Fat Jack

Another night at Josie's...but this night is special....My wife,Sepia and I are out watching a new band...Meek Rollins All stars, perform...Meek Rollins is a producer who put together a savy band of musicians from around the tri state region... These guys are good and their lead singer, Yolanda Prentis is pretty good too!...

The drinks were flowing and the crowd was on their feet a few times clapping their hands to the music and dancing...Gus, the owner and cheif bartender was happy because there was money to be made. His insurance had done a great job with the repair and improvements made after the shootout between Gus and his boys and the Westies a few weeks before. The news had gotten around and I was pretty sure that nobody was going to try to stick this place up..Nobody in their right mind.

"Kevin...Cora beth is due any day now." said Sepia...

"Yeah, Clerow told me....He's been sticking close to home lately..Haven't seen him around." I said.

"How about Bristol? You heard from him?" she asked...always interested in my friends and my adventures...I liked that about her...Though Bristol was no friend...He was a big time gambler and would be playa who had tried three times to have me killed only to land in the hospital himself with gunshot wounds.

"No, I haven't heard from him...but I don't think he wants anything to do with me right now." I said...Hoping that what I was saying was true.As far as I knew ,he was still in the hospital.

As we sipped our drinks, I spied Ralph Scallion , a few seats from us...He was with a very shapely
brown skinned woman who was wearing a tight curve hugging Black mini skirt, Black sheer panty hose and Black stilletto heels....In between sipping his drink and watching the band, he was slipping his hands up her dress...She was smiling and politely moving his hands...Then ,he was slyly squeezing her breasts...She was prying his hand loose and smiling at him....

Sepia couldn't see what was going on, but I could...I smiled to myself....The band played on....They were finally finishing up their set, when I stood up and applauded as did the rest of the crowd and I got Sepia's coat...

"Calling it a night kid?" asked Gus.

"No...We are headed over to Dollar Bill's joint to catch a late night candle lit dinner." I said.

"Good deal....His cook is here you know...got a new broad." laughed Gus.

"Portia!, she aint new....I know her...she has a twin sister....They both go to the same hair salon I got to." said Sepia.

"That Ralph don't miss a woman in this city do he?" laughed Gus.

"He sureeee don't...you aint nevah lied." laughed Sepia.

"Sepia...Hold up..I'm going to the rest room..and when I come back...we'll get goin." I said.

"Okay Kev." she replied.

I walked back to the restroom and there in a dark corner, Ralph Scallion had Portia pressed against the wall, they were kissing passionately, really deep throating each other...He was running her hand up her dress...She was once again pulling it away...

"Ralph...Ralph...down boy...not in here...wait till we get back to your spot." she said.

I eased my way past them without them noticing and went into the restroom.

Minutes later, Sepia and I were leaving Josie's and walking across the street to the parking lot, when I saw Ralph Scallion and Portia getting into a Black Escalade!

"Moved up in the world huh Ralph?" I said. He and Portia turned around as Sepia and I headed towards our car...

"Oh ,hey Kevin, Sepia....Nah, this aint mine...A friend of mine let me hold it for the night.." he laughed.

"You're off tonight eh?" I said...

"Yeah man...but I'm about to put in some work if you know what I mean and I know ya do." he laughed and winked.

"I know you are." I laughed as Sepia and I got in my car and pulled off. From the rear view window I could see Ralph pressing Portia against the Escalade, kissing her and running his hand up her dress, while she politely moved it away...

At the Bottom of "C", Dollar Bill's seafood bar and grill...Sepia and I sat in a nice ,plush booth and
ate a delicious dinner, topped off by an expensive bottle of white wine...

"Ummmmm Kevin, this is so nice...Just the two of us." she said.

"Yes indeed....Ralph Scallion isn't the only one who's gonna put in some work tonight." I laughed slyly...

"Ohhhh is that right?" she smiled.

Just then, a skinny little guy with a pointy nose walked by our table and said-

"Joanne?? Joanne Coakley?? Is that you?" he said.

"Oh my God...Jack?? Fat Jack?? What are you doin here?" said my wife, who's eyes had now gotten as wide as saucers...

"I been in Philly for about a year, I'm workin here now...I'm the second chef." said Fat Jack, who was anything but...He was reed thin, about an inch shorter than I and had a pointy nose..."Fat Jack" must have been a play on his actual physique or lack of one.

"Kevin, this is one of my oldest friends...From West Orange and Newark....This is Jack Greentree....We used to call him "Fat Jack" back in the day...We've known each other since we were kids...Jack, this is my husband...Kevin Morris..." she said.

"Husband?? Oh my God...You done gone and got married huh? Pleased to meet the man who finally got Sepia...She had a number of guys after her back in West Orange...man oh man...but she moved to Philly and a Philly guy finally won the big prize...Go head sistuh suki." he laughed.

"So you're working tonight?" said Sepia.

"Yeah...the main cook, Ralph Scallion is off tonight and we switched cars...I got his car and he got my Escalade...Tryin to impress some chick." Laughed Fat Jack.

''Why'd you switch cars?" I asked.

"Have you seen his hooptie? Aint no woman or dog gonna ride to the corner in that car..Tomorrow ,he's gonna gas my ride up and bring it to me and pick up his car." said Fat Jack.

"You're quite a friend." I said.

"Yeah well, Ralph help me get this gig...so it was the least I could do. Look, I'm not gonna take up any more of you good people's time...You all enjoy your meal....JoAnne baby, it sho was good to see you again....Nice meeting you too Kevin." he said as he left.

"Okay Jack" she said.

"Seems like a hell of a nice guy." I said.

"Oh he is..He is." said Sepia.

We continued to talk and to eat and drink for close to two hours... Finally, we paid our bill and was headed out the door and to my car....As fate would have it...Fat Jack was also leaving..He was a little ahead of us and headed for Ralph Scallion's car...No sooner than he put his key in the
door, a man got out of a Black Gran Torino and walked over to him....He pulled out a pistol and fired two shots...One went through the back of Fat Jack's head and out of his left eye and the other went through his neck....At any rate, He was dead before he hit the ground....Sepia let out
a scream!! I pushed her down.....The man turned, but now I had my .38 smokeless out and ready!!

He fired three shots in our direction...I returned his fire! He ducked behind a car , I ran towards
another car and dove behind it..I fired at him again....I missed....By now, the Gran Torino pulled up...He hopped in and it began to speed off...I fired at the tire, popping it..then I fired at the back
window, blowing it out! The shooter fired again and pulled off into the night...

"Kevin, I got the licensce plate number." said my wife...

"Good girl..." I said as I held her.....We were having a perfect night and now this had happened to spoil it...I could hang around and talk to the cops...but that wasn't going to do us any good.. Sepia and I got in my car and we pulled off....By now a small crowd was gathering around the dead body in the parking lot.

(To Be Continued....)

The Next Morning........

Nadine smiled at me...I loved the way she curled her lips when she smiled..It was sexy...We drank another tumbler of wine...I leaned over and kissed her...She didn't move backwards , she returned my kiss....It was a long sensual kiss...I loved her perfume...I wasn't sure if it was the perfume or the fact that we had nearly killed a bottle of wine that had me so intoxicated...but I didn't want this kiss to end...Her lips were the softest I had kissed in a long time...

"Ummmmmm....We'd better chill...There are people right outside the door..We wouldn't want them to walk in on us." she said.

"I don't know...Somehow, that would make it that much more exciting.." I said.

"What? The fact that we might get caught?" she said.

"Yeah..." I responded

"Hmmmmm...I'm liking that myself." she said.

"For real?" I said.

She said nothing..She grabbed me and began kissing me some more...We were really deep throating each other now...

"You know Paris, from the time our eyes locked across the table when Pam was doing that annoying giggling...I knew we were going to wind up here..." she said.

"Where ? In my bedroom?" I said.

"Yeah." she said.

"Yeah...me too!" I said.

We began kissing some more.....I began licking her breasts and slowly unbottoning her blouse and removing her bra....

"We'd better make this quick....as exciting as this may be...I don't exactly want to get caught." she laughed...

I got up to close the door...She took a look at the bulge in my trousers and let out a gasp!

"WOW!" she said....I looked down at my now raging erection....I didn't say anything....I didn't have to..she began running her hands up and down my leg....Finally , she unzippered my pants and pulled it out...

"OH MY Goodness.....whoooooeeeee..." she said with another gasp.....The kissing continued....I reached down and slowly parted her legs...I ran my hands up and down her thighs, pushing her skirt up to just below her waist. As she raised her hips, inching her skirt up further, I could see the tiniest hint of pubic hair through her pink lace string bikini panties.

"Ohhhhhhhh Paris.....please...please don't tease me.." she moaned.....Her sassiness was gone now and all was there was a sexy vulnerableness that was turning me on even more....I kissed the insides of her thighs, slowly making my way to her beautiful vagina. I pulled her panties to the side, and with my tongue, took one long stroke, parting her lips. Then another. From oneside to the other side, I licked, and teased her, until I could feel her silently begging me to put my tongue inside her. I parted her lips with my fingers, and gently darted my tongue in and out of her. At this point, she reached up and grabbed a pillow and buried her face in it.she moaned,but the pillow muffled it slightly I felt her moans reverberate through her vagina, as I pressed my mouth firmly against her. As her entire body began to stiffen, and her thighs tightened around my head, I could tell she was about to come. I pushed her legs back, and tongued her clitoris, coaxing her into a powerful orgasm.

By now ,I was as hard as a rock...I couldn't take any more....I grabbed a condom and slipped it on and entered her slowly....She moaned even louder into the pillow as I began to stroke her slowly and determinedly...I was moving in and out of her rather rapidly and she looked as if her eyes were rolling into the back of her head...

''OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU..." she moaned....so loudly now, there was no way that she wasn't heard in the living room....I thought...but neither Blake nor Chance would dare come in here or let Cherish or Anita in here even if they suspected what was actually going on...

I continued thrusting into Nadine gingerly and it felt good...I hadn't had any in months and it was nice to finnally be getting it in and with such a fine woman...This went on for close to an hour and a half...just non-stop kissing and thrusting and moans of pleasure coming from both of us...I didn't want this to end, but it was starting to feel too good..I felt myself about to come...and I tried to hold back, but she was already climaxing again and shaking furiously, moaning and about to let out a scream...she put the pillow to her face and tried to conceal her moan of passion, but I'm sure it was heard..That is, providing anybody was listening......I let myself go and came with a furious abandon , I hadn't experienced in months....

"Whooooooooo...I wasn't expecting this kind of after dinner treat." she said...We both laughed..

She pulled her panties back up and fixed her skirt...She put her bra on and fixed her blouse...Naturally ,her clothes were a little wrinkled and her hair was a mess...She fixed her clothes as best she could and began combing her hair and trying to fix it up the best she could...I pulled my pants up and fixed my shirt....We both giggled...I held her and kissed her for a long time, She began rubbing my penis....Then she stopped..

''We'd better cool it...before we get started up again...we've already been in here a long enough time for people to get suspicious." she whispered.

"Nadine...There aint no need to whisper..I'm a hunnard percent sure we've been heard....They don't care...What do you think Chance and Anita and Blake and Cherish are doing? They aint watchin no TV...They probably doin what we just got finished doing..." I said.

"Hmmm, So everybody had an after dinner treat." said Nadine.

"If you want to call it that." I said with a laugh.

I noticed that it was very quiet in the living room.....I peeked out...The game was off...From the corner of my eye, I saw my room-mate, Blake in the kitchen....He and Cherish were locked in a passionate kiss and he was running his hands up her dress... In the living room...I heard a moan,it was Anita...I saw two sets of feet...Chance and Anita were no doubt on our living room couch kissing and or dry humping....The question remained...Where was Bailey and Pam?

The game had long been off! I looked at Nadine, She looked at me.....

"You up for spending the night?" I asked.

"Why not...it doesn't look like anyone else is going anywhere." she said.

Later that night (or was it early morning?) I woke up...Nadine, still in her clothes was sleeping on top of the coats.I walked out in the living room in my bathrobe...Nadine awoke ! ..We peeked out...She was the one giggling now...Blake was peeking out of his room...Cherish was wearing only his shirt...We spied each other and we all kind of sheepishly looked at each other...Damn, Cherish sure had some big breasts....I see why Blake has been with her so long...His shirt was doing a bad job of concealing them....Chance was over in the corner in his boxers....Anita , only in panties and bra , was laying on top of him...knocked out! What a scene this was....From the bathroom we heard giggling and the sound of kissing and slurping...

"OHHHHHHH....OHHHHHHHHHH..."

"Ouuuuuuu Bailey, it's so goooddd...ouuuuu..."

''Ohhhhhhhhhh..give it to meeeeee...ahhhhhhhh..."

I looked at Nadine....

"Well, that answered all of my questions...how about you?"

She looked at me, curled her lip in that sexy way I liked and burst out laughing! We returned to my room for round two! This time ,I slowly undressed her and slowly undressed myself and put all of the coats on the floor ..We got into the bed, up under the covers and made slow , sweet ,but passionate love again and again, until we both collapsed...some hours later...I could hear the bed squeaking in the next room and Anita moaning...no doubt my room-mate, Blake was getting it on too! That's all I remembered before I dozed into the most peaceful sleep I'd had all year!

EPILOUGE:

Later that morning, Blake, Cherish, Chance,Anita, Bailey,Pam ,Nadine and I had breakfast at Mabel's Soul Food Joint... We all ordered Pancakes and Sausage and Scrambled eggs, Orage Juice and lots of tumblers of coffee...Clerow and his wife, Cora Beth and their daughter were already in there eating..He looked at me and grinned ,He knew what was up...Bailey had the biggest ear to ear grin on his face imaginable...

"So Paris, is it too forward of me to give you my phone number?" whispered Nadine..

"Not at all...in fact,I was going to ask you for it." I said.

"After we leave here..We can exchange numbers in our Blackberries." she said.

"That works for me." I said.

I noticed that Nadine and I and Bailey and Pam were the only couples talking....Blake and Cherish and Chance and Anita seemed embarrassed about all of us kind of getting caught at our place...I found it all quite amusing myself..

(For Shelly Shell)

Good Connection

I stood on the Boardwalk at Atlantic City and watched the snow flurries blow by slowly....They turned into a wee bit of rain shortly afterwords.....Just a few minutes before I had been up in my hotel room....I had paid a bell hop to bring me a few things..A small bottle of Scope, Some Colgate toothpaste, some Gillette Pro guide disposable razor blades and some Gillette shaving cream. I shaved and brushed my teeth and showered and then went out on the Boardwalk...It was early Thanksgiving morning...I had spent the day in Atlantic City....Had got a little lucky at the crap tables...Won a grand...blew half of it.....It was a good time for me to cut my losses and call it a day
I thought...Me and a friend of mine named Bailey killed a bottle of wine for our troubles after a night of gambling and hanging out.....I don't know why I was standing here on the boardwalk alone this morning....My name is Paris...My buddy Blake usually tells these stories, but this one is mine.

"Hey man, what'cha doin out here in the cold?" said Bailey who had finally gotten himself up and dressed..

"Just gettin some of that fresh AC morning air." I said.

"Yeah, well we better be gettin on the road...Blake is having Thanksgivin dinner and I hear he's got some fresh hotties coming over." said Bailey.

"Yeah, I'll bet he does...His babe, Cherish and Chance's babe, Anita Jenkins." I said.

"Nah...Nah...he told me to tell you that he's got a babe comin over with Cherish...One of her girlfriends...." said Bailey.

"Uh Uh...I've met Cherish's girlfriends...They have issues....and besides...if she does , where does that leave you?" I said jokingly....

"Awww, you got jokes today right? Cherish is bringing over two of her girlfriends.." he laughed.

I dated a girlfriend of Cherish's named Deshawn....Biggest mistake of my life...She came to the spot we agreed to eat at overdressed and with an attitude and then on top of that, had the nerve to eat something that she knew she was allergic too and get sick on me...The entire date was a disastor.. I wasn't looking forward to meeting any of her girlfriends.

At any rate, Bailey and I got in my car and we headed back to Philly ,about an hour later...Bailey wasn't a good shotgun rider like Blake...Bailey slept the entire time...Once back to my place, I showered again and splashed on a light cologne...Blake was in the other room preparing the playlist for the ipod.

''Yo man, where is the food?" I laughed....I knew that Blake wasn't about to cook anything...I was his room-mate in college, the boy couldn't boil water!

"Anita is bringing the food....Her and her brother in law." said Blake.

"Clerow? He eatin with us too?"I asked...Not that I minded..Clerow was a pretty cool dude for an Old head.

"'Nah..He just helpin her with the food." said Blake.

"Hey man, one of them babes aint that babe Deshawn is it?" I asked.

"Nah, these two new babes...I aint met em....Cherish works with em..." said Blake.

Anita and Clerow arrived shortly afterwords...They brought a Turkey, Cornbread Stuffing, Cranberry sauce, Giblet Gravy and Candied Yams.....Chance arrived with some Turnip Greens
and two bottles of Wine....Cherish arrived with a nice salad, a bottle of champaigne and two of the finest babes I had ever laid my eyes on!!! Clerow and I both were staring.......He looked at me and whispered-

"Mannn,if I was single and a few years younger, you couldn't get me outta here."

"You aint never lied Clerow.." I said.

"Well , let me get back to my own ever growing family...have a happy holiday and get some of that for me." he said with his slick southern grin...

"I'll do the best I can playa." I said.

We both laughed and slapped palms as he left.... No sooner than he was gone, Bailey arrived!
Naturally, he brought nothing but himself!

"Alright...I'm here...The party is starting!" He said.....One of the girls had the weirdest laugh..She just cracked up....What he said wasn't THAT funny...Even he knew that...Blake,Chance, Bailey and Anita all looked at me and I looked at Cherish , who smiled weakly and then said -

"Everybody...This is Pammy (The gigler) and Nadine....I work with them.....Pammy is a para -legal and Nadine is an Attorney." She said.

I liked Nadine...She was quiet and cool and she had a style that was very alluring.....Pammy as they called him had a smoking body and was wearing a killer mini skirt that was hugging every curve on her body...but that annoying giggle of hers was turning me off. She must've been taken with Bailey...She thought every word out of his mouth was funny...

Chance and Anita, Blake and Cherish and Bailey and Pam were soon sitting together....I actually sat across from Nadine...Conversation was light.....Every five minutes,Pam was laughing at something Bailey said...Even he didn't think he was that funny.. I looked over at her glaringly..I don't suffer fools or foolishness lightly...Nadine caught me doing this and I saw her giggle...I smiled at her.. We had a connection!

The dinner was incredible...In addition to looking great,Anita and all of her sisters could cook something fierce...After dinner, Blake, Chance and Bailey turned on the 50 inch Flat Screen TV to watch the Football game...The Dallas Cowboys were playing the New England Patriots....Pam
inserted herself on Bailey's lap...He smiled from ear to ear...Meanwhile ,Cherish,Nadine and Anita were left to wash the dishes...I shook my head and began helping them clear the table...While They washed...I dried..and then I took the trash out...Nadine followed me out to the elevator...

"I liked that you helped us clean up....Tell your friends that I said Hazel retired in 1967." she said.

I laughed....

"You watch TVLand too huh?" I said.

"Yeah, that , youtube and HULU." she said.

"A girl after my own heart....Hey it's cold out here...You should have worn something more than that." I said.

"It's okay...you shouldn't have had to come out here by yourself." she said.

We walked back to the elevator...The conversation continued about her job....She had just gotten her J.D. She believed that the only reason she had gotten her job was because one of the partners wants to sleep with her....I couldn't fault the guy for that ,that's certainly what I wanted to do.

I told her about my Bachelor's degree and the fact that I had just gotten my second Masters and how I was trying to work my way up the ladder in City government...but I what I really wanted was to work my way up her ladder. Of course I didn't say that..but it was quite evident.
Once back in our apartment... Everyone was coupled up....Chance and Anita were sitting on the couch watching the Football game.... Blake and Cherish were sitting on a throw pillow watching the game and kissing....Bailey and Pammy were missing...I didn't know where they were and didn't care...as long as it wasn't my room.

We walked into my room and sat on the bed...Nobody in the living room seemed to mind or care.
I brought one of the bottles of wine and two tumblers with ice...She was gorgeous...I couldn't take my eyes off of her.. I could barely take my eyes off the plunging neckline of her black, silk blouse, and the way it strained to contain her honey brown cleavage. She obviously saw that I was distracted by this, as when my eyes finally made their way back up to hers, she had one eyebrow raised and a half smile on her face, as if to say, "My eyes are up here, baby." I smiled and she smiled too as I finnally filled the tumbler and passed it to her....

"Nice Thanksgiving wasn't it?" I said.

"It beats being alone watching Law and Order episodes." she joked..

"Fine ass woman like you , with no man?" I asked.

"Is that your way of asking if I'm available?" she asked.

"Yeah, it is." I said.

"No shame to your game Paris is it?" she said.

"Not a bit baby." I said.

"I like that." she said.

So did I!

(Conclusion Next..)

Hard To Find Good Help

I ran the story on Bristol in my magazine.. I even anonymously leaked the story to the local media.
Within the next week, everybody in Philadelphia was talking about Bristol....Of course there was nothing there that could be proven and no criminal charges forthcoming...But everybody from the FBI to the IRS was suddenly taking a look at and discussing him...Wherever he was , he was furious...This was the very thing he had been trying to avoid. His high priced hitter was dead...
His enemies, Chess, Chris, Donald Smooth and Kool Kat were still alive and walking around town with impunity....A glowing example of his failure.

His new ,number one enemy was now me!!! I didn't care...If he was looking for me...I was easy to find...but he had violated my home and my wife...I was now looking for him! He had made such a bad go of things that he had no respect amongst players...Which was why it was so easy for me to find him...Everyone was willing to tell me where he was. He was a pariah and a laughing stock all at once.

He was having his shoes shined and reading the paper in town when I sat down next to him and snatched his newspaper from him. I ripped it to shreds.

He was as cool as a cucumber..He didn't flinch...He looked at me and remarked-

"I do believe I was reading that."

"Gee ,Were you? " I said.

"Okay Kevin, To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" he remarked.

"You had my friend killed to kill a story.. a story potentially embarrassing to you..That's one thing, but then you have a guy come in my house..attack my wife...That's crossing a line partner." I said.

"It was just a story... a story with no bearing to any reality... Most important, a story that can't be substantiated...I don't care what people think...People have short memories. I'm sorry about any discomfort to your wife...However,I wish he'd of killed you." he replied dryly..."I'm kidding of course.....I know all about your little bugging devices...I'm not stupid enough to confess on tape." he laughed with a smirk.

"I'm not recording you...I know I can't prove you had anything to do with this." I said.

"So you came here to what? Make some sort of dramatic statement?" he said.

"You won this round Bristol.....But I'll get you eventually." I said.

"You think so?" he said.

"I know so....and when I take you down...I'm gonna be the one with the smile." I laughed.

"I would make you a wager Kevin...but you're not a sportin man are you?" He laughed.

"No, I'm not. Have a nice life Bristol...Here's fifty cents for another paper." I said.

"The paper is actually seventy five cents." he said.

"I'll owe you." I said as I walked away.

Later on that day, I was sitting in Josie's having a beer when Gus came up to me...

"Kid....I heard it from a notable source that Bristol's got a contract out on you." he said.

"Another one?" I asked.

"Yeah and get this...It's an old drunken rummy from Atlantic City named Joe Humble." he said.

"I've heard of him...He's still around???..I thought he died years ago."I said.

"Nah... it's hard to find good help now of days , I suppose.but just watch your back." said Gus.

"Always" I said.

I stopped in the Mermaid club a few hours later and Joe Neptune, the bartender , never the most talkative of guys says to me.

"Man, I hear Joe Humble is in town with a big contract...to take you out." he said.

"Yeah, so I hear." I said.

Usually when a contract is put on someone......They don't know it until of course, it's way too late.
I wondered what was really going on.

"It's the old bait and switch Kev....They put it out there that some old burned out cat is going to take the contract out on you...Maybe he is...but he's the decoy....And while you're looking for him..The real showstopper is in town and he's the guy that actually takes you out." said Roscoe,
Fathead's top enforcer.....

"Oh really...So this Joe Humble guy is not who I have to worry about?" I said.

"Well...he's old, but he was a nasty piece of business back in the day.....Was a real heavy hitter..I wouldn't discount him...but you know Bristol brings in heavy hitters....and from out of town...My guess is ...Somebody else is in town...So be extra careful. I 'll let you know if I hear anything" he said.

"Thanks for the tip." I said. I got on the phone and called Kool Kat...Though lately, everytime I hooked up with him...Somebody lost their lives..but who else was equipped for this?
The next day, I sat where I usually sat in the coffee shop...Sepia and Mabel, dressed like french maids entered the building across the street from me and walked up two flights of stairs...They knocked on the door of an apartment with a great view of the window where I was sitting...Kool
Kat's tip and great surveillance had paid off in spades... There was a man in there, setting up with a powerful rifle and a scope...He was shocked to see two shapely women in French maid's outfits with black lace pantyhose on...

"Are you Bill? Bill Miller?" cooed my wife.

"If you are, today is your lucky day playa." said Mabel.

''Well Helloooooooo..." he said smiling from ear to ear......He unfortunately never saw Kool Kat slip up behind them....Kool Kat knocked him senseless...and tied him up...He placed an anonymous call to the police that there was a man with a gun in the building and then he and the girls left. The police arrested the man who turned out to be a hitman from New York known as Bill "The Killer" Miller. That was probably the pro who was hired to do me. He was brought in on gun charges.....New York wanted him for an assortment of other charges.... It hadn't hit the news yet and I was going to find Bristol and finish this business...I purposely didn't tell Kool Kat. Kool Kat might kill Bristol just for gp...I didn't want any more killing...I just wanted to mess with Bristol, trick him into telling on himself...This time...I was wired!

Bristol was sitting with a lovely young lady having coffee in a tony cafe in Chestnut Hill...

''My dear...I would love to take off your brassieree..heh heh, heh..." he said.

"Oh Bristol, you're such a poet!" she laughed.

"Tell me my dear...what have I got to do to get you to go back to my condo with me?" he said.

"I think you should thank the lady for her time and tell her good night" I said.

He looked up, surprised and exasperated. The girl was speechless!!!

"You know , You are becoming a bit of a pest Kevin." he said dryly without emotion.

Just then... a drunken Joe Humble stumbled into the cafe....

"Look out Mistuhhh Brisssstolllll, I got him now." he drawled....

"What in the hell are you doing here?" snapped Bristol. It was the second time he looked surprised.

"I'm taking out the contract, like you asked me...I'm gon shoot that mother...." he said waving the gun at me...

"I don't know what you're talking about ...I've never seen you or talked to you in my life." said Bristol... How careful was he?

The young lady screamed and Joe Humble fired a wild shot! People began running and screaming and Joe Humble began running towards both of us....Bristol pulled out his pistol and fired at Joe Humble , missing...I fired though and hit him....Joe Humble spun around....

"Arggggggghhhhhhhhh....I don't believe it...I've been....I've been shot..." he said and he fired again, hitting Bristol in the side and the shoulder...Then he must have vomited all of the cheap liquor he'd been drinking before hand... "Oh...Oh..I think I'm sick ...ohhhhhh lawdddd..." he moaned.

"Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggg, I don't believe this ....I've been shot! "screamed Bristol
as he fell to the ground.... For once , the police arrived when something was going down...They ordered Joe Humble to drop the weapon.....He said- "Not until I take care of the contract for Mistuhhh Bristol..." He then aimed the gun at the police , who lit him up with about 50 shots!

Bristol was loaded on to a stretcher, his shoulder bleeding profusely and his side also bleeding..
Joe Humble's body was loaded in a different type of stretcher...He was headed to the morgue.
Before they took Bristol to the hospital, I walked over to him and leaned down....

"Not your day today huh?" I said with a smile.

Bristol looked up at me and grimaced- "What can I say Kevin? It's hard to find good help."


(For SLC)

Yuri

I sat at the bar in Josie's the next night and sipped on a beer....My friend, Robert Foxworth, an Attorney came in with some information for me. I have given him the number we pulled off of the plates on the car Seth Kinnison's killer had been driving. He had a friend in records and at the DMV who could posibly tell me just who this car belonged to.

"Hey Kev...I got bad news man." he said.

"Couldn't get a hit on those plates huh?I said.

"Oh no...I got a hit....Only thing is...that car was reported stolen three days ago...and the cops found the car yesterday...They have it now." he said.

"Damn, I was hoping for an address..Oh well...we gave it a shot....Gus...Could you get the counselor here a drink? It's on me." I said.

"Thanks Kev..sorry." said Robert Foxworth.

"It's okay...I got another angle to play." I said.

"When have you not?" He said. We both laughed.

The next day ,Sean and I showed Peeping Tom the videotape of the murder...His eyes got wide!

"You know him don't you?" I said.

"He's former KGB....His name is Yuri....He's real good....He's a master of surveillance... like I am and he can rival Lockpick Johnson as far as beating security and breaking into places...He's a marksmen too....and a pretty tough customer. Whoever brought him here has some deep pockets...Yuri doesn't come cheap....If Yuri is on your trail my friend...you might as well put a gun to your head and shoot yourself....." said Peeping Tom.

"He's that good huh?" I said.

"After he left the KGB...He became a soldier in the Russian Mob in New York City....Even they feared him...Then he began kind of "freelancing" hiring himself out to the highest bidder...He's killed half a dozen people Kevin...He's a beast." said Peeping Tom.

"You think he's gone back to New York?" I asked.

"Not a chance...He's hunting all of those people on that list you told me about..." said Tom.

"Well ,Chris, Chess and Donald Smooth are gone..They are not in town....He's already killed Seth and as for Kool Kat?? Well, I pity him if he runs into Kool Kat." I laughed.

"What about you?" asked Peeping Tom.

"Me? He doesn't know I exist." I laughed.

"Keep it that way...You'll live longer." said Tom.

"Okay, I'll keep that in mind ." I laughed.

I was wearing my Kevlar vest with a trauma plate under my clothes....and I had my .38 smokeless and a .22 taped to my calf...I was taking nothing for granted... Peeping Tom had given me good advice.....

I drove home.....Something was weird about my house...It was about 10:30....Sepia rarely turned in this early and all of the lights were dimmed or out...The house looked empty...I should've gone in with my gun drawn...but for some reason I didn't...Big mistake!!!! I wouldn't have to look any further for my killer...He had found me..

I opened the door and flicked on a light. To my horror , my wife, Sepia was gagged and tied to a chair in the kitchen..Upon seeing me , she started shaking her head in horror and motioning for me to move...My reflexes were on point...I detected the big hulk of a man lunging toward me..I used my elbow to crack him in his jaw and snap his head backward...I turned and placed a well timed right cross to his jaw and sent him flying backwards..He was game though..He hit me in my side and I felt like vomiting and defecating all at once....It was the Little Willie Basemore fight
all over again..Then he cracked me in my jaw and sent me flying across the room...I slammed up against the wall and moved just seconds before his big fist landed against the wall and knocked some of the drywall loose...I crouched and landed about ten successive lefts and rights to his face and head....Now it was his turn to go flying...He swung...I slipped his punch and landed seven or eight more lefts and rights to his body....He groaned and I landed a swift left to his jaw that sent him flying again...

I didn't want to waste anymore time fooling with him....I took the nearest chair and brought it down on his head three or four times....The big man fell to the floor with a thud...I was pretty sure he was down for the count..

I untied Sepia quickly!

"Baby, what happened?" I asked her as I held her tight...

"I came home from work and he was already here...rumaging through our things..He was looking for something...He overpowered me and tied me up." she said.

Before she could say anything else....The man was on his feet and had his gun aimed at the both of us..

"I want the Zip Drive.....You will go and get it or I will kill your wife....Then I'll kill you." he said.

"You must be Yuri." I said.

" How do you know my name?" He said.

" I hear things." I laughed.

"Get me the zip drive." he demanded.

I heard my back door creeping open....Had Bristol hired two hit men? I hadn't planned on this being a party.... Then I heard two loud shots...They sounded like two seperate explosions...and the man named Yuri stared at me...

"I.....I....don't believe this...first I get beaten badly tonight, then I get shot....ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,
ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
ouuuuuu......" he moaned and then fell to the floor dead!

I looked up and into the somber face of Kool Kat!

"Well..." He said. "Looks like I got here in just the nick of time."

"How did you know?" I asked, incredulous.

"I stayed across the street from my house at my lady friend's house... I watched him break into
my house... Peeping Tom put one of those micro whatcamacallits in the back and the front of my house....anyway...he broke in and then left....I figured he might come looking for you,So I came over to check on you..I heard all of the ruckus and I figured you was holdin your own...but I knew this guy's rep...I figured you might be in over ya head a bit." he said.

"Well...we got our killer." I said.

"Yeah, now let's go roust Bristol." he said.

''Roust him? We don't know where he is...and we can't prove a thing...You killed the only link to
him...but that's cool....At least somebody has paid for Seth's death." I said.


The police found Yuri's body floating in the river the next morning.....A few days later they got
an anonymous envelope with the recordings of Yuri killing the security guard and my friend,
Seth...Their murder case was closed and they had their killer...even though he would never stand trial in a court on this Earth!

Lt. Sissy Van Buren and I shared a tumbler of coffee that night and talked.

"I caught your friend's murderer..turns out he was a freelance hitman from New York with ties to the Russian mafia" she said.

''Oh you did? He was? Wow...Seth must have been into something deep." I laughed.

"Yeah, his body turned up in the river and then we got an anonymous videotape of him committing both murders....We however don't have a clue as to how he wound up dead." she said with a smile.

''Yeahhhh, funny how these things happen. You know how it is with these gangsters, no honor" I said.

"You used to deliver me living perps Kevin." she said ,giving me the side eye.

"Do tell" I laughed coyly....

But this wasn't over...There was still the matter of Bristol...I had plans to cause him a world of hurt!

(Conclusion Next)

Expose,Part 2

"You knew this man Kevin?" asked Lt.Sissy Van Buren of Philadelphia Homicide as Sean Jackson ,Clerow ,Kool Kat ,Chris Thompson ,Chess and Donald Smooth stood around watching them remove the body , place it in a bodybag and haul it away...as though he had never been a living breathing human being.....It was as though they were just hauling away a huge container of blood.

"Yeah...he was a friend and a colleage of mine...He was a free lance journalist...He was in town for that Jazz fest...He was planning to leave soon." I lied.

"Why was he here in your office?" she asked.

''He said he wanted to talk to me about something....but he never got around to telling me just what it was." I lied again. Everybody in earshot, except...Clerow and Sean Jackson knew that I was lying.

"Well judging from the way his pockets were turned inside out...It looks like somebody was trying to rob him...My guys are dusting the area for prints." She said.

I knew that there would be no prints...The security guard had also been murdered and our security cameras had been disconected..I wondered if her detectives suspected as I did that this was not the work of some street hood looking to make a quick score....

"Kevin....Whoever did this killed the security guard and disabled the security cameras...and I'm betting we won't find any prints...You wanna tell me what's really going on?" she asked. She didn't get to be a Homicide Lieutenant by not being sharp...I wasn't surprised...but I wasn't ready to level just yet.

"I don't know Sissy, but I'm going to look into it...." I said.

"I know you are." she said.

"You know I'll keep you posted, don't I always?" I said.

"You'd better." she said as she and her detectives continued their work...

I walked over to Chris Thompson and motioned for him and his crew to follow me outside...They did.

"You no doubt know what this is about?" I said.

"Oh yeah....Bristol is coming back at me and Chess and Smooth because we made him give that money back and we took out the Westies...He's a psychopath...doesn't like losing." said Chris.

"What's your plan of action Kev?" said Chess.

"I know how you guys are....but I want you and your families to leave town for a minute...At least until I can locate this hitter...." I said.

''Runnin aint my style Kev...but ......I was plannin to take a trip to Puerto Rico anyway....and Chess, you and Rell and your son could come with us..." said Chris...

"Alright Kev....We'll let you do what you do...for now." said Chess.

"I can roll down to the ATL for a few..I got cousins..." laughed Donald Smooth....

"Me? I aint goin nowhere....Not til I'm ready...Besides...you gonna need the kind of ruckus I can bring." said Kool Kat.

"Yeah,I figured you'd say that.....but okay....As long as the rest of his targets are missing...I can
go to work..Okay guys....Be Easy....I'll let you know when this is over and Bristol is in a box." I said.

We all shook hands and went our seperate ways...With just Clerow and Sean Jackson left in the office...I looked at Sean..He knew exactly what I was talking about.

''Kev...the micros right?" he laughed.

"Exactly" I said.

After my rowdy dow with Little Willy Basemore, a hulking killer who attacked me in the lobby, I had Peeping Tom and Locksmith Johnson plant micro cameras and audio devices all over the lobby and in most of the offices. Nobody here at the magazine knew about them. They were only to be used in case somebody else broke in here to steal or to try to attack somebody. The killer may have thought he was being smart...but we had outsmarted him.

Sean, Clerow and I immediately viewed our video tapes.....and bingo...there the killer was..A white man, about six feet, two, 220 pounds...solidly muscled...very handsome....Shot the security guard twice...Then we see him disabling the video cameras....He obviously knew his business, Then we see him taking the elevator and surprising Seth as he walked out of the door...He shot him five times in the chest with a silencer...He rifled his pockets and then rifled my office...He didn't find what he was looking for and then we see him leave.

He apparently didn't disable the camera across the street in the adjoining parking lot. We quickly walked across the street and viewed their video from the night before...Since we knew who we were looking for, we got a licensce plate number of the car the killer was driving.

"Man, this was too easy boss...I thought this guy was so good?" said Clerow.

"Oh he is...He had no way of knowing there was a back up security system." I said.

"Yeah Clerow and he parked in the lot across the street....No one would be looking for him there because no one would know who they were looking for." added Sean.

"Yeah...but the question is...Why was Seth here? Why did he come in after he knew we were all gone? How did he get past the security guard?" I asked.

"He was here to bring you something." said Clerow.

That wasn't exactly as off key as it sounded....There wasn't any real reason for him to be here, unless he was leaving me something.. I had a secret compartment in my desk ,that only he knew about. The reason being was because this had been his desk before it was mine... He alwys told me to use it to hide top secret documents. I laughed...This was a music and entertainment and life styles magazine...What would we have that was "Top Secret"...He always said- "You never know Kev" I looked in my secret compartment. There it was, Seth's medical records...He had terminal cancer!!!! He was dying and he knew it...This is why he was so adamant about me publishing his story...He wasn't afraid of any hitman on his trail...He knew he was dying anyway!!!! I didn't share what I had read with the others...I just hung my head.

"He gave me a zip drive....It has the story of how he brought in guys from out of town to rob the money that was going to be used to pay the musicians and workers... He was doing that to discredit Chess and Chris because they bought that property from Seth's step-father who was in hock to Bristol." I said.

"Yeah? That happens all the time...so what?" said Sean.

"Bristol is a psychopath...He's crazy...He wants to kill Chris and Chess and others now because they not only foiled his plans, but they forced him to return that money and kind of made him go to ground.." I said.

"Man, who is this guy?" asked Sean..

"Bristol?? Let's start with his real name first guys...His name is Stephen Bristol Jr. He was born right here in Philadelphia PA. the son of a businessman, Stephen Bristol Sr.. Young Bristol was skilled at mathematics and developed an early interest in illegitimate business, whereas his older brother ,Samuel Bristol studied to become a preacher. By 2000, Stephen Jr. had finished Morehouse with a Bachelors and a Masters and gotten a second Masters from Columbia.He moved to the East Oak lane section of our fair city, where he established an important, but illegal gambling casino,much like Chris and Chess's operation. Bristol purchased holdings in a number of other operations just like that. He also invested in a horse racing track at Havre de Grace, Maryland, and it was widely reputed that he "fixed" many of the races that he won. Stephen Bristol had a wide network of informants and very deep pockets when it came to paying for good information, regardless of how unscrupulous the sources were. His successes made him a millionaire by age 30. Now at the age of 44, Young Bristol is looking into being a kingpin along the lines of a Fathead Newton, but on a much wider scale...He's trying to build a street rep, which he can't do if people are making him return money he stole now can he?" I laughed.

"Wow man, you really do your homework Kev.." said Sean.

'How are we gonna stop him boss?" aske Clerow.

"Clerow, I don't even know where he is...but what we are gonna do first is stop that killer." I said.

"We don't know nothin about him?" said Clerow.

"No, but I know somebody who might." I said.


(To Be Continued....)

Expose ,Part 1

It was one of the rare weeks that I was actually in the office everyday of the week. Sean and I had taken some wonderful photos of Reed Nelson, Ingrid Rhodes, Downtown Rob Brown, Symphony Sam, Brooke Taylor and the All Star Band that had played at the recent week long Jazz Festival that my firends, Chris Thompson and Chess had thrown with the help of local business people, Mabel Jenkins and sisters, Dollar Bill and Ralph Scallion and of course Gus.... Our entire next edition was going to be on this....I had commissioned our staff writers to write a peice on each one of the people I had just named and I was spending time with Sean Jackson and his wife Sheila editing the stories and photos that were going to go into our special edition..We had put in some late hours...On this particular night, My wife Sepia had come up with some dinner for the four of us...I say four, because our recent new hire, Harry Charles was working with us too on this edition...

After we chowed down...We all agreed to call it a night....

"Thanks for the food Sepia, it was very much appreciated." said Sheila.

"Yeah...Your husband is a slave driver...if not for you, we would've starved to death" joked Sean Jackson.

"Oh it was nothing....At least I know where my hubby is at night." said Sepia....To which we all burst into laughter....If you notice..I said nothing...I was busy finishing off the last bits of the project.

"Okay guys...that's a wrap..We are officially done..." I said.

"Good...you guys wanna stop at Josie's for a couple of cold ones?" asked Harry Charles.

"Nah, we are going home." said Sean...

"I think Sepia and I are going home too....We'll probably stop in Josies tomorrow." I said.

"Okay Kev, Sean, guys....I'm headed over to Josies...See you tomorrow." said Harry.

"Not in here you won't....I'm off." I said.

"I heard that" laughed Sheila and Sean....We all laughed and headed out the door....

As we walked out ,a familiar guy was standing near my car.....

"What's the matter Kev...you can't say hello to an old friend?" came the voice of Seth Kinnison, an old friend and fellow writer who I hadn't heard from in three years...

"SETH??? Oh my God....How long has it been?" I said ,incredulous! Seth had been a writer at this magazine when Sean Jackson and I first started...He was a hell of an investigative journalist..He could easily be doing what I do on the side now....and that is Private investigative work.

"Hey Seth..what's up man?" said Sean Jackson.

"Good things and not so good things...I been keepin up with you guys...I see these lovely ladies have made honest men out of the both of you...Ladies, you have my sympathy." he joked.

"Sepia...this is an old friend of mine...Seth Kinnison...used to work here....This is my wife Sepia."

I said.

"And Seth, this is my wife ,Sheila" added Sean.

After we all exchanged pleasentries....Seth said to me....

"Kev...I hear that you're in the Private eye business now of days." he laughed.

''You really do your homework." I laughed.

"Here is my cell phone number...I got somethin hot for you...Call me and we'll hook up tomorrow. It's very important...I gotta run right now...Can't be caught out in the open like this too long." he said.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked...

"Nothin..Just get at me tomorrow." said Seth...

"Good Night ladies." he said and with that, he headed toward the opposite corner to hail a taxi. We all went to our respective homes and went to bed.

The next day, I did in fact call Seth and he agreed to meet me at Mabel Jenkin's Soul Food Joint.

We had a couple of Cokes and a Rib Sandwich a peice...

"So what have you got that's hot?" I said.

He passed me a zip drive.

"Put that in your pocket Kev...That represents probably the last bit of journalistic work I'll ever do." he said.

"What? , What are you talking about man?" I said.

"Listen...two weeks ago you guys threw one of the greatest week long jazz fests in the country...I think you out did New Orleans, just this once.....a man, a big time gambler who fashions himself as a major player brought in some stick up guys out of New York..." he said.

"Yeah... a guy named Bristol...I was looking into him." I said.

"Don't know how deep you looked....Anyway...these cowboys robbed a seafood joint....and they robbed Ciros and Mulberry Street....but that was just the preliminary...they really wanted the $10.000.000.00 safe that Chess and Chris had to bankroll the event....Did you ever ask yourself why?" said Seth.

"Ten million dollars? I don't have to ask why." I said.

"No Kevin...You're missing the big picture. This Bristol fellow is a gambler, a big time gambler...he plays high stake games...games where there is a big pot...He hates to lose...That real estate that Chris and Chess bought...was HIS???" said Seth.

"Nah, they wouldn't have bought anything from him." I said.

"They didn't know they bought his property...A guy named Harry Chambliss originally owned that property...He lost big to Bristol....Owed him a grip.....He gave the property to Bristol to settle his debt...Only ,it wasn't his to give....He owed to Government big time also and they took the property...the land that Chess and Chris are building their big Shopping center on..." said Seth.

"Okay..so what?" " I said.

"Bristol is crazy...He hates to lose and he hates being embarrassed...He wanted to rob that safe so that Chris and Chess would not be able to pay those people and would have to either back out of that deal or at best be discredited....It wasn't personal against Chris and Chess..it was aimed at

Chambliss." said Seth.

"Okay, but the plot was foiled and from what I understand, Chris and Chess forced him to return all of the money and they run him out of town." I said.

"Bristol isn't out of town...He owns property all over this city...He's here, he's hiding in plain sight and he's planning to get back...He's got a hitman...a high priced guy from out of town....and he's got a contract on Chris Thompson, Chess, Walter "Kool Kat" Jones ,Donald Smooth and another guy." said Seth.

"What? How do you know all of this?" I said.

"Because, I've been investigating this whole thing and more...It all leads to Bristol ,along with some other things..." said Seth.

He was a great investigative journalist...If he said something, then I know it was true...because this guy was the best..I studied under him...He taught me how to get to the bottom of things.

"Okay Seth...What is your angle in all of this?" I asked.

"The other guy on Bristol's hit list...is me my friend...I've already called Chris, Chess, Donald "Smooth" and Kool Kat and told them to watch their backs..They're street guys...it won't be easy for this guy to hunt them down....but me...I'm not like them...There are only so many places I can hide." he said.

"Why would this hitter want to shoot you?" I asked.

"Because Bristol knows that I'm on to him and that I plan to expose him for the killer and psychopath that he truly is....See ,there is more to this story Kev....Harry Chambliss....That was my step-father...He raised me and he rescued me and my mom from poverty...He was a good man with a weakness for gambling...He lost his shirt to Bristol...I could have dealt with that...he was a degenerate gambler...but they found him in a phone booth up in North Philly with his brains blown out! That I couldn't take..." said Seth.

"You think Bristol was behind it?" I said.

"I know that bastard was and I told him...He had the audacity...the nerve to come to my step dad's funeral....I told him that I would get him if it's the last thing I do." said Seth..

"Wow man...tht's something." I said.

"Kev....You have to get my revenge for me...I don't have much long to be here.." said Seth.

"Aww man..No hitman is that good...I should know...I've tangled with the best..They're human like you and me...and they all cry like babies when they get shot."I said.

"This guy aint like no local man....He's on some CIA shit man...He's that good...I know I'm done...but you take that zipdrive home...put it in a secure place....veiw it on your computer..Then you take it and do what you do....Get him Kev...Don't let him get away with this....He's a bastard and I'll be waiting for him in hell....I gotta go.....Can't stay out in the open too long...It was great knowing you Kev...Say hello to your wife and to Sean for me." said Seth as he left and walked down the street.

I didn't know what to make of what he had told me...It was a fantastic story....I knew of Bristol...We all did...Nobody thought of him as being dangerous....I considered Fathead Newton to be more lethal...but who really knew anybody...It certainly was a fantastic story..I finished my coke and paid the bill for both of us. One thing hadn't changed...He always did skip out on the bill.

I went home and laid down , took a nap.....I was asleep for about two hours when I felt my wife ,Sepia nudging me....

"Kevin...Kevin....turn on the television....your friend...Seth..the guy we met a few nights ago..."

"What? What about him? " I asked.

"He's dead!" she said.

"Dead? I talked to him this afternoon." I said.

I jumped up and turned on the television in time to hear the socking news.....

"Today , a former investigative journalist, Seth Kinnison, former President of the Black Journalists Association was found shot to death in the offices of HYPE Magazine where he once worked....It is not known what he was doing there at the time...It appears to have been a robbery gone bad." said the report.

I knew better!

(To Be Continued.....)

Gettin Back

"This is a nice place you have here Harry." said Bernadette as she walked around in his apartment.

"It's aightt"he said , trying not ot make too much of it...

It was a nice apartment...A very modern kitchen, a small spare living room... with a nice couch , a black coffee table and a 42 inch flat screen Television. He had his ipod and his dock and his laptop on a seperate table to the side. He kept his kitchen as well as the rest of his apartment very neat. When they had been married, one thing he could always say about Harry Charles was that he was very neat and orderly.. She liked that in him..

"This is my bedroom" he said , without a hint of sarcasm...He said it rather matter of factly and stood at the door as she walked in.... There she saw a huge brass bed.....The room was immaculate..It smelled like jasmine and other incense...it had beautiful curtains and a nice throw rug... She thought for a minute .......She hadn't been with a man in months...since Ralph Scallion...Ralph had been an excellent lover...at least physically speaking....He wasn't loyal....As much as she had the hots for Kool Kat...He probably wasn't loyal either...Not that he owed her that, but he looked like a man who had lots of women....She didn't need that at this time in her life...and yet Harry......Harry...He had changed....He had done a complete 360.....but did she even want to go there again? With him?

"Would you like some wine or something to drink?" said Harry weekly.

"I'll take some wine." said Bernadette.

Harry poured some wine into two goblets and added some ice cubes...They toasted and they drank the wine... One glass turned to two and two wound up being the entire bottle...

"Wow..We killed it." laughed Harry...

''Harry?" asked Bernadette..

"Yeah?" he said.

"How long has it been since you've been with a woman?" she asked.

"Well, right after we divorced there was one girl I met at Mulberry Street and maybe two months ago..there was another woman...Neither one of them was serious..I aint seen or heard from either one of them since." He said.

"It's been six months for me" she said.

"Oh yeah...wow!" he said.

"Harry, look...I can't lie...I'm terribly horny...I'm not promising nothing...I'm not saying I want to get into nothing serious...but we know each other...we were married after all...and...." she was interrupted....Harry was on top of her kissing her passionately...She returned his pasion for a few minutes.....

"Ohhhhh....whooooo...Harry, let's go in your bedroom....." she said, breathing heavily..

She unbuckled his pants, unzippered them and pulled them down around his ankles as he anxiously wiggled his way out of them...His penis seemed astonishingly larger than what she had remembered and it hadn't been that long....

"Ohh myyyyyy.." said Bernadette...as she began softly stroking it....Harry in turn began undressing Bernadette, unzippering her jeans and opening her blouse all at once.....

"Good lord girl, I've sure missed those large breasts of yours." he said as he stared at them...

''Don't just stare at them Harry, that's not polite." she said...

He finally layed her across his bed..He all but buried his tongue in her mouth, kissing her passionately....She matched his passion, kiss for kiss...Then she began to crawl down towards that huge erection of his....She wanted to take all of it into her mouth......Harry thought he had died and gone to heaven....He grabbed her firm buttocks and squeezed them with all of his might as she continued.....

Within minutes his tongue was returning the favor....between her legs....She was near climax and

rolling her head back and forth and wanting to scream out in joy, but not being able to.....Harry couldn't take much more....He straddled her and once more began kissing her , but Bernadette wanted more than a kiss...She hungrilly grabbed his penis and began inserting it inside of her....

''Yessssssss...oh thank youuuu jesusssssss..."she screamed as he began to pick up his pace with each stroke and give her the ride of her life......

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH LAWDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!" she screamed!

"UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMphhhhhhh..." groaned Harry....

"Ohhh Harry , I think I still love you...ohhhhhhhhh..." she moaned.... What had she just said?

"I love you too baby...ohhhhhhhhh goddddddddd..." he moaned as he thrusted harder and faster! What had he said?

She wrapped her legs around his back and squeezed him as tight as she could....It was a wonder he didn't go deaf the way she screamed after her second orgasm of the night...She trembled....

With that, Harry climaxed himself...shaking and trembling.....

"Harry, I--I...know I said something, when we were making love..." said Bernadette ..

''I know...I heard you ...I still love you too." he said.

"What are we going to do now?" she asked.

"Well, right now...we are gonna try and get some sleep." laughed Harry as he held Bernadette in his arms.

"Silly, you know what I'm talking about ." laughed Bernadette.

EPILOUGE:

The next week, A U-Haul truck with Harry's belongings pulled up to Bernadette's house...Harry,Clerow, Sean Jackson, Kevin Morris , Eddie, Andrew and Gus unloaded his stuff as Bernadette directed them as to where in the house to position each thing.

''I hope you stay married this time junior...cause I aint moving you out." grumbled Gus.

"You don't have to worry about that Gus...I aint goin nowhere." laughed Harry Charles...

"When is the weddin?" asked Clerow.

''We got married last week at City Hall...We might have a formal ceremony a few months from now." said a gushing Bernadette.

Across the street from all of this, Kool Kat, wearing a black pin stripe suit, tailored just for him...lit a cigar.... and smiled!

(For Tracy)

Fading Away

"Girl, you really missed a great jazz festival...It was all week long." said Kool Kat to Chelsea Daniels...His neighbor , who lived directly across the street from him.

"I know...but I had to go home to check on my mama." she said.

Home for her was Oklahoma of all places...She had been gone for two weeks..The last week which had seen Chess and Chris ,along with Mabel Jenkins ,Gus , the bartender and owner of Josie's and Dollar Bill throw a gala of music and food that delighted the entire neighborhood.
Chelsea and Kool Kat were not exactly an item....They had an "arrangement" you might say....They were what you might call -"Friends ,with Benefits" They slept together quite often and he often took her to nice dinners, on weekend trips away from Philly , to movies and plays and whatnot...but he didn't exactly consider himself her man.

Chelsea knew who Walter "Kool Kat " Jones was..She always knew who he was and what he used to do...She had grown up around men like him...Her Daddy was a man of the street like Kool Kat..She wasn't afraid of him, and Kool Kat liked that...but she didn't pressure him either and she told herself that she wasn't going to fall in love with him, no matter what. She didn't know...but she assumed that Kool Kat had other women....It was a ask me no questions ,I'll tell you no lies type of thing.

Kool Kats Blackberry began vibrating....It was the third time , in the hour that he had been at Chelsea's house that it had done so...He looked at it, grimaced and layed it on the table.

"Her again huh?" laughed Chelsea.

"Yeah." said Kool Kat.

He had told her all about he and Kevin's adventure in which Bernadette's ex-husband, Harry Charles and her present boyfriend at the time, Ralph Scallion had been kidnapped by three guys , Gorilla Lewis, Elephant Jones and Abel Gardener, who were planning to kill them for two entirely diferent reasons...and how he, Kevin and Clerow had rescued them and (his words) "sent the three stone cold gangsters packing" Chelsea was no fool....She had grown up in Philly most of her life...She knew that nobody in Philadelphia was ever going to hear from Gorilla Lewis, Avel or Elephant Jones ever again.

He told her that ever since then....Bernadette had been blowing up his phone, and practically putting it in the newspapers that she wanted to be his woman. She was fine and all and he certainly was tempted more than once to put it to her..but she was too needy, too pushy and forceful...He didn't want that.

"You sure you didn't give her some of that good lovin of yours?" cooed Chelsea mischeiviously!

"No...If I did, I'd certainly tell you...I haven't lied to you about anything else.." said Kool Kat.

"Hmmm...I don't knowwwww." said Chelsea in a sing song voice..

"Nah baby...I was saving this for you." laughed Kool Kat...

"Sure...tell me anything " she laughed, all the while, unzippering his trousers....and marveling at his huge, erect penis....

"My, My My." she said...

"Come here girl" said Kool Kat, as he lifted her up, slid her panties down and sat her up on her
sink.....

"Ouuuu, it's cold.." she said....

He smiled and entered her slowly....She was a little tight...but she soon began to moisten...

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she moaned as he slowly began to move back and forth inside her...She held on for dear life as he continued.....

"Ohhhhh Walter, you feel so gooooooooooooooooooooooooddddd.." she cooed...

"You do too baby." moaned Kool Kat.

Halfway across town in her beauty parlor...Bernadette tried Kool Kat's number again......One of her patrons, Marlene Jordan said to her...

"Gurll, why don't you stop callin that man? You gone run him away if you keep pestering him like that..."

'How you know if I'm callin a man?" responded Bernadette.

"Oh , we all saw you wit Kool Kat every night last week at the Jazz fest...and he the only guy you talk about....Everybody know he got your nose wide open....He must have knocked the back out of you on them nights girl." laughed Marlene.

"Actually, he hasn't.....He was like uh...a gentleman...He took me to the fest and then he escorted me home...He only came in once...We kissed a little bit...but before we got hot and heavy...he left." she said.

"Whattttt, Walter Jones...Just left???He must have a woman somewhere else." said Marlene.

"Sheeet, he got a couple of women...He was tearin my girl Beverly up out in West Philly." said one woman who invited herself into the conversation...and what about that big boned gal at Mulberry Street...Kool Kat turned her out...turned her outtttt....Girl, maybe you better be glad you and him didn't do nothin...because he got you so nutty now and he aint touched you...imagine when he do put it to you...You aint gone wanna come to work!" said another woman. Everyone in the beauty parlor burst into laughter...Bernadette didn't find any of it funny...Her heart was broken... She was being shunned by a man she had a big crush on...Her marriage had recently ended and she felt desperate and all alone for the first time in a long time.

Then.....Harry Charles, her ex-husband walked into the parlor...There was a hush of silence when he walked in...Everyone knew that he used to beat her and that he used to come in and rifle her cash register..sometimes taking a whole days pay to feed his gambling addiction. Now of days...He was different. He no longer gambled...in any way shape or form. He had gone to anger management classes and he had started attending church on a regular basis. When he came to see his ex-wife..he was very contrite.

''How you doin Bernadette?" he said.

"I'm fine Harry...How are you?" she said. Bernadette was always cordial to Harry...Part of her felt sorry for him...

"I'm good...I start my new job next week." he said. Bernadette's eyes lit up!!

"A Job? What are you doing?" she asked excitedly...

"Kevin Morris got me a job working at his magazine...I'm Sean's wife, Sheila's Administrative assistant..I'm making pretty good money..I got a savings account and a checking account and I paid my two credit cards off.." he said.

"You still living with Georgia Ray?" she asked. Georgia Ray Charles was his mother!

''Oh nah..Nahh..Chess and Chris rented me a spot....I got a nice apartment....You should come over and see it sometimes." He said.

''Wow Harry...you've really turned a corner...Workin...got your own spot...I'm impressed." said Bernadette.

"Yeah..well..I'm tryin to do good... You still seein that cook, Ralph ,what's his name?" he asked.

"See! There you go....For your information, no....I'm not...I know you're seeing somebody." she said.

''Haven't had time to." said Harry.

"Well......Maybeeeeee...Maybe I'll stop by your place after work....but it's just a social call Harry,
no funny stuff..." she said ,sounding like a school girl,...They had afterall been married...It wasn't like they didn't know each other in the biblical sense.....

Meanwhile , across town in Chelsea's kitchen.....

"OHHHHHH...OHHHH MY GODDDDDDDDDD...OHHHHHHHHH WALTER...OHHHHHH!!" she screamed...

"Ouuuuuuuuu baby...ouuuuuuuuuuuuu...ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" screamed Kool Kat as he thrusted harder and faster.....

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH BABYYYYYYYYY!!!!! DARLING!!!!!!" she moaned...

Finally they both reached their climax in a crescendo of both pleasure and fury!!!

Sweat ran down Kool Kat's forehead and his massive shoulders....Chelsea's head collapsed on his
chest...Her perm was completely sweated out....She was exhausted...They both fell to the floor ,laughing...

"Oh my goodness Kool Kat...that was the bomb....ouuuuuuuu.." she cooed..

"Damn girl...I thought I was gonna die..." he said ,still trying to catch his breath and laughing.

Harry Charles sat in the courtyard outside of his Apartment complex... "Fading Away" by The Temptations was playing...He sang along with the chorus.. "You changed and it's showin...baby,You've changed and it's showing..tell me...where is our love going.." he snapped his fingers as Eddie Kendricks' s soft tenor faded into the night time sky...He looked up and to his surprise..Bernadette was parking her car and getting out.

"Wow ,I didn't think you were coming." he said...

"I told you I was" she said...

"Who is that singing ?" she asked ,snapping her fingers to the beat...

"That's the Tempts, what you know about that?" he laughed.

"My daddy used to play them all the time." Bernadette laughed...

"So did mine" Harry said.

"Like smoke from a cigarette, like dreams that you soon forget, our love from the day we met,it's fadin away..fadin awayy..fading away." they both found themselves singing in unison.

"You've changed and it's showin" sang Bernadette... She smiled at Harry, then turned her face away shyly!

Harry looked at her and managed a weak smile...


(Conclusion Next....)

Unlikely

ART: "The Struggle Lives On" By Laurie Cooper

Think of a spring flower that never blooms
or a snowstorm in the month of June..
A catchy poem that doesn't rhyme...
Or the thought of living until the end of time..
It's unlikely...
As unlikely as the the day you'll come back to me..
and that's why I've got the blues.../

Think of a blazing fire that isn't hot or at least
warm..
Or running home and not getting wet during a
thunderstorm..
Or a new day that's exactly the same as the last...
A present and a future without a past...
It's unlikely...
As unlikely as the day you'll come back to me..
as unlikely as the day you'll forgive me..
and that's why today my heart is blue...
It's just an unlikely world without you.../


What could I do?
What could I say?
To make you call me on the phone or text me some day?
Is that an unlikely thing to ask?
Please let me know...
Get back to me through a friend....
Girl, you just can't imagine the shape I've been in...
Since you left me a year ago...
It's unlikely that you'd know.../

Think of a spring flower that never blooms
or a snowstorm in the month of June..
A catchy poem that doesn't rhyme...
Or the thought of living until the end of time..
It's unlikely...
As unlikely as the the day you'll come back to me..
and that's why I've got the blues..
I could sure use some good news...
Something to shake these blues..
Baby,you just can't imagine the shape I've been in...
Since you left me a year ago...
It's unlikely that you'd know...
so unlikely...
that you'd know./

My Money Mannnn!

"After you finish that food, you are free to go" I said to Ike Clanton, who had now spent a day and a half in Fathead's safehouse. Donald Smooth and I had releived the other two fellows who had been guarding him. We brought him a McDonald's breakfast of Pancakes, Hash Browns, Suasage,Scrambled Eggs ,Orange Juice and Coffee. He hungrily ate his food and looked at us in disbeleif. He had robbed us and yet not one of us had so much as smacked him....We had fed him , allowed him to watch the flat screen 50 inch Television in the house and had even allowed him to bathe. Now we were cutting him loose...He couldn't beleive it!!

"Yall lettin me go?" he said.

"We are gonna take you back to the strip club where we found you and drop you off...Here's $50.00...After that...you're on your own." I said.

He had seen the news....He knew that three of his crew had been killed in a robbery gone bad and that their leader, Jessie Young had escaped and was beleived to have been wounded. He knew that he had nowhere to go.

"Hey guys...would it be too much if I asked you guys to drop me off at the bus station.?" he said.

"We can do that Smooth,can't we?" I asked.

"Sure thing." said Donald Smooth.

We blindfolded him, so he wouldn't know where he was and drove him to the bus station on 9th and Filbert Streets.

"A word to the wise kid" I said... "Find yourself another line of work.....and don't ever let me see me you in Philadelphia again."

"You won't....I swear. You won't." he said.

Donald Smooth and I watched him board the bus to New York City.......Then we pulled off!

''You wanna stop and get some Coffee Chess?" asked Donald Smooth.

"Nah...Let's meet with Chris..." I said. We drove to where Chris Thompson and Kool Kat were staked out. It was in front of beautiful Waterfront Condo, not too far from our offices. I wondered how long Bristol had known of our whereabouts...Being that it wasn't that many African -Americans in this area with offices or condos period...It wasn't hard for him to notice Chris and me coming to work everyday..The shame of it is...We never noticed him.

Chris had the trigger fish device that Kevin had used and had pulled a conversation off of Jessie Young's cell phone.....

"Hello.."

"Yeah man, it's me...the robbery went all wrong..man, everybody is dead...and I still can't find Ike."

"Why are you having this conversation with me on the phone? Are you stupid?"

"Look man...I need my money and I need some medical attention."

"That's not my problem is it? You and your cowboys made too much noise.. You tipped our friends off....So now, it would just be better if you left town....I will have to make arrangements for someone else to handle my business...As of now, our arrangement is expunged."

"Expunged? I don't know what the hell that means Bristol...but I want my money.."

"WHAT ARE YOU CALLING MY NAME OVER THE PHONE FOR? If you know what's good for you, you'll leave town...."

"Hey, don't ignore me man!"

Click!


Chris looked at me and shrugged!

"You hear that Chess? That's the guy who brought them here...He wanted that ten million in our safe....He needed that as some kind of seed money...He's trying to set something up...Only he's out of time and out of business....He's got a quarter of a million dollars of my money...That pompus jerk is going to pay me back today!" snapped Chris.

"We been here for awhile...He's in that Barber shop in the condo....He's got two goons in the front...A guy inside....and a sharpshooter in the window of that building across the street." said Kool Kat.

"Man, how do you know all of that?" I asked.

"Chess, what did I used to do? How long did I do it? " asked Kool Kat.

"When Kool was doin his thing Chess...He was the best in the business." said Chris, laughing at me.

I entered the building across the street with Donald Smooth...We took the elevator to the 17th floor... We found the room and I knocked on the door.

"Room Service." I said.

There was an eerie silence...Donald Smooth looked at me , I looked at him and like two detectives..we kicked the door in and ducked...Sure enough, there was a hitter in the room just like Kool Kat had said. He dropped his rifle and went to pullout a pistol, Only I clocked him with the butt of my gun and Donald Smooth put the nozzle of his pistol to his head.

"Next time someone tells you it's room service...open the damn door!" he snarled as I smiled.
We bound and gagged him and brought him down the back entrance and delivered him to Kool Kat's capable hands. We stuffed him in a car where two of our guys were watching him.

Kool Kat walked across the street and began a conversation with the two guys perched in front of the door....Within seconds an argument ensued...one guy went sailing through the plate glass window and the other went crashing through the front door. The gunmen on the inside went for his gun, but Donald Smooth had him covered and disarmed him before he could get into anything....The poor barber, who was just finishing up, dropped his clippers and ran for all he was worth...

Bristol sat in the barber chair with shaving cream still around his ears a little surprised , but still with no look of real fear...He kept looking upwards. No doubt for his sharpshooter!

"Forget about your guy across the street Bristol, we got him." said Chris.

"Indeed...You always were, if not anything else, pretty thorough Chris." said Bristol. He was a tall thin guy, impeccably dressed, honey brown skin and about our age, but he spoke like a Harvard lawyer...Bristol was a big time gambler....He only played in high stakes games...Where there was a huge prize to be won...It was said that he was well connected finnacially and that he was looking to make inroads into other things.

"So Mr.Bristol, I'm here to talk about a half mil of my money in your coffers...I want it back, all of it and it's not negotiable." said Chris.

"Why don't we meet somewhere else and discuss this matter...Perhaps the bar at the country club ,in which one of my associates is a member?" said Bristol.

"Why don't I kill you right here and call it a tax write off?" said Chris.

"Well....That certainly wouldn't be nice for either of us." said Bristol.

Just then , a badly dishevled Jessie Young walked in the now empty ,(except for us) Barber shop.

"I want my money mannnnnn.." He said...He had lost a lot of blood...He was in need of medical attention and he looked like hell...He waved the gun at Bristol, who for the first time looked afraid...Then he collapsed in the middle of the floor.

Kool Kat walked over to him and felt his pulse.

"He's dead man." said Kool Kat.

Chris turned and looked at Bristol.....

"My Money MAN!!! I'm not going to ask you again!"


EPILOUGE:

Bristol's courier returned every cent of the money he owed Chris...he returned Dollar Bill's and Chick's money too. The police found the nude body of Jessie Young in a clear plastic bodybag floating in the marina a few days later....They didn't have a clue as to what happened to him or how his body wound up there...They were just happy not to have to deal with the Westies anymore.

The embarrassment suffered by Bristol was enough so that, a few days later, his condo was empty and for all purposes...it appeared that he had left town...Still,I didn't think that that would be the last time we saw him.

"Well , you got your money ,I know you're happy." I said to Chris as we sat in Mabel's Soul Food Joint enjoying a tumbler of Coffee , a few days later..

"Yeah....I couldn't let him of all people punk me." said Chris.

"You think that's the last we'll hear from Bristol?" I asked.

"Oh noooo, nooo..He'll be back....When he thinks I've forgot...But I never forget." laughed Chris as he tossed the money on the table and headed out the door.

"Be easy Chess." he said as he walked away...I smiled and sipped my coffee.


( For SLC and Carlene)

The Quick And The Dead!

Peeping Tom Constanoble and Clarence "Lockpick" Johnson were as odd a pair as one could find..One was an ex-CIA operative , who was a genius at all types of surveilance...while the other was a streetwise ex-convict, who could break into any dwelling and beat almost any security system....They did great work assisting both attorney Robert Foxworth and my friend, the writer and blogger turned Private Investigator, Kevin Morris...Now they were helping Chris and me.

Peeping Tom walked around our office with a strange machine that was beeping very loudly....Lockpick Johnson was using another machine that was sending a loud beam throughout our Penns Landing office...Peeping Tom followed the beeps and uncovered several hidden micro listening devices and micro video cameras hidden all over our office....The machine Lockpick Johnson had was called a scrambler...It was destroying any signals these devices could still be giving.

"Here they are Chess.....This is the reason your adversaries know so much about your operation.. You and your partner Chris had your planning sessions in this office and your guy Frenchie was here with you...Whoever these guys are..They heard and saw everything!!They probably don't need to listen anymore...They know your whole operation." said Peeping Tom.

"So that's how they knew about Frenchie...and that's how they knew to hit Dollar Bill's joint and Chick's joint, Ciros...Where we were stashing some of the money." said Chris.

"I told you we should have just used a bank...none of this would have happened." I said.

"Yeah man, I guess you was right on that one ." he said holding his head down and punching his fist into his hand.. We had wondered how this stick up crew known as "The Westies" were getting so much information on us...The one guy we had in our custody, Ike Clanton, didn't even know...He just said that their leader, Jessie Young was getting his information from some guy he spoke to on the phone...The guy who had brought him to Philly..He also told us that they planned to hit Gus's joint , Josie's tonight.....We had already told Gus...I knew that his guys, Eddie and Albert were only too ready to throw down...

The guy we had in custody was scared to death....We hadn't even roughed him up...Neither Kool Kat nor Donald Smooth, nor any of the muscle we had watching him in Fathead's safehouse had laid a hand on him..We did take close to 50k off of him...Money we were sure was stolen...He gave us an address where at least two of his crew was staying....Our good friends, Kevin Morris,
Sean Jackson and Clerow were already sitting on the place...Locksmith Johnson and Peeping Tom had already "wired" the house, which belonged to some girl and placed a GPS tracking device on their vehicle. We were waiting to hear from them.

He claimed that he didn't know where the crew's leader, Jessie Young was staying....and he gave us two places we might find Frankie Flowers...Kool Kat and Donald Smooth were checking out both spots...

"Well Holmes , what do we do now? " asked Chris.

"We wait man...We are already a step ahead of these guys..We got one of em and we know their next move...Not only that, they don't know we know it." I said.

"Chess...One thing man, one question you aint askin." said Chris.

"Huh? What?" I asked.

"These guys are kids...They're stick up boys....They don't have the money or the connections in Philly to surveil us...or to know where we've been stashin some of our money for this Jazz Fest..Somebody ...Somebody right here in Philly , Somebody brought those guys here and somebody is after one or both of us personally.." said Chris.

"Yeah ,but who?" I asked.

"Somebody who would is smart enough to bring out of town talent in, so it never comes back to him." said Chris.

"I think I have the answer to that" came the unmistakable voice of our friend, Kevin Morris...
He ,Clerow,Sean Jackson and Robert Foxworth all walked into our office.

"You do?" said Chris and I in unison.

"Gentlemen, either of you know of a big time Gambler named Bristol?" He said.

"Bristol!! ,Bristol.... Bristol the fixer." said Chris.

"Yeah..We know him...He plays high stakes cards at practically all of our card games..." I said.

"We used the trigger fish machine you gave us Peeping Tom and we pulled a couple of cell phone conversations between this Bristol fella and the Bremer Brothers, Arthur and Freddie and Jessie Young..Apparently they are the leaders of the crew and Ike Clanton and Frankie Flowers just do the heavy lifting...They only know what they need to know." said Kevin.

"It makes sense" said Chris.

"Yeah..Bristol was always nosing around ,asking question about our business...He even offered to be a silent partner last year, float us some cash for a percentage...I told him no." said Chris.

"Well, he's very connected..We followed him..He lives in a condo...a penthouse condo....In a building that's got it's own Barber Shop...When this cat walks in, everybody gets up and waits until he's seated...He's got two or three goons around him at all times too...And somebody is always in his spot..Very difficult to get to..." added Kevin...

"You got any idea where our money is?" asked Chris.

"No...but these kids don't have it...Bristol pays them whatever he wants to pay them, but your money is no doubt with him." said Kevin.

"Hmmm....I'm gonna get to him." said Chris...

"Just hold on partner...First we gotta worry about those cowboys." I said.

"No we don't....They won't be a problem at all." laughed Chris.

He was right.....That night as the Jazz Fest entered it's final night....Jessie Young, Arthur Bremer,Fred Bremer and Frankie Flowers walked into what they thought was an empty Josie's
Bar...The broke in and headed for what they thought was a safe containing close to 10 million dollars....We had already moved the money,once we knew they were planning to hit the place..What they walked into was the shotgun blasts of Eddie , Gus and Albert.....Oh they tried to shoot it out with them...But Gus, Eddie and Albert were no slouches and not about to get robbed the way Dollar Bill and Chick had been robbed!

When the smoke cleared...Arthur Bremmer, His younger brother,Fred Bremmer and Frankie Flowers ...All 24 years old lay dead!....Jessie Young managed to shoot his way out and make it to his car....But just then, Kool Kat and Donald Smooth were driving up....Jessie Young fired at them... Big Mistake....Kool Kat and Donald Smooth let his car have it..flattened both tires and shot out the back window...Jessie got out, gun blazing...Donald Smooth hit him in the shoulder and in his rear end....

"Arrrrrrgggggggggh....I've been shot...I've been shot...arrrghhhhhh.." he yelled as he ran into the night, dropping his gun...

******************************************************************************

We paid the musicians and the workers. Our Week long JazzFest had been a success.... The Police and the FBI came by to pick up the corpses.....As it turns out..They had heard of the Westies and had been tracking them for a long time for a score of robberies...Neither Gus, nor his muscle was charged with any crime...As far as they could see, They were defending their property from a gang of mad robbers... The dropped gun had Jessie Young's fingerprints on them...He was now a wanted suspect!

Chris and I drove along Lincoln Drive ,early in the morning....My buddy was eerily quiet. He had been right about us not having to worry about the Westies..

"Hey Chris..What's on your mind?" I asked as I drove along the drive...

"That guy we got, Ike Clanton...cut him loose." said Chris.

"What?" I asked.

"We got no more need for him...His crew is gone...He'll either high tail it out of Philly...or he'll lead us right to our money....I'm bettin on the latter." said Chris.

"You think his boy will trust him? After all...He was the only one not at the robbery, They walk in and get slaughtered...It's gonna look funny." I said.

"It sure is....and maybe ,just maybe...We'll get a lead on this Bristol charactor." said Chris.

''He sounds heavy duty." I said.

"I'm heavy duty Chess." said Chris.

I laughed, yes you are my friend!...Yes you are~!


(Conclusion Next...)