Corrupt City

by Tra Verdejo

  “Why a bogus number? That’s a red flag. Let’s run her name through the system. Check the national database for runaways, and let’s see what comes up. We need some background on this girl. It sounds like she’s emotionally distressed.”

  “Damn! I have to hand it to you guys. I’m looking at real police work. I guess all the media drama is overshadowing some good police officers,” Special Agent Fred said. “I’m really impressed on the chemistry you guys have.”

  “Are you shitting me, Fred?” Tuna shot back. “You just gave us a compliment. Well, let’s not dance just yet. Let’s go watch this storage facility and see what we come up with.”

  All the men agreed and decided to wait until after hours. They figured, if the place was a drug safe house, most of their activities would be at night.

  As they were planning their operation, additional charges surrounding the Rell Davis case were filed against Captain Tuna, Speedy, and Lucky. The DA was able to receive a rapid indictment, and warrants for their arrest were issued.

  The mayor called Brandon up. “Hey, my friend, have you heard the latest?” he asked.

  “No, I haven’t, but by the tone of your voice, I know it’s not good.”

  “New warrants have been issued for Tuna and Speedy. Where are you?”

  “I’m following on this hot tip on Lucky. We finally got him. He was the one who killed the girl in front of the precinct. But his luck has finally run out because we know about his stash house.”

  “Sounds good. Let them handle it. I need to see you. We need to talk more about your resignation.”

  Brandon got off the phone, upset. He didn’t even bother sharing what Ralph had said about the new charges, not wanting to further stress them out right before a stakeout.

  “Hey, listen, you guys are going to have to handle the mission without me. I have to meet with the mayor.”

  Speedy and Tuna understood. They drove around the perimeter a few times and noticed two things that struck them as odd. There were two high-tech cameras covering the front and back, and the storage facility looked old and in need of a few repairs.

  Tuna parked two blocks down. “Speedy, why would a shitty place need surveillance? I don’t understand.”

  “I don’t either. Now I’m thinking Diamond’s story is legit. Let’s stay here. I can see the front. I don’t want to get any closer, not with those cameras.”

  They sat there for two hours and didn’t see or hear a thing. Tuna was getting a little impatient and wanted to get a closer look.

  “Captain, you know a stakeout is unpredictable. We’ve only been here for two hours. Go ahead and get some shut-eye. I got it from here.”

  “Speedy, now that we’re alone, I want to share a few things. Loose Cannon was like a son to me. I didn’t mean to shut you guys out the way I did. I still can’t believe he’s gone, but it was nothing personal.”

  “I can’t believe he’s gone, either. We had our differences, but he was one hell of a cop and partner. There was no one more loyal than him. I miss him a lot. Let’s mourn at another time. This is not a great location to start crying.”

  “You’re right. I just needed to say that to you. Also, I’m sorry you didn’t know about Tango. We had to kill him. Tango was working with Internal Affairs.”

  “Captain, please get your shut-eye and let’s stay focused.”

  As Speedy and Tuna continued to watch the storage facility throughout the night, Lucky was entering Washington, D.C. Only about four hours away, he figured he would drive straight to the storage and pick up his truck. Plus, he wanted to holler at Divine about closing this final chapter of his life. He needed ready-to-die soldiers, and Divine and his boys were perfect.

  Unaware of the new charges brought against him, Lucky was only thinking about one thing—killing Tuna and Speedy.

  As it was getting into the morning hours, the newspaper was starting to circulate, and of course, they were bashing the commissioner and his dirty unit. New Yorkers were shocked to see the number of charges filed. Charges were also brought against the cardinal for child pornography, child prostitution, and child molestation. New Yorkers were also waiting to hear the latest on the Perry Coleman trial. In fact, there were rumors that a plea deal would be offered.

  Around five o’clock in the morning, Lucky was pissed the fuck off as he sat in traffic on the New Jersey Turnpike. He didn’t understand why.

  Tuna and Speedy were still watching the storage facility when Special Agent Fred showed up.

  “What’s the status?” Fred asked. “Any movement inside?”

  “Nothing. A Cadillac Escalade showed up about an hour ago. That must be Lucky’s friend who owns the place. So, right now, we know for sure there are two bodies inside.”

  “Two bodies?” Fred asked.

  “Yes, when we drove through the front, we saw someone sitting by the front desk. Since the Escalade got here, we haven’t seen anyone else exit.”

  “Got it. Well, I’m here. I’m going to make my way toward the roof across the street and see if I can get a visual,” Fred announced.

  Before Fred could exit the van, they all noticed headlights approaching.

  “Okay, here we go. Who is that driving by?” Speedy asked, referring to Lucky, who’d just passed their car.

  Lucky instantly knew they were watching the storage place. The windows on the minivan were tinted, so he couldn’t see inside. He didn’t know if those were cops watching him personally, or maybe one of their customers. Lucky had no choice but to enter the storage unit. He only had a 9mm on him. If he got pulled over, he would be a sitting duck. He couldn’t start a war with a handgun. At least inside he had an arsenal of guns.

  When Lucky drove by, Speedy said, “Look at the license plates on the car. They’re from Massachusetts. That has to be Lucky returning from Cape Cod. If he goes inside, then we know that’s him. Call for backup.”

  “Backup? We’re on our own here,” Tuna replied.

  “Well, then fuck it. Once he goes inside, we make our move,” Fred said.

  “But, Captain, if that is Lucky, then he knew we were cops when he drove by. I doubt he would stop and go inside,” Speedy added.

  Lucky made the left turn and drove into the storage facility. He knew something was wrong because Divine came out the office and greeted him as he exited the car.

  “Lucky, what are you doing here?” Divine asked nervously.

  “Why? What’s wrong? Is this about the cops parked down the street? How in the fuck they know about this spot? Who is snitching? is the million-dollar question.”

  “I don’t know who’s talking, but Pee-Wee picked the pigs up on the camera. He said they circled the block twice and parked. About an hour ago, another cop got in the minivan.”

  “So there are three men. That’s great news. They can’t call for backup because they’ve been suspended from the force. If I know Tuna like I do, he will make his move in a few minutes. Let’s get our guns ready. Lock up all the rooms and doors, and let’s head to the roof.”

  While Lucky and Divine headed upstairs to the roof, Pee-Wee remained downstairs watching the front door, two shiny chrome 40-calibers sitting on his hip, both clips full. Plus, he had a box full of bullets sitting right next to him. His job was to make sure no one came in the door. Pee-Wee sat on a chair about twenty-five feet from the front door, aiming a 12-round street sweeper shotgun. He was going to blow off the first head he saw creeping through the front door.

  Pee-Wee wasn’t just your average graveyard worker. He was one of Divine’s main hitmen, and a ride-or-die soldier. His brother Blood was out of town in South Philly. Pee-Wee wouldn’t have any hesitation killing cops, especially the dirty ones who killed Perry Coleman.

  Lucky and Divine were on the roof watching the van. Divine was looking through the scope of a high-powered rifle. He couldn’t see if anyone was in the van.

  Lucky, holding the same rifle as Divine, kept running from one side of the roof to the other, looking for mov
ement, but couldn’t see anything.

  “Dee, do you see anyone in the van? Because I don’t see any movement. These muthafuckas are up to something. Stay on your toes and watch everything,” he yelled at Divine.

  “I’m watching. I don’t see any of these muthafuckas. Radio down to Pee-Wee and ask him.”

  “Pee-Wee, you see anything?” Lucky asked in a low tone.

  “It’s all clear down here. I can’t see shit,” he replied.

  Lucky and Divine were a bit confused. How could they exit the van so quickly?

  Divine kept a close look at the van, hoping to get a little visual of anything so he could blow it to pieces. It got to the point where he was getting frustrated and losing focus.

  As he was about to call Lucky over, he noticed the red dot on the side of Lucky’s head. He yelled, “Lucky, duck down!”

  Lucky didn’t hesitate, and just dropped to the ground.

  Two loud shots went off.

  As Divine was running toward Lucky, more shots were fired.

  Special Agent Fred, who came up as a marksman in the federal government, was across the street on the roof of an apartment building. For him to get back behind a rifle and look through that scope again was natural.

  Divine reached Lucky and realized he’d cheated death. Lucky wasn’t shot or grazed. He’d either ducked super fast, or Fred was a bit rusty and didn’t know how to shoot.

  Divine helped Lucky get up off the floor, and they ran for cover.

  “There’s someone on the roof across the street shooting,” Divine said.

  “I see him. Let’s split. You go that way and cause a distraction, and I will pop up and knock him the fuck off. That muthafucka tried to push my wig back, Dee.”

  “You sure you know his location? Don’t have me run out there and get shot and killed,” a nervous Divine said.

  “Have I ever let you down before? On the count of three, I need you to run like bullets are chasing. All I need is three to five seconds to take him out. You ready?”

  “Yeah, I’m ready, dog. Let’s do this,” a more confident Divine said.

  Before Lucky could count to three, they heard more shots.

  “Wait, Dee,” Lucky quickly said. “He’s shooting at us. Don’t run out right now.”

  “It sounds like the shots are coming from downstairs. We need to get down there and help Pee-Wee out.”

  Just as Divine said that, they heard more shots, many more than the first round.

  Divine added, “Damn! We need to hurry up and help Pee-Wee. It sounds like they’re using high-powered rifles.”

  “I hear you, Dee, but we first have to take out the marksman on the roof.”

  “With all the commotion going on, I doubt he’s not distracted already. We don’t have time to wait. I’m making my move now. Get ready and take this pig out.”

  “Hold on, Dee, we need to make sure he didn’t move his location.”

  “Hold on? C’mon, Lucky, we need to get back inside, dog. Get ready on my three, all right?” Divine said, looking into Lucky’s eyes.

  “On your three,” Lucky said as he gripped his rifle.

  After Divine counted to three and made a dash for the roof exit, Lucky jumped up and aimed his rifle, hoping his target didn’t move.

  When Fred saw Divine make a run for it, he opened fired, not realizing Lucky had spotted him.

  Lucky didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger, letting off two shots as he watched through the scope. His shots ripped through the body of Special Agent Fred McCarthy, one bullet penetrating the left side of his neck, the other bullet entering through his chin and exiting through his cheekbone. Fred hit the floor and was dead on arrival.

  Once Lucky saw his target fall, he then turned and started running toward the staircase, only to trip over Divine’s motionless body.

  Divine was shot twice in the head and was drowning in his own blood. He’d only taken a few steps before Fred shot him down like a dog.

  Lucky was so focused on his target, he didn’t realize his boy since junior high school, his partner, and brother he never had, was shot and killed.

  “Oh shit, no! Oh hell no! C’mon, Divine, I need you to get the fuck up!” Lucky kept yelling as he kicked Divine’s lifeless body.

  Lucky knew Divine, pieces of his brain hanging out his bullet wounds, was dead, and he just didn’t want to accept it. He dropped down to his knees and held Divine’s hand.

  “Wake up, bro. It’s not your time. Wake up!”

  As bad as Lucky wanted to pay back his old partners, he didn’t want to lose those close to him. For a quick minute, he almost lost it while he was on his knees staring at yet another dead body.

  Lucky snapped out of his daze when he heard more gunfire coming from the first floor. He quickly turned around and started heading toward the staircase to help out Pee-Wee.

  Right before he reached the stairs, another option opened up for him. Instead of running down the staircase and blazing his rifle like a wild cowboy, he could just jump onto the next roof, a getaway. He leaned against the wall and thought for a second. He explored his options—jump to the next roof, or run down and help Pee-Wee on a suicide mission.

  Lucky remembered he’d made a promise to Tamika that he would be back. He was still undecided, as he heard gunfire being exchanged in the background.

  As soon as he started hearing sirens, he went with option B, jumping to the next roof, and disappeared within seconds. Leaving Pee-Wee behind wasn’t as difficult. That wasn’t his boy. He only knew him through Divine. Lucky felt bad, but there was no way the two of them were going to win the war. He wasn’t a coward or scared to die. He just wasn’t prepared to die at that particular moment.

  Pee-Wee fought every step of the way. He kept looking at the staircase and was wondering why Lucky or Divine didn’t return. He thought maybe they were shot dead on the roof by snipers. He panicked and ran back to the stash room, grabbed two gallons of gasoline, and began emptying them all over the first floor. He figured he could start a fire, burn down the place, and hide in the stash room for a few days.

  As Pee-Wee was running around the first floor and pouring gasoline all over, more cops were arriving at the scene. He was outnumbered a hundred to one.

  An officer yelled on the bullhorn, “Donald Gibson, you have fifteen seconds to come out with your hands in the air. If you fail to comply, we will be forced to use deadly force!”

  Pee-Wee became even more nervous once he heard them call him Lucky. He began to sweat heavily. One of the gallons slipped out of his hand, and when it hit the floor, gasoline splashed on his pants. “Shit! I got gas over my new fuckin’ jeans.”

  He wiped himself off and ran to the office. He looked at the surveillance monitors, and all he saw was cops outside with heavy artillery. He only had about five seconds to start the fire and lock himself in. He disabled the security system, so the sprinklers wouldn’t come on, and grabbed a book of matches out the office.

  After Pee-Wee had sparked a few matches, the flames grew fast, and the fire began to get closer to him, like it was chasing him. He started running toward the stash room, but the fire caught up to him first. Within seconds, his whole body caught on fire.

  Instead of running into the human safe, he ran and jumped out the first-floor window, banging his head on the concrete and losing consciousness. The force of landing actually helped put out some of the fire.

  A few officers ran toward him with blankets and patted his body with them until all the flames were put out. Pee-Wee’s body was burned so badly, they all assumed it was Lucky.

  Tuna and Speedy were standing over Pee-Wee’s body, convinced it was Lucky, but they wanted DNA proof just to make sure.

  Everyone present was pronouncing Pee-Wee dead, until one of the medics yelled, “I found a pulse.”

  They gently rolled his body onto a stretcher and rushed him into the waiting ambulance, where the paramedics began working on his burned up body, hoping to keep him alive until they arrive
d at Montefiore Hospital.

  When the ambulance pulled off, the fire department was asking officers on the scene to move away from the burning building. By now, the entire storage facility was up in flames. Firefighters didn’t waste any time in containing the fire, not wanting it to spread to other buildings.

  While the fire was being contained, so were Tuna and Speedy. They didn’t resist the warrants for their arrest because, with Lucky in custody, they were satisfied.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Where Is Lucky?

  “Good evening. This is Destine Diaz reporting live from downtown, in front of One Police Plaza. We are waiting on a press conference where we believe both Commissioner Fratt and Mayor Gulliano will address the city. According to our sources, early this morning, around two o’clock, gunfire erupted in the Gun Hill area of the Bronx. Our sources tell us that Donald Gibson and a childhood friend owned a storage facility called Put-It-Away. Police officers believed that this was Lucky’s hideout. When they tried to serve a warrant, they were fired upon.

  “At this moment, it is still unclear who discharged their weapons first. However, according to the police department, Captain William ‘Tuna’ Youngstown, Jeffrey ‘Speedy’ Winston, and Donald ‘Lucky’ Gibson are all in custody. There is also confirmation of two dead bodies found at the scene, one in the burned-up building, and another across the street, believed to be that of another FBI agent. This is where the story becomes very confusing, so we will wait until we have further information on the identity of these two victims.

  “Donald Gibson is in the hospital with third-degree burns all over his body and in a coma clinging to life. Captain William and Detective Jeffrey, both on suspension, shouldn’t have been close to any gun battles. What happened next is what Commissioner Fratt is going to explain to us all. Did the city serve an illegal warrant that turned deadly, leaving yet another federal agent dead? Who burned Lucky? Was he found burned before his arrest, or was he burned while handcuffed? Donald drew a hefty list of enemies amongst the force when he testified. This is Destine Diaz, Channel 5 News.”