“How many left their post?”
“All of them.” Cleveland sighed. “You got to understand, Jessica, a lot of these tenants are old. They’d rather lie down and take it rather get involved with these dealers and lose their life, even if it’s for a good cause.”
Jessica couldn’t believe all the work she had done was now in vain. She looked at Cleveland and asked, “So, what about you, Cleveland? What are you going to do?”
There was a long pause as Jessica watched him closely as he pondered the question.
“My daddy use to always tell me ‘Boy, either you in for a penny or in for a pound.’” He raised his head and smiled. “Well, I never liked pennies, so I guess I’m in for the pound.”
Jessica smiled and nodded her approval. They hugged and when Cleveland pulled away his face showed some concern.
“Now Jessica, you don’t have to be part of this. You young and got your whole life ahead of you. I’d understand if you wanted to walk away from this.”
“Not a chance. They already threatened the life of my family, and I don’t know where my brother is, so I got to get to them before they get to my brother.”
Cleveland agreed.
“All we got to do now is come up with a plan to get rid of them.”
Cleveland suddenly had a sadistic smile on his face as his lips curled and his eyebrow raised. “Now, baby girl, you just stepped into my world. I’m a ex infantry man and a Vietnam vet. I know a thing or two about ridding an enemy, and the best defense is a good offense.”
Jessica was confused and Cleveland read her face and said, “Don’t worry about it. You come down to my apartment in the morning and I’ll explain everything.”
Jessica agreed.
Cleveland nodded and was about to walk down the stairs when he suddenly turned around and said, “Oh, Jessica. I want you to know that I play for keeps, and that some of them won’t be coming back, so if you not ok with that, I suggest you back out right now.”
Jessica stared in his eyes, and for the first time since she met Cleveland, she saw another side to him—she saw death in his eyes. She thought about it only for a second before she nodded her approval. “I’m with you.”
He smiled. “One more thing. You need to try to get your mother to go away for a couple of weeks because they may want to get her to get to you, so think about it.”
Chapter 17
Cleveland and Jessica spent the next entire morning and afternoon devising a plan to stop Bosco and his crew from not only harming them, but also ending his reign of terror and drug stranglehold on the neighborhood. Jessica found out that they would not be handling the fight alone and that Cleveland had recruited some of his Vietnam buddies from the war to help them with their problem. He also had a request for Jessica to do some recruiting of her own in order to complete the task at hand—female friends, which she had no problem getting. Jessica had a sit-down with her mother that same night and told her what she needed to hear, but not everything. Jessica was surprised that her mother took the bad news so well and agreed that she would go down south to visit her sister Cherice in Maryland. Since Ms. Jones was a schoolteacher, she didn’t have to worry about taking time off from work because she was out for summer vacation.
Jessica caught up with Kenny that night, and, as usual, they went out of the neighborhood to have dinner. Since it was Friday, Jessica had gone out earlier to 34th Street and brought a nice outfit and had her hair and nails done. Since she had gotten so close to Kenny over the last few weeks, she felt it was only right to tell Kenny some of the things that were going on. If something were to go down, she didn’t want him to be caught unwittingly in the crossfire. As much as she didn’t want to, she decided it would be best to put the relationship on hold, before it became too serious.
She told Kenny how dangerous it would be and assured him she wouldn’t be closely involved. He sat motionless and was stunned to know that she was putting her life in danger.
Kenny raised his head with sorrow in his eyes. “Jessica, I don’t want you to do this.”
Jessica remained silent as he continued to plead.
“I, I just don’t think that it is worth the effort to put your life on the line for something you have no control of. Why do it? You should just walk away and don’t look back.”
Jessica shook her head. “No, it’s not that simple. My brother is still out there somewhere and they can get to him and I won’t be able to live with that. Besides, the people on the block need me, and I’m going to finish what I started.”
Kenny shook his head again. “Jessica, those same people on your block could care less if they sold drugs or not, and they wouldn’t lose a night’s sleep if something happened to you. What you need to do is find your brother and I can put him and your mother up in one of the apartments I have in the Bronx, and you can stay with me.”
Jessica was touched by the gesture, but knew it would not work. “No, Kenny, my mother is going down to Maryland tomorrow, plus I still don’t know where my brother is, and he can’t be trusted alone anyway.”
“At least he’d be alive, Jessica!” Kenny snapped. He caught himself and apologized quickly. “I’m sorry, but the thought of you being put in danger got me messed up.”
“I understand. You don’t have to apologize.”
“Then why don’t you stay with me a couple of days to think about it?”
Jessica thought about it for a moment. “No, I can’t do that, Kenny, as much as I’d like to. I got too much to do.”
Kenny put his head down, defeated, and strained to find words to change her mind. “You got to understand, I lost you once, and I don’t want to risk losing you all over again. I love you, Jessica.”
Jessica was touched and took his hand into hers. “I love you too, Kenny, but I got to do what I got to do.”
Kenny studied her face and knew she would not waiver. He took a deep breath then smiled. “Well, can you at least stay with me tonight?”
Jessica blushed, and with a glint in her eyes, she nodded and said, “Let’s go.”
Kenny and Jessica made love the entire night, then they fell into each other’s arms exhausted. Kenny and Jessica held each other tightly the rest of the night, never wanting to let go. When Kenny awoke that morning Jessica was already gone.
He sat in bed and wondered what could have been.
**********
Jessica got back to the neighborhood right on time. When she arrived at her building she met up with Cleveland, who was standing in a circle with three other middle-aged men.
When Cleveland spotted Jessica, he smiled and waved his hand. “Jessica,” he yelled as she approached them. Cleveland appeared to be in an especially happy mood as he grasped his palms together and introduced her to the men.
“Jessica,” said Cleveland, “I would like you to meet a few of my old buddies from ’Nam.”
He put his arms on the shoulders of the man closest to him, a tall burly man with a thick cigar in his mouth. He had ugly burn marks on his face and arms.
“This here is Johnson, master of demolition and explosives.”
He turned to the next man, a Puerto Rican who was small in stature. He had a no-nonsense air about him, judging from the expression on his face. “This is Shooter, expert marksman, and weapons specialist.”
Shooter was still wearing his old olive green Army fatigues and tipped his black beret to Jessica.
“And this one here is Doc,” Cleveland said, “and I want you to watch out for him, ’cause he’s a ladies’ man.”
Doc smiled, revealing a perfect set of white teeth. “Don’t tell her that. It ruins the excitement.” He gave Jessica a light hug and a peck on the cheek.”
Jessica blushed.
“He’s our reconnaissance man and driver. Don’t ask him why they call him Doc.” Cleveland smiled and playfully punched Doc on the arm. He inhaled deeply as he looked over his men and said excitedly, “Man, this reminds me of old times. It makes me feel nineteen again.
”
“Hell, I’m still only twenty-five,” joked Doc as he leered at Jessica.
“Oh, there he go already,” joked Cleveland. “Anyway, we got a lot of planning to do and don’t have much time. And by the way, Jessica, I spoke to your mother, and I’m going to drive her down to the bus station tonight to make sure she’s safe and sound.”
Jessica thanked him.
“Ok, we’ll be in my apartment, so when you ready you can come on down we’ll fill you in on the plan.”
“Thank you, Cleveland. I’ll be down in about an hour, ok?”
“Ok, you just take your time. We’ll be here.”
“Yes,” flirted Doc, “We will be here waiting for your lovely presence.”
Jessica arrived upstairs and was looking forward to taking a hot bath and changing out of the clothes and heels she was wearing.
When she put her key in the lock her mother was already there to meet her at the door. “Jessica, where have you been? I was up all night worrying that something had happened to you.”
Jessica was caught off guard and surprised that her mother was that concerned about her.
Jessica smiled inside because in a strange way she felt a motherly love. “I’m sorry, Ma. I lost track of time and I didn’t expect to stay out all night. I should have called you. I’m sorry.”
“Between you and Jordan, and that incident with those men at the grocery store, my nerves have been shot lately.”
Jessica remained silent, and then walked into her room.
“You know I’m leaving tonight and that Cleveland is driving me down to the bus station?”
Jessica nodded.“Yeah, I know. I saw Cleveland downstairs and he told me.”
“You know, Jessica, you don’t have to stay here. You can come with me. Your aunt would love to see you. You don’t have anything to prove, you know.”
“I know, Mama. I’m not. And besides, you know I can’t go out of state without my parole officer knowing about it.”
Mrs. Jones nodded. “Well, you be careful, ok?”
“Ok.”
Ms. Jones glanced down at the floor then started walked out her room when Jessica called, “Mama?”
Ms. Jones turned around.
“Thanks for being concerned about me.”
Her mother gave her a light smile and relented, “I think it’s time we talk.”
Both Jessica and her mother knew that the strain in their relationship had to be dealt with sooner or later. Both of them had unsettling questions that needed to be answered so they could move on and that time had finally come. Jessica knew how much her mother loved her father and felt guilty that she caused him so much anguish since her arrest. She also knew how much he and her mother had sacrificed financially because the lawyer fees had wiped out their entire savings. Deep down, she knew her mother blamed her for it all, and she couldn’t help but admit the damage she had done and carried the burden of guilt on her small shoulders for years. When her mother lost her son to the street, Jessica knew that that must have been the final blow that left her so cold and shallow.
“Jessica, I know over the years that me and you never saw eye to eye and didn’t have the best mother-daughter relationship. But, I want to tell you that it never had anything to do with you. I guess I raised you the same way my mother raised me, and that was all that I knew. My mother told me something years ago that I never forgot. She told me that, ‘A mother raises her daughters, but loves her sons.’ I grew angry when she told me that because I thought she loved my brothers more than me and I resented her for that. It wasn’t until I had my own family that I began to understand why she told me that.” Jessica searched her mother’s eyes as she awaited an answer. “When you were born, I was excited about having you, but your father . . .” She smiled as she thought back. “Your father was absolutely overjoyed when you were born. I remember how he would hold you in his arms ever so gently and sing to you every night. He loved you more than life itself, and I knew from that point on that I could not possibly give you love the way a father could.” She began shaking her head as she reminisced. “That’s when it hit me. I now knew why my mother told me that. My job wasn’t to give you the love and affection the way your father did; my job was to raise you into a strong, self-reliant woman so you could survive and have your own family. Even though you went to prison, Jessica, I had faith in you and I was sure of one thing, and that was you would survive, because we are survivors, and you should always believe that!”
Jessica nodded her head, conveying that she understood exactly what her mother was trying to say to her. They embraced for the first time since she could remember.
Her mother stood up and said, “I’ve got to start packing, so I better get going.”
Jessica nodded.
As her mother was walking out her room she said, “Oh, yeah, your brother left a note under the door for you. It’s on your dresser.”
Jessica immediately stood up, ran over to the dresser, and picked up the letter up.
Jessica,
I’m sorry for what I did to you, taking your money and all. I feel real bad about it. This crack makes you do things you never thought you would do, and I have no control. That night I really wanted to go in rehab but the crack was calling me. I couldn’t help myself. The reason I’m writing you is because I saw you on the news and I’m scared for you because you’re messing with the wrong people. I don’t want to see nothing happen to you, so just leave it all alone. Do this for me. Daddy is gone and that hurt me in ways you can’t imagine, but if I lose you, I don’t think I can live no more. If you stop right now, I’ll let you come get me and we can go straight down to the rehab and check me in. Meet me tonight at ten o’clock. I’m staying in an abandoned building on 144th street, building 106 on the 4th floor. I love you, Jessica.
Jordan
**********
After Jessica finished bathing and dressing, all she could think about was the letter her brother wrote and meeting him that night. She arrived at Cleveland’s apartment, and the three other men were sitting around the table, hard at work devising a plan of action. The apartment had a thick stench of cigar odor looming in the air.
“Jessica, glad you’re here.” Cleveland smiled, placed his arm on Jessica’s shoulder, and said, “Good, let’s take care of business.”
He walked her over to the table and he showed her sketches and Polaroid pictures of buildings and faces of men. Jessica was amazed at how much information that Cleveland had obtained already. Cleveland smiled and knew she was impressed. He picked up a picture off the table and held it in front of her.
“This here is our boy, the infamous Bosco.”
Jessica stared at the evil looking man in the picture with thick dreadlocks that fell past his shoulders. He was very dark skinned and his body was tall and lanky.
“Fellows, we got our job cut out on this one, because he is a one mean son of a bitch. He has a reputation of killing off his rivals and wouldn’t hesitate killing someone without so much batting an eye.”
Shooter looked confused. “Why do we have to plan anything? Just let me get on a roof and I’ll take him out that way.”
Cleveland shook his head. “No, Shooter, it’s not that simple, what we want to do is smash his whole operation and take his drugs off the streets. You’ll have your chance to put in some work, trust me.”
Shooter looked disappointed, but agreed.
Cleveland continued, “Word on the street is that he likes women, plenty of women and sleeps with a minimum of two to three at a time.”
“My kind of man,” joked Doc. “Maybe we can have a little party before we kill him. What do you say?”
Cleveland waved him off and selected another photo. “I took this one at one of the several buildings that he sells drugs in. Some of them from what I gather are just areas where they store or cook up the drugs.”
Cleveland picked up several more pictures. “He has this building on 116th Street, this one on 118th Street. This on
e is right in this block across the street from where the three boys were murdered and the little girl was shot. This last one is on 144th Street right, around the corner.”
Jessica took the five pictures and examined them closely one by one. Her skin began to crawl when she looked at them, especially when she looked at the picture of Bosco—which gave her chills. Jessica continued to look over the picture as Cleveland continued to explain.
“These are some of his flunkies. Do you recognize any of them Jessica?”
She looked at the pictures and nodded. “Yes, this one, this one, and this one.” She pointed to one of the thugs who’d approached her at the grocery store.
“I thought so,” Cleveland said excitedly. “They’re the ones who are around him the most, and they might be his lieutenants.” He turned to Shooter and handed him the pictures. “Ok, Shooter, these four will be our targets. If we take them out, their whole outfit will fall.”
Jessica interrupted. “Do we really have to kill all of them? Can’t we just find the evidence and give it to the police?”
There was a loud grumble coming from the men as they expressed their dissatisfaction.
“I told you not to have her part of this, Cleveland. She’s gonna fuck everything up,” Johnson said angrily.
“Yeah,” interjected Shooter.“You know I’m not used to working with outsiders in the first place, and a kid at that.”
Doc joked, “She doesn’t look like a kid to me.”
“Shut up, Doc. I’m serious,” Johnson said coldly. “This ain’t no fucking game we playing here; this is real, and I’m putting my life on the line.”
“He’s right, Cleveland, the girl is green—she’s a rookie. She might not be able to keep up,” Shooter said flat out.
Cleveland looked at Jessica and was ready to defend her, but Jessica stepped forward to defend herself.
“No, it’s all right, Cleveland. Let me say something.” She surveyed the men eyes. “I was locked up for six and a half years for murder. When I got to prison I had to kill some more just to stay alive, and after that me and my crew ran the entire prison. A few days ago I was confronted by three of the guys in the picture, one of which I broke his nose. He tried to pull his pistol out, but I was faster and pulled mines.” She showed them the gun. “My brother is on crack cocaine and these guys know who he is, who I am, who my mother is, and where I live. I could have backed out of this long ago, like Cleveland said, but I stayed around to fight this till the end. Cleveland also said, ‘either you in for a penny, or in for a pound.’ I’m standing before you, so I guess I’m in it for the pound. Now before you judge me and call me a rookie, I happened to have read the Art of War by Sun Tzu, and he said that when you have no other option but to go to war, strike your enemy hard and fast and totally annihilate them, but leave some alive to serve as witnesses, only to make you more powerful. Forgive me if I offered you another option, but if I got to kill, I will annihilate them.” She stared at the men then said, “So, what it’s going to be?”
Harlem Girl Lost 2 Page 15
