Anticipation

Musicians and Old men have one thing in common...Their stories..They always have their stories and sometimes to get to the meat of the thing, you gotta listen to their stories...I was in the hospital room with Jazz Trombonist "Bone" Hampton, who'd been shot by two thugs at Mulberry Street lounge last night...And here he was telling me that he'd witnessed a murder!!!

''What do you mean you were there?" I asked.

"I was there Kevin..Barbie was my friend...We were business partners ." he said.

"Business partners?  Monkey business Bone? I saw her...What was left of her...She was a real good looking babe...She didn't look like no accountant." I said.

''Aww Kev, you got jokes, right? She fronted me some money...Money I needed to buy and refurbish a recording studio..." said the trombonist.

"A recording studio?? That's big cash.." I said.

"Everybody's got a dream man..That was my dream...I was in Josie's playin a set and me and Meek Rollins ,Reed Nelson, Downtown Rob Brown kept talkin about how it's so hard to book studio time for cats like us, because rappers and r& b singers got all the local studios locked down now of days...and I started talkin about us poolin our money and buying our own studio. Gordon Pratt died and his widow had put his old recording studio up for sale...That's where Benny "Fruit Loops" Kelly comes in...He overheard us and he offered to front us the money..." said Bone Hampton.

"Awww Bone...Fruit Loops is a stone gangster man...why did you get involved with him?" I asked...

"Yeah man..I know....Reed,Meek, Rob Brown and Gus all tried to tell me that he was no good...but I didn't listen....I couldn't get that kind of bread from no bank man...so I took his money...I got the studio refurbished and all and started booking acts...I made up half the bread he fronted me real fast." said Bone.

"And then Drake and Moon entered the picture.." I said...It was an old story...

"Yeah..they came in and broke a couple of my speakers and demanded Fruit Loops money...Not just what he gave me, but ten percent more...I gave it to em and each time they came back...they wanted more and more.. I feel like I paid back my debt twice...I'm caught up Kev...I can't get out." said Bone.

''Where does the girl come in?" I asked.

"Barbara....aww man..she fronted me some of the money....See, she was movin a little dope on the side...She had three or four kilos man and she fronted me the money...enough to pay him off....but them two jerks took the money and probably spent half of it..now they want more...Kev, you gotta help me...I can't keep kickin money back to them...You gotta get me outta here." said Bone.

"Get you out of here? Man you've been shot....you got bandages on...I can't move you out of here." I said.

"They'll be back here to get me...I'm tellin you." he said.

"What about this murder?" I asked.

"I was up in that room with her...We was about to , you know...and they come knockin on the door.." said Bone.

"They who?" I asked.

"Fruit Loops himself ,Drake and Moon." said Bone.

"They wanted you?" I asked.

"Nah...they didn't know I was up there...I was in my drawers man..She told me to hide, so I went out on the terrace and hid behind the plants so they couldn't see me.." he said.

"Then what?" I asked.

"They barged in...They had a big argument...Fruit Loops say that Barbara owed him four keys of heroin...and she said that she didn't owe him nothin, cause she was independent..she didn't work for him...She told them to get out...Fruit Loops told Moon to toss her out the window and that's what he did...Tossed her out the window." said Bone.

"You SAW him do that?" I said.

"Yeah man...I heard "Fruit Loops tell him to do that and Moon did it. They didn't see me." said Bone.

"Then you've got to tell the police...That can put Fruit Loops and Moon away for life and Drake tried to kill you...That will get him some time too." I said.

"Man...I won't make it to tell the police nothin...They gone kill me to keep me from tellin Fruit Loops that they stealin from him..Kev, please...you gotta get me outta here." he begged.

"Alright..I'm gone go and get my guys together...I'll be back in a couple of hours...Have your clothes and stuff together and be ready to roll, okay?" I said.

"Cool...Thanks Kev..they said that you was cool." said Bone.

''Who said?" I asked.

"Reed and Rob Brown and Debbie.." he said.  I smiled..It was nice to know that they thought so highly of me. I walked out of his room...Standing down the hall was either the ugliest nurse I'd ever seen in my life or a man!!She was mopping the floor..She eyed me and I eyed her....Something wasn't right.

The Dress she was wearing was too small and ill fitting and her arms were very muscular...She looked like a cross between Madea and Big Momma...That was no woman...That was Moon!!!I am betting that he was packing too...I turned around and walked back down the dark hall...Just as the nurse was getting ready to open Bone's door...I said-

''Visting hours are over ...MOON!"

It was Moon!! He spun around and tried to charge at me, but I ducked  out of the way, Then he hit me in my side and knocked me down....Moon was a Huge , heavily muscled and bald headed black man who I  didn't relish fighting.He was about to stomp me....I grabbed his foot and twisted it and sent him falling to the floor...I managed to get to my feet ,but I was in extreme pain....He charged at me..I crouched and I landed about 12 good lefts and rights to his face.....I caught him with an uppercut that damn near ripped his head off and then clocked him in his jaw and sent him flying.... He quickly got to his feet and charged me again...throwing haymakers...I dodged them all and ripped his midsection with well placed lefts and rights and then cold cocked him in his jaw, sending him spinning around...I attempted a swift kick to his solar plexus , but he caught my foot , twisted my leg and sent me flying to the floor...

He lifted me up by my neck and put his massive hands around my neck..I kicked him as hard as I could in his privates and he let me go...I again punished his midsection with 10-12 lefts and rights and then planted more lefts and rights to his face...He fell to the floor.....I thought I had time to catch my breath....but he was up again and charging at me... I moved from side to side...My training as an Golden Gloves boxer and again as a middleweight boxer in the Marine corps came back to me....I tagged him with several lefts and rights to his face..and after awhile...Big Moon fell to the ground...out like a light...!

Just as I was about to catch my breath..I felt cold steel on my neck...This was more than likely...Drake!!!!!!
"Uhh..Uhhh..Uhhhh..I don't know who you are, but right now...you one dead nigguh.." He said....I thought quick...A swift elbow to the bridge of his nose...stunned him and forced him to drop his gun..I spun around and cracked him hard in his ribs...He grunted..and then I cracked him in his stomach...I delivered some pretty solid lefts and rights to his face and caught him with an uppercut that sent him flying...then I put his arm behind his back and rammed his head hard into the wall until he dropped to the floor unconcscious!!!I picked up his gun and took the gun off of Moon and tucked them away in my jacket. I took a switchblade off of Drake too!

The commotion woke up a lot of the patients and sent a couple of nurses down the hallway...Oh NOW they showed up...

"What's going on here?" said the nurse..

"These gentlemen come in here...They must have been drunk..and lost their balance...They fell out." I said as innocently as I could.  The nurse knew I was lying, but she didn't question me any further...She let the matter go. Two interns brought stretchers and gathered up the two thugs and carted them off...

"Wow...I sho wish I could fight like that...I wouldn't have no trouble out of nobody if I could." laughed Bone Hampton..

"Yeah..Well, we aint out of the woods yet...They are gonna wake up and they are going to be mad as hell." I said.

"Yeah..and they gonna have one hell of a headache too!" laughed Bone Hampton.

(Definitely To Be Continued...)