“I feel you, man. Definitely, not anything sexual,” Mack said and gripped his gun tighter. A cop car pulled up to them, and Mack smiled at the policeman.
“Are you guys okay?” the officer asked. He had his hand on his gun, because he wasn’t taking any chances on the men being wanted criminals.
“Yes, we’re fine, officer,” Andre said. “My GPS lost signal, and I was calling a friend to get directions.”
“Where are you trying to get to?”
“Springfield Road, Sir,” Andre said having recalled the main street that they had drove along en route to the warehouse. He hoped that the cop didn’t get out of his car. He had his hand on his gun and was prepared to blow the man’s head off and then blow the area before anyone had any idea what happened.
“Oh ok, you just head down this street for a mile, and then make a right at the fork, and go another mile. It’s there.” Make any other turns and I’m pulling your ass over, the cop thought. Ain’t no racial profiling out here either, boy.
Andre put his vehicle in drive and then asked the police man, “What’s the address of where I am? I wanna tell my friend.”
“This is 1000 Mill Road. That old factory back there used to belong to TastyKake before they moved to Hunting Park Avenue down there in North Philadelphia.”
“Okay, great. Thanks, officer,” Mack said and then Andre drove off. “So what are we going to do?” he asked Andre when they were away from the police.
“For the first time, I really don’t know,” Andre said, and shook his head. “I just know one thing. I am getting my brother back, dead or alive.”
“Well, I have an idea, bro.”
“Good, let’s hear it, because I am exhausted and I have had enough.”
44
FBI HEADQUARTERS, PHILADELPHIA
“It seems we have a legitimate kidnapping on our hands,” Special Agent Dolly Patterson said. She had lost her attitude and disdain against Kareem and was ready to lead to his rescue and the arrest of her former colleague, DEA Agent Lucas McKenzey. She was trying to run the show in the conference room, but she had another set of federal goons looking for Andre Bezel to inquire about the death of Rock. She multitasked both criminal actions, and was proud of herself. It wasn’t easy being a woman in the male dominated DEA, but she was up for the challenge, and prepared to make her mark as a top agent.
Ravonne sat in the large conference room and was annoyed looking at all of the losers taking their time to find his client. He continued to let them throw around rumors and talk about the indictment of his client, neither of which was going to get his client back. He texted Andre and they were making contingency plans to get rid of McKenzey once and for all, and to get Kareem out of harm’s way. Ravonne and Andre assumed that McKenzey would keep Kareem alive so that he could use him for ransom or leverage. But Ravonne wanted Kareem found and rescued before it even arrived to that.
“Special Agent Patterson, you have a call,” another agent yelled across the room interrupting her. “It’s McKenzey.”
The room went quiet and all eyes darted to the phone. Ravonne stood up and walked closer to the phone. He pulled out his notebook and was prepared to take notes.
“You can’t have that out,” an odd looking agent said to Ravonne. “You’re here, but not really here.”
Ravonne looked at him crazily, and continued to hold his pencil to paper. “I am here and I am invested in this matter just like every agent in the room. I am an agent for the law and seek justice just like you. I am taking notes, so that I can add to this task force. If that’s a problem, I can leave and develop my own task force, and I’d probably solve this crime faster than you all.” He stared at the agent and would have proved his statement had they put him out. Jonathan Rude has the propensity to solve this case faster than these buffoons and I know that for a fact, Ravonne thought.
“Stop,” Special Agent Patterson said, and then added, “He’s here to help. And that’s final. Are we ready to record the call?” She got the okay, and then picked up the phone. “Special Agent Patterson. How are you Agent McKenzey?”
If that wasn’t enough for Ravonne, he looked down at his cellphone and read a text message: Ray Ray, my brother is being held at 1000 Mill Road in Clifton Heights. It’s an abandoned warehouse that sits about 50 feet from the main street and it used to belong to TastyKake. The cake company. I am driving away and hiding my car, but I am about to go back on foot and hide in the woods, so that I can watch and be sure McKenzey doesn’t leave with Kareem. If he does, I will kill him. Straight like that. Oh and I have some more videos and pics coming to you, as soon as I text this.
Ravonne replied: I will get the feds there ASAP. I am at their office as we text. And you need to hide. There is an arrest warrant out for you for killing someone named Rock. He was with an undercover agent and apparently you put a damn gun in her face and killed her, too. SMH. You need to get out of there, as soon as the police arrive. Call my office phone in two days from a new pre-paid phone, leave a message if I am not there, but you need to get rid of the phone you’re on, and see if you can get a rental car and a driver. Delete this text thread immediately upon reading it and DO NOT REPLY.
Ravonne didn’t care that what he was doing was being the agent’s back. It was family first, and that was final.
* * *
“With whom am I speaking, again?” McKenzey asked as if he had not heard her the first time. He remembered Patterson very well. She had more balls than most of the men on the force.
“This is Special Agent Patterson, Agent McKenzey. What can we do for you?”
The entire room was glued to the phone, except Ravonne. He had his cell phone out, and was showing pictures and videos to Darryl in an attempt to get him on board with having the feds raid the warehouse and get Kareem back. Darryl grabbed the phone from Ravonne and walked over to Agent Patterson.
Darry held up the phone and showed it to the agent in charge, and she immediately wrote down the address, but she kept her attention on the telephone set, as well. Agent Patterson then asked McKenzey, “Are you there, sir?” She signaled for her assistant to come to her. She showed him the address and whispered commands to him.
“I am here,” McKenzey said. “I was just letting you hold on breathlessly for a moment so that you knew that this call cannot be traced to get my location. And now that we have that clear, I want to make one thing clear, I am in charge.”
“Fine, you’re the boss,” Patterson said, and shrugged. She didn’t have a care in the world about what he had said. She was in charge and that was a fact.
“Great, get me attorney Ravonne Lemmelle. I have a bone to pick with him.”
“He can’t represent you, Agent McKenzey.”
“Listen, you little bitch. Don’t patronize me. I know the rules here. I haven’t forgotten them. You should know that, I helped get you in the position that you’re in now. Now get the lawyer into that room and on the line, or I will execute a hostage one by one at the hour on every hour until you do.”
“What other hostages?” Agent Patterson asked. “Who do you have?”
“See, you forgot the rules already. He who is in charge is the only one that asks questions. Now get the homo there,” he said and hung up.
* * *
“Give me my phone now,” Ravonne said and snatched it from Darryl.
“We need to get everything off that phone,” Agent Patterson said. To her assistant, she said, “What we got on that address?”
“You can get it back after I call my family and have them get out of the house and hide. I also have sensitive attorney/client privilege on that phone, so I’ll be looking for you to sign a waiver that any sensitive data may not be used for any purposes.” Ravonne gave the agents a hard stare to be sure that they had his point, and then called Aramis. He was miffed that he wasn’t on point and prayed that his family were not the other hostages.
Agent Casey said, “The address is for a warehouse that is up for sale and
has been for 30 years. Aerial pictures suggest that the back is all woods, but it’s open in the front. It’s formerly the building where they baked Tastykake products.”
“Probably why McKenzey picked that place,” another agent suggested. “He’s a clever fellow, and he meant that he has not forgotten the rules. We have to be careful here, because he was one of our best agents. Albeit corrupt, he was at the top of his class at Villanova University and did great in the military and interning with a federal judge.”
“Any idea on who the other hostages may be?” Agent Patterson asked. She had a seat and flipped through her file on McKenzey. “I need someone to check the local missing reports with Philly PD pronto.”
Ravonne hung up the phone, and said, “My fiance and son are not amongst the hostages.” He was grateful, but said a silent prayer for whomever the man had hostage.
“Unless they were at gun point and McKenzey is playing you,” Agent Patterson said. “Until I know for sure that they are not hostages, I am leaving that open.”
Ravonne didn’t say a word. He and Dajuan had made a rule that if either of them were ever in the sort of situation that Agent Patterson spoke of, they were to cough to indicate they were in danger. Dajuan was as clear as the day’s sky and would let Ravonne know when he was at the airport to get the hell out of there.
45
ABANDONED WAREHOUSE, CLIFTON HEIGHTS
Andre and Mack were in the woods about 20 feet away from the back of the warehouse. They had parked their car in a Modell’s Sporting Goods store parking lot next to an Acme Supermarket. In the distance, they had seen the top of the warehouse, and instead of heading back down the main street, they made their way through the wooded area to their target. Making sure they were deep enough not to be seen from the main street, they travelled quickly and in far enough not to get lost.
When they were closer to the building, Andre saw a small window but was unsure of how to approach it. He looked at Mack and his befuddlement was written all over his face.
“What the fuck, man? I know this clown has to have the place rigged with cameras and other traps for the police. I am scared as fuck to be killed by this freak.”
Mack wasn’t convinced. “I think you’re reading too deep into this shit. That fuck face has no idea that we are out here. He has no idea that anyone knows that he’s here. As far as he knows, he has Kareem and not a soul can stop him But here we are about to catch this fool off guard.”
“Yeah, he’s cocky like that, but what the fuck if we’re wrong.” Andre respected all that Mack had to say and his position, but he was more familiar with the former agent. He could not pretend that he wasn’t aware of what the former agent was capable of.
“Fuck dat,” Mack said. “Man, let’s go.” He began boldly walking toward the warehouse as if he was encased in bulletproof body armor.
Walking over to the warehouse they took their time and looked carefully at the ground. They attempted to look for holes and traps, but had no real training to detect that. When they were 10 feet from the warehouse, Mack signaled for Andre to duck down and they both crawled to a closed window. It had no window treatments, and that caused Mack to grin wickedly.
“See, this cracka ain’t even got the windows covered,” Mack whispered to his pal. “He ain’t expecting company.”
“Yeah, he definitely slipping,” Dre replied. “What’s the move?”
“I’mma peak,” Mack said and scaled up the wall just enough to see in the window. He saw McKenzey, and Kareem. “It’s bad, bro. He’s choking Kareem.”
“Fuck,” Dre said and looked into the window. He watched in horror as his brother was being slammed to the floor. “He’s cuffed. Helpless. And that fucking monster is choking him.” He shook his head and a lone tear fell down his face. “Look at the fucking duct tape on his knees.”
“You better suck that shit up, homey, and stop that bitch ass crying. That ain’t going to get Kareem back. Focus, dawg,” Mack said. “I’m going to the front and shooting my way in. Once I draw his attention to the door, you shoot him.”
“Fuck dat,” Dre said, and pulled his gun out. “I’m offing this bitch now.”
46
ABANDONED WAREHOUSE, CLIFTON HEIGHTS
McKenzey’s body fell onto Kareem and he winced in pain when the first shot entered his stomach. He thought that the police had traced the call and found him.
What the fuck? Kareem thought and laid still. He played dead as he heard shots being fired into the door, because he had no idea who it was. But with McKenzey laying on him, he hoped that it was Andre.
“Get the fuck off my brother,” Andre said and gripped McKenzey up and tossed him to the side.
“Dre,” Kareem said. “I need a doctor quick, bro. And we gotta get out of here. He just called some agents, so we may have very little time, if they traced the call.”
“I got you, man,” Andre said and straightened his brother’s body up. “I gave the address and stuff to Ravonne so the police are on their way.”
McKenzey looked up and said, “You can’t kill me you worthless nigger.” He had a gun pointed at Andre, as red and blue lights started to light up the warehouse. “I guess the Calvary is here to take you both to the morgue,” McKenzey said, and then squeezed the trigger of his gun.
McKenzey clipped Andre in the shoulder and he screamed in pain, but Mack emptied his gun into the former DEA Agent. He collapsed to the ground and began to convulse.
Kareem said, “Quick, Mack. Get his cuff key and un-cuff me.”
“Okay, man. I wish I had crashed this bitch sooner,” he said and pulled his shirt over his head. “I have been in the area an half hour.”
Mack helped Andre tie the shirt around his arm to stop the blood from leaking out of his shoulder. He then said, “We have about a few seconds to get out the back door and through the woods before they surround the place.”
“I knew you would follow him, and I am glad that he never noticed you. I love you, bro.” Kareem shook his head and grinned at his brother.
“I love you, too,” Andre said and un-cuffed his little brother. “Now how are we going to get out of this one?”
“We won’t,” Kareem said and chuckled. “I am shot, but they know that I was kidnapped. You get out of here. I am going to be fine and should still be released once they question me about this. But you get out of here.”
Andre looked at his brother and wasn’t excited about having to leave him, but he knew that it was best. Even while shot and battered, Kareem looked out for his best interest.
“Let’s go,” Mack said, and tossed a chair at the back window that they had previously looked inside. He climbed through it and from outside, he again said to Andre, “Let’s go.”
“I am out of here, bro, but know that I am going to do the right thing,” Andre told his brother and remembered what Ravonne had told him. “This is going to be alright now that we got this mutha fucka out of the way,” he said and kicked McKenzey.
“Right,” Kareem replied. “We’re going to be just fine. Now get the fuck out of here.”
47
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE
ONE WEEK LATER
DEA Agent Dolly Patterson stormed into Darryl’s office at the United States Attorney’s Office filled with anger and bitterness. She had promised to give her bosses the moon and the stars when she took on being the lead agent on the Bezel matter. That had changed with the email that she had received from the prosecutor twenty minutes before she headed into his office.
Without any fond introduction and ignoring his typical charm that pleased jurors, she snatched up a chair and had a seat. Darryl looked at her and furrowed his brow. He didn’t know why she was in his office looking at him as if someone had died, but he remained calm. He was like an evil chameleon and hid his true feelings with ease. He continued to stare at her and waited for her to confront him. She didn’t.
“What, are we going to have a staring contest agent? You barged into m
y office, I’d expect you to come in expressing why you’re here.” He put his computer in sleep mode, and then added, “Be mindful, I have a hearing in about ten minutes.”
“I know all about your fucking hearing. The media is already camped outside of the courthouse waiting for your grand excuse for dropping the charges against, Kareem Bezel.”
Darryl looked at her as she was looking through him. What does she expect? “He’s innocent, Patterson. I am not okay with this no more than you are, but the man is innocent. Do you know what kinda effect this will have on all of my cases, and those upcoming?”
“Pardon me, but I am not concerned about that for real. I am more worried about this,” she said and pulled out a piece of paper. “This is your email to me. Can you explain who decided that Andre Bezel was not responsible for this,” she said and pulled out three photos. She laid them out on his desk one by one with extreme sarcastic emphasis. “This is my friend and colleague, Agent Yolanda Monroe. That son of a bitch killed her, and you seem to think that there was no evidence to prove that.”
Staring at the photos of Yolanda’s brains splashed all over the car forced Darryl to choke. He stood up and paced to his office window. He looked out of it and tried to get rid of the vision of the dead agent. “This is hard, Patterson. But, there’s just not any evidence.”
“You bastards have indicted, prosecuted, and given life sentences to men caught selling a dime bag of cocaine. Don’t give me that no evidence bullshit.”
“No one is talking in that projects. Apparently, Andre has put the fear of God in them. We only have her handler who was on the line, but he didn’t record the call and on his word alone we cannot indict. We have tried to get as much information as we could, but it just isn’t coming, and I am sorry, Patterson.”
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