Watch Out for the Big Girls

by J. M. Benjamin

  Both Felicia and Bubbles stood frozen and wide-eyed. Neither of the two knew how it had gone from zero to a hundred in a matter of seconds. They waited to see what Starr had to say.

  The tension was thick enough to slice with a knife, as Starr sat there staring at Diamond as if she were a total stranger. It was as though everyone in the room was holding their breath until Starr spoke.

  The longer Starr remained silent, the more Diamond had realized just how much she had crossed the line. “You gonna accept my apology?” She was conscious of the way in which she had asked. She knew how Starr was when it came to what and how a person talked to her. Her silence made Diamond feel uneasy. “Starrsh—”

  “Apology accepted,” Starr chimed in. She cut Diamond off before she could call out her full name. Her tone was subtle but bland, but she no longer felt the way she just had moments ago. It had been a long and stressful day as well as week for her and prior to her lover getting up under her skin, she was all too ready to have a good time. She stood up and pushed her chair away from the oval table.

  “Now let’s go enjoy ourselves,” she advised with the same tone she had accepted Diamond’s apology with as she led the way to the secret elevator. Diamond, Felicia, and Bubbles followed. Each one of them was all too ready to head downstairs and get their party on.

  Diamond caught up to Starr just as they reached the elevator. She came up alongside of her. “I really am sorry,” Diamond whispered into her ear as she kissed Starr’s outer lobe.

  Starr turned her head in her direction. “I believe you.” She smiled and nodded as the number one on the elevator lit up and the sliding door opened. Then she stepped inside and waited for her crew to follow suit.

  Chapter Thirty

  Officer Blake had strolled into work whistling tunes from his favorite song. The day had started out normal as any other had, except for him parking next to Officer Douglass’s car. Blake always showed up before him because he didn’t have a family. His job was his life. He liked to stay on top of things and get firsthand knowledge before roll call. He thought nothing of it. He got out of his Pontiac Gran Turismo and retrieved his bags from his truck, walked past Douglass’s Dodge Magnum, and walked up the steps of the parking lot back entrance. He took a second to embrace that feeling he loved to live for. It was usually so quiet outside of the Thirty-fourth Street precinct station.

  But all you got inside was organized madness. Phones were ringing, jokes were being cracked, complaints were being made by the weirdest-looking people, food was being passed, criminals were being cuffed and transported from room to room and cell to cell. The bullpens were packed. The Feds were there. The Feds? Are here? Why? he wondered.

  Officer Blake looked toward the back. The door of Chief Andrews’s office was wide open. One of the agents just happened to turn and catch eye contact with Blake. He looked down at the photo clipped to the right side of the folder and then back at Blake. He whispered something to the other agents in the room. By the way they all turned and looked in his direction, Blake didn’t have to be a genius to know that the agent had said something about him. Officer Blake paused in his tracks. He had a bad feeling. Something told him he should turn around and hightail it up out the precinct. Why run and look guilty? They could be here for anything, he reasoned with himself.

  He happened to look down the hall and spot two agents escorting his longtime partner out of the interrogation room in handcuffs. Officer Douglass had his head down but somehow their eyes happen to meet. Officer Blake saw the guilt written all over his partner’s face. What the fuck did you do? Officer Douglass just dropped his head back to the ground as the agents guided him by the armpits. Fucking piece of shit Judas. There was no doubt in his mind that his partner had sold him out.

  Officer Blake shook his head in disgust then slowly backed up. He looked straight and then from side to side. It’s now or never. Blake dropped his bag and ran back toward the entrance of the precinct. He could hear his name being shouted in the distance behind him as he fled. As he reached the door, his hands trembled so much that he was unable to get his key into the lock. The whole set dropped to the concrete. Blake panicked. “Fuck,” he cursed as he quickly kneeled to retrieve his keys from the ground. Luckily, he was successful at his second try. Just as he reached for the car door handle, two black GMC Suburbans skidded to a complete stop, blocking his car.

  One of the SUVs managed to barricade Officer Blake between it and his vehicle as the other agents spilled out of the precinct backing up all bystanders. He didn’t know what to do. A mixture of fear and anger overcame him. I’m not going to fucking prison. Blake did a quick scan of his surroundings. He knew he only had two options. He had already made his mind up that one of them was not an option at all. With that in mind, he drew his Glock .40 from his holster and opened fire into the SUV that had him pinned in. The agent driving the Suburban wasted no time putting the SUV in reverse.

  The agents coming from the precinct ducked for cover. That was just enough time for Blake to take flight. He ran deep into the parking lot and began hiding behind cars. The other agents jumped out of the Suburbans with AR15s in hand and stood behind open doors. They swayed the fully automatic machine guns back and forth.

  Officer Douglass couldn’t believe the disaster. He was being pinned down to the ground with an agent over him, protecting him from getting shot. Damn feds are robots.

  Blake was ducking behind the trunk of a Toyota Camry. He was breathing heavily as he opened the rotating barrel of his weapon. He confirmed that he only had five remaining shots left in his clip and the rest of his ammunition was in the bag he had dropped. There was no escaping. The parking lot was fenced in. He was surrounded by agents also ducking behind cars using hand signals to move in closer on him. There was nothing left to do but pray. He did a Hail Mary across his chest, kissed his curled index finger, pointed up at the sky, and then popped up, pointing his pistol at the first and closest agent. They both locked eyes and fingered their trigger simultaneously.

  A single bullet sailed straight into the left side of Agent Kelly’s forehead, knocking her off her feet as her gunfire sprayed high up into the air. Two of her wild shots managed to lodge themselves into Officer Blake. One tore into the right side of his neck while another ripped into his cheek. The impact slammed him back on the Nissan Maxima behind him. He was somehow still alive and held on to his firearm tightly. “Son of a bitch!” he cried out. He could feel the blood leaking from both his face and neck. This is not how it supposed to end, he decided. I’m not going to be somebody’s bitch in prison. With that being his final thought, Officer Blake raised his weapon, stuck the barrel in his mouth, and blew his own brains out the back of his head.

  Agents rushed over to both bodies. Agent Snyder kicked the pistol away from Officer Blake’s bloody corpse. Another agent retrieved it and put it in a bag. They both strolled over to agent Kelly’s lifeless body.

  Douglass heard the panicking news of both deaths come over the agent who was guarding his radio. The agent who had him in custody shot him a look of disgust before he launched his attack. It came out of nowhere. Douglass was out cold before he even realized what had hit him. The smelling salts placed under his nose revived him. He woke up with his wrists cuffed to the Suburban’s inside ceiling.

  It took minutes for the words he was hearing to register. It would take hours for them to be verified as the truth. Agent McCarthy hadn’t ever heard Chief Andrews’s voice be anything other than smooth, calm, and under control. But what he just heard from him was tears as he tried to explain what happened without even knowing what went wrong. He heard the regret Chief Andrews felt in his tone through the phone. He listened as the chief beat himself up for not handling his problem in house, until it worked its way up to federal status.

  The news about them taking McCarthy off the case was also an issue for him. It didn’t sit too well. He had been personally dealing with Agent McCarthy for several years. The two knew where each other stood
at all times. Had he known Agent McCarthy would be removed from the case he would have never handed over Officers Douglass and Blake; he was sure of that. He was now feeling that the whole investigation could blow back in his face. But it was too late. Just as he finished making a personal copy of the taped confession, he saw a group of men dressed in black suits and ties headed in the direction of his office. “I gotta call you back,” Chief Andrews informed McCarthy before abruptly hanging up.

  Agent McCarthy hung up knowing their relationship could never be the same. He was so furious at Mobley for pulling him off the case. He felt there was no way he would have allowed such a massacre to happen. His approval would’ve been much different, more subtle. He knew exactly what Reddick had done. Trying to solidify himself as the new agent in charge, he stormed into the precinct spreading orders around without any plan or strategy.

  McCarthy flopped back down into his chair and buried his face into his hands with his elbows pointed high up into the air. His own eyes began to water as he thought of Agent Jody Kelly. She was with the Bureau for a little over six years. She was tough, always trying to prove that she could hang with the rest of the big boys. Agent McCarthy shook his head at yet another fallen agent on his side of the team. It was evident the Double Gs were not playing fair and had no remorse or regard for his colleagues’ lives. He knew he had to do something before many more lost their lives.

  Agent Mobley was in his eleventh-floor office when he got the news of the unfortunate tragedy. Instant anger set in, but he had to stick with his decision. Agent Reddick wasn’t to blame. But one thing for sure, somebody had to pay, and it had to start with the root of it all. There was only one fall guy remaining in the picture and they had him in custody.

  How did this go so wrong? Douglass cried to himself in disbelief. He realized he had just committed suicide in a much different way from his partner. He had caused all of this for nothing, he told himself for the umpteenth time as the chain of events unraveled right before his very eyes. He was left to take the weight for it all; everything he had confessed to was now stuck to him. He was no longer the snitch. Instead of immunity, he was sure he would get the death penalty and spend his time waiting for execution boxed in an underground cell in an ADX maximum federal prison facility and his outside contact would be restricted.

  He looked around the frigid room. There was nothing. No windows; just four walls, a concrete bed, and no sheets or blanket. To top it off, the cell was freezing cold and, because he was on suicide watch, he was dressed in only a paper suit. He hadn’t even been transported from the federal building yet. No one said a word to him. Although he had been spit on, called every derogatory word known to mankind, and badly beaten while he was in the bullpen, he knew the worst was yet to come.

  Chapter Thirty-one

  The following Friday evening, Bubbles was in the back of the stretch Escalade sitting next to Starr. They were being chauffeured to Club Panties, while Starr discussed the latest chain of events with Diamond, who was stuck at the office. By special request of Starr, Felicia was in the second Escalade riding with Monica and the twins, who were all surprised to be invited to make the grand entrance. And as usual they were surrounded by the Double G bikes.

  “You knew somehow this was all going to fall back on us. Things are getting too hectic,” Starr spoke into the phone receiving the news of what had happened to Agent Kelly. “Three agents are dead in the same week.”

  “But that had nothing to do with us,” Diamond rationalized.

  “In the end, it does. If Douglass was going to roll over on Blake, he had to throw in information on us to sweeten the deal!”

  “Yeah, but all he could admit is what they did. As usual nothing physically traces back to us. That’s how it’s always been. So they had nothing. Maybe things will lighten up with that McCarthy guy off the case.”

  “Guys like him don’t just lie down. He’s a tough agent, Diamond. He’s even more dangerous to us now because he doesn’t have a leash. It’s time to clean up. Tomorrow we start clipping all loose ends. All of them.” The tone in her command was unmistakable.

  “What do you suggest?”

  “I’ll fill you in tomorrow. I’m putting in the call tonight. It’s time for a few members to pay some dues. I’m using one of them for a specific task. It’s time to start weeding out the garden. I have another message that needs to be sent. This Douglass guy caused us some real unnecessary problems. Officer Blake was a good asset. Douglass needs to pay.”

  “I’m sure you’ll come up with something nice for him,” Diamond whispered in a devilish tone.

  “Actually, even worse. I’m leaving it up to Queen.”

  “Uh-oh, he’s in trouble.”

  “Not just him, my dear, not just him.”

  “I have to go. US Attorney Linda McCarthy is back.”

  Both women disconnected the call. Starr turned her attention back to Bubbles. “Soon as we get into the club, escort Monica to my office. And I don’t want to be disturbed.”

  Bubbles nodded. She was not clear on the mission, but she believed there was one. Why else would she want Monica? Bubbles thought as her instructions were given to her. As far as she was concerned it involved somebody getting their hands dirty.

  Chapter Thirty-two

  It had been a very long day for Agent McCarthy. He walked into his home feeling defeated. As soon as he cleared the door and was in the foyer, he removed his blazer, untied his tie, and unbuttoned his shirt, walking across the polished wooden floor until he entered the living room and into the kitchen where he could see his lovely wife Linda, circling the kitchen. She hadn’t heard him come in. He slowly crept up on her.

  “Hey, honey,” she called out when she felt his presence before he could reach her.

  He walked up on her and pecked her on the cheek. “Where’s Charley?” he asked, referring to their nine-year-old daughter, Charlene.

  “She’s upstairs washing up for dinner. I told the sitter I’d feed her. She wasn’t feeling too well. Ugh, I’m back,” she continued. “I just got in not even fifteen minutes ago. I had a long day at the office. There’s a major trial coming up. You know that Spalding guy, the one who knocked off like ten banks? Okay, yeah, them,” she answered before he could confirm his recollection. “So anyway, as if unbelievably making bail wasn’t good enough for them, they’re actually taking this to trial. My guess is it’s an attempt to make the government spend hard-earned taxpayers’ money, or confiscated drug money,” she continued, which was completely ignored as she rambled while multitasking with the dishes and prepping for dinner. “We’ll have them dead tonight. The only thing that scares me is their lawyer. This Morgan. Diamond Morgan. She’s undefeated and so was I until I met her. She gets me every time.”

  The name Diamond Morgan stood out to him. He was trying to place where he had heard it from. “Diamond Morgan?” McCarthy let the name dance around in his head. Then it dawned on him. “That’s the hotshot attorney who came prancing her way through the office,” he remembered. “And she mentioned you, too. The way she mentioned you all makes sense now.” He drew a conclusion.

  “What all makes sense?” A confused look appeared on Linda McCarthy’s face.

  “How you two would know each other and the fact that she knew I was your husband,” he replied.

  “Yes, we’re very familiar with each other.” Linda McCarthy scowled. “You know her too,” she added. “Or at least you should, anyway,” she believed.

  “How so?” Now it was McCarthy who had a confused look on his face.

  “I talk about her all the time, but you never listen, do you? No, you just let me ramble while you rub my hair and then, you know, we switch subjects,” she stated with a flirtatious smirk, looking sexy as ever.

  “I’ve been meaning to ask you about her. She’s the one that got Pearson out of my custody. Is she really that good?” He both wanted and needed to know. He was hopeful that the rumor was a joke. If anybody knew about the attorney,
it would be his wife. Like himself, Linda McCarthy made it her business to stay abreast on any-and everything in her profession. If Diamond Morgan was as good as he had recently heard, there was no way his wife would not be familiar with her competitor. After all, she too was known as a shark in the courtrooms.

  “Honey, I’m on the government’s side. I’m the top attorney for the prosecutor’s office. Hell, it’s like we make the rules. At least dictate ’em. But she beats me every time we go up against each other, one of a kind. She’s definitely the best I’ve seen in a long time. Don’t get me wrong, she knows her stuff, but everything else happens in her favor. Between witnesses not appearing in court and missing evidence, some of the cases we’ve beat ourselves.” Linda McCarthy shook her head submissively.

  “Linda, I believe she’s one of them.”

  “One of them? Like who is them?”

  “One of the goddamn Double Gs,” McCarthy boomed.

  “The gay bike group you’ve been obsessing over and telling me about?” his wife questioned. A puzzled look took over her face. She was curious to know how her husband had drawn such a conclusion.

  “Yeah, the dykes!” he exclaimed.

  “Honey, don’t be silly. And please don’t talk like that. It makes you sound like you’re homophobic,” Linda McCarthy defended. “You remember the last time the guy tried to file prejudice and defamation of character charges against you for that statement you made that was taken out of context?” she reminded him.

  “Really, Linda? Homophobic?” Agent McCarthy was agitated. “And you know that complaint was bullshit.” He couldn’t believe she had gone there. “Okay, excuse the fuck out of me, but explain me this,” McCarthy began to ramble. “How the hell did she find out and get to us so quick? And, she was determined to keep Pearson’s mouth shut,” he pointed out.