Long Tall and Sally

Gus and I continued to play our weekly game of Chess at Josie's like we always had. Gus was fun to play with..he was one of the few people who could ever say that they beat me at this game ,which is my nickname. He wasn't winning tonight , but he was still proving to be a formidable opponent. Chris Thompson was at the bar talking to the other bartender and about two lovely ladies..While Donald Smooth sat at a another booth where he could keep an eye on things.

Vernon hadn't exactly gone away...His reputation on the streets was in freefall....When word got out that he had screamed like a woman upon seeing his enforcer, the much feared Taylor Collins
and much of his muscle killed...a lot of players lost respect for him...In South Philadelphia, a few of the younger players openly rebelled against him and took back some of the real estate he had previously owned. The turf he was trying to move on in North Philadelphia was causing him no end of headaches... The cats in North Philly were fighting his people tooth and nail, something they would have never done if Taylor Collins had still been alive.

Even the cops were giving him a hard time....He or his people were being rousted every other day for something. We hadn't seen a lot of him, but we had heard that he hired a new guy to replace Taylor Collins. A young guy named Junior Barnes...Junior Barnes was said to be good with a gun and had a little bit of respect..but he was more interested in chasing skirts than killing
anybody or collecting. Few people were afraid of him....Good Help was hard to find.

Fathead Newton and Roscoe walked into Josies...They watched our game intently....I had taught Fathead how to play and he was pretty good. Chris walked over to him.

"Any sign of our boy?" he asked.

"Nah, he been keepin a low pro...but he'll turn up soon...he don't know that we huntin..." said Fathead.

"He's a snake...just like his ole man." added Gus.

''Why did you partner up with him?" I asked.

"I needed money and a guy that looked like me, couldn't get a loan..so I went to him and he become my partner in this bar..I made sure I paid him everything I owed him as soon as I started makin money...He was still tryin to shake me down , even after we was square." said Gus.

"How did he die?" I asked.

"Messin wit some guy's ole lady...Guy come home and shot him dead." said Gus.

"That figures" smirked Chris.

Two nights later, we were hosting another one of our floating card games....There was hot Roast beef sandwiches, cold cuts and plenty of liquor flowing...We had a nice crowd of players in from not just around Philly, but New York, New Jersey ,Deleware and Maryland. It was a Friday Night.

"Man Chess, we making a lot of money tonight.....I'm bettin we made more tonight than we did all week collecting rents from the apartment units and the gyms." laughed Chris. He was right.

"Long Tall" Wallace Berry was a big time gambler from Wilmington ,Deleware..Like the late "Sunshine" ,He was known to gamble at games like this up and down the east coast. He won and he won big...When he lost , he was a gentleman and paid his debt and quietly left. We called him
"Long Tall" because.....he was...He stood at six foot ,seven inches. He was always nattily dressed
and always had a fine young thing with him. He spoke so soft that at times , you weren't sure if he said something to you or not. Tonight ,he came with his latest girlfriend...Sally Rogers. A local
girl who used to be a beauty pageant contestant...She was gorgeous...It was hard to concentrate on the game ,while she was around..which is probably why "Long Tall "Wallace was winning.

Into the fray stepped Vernon and his new guy, Junior Barnes. Donald "Smooth" walked over to Chris and me and said-

"Yo Chris, Chess...Trouble just walked in the door."

"Yeah,I seen him...just chill." said Chris.

Vernon walked in as though he owned the place and placed a huge stack on the table..he addressed Chris. Neither man looked at me or Smooth at all.

"Touche' Chris....yall made yalls point...Tell Fathead, it's all good...the beef is squashed." he said.

"Yeah? It is Vernon? Then why are you giving the Diaz Brothers greif? That's where I hold my card game on real estate owned by them.." said Chris.

"You mean owned by one...I hear the Valdez is no longer with us and brother number two is in jail...Minolo Diaz can't hold on to that turf much longer...You know it and I know it Chris...Besides..that's none of your business...I'm layin off of Gus and Josie's bar and I'm stayin out of West Philly in respect to Fathead...But my thing with Minolo Diaz is my business..You aint even a real player no more....so if I take over, you gon have to move your card game somewhere
else..cause that's how it is." he said.

"Oh that's how it is?" I asked.

"Hello Chess...always a pleasure to see you....Yeah, that's how it is." said Vernon as he took his seat and began playin cards.

"Boss, why don't you let me toss em?" asked Donald Smooth.

"Nah....if he behaves himself ,let him play....We was gonna have to move this game eventually anyway....It's not good to stay in one place too long." sighed Chris. I didn't say anything.

"Oww...hey, what's wrong with you? keep your hands to yourself" came the voice of the lovely
Sally Rogers..It was aimed at Junior Barnes who had palmed her more than ample bottom.

Long Tall Wallace Berry didn't take kindly to his woman being manhandled. He stared daggers
at Junior Barnes.

"Don't put your hands on my woman again...ya hear youngin?" he said. That was the loudest anyone could remember Long Tall ever speaking.

"Okay old head...relax....I was just admiring her fat -" said Junior before he was interrupted..

"Don't put your hands on her again...I don't care what you was admiring....Don't let me have to tell you again..." snapped Long Tall Wallace Berry.

I could see that this was going to get out of hand so I walked over and nudged Vernon.

"Yo Vern...take your boy out of here.We don't want no trouble." I said.

"Take your hands off of me...That old bastard better walk out of here with that girl." snapped Vernon.

"Yeah he better." said Junior Barnes, laughing.

"What you call me?" snapped Long Tall Wallace.

Vernon reached over and slapped Sally's behind hard and then grunted -"Ummmmph ,damn baby you gotta fat behind.."

"What is wrong with you?" said Sally...

"Aint nothin wrong wit me....I like what I see..." said Vernon as he and Junior laughed maniacally.

At this point, Long Tall Wallace was livid.....It all seemed like it happened in slow motion, the way I remember it now... Long Tall Wallace pulled out his pistol and opened fire
on Vernon emptying it into him, Then with speed I had never seen exhibited before, pulled out a second gun and shot Junior Barnes in the forehead and the chest. The shots had such a force that they knocked him out of his chair and into the middle of the floor... Vernon stumbled with six slugs in him into the middle of the room as shocked men and women dove for the floor behind tables...I remember Vernon looking at Long Tall Wallace, dead in the eye and going-

"Damn man....we was just playin.......ummmmmmphhhhhh...." and he fell to the ground...dead as
a doorknob. Chris walked over to Long Tall and quietly took both guns off of him, put them in a

paper bag and passed them to me...I knew what to do with them. He looked at Donald Smooth,

who called his associates from outside and directed them to the two bodies on the floor.

Every man in the room who knew them clapped...You would have thought that they were at a
football game...They all knew Vernon, most of them couldn't stand him..Nobody would mourn him. Don't you know that practically everybody in that old warehouse helped to clean up the blood, dispose of the weapons and wrap the bodies up in hefty trash can bags...I was stunned.

Donald Smooth and some of his associates, weighted the bodies down and dropped them in the river....Nobody was ever going to see or hear from Vernon or Junior Barnes again.

By daybreak most of them were in their cars and gone.....Long Tall Wallace was talking to Chris and Me , while his girlfriend sat in his car...

"Chris, Chess, I'm so sorry for all of this..I came to play a friendly game of cards..I'm so sorry.."
said the gentleman gambler....

"Nah, nonsense Wallace...I was just happy to finnally hear what your voice sounded like..don't even worry about it baby...Them two wasn't long for this world anyhow...They just didn't know it." laughed Chris as he patted him on the back.

I just shook my head...So much violence...I was getting tired of it...I wondered when Chris would.
I drove home by myself that night and when I got home...Rell was up , had a hot pot of coffee brewing.... She fixed a tumbler for me and a tumbler for her and sliced us both a peice of sweet
potato pie...

"It's almost morning Chess....Anything interesting happen tonight?" she asked.

"Nah...same old, same old..people playing cards..making money for us." I said dryly...

"How bout that Vernon guy? He come through?" she asked.

"Him? , nah, I heard he moved , took up a new hobby." I said.

"Really..what's he into now?" she asked.

"I heard he likes fishing....heard he moved upstream." I said, trying to conceal my laughter...

"Oh shut up Chess, you always joking." she laughed as she playfully swatted my arm...

(For My Grandfather, Prince Albert Martin)