No Shame in The Game

I stared right into the face of the woman who had betrayed me...She couldn't look at me. Just six months before, we had been making love in a beach house in Puerto Rico...I had awakened to find my rental car gone,along with about $750.00 in cash. To make matters worse..once back in Philly, where she had vanished without a trace..I had had a run in with her asswipe of a husband.

They are still talking about how I cleaned his clock for him and turned him over to that FBI man, Agent Cotton. I always knew that Cherry would turn up one day...but I never thought it would be as the dinner guest of Philadelphia's most powerful gangster, Fathead Newton!

"May we parlay with you for a minute Mr. Newton?" said Donald Smooth.

Fathead raised his hand, motioning to his two bodyguards to sit tight, He turned and addressed me.

"Chess...Look man, I know why you guys are here. Tell Chris, that I aint had nothing to do with
that stick up of his card game."

Donald Smooth looked at me, then he smiled-

"Relax Big man....We know you didn't, but we figure you hear things, you know?
What you hear about who did stick it up?" He asked, ignoring the fact that Fathead Newton had totally ignored him before when he greeted me.

I stared daggers at Cherry...She looked at me, then turned her head away..as if in shame.

"You might be lookin for a stick up kid by the name of Reese. He put it together." said Fathead.

"Come on now Big Man...We already know about Reese...Who put him up to it?" asked Donald Smooth.

"A cat from Atlantic City.....used to live here named Diamond Jack Quimby.....He thought it was
mine at first...When he found out that it was Chris Thompson's and that Chris was out of the game...He saw a weakness and he jumped on it." explained Fathead.

"And you didn't put us on to him? You supposed to be our friend...If it wasn't for Chris, you wouldn't have what you have now."I said.

"Chess, Chess baby...I was tryin to contact Chris...but he wasn't in town...I aint know how to get
in touch with him." he lied.

"You could've called me...I WAS in town....You knew where to find me. That's half of my game
too." I said.

"And you certainly could've told me....I'm running the game on the street" Said Donald.


I continued to stare at Cherry...She looked good.....being the girlfriend of Fathead Newton had done wonders for her...New hairstyle, great clothes, expensive restaraunts with private booths...
She had moved up in the world...

"Look...Look Guys....You right...Tell Chris, I'm gon make it up to him.." said Fathead.


"Okay...For starters...We want our money back....They took down 500 large....next, we want
Reese's boys punished. We don't want any of em killed..we just want messages sent."I said.

"Done Chess...I'll have some guys lookin for those boys immediately..We know who they are and where they live. but Diamond Jack aint gonna like-"
I interrupted Fathead...

"Nobody cares what Diamond Jack isn't going to like.....We have a personal message to send to him.." I said.

Donald Smooth smiled and took his left hand ,balled it into a fist and punched the palm of his right hand...

"My man Chess, no wonder Chris digs you so much." he laughed.

Cherry looked at me like she was having an orgasm...She smiled a little bit...I could swear that she was winking at me..but when I looked her way, she again turned her head as if in shame.

"It's always a pleasure talking to you Big man." said Donald Smooth.

"Enjoy your meal Arthur" I said as we left.

Arthur was Fathead Newton's seldom used government name. Fathead nodded. He looked at me

and winked. We had known each other since elementary school, he knew that I could see right through him at times.


When we met up with Chris in Josie's He laughed and slapped his thighs. Donald Smooth said to him-

"Your Boy Chess stood tall and didn't pull no punches with the Big man."

"I knew he would....I been runnin with this brother since the first or second grade...he always been just as hard as me.. That's why I run with Chess..He's always been a real stand up brother." said Chris.

"You think Fathead will take care of business?" I asked Chris.

" Oh he will.. just keep your ear to the streets." said Chris.

In the next few weeks, the six brothers who helped Reese stick up the card game were caught in West Oak Lane and beaten severely. Not killed, but beaten and threatened enough that they turned in the money they hadn't spent with pleasure. A little over $200.000.00 between them. It was quite obvious that Reese had the lion's share of the money with him and Diamond Jack Quimby in Atlantic City.

Fathead Newton gave Chris the other $300.000.00, which meant that now Reese and Diamond
Jack owed HIM money.

Diamond Jack Quimby's custom made Mazerati burst into flames mysteriously and exploded one night. That same night, three of his warehouses filled with drugs and weapons were raided
by Agent Cotton and the FBI. Someone had given them an anonymous tip. Diamond Jack Quimby was furious...It was said that he was on his way to Philadelphia and he wanted a meeting with Chris Thompson. Diamond Jack was a teenager when Chris, Fathead and me were

little boys..We didn't like him then and we still didn't like him much now. We were grown men and he was still treating us as though we were little punk street kids.

Somebody had to pay for this. I heard that early in the morning..The Atlantic City coppers found the nude body of a 29 year old African American male in a drainage ditch near the edge of the boardwalk. He had been shot multiple times.. He was identified as one Maurice "Reese" Nelson.

Apparently Diamond Jack blamed him for bringing the wrath of the Philly gangsters as well as the FBI to his doorsteps. It wasn't him..it was Chris Thompson, working behind the scenes...Diamond Jack knew that..He just couldn't get to Chris as of yet.

Chris,Donald Smooth and I sat back and laughed at all of the developments.....

"Donnie, Chess...Keep a low profile and lay low for a few days...Diamond Jack aint liable to be in a
good mood...Much as I don't want to get involved in this stuff anymore...I guess I got to just one more gin.....See Chess, that's why I didn't want to come back here...Guess I just missed this too much...In the end..I guess I'm just a gangster, I suppose." said Chris.

"Chris...you can be a better man....we aint got to go to war with Diamond Jack...Sell that game to
Fathead..Let him battle for it." I said.

"Nope...the game is not to be sold...if the Diamond man come here and tries to flex...I'm gonna put him in a pine box...Whether he lives or dies is totally up to him.." said Chris sternly. I knew better than to try and argue with him.

Donald drove me by my business office and drove off....In the doorway was a perfumed letter...
I opened it up....In it was $750.00 and a handwritten letter.....

"Chess, I'm so sorry-"

Cherry.

I pocketed the cash...(I was going to buy Rell something really nice with this)..and laughed.


To Be Continued