New York's Finest (1st of the Trilogy)
Page 16
“Did they say why?”
“Since we got the plug about what he and Ben were trying to do, we shut down the whole shop. Nobody out there has any of our stuff. It’s like a ghost town and those niggas are going crazy because they don’t have any work.”
“They never acted like that before when we ran out.”
“Exactly. Which is why we really know what time it is with them niggas. Any other time they wouldn’t be getting all crazy, but the reason why they’re doing it now is because they know we still got plenty of product left. And the fact that we’re telling them differently is getting them cats on the edge. We’re stopping their flow and their plans to fuck up our operation and they ain’t like that this too much.”
“How long do y’all plan to do this?”
“Until we find Vanessa. Unfortunately, she’s gone into deep hiding. Her mother, sisters and brother aren’t answering their phones and all have left their houses. But we have someone at each of their homes in case they come back.”
“What does Reggie plan to do in the meantime?”
“Concerning Vanessa?”
“Yeah,”
“Well, he just closed all of the accounts and credit cards they had together, and thanks to Stone, he was even able to empty out the bank accounts in her name alone. And don’t ask me how your uncle did that. That nigga got connections all over the fucking place.”
I laughed at Damian’s remark. But he was right, Stone was a well-connected guy.
“And lastly, we haven’t been able to get any information on the last two assassins. We think they are chilling with Dre, Ben and Vanessa. But Reggie is cool. His mind is focused. I went with him to his physical therapy today and he looked good. I think all of this shit had him motivated to get back into the action. As soon as we left physical therapy, we went to the field where we do our target practice, and he shot off at least fifty rounds.”
“I just hope he finds that trifling bitch and make her pay for all the shit she’s put him through,” I said.
“Don’t worry. Her day will come.” Damian said.
“Well, I hope so. She’s been walking around for far too long especially with all the shit she’s done.”
“Be patient baby. Be patient. Everything is going to happen when it’s supposed to. It’s all about timing.”
Damian was right. Timing was a key factor. A lot of people fuck up and get themselves in shit they can’t get out of because they react out of emotions. Women do it all the time, which is why we can’t run the fucking world. At the end of the day, I wanted to hear that Vanessa’s ass was tortured and that we didn’t have to worry about her grimy ass anymore. I mean how dare that bitch put out a hit on my parents? They’ve never done shit to her cold-hearted ass. Reggie was the one who fucked around on her, not my parents. So, it was just a matter of time before karma catches up with her.
Although it was a long day, I was happy when the plane landed in New York a good twenty minutes early. I was more ecstatic that we could pull right in the gate. Usually when we landed early, especially this early, there was always another plane in our assigned gate, usually waiting to take off. But not this time.
Since this wasn’t an overnight trip, I just had my overnight handbag. I usually waited on Sabrina, but I was still upset with her after I found out she told that bitch all my business, so I grabbed my things from the overhead compartment and turned my phone on and saw I had a ton of voicemail messages that had come in during my three hour flight from Dallas.
I called my voicemail and the first message was a frantic message from Damian. “Naomi, somebody blew the whistle! The Feds raided the Polo Grounds and tried to raid Reggie’s penthouse, but Reggie was able to get away. Be careful and call me as soon as you get this message.”
What the fuck! I was nervous now. I didn’t understand what was going on.
I listened to the next message. This one was from Mr. Wright. “Naomi, we have a problem. The DEA and FBI both called and plan on intercepting your flight as soon as it lands. What I’m told is both agencies received an anonymous phone call from someone who told the Feds that you and your brother are running a drug smuggling operation through our airlines. They had a lot of questions for me and my boys. They know someone is working with you guys, they just don’t know who it is. If you get this message in time, I had Rick to pull out his old Halloween costume from last year that he has stored away in his locker. It’s an old woman’s wig, a dress and some makeup left for you inside of the waste basket on the side wall of the last stall of the second restroom departing your gate. You know the one—“
Fuck, the message cut off. I hit the next message and Mr. Wright completed his voicemail message. “Okay, your phone cut me off. It’s the last stall in the second restroom. You know which one I’m talking about, we have talked about this before. There will be an Out of Order sign on the stall door. If you don’t get this message in time and the Feds get a hold of you, please don’t panic. The Feds have nothing. It’s the corporations’ shipments and most judges, even Federal judges, will not give them a search warrant that easily based on the word of an anonymous phone call. That shit never happens.” he continued and then the message cut off again.
Fuck! My nerves were all over the place. After all the passengers exited the plane I stood there not knowing whether or not it would be safe to leave the aircraft myself. Thoughts of Federal Agents bailing towards me while I attempted to make my escape became overwhelming and scary. My heart raced uncontrollably. I had no idea what to do. I did know that whatever I decided to do, I needed to do it very quickly because there would be a cleanup crew coming aboard this aircraft at any second. Meanwhile I managed to clear my mind long enough to get Damian on the phone. He sounded like he was in complete distress. “Had your flight landed yet? Where are you?”
“Everybody left the plane but I’m still on board trying to figure out what to do. I got the message about the Feds going up in the spot at the Polo Grounds and Reggie’s house.”
“Look baby girl, get off that plane now. And get out of that airport as soon as you can without getting spotted.” his instructions began.
“And go where? I heard that the Feds are all over the fucking place looking for us.”
“Try to get back to the spot where you and Reggie got your emergency travel bag and I’ll meet you there.”
“What time are you going to be there?” I panicked. I didn’t want anything to happen to him. He and I had already planned to spend the rest of our life together so we can’t start it off like this. I couldn’t picture him going to jail. Or even I for that matter. I knew we needed to be very careful about how we went about this thing.
“I’ll be there when I can.”
“How long do you want me to wait for you?”
“If I’m not there within the hour than leave and go south.”
“Go down south where? I don’t know anyone who lives down south.”
“Listen to me Naomi, you’re gonna have to calm down. Let’s just take this thing one step at a time and meet me at the spot. Hopefully, I’ll be able to finally get in touch with Reggie before I meet up with you.”
“Think I got enough time to go and clean out my place before they get there?”
“I’m not sure. But, you can try. Just be careful though.”
“Alright.” I said and then I ended our call.
After I got up the gumption to exit the plane, I inconspicuously made my way by all the hundreds of passengers and into the ladies restroom that Mr. Wright had instructed me to go to. As soon as I entered into the stall, I grabbed the contents from the waste basket and immediately got dressed. When I was done, I walked out of the stall and looked myself in the mirror. I couldn’t help but smile because I swear I didn’t recognize myself with this grayish colored wig with streaks of black, an old faded blue dress, a pair of orthopedic shoes and a folded-up walking cane. And once I finished taking inventory of myself, all I had to do was unfold the walking cane.
Everything was going well. I had made ground by getting to the nearest exit but right after I walked by the baggage pickup area, I immediately noticed several Federal Agents who were being accompanied by the airport police and I damn near had a heart attack. They were fifty feet away from me and if I wanted to make my escape, then now was the perfect time. Unfortunately for me, every government agent with a badge and gun had every exit in this entire fucking airport blocked off. I was pissed at myself because I had to move slower than I wanted to. I probably played the part of the old, crippled woman too good. Time was of the essence and I had picked up my walk, but I didn’t want to overdo it. So the possibilities of me getting away from law enforcement were slim to improbable. And even if they weren’t, where would I go?
I was fortunate though. I noticed Mr. Wright and he spotted me. I don’t know how he knew it was me but he was trying his best to steer the Feds from me. It became very clear that they had gotten to the airport sooner than we’d anticipated. Their presence didn’t derail my plans to get out of here but they did put a little doubt in my mind that it might just be a little harder to maneuver my way through the terminal.
Meanwhile, the Feds and the airport police were minutes from closing in on me. I tried to
figure out my next step as my heart raced uncontrollably. The edge I had over them was that they were looking for a young woman fitting my description and not a senior citizen woman wearing a grayish colored wig with streaks of black, an old faded blue dress, a pair of orthopedic shoes and walked with a cane. Believe me, I acted the part on queue and used my knowledge of the airport’s security system to my advantage. Mr. Wright had hooked me up. Only a select few employees knew the airport was equipped with over a thousand rotating surveillance cameras and fortunately for me, I was one of them. Mr. Wright made sure of that. I also knew there were so many cameras that the security staff could not observe them all simultaneously, which immediately prompted me to change my escape plan.
The airport’s generator room was only three feet from me. I eased towards the door very carefully. I acted as if I had lost something on the floor and right before I swiped my key card to make my entry, I glanced around the concourse to make sure I was free and clear. When I realized passengers and airline staff had fixed their attention on the manpower search that had engulfed the entire airport, I knew now was the perfect time to make my exit.
Without hesitation, I swiped my key card and pushed the door open. And just when I thought I was about to make a clean getaway, the security alarm went off. Immediately, my body became panic-stricken. I didn’t know whether to proceed through the door or turn back around. But as soon as I heard several of the law enforcement officers yell from behind me, I instinctively looked back and noticed a horde of law enforcement types rapidly rushing towards me. I could tell by the expressions on their faces that they wanted me badly. I slammed the door shut and looked around the machine-filled room for something I could use to barricade the door. My heart beat at an incredible pace as I scanned and moved around the room. Then I finally saw a pipe lying next to one of the big generators. I snatched it up from the floor and said a quiet and quick prayer as I raced back to the door. I heard the commotion on the other side of the door. There were at least two different voices yelling obscenities as they struggled to get the door open.
“Who has a fucking key card?” I heard one officer yell over top of the loud blaring sound of the security alarm.
From that question alone gave me a glimmer of hope that I may be able to prevent them from getting into this room. If I knew Mr. Wright, I was sure he was behind the delay. I knew he wasn’t forthcoming with his security badge that accessed this door. Now I had to hurry and place the pipe between the crease of the metal bar and the floor. So when they tried to push the door open, the pipe wouldn’t allow the door to move one inch.
Not even ten seconds after I placed the pipe against the door, I heard a loud booming sound hit the door. BOOM! But the door didn’t budge. “On the count of three, let’s hit it again,” I heard one of the officers yell. On the count of three, I watched nervously as they hit the door again. But the door didn’t budge. “She’s gotta have something barricading the door,” I heard another male’s voice yell over the top of the continued blaring sounds coming from the alarm system.
Knowing that they had figured out what I had done sent my mind into overdrive. I knew I had very limited time to find my way out of this room before they found a way inside. I had to get a move on it if I wanted to escape this madness.
When I turned around to bolt into the opposite direction, I was stopped in my tracks by a police-issued .40 caliber Glock.
“Where the fuck you think you’re going?” said a man’s voice as he pointed his pistol directly in my face.
The words slim to improbable reverberated throughout my mind as I looked down the biggest barrel I had ever been face-to-face with.
Then my nerves calmed down as Evan my TSA Agent smiled and told me to follow him. I was so surprised to see him. He was supposed to be unloading the plane right now so why was he on the other side of the terminal with me? I needed answers to those questions so I waited until we got to safety before I sprung it on him.
After about five hundred feet of underground tunnels and one man holes, Evan finally got me out of harm’s way. It was a feeling of relief when I got into his Ford Expedition and raced away to freedom. At least, I hoped we were racing to freedom.
New York’s Finest Kiki Swinson
Chapter 24 – Win Some – Lose Some
I had to get myself together mentally after that incident at the airport. It had become a daunting task just to calm my nerves after I took the wig off my head. It seemed like the harder I tried to be optimistic about coming out of this thing altogether, a gut wrenching thought of possibly going to prison may be in the cards for me. The thought of prison life wasn’t something I looked forward to. In addition to being arrested, I also thought about how Miguel was going to react when he found out about his shipment. It was clear that it would get confiscated once a thorough investigation was completed. So, I knew I needed to figure out how to ratify that situation as well.
On our way to the city I went into question mode for Evan. I needed some answers. “How did you know where I was? And why did you come for me?” I asked him.
“The airport is tight with security and no one is allowed down in my area of the loading dock but my crew and when I saw a lot of unfamiliar faces show up in the loading area, I knew something was about to go down. So I called my men off the site and sent them to another gate area until I found out what was going on. And when I started asking questions and couldn’t get any answers about why they were setting up surveillance in my loading port, I knew your shipment was their target so I switched gears and got out of there.”
“Well, how did you know where I was?” I repeated the question.
“I watched you from the time you got off the plane.”
“So, why did you save me from them? I mean, if I were you I would’ve been trying to save myself.”
“Naomi, it’s gonna come out that me and my men were going to allow that shipment to come in. And when it does, my whole career and retirement is going down the drain. I may be even looking to do some serious time too, so I figured I needed an insurance policy.”
Baffled by Evans words, I tried to define his words in laymen terms. I wanted to know what the fuck he was talking about when he said he needed an insurance policy. Then all of a sudden it clicked. He wanted some money from me. A dollar amount hasn’t been uttered from his lips, but
I knew it was coming next.
I looked back at Evan who happened to be a very small man in statue, but I remembered he mentioned to me some time ago that he worked out at least four days a week. So when I zoomed into the collar area of his shirt, I saw the muscles around his shoulder as clear as day. This Puerto Rican cat would probably have my ass beat up in the back of an alley real bad if I didn’t give him what he wanted. He has been an associate of mines for a long time and he had been loyal to me, so I guess he figured it was time for him to cash out and go off on his own. Clearly it was every man for himself.
Pretending to stay calm, I said, “What kind of an insurance policy are we talking about?”
“For where I am going, I am going to need five hundred thousand dollars.” he said and he did not blink one eye nor did his expression change. This guy acted like he was dead serious.
I thought for a moment about how much money I had back at my place. I knew that it wasn’t near the amount he asked for but I hoped that it would help by me some time. “Evan, I don’t have five hundred grand at my disposal. But I can get at least one hundred and fifty of it to you.”
Evan slammed his fist on the steering wheel. “No!” he roared. “That’s not enough. I want five hundred thousand dollars right now. Now if you can’t get it to me, then you and I are going to go on a very long ride Chica.”
After I watched Evan snap out like he’d just done, I got a whole new sense of reality. This guy wasn’t stable at all and I had the slightest clue as to what to do next.
“You better think of something real quick because I’m trying to be out of town in the next couple of hours.” he concluded.
“Can I make a phone call?” I asked.
“Hell, no! I’m not stupid. You’ll try to get me ambushed.”
“So, how do you expect me to get the rest of the money for you?”
“Get it from your bank account. I know you gotta have some of it there.”