “You busy right now?”

  “Not really. Why? What’s up?”

  “Meet me at my crib in an hour,” Ghost said and then ended the call.

  Chapter 20

  Pressure Bust Pipes

  “Testing... Testing… Can you hear me?” Randy said, speaking down into his chest.

  “Yeah we can hear you loud and clear,” Stone replied. “Now get in there and get us something we can use.”

  The driver pulled over about four blocks away from the house Randy was headed to and let him out.

  Randy hopped out the back of the van and suspiciously looked over both shoulders as he headed towards the house. He hated to have to hang his friends out to dry, but now his back was against the wall and he felt as if he had no other choice. Randy reached the front of the fairly large house and rang the doorbell. Seconds later a dark skinned woman with a pregnant belly answered the door. “Hey Randy. What are you doing here?”

  “Hey Cindy sorry for just popping up like this,” Randy smiled. “Is your husband home? I really need to speak to him.”

  “Yeah, come on in,” Cindy said stepping to the side so Randy could enter. “Dougie’s in the house somewhere. Make yourself at home while I go find him.”

  Randy walked over to the living room and helped himself to a seat on the couch. He could hear another child upstairs playing. The longer he sat on that couch, the guiltier he felt. Seconds later Dougie came downstairs with a confused look on his face.

  “Fuck you doing at my house?” Dougie spat.

  “I need to talk to you about something. It’s an emergency,” Randy told him.

  Dougie quickly led Randy out to the garage so they could have some privacy. “You know the rules. You never show up to no one’s house; period!”

  “I know, but I needs to talk to you.”

  “Okay so you call and we meet at the meeting crib like we always do!” Dougie lightly scolded.

  “Listen Dougie, I’m fucked up right now and I need your help,” Randy said in a desperate tone. “I fucked up and lost all my money.”

  “I know you not still out gambling all your money away?” Dougie growled. “When are you going to start using your head?”

  “Listen, I don’t want to hear no lecture. I need your help. Now are you going to help me or not?” Randy asked.

  “What do you need?”

  “I need you to help me convince Ghost to take down another bank.”

  Dougie gave Randy a sad look. “Are you serious? You can’t be serious right now.”

  “Dougie I need you; please,” Randy begged.

  “First of all you know just as I know that Ghost ain’t going to agree to no shit like that,” Dougie said. “He’s leaving next week. He’d never risk that just to hit another bank.”

  “That’s why I need you to help me convince Ghost,” Randy begged. “I really need the money man.”

  “I got about $50,000 you can have if you need it,” Dougie offered.

  “I’m not looking for no handout,” Randy spat. “You know I work for mines.”

  “Listen, I’ll run it by Ghost and see what he says, but if I were you, I wouldn’t get my hopes up,” Dougie told him.

  “You’re a life saver.” Randy hugged Dougie.

  “I have a question?” Dougie said. “How the fuck do you gamble away over two million dollars?”

  Randy shrugged. “I don’t know. It kind of just happened.”

  “You gonna have to stop that silly shit,” Dougie said.

  Randy nodded his head pretending as if he agreed. “I appreciate you. Call me when you speak to Ghost.”

  “I got you,” Dougie said as he watched Randy exit through the garage. He didn’t know what was going on, but something about Randy didn’t feel right. He didn’t know what it was, but he was sure to get to the bottom of it.

  Chapter 21

  What’s Going On?

  Dana pulled up to Ghost’s house and killed the engine. She was curious to find out what was so important that Ghost needed her to come over right away. The first thing that came to her mind was maybe the cops had somehow found out their true identity, but she quickly scratched that idea because if that was the case, then Ghost definitely wouldn’t have called a meeting at his house. Dana stepped out of the car and hurried to the front door where she rang the doorbell. Seconds later, Ghost answered the door with a serious, no nonsense look on his face. The first thing Dana noticed was that Ghost wasn’t wearing one of his expensive tailor made suits. Instead, he wore black jeans, a black thermal shirt, and a pair of black, steel toe boots.

  “Hey,” Dana said as she stepped inside the house. “Is everything alright?”

  “I have to go to Los Angeles tonight,” Ghost said. “If you don’t hear from me in 48 hours, I want you and your new boyfriend to leave town. You got it?”

  “Why? What’s going on?”

  “Listen to me Dana. I need you to do what I asked you to do. I don’t have time to answer your questions right now,” Ghost barked. “Now come on, I need you to drive me to the airport.”

  The ri
de to the airport was a quiet one. Dana wasn’t quite sure what was going on, but she knew better than to continue asking. All she knew was that whatever was going on was serious. She knew Ghost well and when he was quiet like this, that usually meant that somebody was going to die. All Dana could do now was pray that her brother would make it back from Los Angeles in one piece.

  Dana pulled into the drop off area at the airport. “Be careful and call me as soon as you can.”

  “I got you,” was all Ghost said before exiting the car and heading inside the airport.

  * * *

  Ghost boarded the plane and took his seat. The only thing on his mind was killing Brent. He still couldn’t believe that he had let Brent trick him into giving him all of his hard earned cash. Brent had robbed Ghost without a gun and now he had to pay for his actions. During the plane ride, all Ghost could think about was how many other people Brent may have conned out of millions. “You done fucked with the wrong one this time,” Ghost said to himself. Thoughts of violence and horrible acts ran through his head for the entire plane ride. The streets gave Ghost his name because he was known for always flying under the radar and not being on Front Street. Being a flashy show off was never his thing. If the spot light were on him, he would always head in the other direction. That strategy had worked for him for years, but tonight. Brent had awaken a sleeping giant.

  Ghost walked through the airport at a quick pace. He came here to handle business and that’s all that was on his mind. He walked out of the airport and slid into the back seat of an Escalade that was parked curbside waiting for his arrival. The driver of the Escalade was an old friend of Ghost’s who went by the name, Big T. Back in the day, Big T used to be Ghost’s right hand man until a four year prison bid slowed him down.

  “Everything you need is in that bag,” Big T said and then pulled away from the curb out into traffic.

  Ghost opened the black duffle bag that sat on the seat next to him. Inside he found a 9mm with a silencer attached to the barrel, along with two extra clips, and a black ski mask. Ghost rested his head back against the head rest and closed his eyes. His mind was moving a thousand miles per second and he took this time to rest his brain for a minute.