Seven Deadly Sins

by A T Russell et al

  In late October, Chicago's weather usually turned cold, so I didn't look out of place at all. On top of that, wearing Nomex gloves that velcroed onto my long sleeves, only my black face was noticeable, but even that was covered by a scarf. When we sting Biddy's place, though, I'd pull down my hood where only my eyes would be uncovered.

  Stealth. No faces or skin exposed. That way, eye-witnesses could only identify body-types.

  ***

  Because each member arrived separately, we all met up behind a botanical garden in the Skokie Lagoons Nature Preserve, as planned. Lex was good to go, and so was Abraham, but Slip wasn't. His long blonde hair needed to be ponytailed, he didn't have a hood, and he didn't have any noticeable tools with him. Worst of all, he wore a camouflage running outfit.

  Slip stuck out badly.

  Lex was in black nylon, Abraham in green, and me in gray – all solid colors that blended well against the early dawn. We wanted to look like shadows against the houses if we were seen. In camo with blond hair flagging, Abraham would be as obvious as … well, that just wasn't going to work.

  "What?" Slip asked when he saw me and Lex glaring at him angrily.

  Lex dropped his head in exasperation and said, "Son, you're getting a new job after this sting, and if you fuck this up, I will be the last face you ever see. Nod if you understand, punk."

  The big man was pissed.

  To calm things down, I said, "Slip, you ain't fitted-out properly. "

  Lex added, "No shit. Because of that, you're hanging outside to watch out. Where are your tools anyway?"

  Slip was in his mid-twenties and looked like a high school freshman when he realized that Lex was about to bust his ass. "I-I don't … didn't think…"

  "Here, kid." I gave him my stun gun, after wiping my prints. I didn't like sharing tools, but the only options were to use him or kill him. I wasn't a killer, per se, but Lex was, and I knew the big man wouldn't hesitate to off him. "What you're gonna do is watch out. I want you on your belly on the north side of the house where you can see the street. Let joggers pass, but if anybody stops, and I mean anybody, put em' down and drag em' somewhere they can't be seen. We'll be in and out in three, so don't go fucking this up."

  Lex grumbled at the kid and pulled a stocking cap out of his backpack. "Put this on and don't take it off. The guy next door drives a black Lexus and should be leaving while were inside. Let him go and don't bring attention to yourself. You'll see four joggers, too. Don't stop em' and don't be seen by em' either. Now, the rent-a-cop will tour at 4:45, just before the shift change. He shines his light between all the houses, so don't get your panties bunched. Just lie still and let him pass. That's when we should be coming out."

  "I know the plan," the kid fussed.

  "You don't know shit," I fired back. "The guy across the street takes his dog out between four and six every morning. Didn't know that shit, did you? Do you think you can hide from a dog, kid?"

  Slip looked lost and turned to Abraham, who wouldn't meet his gaze.

  I said, "There's a big maple between the houses where you'll be hiding. If the neighbor comes out with his dog, run back into the preserve. Maybe they'll follow you. Here." I gave Slip my hunting knife, after wiping that down, too. "Take the dog out and stun the neighbor."

  Lex wasn't feeling this. "Ice, this ain't proper, bruh."

  I looked at him, sure he could see my hesitance, and said, "Big Man, you got the backdoor anyway. After rolling the furniture, keep an eye on the kid from the kitchen window. Abe'll be with me and we're out on time. Cool?"

  I didn't want Slip to die for stupidity. Dumbness? Sure. Everybody is stupid to some degree, doing shit we know better than doing, but dumb is incurable. If Slip was a dummy, well … in this business, that condition was terminal.

  Lex looked at each of us nervously. I could see he wasn't in his customary comfort zone. There were too many of us, first of all. Secondly, I could sense that he smelled another ass, just like I was smelling one. Either Slip or Abe was stinking, if not both.

  I tried to cover both of them, though. I had Abe with me and Lex would be eyeballing Slip through the window. That gave us a chance to keep our corners covered. I knew Lex would off the kid and he knew I'd check Abe out if I absolutely had to. Then both of us would rush out together like we'd done in the past.

  Lex, having figured it out, turned to me and said, "You got me, bruh?"

  I punched the big man's shoulder and said, "Your ass doesn't stink, Lex. We're straight."

  Looking back at the newbies, it was clear they didn't understand the ass thing, probably because they couldn't smell their own. Not smelling your own mean that you didn't have control and wasn't thinking straight. If they lived long enough, in this business, they'd learn that and a whole lot more.

  ***

  After running through the plan again, Lex led us to the rear of the house. He made sure we went around the marshy ground to keep our tracks clean, and we'd trace our way back on the run-out. We lined up along the stone retaining-wall behind Biddy's house. Lex and Slip were tall enough to look over the top and did so before we made our next move.

  Lex said, "Ice, we got the guy next door leaving early. Let's watch him go first. Dog walker is out already, too. When he passes the house, we can go in."

  I looked at Abe, who was kneeling beside me. He was looking around with quick head turns and probing eyes. The kid was nervous and excited together. Even on my first run, almost twenty-two years ago, I had never acted like he was right now. Abe wasn't cut out for this line of work, and it wasn't hard to figure that out.

  I said, "Kid, when I go over this wall, you'd better be in front of me. Get to that maple immediately."

  "I got it."

  I looked up at Lex and his eyes told me how Slip's story was going to end. I nodded and pulled down my hood. Hopefully, Abe would get his shit together before Lex checked him out, too.

  After we were all ready, Lex said, "Ice, after you hit the alarm control box, I'll pick the door lock. Abe, we're going in neat and coming out messy. Make sure you follow Iceman's footsteps, kid. When I toss the room, keep your eyes on what he does with the safe. If you wanna be a point man, that's your primary business, safes. Got it?"

  Abe raised his hood enough to show Lex a big smile. The kid was ready to go and far from nervous now. He said, "I've hit three safes and do constant workups on a dozen models back at Fatso's place. All I need is training on primers." He looked at me and said, "Just lead the way, boss."

  At that moment, I didn't like him.

  Abe's ass was perfumy. He was too confident, too teamy, and too damn calm. I'm a legend in this game and that kid should either want to put me down or work alone to match me. Instead, he wants to be my student on a live job?

  Uh-uh. That was some bullshit. Pinchers work in two-man teams. Abe knew Lex was my six-man and that I was the primary. Abe didn't fit. If anything, he should be offering his ideas, addressing our plan among other things.

  A few minutes ago, when we were trying to figure out what to do about Slip, Abe had looked away – as if to say, "I don't want to be a part of this." Now he was ready to go? With me as the primary? No other comments either?

  His ass was perfumy.

  ***

  Five minutes later, Slip was up the tree looking out and Lex was on his belly at the back door, waiting for the alarm light to quit blinking. The security rover had just passed with his flashlight and I was on the rear, northern corner of the house, at the alarm system's main terminal. With a two-pronged alligator connector, I wired a loopback from the emergency call cable to the house phone wires. That way, when we broke the seal at the back door, the house phone would begin ringing instead of at the police station or at the security system's headquarters.

  Then, something so stupid happened that I almost fell down.

  Abe had cut the phone cable going into the alarm panel.

  I couldn't believe it. That wasn't a dumb move, not even a stupid move. I didn't know
what that was. I'd never seen a move like that. I raised my hood and look at him. "Dude, what-in-the-entire-fuck was that?"

  Abe winked at me and, through his muffled hood, said, "I don't want to hear a phone ringing while I'm trying to concentrate on the job. You should …"

  "You idiotic mother fucker." I felt like running away from the job. "The phone line being severed sends a signal directly to the alarm's headquarters, you surviving afterbirth."

  The kid's eyes dimmed. I couldn't tell if it was from understanding my point or anger at being belittled. Honestly, I didn't give a damn. I pocketed my alarm tools and ran back to Lex. "Get us in. Abe cost us three minutes. I can pop the safe in one, but you'll have to toss while I'm doing that. Then we gotta blow, like, real fuckin' fast."

  Using his tools, Lex had us in and up the stairs in twenty seconds. I didn't look around, though. I expected the house to be fabulous. Hell, in this part of Glencoe, millionaires were like a gold-plated cockroach infestation. All I saw was Lex's back as he tore down the hallway and up the stairs, looking for the master bedroom.

  When he found it, instead of looking for an alarm seal, like most rich folks have on their bedroom doors, Lex went through the continental doors like a human explosion. In the next instant, he tossed what looked like a mahogany bed aside like a toy and then pulled the carpet back, exposing the safe.

  I made a dive at the safe with a pencil-sized primer in my right hand. The primer was a simple phosphorous burner that would melt the tumbler mechanism in a thirty-second burn, making it easy for me to pull the tumbler out while it was still hot.

  After I ripped the igniter end, the strip began to burn. I ducked my head while Lex was destroying the room, not wanting to get nailed by something he tossed. Unfortunately, I had to pull Mr. Stupid/Dumb/Idiotic/Abe down beside me. He had been on his knees watching over my shoulder. That's when I noticed that he'd taken his gloves off.

  I was so pissed, I was about to pop him, but I had to put my .380 away when he pointed at the primer. It had just burned out, meaning that I had to pull the tumbler assembly out immediately. I sat the pistol down and pulled out my fireman's glove.

  "Put your gloves back on, then grab the opening and pull the hatch open," I said to Abe.

  He didn't do it.

  As soon as I pulled the hot-ass assembly out, Slip grabbed the opening and pulled.

  "Ice, I'm going to check on the kid. Hurry the fuck up," Lex growled.

  He was out the door by the time I looked back at him. When I looked back at Abe, he had already lifted every piece of jewelry out of the safe.

  "What are you doing?" I asked.

  He looked at me with bright eyes. That's all I could see, of course.

  "Iceman, this is the load! Dude, I can retire to-fuckin-morrow with this shit, bro!"

  I pressed my .380 up his left nostril. "How bout' checking out right now instead?"

  Abe's body went slack and his eyes were different now. They looked appropriately horrified. Like I said, appropriately.

  Pissed, I slapped the whole shit out of him with the pistol. Abe went down hard and I picked through the baubles until I found what we were there for. After shoveling the rest back into the safe, I put the target pieces in my backpack and slapped Abe's face until he came around.

  "Three minutes down. Time to get out." Then I turned and ran out, expecting him to be behind me.

  When I hit the bottom of the stairs, I heard a loud thunderclap. That would be Lex's .357 speaking to Slip's head. Still, I instinctively crouched, looking around. At that moment, Slip ran into me as he raced down the stairs. I'd just about had it and was ready to do him, but the back door exploded inward when we came to a stop across the room, after tumbling like an entangled pair of snakes.

  Abe rolled off and started for the front door. He was scared now, and rightly should be. Except, that back door explosion was Lex making it look like we'd just entered the place. The kid knew the plan, but was panicking at the worst possible time.

  Thankfully, I didn't have to stop him because Lex did. After tackling him to the floor, Lex crawled up the kid's back and twisted his arm until it broke. Then he clamped a beefy hand over Abe's screaming mouth. "Mutha fucka, that ain't gonna be all if you don't get your shit together," he growled in Abe's ear.

  When Lex looked back at me, I said, "Bring him with us. Drag him if you have to. We can't leave him here in any condition. The fool left his prints on the safe. Is Slip thinking?"

  Lex said, "He's in spiritual contemplation as we speak."

  In all, we'd hit the house and was out in less than six minutes. We had to run like hell through the preserve, though, hoping there was no greeting party waiting on the other side.

  When we got to my car, the sun was baring its eyes upon the city. More folks were out and about, too. Seeing them, Lex helped Abe into the back seat and put him to sleep with a crushing blow to his jaw before hopping in the passenger seat just as I put the car in gear.

  Ten minutes later, we'd picked up Lex's van three miles away in a McDonald's parking lot, and headed to our old safehouse.

  ***

  In the hood, folks didn't ask questions. At least not, "Hey, why are y'all dragging that man down the sidewalk like that?" Or, "Hey, is that man dead?" Instead, two people asked, "Yo, you know where I can get a hit?"

  I was never into drugs or thug life, but I didn't look like wasn't. Neither did Lex. He just happened to be a monstrous-ass white guy with a goatee. He also wore a perpetual 'don't fuck with me,' expression. Lex wasn't into drugs that I knew about, but he was steeped in thug life. Be it at a trailer park or in the hood, thugging is what it is and it doesn't change from one place to another. Therefore, Lex was in his element. Even in the predominantly black community of Englewood, Chicago's inner city thugville and one of the worst places to live in the world. Mogadishu might be safer than living in Englewood.

  When we got inside the old, dilapidated house on W. 63rd, I locked the three deadbolts on the heavy back door. The windows were boarded up and there was no furniture to mention. I'd planned to let the house go to hell, but now we had a need for it.

  We had a burglary and a murder under our belts, both in the last hour. We were about to add a second murder to our day, too. Abe was out. I mean, really out. His arm would need extensive surgery, his jaw was busted, he was missing too many teeth to count, and Lex had dragged him by his ankles down the sidewalk. Now his face and head was all fucked up, too.

  When I pressed my pistol to Abe's temple, something made me stop. Intuition? Nah, I don't think so. Foreboding? Yeah.

  Instead of popping him, I grabbed his backpack and unzipped it. When I turned it upside down, every jewel that I had put back in the safe bounced around the hardwood, crappy floors around my feet. Incensed, I rolled Abe onto his face and shoved my .380's barrel into the crack of his ass. That smell had me at my wit's end.

  "Ice!"

  I turned back to Lex. "What, goddammit!"

  "That ain't my name, Ice. Anyway, that dipshit cain't die, bruh. Not yet. He fucked the job, Ice, and we need to make sure he pays the cost instead of us."

  "Goddammit, you tell me how that works!"

  Lex tilted his head back, staring at me angrily. "Ice, don't call me that again."

  I didn't understand. "What are you talking about?"

  "That God-word. Don't call me that. Don't say it around me. I know you're pissed, but you know me better than that, Ice. Don't slip off the grid on me, bruh. This ain't the time."

  Now I understood. The big man had his values and wanted them respected. He was right, too. I'd never disrespected him before. It's just that … this kid got me all fired up.

  I put my pistol away and walked over to shake Lex's hand. We both sighed and looked back at Abe. From the dipshit, I looked around at the crumbling house. I never had liked this place. But again, it was a safehouse. Folks around here knew me and left me alone. Better than that, though, the dope man and his runners didn't keep up much mess around
this block. It was a big money-maker for him and he didn't want that interfered with. Because of that, from the time we had arrived, I'm sure we were being watched, probably by the two users who had asked us about where to find a hit.

  Lex said, "Yo, we got about an hour before we have to hit the drop. What should we do with dipshit?"

  I still wanted to do him. This is why I didn't like training folks. I had learned by experience. It was the best way to go in most cases.

  I said, "Help me pick up these jewels and let's think about it. We gotta get him back to Fatso and deliver the story anyway. It would be best if dipshit has the jewels on him when we dump his ass."

  "You gonna leave him breathing?"

  I didn't answer. Just looked up at the big man vacantly. Then I got on my hands and knees, picking up the jewelry. A moment later, Lex was helping me out.

  As it turns out, Biddy had quite the collection. Jewels of all types were scattered around. We even found some strange looking black stones. What was weird, though, was the shiny little stick-things we found. If I didn't know better, I would have thought chicken bones or something. But these were polished and none of them were the same size.

  Continuing to look, I came across a tiny, black, silk bag. It had a leather drawstring at the top and I opened it to see what was inside. Dumping the jewel out in my free hand, it turned out to be the brightest orange marble I'd ever seen. It was a cats-eye, too. The kind that seems to be looking at you from every angle. Then the damn thing blinked at me.

  At least I thought it blinked at me. It sure looked like it blinked at me.

  "Hey, uh, Lex. Come over here and check this out."

  "Wassup?"

  I couldn't take my eyes off the marble. The damn thing had me, somehow. "Really, bruh. You gotta see this thing."

  It blinked at me again.

  "Lex! Dude, this is some wild shit!"

  I didn't even see the big man crawl over. Hadn't noticed him move at all. When his face appeared beside mine, I couldn't even turn to look at him. The damn marble held me captive or something.

  "Holy…" Lex scampered away from me. "Ice, that fucking thing blinked!"