To The Ends Of The Earth

"He's in your head, isn't he kid?" asked Gus as I sat quietly at the bar in Josie's quaffing down my third beer of the night...It could have been my fourth or fifth..Who was counting?

"Yeah..he beat me....I don't like getting beat." I said.

"Well, it aint about you kid....You got back the stolen merch, foiled his little plan and basically ran him out of town...Now how is it that you feel like he beat you?" asked Gus.

"Because he did...He said that he never gets caught...He's in Copehagen right now, laughing at me." I said as I quaffed down another beer.

''Copenhagen?? Did you just pull that out of your hat kid or you know that?" asked Gus.

"His phone...We cloned his smartphone..He don't know it...It's kind of like a GPS device...Whenever he uses it...we can tell where he's calling from...He's been in Copehagen for about a month now." I said.

''Wow...Modern technology is somethin." laughed Gus.

"Plus the Feds told me...They said that he used his Passport and when he did...They caught it on some kind of electronic device..." I said.

"Well they'll get him." said Gus.

"No they won't...There is no extradition agreement between our countries....As long as he stays over there..he's as free as a bird.....Because of him, Jake and Sam and Owny are dead....and he won't pay for it." I said.

"Is it just that or the fact that you won't have the pleasure of sayin -'I got'cha'?" asked Gus...

"It's a little of both" I mused.. Gus smiled ....

"Just keepin you grounded kid." he laughed.

"Did I hear you mention Copehagen?" said Downtown Rob Brown, whose quintet had just finished a set.

''Yeah..What about it?" I asked.

"Well, we are playing some dates there starting next week and your boy Sean Jackson is covering it  as a photographer....He's taking his wife. I got three extra plane tickets because Reed, Debbie and Delores have the flu and they can't make it....You uh could take your wife with two of these and cover us, like yall did Reed and 88 when they played Japan two years ago." he said.

My eyes lit up!  Just then , my wife Sepia was coming in the door...Gus had no doubt called her..Told her to come and get me.....I kissed her and then asked...

''Hey Sepia...You up for a little mini vacation to Europe?"

''Huh"? she asked!

II-

Copenhagen is is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260.
Copenhagen is a major regional centre of culture, business, media, and science, as indicated by several international surveys and rankings Life science, information technology and shipping are important sectors, and research & development plays a major role in the city's economy.

It's strategic location and excellent infrastructure, with the largest airport in Scandinavia located 14 minutes by train from the city center, have made it a regional hub and a popular location for regional headquarters and conventions.

Copenhagen has repeatedly been recognized as one of the cities with the best quality of life. It is also considered one of the world's most environmentally friendly cities. The water in the inner harbour is clean and safe for swimming. 36 percent of all citizens commute to work by bicycle. Every day, they cycle a combined 1.2 million miles.

Since the turn of the millennium, Copenhagen has seen a strong urban and cultural development and has been described as a boom town.

Sepia, Sheila ,Sean and I had been enjoying ourselves...Shopping, eating in a lot of the local bistros and restaurants and covering Downtown Rob Brown's quintet for the magazine at night in the local clubs...Meanwhile..on the sly...I was "covering" the local underworld..Showing photos of Ray Kind and paying for silence....

It was remarkable how quick yankee dollars got you information around here...Wasn't long before I found where he was living....  I watched him, I followed him and I observed him ...... He had a new girlfriend who was half Black and half white....and he had developed a love for marijuana....Purchasing a large quantity almost daily... Using a rental car with tinted windows...and a special scope...Sean Jackson had photographed his activities daily...

He and his girlfriend seemed quite content....  They would go out every morning...Hand and hand and have coffee and pastries, then he would see a guy who sold him his dope and the two would retreat back to his apartment and make love and get high all afternoon...What a life...He would then hit the clubs....He even came into the club where Downtown Rob Brown was gigging and miraculously..Sean, Sheila, Sepia and I got out of there before he noticed us!!

I finally went to the local constable's office with my photographs and told them who I was and why I was in Denmark....Afterwords I walked back to a small bistro, where I met up with Sean Jackson, his wife ,Sheila, and my wife Sepia...We ordered a bottle of wine and four tumblers.....

''Well Lover this is our last day here...what are you going to do?" asked Sepia.

"I'm going to go pluck this pigeon tonight." I said.

"You want me to come with you?" asked Sean.

"Nah..Help the girls get packed. I'll be alright." I said.

Sepia grabbed my hand..."Kevin"  she said softly...

"What is it dear?" I asked gently...

"Be careful babe." she said.

"Always." I said and I walked out.

III-

I rang the bell of Ray's flat and his pretty little girlfriend answered the door...She was a good twenty years younger than him...and very pretty...


"Hello" she said with a smile...

"Is Ray home? " I asked...knowing that he was.

''Sure...May I ask who's calling?" she said.

"Tell him an old friend of his from Philly." I said, laughing.

''Oh okay." she said.

"Whose that at the door baby?" came Ray's voice...

"He says he's a friend of yours from the states." she said.

"A what? a who?" he says as he walks in.....The look on his face is priceless when he sees me...!!!

"Hello Ray...it's been a long time..." I said.  "I was in town and I thought I'd stop by." I said.

"How did you find me?" he asked.

"I'm an investigator...This is what I do." I said.

"Hound people to the ends of the Earth..." he smirked.

"If need be." I said.

"Well you wasted your money and your time....I like it here...I have plenty of money I can get to in an offshore account....and I'm not wanted for any crime here.....You do know that there is no extradition policy with the U.S. here don't you? he smirked.

"I do...and in fact I'm leaving tomorrow..headed back to Philly!" I said.

''So why did you come here?" He said.

''To say goodbye to you before you go to jail." I said.

"Jail..I'm not going to jail." he said.

There was a knock on his door... He looked puzzled...but I didn't...

"Ray...it's the police." said his girlfriend...

"Police? What the hell..." he said..

Several Copenhagen policemen came into his flat with drug sniffing dogs...The canines went right to his stash of marijuana.!!!!

''Mr. Kind...You are under arrest for possession of marijuana...We don't tolerate the drugs in this country." he said as his partner handcuffed Ray Kind and dragged him out of his apartment...

"I don't believe this...I DON'T BELIEVE IT...I'm going to jail.....for drugs!!!!!" he said as he stomped his foot and they dragged him down the hallway...I followed them as they stuffed him in the police car....He looked at me and smiled....

"Nicely done Kevin...Touche....We'll meet again...I promise you that...I promise you...we'll MEET AGAIN!" he snarled as the police car pulled off with him in the back seat.....

His girlfriend walked up to me....She lit a joint...

"Smoke?" she asked.

"No thanks." I said and smiled at her...She smiled at me too.

EPILOUGE:

Ray Kind was convicted of possession of drugs and paraphenailia and sentenced to one year in prison...While he sits in stir...The FBI is diligently working with the Danish government to release him to them ,so that he can be returned to Philadelphia to stand trial for the Jewelry store heists...

Jennifer Maclin was convicted and sentenced to 15 years for her part in the conspiracy..She turned in states evidence against Ray and he is eagerly being waited for by law enforcement officials here..Meanwhile , he sits in a Danish prison....Stewing!!!!!

On a nice day in late winter, Sepia and I held hands and walked through the shopping center....

"That was a nice trip to Denmark...First time I'd ever been to Europe." she said.

"Oh ,when I was in the military ,I traveled all over Europe...Asia too." I said.

"Really?" she asked.

"Oh yeah...I'd never been to Copenhagen, but I'd been to a lot of other places..." I said.

"I bet Ray Kind has never been in a Copenhagen jail before." she laughed.

"Hahahahaha...Sepia...you've been hanging around me too long...you're becoming a bit jaded.." I said and laughed...

"Yeah ,I am." she laughed and we held hands and continued walking together on the nice day that it was.