New York's Finest (1st of the Trilogy)

by Swinson, Kiki

  As soon as he ended his call, Reggie took a seat in the chair directly across from me and leaned in towards me. “How you feeling?” he didn’t hesitate to ask.

  I let out a long sigh. “I’m better than I was an hour ago,” I told him.

  “Do you feel like talking about what happened?”

  As bad as I wanted to tell him no and I preferred to forget about what happened, I knew that he wouldn’t be too happy. At the end of the day, all he wanted was to get to the bottom of the murder and robbery, and find who had the audacity to put me in harm’s way. And if I could give him any information that would help him find the fucking culprits, then he’d be the happiest man on earth.

  “Look, if you don’t want to tell the whole story, just tell me what happened right after you left Candie’s apartment,” Reggie said.

  I took a deep breath and then I exhaled, while both Reggie and Damian gave me their undivided attention. “Right after I stuck the money Candie gave me in my handbag, I left the apartment and met Lucky by the elevator. Everything was cool. Nothing seemed strange or out of the ordinary, so when he and I got onto the elevator we went with the flow of things. And when the two guys jumped down into the elevator while we were passing the fifth and fourth floors, we were caught off guard. It was like, Lucky didn’t have no time at all to shoot or stop them from coming down on us. I mean, they knocked him completely out within a few seconds.”

  “So they hit Lucky before he could react and I see they hit you too,” Reggie noticed as he zoomed in on my face.

  Unconsciously, I massaged the area of my face where I was hit while Reggie stared at it. “It hurt like hell after the guy hit me, but it’s not that bad now,” I told him.

  “Dre told me dude said something to you before he shot Lucky,” Reggie probed for more information.

  “Yeah, after the guy took the money from me, I begged him not to kill me. So after he told me he wasn’t going to do it this time, he looked back over at Lucky and killed him instead, while the other guy played look out.”

  “What did they do after that?”

  “They ran out of the elevator.”

  “Did you see which way they ran?” Reggie continued his questions.

  The questions upset me. Did he really think I would go behind two killers to figure out which way they ran? I mean, I was damn near traumatized by the fact I had just saw a man get his fucking head blown off and that I could’ve very well had gotten my head blown off too. “Hell no! After they ran out of the elevator, I got up just enough nerves to close the elevator door and pressed the first floor button so I could get out of there!” I snapped.

  “Calm down Naomi,” Damian said in a soothing voice. “He just wanted to know if there was a chance that you saw something other than what you mentioned to Dre.”

  I looked back at Damian. “Trust me, if I saw where they went, that would’ve been the first thing I told Dre when I saw him.”

  Damian massaged my back in a circular motion. “It’s gonna be alright. We gon’ take care of those niggas who did this shit to you and Lucky.”

  “You damn right! Those niggas are going to pay dearly!” Reggie blurted out. “And as soon as I find out who they are and where their families live, I’m going to kill everybody in the fucking crib! No one will leave out of there alive. And that’s my motherfucking word. Nobody puts their hands on my fucking sister, kill one of my soldiers and take my motherfucking dough and is able to walk around to talk about it. Fuck nah! That’s just not going to happen to me.”

  I felt the rage in Reggie’s voice. He was on a warpath and no one would be able to bring him out of that spell but himself. Damian continued to comfort me after Reggie stormed out of the room. “Do you think you’ll be able to drive home?” he asked me.

  “I’m not sure,” I replied.

  “Well, if you want me and Reggie to drop you off, then we’ll do that. But you gotta let us know, because as soon as we get the call that the police got the coroner to move Lucky’s body out of the elevator and clear the building out, then we gon’ head out there so we can have a sit down with Walt.”

  “A’ight. I’ll let y’all know before y’all leave,” I told him. And then I laid my head back against the chair.

  I hadn’t realized I had dozed off until Damian tapped me on my shoulder. “We’re getting ready to leave, so if you want us to drop you off, then get ready because we’re gonna be leaving in about ten minutes.”

  I lifted my head to see the clock on the wall. When I realized I had been asleep for two hours I sat up instantly. I knew I had to get up early in the morning to meet my crew for a six a.m. flight to New Orleans. Very seldom I called in sick. My supervisor was a total bitch when she got calls from her flight attendants wanting to take out. If we didn’t show up for work it better be because we were in the hospital or dead. Otherwise, you’d better be on the flight assigned to you. And since I didn’t need the drama or the headache of being put with another crew, which, of course, would alter my normal pick up route for our product deliveries, I stood up from the sofa.

  “I’ll leave with you guys, but I want to take my truck with me,” I told him.

  “You’re gonna drive?” Damian asked me.

  “Nah, I want you to drive my truck and I’ll ride with Reggie.”

  “A’ight. Cool,” he said.

  New York’s Finest Kiki Swinson

  Chapter 4 – The Time Has Come

  I hopped in Reggie’s all black, tinted windowed Suburban while Damian followed us in my truck. Since I had been in his company we hadn’t had any time alone to talk about everything that happened earlier. I could tell that he was in deep thought from the moment we left his apartment. “What’s on your mind?” I wondered aloud.

  He continued to look forward as he maneuvered through the traffic. “I just want some answers when I have this sit down with everybody.”

  “And what if you don’t get the answers you’re looking for?” I continued.

  “Well, then somebody else is going to pay for what happened today,” he replied. As soon as he closed his mouth, I noticed how the veins around his temple started to flair. I figured the more he thought about the possibilities that no one was going to be able to pinpoint who robbed and killed Lucky, the more irrational he’d become. I guessed now would be the perfect time to talk some sense in him. I mean, I was the only person he’d listen to. Not even our father or mother could get through to him when he was about to blow his fucking top.

  “Hey, Reggie, I know how badly you want to tear those grimy bastards to shreds, but setting shit off on random motherfuckers ain’t gonna get you closer to them,” I said after I collected my thoughts. “You’re gonna have to think about everything you say and do when you go back out to the Polo Grounds. I mean, you know mad niggas out there got your back, but you’re gonna have to come up with a plan.”

  “Oh, I got a plan,” he snapped.

  “Calm down, papi. This is me you’re talking to. I know how you get down. But remember we got a lot of shit cooking right now and we can’t afford to fuck it up behind this shit that happened today. Let’s just see what everybody got to say. And then you take it from there.”

  Reggie looked at the driver side window and then he looked into his rearview window. “You think that nigga, Walt, had something to do with it?” he asked me.

  I really wasn’t shocked by his question. As long as I’ve known my brother, he doesn’t trust a soul but me. He’s paranoid of everyone. “I can’t say,” I answered him as I thought back on the things that transpired before the actual robbery took place. “It’s kind of hard to say because he didn’t act any different from any other time I’d seen him.”

  “Well, he may not have acted any different but he’s gonna have a lot of questions to answer. I might even throw Damian on the hot seat too. He did bring that nigga into the fold,” Reggie huffed.

  “Come on now, you don’t think Damian had something to do with this?”

  “I don’t
put shit pass no man. That nigga eat and shit just like I do, so he’s just as suspect as that nigga, Walt. But I’ll tell you what, somebody better tell me something tonight.”

  “Just be easy Reggie. I can’t tell you enough about how much shit we just got in that needs to be worked. So if you fuck around and put down another body, then that’s gonna bring more heat on us. We gotta lay low until all the work is gone,” I explained to him. Even though he didn’t respond back, I knew he heard me. He was a fucking hot head, but he wasn’t stupid.

  As soon as we pulled up to my building, I kissed Reggie on the cheek and told him I loved him and to call me as soon as he’s done with his meeting. He assured me he would.

  Right after Damian hopped out of my truck, the valet took it and drove off. So I walked up to him and said, “Please keep a watch out on Reggie. Please make sure he keeps his cool.”

  Damian kissed me on the cheek and told me he would.

  After he got into the truck with Reggie, they drove off and I couldn’t help but wonder how things would play out tonight. I wanted so badly to warn Damian that Reggie wanted to blame him for what happened today. But I couldn’t betray my brother’s trust. That would be the ultimate sin in his eyes. And he’d never forgive me for it. Loyalty was what he expected from me. So to him, me betraying his trust would make me forever dead in his book.

  Upstairs in my apartment, I tried to keep myself busy. It was still kind of light outside so I had plenty of time before I called it a night and laid my butt down. I only had one close friend and her name was Sabrina Alvarez. She was a flight attendant just like me and we also worked together. She lived in the Bronx, but she’s always on my side of town. She and I’d been friends for about four years now. She’s very cool but she’s not cool enough for me to let her in on what Reggie and I got going on. Reggie would slit my fucking throat if I pulled her coattail about our operation. He didn’t mind if she and I hung out, go shopping or have a few drinks together, but he had forbidden me to tell her any of my business.

  Like me, she was very beautiful and a sexy Latina. She’s from the Dominican Republic though. And she’s a bad bitch when she has to be. She was very fashion conscious. Niggas knew not to come at her unless they’re trying to spend some dough. Reggie had also fucked her a couple of times. But guess what? He paid her for her services by flying her to a ski resort in Aspen for five days and took her shopping on top of that. He dropped a minimum of forty grand on a couple pairs of boots, a diamond necklace and a mink jacket. She made him come out of his motherfucking pockets and if it were me, I’d done the same thing.

  Since she was the only friend I had at the moment, I got her on the phone so I could take my mind off the shit that was about to go down at the Polo Grounds.

  “Hey, Chica,” she said as soon as she answered her cell phone.

  “What’s good babe? Where you at?” I asked her, trying to make small talk.

  “At the bodega picking up some milk and a few other things,” she replied. “Why, what’s up?”

  “Nothing. I was just calling you to see what you were doing since I was sitting here bored out of my mind.”

  “Are you scheduled to work tomorrow?”

  “You know I am. Remember we got that early morning flight to New Orleans?”

  “Oh yeah, how can I forget that?” she replied sarcastically. “I get so tired of that crazy ass woman when she schedules us for that mess. She does that shit to piss us off.”

  “Yeah, I know. But just try not to let it get to you. You see I don’t pay that shit she does no mind. I just go on about my damn business.”

  “That shit you’re talking is easier said than done,” she laughed. “Oh yeah, you heard about that murder that happened today at your old stomping grounds?” she blurted out. I mean, that shit came from out of nowhere. I didn’t know whether to lie or tell her the truth. But then a little birdie whispered in my ear and told me to play dumb. The less I acted like I knew, the less she’d ask me questions. And besides, I figured if she heard something, then she’d be able to tell me what the streets were saying.

  “Nah, I didn’t hear that,” I began to lie. “What happen and when did it happen?”

  “I saw it on the news earlier. I started to call you to see if you knew who got killed but I got caught up in some other stuff and forgot all about it.”

  “What did the news journalist say?” my questions continued.

  “They didn’t say anything really. All they said was that an unidentified young man in his early twenties got shot in the head execution style in the elevator of one of the towers of the Polo Grounds, and if anyone had any information that could lead to the arrest of the triggerman, than to call the hotline.”

  “They didn’t say anything else?”

  “They did say that it may be drug related but they weren’t for sure,” she replied. “Think your brother may have known the guy that got killed?”

  “Reggie knows everybody. So it wouldn’t surprise me if he did.”

  “Have you spoken with him today?”

  “Yeah. Earlier. But it was this morning.”

  “Well, I bet if you call him, he’ll be able to tell you more information than me or that reporter on TV,” she laughed.

  “Like I said before, it wouldn’t surprise me,” I said and then I turned the direction of the conversation. “So what are you going to get into after you leave the store?”

  “I’m not sure. I’ll probably pick Kennedy up from preschool and drop her off at her daddy’s house since we gotta get on that early flight to New Orleans.”

  “Yeah, that might be your best bet. That way you won’t be scrambling in the morning trying to get her situated so you can get to work on time.”

  “That makes sense. But I’ll call you later.”

  “Do that,” I told her. And then we disconnected our lines.

  I sat back on my bed and let out a long sigh of relief. Knowing that the news reporter had no knowledge that I had witnessed Lucky get murdered was a stress reliever. One thing I can say about my people at the Polo Grounds was that they definitely knew how to keep their mouths shut. And that was a huge plus in my book.

  New York’s Finest Kiki Swinson

  Chapter 5 – Checking In

  I had let a few hours roll by and when I hadn’t heard from Reggie I became worried. I knew I wouldn’t be able to go to sleep until I knew what had happened at the Polo Grounds.

  While I was snuggled in my bed, I grabbed my Blackberry from my nightstand and called Reggie’s phone. It rung five times before it went to voicemail. The fact he didn’t answer sent me into a state of panic. I tried his number again but got the same results, so I hung up and immediately called Damian’s phone. I let out a long sigh of relief when he answered.

  “What’s up?” he asked. Before I could answer him, I was interrupted by all of the commotion in the background.

  “Nigga, you think I’m playing wit’ your motherfucking ass? I will kill you right now. I ain’t got no love for niggas who ain’t got love for me!” I heard my brother yelling.

  His rage was bursting through the roof. I wasn’t in the same room with him but there was no doubt in my mind that he had a gun in his hand while he was on this rampage.

  “Naomi, you still up here?” Damian asked.

  “Yeah, I’m still here,” I finally replied. “I just tried to call Reggie’s phone twice but he didn’t answer it.”

  “Oh . . . that was you? Yeah, I heard it ring. He picked it up and looked at it but you knew he wasn’t going to answer it while he’s trying to handle this situation.”

  “I kind of figured that. Was everything cleaned up when y’all got there?”

  “Yeah, it was. But you could still tell something happened.”

  “Did they seal off the elevator?” I asked.

  “Yeah, we heard they ain’t letting nobody use it for the next couple of days,” Damian spoke low, but audible.

  “Did y’all find out who those guys were?�
��

  “Nah, not yet.”

  “Did your people have any answers for y’all when you guys saw him?”

  “He had a few. But it wasn’t good enough for your brother,” he continued in a low tone.

  But you could still hear Reggie laying down the law in the background. “I will not allow a nigga to fuck up my operation. I don’t give a fuck who it is. I have taken a lot of risks to let some grimy ass low-level niggas destroy what I built. So if I ever find out one of y’all niggas was behind this shit that happened today, it ain’t gon’ be pretty for you, your babymamas, your kids and the rest of your motherfucking families. Y’all catch my drift?”

  I heard everyone say yeah in unison. And then it got quiet but it didn’t stay quiet for long. A second later, I heard Reggie say, “Who the fuck you on the phone with?” Then there was a long pause, but I knew he was talking to Damian.

  “It’s your sister. She said she just tried to call you.”

  “Nigga, you were supposed to be watching my back and now you on the motherfucking phone!” I heard Reggie spat. “Shit, if you wanna know the truth, I believe that if you would not have brought this nigga into my operation, then this shit probably wouldn’t have happened. So I might have just cause to blame you for this shit, huh?”

  “What the fuck are you talking about Reggie? So you think I was behind this shit?” I heard Damian say.

  While I waited for my brother to respond, my heart raced at sixty miles per second. I wished like hell I was there to shut this discussion down. Reggie knew he had a right to have his suspicion, but this wasn’t the right time to address that suspicion. The other cats that worked for us didn’t need to see that there may be some disagreement or dissension within the ranks. They needed to see that we were still strong and one team. That Reggie and Damian still had a bond and solid connection and no one could break that bond or come between them. I so wanted to scream through the phone and tell Damian to hand Reggie the damn phone. Unfortunately, he had pulled the phone away from his ear, so he couldn’t hear me.