Absolute Corruption: Southern Justice Trilogy

by Cayce Poponea

  “And by party you mean—?” Dylan looked at me for an answer.

  “A private room to play against each other. Some gamers wear headsets, and can talk back and forth, even play as a team against the computer.” I added, not certain if this guy was really legit. Dylan nodded his head, and then turned back to Lardo.

  “So, yeah, a few days later, I’m out with my boys when the dude texts me. Asks me if I’m interested in making a few bucks.” Lardo is rather animated as he tells his story. Looking around at the three of us, as if this were just a typical conversation, and not a pseudo interrogation.

  “I’m like, fuck yeah! I mean, who is gonna turn down money right? He tells me to meet him at this strip club where Gina works. He says she is looking to start a webpage, where motherfuckers can pay to watch her do X rated shit.”

  I catch Dylan’s eyes, as his tale starts to get interesting.

  “Gina is all kinds of fucking hot, dancing on the stage and shit. When she’s finished, she takes me into a private room, where she tells me what she needs from me. I tell her what it’s gonna cost her, and she asks if we can work something out.”

  The storeowner leaves when the phone begins to ring, turning his back to us as he answers the call.

  “So, let me get this straight; you meet this dude at a party, snort some coke, and you trust him enough to do business?”

  Lardo is shaking his head, hand raised about to correct Dylan. “Morgan, it ain’t got nothing to do with trust. If the motherfucker has the cash, I’m gonna do what he needs. I mean,” he does this weird thing with his shoulders, raising them several times, while simultaneously looking from side to side. “Last time I checked, starting a webpage ain’t illegal.”

  I’ve often wondered, if the true criminals of this world were to all get together and use their brains for something good, what would they accomplish?

  “I tell her I happen to have some extra parts I’ve been meaning to put to use, and I’m willing to help her, if she can meet my terms. Three days later, I have everything all set up, and she is fucking a vibrator on pay per view.”

  Dylan looked at me again. I can’t argue with Lardo, what he just described happens multiple times a day. All perfectly legal, as long as the taxes are paid.

  “So, if your business with her is done, why is she handing off stolen shit for you to pawn?” This is why Dylan is the detective. I’ve been listening so hard to his computer and gaming story, I’ve forgotten about the stolen chess set, the crux of why we were here.

  “Bitches love me, man.” He tapped his chest with the side of his left hand. I wondered if this is some gang signal, but dismissed it, as Dylan rolled his eyes.

  “Come on, Lardo, you ain’t had pussy, since pussy had you. Now cut the bullshit, and tell me what I want to hear. Unless you’re fucking dying to take a trip over to county.”

  “Okay…okay, I’m gettin’ there.” The fat under his chin jiggled as he spoke, something I found slightly distracting.

  “So Gina calls me up about a year ago, says she needs my help with some changes she wants to make. Only this time, she wanted me to show her how the shit runs. Teach her how to put the shit together and stuff. Only when I get there, she has these brand new computers already set up.” The beeping of the bell from the door rings, as a new customer walks in, an older guy with a poodle under his arm. The shop owner finishes his call, and then proceeds to take care of the man on the opposite side of the room.

  “So I’m like what the fuck? Why did you call me?” His hand goes out to his side. I doubt he could have a conversation if he was in handcuffs, by the way he is so animated.

  “She’s like, ‘baby, I need you to set up a network for me’.” He raises his voice to mimic the sound of a female voice. My attention is peaked; setting up a network isn’t child’s play. If this Lardo is able to do this, we have bigger issues.

  “And did you set it up for her?”

  “Fuck yeah, I did. Gave her a stealth IP address, and shit, too.”

  Dylan looked to me, he may know gang-ise, but this is where I come in.

  “IP addresses are like your fingerprints. They set you apart from all the other traffic online. By creating a stealth address, you essentially ping off legal addresses, but only for a short period of time. It’s not long enough to track where the signal comes from.”

  Dylan nodded his head, “And you would use this for—?”

  “Hiding illegal shit, and since porn isn’t illegal as Lardo pointed out,” I started.

  “Hey, motherfucker.” Lardo interrupted, his fat fingers smacking the center of my chest. “Morgan can get away with fucking up my name, but not you. You I don’t know. It’s Largo, not Lardo.”

  I want to laugh, but he’s right, he doesn’t know me, and I sure as fuck don’t know him.

  “Knock it off Kevin, or I’ll let him kick your Crisco ass.” Dylan knows us both, if he is confident how this would play out, then I won’t back down.

  “Like I said, Largo, porn ain’t illegal. However, I suspect she had a different reason for wanting to ping off other addresses.”

  Largo nodded his head. “She never said. But once I set the server up, she thanked me, and said she would send me money. A week later, I got an envelope full of cash.”

  Dylan shook his head. “That still doesn’t explain why she’s having you front for her.” He pointed at the box containing the chess set.

  “I’d heard Gina was always hustling, turning tricks, or selling smack. Her brother is usually right behind her, following her like a fucking shadow. Right before you picked me up the last time, she’d sent a message to me. Said she had a business deal she wanted to team up with me on. Her brother, Cash, had been getting into a lot of heat and she was considering leaving him behind.” He glanced between Dylan and myself, again using his hands to give his words a little push.

  “Gina said she would be at the college downtown, something about taking some class, and I was to meet her at the coffee shop across the street. But when I got there, the block was full of cops, so we bounced and ended up back at the strip club.”

  My fists clenched at the mention of the very place where Lainie was hurt. Cash had been there not only to hurt my girl, but to set up some illegal shit, and Lainie was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

  “She made a few calls, and then asked me if I knew of any programs to get around a firewall or piggyback on an existing break.”

  “And did you?”

  “The fuck?” He tossed, annoyed with my questioning of his caliber. “Of course I did, you think just cause I have the Kings symbols, that I’m stupid or somethin’? I may have not gone to some fuckin’ Ivy League, but I know how to fucking jump a pussy ass firewall.”

  “Slow up,” Dylan stepped between us. “Austin what the fuck is he talking about?”

  “You know what a firewall is, right?” He nodded. “Well piggy backing is just like it sounds. You attach on someone who already has access to a program, able to take the same information without being seen.”

  Dylan’s cell began to ring; he checks the screen but ignored it. “How does this get you to having possession of stolen property?”

  Largo started shaking his head. “After I set up the program, she asked if I had a car. I told her mine was busted, but I knew where to get one. She had me pick her up, take her to school, and shit like that. Every time I picked her up, she handed me money, said if the cops caught on I didn’t know her.”

  “But I ain’t going down for no bitch, especially not a crazy one like Gina. This morning she called me really early, saying she needed me to pick her up from the same place I always take her to; this fancy place over by the Battery. Only this morning she comes out with that box, telling me to take it, sell it, and keep the money for myself.”

  Dylan reacted quicker than I do, slamming Largo into the glass counter. “What fucking place, motherfucker?”

  “The Bentley. She goes to class with this chick who lives there.” Largo’
s face is beet red from Dylan’s hands on his throat.

  “You better not have fucking touched her.” He shouts, as the man with the poodle leaves the store, the shop owner locks the front door.

  “I didn’t, I didn’t! I waited in the car, never stepped foot inside.” Dylan released him with a shove, and Largo slumped over coughing as he tried to get a breath.

  “You stay the fuck away from the Bentley and the girl who lives there. If I catch you over there, I will personally make sure you never see the light of day again.”

  Fear is only temporary, regret last forever.

  “Okay, baby, I’m going to go stand right over there.” Austin had his arms wrapped around me, as the wind blew my hair across my face. I used my thumb to glide it to the side, reeling in the feeling of his love surrounding me. I’ve stood here dozens of times, giving myself an internal pep talk. Only to have it fall on deaf ears, as I failed time and time again.

  This hold a dead man had on me, bewildered and frustrated the fuck out of me. It was out of character for me to quiver and quake over anything a man said or did. It was time to get back to myself, the ball busting, take no prisoners girl, I knew lived somewhere deep inside.

  When I woke up the other morning and discovered Austin’s chess set missing, I nearly fainted. I knew Heidi would never take something that didn’t belong to her, and feared someone had broken in. I wanted to call Austin, but was too afraid to tell him, worrying he would blame me for being careless.

  As I spoke with Dylan, he agreed to wait to tell Austin until he could investigate. He came over, checked the lock, and assured me the building was still safe. Two hours later, Austin sent me a text full of reassurance and his love. A few minutes after that, Heidi came home very upset. Her friend Ginger had experienced a death in the family, and had to leave town to help with the arrangements. Apparently this had happened as she waited for Heidi to use the bathroom this morning, leaving my sister to find her own way to school.

  Austin and Dylan came over after they found the chess set, trying to be pawned by a street thug. While I didn’t believe the line they were feeding me, I held my tongue as Dylan downplayed the story. I was certain I would never want to become a detective. I also knew the theory Claire and I had come to the other day was certain. Harmony and the girl from the home, Virginia, were the same person. The person who had befriended my sister as a way to get into my home, but why?

  “You have Claire on the cell phone in your hand.” He tapped the cell phone he had dialed into a video chat for the occasion. When I’d decided it was time to do this, to face this fear and kick it in the balls, I’d called Claire who suggested I surround myself with all my friends and family. “Everyone who loves you is here to help you conquer this.” A final whisper of encouragement in my ear came from the voice I loved, but for the first time it didn’t send a shiver down my spine.

  With a kiss to my cheek, he jogged over to the line of trees, which bordered the back of the library. Even with everyone surrounding me, my legs still shook with a force I never knew they were capable of. I looked to my right, finding Dylan who was giving me a persuasive nod. He always stood tall; ready to take on the world if I needed him. To my left was Carson, although older and certainly wiser than the guys, his youth and love for me shined in his kind face. Beside him stood Miss Georgia, the mother I never thought I ever wanted, with her polished looks and manners, which would make the queen blush.

  “Lainie, don’t let him live here anymore. Send him back to hell where he belongs.” It was as if Claire wielded a magic wand, her words touched something inside. Setting my shoulders back and steading my legs, I took the first step.

  “Come on, Lainie, I haven’t kissed those beautiful lips in nearly three minutes. I’m dying here.” Austin waited just under the cover of the trees, his feet wide apart, and arms crossed over his chest. Wearing dark pants with a grey t-shirt, my favorite look on him. When I had confessed this a few weeks ago, he’d started wearing the combination more often. It had certainly made working a rewarding experience.

  One step became two, and then five, and soon I was within a few feet of the area where it all happened. Swallowing hard, I stopped on the very section of ground where my life changed that night. There was nothing really special about the spot. No stone marker to tell everyone who passed by that an attack had happened here. No battle stories to be share by a tour guide, or memorial to be celebrated every year.

  Things would have been so different if I had chosen to walk five more feet to the traffic light. If I had taken the long way around the block, instead of cutting across an area thousands of college kids did every day. I would have never met Frances Greyson, and his horrible intentions. There would have been no suffering from nightmares, and anxiety of this place. But I also would never have met my best friend Claire, whose face was still smiling into the phone, cheering me on from the hallway of her conference. Dylan would never have rescued me, and would never have the opportunity to visit with her, never having a chance to fall in love with her. What are the chances I would have found Austin? The man who loved me to my core, protected me at every turn, and made me strive higher everyday, living life to its fullest.

  “Frances Greyson, you were just a man of flesh and blood and while you hurt me beyond measure, I— I,” swallowing back the tears, he didn’t deserve them, he had taken enough. “I forgive you.”

  Priscilla Morgan stood beside Dean, close enough to reach out and touch if I needed her. She knew I needed closure, and swore to me on the day I was able to forgive Cash, she would be standing there with me.

  “Lainie, hating someone gives them the upper hand. Forgiving them takes away the power they have over you.”

  While I’d never met her father, with as many of his slices of wisdom she shared, I felt as if I knew him. It was the combination of all the Morgan men, strong and handsome, with the heart of a gentleman. Born to love and protect the women around them, yet strong enough to let them grow.

  I looked to Priscilla, her smile was tender, and her hand encased with her husbands, as she nodded her head.

  “Rot in hell, you son of a bitch.” I gathered up a wad of spit, and let it fly from my lips, landing in a cloud of dust on the dirt. While I forgave him, I still wished him an eternity of pain.

  I took the last ten steps past the trees, to the area I never made it to that dreadful night. Austin arms were open wide, waiting for me to take my place. He lifted me up, as he truly loved to do. Twirling me around and around, as he chanted how proud he was of me, kissing every centimeter of skin he could get his lips on. “Now that rotten bastard won’t steal a second more of your time, or cause one more tear to fall down your perfect face.”

  I had managed to drop my phone in all the celebration; Dylan picked it up, and was telling Claire how much he missed her. They’ve been apart for over a week, and while she was learning a lot, she also regretted she had to attend. If she had to do it all again, she would never have volunteered. But, getting her certification renewed was important to her. She loved helping people, especially victims of assault crimes. While the state required this refresher course, she would have declined it if given a do over.

  Dean did insist on taking everyone to brunch. Carson waved off, saying he had to meet with a new client, before receiving the universal sign for ‘call me’ from Dylan.

  As we drove, Austin had his hand wrapped tightly around mine. The sun seemed to shine brighter, and the air smelled cleaner as we drove back to the office. Perhaps Priscilla was right, forgiveness does give you back your power.

  Brunch was a much lighter affair, as a small diner around the block from the hospital was chosen. I loved their French toast, and became quite the possessive person when Austin tried to steal a bite of the sticky, sweet goodness.

  “Lainie, it’s getting close to time for our family’s low country boil. Everyone is invited, and I am counting on you and Claire to be there to level out the testosterone.” I’d heard about this event, and a
s the months ticked closer to fall, I knew this announcement was coming.

  “Of course, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

  Austin had been checking his phone all morning. Looking at the screen, shaking his head or scowling, and then returning it to his pocket. I wanted to question him about it, see if it was something I could help with, but every time he looked at me, he smiled and pulled me close.

  As we all stood in the parking lot, Priscilla pointing out the finer moments from previous country boils. Dean reminded her these were his employees who, when mixed with alcohol, became different people. It made me want to see this for myself.

  “Let’s go to my house and celebrate.” Austin leaned over to my side of the truck, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

  “No, Sir, we blew off work yesterday. I have webpages to build, and you have calls to return.” After Austin convinced Heidi everything would be fine, and he didn’t blame her for the actions of her friend, he insisted we have a lazy day of cuddling and the like.

  “Lainie, this was an emotional day for you. I want to be able to just hold you, and be with only you for a while.”

  As we’d sat on my sofa, he received a call from his realtor. He had managed to locate a furnished apartment, which featured a short-term lease. We met him at the place, and I fell in love. After Austin signed the lease, he and I christened nearly every surface of his new house.

  My inbox was full and running over, and our message line blinked with waiting clients. Still, Austin captured me against the wall in his office, devouring my lips until they were swollen, and red. He reminded me how much he loved me, and gave me one last chance to change my mind, go back to his house, and love one another again. Extricating myself from him, I reminded him my boss would not be happy if he knew I was slacking off to make out with a coworker. “I’d kick his skinny ass if he told on ya.” With a wiggle of my hips, I exited the room, wishing I didn’t have such a strong work ethic.