by W. S. Greer
Everyone in the room seemed to stop breathing. All eyes were on Viktor as they waited for him to say what the message was. They all knew that things were about to get ugly.
“A message?” Ivan growled. He was livid. “What message?”
Viktor took a deep breath before speaking. “He told me to tell you that his days of hiding from you are over. He said he’s counting on seeing us again.”
Everything was quiet for a minute. Ilia, Yosef, Nestor, Mark, and Viktor all waited for Ivan to respond to Kelvin’s message, hoping it would be something calm. Something rational. They were all wrong.
Just then, Ivan bald his fist and punched Viktor in the face, knocking his head back against the table with a loud thud. Then, Ivan turned around and grabbed Ilia by the shirt and pushed him backwards until they both fell down. Nestor and Yosef tried to pull Ivan off of him, but when they grabbed him, he swung wildly at them both, nearly hitting Nestor in the face.
“Don’t fucking touch me!” Viktor screamed. “Goddamnit! That little motherfucker. He’s delivering messages to me? I’m Ivan Baskov. I don’t get messages. I give them. He’s done hiding? Good! That way it’ll be easier to kill him.” Ivan picked up a chair from the corner of the room and hurled it into the bar, breaking countless glasses and bottles. “This ends now! Do you hear me, Ilia?”
Ilia slowly raised himself up off the floor and straightened out his clothes. He had to concentrate so that he could push his frustration back down into the pit of his stomach as he glared at his brother.
“I don’t fucking care anymore,” Ivan continued before Ilia could answer. “I don’t care about the cops. I don’t care about witnesses. I don’t care about fucking innocent bystanders. He wants to try to act tough? Fine. Make an example out of him. Kill him where everyone can see it. I don’t fucking care. Just do it. You make it happen, Ilia. Don’t make me have to take this into my own hands. Do you understand?”
“I understand, Ivan,” Ilia replied angrily.
“Good. This is on all of you now. This is all of your responsibility. Every one of you in this room is burdened with this until it’s done.”
The four men all looked around at each other and nodded, acknowledging that they understood what needed to be done.
“Good. Now, call Kelly and have her clean Viktor up before he fucking bleeds out, right here on our table,” Ivan said as he turned around and started towards the door. Before he left, he stopped and turned around one last time. “Do not fail me again,” he snipped, and then he walked out.
Ilia looked over at Viktor, who was now unconscious on the table, and then he glanced back over at the three men who were staring back at him with anger written across their faces.
“Tonight was the last straw,” Ilia said. “No more just talking about it. I think we all can agree—it’s time to end this. Let’s figure out how we make this happen.”
I don’t think I’d ever been so nervous in my life.
The drive to the north side of Chicago took about forty-five minutes, and my heart was pounding the entire time. Kelvin had the music on in the car, but I felt like all I could hear was my heart beating, and the air conditioner seemed useless in keeping me from sweating nervously.
Kelvin, on the other hand, was just as calm and happy as ever. He drove down the road with an immovable grin on his face, singing along to every song that played on his iPod—he’d been on a Michael Jackson kick lately, and his favorite song, Dirty Diana, had played more times than I could count. He’d gotten dressed up in a navy blue button up with silver buttons, and navy pants. Of course, his shoes matched the color of the buttons on his shirt.
I’d chosen to wear a white dress with black stitching, and white and black heels. I was on my way to meet Kelvin’s mother, and I figured the more conservative, the better—in this case. So, my dress covered my shoulders completely, and I made sure that I didn’t choose one that plunged in the neck too much. I also had to make sure it wasn’t too tight either. From the moment I woke up this morning, I was completely stressed the hell out about meeting Ms. Carter. The first impression on a mother is always the most important one, so I had to knock this out of the park.
We made a left off the main road, and were immediately surrounded by very nice houses. They had decorative glass doors, and all of the lawns looked like they’d been being kept by the same fantastic landscaper. We only traveled about two-hundred feet before making a right turn onto Douglas Street. As we passed the two-story houses that were on both sides of us, I noticed that Kelvin wasn’t driving very fast at all. He was driving like he was ready to stop, so I knew that we were close to his mother’s house already. Then, he made a right into the driveway of the third house on the street, and the butterflies in my stomach went into a frenzy.
“This is it,” Kelvin said as he turned off the ignition. There was a burgundy Oldsmobile Cutlass in the driveway, and Kelvin smiled at the car like it was someone he knew. “And it looks like she’s here, too.”
“What?” I snapped. “You didn’t call ahead and tell her we were coming?”
“Nah. But it’s fine. My mom wouldn’t care if we called or not. She’ll just be glad to see us.”
“She’ll be glad to see you. She has no idea who I am.”
“You think I haven’t told her about you?” Kelvin answered with a smirk. “She knows all about you, Lilliana, and she can’t wait to meet you. So, let’s go.” Kelvin opened his door and confidently stepped out onto the rocky driveway. My exit from the car wasn’t so confident.
We walked through a very short chain-link fence, and then followed the walkway up the stairs to the dark purple house. Above the door where the numbers 1212, made out of black metal numbers. Kelvin raised his hand to knock on the door but stopped just before actually knocking.
“You ready?” he inquired, grinning at me.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
She must’ve been close by, because it only took Kelvin’s mother about two seconds to open the door after we knocked. She was only about five-foot-two—maybe even a little less—and her short black hair was curled up and styled perfectly on her head. When she saw Kelvin, her beautifully caramel skin seemed to light up on her face as she smiled the biggest smile I think I’d ever seen, with the cutest dimples ever. She was a gorgeous woman, and I could tell just from looking at her that she had a good soul, and I couldn’t help but smile as she leaned in to kiss her son on the cheek.
“Kelvin!” she chirped in a light, raspy voice. “I’m so glad you came over. It’s so good to see you, Baby. How are you doing, huh?”
“I’m great, Mom,” Kelvin answered, struggling to keep in his smile. “It’s good to see you. I’ve missed you. Have you been okay?”
“Oh, I’ve been fine, Honey. The good Lord is gonna take care of me, don’t you worry about that.”
“Good. I’m glad you’re doing okay,” Kelvin said, then he turned towards me and I knew the introduction was coming. “Mom, I brought somebody I’d like you to meet. This is the woman I’ve been telling you all about. This is Lilliana.” Kelvin turned and spoke to me. “Lilliana, this is my mother, Lula Carter.”
I extended my arm to offer her a handshake. “It’s very nice to meet you, Ms. Carter.”
She smiled at me like she’d known me for years, and then she bypassed my hand and moved in to give me a hug. “It’s very nice to meet you, too. Kelvin has told me all about you. It’s about time he brought you over. And please, just call me Lula. No need for all that Ms. Carter stuff.”
“Okay,” I said with a smile that, for some reason, I couldn’t control. “It’s nice to meet you, Lula.”
“Now, ya’ll come on in here and have a seat. Let me get you something to eat. You hungry, Baby?” Lula escorted us past her and closed the heavy wooden door behind us, locking the gigantic deadbolt.
“You know me, Mom,” Kelvin replied. “I can always eat.”
“Okay, I’ll grab you something really quick. Ya’ll have a seat,”
Lula said as she walked past us and headed for a room that was obviously the kitchen.
Kelvin and I sat down on the white couch that was covered in plastic, yet was still comfortable. The sound of the plastic squeaking made me giggle and caught Kelvin’s attention.
“What’s so funny?” he asked.
“Nothing. I’ve just never seen a couch set with plastic on it before.”
“Yeah, that’s my mom for you. She just wants to keep her stuff nice for as long as possible.”
“I get it. Well, she seems really nice, Babe. I think I like her already.”
“She’s the best. I love this woman more than I can explain. Everything good about me, I owe to her.”
Lula came strolling back into the living room with a plate in each hand. She handed one to each of us. She’d quickly made us both ham and cheese sandwiches with Lays potato chips on the side. It was so cute.
“Thanks so much,” I said with a smile, just as Lula sat down on the only piece of furniture that wasn’t covered in plastic—the recliner.
“Oh, it’s no problem, Honey. You’re very welcome,” she answered. “Now, how’s everything been with you two? How’s the casino business?”
“It’s been good so far,” Kelvin replied. “It keeps me busy, but I love it. I hope to own the Red Chip someday soon.”
“Oh,” Lula said. “Well, that would mean your father would have to sign it over to you, wouldn’t it?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Kelvin said after a brief hesitation. “I’m working on that part.” The two of them shared a glance before Lula turned her attention to me.
“And what about you, Lilliana? You’re a teacher, right?”
“Oh, please just call me Lily,” I responded. “And yes, I’m a third grade teacher. I love it very much. It’s a passion of mine, and I love my students to death. We’re on Christmas break for a while so I’ve just been trying to enjoy the time off.”
“That’s wonderful. I’m glad Kelvin’s found a good woman. He really has been through a lot. Have you taken her to meet your father, Kelvin?”
“Yes,” Kelvin replied as he chewed a bite of his sandwich.
“And how’s that been going, Lily?” Lula inquired. I could almost hear the sarcasm in her voice, as I was sure she already knew the answer.
“It’s been interesting, to say the least,” I replied. I wasn’t exactly sure about how she felt about Senior, so I decided to play it safe, and not go into too much detail about my feelings about her ex-husband.
“Interesting,” Lula replied. “If there’s one thing that Kelvin Senior is, it’s interesting. Has Kelvin told you much about his father?”
I knew what she was getting at, but I didn’t really want her to know that I knew, so I again played it safe.
“I know he owns casinos, and that the family’s big into businesses like clubs and hotels. I know quite a bit.”
Lula flashed her beautifully warm smile at me, instantly putting me at ease.
“Mom,” Kelvin interjected, “Lilliana knows everything. I don’t keep any secrets from her.”
Lula looked at her son like she couldn’t believe what he’d just said to her, then her smile showed itself once again.
“Well, good for you, Son,” she said. “That’s one thing your father never could do—tell the truth. I know that must’ve been hard for you to take, Lily.”
“It was,” I replied enthusiastically. “It caught me a little off guard, but by the time I found out, I was already in love with Kelvin. As shocking as it was to find out something like that, it didn’t change the way I felt about him. So, it’s something we’re dealing with.”
“I see. How exactly are you dealing with it?”
Kelvin and I looked at each other. I wasn’t sure if Kelvin was open to the idea of telling his mother that he’d shot a man in the knee caps less than ten hours ago, but I knew Lula wanted an answer. I figured I’d answer her question with a question.
“It’s tough to say, really. How’d you deal with it?” I asked, attempting to deflect.
Lula leaned back in her recliner and crossed one leg over the other. I could tell she was debating whether or not she wanted to tell us something, and she was struggling to make a decision. Just when I thought she’d decided against it, she spoke up.
“I always knew Senior was different,” she started, staring off in the distance as she remembered out loud. “I knew it way back when we met, when we were only teenagers. I knew he was into things that I wasn’t into—things my parents wouldn’t be okay with, but I was just a girl, and I fell I love with him anyway.
There was something about him. The way he handled himself. He made me feel protected. Like nobody could ever hurt me, and with his reputation, I knew that nobody would ever try to. I liked that feeling.
But, after we got married, I learned something about him that changed the way I felt almost instantly. I learned that he’s ruthless. I walked in on him one day when he was at his beloved Royal Flush casino. He was downstairs with his brother Clarence, and they were beating the heck out of some poor man. I guess the man owed my husband money. But, I didn’t understand because the man owed money that he was supposed to pay my husband for protection, so that other families wouldn’t ever try to hurt him. But, when he didn’t pay, my husband hurt him anyway. That was my first taste of extortion, and the first time I realized how ruthless he could be.”
I placed my plate on the small end table next to Kelvin, and then leaned back in my seat while Lula continued to reminisce.
“It seemed like everything kind of spiraled down from there. The next thing I knew, I was finding out all kinds of things about what he and his brothers were doing. The dirty money, the guns, the prostitutes, the gambling. I found out about it all, and it scared the heck out of me. He tried to convince me that it wasn’t a big deal. He would say ‘At least we’re not getting into drugs.’ As if drugs was the only illegal thing there was out there. Even though the Carters were always anti-drug, they were still dirty in every other way, and I knew that I needed to get out.
So, after trying to deal with it by ignoring everything that I knew was happening. I decided to deal with it by taking my boys and leaving. The only problem with that was that my oldest son, Frank, wanted to be with his father. It killed me to let him go with him, but I decided to honor his wish and let him live with Senior, and I took Kelvin Junior with me. It’s the biggest regret of my life. I’m sure Kelvin has already told you how that ended up for his brother.”
Lula had tears in her eyes as she looked down at the floor. It was obvious that her decision to let Fab go with his father still haunted her to this day. I understood completely.
“It wasn’t your fault, Mom,” Kelvin said, sensing his mother’s emotion. “What happened to Fab had nothing to do with you letting him go with Dad. What happened to Fab was Dad’s fault.”
Lula took a deep breath, and I watched a tear make its way down her cheek. “It’s all our faults. We all take some of the blame. All we can do is hope that God forgives us.”
“I’m sorry, Mom. I didn’t mean to upset you. Maybe we should go,” Kelvin said solemnly as he began to rise from his seat.
“Sit down, Kelvin. It’s fine. I’m fine,” Lula said quickly, just before turning her attention back to me. “I made a mistake with Frank. A mistake that I’d never stand by and watch another woman make. So, if you’re insisting on staying with my son, Lily—which I hope you are, because I think you’re one of the few good things in his life—here’s my advice to you. In fact, I have advice for the both of you, so I need you to pay attention to what I’m about to say.”
Kelvin and I looked at each other in confusion, then we both turned to Lula and listened intently.
“I love you, Kelvin,” she began. Her smile was gone and she was obviously all business now. “More than anything in this world, I want what’s best for you. And I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if something ever happened to you.
I know you wan
t to own the Red Chip. I think that’s a great idea, and I think you should go for it. You need to do whatever you can to get as far away from your father as you possibly can. You need to convince him to break ties with you and sign over the half of the casino that’s his, and once he does, you need to distance yourself from him, forever.
However, until you can do that, there’s something you need to know. Kelvin Carter is the most manipulative man I’ve ever known in my life. He’s also the smartest, and the most ambitious. He’ll do anything to get what he wants. So, no matter what happens, don’t ever trust him. Don’t ever think that you’re smarter than him, or that you’ve got one up on him, because I promise you, you’ll never out smart him. He’ll manipulate you, and use you however he can, to get whatever it is that he wants. He’ll make you think that you have an idea. He’ll even let you think you came up with it, when all along it was him, manipulating you into believing that it was your idea.”
I looked over at Kelvin as he stared at his mother with a baffled expression on his face. I knew his brain must’ve been going a million miles per hour as she spoke those words. Mine sure as hell was.
Lula leaned forward in her seat and stared directly at Kelvin, and then her eyes flashed over to me. “I need you both to understand this completely. Nothing is as it seems with Senior. It doesn’t matter how small or how big you think it is. There’s always something else—some hidden agenda. There’s always something going on behind the scenes. Don’t ever underestimate him. Ever. Do you understand? Nothing is as it seems.”
