Over And Under

Donald Smooth and I sat in Attorney Robert Foxworth's office early the next morning....He had Coffee and Water waiting for us....His protoge' , young Attorney, Chance Howard brought the documentation we had asked for the day before and presented the documents to us.

"So according to these documents, A Ralph Butler originally owned that building...You familliar with him?" asked Robert Foxworth.

''Hell yeah...He was an old school player...Long before Eldorado Mack, Cakeman Raven, Mingo Robinson or any of them...He was the man!  Used to run everything in this area...I'm talking late 70's...80's through to the mid 90's...Then he went to jail and while he was gone...Several young bucks, starting with Big Daddy and Wally Gator and leading up to Johnny Porter took over and lost all of what used to be his...." said Donald "Smooth".

"Well...You say that this, Bruce Studden said that he owned the property before he went to prison a few years ago?  Not according to public records...It was purchased by a Bernadette Lorita Davis...Lock stock and barrell and owned by her until you guys purchased it a couple of weeks ago." said Robert Foxworth.

"Bernadette Lorita Davis?...That's Rita Davis....Mingo's fiance and Chris's main squeeze." I said.

"Yeah...We looked her up....She owns two beauty salons and a cosmetic store on the east side...and before that, check this out...she used to be an exotic dancer...." said Chance Howard...

"Oh really? And she buys an apartment complex? That's real interesting." I laughed...

"Not really..Not when you think about it Chess." said Robert Foxworth.

"Huh?" I asked.

"What he means is this Chess....She was Mingo's old lady....Mingo had about ten corners operating in his heyday...He was pulling in big dough....Those guys don't put anything in their names...Not their cars, their homes, their businesses....Because if they get busted..The feds will seize everything they own..They get a girlfriend or a relative...Somebody with a clean record to sign off on their purchases....They own it in name only.....Mingo probably gave that building to Bruce Studden or Studden may have put up the money...but on paper...It belonged to Ms. Davis legally.....He has no claim to it." said Chance Howard.

"Okay, so that explains that." I said.

"Oh and one other thing we found kind of odd." said Robert Foxworth.

''What was that?" I asked.

"A construction company called Meyer Stucky and Sons built a tunnel or sub-basement in that building about five years ago...See, it's on this map and plan of the building..." said Robert Foxworth.

"A Tunnel? Sub-basement?  Really? " I asked..

"Yeah...it was kind of hush -hush and according to the paperwork here...There was some shady dealings involved....Like phony city permits written up that nobody has any memory of and that are just plain phony."
said Chance Howard.

"Well where is Stucky?" I asked.

''Dead.  Heart attack three years ago.  His son moved to Europe and sold the company to...Guess who?" said
Robert Foxworth.

"The lovely Ms. Bernadette Lorita Davis!" I said.

"Yup and she didn't even know that she owned it until about a month ago...when she unloaded it to a rival company for a profit...More than likely, Mingo Robinson and Bruce Studden actually owned it or bought it out and used her name...." said Robert Foxworth.
"So what do we do now?" asked Donald Smooth...

"We go and find Chris and Owen and tell em what we found out." I said.

"Okay...so they have a sub-basement and tunnel under the building...I guess for a speedy escape or is there something else? " I asked.

"Well....Guess you have to figure that one out Chess." said Robert Foxworth.

"Well counselor...you've been a great help." I said as Donald and I got up and we shook Robert and Chance's hands and left.

"So what do we do now?" asked Donald Smooth.

"I guess we have to contact Chris and Owen and tell them what we found out." I said.

II-

Donald Smooth and I found Chris and Owen and told them what we had learned at Robert Foxworth's office....He smiled and he and Owen led us to the sub-basement that they had found...The door that led to it would easily be missed, because there was already a basement in the building...but no one would have suspected a sub-basement and a tunnel unless they had the master plan of the building...

"Man...I don't know how many strings these guys must have pulled to do this..but I got to hand it to them..It was a bit of genius...." said Chris.

"Chris man..What are you talking about ?" I asked.

"Come on you guys, let's go upstairs to the roof of this building...It will all be apparent to you." Chris said.

Our construction guys were doing amazingly good work, renovating this building. They weren't finished yet, but both Chris and I were pleased with the job they had been doing...

Once on the rooftop...Chris ,Owen Todd, Donald Smooth and I stood there, taking a breath of fresh air and just staring at the buildings in the surrounding area.

"Okay guys..what do you see?" asked Chris...

"Buildings" said Donald Smooth...

"Correct and what building is right across from this building?" he asked.

"The Philadelphia National Bank." I said rather non-chalantly...

"My man Chess...I knew you'd get it." he said.

"Get what?" I said.

"The bank Mr. Chess....This tunnel leads right to the bank..." said Owen Todd.

"What?" said Donald Smooth and I almost in unison...

"I don't know how long these knuckleheads have been planning this....but they have a direct line into that bank's vault...They plan to just walk in and take the money and walk out.....And here's what is really cute..At first they were willing to kill us or get us to turn ownership over to them...but now, Brucie is willing to let us be the owners , while he and his crew rip the bank off and walk away scott free!" said Chris.

''Well we can't sell to him now...We've got to cover this tunnel up." I said.

"Nah...I got an idea Chess..We are going to rent that floor out to them and let them take the bank." said Chris.

"Are you nuts?" I asked.

"Nope...Don't we know a certain FBI agent who owes us a favor?" asked Chris....

I thought, then I smiled.....

"Man...I like how you think..." I said.

"I knew you would." said Chris.

(Conclusion Next)