by Glenn, Roy
With guns drawn, they walked down the hall to Raheem’s apartment. “Door’s open,” Bobby said.
“I ain’t feelin’ this,” Rain said and raised her weapon.
They went in the apartment slowly and separated to look around. “Mike, back here in the bedroom,” Bobby yelled.
When Black and Rain got to the room, Bobby kicked over Raheem’s body. “That’s him,” Rain said.
“Wonder who got him?” Bobby asked.
“Russell and Billyjack or somebody Russell sent,” Black said.
“I think we should get outta here,” Rain said.
“Why?” Bobby asked.
“This feel like a trap to me,” Rain said.
“What makes you think that?” Bobby asked.
“What? You think you the only one with intuition?” Black asked as he headed for the door. Then he stopped and faced Bobby. “Or would you rather stay here and debate it with her?”
“No,” Bobby said and Black started out the door. “I was just askin’ the logical question.”
As they rode down in the elevator, Rain was smiling. “What you smilin’ about, little girl?” Bobby asked.
“Nothin’. I just like rollin’ wit’ you niggas, that’s all.”
“Why you think I got you ridin’ with us and not Nick?” Black asked.
“I been wonderin’ about that all night,” Rain said.
“’Cause I wanted everybody involved in this shit to see that you’re with us. Not some renegade runnin’ wild that they could push back on if they felt like it. They all need to understand that me and Bobby are behind you and that dealin’ with you is like dealin’ with us.”
“It’s about respect, little girl,” Bobby said as the elevator door opened and they headed out of the building.
Rain walked to the Suburban feeling good. She unlocked the truck and was about to get in when Marley and his men pulled up and opened fire. Black and Bobby dropped to the ground.
“What was she just sayin’ about a trap?” Bobby asked.
Rain got in the Suburban and started it up. She cut the wheel sharply and stepped on the gas. Marley and his men fired at her. Their bullets bounced off the hood and windshield. Rain drove the Suburban straight at them. “She’s gonna ram us!” Marley yelled and jumped out. The Suburban slammed into the driver’s side of the car. Rain jumped out and shot the driver.
Marley took a couple of shots at Rain and started running down the street. “I got him!” Rain yelled and ran after him.
“I’m startin’ to like this girl,” Bobby said as he and Black got up off the ground.
When the other two men got out of the car, they were dazed from the collision and Black and Bobby were able to pick them off with no problem and went after Rain.
Marley kept firing as he ran until he was out of bullets. He tripped and fell but got back up and started running again. But it gave Rain time to catch up with him.
Rain fired a couple shots at Marley and he stumbled and fell again. This time Rain was on top of him. She stood over him, breathing hard and kicked him in the face. “That’s for makin’ me run.” Rain kicked him again. “You know how hard it is to run in these pumps?” Rain pointed her gun at Marley and emptied the clip as Black and Bobby caught up.
“Guess you didn’t need no help,” Bobby said. “Had us runnin’ for nothin’.”
They walked quickly back to the Suburban. It barely had a scratch on it. They got in and drove away from the scene. “Only one thing left to do,” Black said.
“Just tell me where to go,” Rain said.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Confident that it was over and they had successfully dodged a bullet named Mike Black, Russell Stokes and Billy Jackson went and had breakfast. Russell had steak and eggs, while Billyjack enjoyed pancakes with sausage and bacon. “You think Marley got them?” Billyjack asked.
“Nope,” Russell said as he cut his steak. “If he was alive, he woulda called by now to brag about how he killed Black. So unless there’s something about this that you ain’t tellin’ me, it’s over and done with.” Russell was about to take a bite, but he stopped. “And next time I tell you to do some shit like this, you use out of town shooters.”
“You know I never thought about that. You think Black will find out they worked for us?”
“Them niggas didn’t work for me,” Russell said with his mouth full. “They worked for you.”
Billyjack didn’t say anything. At that point he knew that if he was pressed, Russell would put the whole thing off on him. If Black or Bobby or even Rain Robinson were still alive, then sooner or later, and it would probably be sooner, they would come after him. With that thought in mind, Billyjack ate quietly and thought about what he was gonna do next. There was only one option, get out of town now. Put down that fork and head south to Miami. But to do that he would need money, more money than he had on him at the time. All he had was two grand; so unless he planned on robbing gas stations all the way to Miami, which he didn’t, Billyjack needed another plan.
He looked at Russell and thought about askin’ him straight up; Yo Russ, I’m gonna break camp for a minute. Lay low until this thing with Black and them blows over. I need some money to live off. But he knew that Russell was such a cheap bastard that he would say no. He knew Russell had a safe in his house where he kept his get away money. Now it was gonna be Billyjack’s get away money.
He waited patiently for Russell to finish eating and drink a second cup of coffee. “You didn’t finish your food Billyjack.”
“I wasn’t that hungry,” Billyjack said. “You ready?”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
“You want me to take you home?”
“Yeah, it’s been a long night,” Russell said and got up.
Billyjack got up and followed Russell to the car. When they arrived at his house, Russell got out of the car and Billyjack did too.
“Where you goin’?” Russell asked as Billyjack moved quickly around the car.
When he was close enough, Billyjack took out his gun, pointed it in Russell’s face and took his gun. “Yo Russ, I’m gonna break camp for a minute. Lay low until this thing with Black and them blows over. I need some money to live off.”
“Okay, okay, ain’t no need for all this, I was just gettin ready to suggest that you lay low,” Russell said and Billyjack pushed him toward the house.
“Sure you were.”
Billyjack kept the gun pressed against the back of Russell’s head until they got the safe opened. “Now get something to put the money in,” Billyjack ordered.
With Billyjack right behind him, Russell got a suitcase and returned to the safe. “How much you want?”
Billyjack laughed. “All of it.”
“You gonna leave me dry?”
“Nigga, please, I know you got more money stashed somewhere. You’ll be all right. Probably won’t even miss this.”
Once all the money was in the suitcase, Billyjack backed quickly out of the room. Russell sat there and thought about getting his gun out of the desk and going after him. But Billyjack was right, he wouldn’t even miss that money and it wasn’t worth the risk of trying to get it back.
After Billyjack left the house, Russell started thinking that maybe Billyjack was right about something else. Maybe he should get out of town for a while until this thing with Black blew over. He went in his room to pack.
Billyjack made it to his car and had opened the door when Bobby walked up behind him and put two in the back of his head.
Russell heard the shots and rushed to the window and saw Billyjack slumped over his car door. He went and got his gun and pointed it at the door.
When the door swung open, Russell opened fire and kept shooting until his gun was empty. Once the shooting stopped Black walked in the room. Bobby came in behind him, followed by Rain. Black walked over and sat down next to Russell.
“Now, Russell, the last time we talked I made you a promise. Do you remember that?”
&
nbsp; “I remember,” Russell said quietly.
“I can’t hear you,” Bobby shouted and hit Russell in the face with his gun.
“I remember!” Russell shouted.
“This is just how it went the last time,” Bobby laughed.
“I promised you that the next time we weren’t gonna talk, that Freeze was gonna put two in your head. Well Freeze is dead.” Black looked at Rain. “Ms. Robinson.”
“Yes.”
“Put two in his head,” Black ordered.
Rain stepped up and stood in front of Russell. She raised her weapon, held it to Russell’s head. She pulled the trigger once. Then she pulled it again.
“Thank you, Ms. Robinson.”
“Any time.”
As they walked out of Russell’s place, Rain had a question. “Why you always gotta call me Ms. Robinson?”
“That is your name; ain’t it?” Bobby asked.
“Yeah.”
“Then what’s your problem?” Bobby asked.
“I just wanna know why you always call me that?”
“’Cause I respect you, Ms. Robinson. Would you prefer that I call you Lorraine?” Black asked.
“No.”
Rain drove them back to Jackie’s spot to pick up the car Bobby had rented. She put the car in park and looked at Black.
“Can I call my man now?”
“Sure, go ahead,” Black said.
Rain took out her phone out and dialed Nick’s number. Nick answered on the first ring. “Hello,” Nick said cautiously.
“Hi, baby,” Rain said sweetly.
“Are you all right?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“What happened?”
“I’ll tell you when I see you. Where you at?”
“At the house.”
“Good. I need some dick bad,” Rain said and hung up. She looked at Black and Bobby. “What? Killing niggas always makes me horny.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Black got in the car with Bobby. “What you gonna do now?” Black asked.
“I’m gonna ride out to the house. I haven’t been there in months. I just set the alarm and left for South Carolina. I had somebody checkin’ on it, but I should see for myself. You want me to take you somewhere?”
“No. I’ll ride with you.”
“Cool.”
On the way to Rockland County, Black leaned back and closed his eyes. As Bobby made the long drive to his house, Black thought about where to go from here. Right then his entire organization was in disarray. He had just spent the night cleaning up the mess and wondered if there would ever be a time when he could put all this behind him.
He thought about what Sonny Edwards had said to him earlier that night. If you wanna get out, spend the rest of your life in the islands with that gorgeous woman and your kids, then pick a winner, deal with the loser and move on. But I know that this is who you are. The shit is in your blood and retirement is the last thing on your mind.
There was a part of him and it got stronger every time Michelle climbed in his lap and said, I love you, daddy that made him think seriously about it. He was about to have another child and he wanted to be there for them. He didn’t need to be out in the streets like he had been that night, chasing down the bad guys and ending their lives. He thought about Rain. Killing niggas always makes me horny. She literally got off on that shit. Maybe it was time to put all this behind him and live the quiet life he had built in Nassau.
Quiet now that he had killed Harry Walker, that is.
He thought about CeCe. She was a gorgeous woman, a good woman, who loved him, was a great mother to Michelle and was about to give birth to what they both felt was a boy.
Mike Black Jr.
He had everything he wanted, so why did he keep coming back to this life? Well, Sonny already answered that question too. The shit is in your blood. And then there was Jada West. What to do about Jada West? How many times had he asked himself that question? The answer to that one was the easiest to answer.
Nothing.
He had resolved himself to leave that right where they both agreed it was. It was a one-time thing. What they had done together would in no way affect our business relationship. Jada was far more valuable to him as a business partner.
But that is some good pussy.
When they arrived at Bobby’s house, both men went to bed and got some rest. The following afternoon when he got up, the first thing Black did was pick up the phone and call CeCe.
“I miss you,” CeCe said when she answered the phone. “Even though I do feel better, I miss you being here with me.”
“I miss you, too.”
“When are you coming home?”
“I’ll be there tomorrow, the day after at the latest. I still got some things that I need to do here.”
“Is everything all right?”
“No, but they will be before I leave.”
“Since I know you’re not going to tell me, I won’t even ask.”
“How’s Michelle?”
“She’s fine. Like me, missing her daddy.”
“Where is she?”
“She went shopping with Bernadette. They should be back soon.”
“Tell her I love her and I’ll be home soon.”
“I will.”
“And I love you too, Cee.”
CeCe smiled “I love you so much. I can’t wait for you to get here,” she said.
“I’ll call you later,” Black said.
“I love you,” CeCe said again.
Next Black called Wanda. “Hello.”
“Hello, Wanda. Why don’t you meet me at Cuisine in a couple of hours?”
“I’ll be there,” Wanda said and Black ended the call. He made the same call to Jackie, Cynt, Doc, Sherman, and Howard Owens. Then he called Nick. “I need you to meet me a Cuisine in a couple of hours.”
“You got it.”
“And Nick.”
“Yes.”
“Bring Ms. Robinson with you when you come.”
“She so hyped about last night she wouldn’t miss it,” Nick said and ended the call.
Black got out of bed and headed for the shower. Once he was dressed he went down stairs and waited for Bobby to get up. An hour later, Bobby came out of his room and went down stairs. He found Black sitting in the living room.
“What’s up, Mike? How long you been up?” Bobby asked and sat down.
“Couple of hours. When you’re ready, I need you to take me to Cuisine.”
“What? Since you back in this country you can’t drive any more? You could have taken the car.”
“I know, but I called a meeting and you need to be there.”
“Okay, I’ll go get dressed.”
“Wait a minute Bob, there’s something I want to talk to you about first.”
“What’s up?”
“I need to know what your plans are?”
“You mean other than gettin’ dressed and going to this meeting?”
“Yeah, Bob, other than that. I mean, are you goin’ back to South Carolina?” Black asked.
“No, Mike, I don’t think so. That’s a lost cause.”
“Has Pam filed for divorce?”
“No. Hasn’t even mentioned it. You know all I get outta her is ‘fuck you, Bobby’.”
“If Pam hasn’t filed for divorce then it ain’t a lost cause.”
“Maybe.”
“So what you gonna do? You wanna come back to Nassau with me?”
“I am gonna go down there to see my new nephew or niece, but as far as me staying, I don’t think so. It’s a little too slow down there for me. I mean it would be different if Pam and the kids came with me, but that ain’t gonna happen,” Bobby said quietly and dropped his head. “Unless you need me to come with you and play chaperone for you and Ms. West?”
Black laughed. “No, Bob, I don’t need you to chaperone for us,” he said and thought that it would be easier that way.
“Okay, now. You sure about
that?”
“I’m sure, Bob.”
“I give the two of you a week, two at the most before y’all fuckin’ daily,” Bobby said and laughed. “That is one woman who knows exactly how to seduce a man. And she got her eye on seducing you, Mike.”
“I’ll be all right. But you still haven’t answered my question. What you gonna do now?”
“After the baby is born, I’m gonna come back here.”
“Good, ’cause there’s something I want you to do for me.”
“What’s that?”
“I need you to take over.”
“Me?”
“Yeah, you, Bobby. I should have done this a long time ago, but you were tryin’ to step back. Tryin’ to play the role. Well now you ain’t tryin’ to play the role. After all this, other than me, you’re the only one who can.”
Bobby thought for a minute. “You know that I’ll do whatever you need me to do, but first tell me how you see this goin’? Is Nick out?”
“No. Nick still runs things, but he reports to you.”
“What about Wanda?”
“Wanda is out. She needs to deal with our legit businesses and nothing else. You need to make sure of that.”
“What about you? You out?”
“No. I just need to step back for a minute.”
“I can understand that.”
“It’s like Sonny told me last night. Retiring is the last thing on my mind. The shit is in my blood. It’s just that right now, I gotta be a father to my kids.”
“You know I understand that,” Bobby said and went off to get dressed so they could go. “And you need to make sure CeCe drops all that fuckin’ weight. She big as a house,” he said as he walked up the steps.
By the time they arrived at Cuisine, everybody had been there for over an hour. Wanda and Cynt were sitting at a table by themselves, while everybody else was at the bar, seemingly having a good time.
The room got quiet when Black and Bobby walked in. He didn’t say anything to anybody. He walked straight to where Wanda was sitting. “In the office Wanda.”
He leaned close to Bobby. “Ask Ms. Robinson to join us.”
Bobby laughed. “You got it,” he laughed again and went to get her.
