by Tra Verdejo
An hour later, Lucky went upstairs. “Hey, baby, we are leaving in thirty minutes.”
Lucky went back down and started to work out the final details for his new plan. With his face now being exposed, his privacy was next. Even though Lucky kept a private profile, he was sure one of his neighbors got a good look at him in the past. That’s why he knew he needed to leave as soon as possible. He knew this day was coming, so he was prepared.
This was the risk he took by testifying for the government. He didn’t know why he had trusted the government in the first place. He already knew they didn’t protect witnesses.
Lucky had a disguise locked away in a suitcase. He didn’t change his look too much, just adding a mustache, beard, and pair of run-down reading glasses, giving him the appearance of a nerd or a washed-up teacher that read every book in the world.
He called Diamond to get her opinion on his makeover. “Baby girl, come down to the basement for a quick minute.”
“What is it?” she hollered back. “I’m still packing.”
“Get your ass down here! Stop asking questions.”
Lucky could hear Diamond stomping on each step on her way down. He knew she was still upset about having to leave, but he didn’t care. He didn’t let his emotions make his decisions.
When Diamond made it down to the basement, she took one look at Lucky and burst out laughing. “What the hell is that on your face? You look like bin Laden.”
“Bin Laden? Don’t play with me, girl.” Lucky started laughing, too.
“Is this your new disguise, honey?”
“Yes. What do you think? Can I get away with it?”
“Since I know it’s you, it’s hard for me to give you an honest answer. But the disguise looks real. The facial hair is believable.”
After a few more jokes, Diamond went back upstairs to finish packing.
Lucky started pulling out folder after folder from his safe. He placed them in a suitcase, along with all his computer software. He wanted to make sure he didn’t leave any evidence that would link to him. He destroyed all three of his computer hard drives and grabbed his keys.
Diamond was done packing, and they headed out the door. “Where are we going? And why are we only taking clothes?”
“I have another apartment in Jersey City. Actually, a condo.”
“A condo? You have a condo, and I don’t know anything about it?”
“Baby, it’s all part of the plan. Now hurry up. Let’s get out of here. We will talk once we’re in the car.”
As soon as Lucky locked the door to his house and turned around, an SUV with tinted windows made an abrupt stop right in front of his house. Diamond ran for cover, while Lucky dropped his bags and reached for his .40 Glock sitting on his hip.
Both front doors opened on the SUV, and a Spanish man and woman jumped out screaming at each other. Lucky didn’t see any weapons on them, so he didn’t shoot, but he was pointing the gun right at them.
The Spanish couple was so busy arguing, they never noticed Lucky pointing a gun. Lucky also realized these two were not assassins, just a drunk couple fighting, so he called for Diamond, and they both jumped in his black Expedition and sped away, not waiting for the couple to stop arguing and get back in their truck.
“That was a close one, baby,” Diamond said, exhaling.
Chapter Eight
Corrupt City
By the time Lucky reached his New Jersey condo, Diamond was asleep in the car. He drove around the block a few times, checking out the scenery. Lucky didn’t have cameras around the area, so he didn’t know what to expect. After about a good half-hour of driving around, he finally decided to wake up Diamond. He parked, and they went inside.
The condo was a beautiful two-bedroom loft with a view of New York City. The exterior wasn’t impressive, but no one would have guessed the building was filled with luxury lofts. When he unlocked the front door, Diamond lost it.
“This is a beautiful place, Lucky. Wow! Are we going to live here? I want to stay here, baby, please. But I can’t believe you never slept in here before. How come you never told me about this place?”
“You know how I am. I always have a trick up my sleeve. I bought this condo because I knew this day was coming. I always have a plan B. Shit, at this rate, I need a plan C and D.”
Diamond walked around the condo, touching and feeling every piece of furniture. She kept grilling Lucky about purchasing this condo without her knowledge. She wanted to know when and how.
“So that’s your story, and you sticking it to it?”
“What are you talking about, girl?”
“Don’t play with me—this muthafuckin’ condo. I want to know if you are telling me the truth.”
“Lister, this young, hot movie producer and high-class customer, decided to move to Hollywood. He told me about the place and gave me a price. The shit came furnished and all that.”
“So out the blue a movie producer sells you his condo?”
“Didn’t I say he was a customer, a drug addict. Is not like he gave it to me for free. I paid a grip.”
While Diamond was still fawning over the beautiful condo, Lucky quickly started mapping out the surveillance equipment he needed. He loved the view from his living room and balcony because it was easier to set up cameras. He turned on the news, and they wouldn’t stop mentioning his name or showing his face. With a fifty-thousand-dollar reward on his head, a lot of people would be looking for him. He knew his house in the Bronx would be in the news soon, especially with the large reward. Lucky didn’t want to waste anymore time. He grabbed one of his bags and pulled out all his folders.
Diamond walked over and started looking through them. “What’s in these folders? You have guarded them more than your money.”
“This here is the plan of all plans. This is how I’m going to turn this city upside down. Three years before the Perry shooting and about five days after Tango was murdered, I decided to bug my own crew. For three fuckin’ years, I wore wires and sometimes a video camera, and I recorded all our dirty deeds. You wouldn’t believe what I have on tape, and the pictures I have in my possession.”
“So no one hired you? You did this on your own? That’s crazy, Lucky. Why risk your life?”
“When Tango was murdered, our cover was blown, and our backup showed up after the ambulance. I had a gut feeling someone in the crew gave us away. I didn’t trust them, so I recorded their every move. I knew one day I would need everything in this folder to show the world how corrupt New York City police really are.” Lucky opened up some of the folders.
Diamond couldn’t believe her eyes. Lucky had pictures of politicians having sex and using drugs in hotel rooms with high-class escorts, and of high-ranking priests naked with little boys from their choir. He even had a picture of the mayor leaving a Hampton villa with an escort girl. Lucky also had evidence where they’d framed criminals for crimes they hadn’t done.
“I don’t understand. Why would you frame criminals for crimes they did?”
“No, baby, we framed them for crimes we did, not them. But since they were already convicted felons, no one cared.”
“But why frame criminals?”
“Because it was easy. Sometimes we were hired to kill. We didn’t want another open unsolved murder, so we solved the case by framing a convicted felon.”
“Wow! That’s fucked up, Lucky. How about these pictures? How did you get them?”
“Those are all cases I worked either alone or with my team. The escort agency was a real high-class organization. These weren’t cheap whores. An average date will run you at least two thousand dollars. That was just a date. We are talking at least five thousand for oral, and fifteen for a sleepover.”
“Get the fuck out of here. They were charging five grand just for head?” Diamond had a quick flashback about her days on the streets. The most she ever got from a trick was a hundred and fifty dollars, and that included everything.
“For real, girl. Some
of these senators were spending around twenty thousand on just one date. These pigs were getting penthouse suites at five-star hotels and only staying two to three hours in those muthafuckas. They were blowing serious money.”
“What about these filthy preachers touching little boys?”
“They all received slaps on the wrist. We reported those sick bastards. We weren’t about to defend or help child molesters. But our great judicial system didn’t think they deserved jail time. Some of these bastards were allowed back in their churches to resume their positions.”
“I can’t believe they let these sick people go. What? Pictures of them naked with little boys wasn’t sufficient evidence?”
“I guess not. You can’t trust this government. I’m not trying to justify my actions, but once I saw how dirty everyone else was, I joined the party. That’s why I kept these pictures to protect myself, just in case I needed to blackmail myself out of trouble. I have politicians, state attorneys, the police commissioner, and the list goes on.”
“Whatever happened to the whorehouse? How come they weren’t charged with anything?”
“They paid us a lot of money. I don’t know how much in total, but I was given sixty thousand dollars to keep my mouth shut. Before we destroyed all the evidence, I kept a few pieces as well. But that’s not all I have. I also have a list of bogus corporations and non-profit organizations that our city officials used to launder money. Shit, I even know a few election campaigns that were funded by the Italian mob and a couple of cartels out of Mexico and Panama. And let’s not forget the tapes I left with the Colemans.”
“So why not go public with it right now and clear your name?”
“Baby girl, are you not paying attention? We are on the run because I came forward about a murder. Imagine if I accuse the mayor of this city of adultery, and the police commissioner of money laundering and murder. Do you really think that’s a good idea? I’m leaving these papers and files with you. All things in life have a right place and time. They will get theirs, if my plan goes accordingly.”
“Why are you leaving it with me? Here we go with this shit again.”
“What shit?”
“You are leaving. I already know the rules. If something was to happen to you, you want me to make sure these files go public, right?”
“Something like that, but why the big attitude if you know the routine?” Lucky asked in an angry tone.
“When are you leaving?” she asked, tearing up.
“I don’t know, but not soon. It all depends on the amount of heat I’m under. I’m staying indoors as long as I can. I don’t want you to wait until I’m gone to mail out these folders. I want you to head to the post office in the morning.”
“Oh, well, that’s good to hear,” she replied with a big smile.
Lucky and Diamond talked for a few more minutes then he gave her a list with names and addresses and specific instruction on how to mail each folder. It was a simple plan, and he felt confident she didn’t need the pep talk.
Diamond still curious and wanting to find out more, kept flipping through the files, and each one seemed worse than the other. She discovered some graphic pictures of fatally shot victims.
“Who are these dead people?”
“Witnesses we got rid of for the DA.”
“Damn! How corrupt is this city?”
“Listen, I personally took care of witnesses in five major drug and murder cases. I did a lot of dirty work that I’m not proud of. That’s why I want to mail this information to the lawyers of each of those cases, and I want the truth to come out. They want to fuck with me? Well, they made a big mistake. I know I’m throwing myself in a deeper hole, but I won’t go down alone or without a fight.”
“This is a little too crazy for me. I see why you want me to stay away.”
“Sweetheart, you wouldn’t believe the things I learned in the NYPD. I was taught how to racially profile the minority. We had quotas we had to meet, and they were all targeted toward African-Americans and Latinos. We used to get bigger bonuses. It was unreal. I remember a partner of mine was fired because he arrested a White man who was smoking weed in the streets. Our captain, at that time, was upset at my partner because he didn’t give him a fine or a warning, never mind that our holding cells were full of arrestees picked up for jaywalking, and beating the fare on the New York subway. It was a double standard rule. I remember we used to laugh at all the complaints we received for illegal searches. We used to shred those reports. No one cared. They trained us how to profile, so all complaints were irrelevant.”
“Damn, Lucky! So it’s really true? Cops profile Blacks and Hispanics?”
“It wasn’t written in stone, but it was code among cops. It was hard for me because I’m Black, and here I am, harassing my own people. They brainwashed me to the point where I thought it was right to disrespect my own kind. I thought my paycheck was more important than my pride. I did so many of my people wrong. There were nights when we went on gun missions. Our job was to bring in as many guns and suspects as we could. We didn’t care if we witnessed a drug deal in front of us. Our mission was to bring in guns. We would drive around and jump out on whoever was standing on the block. We’d search them illegally, and we were destined to find either drugs or a gun. If we didn’t find either, we would harass them until they told us where to find suspects with guns. I remember one time I framed a seventeen-year-old kid.”
“What do you mean by frame?”
“Well, one night we were out on our gun mission for like three to four hours and we didn’t find any guns. Every time we jumped out on suspects, they were only carrying drugs. We would take the drugs from them, and if it was a large amount, we used to resell the drugs to other drug dealers. We were parked in the Bronx, by Yankee Stadium. It was going on two in the morning, and we were all upset and tired. I jumped out on this kid who was coming from a party. He was scared to death when he saw me approach him with my gun drawn.
“This little punk, instead of following my orders, started back-talking to me and calling me every name in the book. I threw his little ass on the floor and put my knee on the back of his neck. His tough talk quickly turned into screams for mercy. Two transit police officers heard his big mouth, and they quickly came up running from the subway. They noticed I was a detective by the color wristband I was wearing. They asked me if I needed help, and I told them yeah. I got off the suspect and told the officers I witnessed him removing some drugs from his pockets and stuffing them in his drawers right before he was going to enter the subway. I gave the officers some drugs, and they quickly arrested the teen. I felt bad, but the little muthafucka should have stood quiet.”
“That’s fucked up, Lucky. I can’t believe you were out there like that.”
“It came with the job. I agree with you, I was a scumbag, but at the time, I didn’t see anything wrong. Truth be told, we really removed a lot guns and reduced crime by profiling our suspects. People could complain all they wanted, but the fact still remained that nine times out of ten when we did profile our suspect, we were right. They were either carrying a weapon or had drugs in their possession. Hey, listen, we didn’t go around harassing working-class people. We harassed those who we saw on the street corners every day and night. If you are walking down the streets with your pants hanging down your ass, hat turned backwards, and visible tattoos around your body, expect to get harassed by police.”
“I could understand what you mean, but you know there are a lot of followers in the hood. Just because they fit the profile doesn’t mean they are criminals. But looking at your folder, I see a lot of criminals who should get life for what they’ve done. Why not go after them? Why only go after the Blacks and Hispanics?”
“I’m going to give you another reason. Because they are poor. We know ninety percent of our charges would stick because they can’t afford lawyers or hush money. We went after the bigger fish that you see in those folders, but not to arrest them. We went after them so we could
blackmail them and suck their bank accounts dry. We made millions off these pricks. My police duties changed after I joined Captain Tuna’s team, and I became an aggressive businessman.”
“What really made you realize you needed to change? I don’t believe it was just the death of Perry Coleman.”
“You know me so well, baby girl. It was a mixture of things, but the main reason was my mother. I wasn’t raised this way, and it started to catch up to me. Since my mother passed away, I’ve always promised I would make her happy in heaven. But once I got a taste of that fast money, it blinded my common sense. The night Perry was killed, that was the final sign, my wake-up call. I knew in my heart I had to step up and come clean, not just about the murder, but also about the dirt I did as a police officer. That’s the reason all the folders are set up. I would be able to help a lot of suspects that we arrested and tampered with their cases. I’m risking my life, because real talk, I have enough money put away to disappear. I don’t have to do this. I didn’t need to come back and testify, but I won’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t. Remember, the information inside these folders will also incriminate me as well.”
“I understand, baby, and that’s why I fell in love with you. You are determined and a go-getter. I will never judge you, but it was just a little shocking to hear about your behavior as a police officer. I’m starting to understand why you don’t want me to come along. Just make sure you bring your ass back in one piece.”
“I promise.”
Diamond logged on the Internet to search for restaurants that delivered, and Lucky went back to work, organizing all the folders and stacking them away in a box. They decided to call it a night, and it was only 7:00 p.m. By the time the food arrived, they both had already taken showers and were ready to eat and go to sleep. Diamond fell asleep right after she ate, while Lucky stayed up and watched ESPN until he fell asleep.