Corrupt City

by Tra Verdejo

  “Yes.”

  “Damn, Speedy! You a bad son of a bitch,” Loose said. “That was a great pickup. We would have been at Penn Station like assholes, while the real meeting is taking place in Central Park.”

  The room got quiet after they heard the real meeting location. Everyone was in a daze, thinking about tomorrow morning. Lucky had almost fooled them, but Speedy was on point. They quickly started getting ready.

  They all had been waiting for this day since the night Perry Coleman was killed and Lucky disappeared. They’d searched for him all throughout the city. They had a million-dollar bounty on his head. No one knew his whereabouts. That’s why they were so nervous when he’d showed up in court.

  The captain started pulling out different maps of Central Park. Loose and Speedy cleaned and loaded all their guns like they were being deployed to Iraq. This was the day they would get payback on a disloyal member.

  The Watcherz were back on the computer, looking for the second targets while the Cap, Speedy, and Loose went down to the fourth floor to celebrate. These officers didn’t care that they were each facing murder charges, they still partied hard. They’d stopped going to strip clubs, so they called strippers to the apartment. These NYC police officers were living and acting like gangsters, legal thugs.

  While they were snorting coke, taking shots of vodka, and getting lap dances, someone else was busy preparing for the meeting.

  It was one o’clock in the morning, and Lucky didn’t plan on sleeping. He also set up his own spot like his former partners. His equipment wasn’t as fancy and expensive, but good enough.

  He’d bought a house in the Bronx, in the Pelham Bay area, a three-floor house he shared with Diamond, a twenty-three-year-old woman. Everything was under this girl’s name. Her real name was Tracey Sanders, and she was a runaway from Alabama. She’d come to the Big Apple six years ago at seventeen.

  As soon as she stepped off the bus, a pimp snatched her up and had her turning tricks that same day. She was working for only six months the night Lucky bumped into her. He was coming out the strip club in Hunts Points when she walked by and offered him a blowjob.

  “Hey, big guy, would you like for me to suck your dick?”

  Lucky looked around to make sure she was talking to him. His dick was already hard from all the lap dances.

  “Hell yeah. How much is it going to cost me, baby?”

  “For you, forty dollars, but if you get a room, I will suck and fuck you for seventy-five. You could even go inside my tight ass.”

  At that point, it wasn’t hard to convince him. They started walking to Lucky’s car and headed to a nearby run-down motel called Crown Inn, right off the Bruckner Expressway. Diamond was hot, even at a young age. She was five-six, with long, black, silky hair, caramel complexion, and juicy lips. Her body was right and tight for a young thing. Her baby face and pretty, chinky eyes made her desirable to any man. Her ass was big enough, and her tits were perfect.

  Lucky had a feeling she was young, but he also thought she was old enough to get fucked. He knew he was paying for the sex, but he still felt special being with such a gorgeous girl.

  When they got in the room, he told her, “Go ahead, baby girl. Jump in the shower. I want you fresh, baby girl, but please get undressed in front of me.”

  “I hope you know we are wearing a condom, so do it really matter how fresh I am?” Diamond quickly said.

  “Of course, we are. I just don’t want to smell the streets on you. Go ahead, take your clothes off.”

  “Okay, but turn the lights off. I’m shy. You could leave the bathroom light on, but turn this one off,” she said, walking toward the light switch.

  She was hesitant about taking her clothes off with the lights on. Being the detective he was, he sensed something was wrong. Why would a pretty girl with a body like that be so self-conscious about how she looked? He played it cool and told her it was okay.

  Right after she dropped her panties, he quickly jumped up and flicked the light on. Her beautiful, young, tender body was covered with bruises. Her pimp apparently loved beating on her. Once Lucky saw the marks, it blew his high. His dick went soft, and he thought about his own daughter.

  Long story short, he took her in that night, and she’d been living with him ever since. Three days after he took Diamond in, he went back to Hunts Point in the Bronx, where he found and killed her pimp.

  Lucky treated Diamond like a woman from that day on. He took care of her and offered her a place to stay. All she had to do was maintain his house and not tell anyone about him or where they lived. She basically became his student, studying his every move. She became so good at it, she even committed crimes with him.

  Diamond was his eyes and ears in the streets. He transformed her into a new woman. First, they became best friends, then partners, which led to them falling in love with each other. It wasn’t until her Twenty-first birthday that they finally had sexual relations; that’s how much respect and love Lucky had for her.

  She was the one who’d planted the phone in the Colemans’ car, distracting the driver with her sexy self. She would also be the one who would be watching the cops in the morning in Central Park. She was a rider, and since Lucky saved her life, she owed it to him and did what he asked without hesitation.

  While Lucky was plotting in the basement, Diamond was in the kitchen fixing a late-night meal. It was going on two in the morning, and she was in there fixing fried chicken, French fries, and bisques.

  That’s why he loved that young tender. When she came downstairs with the food, she gave him the boost he needed.

  For a moment, he was sitting there spaced out. When Diamond came downstairs, he snapped out of it and started eating like a beast.

  “Damn, nigga! Slow down. Save some for the homeless.” She laughed.

  “Thanks, baby, I needed this right here.”

  “I know.” Diamond leaned forward and kissed his greasy lips.

  As Lucky ate, Diamond browsed through his paperwork on the table, catching up on the latest.

  Fifteen minutes later, Lucky was back on his feet, ready to finalize the plan. “Diamond, everything on your end is ready to go?”

  “Yes, baby.”

  “Good girl. Well, take your pretty ass to sleep. You got about three to four hours. We’re leaving at six thirty in the morning.”

  “Okay, baby. Don’t worry too much. We got this. The plan is perfect. Just come to bed for dessert.”

  “Not right now. Pussy is the last thing I need. No distractions. You know better than that. When we get back, we could do something special. Whatever you want.”

  “Sounds good. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

  As soon as she went back upstairs, Lucky got back to work, going over all the details. He wondered how hard his former partners were working. Little did Lucky know, his former partners were all drunk and passed out. However, The Watcherz were still up, trying to get closer to the little girl.

  Chapter Six

  The Meeting

  When the clock hit nine in the morning, no one was at the Penn Station location but uptown, on 110th Street near Central Park. It was the moment of truth. The action was about to kick off.

  The captain and Loose were both hiding in the bushes inside the park and had a clear view of the street, where Speedy was parked in an all-black surveillance van.

  Speedy noticed the Coleman car pulling up. He reached for the radio and called his boys. “Hey, fellas, Elvis is in the building. They are parking as we speak.”

  “Which car? The red Chrysler parking behind the green truck?” the captain asked.

  “Affirmative.”

  “Perfect. They parked right in front of us. We will be able to see Lucky when he approaches the car,” the captain radioed back.

  Diamond, watching from the rooftop on 111th Street, also saw the Colemans’ car. She sent the signal to Lucky that the target had just arrived.

  The Colemans were as nervous as hell, not knowing
what to expect. Perry Sr. kept looking at his wife with a face that didn’t need words.

  Laura was now regretting the idea. She was seconds away from telling her husband to drive away, until she saw someone approaching.

  That’s when Speedy got back on the radio. “Here we go, boys. The mouse is coming right at you guys. He’s wearing a black jacket and blue Yankee hat. I can’t tell if it’s Lucky, but he’s built just like him. That’s him, fellas, it has to be.”

  “We see him, Speedy,” the Cap fired back.

  “Let’s just rush him now!” Loose yelled.

  “Are you crazy? Right in front of the Colemans? We finally have a visual. We are going to sit here and follow him then kill him. Understand?” the captain whispered in an angry tone. He wanted to make sure Loose, who had a tendency to not follow directions, understood his orders.

  “We clear. I just hate that double-crossing bitch.”

  As they watched Lucky walk up to the car, his back was toward them.

  “Hey, Speedy, he has his back toward us, we can’t see the transaction. He’s going to give her something. Keep your eyes open. We’ll follow Lucky, you follow the Colemans and retrieve whatever he gives them.”

  “How in the world can I retrieve the property, Cap?”

  “I don’t know. Think of something. Call your cousin over at the Thirty-first Precinct. He’s blue and white. Have him pull them over or something.”

  “Cap, I just saw the drop. He passed her what looked like a CD jewel case. There must be a disk inside. He’s walking away now, and I just heard the Colemans’ car engine start up. I will follow the car, and you take care of Lucky. Cut out his dirty tongue.”

  “With pleasure, trust me,” Loose shot back, not letting Captain Tuna respond.

  Tuna and Loose started following Lucky down Fifth Avenue.

  Diamond was looking for them and finally spotted them when they jumped out the bushes. That’s when she ran down the six flights of stairs, but by the time she hit the street level, with the heavy traffic going down Fifth Avenue and a lot of people walking the streets, Tuna and Loose were out of her sight.

  The captain decided to follow as far as they could before they made their move. They were getting restless as they were already approaching 103rd Street.

  “Look, Cap, he’s turning into Central Park.”

  “I see him.” The Cap reached for the radio. “Speedy, Lucky turned into the park. We are making our move now. Make sure you get that CD.”

  “Understood,” he radioed back.

  By Lucky turning into the park, it made it easier for Tuna and Loose to catch up to him. They began running. Loose was running with his gun out in his hand. When they made their turn, they started shooting.

  The sound of gunfire had everyone running and screaming, making it look like a scene out of Grand Theft Auto.

  Even Diamond’s heart paused and skipped a beat when she heard the gunshots. She started running faster toward the shooting.

  After about eight to ten shots, the captain wanted to leave, but Loose thought otherwise. “Hold on, Cap, I have to make sure he doesn’t survive this one. We don’t call him Lucky for nothing.” He ran up to the body, which was motionless in a pool of blood. He kicked the body on the back. “What the fuck! Who in the fuck is that?” he yelled.

  When Tuna saw Loose’s reaction, he ran toward him. It wasn’t Lucky, and they both were tripping the fuck out.

  “Let’s go. C’mon, Loose, let’s get the hell out of here,” Tuna said, pulling him.

  They disappeared through the bushes before the cops showed up.

  Diamond made her way to the scene and radioed Lucky. “You were right, baby, these muthafuckas want you dead in a bad way. They just killed my boy in broad daylight in Central Park. Anyway, handle your end, and I will see you tonight. Remember, you made me a promise. I will be waiting for you.”

  “Cool.” He laughed. “Anyway, I’m sneaking into the Colemans’ crib right now. I will hit you later. And I didn’t forget about my dessert.”

  The Colemans owned a beautiful, four-bedroom house in Astoria, Queens. Kim and Little Perry were the only ones home. Kim had just put Perry to sleep and was in the living room watching television.

  Lucky was standing about fifteen feet behind her, and she had no idea he was there. He was stuck because he couldn’t figure out a way of approaching without scaring the shit out of her.

  He decided to sneak up on her and place his hand on her mouth, to prevent her from screaming. “Kim, it’s me, Lucky, Detective Gibson from court.”

  Kim struggled at first until she heard his voice and name.

  “I came here to talk,” he said as he removed his hand from her mouth.

  “What in the hell are you doing here? They left to go meet you.”

  “Listen, this was a setup all along, I wanted to talk to you. I don’t have a lot of time to explain. Can we talk in the laundry room?”

  “Laundry room? Why there?” Kim looked at him up and down suspiciously.

  “This house is bugged. With the washer and dryer on, they won’t be able to hear our conversation.”

  “Okay, follow me.”

  As he followed her to the laundry room, The Watcherz were on the phone calling the captain. At first he couldn’t answer because he was on the radio with Speedy, who’d told him the Colemans were at a restaurant eating.

  When the captain finally answered the phone, he almost caught a heart attack when he got off.

  “Who was that on the phone?” Loose asked.

  “The Watcherz. They confirmed Lucky is at the Colemans’ house right now speaking with Kim.”

  “Let’s go then. We need to hurry up.”

  “Loose, they live in Queens. It’s going to take like an hour to get there.”

  “Yeah, but maybe he thinks he has two hours. It’s worth the shot. Call Speedy. Tell him to meet us there.”

  By the time they were on their way to Queens, Lucky was already fifteen minutes deep into his conversation with Kim. She had tears in her eyes hearing the story all over again.

  “I’m sorry, Kim. Perry didn’t do nothing that night but reach for his cell phone. Anyway, in the basement you will find a white envelope I left with helpful evidence against these police officers. Wait a day or two before touching it or telling anyone about it.”

  “Why are you giving it to me and not the courts?”

  “Listen carefully. You are going to have to explain it to the Colemans. They are going to move this trial to another county, basically an all-white county. That way, they get an all-white jury.”

  “What? They can’t do that, right?” a shocked Kim asked.

  “You can say it’s written in stone.”

  Kim started breaking down. She couldn’t believe her husband was murdered and the people responsible would get away with it.

  Lucky knew he didn’t have time to sit there and console her. “I’m sorry, I wish I could do more. Tell the Colemans to move forward with a civil case. You guys will be better off getting money from the City than a guilty verdict. The evidence I left, if you use it in the case, you will lose it. Trust me, it will disappear. Remember, your attorney is the district attorney for the City of New York. He’s getting all kinds of pressure from politicians.”

  “I really don’t understand everything you’re saying to me. Wait for Laura and her husband to get home.”

  “Kim, you are not paying attention. You have to be strong. The City will do everything in their power to make this criminal case go away. They don’t care if they have to pay money. They will offer to settle.”

  “So, that’s the way it is? All my baby gets is money, no justice?”

  “Unfortunately, that’s the way it is here in this corrupt city. It doesn’t matter that you have all these Black politicians and these big-name African-American organizations backing you guys up. It’s all propaganda. Just listen to what I’m saying—Do it my way, and at least you will be financially set. Just think about wha
t I said. I’m leaving now. I will be in contact again, but you will never see me in a courtroom. Oh, and tell the Colemans they deserve the gift.”

  “What gift?”

  “You will see when they get home. Just tell them it was from me.”

  “You are leaving just like that? What if we need you to testify again?”

  “I left you enough evidence. You don’t need me anymore. And, to answer your question, no, I won’t testify. Good-bye, Kim, and take care of little man, and again, I’m sorry.”

  “Wait. Before you leave, did he say anything?”

  “Who did?” Lucky replied, looking puzzled.

  “Perry, what were his last words?” Kim asked, hoping Lucky would say what she wanted to hear.

  “I’m sorry, Kim. By the time I reached him. he was gone.”

  “That’s okay, Donald. We also appreciate you coming forward and placing your life on the line to tell the truth. We thank you so much. We knew in our hearts he didn’t shoot at you guys first.”

  Lucky gave her a hug, threw his black hoodie over his head, and he disappeared again.

  The only image The Watcherz obtained was Lucky’s backside leaving out the back door.

  While the Cap and Loose were still stuck in Manhattan traffic, Lucky was making his way back to the Bronx.

  Lucky arrived back at the house and quickly realized something was wrong with Diamond. “What’s wrong, girl? Everything went perfect today. We executed the plan. Why the long face?”

  “Perfect? What about Larry?”

  “Who in the fuck is Larry?”

  “I can’t believe you right now.” She got up and walked away from Lucky.

  “C’mon, tell me what’s wrong. Come here,” he said, grabbing her hand. “Where you going?”

  “He was twenty-three years old. Larry was the mark I used as your stunt double, remember? He was killed today.”

  Lucky felt like a bag of shit, only because he wasn’t more sensitive toward Diamond’s feelings. To him, Larry’s death was just another body, but to her, he was something more. She committed the mistake of falling for the mark. He picked up on her emotions quickly, and instead of flipping and coming down hard on her, played his part.