Aftermath

by S. W. Frank

  Oh, Nico why can’t you shoot blanks, does everything with you have to be a kill shot?

  She entered the lobby and spotted the detectives. The security guard had a strange look on his face and she knew they were there for her.

  “Ms. Mattheson these men are here to speak to you,” he said.

  Detectives Gavin and Rogman focused their attention on her.

  “We have some more questions to ask, can we go somewhere private to talk?” Detective Gavin inquired.

  Ariana nodded. She had to stay calm. She’d known it would only be a matter of time before they came back. “Of course.”

  The security guard followed the trio with his eyes until they were on the elevator and the door closed. The detectives showed him a picture of Ms. Mattheson’s friend and asked how often he’d visited and he told the truth. Quite often up until about two months ago and then she began receiving a new male visitor.

  Ari leaned nonchalantly against the elevator wall, took out her cell and began texting. The detectives didn’t comment, she had a right to use her phone. She sent Nico a message,DT’s @ APT. STAY OUT, then she smiled innocently, tapped disconnect and hit speed dial and got her mom. She held a conversation in their presence, hell she didn’t have anything to hide there. Her boys were a handful and she wanted to make certain they weren’t driving her parents up the wall, because together they can drive a normal person insane.

   

   

  ****

   

   

   

  Shanda paced the floor as she spoke to Selange after a long hiatus. Alfonzo infuriated Shanda so bad she took it out on her best friend for even defending the asshole. She even changed her cell number to ensure she didn’t have a momentary lapse, but not talking to Selange seemed like cutting off a piece of her own skin. Selange spazzed out on her when she finally called and quite frankly, Shanda expected it.

  They hashed out the drama in five minutes because Selange wasn’t the ranting and raving type. She said her piece told Shanda how fucked up it was to just cut her off like that and after she received an apology, their friendship was right back on track.

  Besides, they had more important things to catch up on.

  Shanda’s pregnancy dilemma, of course.

  Selange listened, which was damn good, because Shanda had a lot to say. She was nervous and excited and mad all at once. How the hell could one night with Geo get through her protection, huh?

  She wore a diaphragm and this shit wasn’t supposed to happen. Oh, she wasn’t feeling this baby shit at all without a man and she didn’t want Geo if he didn’t want her. That was her dilemma, tell him about the pregnancy or not, be a single mom or go after him for child support?

  “So, should I call him girl, what should I do?”

  “I think…”

  “But if I tell him and he pulls that male denial crap and asks, how I know it’s his baby, I might get a gun and blast the fool!”

  “Well, if I were…”

  “Nah, see this is Alfonzo’s fault. If he’d kept his mouth shut I would’ve had more than one night with Geo and we could’ve bonded and I’d know where his head is at, do you hear what I’m saying girl?”

  “There you go blaming…”

  “I’m so glad everything’s calm between you and Darth Vader and ya’ll back to doing the nasty, but there’s a fire brewing in my life girl and I swear I’m becoming a raving lunatic!”

  “It’s hormones.”

  “That and then some. I’m not saying a word to my parents until I’m about to drop the load. They’ll go hard. Who’s the daddy and where is he, type of shit and I don’t need that crap on my shoulders.”

  “Shanda…I mean…if you’re going to have a baby…I mean you are an adult…you can tell your parents.”

  “You know what, fuck it; I’m not telling Giuseppe a damn thing!”

  “Shanda, I swear sometimes I think you have ADHD.”

  “Whatever. Anyway, I’ve always wanted a baby, heck you have four. I’m late in the game.”

  “Children aren’t a game and we’re not in a contest Shanda.”

  “I know that!”

  “I’m just checking to make sure.”

  “You know what; I’ll raise this kid on my own, forget Geo-Giuseppe or whatever the heck ya’ll call him. I don’t want the hassle of baby daddy drama.”

  “Shanda, that’s not fair. Learn from my mistake. I’m your best friend and I love you like a sister and I’m warning you, please do not go there. Geo will be here tomorrow, jump on a plane and come out her and discuss this with him. Sit down like a woman and have him agree to a paternity test. If it’s his, you guys take it from there –but please get a DNA test first!”

  Shanda sighed, “I don’t know.”

  “I miss you, at least come and visit.”

  “I did miss you, no lie.”

  “Sal asks about you all the time.”

  Shanda’s tone softened at the mention of her godson, “The boy’s nothing like his mean ass papa, he’s actually sweet. I do miss him and Allie-cat and the cutie twins.”

  “Tell you what; I’ll splurge for the ticket. First class seat. The tickets will be at the reservation desk at JFK, same deal as before, okay?”

  “First class, huh?”

  “You deserve only the best and it’s my apology gift for hurting your feelings. You were there for me and I’ll always…always be here for you. BK ‘til we die, remember?”

  Shanda fanned her eyes trying to stop the emotions coming in tears, “You trying to make me cry Sela. Don’t do that shit. Now I feel bad for not calling you. Damn!”

  “Is that a yes, you’re coming?”

  “Book a flight for tomorrow morning and I’m there.”

  “On it. I’ll send a confirmation alert to your cell.”

  “All right. See you soon and Sela.”

  “Yes, what’s up?”

  “I’m sorry, too.”

  “Now you’re trying to make me cry?”

  “I had to return the favor, see ya’.”

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

   

   

   

   

  Cars and trucks rumbled by the parked sedan. Horns blared an annoying melody that became synonymous with everything Nico disliked about the city but tolerated. 

  Noise.

  Incessant.

  Always present even during sleep. 

  Manhattan, Ari’s stomping ground, her fast-paced home.

  The woman loved it here and he was a nomad who loved to roam.

  He hung around longer than he should for her and the boys. Slipping out at odd hours when duty beckoned and returning hours or days later for him was the norm. This family man she wanted didn’t exist. Nico’s profession and responsibilities were far from normal. He was trying to strike a balance and could not do it here in this city in a small apartment like a caged dog with rabid human animals in suits pretending to be upstanding men.

  Hypocrites and rule-makers seeking to contain the very lawlessness they created.

  Men created jails and guns and war. They plundered and robbed the land and now sought to hold in check their man-made evil. He scoffed and it’s here in the bowels of shit he sat watching the building for the underpaid flunkies who were as ignorant as those who gave them orders.

  Gregory was scum. His death was a blessing, yet the law would not see it that way. He is a human being is what they’d say. Kidnapping a child, blackmailing the mother who was duped into his bed is a death penalty. There aren’t any deterrents for trash like him in a society filled with bleeding hearts. No wonder crime flourishes. Excuses are made, justifications are long and pity is in abundance.

  God cannot help a fool, there are far
too many in existence. Every death is not murder, some are acts of justice.

  A homeless man dug in a garbage bin on the north side of the street. A traffic agent scanned VIN’s with dutiful focus, and snapped tickets under windshield wipers of each car found in violation of the never-ending parking rules.

  No Parking between 12am to 3am.

  Street Cleaning; No Parking Between 6am to7am.

  Snow Removal Zone.

  No Parking Anytime.

  And there were a combination of overlapping signs. Parking meters and kiosks and utter fucking bureaucratic confusion.

  Nico’s eyes were trained to absorb every minute detail in his environment. It’s how he stayed alive.  The text from Ari brought him here. He had one foot on the step of the jet…one foot…perched to leave this bowel of refuse.

  The men were easy to spot. It’s the cohesion of cops. They walk like cops. Dress like cops, even undercover, Nico sniffed them out like a predator. And the two emerging from Ari’s building were definitely detectives. Different heights, same walk, similar non-descriptive dress and the perfunctory scanning. They looked at people and cars but missed important details. 

  They missed Nico sitting four cars in front of them, watching from the rearview mirror, memorizing their faces, studying their mannerisms from the short preview and thinking far…far ahead.

  Their company regulated vehicle with its ‘I’m a cop’, antennae rolled by and not one glance from the passenger detective into the parked cars. An opportunity missed, a sign of substandard training and what set men like Nico apart from amateurs.

  He text Ari to come out once he ensured there weren’t any undercovers posted in surveillance and told her to walk south.

  A few minutes later she appeared in a stylish little fedora and a three quarter length black coat cinched at the waist, looking hot as hell and began walking in the direction as instructed. He stayed put, checking around to see if she were followed. He started the engine and pulled out. He knew her destination and at a busy cross section on Third Avenue he honked and moved to the curb and she climbed in.

  “Hey, how are you?” he asked, stepping on the gas before she was belted.

  “Crappy.”

  He maneuvered to the left lane, checking the mirrors. Nothing.

  “Pregnant, huh?”

  “That’s what the doctor said.”

  “I’m happy about it, you?”

  She shook her head and a thin line of amusement touched her pretty little mouth, “Shocked. Kind of overwhelmed. Happy,” she sighed, “is not the word, yet.”

  “I’m not leaving this time Ari, I’ll be right here.”

  Then she changed the subject, “They questioned me about Gregory again.”

  “Hmm.” He felt more was coming and waited.

  Her voice grew somber, “Nico, Gregory was a snake. He took something from my apartment.”

  Nico’s ear perked up, “What did he take Ari?”

  Her tone became earnest and she shared her mistake, “They found our divorce papers and they asked whether Gregory was blackmailing me and then they questioned me about you and Alfonzo Diaz.”

  “And your response?”

  “I told them I have no idea why Gregory stole my documents and as far as my acquaintances, I meet lots of people and can’t remember everyone’s names. Then I informed them that I couldn’t answer any more of their questions without my lawyer.”

  The news registered, but he did not let on about his concerns. She had slipped. It would have ended differently, had it not been for her one mistake and that’s all it took to become marked for death. She was a link; they had found a connection in the chain.

  He drank in her vision and saw the conclusion of possibilities. The end of their new beginnings and life's climax was the red stain of their blood. He'd stand with her, as a doomed protector who’d chosen his fate. Duty or honor, he'd come to this place before. His position is one in which nobody wishes to find himself. The dark would come in daylight to blanket them both and when it did he'd hold fast. He’d take up arms and stand as it exacted its worst. He’d remain...unbroken... unrepentant...defiant...fighting for honor and duty. He swore to be true until his dying breath.

  Nico saw the woman in the closet again, examining him with pleading eyes in search of a soul. Hoping, beneath the blank features was a man and not ice. Certainly, a human being could not be completely encased in frost. But he was unrelenting in matters of prudence and silenced its sound with a smooth cut across the heart. Ari did not hide, his sweetheart failed to fully grasp there were dangers beyond legal ones, death is the law for someone who knows too much.

  Alfonzo had not killed the woman in that closet, his reason lie solely on the fact she was insignificant. Yet, Senator Liebowitz, the snitch Gregorio and Kim Sung were not.

  Ari was not.

  Nico frowned.

  He was at that place. 

  Honor or duty.

  Ariana…goddamn! I’m good at what I do but I won’t be able to ward off death for long. We’re not going to meet our love-child.

  New York is a lively city. It represented Ariana’s spirit, which he never wanted to die.

  “Don’t worry sweetheart, it’s alright,” was the lie out of his mouth.

  There was nothing more he could say.

  Alfonzo would send his hand.

  To eliminate them both.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

   

   

   

   

  Shanda gathered her Burberry suitcase from near the door where she placed them last night and glanced around the apartment to ensure she hadn’t left anything behind.

  The doorbell buzzed and she frowned, she wasn’t expecting anybody and whoever it was got past the doorman. It could only be management coming to give her another notice to pipe it down with her music or they’d throw her out. She’d ignore the noise complaint as usual and tell the office flunky for the third time to get lost. But, when the door was yanked opened, it’s her father she saw accompanied by two men.

  “Good morning Shanda.” Her father said walking in without an invitation, taking liberties as if he’d paid the rent.

  “Dad, I’m going out. Why didn’t you call and what’s this about?” She asked looking from him to the men who entered and stood there quietly letting her father do all the talking.

  “This is important and these men are here to talk to you. They need your help.”

  Shanda closed the door. She had two hours before he departure. This wasn’ta social visit. Nope.

  “Sit down sweetheart,” her father said as if she were in his house and she did.

  “This is Agent…” and the names were lost in the air because she didn’t care. She wanted her father to get to the point.

  “You’re going to visit your friend aren’t you?” Her father asked although Shanda suspected he already knew the answer.

  “Dad, please. Just get to the damn point. What’s this about?”

  The agent whose name she didn’t care to know filled her in. “Do you care about your friend Selange?”

  Shanda looked at him. Dumb fucking question. “Of course I do.”

  “Then help us.”

  “Do what exactly?”

  “Get Alfonzo Diaz off the streets.”

  Shanda almost laughed in his face. “Are you serious, you’re asking me to help you arrest my friend’s father of her kids?”

  “As long as she’s mixed up with him Shanda, she and those kids are in danger. You’re Sal’s godmother. Do you want anything to happen to him?”

  A
nother dumb question. “No.”

  “All you have to do is wear this.” Agent no-name said holding out a plain watch. “That’s all we’re asking.”

  “Bull-shit, that’s not all you’re asking and we all know it. You want dirt on Alfonzo and you want me to get it. If he’s such a menace why haven’t you done it yourselves?”

  “Our case can’t proceed without evidence and every time we think we have him, our evidence disappears.”

  “You mean your snitches, right?”

  Agent no-name looked at her father for assistance, “Nobody will ever know it’s you.”

  “I’ll know.”

  Her father took a seat next to his daughter, “Shanda, Selange’s life is in danger and her children’s lives. This guy is bad news and you know it... He’s the reason Darlene’s dead and the reason you were kidnapped. You can save Selange. Do you want her and the children to end up like Jay or Darlene? As long as she’s with him it’s inevitable.”

  Shanda stared at the door, her mouth in a tight angry line. “What do I have to do?”

   

   

  ****

   

   

  “Uncle Geo…Uncle Geo!” Sal exclaimed when Giuseppe strolled through the door with gifts followed by another imposing man in dark shades toting his uncle’s suitcase.

  Giuseppe put a hand on top of Sal’s head, “You are getting taller. Soon, you will be a tree. How is my favorite nephew today?”

  “I’m good. How about you?”

  “Bene.” He shoved the shopping bag at the boy, “These are for you and your brother and sisters. You decide what they like, I couldn’t choose.”

  Sal put the bag on the floor and peered inside, “Oh My God!” He exclaimed at the collection of video-games. The ugly dolls and stuffed animals were baby stuff and the others could have them.

  Alfonzo appeared from the dining room. “Hey Geo, I see you made it in one piece.”

  “Ah, I am more than happy to have escaped the women in my family. Now that Amelda dropped her litter, it is all I hear about.”