Shakita got off work and met up with Latrice shortly after.
“So whatchu find out?” Shakita asked intensely, taking a seat on Latrice’s couch.
“Let me go back to the beginning of my notes,” Latrice said, flipping through her notebook until she was on the right page. “The van came to the Greenbelt Station at two forty-three. Right around the time you said it would. I followed the van down to the College Park Station and then down to the end of the line at Branch Avenue. After that I thought it was going to the Blue Line to start collecting there too, but then it changed direction, and went to drop the money off. The van went to this big warehouse-looking place off of Barton Road. When the driver got out unloading the canisters, two other men helped him.” Shakita was taking it all in as quickly as Latrice was able to spit it out.
“These are the pictures I took to give you a better idea what everything looked like,” Latrice said as she sat down beside Shakita, and explained each picture she had in her digital camera. “This is the driver.”
“That mothafucka cute too, oh well. He still going to catch hell if he fucks up and make the wrong move,” Shakita implied.
“This is the kind of gun he have. Do you know what kind that is?”
“I don’t know. It could be a nine or a forty-five; we got to ask Cap Cap. We got to go see him anyway about supplying us with some guns.”
“And these are the pictures I took of the building where the money went. You can see right here and over there they have guards surrounding the whole shit.”
“Yeah, I knew they were going to have that money guarded like shit. We’re going to have to cut the driver off before they even get near there,” Shakita said as she rubbed her hands together.
“How many canisters did they pull out the van?”
“Twenty-five of them. That’s almost two per every stop.”
“That’s a lot of fucking money,” Shakita said after lighting her cigarette and taking a pull from it.
They both sat and shook their heads thinking about all the money that would be on the van when they robbed it. If everything went smooth to the plan, they would be sitting on a lot of fucking money. This was going to be their ultimate come up.
Latrice and Shakita walked into Cap Cap’s corner store that was right off of New York Avenue. Cap Cap was sitting on a stool behind the counter watching television as usual, waiting for the day to pass. He was a skinny, dark-skinned man in his late forties with not a single strand of gray hair. The streets had given him the name, Cap Cap. They used to say that he was so black that the only reason it got dark outside was because he captured all the sunlight when he came outside. Cap Cap saw the girls walk into his store, but he didn’t even acknowledge them and kept watching TV. Cap Cap never smiled so you never could tell what kind of mood he was in. He could have been having the best day of his life and still kept a straight face. Cap Cap was the type of person who wouldn’t speak to anyone unless you spoke to him first. That was how he’d always been, and no one ever took offense to that demeanor.
“Hey, Cap Cap. What’s going on?” Shakita and Latrice both asked, laughing after standing in front of him without saying anything for over a minute, trying to test his will not to speak to them.
“I thought y’all were only going to stand there and watch my ass all fucking day,” Cap Cap said, rolling his eyes at them. “What can I do for you two?” he said, giving them his full attention.
“Could you tell us what type of gun this is?” Shakita asked, handing him the camera. “And I know you took that pack of gum off the counter, you lil’ slick bitch. I ain’t got to be looking at you to know if you did some funny shit. You’re paying for that before you leave,” Cap Cap said, letting Shakita know that she had gotten caught.
“Come on, Cap. You’ve known me long enough to know I would never steal from you.”
“Yeah, right. As many schemes as you be pulling, it wouldn’t surprise me not one fucking bit. Now let me see that camera,” Cap Cap said, reaching for it out of Shakita’s hand. “That’s a forty-five-caliber right there. A lot of pigs are using them now.”
“Can you get us a couple?” Shakita asked curiously.
Cap Cap looked at her sideways. “Now why in the hell would I do that?”
“We need them.”
“Oh you need them, huh? Those guns you want ain’t got nothing to do with this picture, do it?” Cap Cap asked, eyeing them both as they remained silent. “I’m going to take a wild guess. This is either a cop of some kind or the fucking milk man in a white-ass milk truck, which I thought didn’t exist anymore. So ladies, please tell me I’m wrong.”
Shakita and Latrice didn’t say anything at first, knowing that he was on to their plan.
“I’m waiting, ladies.” Cap Cap demanded an answer.
Shakita looked over at Latrice and then back at Cap Cap before she answered. “We’re trying to rob a BERK van.”
“So y’all wanna be some crooked girls, huh?” Cap Cap said, nodding his head and looking at both of them. “Robbin’ the BERK ain’t never been done before or attempted. I hope y’all know that’s some heavy shit right there. See that gun on his waist?” Cap Cap said, pointing at the photo. “Well, ladies, that ain’t filled with no damn water. That officer by law is allowed to fill lead in anybody’s ass who he even suspects is tryna flatten one of his tires. The level of difficulty is high than a mothafucka. You really gotta have a plan to pull off that shit.”
“Latrice has routed out the van’s every move. All we got to do is set up an ambush. We got the perfect plan. Once we trap ’em, that’s it.”
“I hope y’all do ’cause if not, that shit’s gonna end horribly. If y’all really tryna be crooked, then I gotta hook you up with some gangsta shit. Wait right here.” Cap Cap went behind a curtain that led to the back of his store.
Cap Cap loved money chasers and was more than willing to help them out. After the girls were waiting for a few minutes, Cap Cap returned with a box full of supplies. He set the box on the counter. “Inside this box,” Cap Cap said as he tapped on the lid. “There are forty boxes of bullets, two silencers, and two baby nine-millies.”
“Nines? Shouldn’t we have forty-fives like the driver’s gonna have?” Latrice asked, confused.
“Y’all girls ain’t gonna be able to handle that type of fire power. Besides, nines fire quicker and will never jam up on you. It don’t matter what you shooting at ’em wit’ as long as you hit bone, you’re successful. The type of gun you got don’t mean shit if you can’t aim the mothafucka right. You can kill a bear with a pellet gun if you hit his ass in the right spot. Make sure you use them silencers. If it comes down to you having to bust ya gun, then end that shit before they start firing back. You don’t need any more attention than you already have.”
“Thanks, Cap. How much do you want us to give you for all this shit?” Shakita asked.
He gave them a real stern look—one that would let them know that what he was about to say required their full understanding. “Ladies, before you take this box, I want y’all to really consider what I’m handing over to you. Everything in here could get you ten years to life in prison. Are y’all ready for all that?”
“Yeah, Cap. We know what we facing,” Shakita said, sounding more serious than she’d ever sounded in her entire life. “We gotta do a power move and we can’t think of anything better than this. We can do it,” Shakita said with conviction.
“All right, crooked girls. I tried to talk you out of it, but since I can’t, I’m going to need two grand for all the shit I gave you. If you ain’t got the money right now, then you can pay me after the hit. If y’all get scared and go chicken shit, then bring all my shit back. We gotta understanding on that?”
“We got you, Cap. We’ll bring you the money afterwards. Thanks for everything,” Shakita said as she picked up the heavy box off the counter.
“Don’t thank me for shit yet. Wait until after the job’s done. ’Cause all it looks like I did
right now was help prepare you for a casket. Make sure y’all practice hitting some cans or some shit like that before playing Thelma and Louise. There ain’t going to be no time to practice when the shit gets thick. And believe me, the shit will get fuckin’ thick.”
Both of them nodded their heads understanding exactly what he was saying, and then walked away with him on their minds as they were about to leave the store.
“Oh, and another thing, ladies,” Cap Cap called out to them before they left. “Ya’ll ain’t get that shit from me. Ya dig?” He lowered his brow.
They both nodded again and walked out the door holding on to his words. Cap Cap watched as they left the store and could only shake his head at what he was thinking. Those damn girls gonna get themselves killed.
CHAPTER 23
TWO WEEKS UNTIL BAY GETS Out
The time had come for Shakita and Latrice to handle their business and they were both scared as hell. Shakita couldn’t stop chain smoking and Latrice couldn’t stop shaking. They were both in two different locations and had been communicating with each other through walkie-talkies. The time was 4:20 p.m., and the van would be passing by Shakita on its way to the depository center any minute.
“Latrice, are you okay?” Shakita asked as she paced back and forth outside the car she was driving. Shakita was wearing a long blonde wig and some thick nonprescription glasses that made her look like a ditzy nerd. She had on some black leather gloves and a short orange dress with black leather boots.
“I’m nervous as shit. I can’t stop shaking,” Latrice informed her as she sat in a car.
“Me too, but we got to do this. It’s now or never and I can’t wait for never. You can do this. I trust you.” Shakita lifted up the hood of the car to make it look like she was having car trouble when the van passed by.
“Whatever happens, Kita. I want you to know that you’re my best friend and I love you.”
“I love you too. I know what you’re thinking about and don’t worry. Everything will be fine. We’re both going to be laughing about this shit when it’s all over.”
Latrice wasn’t too sure about that, but she still put her faith in Shakita that she knew what she was talking about. “I hear you, girl,” Latrice said as she fixed one side of her long blonde wig in the overhead mirror. Latrice was wearing the exact same disguise as Shakita, except that she had on a longer orange dress, and had been sitting in back of an industrial building waiting for the mission to begin.
“Here it comes, girl,” Shakita said, breathing heavy with her eyes wide, informing Latrice that the van was now turning onto the street. “I’ll see you in a minute.”
“Okay. I’ll be here.”
Shakita threw her walkie-talkie under the front seat and started to flag down the van to get it to stop. The driver noticed the damsel in distress and thought she could use some help, but he didn’t know whether it should be him to help her, since he was so close to the depot station. He thought about his sister and would want someone to help her if she were having car trouble. The Good Samaritan in him decided to pull over and help the poor girl out.
Shakita continued to wave her arms around until the van pulled up in front of her. She took a deep breath and was ready to become an actress.
“Thank you, mister, for stopping! Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!” Shakita said, running up to the driver’s side of the van.
“No problem. It looks like you’re having some car trouble?”
“Yes I am. My engine won’t start and I have to get to the hospital,” Shakita said frantically. “My sister is having a baby and her no-good-ass boyfriend won’t be there ’cause he left her for another woman, and I have to be there for her! I just have to!”
“Okay. Calm down. I’ll help you the best way I can.”
“Thank you so much, mister. Can I please use your cell phone to call for a ride? I really need to get there.”
“What hospital is your sister at?”
“She’s at Southern.”
“Here, hop in. I’ll take you. I got to stop at the station first to drop my van off. The station’s right down the street here. I’ll be in and out. Put your hazard lights on and we’ll come back to it later.”
“Thank you so much, mister. Hold on one second.” Shakita ran to the car and turned on her hazards. This shit was easier than I thought, she said to herself as she ran back to the van and got in on the passenger side.
The van started to move and Shakita had to continue to put her plan into action. The driver glanced over at Shakita a couple of times and thought she was a pretty girl and would be even prettier without her glasses on. He was going to ask her out to dinner as soon as her situation was resolved.
“Thank you once again, mister. You’re such a nice man. I wish more men could be like you.”
The driver smiled. “It’s the least I could do for such a pretty girl.”
Shakita smiled back. “I have to give you something for helping me out,” Shakita said as she bent down so she could get to her boot.
“No, that’s all right. I’m doing this out of the kindness of my heart,” the driver said, trying to stop her from giving him an incentive. He wanted his reward to come later in the form of a date.
“No, please. I insist,” Shakita said as she pulled out her baby nine-millimeter with the silencer already attached, released the safety and pointed it at the driver. He was so scared he almost shit on himself when he saw the gun aimed at his chest.
“What the fuck are you doing?”
“What the fuck do it look like? I’m robbing this mothafucka! Now drive!”
“Look. You don’t want to do this. It will never work.”
“It’ll work as long as ya ass stay cool. Now turn left.”
The driver did what she said, but tried to press the panic button on his dashboard, so he could have a response team track where he was going. Shakita noticed his movement and responded to his foolish move.
Shakita aimed the gun at his head. “Get both of your fucking hands on the steering wheel now! This is not your fucking money so don’t die for it!” The driver put both of his hands on the wheel and continued to drive. “Keep those hands on that wheel and you’ll be able to live another day.”
The driver didn’t speak another word, not wanting to increase his chances at getting shot. He had a young boy at home to look after and didn’t want the mother of his child to have full custody of him. He decided not to give Shakita any problems so she would let him live. It wasn’t his money to die over.
Latrice looked in the rearview mirror and saw the white van approaching. She wanted to wait to get out of the car until she made sure that Shakita had everything under control. She watched the van pull up beside her and waited for Shakita’s command. Shakita gave Latrice the signal to come over to the van so she could help her secure the driver. Latrice quickly ran over to the driver’s side door and opened it.
“Give her your hands,” Shakita commanded.
The driver did what he was told and Latrice handcuffed his hands to the driver-side armrest. Latrice turned the van off and took the keys out of the ignition. Shakita ran to unlock the back door of the van while Latrice held the driver at gunpoint.
Shakita opened the doors and saw that there were only fourteen canisters on the floor. She expected there to be over twenty of them. “He must not have done a full route,” she whispered. She had no time to think about it too hard and wanted to concentrate on the money. She started loading all the heavy canisters in the back of the truck that Latrice was driving, and really had to move quickly to make sure they didn’t get caught.
“All right! Let’s go!” Shakita yelled.
“Later, baby,” Latrice said, winking at the driver and then ran to the Expedition. She hopped in the driver side and floored the gas, taking off as fast as she could down the street. The driver waited a few minutes to make sure the girls were out of sight before he used his face to press up against the panic button. He was relieved after h
e pressed the button knowing someone would be there for him soon. He was so happy that he was not harmed and all he could think about was getting to see his son again. Damn, those young bitches were crazy, he thought.
Shakita slammed the hood down on the car she was originally driving, and followed Latrice to a motel to count up all the money. Before they counted, they had to ditch both vehicles and their disguises and transfer the canisters to Shakita’s truck. They didn’t want the police looking for two blonde-haired girls with glasses in a car that was used in a robbery, so they had to move as fast as possible without looking suspicious.
“I counted forty thousand dollars already, and I’m only done with the first canister!” Latrice shouted overjoyed as she sat on the floor and marveled about their big come up.
“There should be a hundred thousand in them as heavy as these bitches were,” Shakita said, rubbing her shoulder. “The ones with the coins in them were even heavier.”
“I wish you could’ve seen the way you was carrying these big-ass things from the van, girl. You were walking like a damn midget with no neck trying to carry them things,” Latrice said, unable to control her laughter.
“Them mothafuckas was heavy as shit, yo. I was about to leave them damn things there and only take the light ones. But then I said fuck that. I’m getting all this money. I was pressed as shit, wasn’t I?”
Latrice was laughing so damn hard that she wasn’t even able to respond. Shakita and Latrice continued to laugh and talk about their unbelievable experience as they counted the money.
It was 10 p.m. and they were still at the motel counting the money. They had counted over two hundred thousand dollars so far and still had three more canisters with bills left in them to go. They were concentrating on their count when the news came on. They had been waiting to see if they had made the nightly news and now they were all ears as the Afro American female newscaster began to speak.
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