"Not sure lil'girl, I'm following your dad to find out."
"Can I go?"
"I don't think that's a good idea-..."
"I'M GOING!" She shouted - not about to be denied, "Calling my mom too, and that Jeremiah, he's a lawyer!" She dashed around Shanna, ran out the door looking for her bodyguard and driver; her cousins the last persons on her mind now. As for her driver and bodyguard, she didn't have to look far. "Take me to my mom, hurry! Mundo's in trouble!" She screamed in her young hyper voice, her impulses, so much like her father - the resemblance was uncanny. For once, she was in the Hummer without complaint.
At the house, Sylvia rushed in on Crystal - startling her awake. "Crystal baby, I'm sorry, but you have to get up - Mundo's been arrested and he had the boys with him, get your id's - I've got your birth certificate, and a photo album, just in case - come on, hurry!"
Crystal was so startled she couldn't speak, still exhausted with only having a few hours sleep - she stumbled to her feet, rushed into the bathroom, using it, she splashed her face and brushed her teeth quickly. Out front, Shawn was laying on the horn, rushing them. Impatient, he backed up to Ben, "Bring them! Hallowey, Wisconsin Sheriff's office! I gotta go, those fuckers've got my son!" And sped off.
Ben could only sit and watch him take off, kicking up dust as he went. Sylvia came out of the house, looking down the road, and then at Ben, "Where'd he go?!" She shouted.
Ben opened his door, stood outside his car, "He said he couldn't wait! We'll go in my car." He called back just as Crystal came out of the door, looking tired, and now, worried as well. She and Sylvia made their way to the car, moving fast while Sylvia spoke with Vivian on the phone, telling her, "It's Hallowey, Wisconsin, the Sheriff's office there. I gotta go, Shawn don' already took off and left us, I gotta start praying he don't act a fool and get locked up too."
No sooner had she hung up her phone, that it started ringing again, "Hello?!"
"Sylvia? It's me, Deidre. I just got a call from Angela, she says Mundo's been arrested, you know what it's about?"
"Shawn said they arrested him for speeding! Since when do you get put in jail for going 70 miles an hour? Hell, I do that time to time. I honestly don't know what's going on, Shawn is the one who spoke with him, and he's taken off and left us all."
"Angela's in hysterics! Jeremiah and I are on the way - we're gonna meet up with Angela's Hummer and follow them, where we going?"
Sylvia told her, finishing with, "Thank you, Deidre!"
"I think you're gonna need me, especially Jeremiah, because we're gonna have to get Shawn out of jail, I just know it."
Sylvia could only groan, her stomach tied into knots, both women knew him, having been married to him. "See you there, hurry."
Shawn had sped down the highway, breaking all speed limits, going 90 and a few times, 95 - not one police car in sight at the time, which was lucky for him. He'd had to stop at a Kwik Trip there and ask where the Sheriff's office was, sweating, scared, tense, on the edge. When he arrived, he trotted within, asking where to go to pick up his son. Arriving at the bail desk, down from the cells, he counted to ten, tried to harness what he was feeling, give them a chance first to explain what was going on.
"You have, an Armundo Edgar Payne Jr here, he's my son, I've come to get him." He started straight forward, "He had my grandsons with him, a 3 year old, and a 2 year old, I want them, now!" He clamped down hard on his back jaw, fighting for control; but the tension in his body could be spotted a mile away.
The duty desk officer glanced up at him; not bothered one way or the other, it was pretty slow there, no one waiting at the moment - and he wasn't moving particular fast as he stood from the desk, walking up to Shawn. He glanced at him, then down the arrest registry - recalling that they'd only brought in a black male and yes, two kids. He looked back up at Shawn again.
"You Armundo Edgar Payne Sr.?" The officer asked.
"No, I'm Shawn Everett McPherson, his step-father." - 'Calm Shawn, calm, breathe, count to ten, control.' He coached himself.
"I see." He stood staring down at the registry, as if unable to make up his mind what he would do next.
"Well?!" Shawn asked, his patience running out all ready.
"Boy's got an attitude problem." The officer stated right away, as if, prematurely explaining themselves.
"Since when is someone arrested for speeding? Going 70 miles an hour?"
"We don't take attitudes well around here, that's all I'm saying."
"Get my son, get my grandsons!" Shawn repeated.
The officer stared at Shawn a moment, and Shawn could tell already, something was not right.
"Well?!" Shawn asked again, looking at his name tag which read, Officer Dalragandt.
He, Officer Dalragandt, backed up slowly, inhaled deeply and strolled over to two stairs that he stepped down, opening the side gate that lead up to where he was, and walked down the short hallway, opening a door a ways down. From where Shawn stood, he could hear Darren crying. He gripped the counter, feeling rage building in him already. The door closed. Five long minutes later, a woman and man officer, different from the first came out, walked into the gate, closing it behind them and stepped to where he stood, red, strained, veins throbbing, engorged with blood as his eyes pierced them through.
"Hi, I'm Officer English - there's the matter of his bail-..."
"Were my grandsons speeding?" Shawn asked tightly, "They arrested too? - Get them out here!" He demanded, his jaw muscles ticked and tensed.
Both officers stared at him a moment, obviously edgy - a bit surprised that a white male had come from the one phone call. They'd assumed, IF - the two children were indeed his nephews, they would have been the result of a white male yes, in a relationship with his sister, but of course, that would have nothing to do with his own father, this Armundo Payne Jr. They hadn't expected a white male to show up in his behalf, claiming to be his father. They felt a slight shift or swing in their moods due to this revelation.
At the end of his tether, Shawn barked out gruffly, "My grandsons are screaming back there, get them - out here - now!"
"You're going to have to curb your tone sir, you're gonna have to calm it down, okay? Before anyone is released, you'll need ID."
"For - what?!" He spat.
"To uh - to - so - be-before we can release your grandsons..." Officer English stuttered, growing nervous with the confrontation, "We need to be sure of, who - we're releasing them to."
Shawn looked from her, to the male, "You know what - I get this feeling - deep in my gut - you've fucked up today!" His eyes went from one to the other, "If you have, this will be a day, you will never forget." He promised heatedly.
"Hang on a minute, you threatening us? That what you're doing? Better get a hold of yourself sir, better get a hold of yourself!" The male officer spoke up, getting riled by Shawn's aggression.
"I'm going to pay - my son's bail, whatever - it may be - and then, I'm going to talk to him - and if there is no legit reason for him being here - for you all - traumatizing my grandsons, inflicting this mental anguish on them - all those involved, will come to regret it. If you wish to take that as a threat, be my guest!"
The male officer who spoke up, Officer Gerassi, was the same who pulled Mundo over; he fidgeted nervously, glaring at Shawn as if he was trying to think of his next move, weighing the situation as it were. The silence between them became awkward, the female, Officer English, "Sir..."
"McPherson, Mr. McPherson!"
"Yes, well, Mr. McPherson, before we can turn the boys over to you, we need proof of ID."
"My wife, my daughter, their mother, is on the way with that. I want to see my son - I wanna know what he's been charged with? For you to bring him to jail, means you have something on him, what?!"
Officer English glanced nervously at Officer Gerassi, deciding she would take over this situation; she was getting scared, things were going to rocket out of control. She suddenly wished she'd called in this day.
>
"He was ah, acting suspiciously, and resisted being searched, he resisted us searching his vehicle, and after not cooperating with the police, he was arrested."
"And tazed! You left that out! So you arrested him - searched him, searched his vehicle, what did you find?"
"We have reason to believe, he was in possession of stolen merchandise." She went on to state, feeling more and more uncomfortable as the moments went by.
"What?! What stolen merchandise? Based on what? Tell me please, what brought you to that conclusion?"
Officer Gerassi stopped her from saying anymore, "Sir, I'm going to caution you just one more time on your attitude, your tone!"
Shawn smiled, stepped back, pulled his mobile out, and before dialing a number stated, "I smell a rat - and me - I specialize in rat traps." He winked at them, backed up to a seat and held his phone to his ear.
Deidre answered, "Hi Shawn-..."
"Look, that Jeremiah with you still?"
"Shawn, we know what's going on, we're on our way there right now, Angela told us Mundo was arrested. We're barely ten minutes away."
"That's all I needed to know, I've got an ugly feeling, we're going to need him, thank you."
"That's what family is for, right?"
Shawn smiled, "Yeah, right..." He felt better already and clicked his phone off, still staring at the officers at the desk. Next number he dialed was to his wife, who answered, "Hi, we're pulling into the station right now."
"Good, hurry up, the boys are screaming their heads off." He clicked the phone off, still staring, having one of his fantasies, a particularly bad one.
The female officer stepped away from the desk, back through the gate, back down the hallway where the boys were. The door came open down the hall, Shawn could hear Darren crying still, Isaac was quiet. A moment later, Darren's voice came strong, sucking and sobbing, coming out of the room. The woman officer was carrying him, she looked up at Officer Gerassi, "Just to calm him down." She explained. The moment Darren and Isaac saw Shawn, they were desperately trying to reach for him, Darren's fingers pumping open and closed for him. She decided that the kids presence would help to keep things calm; might help to keep this man calm, "We still need to see ID before you can take them out of the station." She cautioned Shawn, letting the kids run to him.
They didn't hesitate.
Once Shawn had them, she turned away, looked up at Officer Gerassi, "I'm heading back out."
"What?" he asked, nervous.
"You heard, I'm out of here." She made her way back towards the rear of the station, where they come in, where they all park; not wanting anything further to do with the scene that would be taking place once they brought that man's son from the back. She'd gotten shoved against a wall herself when she tried to step in and get Gerassi and Stark off of him. She'd worked too long and hard to get her place there, and she wasn't going to lose it over this incident, nor did it make her one bit of difference about ratting on her fellow officers; because she was a woman, they had a tendency to treat her like a second class citizen anyway, so fuck'em. She would deal with the mess when she came in from her rounds.
She left, the duty desk officer reappeared now that Shawn had the boys.
Sylvia, Crystal and Ben entered the area where Shawn sat, holding the boys. They both cried out for Crystal right away, "Mamaaa!" Darren dived for her, she caught him, as Isaac ran to her and realized Ben was right behind her, he swerved and went to him instead, talking non-stop about going to jail and, "They - beat up Mundo too! Hit him really haaard."
The two officers heard him say it, they looked at each other; Shawn stood from the bench where he'd been sitting, walking back to the counter; Sylvia gasped looking towards the officers; Crystal stood with her mouth gaping; Jake and Vivian; were the next to come in the door.
"I wanna see my son - now! Right now! You hear?!" Shawn demanded.
"Sir, I'm telling you now, you're gonna have to calm that down, I think you've had warnings enough!" The duty officer ordered.
"I WANT MY SON - here - now!!" Shawn demanded once more, no longer hearing their orders, not after what just came from Isaac's mouth.
Jake moved quickly to the front, beside his brother, worried about what he was seeing.
"I'm sorry, but unless you people have business here-..."
Simultaneously, everyone started yelling out at once,
"I'm Armundo's mother!" Sylvia shouted.
"I'm his sister!" Crystal called out.
"I'm his brother!" Ben yelled.
"I'm his uncle!" Jake added.
"I'm his aunt!" Vivian called out.
No sooner had she said that - Deidre, Charlie, Jeremiah and Angela entered the station.
"We are all here for Armundo Edgar Payne Jr. whom you arrested for speeding, we want to see him now! I'm here to pay his bail, let's go!" Shawn demanded.
The desk duty officer gulped, this was a slow town, predominantly white and some Spanish - the majority of the time, it had been mostly quiet - not that afternoon - the events were escalating.
"I'm going to ask you all one more time, to calm down, and-..."
Jeremiah stepped up beside Shawn, pulling his card from his pocket and passing it to them, "I'm Jeremiah Franklin, attorney at law, the family attorney. I'm here to see Armundo. Unless either of you, can immediately show me evidence or reason for holding him, I'm requesting he be released, at once, without - having to pay bail! And for the sake of you both, I sure hope no one here, has violated any of his constitutional rights. Now, if you have evidence on him, I go in, - if not - he comes out, and right now." Jeremiah asserted firmly.
Both officers gulped.
"He had equipment in his possession we believe stolen."
"What kind of equipment, describe it please?" Jeremiah spoke up once more, noticing how impatient Shawn was getting.
"Music decks, turn tables... expensive equipment."
"That equipment is - my SON'S! I KNOW - BECAUSE I FUCKIN' PURCHASED IT!!!"
"Sir! One more outburst from you, and we're locking you up!"
"Shawn! Come away, please... come away and let Jeremiah handle it!" Sylvia screeched.
Jake turned to his brother, "Come on man, don't get locked up as we're getting him out. Let's just move back, let this man handle it." Jake worked to calm him.
In the back, where Mundo was, an Officer Stark - a really nasty cop - was trying to think fast, he was suddenly nervous, had been staying back peering forward and could see, hear - there was quite a group present about this Armundo; black and white, all claiming to be family, as well a lawyer - already. He was sweating, talking fast, as if trying to explain himself, his actions, speaking with a far more, gentler tone to Mundo, almost fatherly, telling him, "You know - you have to learn, to respect the authority here on the streets, after all, we're here to protect you! All of this, everything - could have been - avoided, had you done what you were told, from the beginning. Let him search you, let us search your vehicle. It did not have to escalate - you're the problem here - honestly son - that attitude, you can't go through life, expecting to be treated with respect, when you have such a nasty attitude. You know, respect goes both ways."
Mundo only glared at him, the best that he could, he wasn't saying another word, he sat still - waiting to be released, he knew Shawn was there, he could hear him, shouting. He could also hear others, he wasn't sure who all was there, but all of a sudden, the police went from treating him like shit, calling him boy, threatening even more physical harm, to now, all of a sudden, talking to him nice and gentle.
"Now, I'm thinking, you should uh, come wash your face, give us that shirt you have on, we'll issue you something more appropriate to wear out." He tried.
Mundo sat, slowly turning his head, left and right, an obvious no. He wasn't changing his clothes, he wasn't washing his face, he was going out, as is. Even though he struggled for every breath he took, he was not going to cooperate with them. They didn't want to let him go with the shirt
he was wearing, they wanted to take it and hide the blood away.
"It's up to you, your family is here, we'll let you go, soon as-..."
The door opened to the holding cell and questioning room.
It was Officer Dalragandt, the desk duty officer, looking in, "He's still the same." He accused urgently, panic in his tone.
"He's not cooperating." Officer Stark hissed.
"There's a guy here, his attorney, some really rich lady, they're threatening to make a phone call to get others involved, Madison news station, says they can - and will - we don't release him immediately, we gotta release him, now! Can't wait anymore."
They looked at each other, hating the way this one was turning out. All the times they'd done it before, they'd pretty much gotten away with it - but this time, this kid - whole different situation. They were both nervous, praying that they could get him, and his family out of the station before anything more happened. They were feeling ill, for once, scared - because they knew in their gut, shit was about to hit the fan. It didn't help that Officer English had left, had said, upon departing, "This time guys, I think you've fucked up, royally - something just tells me it's so." And off she'd gone.
"Le-let's go, come on." The desk duty officer spoke to Mundo.
He stared at them, didn't move, wouldn't say a word.
"You wanna go or not?!" Officer Stark snapped.
Mundo shifted his left foot to the side, making the ankle cuff and chain rattle. Tears were streaming down his face, because he was in so much pain, he had a sneaking suspicion a rib or two were broken.
"Shit!" Officer Stark quickly strode over, unlocked his ankle cuff, and then the hand-cuffs, they had been behind his back.
Mundo pulled his arms forward, they ached, he slowly lifted them, braced his hands on the table and pushed himself to his feet; immediately the room started spinning - he could barely catch his breath, and thought he would pass out if he tried to walk to the door. His labored breathing could be heard across the room.
"Fuck!" One of them spat low, growing more and more anxious as the seconds passed. He turned to the desk officer, "Look, I think uh, we're gonna have to get an ambulance here for him."
BOMAW 12-14 Page 14
