by Roy Glenn
“Cops just walked them out in cuffs. I’m going to see about getting them out, but I thought you should know cause … you know.”
“Thanks, Takesha. I’ll check back with you in the morning and if you need anything, call London.”
“I will,” Takesha said and ended the call.
“Fuck!” Gavin shouted as Rain came out of the bathroom.
“What?”
“Two of Butch’s men just got locked up.”
“The ones that was goin’ with you tonight?”
“Yes.”
“You got anybody else you can call?”
“Butch handpicked them because he knows they’re loyal to him.” Gavin shook his head. “They were it.”
“I’ll go with you,” Rain offered and sat down on the bed next to him.
“You do more than enough for me already.”
“You the one said it gotta be done tonight. Besides, who you got better than me? Better question, who gonna have your back like I will?”
It was a simple question.
“Nobody.”
“So, I’m goin’.”
“If you do, that will be dragging your whole house into my shit.”
“Ain’t nobody gonna know it’s me.”
Rain bounced up from the bed. She went into her closet. Gavin laid back across the bed, wondering what he was gonna do. No matter what Rain said, there was no way he was going to involve her in this and run the risk of drawing Mike Black’s organization into it. His father, Vince would kill him or have Black or even Rain herself kill him for it.
Still, it did have to be done that night, so he wondered what she had in mind. Rain came out of the closet wearing her blonde wig and big sunglasses.
“Ain’t nobody gonna recognize me,” Rain said with her hands on her hips.
Gavin stared at her. “If it wasn’t for those titties and that fat pussy, I wouldn’t recognize you.”
“Fuck you, Magic.”
“As soon as we get this done, I promise to fuck the shit outta you,” Gavin said and explained to Rain what the situation was and how it needed to happen.
“We gonna need somebody else if we gonna do this and walk outta there alive,” Rain said, reached for her phone and dialed a number.
“You got somebody in mind?”
“What’s up, Jackie? What you doing?” Rain said when she answered.
“In the streets, making the rounds like a good girl.”
“Where you at?”
“I’m at Spence’s spot. There was somebody casing the joint, but he dealt with it.” Jackie walked to where she could hear Rain better. “What’s up?”
“You got any wigs?”
“In all styles and colors, why?” Jackie asked, and Rain explained what she wanted. As she listened, Jackie’s smile grew wider. “Sounds like fun,” she said when Rain told her what to wear. Then she told her where to meet her and Gavin.
“Be there in an hour. We going undercover.”
It was one-forty-seven in the morning when Rain, Gavin and Jackie stepped inside a strip club called Poison and their entrance got everybody’s attention. In addition to the blonde wig and big glasses, Rain was dressed in white leather pants and vest, which she wore over her bulletproof vest and floor length coat. Jackie was in red. Red wig, big glasses, red floor length leather coat and vest, but Jackie had on red booty shorts that definitely showed off her amazing legs, not to mention the knot between her thighs.
Poison was frequented by Greg MacManus aka Greg Mac; in fact, he was there every night. Like Lamont Drummond, Greg Mac was one of Butch’s lieutenants. When the decision was made to assassinate Drum, Butch needed his support. Greg sent a message back to Butch informing him that his support would cost a quarter of a million dollars. Drum was dead, and as promised, Greg Mac took no action, so it was time to pay the check.
Men and women alike watched as Gavin, dressed in a three-thousand-dollar handmade Italian suit, walked through the crowd at Poison with Jackie on his left and Rain on his right. The crowd seemed to part before them until they reached Greg’s table. He was sitting with two of his boys, Bumpy and Azar, but his soldiers, Pistol, Brick, Dougie, Tone and Mark were close by. Each were engaged with women dancing and taking their money.
Greg Mac, Bumpy and Azar were surrounded by eight women. Four were dancing for them, three were hugged up on Greg, Bumpy and Azar and the last one was sitting in Azar’s lap. He had just convinced her to go under the table and suck his dick when Gavin put the case with the money on the table.
Greg Mac waved his hand and the women scattered.
“Open it,” he commanded.
Gavin opened the case and turned it around so that Greg could see that it was empty.
“I ain’t got shit for you.”
He, Rain and Jackie all pulled their weapons.
“Butch sends his regards,” Gavin said and shot Greg Mac in the head.
Rain and Jackie put two a piece in Bumpy and Azar.
The bold moved shocked everybody and that’s when the shit got wild.
As the music continued to play, the rest of Greg Mac’s men opened fire. Rain pulled her other gun and fired as she dove for the floor, while Jackie fired back as she sought better cover behind the bar. Tone and Mark sprayed the club with shells over Rain as she laid on the floor with her head covered. While Gavin fired at Pistol, Brick and Dougie, Jackie stayed low and moved to get a better angle on the shooters. When she was in position, Jackie fired and took Mark out.
When he went down, Rain got to her feet and opened up with both of her weapons blasting at Brick and Dougie. They both fired at Rain and she was forced to take cover again. Tone kept firing at Jackie and then he dropped behind a table. Pistol fired at Gavin, who turned and fired, but the shot only grazed Pistol’s shoulder. He shot back at Gavin as he ran for the exit. Gavin shot back, but he missed and went after him, but he was gone. When he ran back in the club and saw that Rain and Jackie were pinned down taking fire, he then opened fire, hitting Tone with several shots to the head and chest. He went down.
That gave Jackie and Rain the chance they needed to get to their feet. Jackie and Rain began firing at Brick and Dougie with them firing back as they ran for the exit. Jackie kept firing at Brick and took him down. Rain hit Dougie with two shots in the back before he made it out of Poison.
Chapter Fifteen
It wasn’t quite eight in the morning yet, but Wanda was up, and she was in the kitchen, someplace that she rarely went these days, but today was a special occasion. She was excited because she had an announcement to make, so she invited Black and Bobby to breakfast. That day, Wanda would finally reveal what she’d been quietly, some would say secretly, working on for the last year. And that day was important to them for another reason, and for Wanda, that was why they were really there.
The night before she had seasoned the salmon she planned to grill and had diced the onions, green peppers and tomatoes, as well as jalapeno peppers, because she knew that Black and Bobby liked it spicy. There was spinach and several different types of cheeses in the refrigerator. Wanda had even fried some bacon that she intended to crumble for the omelets because Bobby wouldn’t consider it breakfast if it didn’t involve pork.
First thing that morning, Mr. and Mrs. Black were up and engaged in their normal morning activities. After the morning sickness had eased up and her appetite came back, Shy began to feel better, she looked beautiful and she felt sexy. She wanted to have sex all of the time, which was fine with him since he couldn’t get enough of her. So, this was how they began every morning.
Better than coffee and a donut, Black had said more than once.
They had seen the doctor for a second appointment the day before to check the baby’s size and fetal development. It was also the first time they got to listen to their baby’s heartbeat.
“Do you feel a little flutter? Perhaps a bubbling sensation?”
“All the time.”
“That’s your baby moving.
”
The doctor told them that their baby’s nervous system and muscles continued to develop. Shy told the doctor that she was having headaches and that she felt hot all the time, so I prefer to be naked or as close to it most, if not all the time. Which Michael seems to love.
“Your body pumps more blood during pregnancy, Sandy, that and hormones can make you feel unbearably hot. Try to wear loose, breathable fabrics. Stay hydrated and always carry a small, battery-operated fan around with you. Take a refreshing bath or, better still, go for a swim.”
“I miss my pool in Freeport,” Shy had to admit. She also took a second to recognize that it was the first time that the words I, miss, and Freeport all came out of her mouth in the same sentence. And yes, Black noticed it too. “And the headaches … is that my raging hormones at work?”
“You guessed it. Your hormones are probably to blame again. Find ways to relax, like pregnancy yoga.”
Although she wasn’t feeling pregnancy yoga, they were pleased with their baby’s development.
After cooking breakfast for Shy, Black had Chuck drive him to Wanda’s house.
“For breakfast, she says.” Black laughed. “Maybe she finally plans to tell me and Bobby about James Austin,” he said to Chuck as they drove, but Black knew that Wanda knew the significance of that day, so he was curious what her play would be.
As expected, he arrived first and told Chuck not to wait for him. “I’ll call you later if I need you.” Black said and got out. As Chuck drove off, he went and rang the bell and an all smiles Wanda opened it right away.
“Hi, Mike.”
“Morning.”
“Early as always,” Wanda said and stepped aside to let him in. She looped her arm in his and they walked to the kitchen. Black sat down at the breakfast bar.
“Breakfast, huh?” he said, seeing the ingredients on the counter near the stove. “What brought this on?”
“I had something that I wanted to tell you two and I didn’t want to wait.”
“I see,” Black said and put a K-Cup in the machine.
“We always get together and have these meetings, usually at Bobby’s house, we talk for hours sometimes and I always leave there hungry.”
“You know Pam would cook for you, right?”
“I know, but she has Bobby and three kids to cook for, how I look coming over there talking about make me a sandwich.”
“You’d look like Wanda.”
She gave him the finger. “What do you want in your omelet?”
“Everything you got there except the pork and tomatoes, please,” Black said. “And if it’s not too much trouble, your girl said to hook her up with something, she doesn’t care what.”
“As long as you come back in the house with food,” Wanda laughed. “I got her. You want spinach?”
“Spinach?” Black smiled. “No doubt. You know I love spinach. This must be serious if you’re breaking out like this. Maybe I should have brought champagne for mimosas.”
“Mimosas are chilling in the refrigerator. You can help yourself and pour me one while you’re at it,” Wanda said as she cooked. “What kind of cheese you want?”
“What you got?” Black said as he poured.
“Extra sharp cheddar, swiss and blue cheese crumbles.”
“Let’s live on the wild side and try all three,” Black said as the bell rang. “It’s probably Bobby.” He got up. “I’ll get it.”
Once Black let him in and Wanda cooked breakfast to order for them, they sat down to eat, and an almost giddy Wanda could no longer wait any longer to tell them why she had brought them there that day.
“I’m buying a bank in Nassau.”
“What did you say?” Bobby choked and asked.
“I said I’m buying a bank in Nassau.”
“That’s what you’ve been up to all this time,” Black said and turned to Bobby. “See Bobby, I told you she was working on something and it would be good for us.”
Wanda’s fist hit her hips. “Why does everyone … never mind,” she said and thought about the call she got from Nick the night before.
And knowing my reputation for going behind their backs, you felt you had to call and ask.
Yes, Wanda, I did.
Yes, I told him that he should conduct himself as if he were a captain, and yes, Mike and Bobby know about it. So, now I’m gonna say good night, Nick. And you tell April I said she is marrying an asshole, Wanda said, and she ended the call, but knew it was a valid question.
“Yes, Mike, I think it will be very good for us in so many ways,” Wanda said and went on from there to explain what she had been doing to this point and what still needed to be done. “But I thought that things were firm enough to bring the two of you in and see if this was something that you were interested in.”
“How much is this gonna cost?” Bobby asked.
“The capital investment may vary depending on which way we decide to go, but it could run as much as ten or twenty million, or more.”
“Dollars?” Bobby questioned.
“You put the deal together?” Black asked, and Wanda nodded. “Capitalized it yourself?”
Wanda paused before she answered. “Yes, I could capitalize the whole deal if I had to go that way. But I would rather have my partners in on this with me.”
“I’m in,” Black said.
“So am I,” Bobby said with his mouth full of grilled salmon. “I just need to hear some more about it.”
Wanda smiled and quickly got deep into it, deeper than Bobby actually wanted her to go. Wanda told them that she put together a group of experienced bankers that passed FBI background checks and now she was finally at the phase where she would need to show that she had the necessary capital to get the project underway.
Wanda explained to them that as investors, they would have to maintain at least ten percent of the failed bank’s assets as capital reserves, and that the bank would have to stay at a well-capitalized level. “Which ain’t gonna be a problem for us,” Bobby said, and they laughed. Wanda went on to explain that for their protection, she planned to limit their equity investment to less than twenty-five percent of the voting shares and thirty-three percent of total equity.
“I’ve conducted my due diligence very carefully, Mike.” Wanda paused. “So what do you think?”
“I told you, I’m in. We’re about to own a bank.” Black paused. “And this is legit, right? I mean, we ain’t laundering nobody’s money but ours, right?”
“Of course not. I have no desire for some big bitch named Shaquita to be braiding my hair,” Wanda said, and they all laughed.
“We sure have come a long way since you gave us that RICO talk,” Bobby said.
“Which you pretended not to understand.”
“And I told you that was just Bobby being Bobby.”
“Which means you should have known better,” Bobby said, getting up to get another piece of salmon.
“I used to get all wound up over it,” Wanda laughed.
“Like you were going to lose your mind.” Black paused. “Mike, you need to talk to Bobby … looking all frantic and shit.”
“I’ve come a long way too,” Wanda said.
“We all have. A lot of water has passed. We’ve done a lot of shit, but there’s still more to do.” He looked at Wanda. “Things that we promised to do but haven’t done. I mean, that’s what we’re here for, right? I mean, us buying a bank is great news, but it could have kept until tomorrow. This day holds a different meaning for us.” He pointed at Wanda. “And you know this.”
“I do.”
“Now that we all are clear about why we’re here and breakfast is over, let’s stop fuckin’ around and go get this done,” Bobby said and stood up, and so did Black.
“You taking a gun?” Black asked.
“What do you think?” Bobby said and that was when he noticed that Wanda was checking her weapon. “What you doing?”
“I’m going,” Wanda said, put her gun in her clut
ch and stood up. “She was my friend too, Bobby. I have every right to be there,” she said and looked at Black. “You can’t keep me out of this. Not this.”
Black exhaled because he knew it was pointless to object, especially since she was right. Black started for the door. “Let’s stop fuckin’ around and go get this done.”
Oscar Rooney had been convicted of aggravated assault and sentenced to twenty years to life in prison because of the particularly heinous nature of his crime. A sentence that, unbeknownst to Rooney, was served under Mike Black’s protection. But while he was in prison, he was a model prisoner and was able to make parole and had been released the day before. He felt fortunate that he had a place to stay and the promise of a job waiting for him after the crime he’d committed. Those things were instrumental in the board’s decision to parole him. But he didn’t know that those arrangements were made by Wanda.
Nobody met him when he got out, he had no family that he still had contact with. They all cut ties with him when the trial revealed what an animal he was, so his family wanted nothing to do with him. But there was one person there when he got out, and he was sent there by Black to see that he got to the small apartment that had been arranged for him. To Rooney, he had served his time and been rehabilitated, that he had paid the enormous debt that he had with society. That may have been true according to the state, but there was a debt to be paid and three people had come to his door to exact payment.
Rooney was surprised when there was a loud knock at his door. He had just gotten out of prison, he had no friends that knew or cared that he was getting out, so he wasn’t expecting anybody. Thinking that it was the building’s super coming to tell him something he’d forgotten to mention when he gave him the key, he got up and opened the door to three faces of death.
“Black.”
“Hello, O. You don’t mind if we come in,” Black said, and Bobby pushed him to the floor. Black walked in with Wanda behind him and Bobby closed the door.
“What are you doing here, Black?”
“Fuck you think I’m doing here.” Black kicked him in the face. “I’m here to kill you for what you did.” Black kicked him in the ribs this time.