"I found this eyewitness to the events that transpired here today, leaving multiple people dead and this street looking like a war zone," the news reporter said and, then the camera angle changed to include a Black man missing one of his front teeth and he had dried white spit in the corner of his mouth.
"Oh, here we go, they got this Dave Chappelle crackhead Pookie looking mothafucka as the Black eyewitness, I just saw a clean brother in the background, they could've interviewed him, but no, they gotta put Pookie on camera," Corey said shaking his head in disgust and throwing his arms in the air.
Karen and Barry agreed with Corey but got back to the television interview, so they could hear what Pookie had to say. The news reporter had put the microphone in front of Pookie, so he started to tell the television viewers what he saw.
"Yeah, I seen it all transact, it lookeded like some movie stuff. I was going to go see if I could get some work real quick, you know, earn a dollar or two, but I seen them dudes body droppin' fools, so I ducked down (Pookie ducked down, to show how he avoided the gunshots from earlier, which briefly took him out of the camera shot)," Pookie said looking around as the camera lights shined on him, once he came back into the camera shot.
"So, you saw the gun battle actually happen?"
"Nah, well yeah, I seen that black car drive down the street (Pookie paused for a moment, squinted his eyes, and pointed to the black sedan that was parked in front of the dry cleaner store), I lookeded up when I heard pop, pop, pop, (Pookie stopped again and apologized for spitting on the cameraman, during his re-enactment of the gunfire), my bad, anyway, I'm from the hood so, I know gunshots when I hear them, you know what I'm sayin'? That's when I seen the building go up in flames, you feel me?" Pookie said to the reporter, who was nodding their head in agreement.
"So, you heard gunfire then looked to see what was happening, and you saw the fire start," the reporter asked to clarify what Pookie was saying.
"Yeah man, ain't that what I just said? (Pookie paused for a moment, looking at the news reporter like he was crazy, then he continued with his story) I thought it might be some movie shit, um sorry I mean stuff, but wasn't no cameras out here, so I knowed them dudes was fo' real, you feel me?" Pookie said, taking his hands and hitting his chest with them to help make his point, while he stared at the news reporter to see if he felt what he was saying to him.
"I feel you and thank you, sir, for your account of what happened here today," the news reporter said, and he stepped away from Pookie.
"Hey, can I get paid or something for being on T.V.? You got a bottle of water or something?" Pookie said, stepping back into the camera shot talking to the reporter.
"I'll see what we have in the van," the reporter said to Pookie, trying to get him out of the camera shot, but Pookie grabbed the microphone from the news reporter before he knew what happened.
"Oh, and I just want to give my condiments to the families of the victims, and say hey to my baby's mama, I love you Tomquisha," Pookie said, and then he handed the microphone back to the reporter.
The reporter promised an update as soon as possible. They had not been given any information from the authorities. The reporter promised that he would let the viewers know the details of the gunfight as soon as they were updated. About the time the newscast ended, Corey's phone began to ring.
"That fool just set us back like a hundred years. Uh-oh," Corey said, switching from talking about Pookie and him setting Black people back a hundred years, to looking at the caller I.D. on his cell phone.
"What? Who is it?" Karen asked, looking at Corey, who was looking at his phone.
"It's my Aunt Ledley, she's probably been watching this and is checking in on me," Corey said, and he looked at the phone, once again.
"So, answer it," Barry said.
"She’s gonna wind up roasting me, watch. Im'ma put it on speaker (Corey pushed the button on his phone to answer it with the speaker on), Hello."
"Corey?"
"Yes, it's me, how are you, Aunt Ledley?"
"Boy, what is going on in your city? Have they lost their minds? Are you okay? You ain't in none of that mess, are you?"
"I'm good, you know I stay out of the way," Corey held his hand up showing Karen and Barry he had his fingers crossed.
"You'd better stay out of the way, if I thought you were in some mess like this I would fly over there and tear your ass up, you know you ain't too big to get your behind whooped, excuse me for cursing, but this kind of foolishness gets my blood pressure up."
"I know," Corey said, and he sat down in a chair.
"And why did they put that fool on the news, looking crazy as hell, spitting on the cameraman and talking about giving his condiments to the families of the victims," Aunt Ledley said with disgust in her voice.
"I should've known they would give Pookie national coverage," Corey said, and he sighed deeply, shaking his head in disgust.
"Well, he has set himself up to get at least two or three of those forty-ounce beers for free, and if he plays his cards right, he may get a reality T.V. show," Aunt Ledley said, with a heavy sigh.
"I wouldn't doubt it, but I'm just chilling, I'm a lover not, a fighter, so you know I stay in the cut."
"Well good, stay out of the way. I know you still trying to be a Mack daddy, you better stop messing with all them nasty girls before you go to use the bathroom and your thing falls off in the toilet," Aunt Ledley said, and Karen and Barry had to use the couch's throw pillows to hide their laughter.
"It ain't like that, I'm careful," Corey said sounding like an eight-year-old kid getting scolded.
"Well, you'd better be careful, I remember that time you came home itching and scratching, you caught more crabs than that fishing show everyone was watching."
Corey tried to hit the button to take the phone off speaker and almost fell out of his chair, but it was too late, Karen and Barry had heard the story and couldn't take it anymore, they ran into the bedroom they were laughing so hard. They heard Corey end his call with Aunt Ledley a few minutes later, and they went back in the living room.
"Maaaan, fuck y'all."
"What did we do?" Karen said, while she tried to look innocent and not laugh.
Corey just shook his head and waved his hand at her dismissively.
"Hey, let's go eat and clear our heads, they have a place across town I want to try out, Crabby Rays," Barry said, and he and Karen fell out laughing again.
"Fuck you guys, but some crab does sound good, but fuck you guys still."
Karen and Barry were having some fun at Corey's expense; the Senator had been rushed out of a luncheon as planned. An incident involving his task force would be the news line. The Senator was speaking when his bodyguard came to the podium and whispered in his ear. The bodyguard put his hand over the microphone to cover up any possible sound, while the crowd of people stared, wondering what was going on.
"I am sorry, I have an urgent matter to attend to, so we shall continue this luncheon some other time," the Senator said, and he was rushed out of the hall and got into his Suburban, that sped away. The media members that were there were asking questions and recording the Senator's quick walk to his S.U.V. The Senator didn't answer any questions, he knew that keeping the media guessing would equate to more air time, and that is precisely what he wanted.
The Senator played out the events in his mind, and he thought that he played out one exceptional performance. The Senator knew Mickey was still useful for more than draining Vinny's offshore accounts, his information on the last few loyal members of Vinny's crew played perfectly into the Senator's plans. No one knew they had been killed hours earlier and Vinny's body along with Stump's body had been planted at the scene, along with some remote-controlled firing guns, all his F.B.I Agent's had to do was pull up and fire a few shots to get people running, then the right witnesses would confirm the story. The fire that broke out during the gun battle would only help get rid of any evidence that may be seen by the local Police Depa
rtment, after the two Agents examined the scene first, of course. The Dry Cleaner store with all the chemicals going up in flames was just a great idea the Senator thought while he rode to meet the two F.B.I. Agents in charge of his task force.
"I have to go meet the Senator, stay here and keep things in order until I get back," Agent Harold told Agent Marone. Agent Marone just nodded his head in agreement and continued to canvas the scene to be sure all the props had been accounted for and put away before local law enforcement was given access to the crime scene.
Agent Marone figured the time frame was short and one of them would have to stay behind to make sure things went as planned on the crime scene. Agent Marone didn't mind as he didn't much care for all the boring meetings, he enjoyed getting the job done and walking around the scene with everyone bowing down to him, power was his drug of choice, and he used it every chance he could. Agent Marone also loved the little envelopes he would receive every so often, and he was sure this event would generate an envelope that would put a smile on his face.
"Take care of what you have to, I'll be fine here," Agent Marone said, looking at the scene and the dwindling chaos, the scene becoming more of a cleanup operation than anything else. The evidence being collected was a piece of cake, all the remote firing units had been removed, and even Stump's body had been placed away from the window, to match up with his gun wound. Vinny's body was placed next to the chemical vat, so the explosion would mask his broken bones.
Agent Marone watched Agent Harold leave, and he went and sat in his car and started to generate the reports that would be used to finish the assignment, then they could move onto the C.C.K case, solving that case was already in the bag but Agent Marone knew it would make him and Agent Harold legends, and secure some very nice positions for them both later, either the Director's chair or a high paying gig at a private security firm.
Mickey was enjoying a new position as well although he was still under guard but had a comfortable house with a couple of gun-totting roommates. He knew the Senator would need time to get to trust him, and he planned to keep that trust, he knew he lucked out, but the Senator did as well, to the tune of twenty-eight million dollars in Vinny's accounts, and the guy who could not only move the money but could set up accounts to transfer the money into and not leave a trace. Mikey knew he could be valuable to a man like the Senator, and he was finally on the winning team. He just had to stay alive and continue to be useful. The Senator had told him to set up an account linked to Vinny for one million three hundred thousand dollars, and a trust fund account for two million dollars, which he had just finished, along with a few other tasks, and he was letting his gun-totting roommate know it was done.
"Hey, can you let the Boss know the two tasks he asked me to do are done?" Mickey said, and he got up from the computer and went and sat on the couch to watch some television.
"Alright, I'll let him know," the gun-totting roommate said, watching Mickey sit down and pick up the remote control for the T.V.
Karen and Corey were still going at each other while Barry decided what he wanted to eat, turning from one page on the menu to another. Karen was having too much fun at Corey's expense and even insisted on meeting Aunt Ledley. They were at a steak house and looking at their menu's over when Karen flagged down the waitress and asked her a question.
"I don't see them on the menu, but I was just wondering by chance if you have crab cakes," Karen said, trying not to laugh.
"No, sorry ma'am," the waitress said, and Barry started laughing.
"Oh, you got jokes now?" Corey said, putting his menu down. He looked at Karen; then he looked at Barry.
"Oh okay, so you don't have crabs at all," Karen said, laughing still talking to the waitress.
"No, but we do have lobster," the waitress said, looking a little confused, while Karen and Barry were trying not to laugh.
"Y'all mothafuckas need to quit, that shit was a long time ago, and now I got Abbott and mothafuckin' Costello makin' jokes, just wait, my time is coming," Corey said, and they laughed even more.
The Senator wasn't laughing, but he was smiling when he got a text message letting him know that both the pies had been baked. All the Senator had to do is wrap up a sales pitch to his old fixer friend, and he could almost bet his ticket to the White House would be punched. The Senator thought about everything that had transpired recently and didn't realize it until this very moment how much he truly wanted the Presidency. He had thought about it, but there was no way he would ever reach the White House until now, a gangster and a serial killer would punch his ticket, he had to laugh at how things work out in this crazy world, a book writer couldn't write this story he thought. The meeting with his F.B.I. Cohorts would take place in a few minutes, and from there, he could prepare a statement for the media, then it would be on to Dave, the old fixer. The Senator was pretty sure Dave's declining health and lack of money coupled with his love of his daughter and granddaughter would seal the deal for him, and seal the Senator's bid for the White House. The Senator felt the suburban stop and then a few seconds later the door opened, and Agent Harold got in the Suburban, closing the door behind him.
"Good afternoon Senator."
"Well, it's closer to the evening, but a good day indeed, and the air is so fresh, it always smells clean after it rains."
"Yes, it does sir."
"So, I take it everything went as planned?"
"Yes, sir, no problems."
"Where is Agent Marone?" The Senator asked, briefly looking around.
"We hadn't fully wrapped up the scene, so I left him there to make sure everything continued as planned," Agent Harold said, knowing that would please the Senator, showing his thoroughness.
"Good, I am going to do a press conference tonight, I won't need you there, but tomorrow morning or afternoon I will need you both for a meet and greet with the press."
"No problem Senator, we will be there."
"Good, I will have Deborah send you the information," the Senator said as he laid his head back on his headrest, concluding the meeting.
"Very good sir," Agent Harold said as he got out of the Suburban and closed the door.
Barry, Karen, and Corey were finishing up their meal while the Senator was finishing up his meeting with Agent Harold.
"Man, that was some good steak meat," Corey said, sitting back and rubbing his stomach.
"Yes, it was good, but I still have some room for dessert, I want to try this Italian Lemon cake, it sounds delicious," Karen said.
"That does sound good; I think I will try that myself."
"I think I'm going to ride with y'all on that one, it does sound bomb," Corey said.
"It does sound good, and I would be pissed if I got something else and then decided I should have gotten that instead," Karen said.
Karen flagged down the waitress and ordered them three slices of the Lemon cake.
"You know what sounds good too?" Karen asked, trying not to laugh.
"What?" Barry said, smiling, knowing Karen was up to no good.
"Crabby patties," Karen said, and they laughed again.
"Mothafucka."
An hour or so after Karen's relentless clowning of Corey, the Senator was in front of a sea of cameras. The Senator was about to update the media and nation that his task force had done its job and completed its mission and that local law enforcement would be taking charge from that point.
"Good evening, I am here to address the shooting that took place earlier today. I stated earlier today that I could not comment on an active investigation, and that is why. We were closing in on the notorious mobster known as Vinny the Chin. I am here to let you know that he has been killed, it was in the shootout that happened yesterday at the dry cleaners, which was a mob front. I am also happy to report that our task force has seized one point three million dollars of this notorious gangster's money as well. I am confident after speaking and going over the information we have that the violence these thugs have caused in Columb
us is over. Once again, we are tying up loose ends in this active investigation, so I cannot make any comments other than the statement I just provided. I will hold a press conference tomorrow after myself, and the task force go over a few more things to introduce you to the lead investigators in this case and are taking over the C.C.K Killer case as well. Good evening and goodnight," the Senator said as he once again left to a roar of questions, flashing cameras, and lights from television cameras.
"Senator! Please just a moment," one reporter yelled out, trying to make his way past the other media newshounds.
"Senator! Senator! Surely you can tell us a little more," another reporter said, but he was quickly pushed back in the crowd.
"Senator Fueller! Please sir, give us something else," the reporter's tone was almost that of someone begging for just a scrap of food, and that made the Senator pause, which stopped the sea of reporter's dead in their tracks, and silenced them as well, anticipating that a response or at least a sound bite was coming.
"I can tell you this," the Senator paused while he found the camera closest to him and looked directly into the lens, "We're coming for you Mr. C.C.K Killer, we're coming for you next," the Senator said, and he started to walk toward the S.U.V again. Dale was still holding news reporters back, and making a path to the door of the S.U.V. No sooner than the Senator finished his statement, the mob of reporters began asking more questions and trying to get close to the Senator again, but he wasn't stopping this time, and one final wave proved it and he was in the S.U.V.
"Always leave them wanting more," the Senator said, looking at the crowd of reporters he had just left, then he turned back facing forward, and got comfortable in his seat, while Deborah typed away on her tablet, pausing momentarily to smile briefly to acknowledge the Senator's statement.
"Senator we have an eight o'clock rally to attend, you are a special guest speaker," Deborah said.
"Cancel that engagement, I have another meeting to attend to, we will drop you off at the office, and I will see you tomorrow morning."
Death of the C C K Killer Page 2