by Glenn, Roy
“You want me to check that out to your office, Nick?” Danielle asked. Fantasy or not, she still had a job to do.
“Huh?”
“That bottle? You taking it to a bar or your office?”
“To the office,” Nick said as he walked out. He went back to his office. Nick had set up shop at JR’s. A nightclub and gambling spot that used to be owned by Rain’s father, Jasper Robinson. When JR died, Rain took over the spot and promptly turned it over to Nick.
Nick poured himself a drink and waited for Rain to get back to the club. He sat there drinking and as usual, his thoughts turned to Wanda. He was still very much in love with her. Only problem with that was, he couldn’t get enough of Rain. Everything about Rain excited him to his core. She was all gangster, all the time and her sex was incredible. They were perfect together. He thought about the first night that they made love. If that’s what you wanna call it. They stared into each other eyes while the bullets flew over their heads. “I want to fuck you so bad,” Rain said.
That’s how she was, all gangster, all the time, even in bed. And she was totally devoted to Nick. But after they settled with the Abraham brothers, Rain was bored. At Nick’s request, she had given up the dope game and needed something to do. Nick decided to let her start making the rounds, collecting money from all of their operations. It didn’t go well at first, people who had been with Black for years didn’t know who this child that Nick sent was; they complained and she got no respect. It was his idea for her to recruit a couple of guys that were loyal to her.
That gave birth to The Purple Gang, Donavan, Brandon, Chris Toney and Memphis. From that point on, Rain had no more issues with respect. Their reputation was solidified when Rain found out that a numbers runner named Teddy Pegram was skimming. Rain knew that this was her opportunity of make an example so everybody knew that she wasn’t to be played with. She went to see him one afternoon at the bar he hung out in and The Purple Gang dragged him out.
They took him to his house, and after a brutal beating, they stripped him naked and bent him over the kitchen table. Then they took plastic cuffs and cuffed his waist and ankles to the legs of the table. Then Rain stepped up behind him.
“What you gonna do?” Pegram wanted to know.
Rain came around and leaned on the table next to him. “I know your bitch ass is hopin’ that I strap up and fuck that ass,” she laughed. “But I got something else in mind.”
Rain went back behind him and looked between his legs. “Damn, you got a little bitty dick.” Everybody in the room laughed except for Pegram. “That’s all right. This is still gonna hurt.”
She took a step back. “Now, you gonna tell me where the money you stole from Nick is.”
“I told you, Rain, I ain’t steal no money.”
“You a fuckin’ liar!” Rain screamed and as hard as she could, kicked Pegram in the groin with the tip of her stiletto.
“Shit!” Pegram screamed.
Rain kicked him again. “Tell me where the fuckin’ money is!” then she kicked him again. She had kicked him ten times and the Purple Gang looked on and cringed each time Rain made contact.
Chris Toney leaned on the table next to Pegram. “You need to tell her ass where the money is before—” but before he could finish his sentence, Rain kicked him again.
“Awe, shit!”
“I was gonna say before she kicks you again and your dick falls off.”
Rain laughed. “Chris Toney you need to shut the fuck up and get out the way, ’case I miss and kick you in the nuts,” she said and kicked him again.
“Okay! Okay! The money is in a safe deposit box at my bank.”
Rain came around and leaned next to him. “See, that wasn’t so hard. Now, where’s the fuckin’ key to the box?”
Pegram told her where the key was, what bank it was at and the box number. Then she made him call the bank and tell the manager that two men were coming to access the box just so there wouldn’t be any problem.
Rain sent Chris Toney and Memphis to the bank to check out the box. She kept Pegram cuffed to the table while she waited for them to call and let her know what was in the box.
It was a little over an hour later when Rain’s cell rang. “What’s up?”
“It’s Chris. We at the bank.”
“Okay. What you got?”
“Dude got a hundred and fifty in cash in that box. Plus a bunch of jewelry, a small bag of loose diamonds and three- - -”
“Four,” Memphis corrected.
“Four Rolexes,” Chris Toney said.
“Pack it up and take it to Nick,” Rain ordered.
“You got it.”
Rain ended the call and stood up. She walked over to the table and leaned next to Pegram.
“You had quite a little nest egg in that box. But how I know that was the only one? Nick say you been around a long time, so I’m thinkin’ you been skimmin’ for a long time.”
“That’s all there is, Rain, I swear.”
“I don’t believe you, but it don’t matter.” she stood up and looked at Donavan and Brandon and they left the room.
“Did you know Nick was in the army? Of course you do. Like I said, you been around a long time. While he was in the army he traveled all over the world. He likes to tell stories about the things he did and about the different people and their cultures. Did you know that in some cultures they cut the hands off of thieves?”
Pegram’s eyes got big.
By this time, Donavan and Brandon had returned and were standing on either side of the table. Each one had a machete in his hand.
“You got one more chance to tell me where the rest of the fuckin’ money is before these niggas cut your hands off.”
“I told you, Rain, that’s all there is. Please, Rain, please don’t do this,” Pegram begged as Donavan and Brandon raised their machetes.
“All you gotta do to stop it is tell me where the rest of the money is,” Rain said calmly.
“There is no more fuckin’ money!” Pegram yelled at the top of his lungs.
“You’re a fuckin’ thief and a liar!” Rain yelled back. She looked at Donavan and Brandon. “Cut them off.”
“No!” Pegram screamed in terror as the machetes came down.
Pegram screamed as the blood oozed out.
“Stop all that fuckin’ noise!” Rain yelled and took out her gun. She stepped to Pegram and shot him in the head.
Later that night, they dumped his naked and beaten body, along with his hands in front of the bar they took him from. It didn’t take long before word got around.
Rain had sent a message.
There was a knock at the door. Nick picked up the remote and flipped on the monitor to see that it was one of the guys in security.
“Come in,” Nick shouted.
“Sorry to bother you, boss, but there is a woman here that says she needs to see you. Says to tell you it’s important.”
“She got a name?”
“Mercedes.”
“Bring her up,” Nick said and security left the office.
Mercedes was a dancer who worked at Cynt’s and for a short time was involved with Mike Black. He grew tired of her when he realized that she had as much brains as a box of rocks. When Black left her alone, Mercedes gravitated toward Nick. She wasn’t afraid of Rain. Too stupid to be afraid, Nick thought. But Nick kept her around, one because she was beautiful and two, she kept him informed on what was going on at Cynt’s. One thing he learned from Freeze is that, “you can’t be everywhere at once, so you gonna make sure you got people everywhere that will keep you up on what’s goin’ on,” Freeze told him on more than one occasion. Nick got up and went to the safe in the office. He counted out five one hundred-dollar bills.
There was another knock at the door and security showed Mercedes in and left them alone. “Hey, Nick,” Mercedes said and sat down.
“What’s up, Mercedes. What you got for me today?”
“Something is going on.”
<
br /> “What makes you say that?”
“Grant and Doc were at the club today. I think they were meeting with Wanda. I didn’t see her, but that guy that drives for her, he was there.”
“You know what it was about?”
“No, but I heard Doc tell Grant that he hope they know what they’re doin’, because you weren’t gonna go down without a fight.”
Nick didn’t say anything at first, and then he got up and went back to the safe. He counted out another five hundred and handed the grand to Mercedes. “I need you to get close to Dwayne. He’s Cynt’s right hand. If anything is gonna go down, he’ll know about it. I need you to find out how they plannin’ on coming at me. And I need to know who’s all involved in this and do it fast.”
Mercedes smiled. “I can do that. Dwayne been tryin’ to get this pussy since the day I walked in the door. But he is so fuckin’ goofy looking that I never gave him any play.”
“I’m countin’ on you, baby. You do this and I’ll take care of you.”
Mercedes left JR’s and went right back to Cynt’s to get close to Dwayne. She was smart enough to know that this was her ticket out of Cynt’s for good.
CHAPTER SIX
Russell Stokes had always considered himself an ambitious man. Whatever he set his mind on, he usually got. He controlled a small organization with his hands in drugs, gambling and prostitution. Russell did all right for himself, but he wanted more.
So much more, and he was determined to get it.
For years he had envied the size and scope of Black’s organization. He tried once to make a move to seize control of some of Black’s operation when Black left the country with Cassandra Sims. Shy, as she was called ran a smooth drug operation. With both of them gone, Russell saw that as his opportunity to take control of both.
What he hadn’t counted on was Freeze.
Since niggas talk, it wasn’t long before Freeze got word about what Russell was planning. He wasn’t the least bit interested in him expanding his drug operation. “That’s some shit for Chilly to deal with,” Freeze told Kenny Lucas that night. “But if that mutha fucka thinks he gonna catch us slippin’ and ease up on my shit, he oughta think again. We ready for whatever.”
“What you thinkin’ about doin’?” Kenny asked, but he had known Freeze for a long time. He knew exactly what he was gonna do.
Freeze picked up the phone and made a call. When he was done, Freeze checked his weapon and got another one out of the drawer. “Let’s go. We got some shit to do before tomorrow night.”
Word was that Russell had opened a new gambling spot that wasn’t too far from one of Black’s joints. That following evening, Freeze and Kenny paid him a visit. As soon as they walked in the door, Russell’s men were on edge.
Russell saw them come in, but he wasn’t too worried. He had four good men in the house and it was just Freeze and Kenny. His thought was that if they planned to do anything other than look around and talk, Freeze would have brought more men. He was a little surprised that Freeze found out about the spot so quickly, but he knew how niggas talk.
As time passed and Freeze didn’t do anything other than drink gamble and talk shit, Russell and his men began to relax a bit. That all changed when Freeze’s cell rang. “What’s up?” Freeze answered.
“We’re outside.”
“Then it’s on,” Freeze said. He ended the call and looked at Kenny.
Both men stood up, took out their guns and opened fire. Russell’s men were caught completely off guard. When the shooting stopped, all four of Russell’s men were dead. None of them had gotten off a single shot. All of the gamblers in the house ran for the door and Freeze’s gun was pointed at Russell. He had his gun out, but thought better of using it. Russell put his gun down, knowing that if Freeze wanted to kill him that he’d be dead already.
There was complete silence in the room until the door opened and in walked Mike Black and Bobby Ray. As they walked past Russell’s dead soldiers, Bobby shook his head. “What a waste,” he said and he and Black sat down at the table with Russell.
“Russell,” Black said and moved Russell’s gun out of the way.
Russell smiled and laughed a little. “What’s up, Black?”
“What we got goin’ on here, Russell?”
“I, ahh, you know, had opened up a little spot.”
Bobby punched Russell in the face. “No,” Black said and Bobby punched him again. “What we got goin’ on here is you failin’ to understand something. When you walk outside and look around all you see is mine.”
Bobby punched Russell in the face again. “Understand now?” Bobby said and punched him again.
“In case you don’t understand, let me explain it to you. That means that you don’t open any little spot around here. You don’t move your number runners in and you definitely don’t even think about sellin’ no dope on my streets.”
“Understand,” Bobby said and punched him again.
“We’ve talked about this kinda shit before; haven’t we, Russell?” Black asked.
By this time Russell was bleeding from the mouth as a result of Bobby’s work. He didn’t answer.
Bobby punched him again. “Answer the man!”
“Yeah, Black, we talked about this before,” Russell said softly.
Bobby punched him again. “I can’t hear you.”
“Yeah, Black, we talked about this before,” Russell said louder this time. “Don’t hit me no more Bobby, please.”
Bobby laughed and then hit him three more times in the face. The last one knocked Russell out of his chair. Kenny stepped up and picked Russell up and put him back in the chair.
“Now, where were we?” Black asked Russell. “Oh yeah, do you remember what I told you the last time we talked about this?”
“That if I tried this shit again, I would regret it.”
Bobby was about to hit Russell again, but Black held up his hand.
“What part of that didn’t you understand?”
“I understand, Black.”
“I don’t think you do,” Black said and stood up. “Bobby.”
With that Kenny grabbed Russell and Bobby went to work on him. When he was done, Kenny put Russell back in the chair and held him there.
“I think you understand now. So the next time we have to have this conversation, we’re not gonna have a conversation. Freeze is just gonna put two in your head.” Black got up and Kenny let Russell go. He fell to the floor. He watched from the floor as Bobby, Freeze and Kenny followed Black out of the house.
When it was over, Russell’s jaw was broken along with two of his ribs, but he was alive and he thankful for that. Since that day, Russell kept a low profile. Anytime he saw Freeze around; he got up and left right away. He celebrated the day that he heard Freeze was dead.
He had heard the word that Kenny was murdered in the street, Black had moved back to the islands, Bobby was MIA and Nick Simmons was running things. Russell remembered Nick from the old days, but he didn’t know much about him. But Russell was always on the lookout for an opportunity to bite off a piece.
Russell was sitting in the back of his restaurant, when Billy Jackson walked in. Billyjack as he was known, had worked for Russell for years. It was only by chance that he wasn’t at the spot with Russell the night Black paid a visit. He arrived ten minutes after they left. For a while Russell wondered if Billyjack had set him up, but over the years he had proven his loyalty time and again. “What’s up, Billyjack?”
“Check this out. I heard from one of my people that some of Black’s people is recruitin’ like they gearin’ up for war.”
“You think they gettin' ready to come at us?”
“That’s what I thought at first, but the way I get it is that Nick is slippin’ and they plannin’ a takeover.”
“You know who’s behind it?”
“Get this; Wanda Moore.”
“Wanda? The lawyer?”
“That’s the way I get it.”
; “Who’d you hear this from?”
“One of Grant’s people,” Billyjack admitted. “Things is quiet now, but it could jump off any time.”
Russell sat back in his chair and thought about the possibilities that this could have for him. The beating he took that night didn’t hurt anymore and Russell was thinking about trying again. This time, he would be a little smarter about it.
“We could work this to our advantage,” Russell said.
“All we gotta do is sit back and pick up the pieces when it’s over,” Billyjack said.
“I was thinkin’ about something a little different,” Russell said and smiled.
“What’s that?”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Nassau, Bahamas
If there is one thing you could say about Jamaica, it’s that he is very good at his job. In a few short months he had just about taken control of the illegal gambling in Nassau. Jamaica and his men had forcibly taken over most of the gambling houses on the island and had opened up new ones. The only real problem he had was with a man named Harry Walker and his wife Deidra. Together they ran a few spots, Deidra was in charge of the women who worked the trade on the island and they stuck their hand in when there was money to be made as a middleman for drug deals. But, Jamaica knew he would turn them in due time.
He turned his attention to extortion. He began shaking down anybody who made money on the tourist industry. From tour operators, to bus and cab companies. From the guys who took tourists out on their boats for fishing trips, to the port merchants. If you made money, you had to pay Jamaica.
His latest target was Henry Clay. Mister Henry, as he was known to the locals, owned and operated a small restaurant near the beach that was a popular tourist spot called The Grill. During the last tropical storm, the roof of the restaurant sustained quite a bit of damage. The cost of repairs was substantially more than Mister Henry could afford. With no one else to turn to, he went to Jamaica for help.
