by Kyle West
Vivian tells, "Yes, they really scare me Insp. Clark. They think I have that money.”
Insp. Clark responds, “There's no way to convince them that you don't. They're dangerous men Mrs. Baylor and I don't want anything to happen to you. Unfortunately I can't arrest them for anything yet, I don't have jurisdiction. But I can protect you if you feel you are in danger."
There's a knock at Vivian's door. She sits frozen on the bed and the Inspector keeps calling her name, "Mrs. Baylor. Mrs. Baylor. Are you there? Hello?"
She hears a voice from outside the door saying, "Vivian, it's me, Keith. Open the door." Vivian eases up a bit and tells the Inspector that she will meet him at his office in the morning.
Insp. Clarks says, "Remember, don't tell the police we've been talking. If you need anything, and I mean anything, you call me anytime." Vivian hangs up the phone and rushes to let Keith into the room.
Vivian quickly opens the door, "You scared the hell out of me! What happened to your face?" She was not prepared to see a bloodied and beaten Keith. He pushes past her and flops on the couch and tells her to shut and lock the door.
Keith asks, "Please get me some ice and a towel for my eye." A Vivian scared asks, “Are those guys coming up here?"
Keith responds, "No, they're gone. Relax. Owww!" Vivian puts the towel of ice on his swollen eye.
Vivian asks, "Keith what happened?" He doesn't answer…"Damn, them dudes was hitting me real hard. Even my tongue hurts."
Vivian responds as she looks closely at Keith's face, "I think you bit off a piece."
Keith gets serious, "Vivian look, we got to find that money. If we don't we gonna be in some trouble here, real talk."
Vivian cuts in, "Did they say that?"
"Look at my eye! That’s what they said!" He looks over at the bed and sees her IPad on the bed, "What are you doing over there?"
"Oh, I'm just sending an e-mail to my mother to let her know I'm alright."
Keith tells her, "Oh, okay. Look, first thing in the morning we gotta get to the post office and check out Jesse's mailbox. Damn my eye hurts! These dudes ain't playin' games. Anywhere else you can think of that might help us here?"
Vivian tells him, "No, not really. Keith we can just call Det. Roussel, or just get in the car and get out of town right now?"
"Nah, these dudes will find us easy. Let's just find this money." Vivian goes into the kitchen for a bottle of ginger ale. She remembers her meeting with Clark tomorrow morning but doesn't want Keith to know. She tells Keith, "I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning at nine. Can you go to the post office without me?"
Keith responds, "Vivian, I don't have authority to ask for anything over there. You have to be there. You are his wife and they will want you to provide them with the death certificate. You are the only one with the legal right to handle his affairs. C'mon Vivian, let's get on this. Can you reschedule your doctor's appointment?"
Vivian says, "No I can’t, plus I don't have the death certificate yet so I wouldn't be able to access his stuff anyway."
Keith says Vivian shouldn’t be around town alone right now and that he will go to the doctor appointment with her. He adds, “We can go the post office afterwards see if they will give us Jesse's belongings since you are his wife."
Vivian responds, "Keith, I won't be done 'till about two-ish. You're his brother, you got the same last name. Maybe they'll deal with you. If not then just come get me. No need to waste time."
Keith is comfortable with that.
Vivian walks over to the dining table to finish her ginger ale and asks Keith, "How is your mother doing? I should give her a call and check on her. I only spoke to her a few times but she is always so sweet."
Keith tells her, "She's doing better. She's been staying with my aunt in Chicago since Jesse's death. She's hurting right now, that is why she couldn't make it to the wake or funeral. Give her some time."
Vivian tells him, "Maybe I'll call her next week. You should be with her instead of down here looking for this money."
Keith sarcastically responds, "Three hundred million will make her feel alright really fast." Vivian didn't like Keith's response, "Don’t ever say that again. No amount of money is gonna make her feel better about her son being dead!” Keith apologizes. Vivian then asks, " "She should have told me she was going to Chicago so I wouldn't worry about her. Do you live near your mama in St. Louis?"
"No, I live in Chicago Hyde Park. I'm a little beat, so I'm gonna go to bed and rest my aches."
Vivian gives him a blanket and pillow as he prepares to sleep on the couch for the night.
12:40 am
McKenna, Starr and Barone are at The Fly in Audubon Park on the bank of the Mississippi River. The park is closed but late at night teenagers sneak in to hang out. The men are alone, no teenage drinking parties happening at the time. Starr marvels at a passing riverboat and the spectacular view of New Orleans.
Barone nervously speaks, "I feel like we're being watched every fucking minute. We need to get out of this town Greg. "Let's grab Jesse's wife now, tonight and make her take us to the money. Something just doesn't feel right here."
McKenna says, “Yea, police definitely got us on their radar since we pulled in here. But they would’ve clamped down on us if they knew what our deal was. C’mon guys, focus on getting our money please. Starr says, "Jesse's wife isn't gonna go to the police. We’re giving her Jesse's share, that's sixty million fucking dollars. She ain't stupid."
Barone says that he isn’t worried about the police as much as he fears the C.I.A. hunting them down. He adds, “They're not gonna stop looking for us, you guys know that, right?”
My mother told me some strange dudes, probably Intelligence, came to her business, sat outside her house in their cars, probably wire-tapped the fucking phone. They're gonna fuck with us until they get that money back!"
McKenna interrupts, "Or until we're dead. They can’t have us talk about what we do for them. Sgt. Applewhite and all of those fucks that signed the order to have us whacked, would all be making license plates at Leavenworth if we do." "They're not in jail yet Greg," Barone comments. "Intelligence can't let this money surface."
Barone responds, "You know what? Forget the fucking money for a second. Listen to me. When Rome called me and told me that Jesse was dead, first thing I thought was that they got him, Intelligence. And they are gonna protect the integrity of the Agency and all that bullshit. So guys, taking us out makes the most sense for them."
A quiet falls over the commandos…
Starr then breaks the silence, "Real talk, Rome didn't whack Jess. Rome was definitely in
St. Louis when Jesse got popped. After we met with Jesse, Rome went home to check on his kids. I spoke to him and his son when he was there. He was actually at his mother's house when Jesse's mother called his mother to tell her that Jesse was dead. That's how he found out Jesse was dead." "Who said Rome killed Jess?" McKenna questioned.
Barone cuts in, "Did Rome say how Jesse's Mom found out? Did the feds call her or something?"
Starr responds, "Yeah, he said the C.N.O. (Casualty Notification Officer) went to Jesse’s moms house, all that. We just gotta watch our asses and lay low. I didn't even give a fuck about testifying against Intelligence to be honest. We knew what we were getting into when we signed up. But hey, with that money I'll go away and stay away for life."
Barone angrily snaps, "Lay low?! You and Jerome? Lay low?! You're speeding around in a fucking convertible, spending money all over town! Jerome is out drinking, running his mouth, chasing pussy every night in the Quarters!"
Starr turns to McKenna, smiles and says, "Rome even uses the hotel phone to have pizza delivered to the spot." McKenna looks down to the ground, trying to hide himself from laughing, shaking his head in disbelief. Barone continues, "I mean it's like you two are on your fucking honeymoon or something!"
Starr responds, "Fuck you Ross, you can kiss my ass." Barone rushes up on Starr and pushes him hard
. The men start pushing each other and Starr shouts obscenities at Barone. McKenna jumps between them pushing them apart. Starr quickly pulls out his pistol and points it at Barone. Barone calmly raises his hands in the air and cracks a sarcastic smile and says, "Oh, did I wrinkle your suit, P Diddy?"
McKenna calmly says, "C'mon, girls. Ross tell him you'll pay his next dry cleaning bill. Marlon you know better. I expect this from Ross! I need to be able to count on you man. You okay?"
Starr cuts in, "I'm fine! I'm fine! Nobody touches my fuckin` clothes man." McKenna rolls his eyes and playfully responds, "This guy and his clothes. If the feds get you before me, I'm gonna bury you in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, I swear." Starr returns his pistol to his shoulder holster and laughs with McKenna. Starr and McKenna bump fists as to say everything is okay.
Barone shouts, "Greg, those two are gonna fucking get us killed."
McKenna responds, "Ross! You're starting to drive me up the wall!"
Starr then heads to his car and casually says," I'm out. Damn it's late. I better get outta here before I have to get my favorite suit dirty." He blows a kiss at a fuming Barone.
Barone shouts to Starr, "I'm right here you cock sucker. C'mon!"
Starr gets into his car and playfully responds, "Cocksucker?! Ross been watching too many reruns of ‘The Sopranos’ or something! Go get yourself a drink, Ross. Here, it’s on me." He digs in his pocket peeling off a fifty dollar bill, balling it up and throws it at Barone.
A laughing McKenna says to Starr, "Alright, asshole! Call me in the morning." Starr gives McKenna a salute, smiling, then gives Barone the finger before pulling off and driving down the service road along the river bank.
4:30 am
Vivian and Keith are in their room at the Westin New Orleans Hotel. The lights are off and Keith is asleep on the couch. Vivian is on the bed surfing the internet on her IPad. Now finished entertaining herself, she puts the IPad down, takes a piece of paper from the end table and quietly get off of the bed. Dressed in her pajamas, she walks to the closet and puts on her jacket and shoes. Trying not to wake Keith up…Vivian quietly leaves the room.
At the same time, McKenna and Barone are pulling into the parking lot of the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Loyola. McKenna is in a light mood as he tells Barone, “We need some women tonight Ross. It’s a beautiful night! We’re in a beautiful city, and I’m here looking at your ugly ass. Shit! It’s late, let’s just go get a drink, c’mon man.” Barone says that he is tired and that he is going upstairs to bed. McKenna pleads, “Ross, I don’t wanna go by myself, c’mon man!”
Barone opens the truck door and exits. It is then when the interior lights come on in the truck, that McKenna notices the blood that Keith spit all over the carpet and on the back of the seats, he shouts, “Look at what you guys did to my truck! Where’s Marlon?! Is he back yet?! You see his car?! Help me clean this up Ross!”
Barone continues walking to the side door of the hotel. He turns back to say, “It’s almost five in the fucking morning… I’ll help you tomorrow man. Good night.” McKenna then shouts, “Oh okay! For now on ride with Marlon!” McKenna then pulls off on his way to Iggy’s on N. Rampart to get a beer.
4:42 am
Barone is in his hotel room at the Hyatt Regency. He is sharing a room with Rome. McKenna and Starr have their own separate rooms. Barone is emptying out the wet bar, putting all of the tiny bottles on the bed. He lies on the bed, cuts on the TV and cracks open two bottle of Jack Daniels. Barone is still fully dressed.
Meanwhile back at The Westin, Vivian is walking through the hotel lobby. She slides over to a pay phone, inserts money, then dials.
Back at the Hyatt Regency, Barone is busy getting drunk when his room phone rings. He reaches for the phone, spilling his drink all over himself. He spits out a few obscenities then answers the phone. We hear his end of the phone conversation, “Yeah? A package, from who? Bring it up, I’m in bed. What do you mean there’s nobody at the desk to bring it up! Then just fucking leave it there, I’ll get it in the morning! It’s 5 o’clock for Christ’s Sake!” Alright, alright! Shit! I’ll be right down!”, then he hangs up.
Barone leaves his room and walks to the elevator. He enters an empty elevator on the 5th floor and pushes #1 for the lobby. Barone’s room is on the far north side of the hotel. The elevators on the north side of the hotel do not go to the lobby; they go to the courtyard and pool area on the ground floor. The elevator opens and Barone gets off. He walks into the dark courtyard and pool area, which is obviously closed, and the area is empty. The only light is coming from the deep blue, illuminated pool. As Barone walks past the closed sun tan lotion booth, a hand, wearing black gloves, holding a Taser suddenly reaches out and tases Barone on the back, sending fifty thousand volts of electricity through his body. Barone instantly falls to the ground. He tries to turn to see his assailant but his locked body muscles won’t let him do so. Barone again is quickly tased on his stomach. Barone is on the ground writhing in pain. His assailant grabs him by the leg and pulls him to the edge of the pool. At this point Barone is somewhat defenseless. The assailant then drops Barone’s leg, runs around him and rolls Barone into the pool. Barone struggles to get to the surface, but his muscles are still semi-paralyzed. The assailant walks along the edge of the pool and stops at the electric pool-filtering machine, which is in use. Barone now at the surface of the water, struggles to get to the pool edge. But before he could grab the edge, the assailant shoves the electric filter machine into the pool, electrocuting Barone. Barone screams as the pool lights flutter and sparks and smoke rise off of the surface of the water. The assailant casually walks away from the poolside. Barone is now floating face down in the pool as sparks crack and smoke fumes around him…Barone is dead.
5:47 am
There is police activity around the pool area of the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Det. Roussel again has been called in from District 7 to investigate the murder scene because like Jesse’s murder, it is suspicious for another well-groomed man to be found dead with no identification in a low crime location. Police correctly thought the two deaths are connected.
Det. Roussel is standing with the hotel manager, Mr. Cade, Det. Ardisi from District 8 approaches Det. Roussel to tell him the details of the evidence found. Among other things, Det. Ardisi says that there were small bruises on Barone’s stomach and back, but no real signs of a struggle. Det. Ardisi adds that there was a smell of alcohol on the body and concludes that Barone was probably drunk and accidentally tripped over the filter machine, fell into the pool, sending the machine into the pool, which electrocuted him.
Det. Roussel asks, “Do you have an ID on the body?”
Det. Ardisi replies, “No, he had no ID. We do have his room key though.”
Det. Ardisi gives Det. Roussel the key, an electronic key, then walks away. There is no room number on the key so Det. Roussel asks Mr. Cade to find out what room the key is for.
Mr. Cade says that he’ll scan the key at the front desk for him.
Det. Roussel then asks if Barone was staying in the hotel alone or with his family.
Mr. Cade replies, “I saw him earlier today with a gentleman, a taller gentleman. That’s it though, no family.”
Det. Roussel acknowledges Mr. Cade, who then adds, “I’ll go get the check-in information for you.”
He then walks to the lobby.
At this moment, back at The Westin, Vivian is getting off the elevator and is returning to her hotel room. She inserts her key and opens the door. As she quietly makes her way to the bed, trying not to awaken Keith who is sleeping on the couch, in the dark. Vivian doesn’t notice that Keith’s eyes are open. He lies still and says nothing so not to let Vivian know that he is wide awake.
6:15 am
McKenna is pulling up at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. The police and emergency personnel in front of the hotel startle him. McKenna decides to park his truck on the curb on Loyola Ave., instead of the hotel parking lot. McKenna puts his gun under the front
seat and exits the truck.
McKenna finds a pay phone on the corner and calls Starr who is back in his room, on his cell phone. McKenna tells him, “I’m outside, what the fuck is going on in there?!” Starr tells him that Barone is dead. McKenna is momentarily shaken and saddened, but not surprised. He then asks Starr how, and he is told that Barone fell into the pool and drowned or electrocuted himself. McKenna tells Starr, “I’m coming up.”
6:45 am
Starr, Rome and McKenna are in Starr’s room. The three former M.I.C.O. soldiers are in a very somber mood, but also angry and suspicious. The three men rule out Barone drowning and even rule out the government being behind Barone’s murder. They feel the C.I.A. would’ve taken them out all at once, quicker and easier to execute. The now three former commando soldiers strongly feel that probably one of them killed Barone, but they do not ask each other. The men are focused on retrieving the money, they then press on with their plans. Their anger comes from the fact that there will now be some attention from the authorities circling around then, which is exactly what they didn’t want. Rome and Starr sort of dismiss Barone’s death, which disappoints McKenna a bit.
McKenna put Barone under his wing when he entered the military. Rome, then matter or fact states, “Alright, I guess we got a three-way split now.” The comment disturbs McKenna and startles Starr.
Rome responds, “Look I’ll pay for his funeral, flowers, limos, and even a band like they do down here! I just wanna get my fuckin’ money so I can get outta here!” McKenna disgustedly looks at Rome. Rome responds, “Greg it ain’t even like that. Me and Ross go way back to ‘basic’ (training) together, six years! Ross is my man and you know that! But the first thing we learn in covert, the job keeps on going until mission complete. All of that emotional shit goes out the window! Get the job done first, then you can do all the cryin` you want!” Starr cuts in, “Yea, I guess It ain’t gonna do us no good worrying about Ross now. He’d want us to make sure we finished the job.”
