“Put the drugs in the safe back there.” I pointed towards the back of the office.
“The Fangs are not going to know what hit them. Are you playing Robin Hood now? What is with the cowboy stuff,” Joseph stacked the bills on the desk.
“You need money, don’t you? We need money, don’t we? So there is some money for you. I’m looking out for you both. This is only the beginning.” I tossed them one hundred thousand each. They both put their money away and relaxed a little bit.
“You did come through on this, brother. I needed this one….”
“We know, with a baby on the way,” Lucas and I said in unison as we laughed.
“You don’t have five children to feed. Don’t get me wrong, I love my family. We are outnumbered,” he laughed with us.
We joked some more. It was almost dusk. I packed the rest of the money in a bag and put it in the safe. Took out the bag with the coke and meth in it.
“Change of plans,” I dropped it on the desk.
“What do you mean by change of plans?” Joseph nervously asked.
“We will hit the Skulls next. Then the White Widows last. Then everybody, including the police, will be confused. We come here, lay low for a while and then go home.” I kicked back at the desk and put my feet up.
“Sounds like a good plan to me. There will be smoke over the city. Every side will claw at each other like dogs in the street, and we are getting paid? I am in.” Lucas dapped my hand.
Joseph, as usual, looked a little nervous. He did not do well when plans changed. I let him think it out for himself.
“How much money are we talking about again?” Joseph inquired.
“Enough for you to have a college fund for your children in one night. You will be the greatest father and husband of all time,” I answered him, cutting my eyes at Lucas.
“Alright, I am in. Just take me home first and let me grab some stuff.” He dapped up each of us.
We stopped by Joseph’s house first. Lucas and I stayed outside while he handled his business with his wife. When he came to the door, you could see the silhouette of his pregnant wife and four little girls standing around her. He kissed her and each one of his girls. Joe had changed his clothes to black from head to toe. Next, we went to Lucas’s place. He lived alone in some old apartments built in the ’30s. I thought he even had a party line in the hallway; it was so old. He lived the hardcore bachelor life in a small one-bedroom. He, too, changed into black. His missing front tooth made him look like a pirate. We laughed on our way back to the truck where Joseph waited. The last stop was my spot. I changed clothes and changed from my blue truck to the black truck, Nightcrawler; everything about her was blacked out.
“Gentlemen, let’s go take this money.”
We headed to the far west of town, out by the swamps. It was about 10:30 PM when we pulled up to the edge of the swamp, not too far from the house. It was the most run-down part of the water edge. One wrong turn out here, you could end up underwater with the alligators. The house sat at the end of a muddy road with one way to turn off and a dead end. The best way to hit this one was from the woods behind the house. I pulled my truck behind some abandoned houses and cut the engine. The place appeared like a biker club.
“Straight down this pathway. The house is at the end. Most of the time, they park their bikes in the back,” I said.
“So what is it? Same move as before?” Joseph loaded his gun.
“Is it broken? Then do not fix it. Nothing to worry about as long as we leave no witnesses.” I secured my silencer. “Lucas, you got the back door. You know what to do.”
“Like you said: no witnesses.” He put his silencer on as well.
“Joe, you ready to do this?” I looked at him.
“Let’s go get this money.” He pulled his ski mask over his face.
We followed suit and got out of the truck. Lucas grabbed the bag with the drugs in it. We walked the path until we were on the side of the house. Joseph and I kept moving forward to the front door. Lucas peeked around the house and held up five fingers. It meant there were at least five people inside. Joseph and I went up the front steps. The wooden door gave way on the fourth kick. At the same time, Lucas kicked in the back door. We rushed inside. The dining room and the living room had been gutted. It was one space with steps leading straight up and a hallway to the right of the dining room space.
The Skulls dealt in pills like X, Oxy, Vicodin, Xanax, and Percocets. The open area was filled with tables filled with pills, scales, and bags that waited to be filled. Four people sat at one of the tables. When we rushed in, they jumped up and went for their guns. Joseph got two of them before they could fire a shot. I heard two shots, one was loud, and the other was muted, then a thud. One of the other two, sitting at the table, managed to get a shot off at me. Lucas stepped through and shot him in the back of the head. I hit the fourth one in the chest. Our heads popped up when we heard footsteps upstairs. There were six. I sent Joseph to check it out. There was one door at the end of the hallway, Lucas followed me. I kicked the door down. It was a bedroom turned into a small office. Lucas found the safe in the closet and loaded his bag with money. I tossed him my bag to fill when he was done. Searched the desk drawers and found a couple of guns and ledgers. I grabbed the ledgers and put them in the bag. A thud above my head caught my attention.
“Keep working; I will check it out.”
I climbed the stairs and went down the hallway. Joseph was coming out of a room and the end of the hallway to the left.
“You ok, man?”
“She was hiding in the closet,” he pointed to the room.
I peeked in and saw the body of a woman slumped half out of the closet door.
“No witnesses. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now come on, we got to go.” I pulled his sleeve.
He followed me back downstairs. I told him to load the bag up with everything that didn’t have blood on it. I went back to Lucas, who had finished up the second bag. He had put the keys of coke and meth in the safe. We picked up our bags and met Joseph back in the dining space.
“We have got to get out of here. There is no way no one heard those shots, even out here.” Joseph zipped up his bag.
“Let’s go out the back.” Lucas moved with a purpose.
He led us back to the side of the house. The sirens could be heard in the distance, and we needed to get out of there. Lucas peeked around the corner of the house and then ran down the dark path to the truck. We followed him, staying right on his heels. The mud was slick, but we didn’t fall. We jumped in the truck, threw the bags in the back, and rolled back from behind the houses. The sirens got louder. I cut down two quick alleys carefully to avoid the mudholes and came out four blocks away. One more alley and then jumped on the highway headed back to the warehouse. Our hearts beat hard and fast, and the adrenaline rushed. I gripped the steering wheel tightly as we cruised down the highway, careful not to draw attention.
“Whoooo! Man, do you feel that? Electricity is in the air,” Lucas let out a primal scream as he pumped his fist.
“Electric, my brother, pure electric. Yeah, electric!” Joseph shook Lucas by the shoulders.
“What a fucking rush!! We got this made, men. We are kings of the night,” I screamed right along with them.
I turned up the music, and we cruised back to the warehouse. When we got there, everyone grabbed a bag and went into the office. Lucas and I emptied our bags on the desk. I high-fived both of them, and we danced a little. It was more money than the first robbery.
“Lucas, bag up the pills, and Joseph and I will handle the money.” I pulled out the machines.
“I got it.” He went to work.
“Let’s get to work, my brother,” I winked at Joseph.
“My brother, you are not lying. We have reached a new level. I could almost retire.” Joseph stacked the bills together.
“You will have enough to take care of your family. Hell, you can move them to the countr
y and get them out of the city. Fresh air for the children would do them good.” I stacked right along with him.
“The country is not a bad idea. Each of the girls can have their room so they can stop fighting.” He rolled his eyes and sighed but smiled.
“Think about it, man. It would be good for you. Girls can have a yard to play in that is bigger than the whole block.”
We spent the next couple of hours again weighing products and counting money. In the end, we had two million worth of pills and four million in cash. We made five million dollars in a few hours, and nothing could stop us now. I locked the money up in the safe. I looked at my watch, and it was 2:30 in the morning.
“You boys ready to do it one more time? We will be back before the sun comes up.” I rubbed my hands together.
“Ready,” Lucas said, hunger in his eyes.
“Gentlemen, let us ride,” I said.
We loaded up our weapons and bags and headed outside. I brought two extra bags and an old army duffle. This house was going to be the biggest haul of the night. The White Widows deal in Heroin, Codeine, Promethazine, Vicodin, and on a good day, Morphine was on the menu. They got it right off the boats like fresh fish. They wouldn’t go down as quickly as the others. However, it would be empty this time of morning.
“This one can’t be kicked in. They have guards we have to deal with quietly. We will have to work our way up to the door.” We got in the truck.
“Knives? I can handle that, Ci. Right between the fourth and fifth rib.” Lucas pulled a relatively large knife from his side.
“They keep the product in another warehouse. This is the money front location. It’s dollars from here.” I pulled off the highway.
Joseph reached down in his boot and pulled out a large hunting knife. We pulled off the highway and took the back roads to the pier, hidden in the middle of overgrown fields. There was old work equipment scattered over the fields. It used to be farmland eons ago. I pulled over and made sure the truck was well hidden. We squeezed through a loosely chained fence. There was an old security shack to the left, and we ducked behind it. I peeked around the building, and the first guard was standing 30 yards away, facing away from us.
“Stay here,” I instructed.
Pulled my mask down, my knife out, and slowly crept in the shadows towards the guard. He was watching a movie on his phone. When I was behind him, I covered his mouth quickly. The guard dropped his phone and went for his gun. I slit his throat before he could pull back his coat. His weight fell on me, and he laid at my feet as he gurgled and choked on his blood. Life drained out of his eyes. I drug him by his feet behind some pallets. Snapped my fingers for Lucas and Joseph to come out.
“Damn it, man. I thought he was the crazier one,” Joseph said.
“We have a job to do. This has to work by any means.” I picked up my stuff and moved forward.
We continued towards the office building. It was lit up, and I could see people moving around upstairs in the office area. Another larger guard close to the boat repair shack. He smoked a cigarette and watched the water. Lucas was the best for the job. The smile of evil crept across his face. He crouched down and snuck up behind the guard. After the guard took a hit from his cigarette, Lucas didn’t let him exhale. He stabbed him in the back, his knife poked through the front of the guard’s chest. The body went limp, and the smoke slowly escaped his lips. Lucas slid his body right into the water without a splash. Joseph and I snuck up to meet him.
I sent them to check the other side for guards. I would meet them on the left side of the building. Another guard was leaning on a post under the office. Crept up behind him and covered his mouth. He raised his hand and used his cigar to burn the back of my hand. I held my scream. I squeezed his mouth and quickly plunged the knife right in his chest, pushed up and twisted. I drug him behind some milk crates. Stayed in the shadow of the building and followed the wall around to the rendezvous point.
“It is clear on the other side. What is the move?” Lucas whispered.
“There are two sets of stairs. One on this corner, and the other is down this wall and around the corner,” I whispered.
“Back that way is water and skinny walkways. If anyone goes out of the window, it is straight into the water,” Joseph whispered.
“Lucas, you take the back way. Joseph, we go up these stairs and meet in the middle.” I secured my weapons.
“Are we ready to light it up?” Lucas whispered, checking his gun as well.
“Boom, baby boy. Boom. What happened to your hand, man?” Joseph whispered; he checked his gun.
“Nothing to worry about. I’ll be fine.” I shook my head and cleared my mind of the pain.
Lucas crept down the wall to the opposite steps. Joseph and I opened the door near us and started creeping up the metal stairs. It was dark, but our eyes adjusted quickly. There was a long hallway that went to the other side of the building. On the left of the hallway, a row of offices and high windows were on the right. There was a flash at the end of the hallway, then Lucas appeared in the doorway. The office in the middle had the light on. Some shadows moved around. It was a party going on; the smell of weed and cigarettes floated down the hallway. The music blasted. We made our way to the door, and inside there were five men and four women. The safe was in the corner. The man behind the desk appeared to be the one in charge.
“Save the one behind the desk,” I whispered.
They both nodded their heads. I held up my hand and counted down from three, and then I stood up, kicked in the door the rest of the way open. We rushed in shooting; I went to the left, Lucas to the right, and Joseph right up the middle. Everyone tried to scatter, but the weed and alcohol slowed them down. They were moved in slow motion. I got the two fat guys in the head before they could get off the couch. Joseph got the girls standing next to the sofa and next to the desk. Lucas got the other two guys on the right side. The remaining girls started screaming, and Joseph finished them off quickly. The man behind the desk managed to get a few shots off. Joseph got hit in the leg. He buckled over in pain but did not fall. I rushed over the top of the desk and kicked the man in the face with my boot. He fell backward out of the chair. My gun was cocked pointed at his head before he could get to his knees.
“Man, I don’t know who the fuck y’all is! Y’all don’t know who y’all fucking with! Don’t nobody run up on the Widows! Y’all dead men!” he said with his face on the floor.
“Get up and open the safe,” I said.
He moved slowly. A kick to the ass motivated him to move a little faster. He limped over to the safe.
“Don’t think you’re going to get away with this! The Widows will come down on you and your people. You’re a dead man!”
“Open it!” I pushed the gun hard into the back of his head.
He put in the combination. As soon as the door opened, I put a hole in the back of his head. His body hit the ground with a thud.
“Let’s get this done and get the hell out of here. You alright, Joe?” I opened the safe door wide.
“A flesh wound, nothing serious. It burns like hell. Let’s get this shit done and get the hell out of here.” He limped to the desk and unloaded the pills.
Lucas and I turned our attention to the money. It was six shelves full of neatly stacked bills. We moved like a well-oiled machine. We loaded the bags and the army duffle bag full to the brim. We were barely able to close them. We slung them on our backs and snuck out the back steps. We crept back towards the gate as a car pulled up. We ducked down behind some pallets and watched. The driver got out and unlocked the gate. Which meant they were part of the Widows.
“What do we do now, Ci? I thought no one would be coming out here this time of the morning,” Joseph questioned.
“Shit,” Lucas whispered.
“They must get out and lock the gate back before they go in. Lucas, you get the driver when he gets back out to lock the gate. I’ll get the guy in the back. Joe, you stay here with the money.�
� I slid my mask down over my face.
“Sounds like a plan.” Joseph checked his leg.
When the man turned to get back in the car, we crept into position. Lucas hid behind the security station, and I stayed behind the pallets. The car pulled in and stopped again. The driver got out to lock the gate. When he turned his back, Lucas came up behind him and slit his throat. He dragged his body back behind the station. I crept to the car, gun in hand, and opened the back door. Jewel City councilman Ross was getting a blow job from some girl. I did not stop to think. I shot them both point-blank; him in the chest and her in the forehead. Closed the door and snapped my fingers to get Lucas’s attention. He came out, and we headed back to Joseph. He had wrapped his leg by then.
“Come on, brothers. Let’s go.” I grabbed my bags and headed towards the truck. I locked the gate behind us.
We loaded the bags in the trunk and pulled out down the road. The adrenaline was there, but the ride was silent. I headed back to the warehouse.
“Joe, you ok back there?” Lucas asked him.
“I am fine. It grazed me, but this shit is burning. Nothing some peroxide will not fix.” He winced in pain.
“Glad you are alright. We have to lay low for a while. We will get you something for it,” I said.
“Who was in that car, Ci?” Lucas asked me.
“Councilman Ross getting his dick sucked by some whore. He was not expecting that to be his last,” I laughed.
“Damn, Ci, you killed a councilman. What in the hell is wrong with you?” Joseph said.
“First of all, I did not kill him. The Fangs killed him, or the Skulls. No witnesses remember,” I said with an attitude.
“Who would have known he was involved with the Widows? The shit is really about to hit the fan when they find him there,” Joseph replied.
“He was a casualty that was unforeseeable. I did what I had to do.” I pulled off the highway and took the back roads to the warehouse.
Tears of an African violet Page 9
