Gimmee The Loot

Because I was blind folded, I had no idea where Sepia and I were being taken...All I know is that we rode around for what seemed like hours and finally we stopped , we were both marched into what felt like a row house...I was pushed into the living room and Sepia was walked upstairs...

I smelled a woman's perfume and from the sounds of the steps and voices...I could determine that at least nine or ten men were in the house...

Mike Traine walked over to me....I couldn't see him, but his breath smelled horrible...I remembered that much from our initial meeting...and he had really bad body odor..I don't know how his underlings and especially a woman could bare to be around him all day...but I guess money and fear will make you put up with a lot.  Even the house smelled bad...It smelled like a combonation of foot odor, sweat and bad breath...I was getting sick on the stomach just breathing.

"Kevin Morris...So at last we meet...You're the  private detective that has ended the careers of so many of the neighborhood playas..huh?" he said with more than a hint of sarcasm...

"Give me a chance and I'll end yours too." I said.

He punched me hard in my stomach...He knocked the breath out of me and I fell to the floor...I felt two guys lifting me up...

"Like that huh?" he said.

"Where is my wife? You hurt her and I swear I'll kill you." I said.

He punched me in my stomach again...The pain was maddening...I was near unconsciousness...

"Got anything else smart to say?" he asked.

"Yes...You ought to drink a bottle of Scope ,and while you're at it, a hot bath wouldn't hurt you neither." I said. I heard several snickers amongst the men there...

I felt several guys cold cock me and punch me in my face, head and torso....I fell to the floor and I felt myself getting kicked..I was in extreme pain, but so angry, it was negating the pain and my fear of sudden death...which was looking like a very real possibility right now.

"Alright, knock it off boys, pull him up." said Mike Traine..

"You gonna learn to keep that smart mouth of yours closed." he said.

"I wish you'd keep your closed, damn man, your breath.." I said.. He slapped me again...

"SHUT UPPP!" he bellowed..

"Screw you...Now hit me some more...I'll say even more, you fat smelly bastard!" I said.

He punched me in my stomach....I sensed where he might be and I kicked him or somebody in the shin...

''OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU...you son of a...." came a scream.....

I was once again belted...in the sides....I coughed up blood.

"Now , the reason why I bought you here is because I want you to tell me where the money is.." he said.

''What money?" I asked.

''What money? , What money?" You hear this boys?" he asked and then slapped me so hard I saw stars.

"Look, I know that Hats McMillian hired you to make a deal with ADA Keith Wallace...He wants to turn himself and the dough in." said Mike Traine.

"Oh yeah, is that so?" I said.

Then I heard a female voice...

"Yeah it's so...I work in the D.A.'s office...I'm an administrative assistant...I was in the other room arranging some files when you came down there the other day...I heard the whole conversation..." she said.

"So ,you're Mike Traine's eyes and ears huh?" I said.

"That's right." she said.

"Okay Esther, that's enough...Now Gimmee The loot...I need that money!..." he said...

"Hats never told me where he had the money stashed...I didn't want to know until ADA Wallace could broker the deal." I said.

"Where is Hats?...We can't seem to find him" said Mike...

"If I knew that, I still wouldn't tell you, but I don't know...I told him to sky up and to contact  me when he was somewhere safe." I said.

"How was he supposed to contact you?" asked Mike Traine..

"Through a go between...Walter "Kool Kat" Jones.." I lied...

His name alone invoked a sudden fear in every guy in the room...None of them wanted to mix it up with the big man...

"Kool Kat eh?  Well smart mouth...Here's the deal...I'm gonna let you go...How do you like that?" he said.

"Yeah right" I said.

"No...I believe you....If you knew where the money was, you woulda told me by now after the way we been beatin on you. but your pretty little wifey is going to stay here...This is insurance that you don't run to that foxy Lieutenant and her equally foxy Puerto Rican cutie side kick that you're so chummy with...You get seen talking to any cops and your wife is gonna get the same working over that you got...Bet she can't take it like you can. I gotta hand it to you, you're one tough guy." he laughed...

"What do you want?" I asked.

"You got 24 hours...Convince Hats to give you the loot....Then you call me at this number...We'll pick the dough up...Once we have the dough...Wifey will be safely delivered right back to the lot where we snatched her...And if you even think about going to Wallace and the cops...just remember...We got you once..We can get you again." he said.

"Traine....I promise you....You won't live to spend that dough.... I'm going to find you and kill you and everybody in this room." I said.

"No...No you won't...See...I'm not like all the others...They were all a bunch of amateurs ,lightweights  ,I don't leave anything or anybody around for anybody to follow ...You don't even know where you are...You can't say for sure that you even saw my face.I got people everywhere watching...You make one wrong move...and you're gone...Furthermore, after I get my loot...You're out of the private investigatin business....I run this neighborhood...Deal with it..Don't feel bad...Chris, Chess, your boy Gus, your wife and her business partner,Mabel Jenkins and her sisters and all them guys will soon be kickin up to me...a percentage of all their profits or...they won't live much longer...Believe that! Now get out of here and gimme that loot." he sneered.

I was spun around and marched down a hallway and thrown into the back seat of the Escalade and driven back to the shopping center and thrown out the car on to the side walk....

The Escalade drove away!.....I was still blindfolded..I was in terrible pain...I blacked out....The last thing I remember was hearing two voices...a man and a woman..

''Oh My God, Cal...That's Kevin!!"came a woman's voice.

''He alive?" came the man's voice.

''Yeah...help me get him to the car...Let's take these ropes off of him and this blindfold." came the woman's voice..

Then I blacked out!

II-

I don't know how long I had been out, but when I woke up...I was in a strange apartment...It was clean, it smelled nice....I was laying across a bed... My old friend, Calvin Wardlow was administering a cold towell to my head....

"You okay now Kevin?" he said.

I looked up...Cherry Johnson...The manager of Victoria's Secret was smiling at me...

"So glad you're okay Kev" she said.

"This is your place Cherry? Niceee!" I said.

''Yes...Sorry you had to visit me for the first time this way..." she said with a smile.

"Yeah man, we was closing up and we saw those guys toss you out that Escalade...I'm just glad you're alive." said Calvin...

"Thank you, Thank you for helping me..." I said.

I got up and looked at myself in Cherry's mirror...My face was swollen and my whole body was sore...but I couldn't worry about that right now...I had to rescue Sepia..

Cherry can I use your cell phone?" I asked.

"Sure Kev." she said and tossed it to me.

I called Kool Kat , told him where to meet me...I called Clerow, Sean Jackson, Owen Todd,Peeping Tom and Lockpick Johnson...  I also called up an old friend I hadn't called on in a long time.. Patricia "Big Nasty"
Porterhouse and Gus's two guys..Eddie and Andrew...I told em all to come heavy....They knew what that meant.

"Anything else we can do for you Kev?" asked Cherry....

"No, you guys have done more than enough...Thank you so much for everything...Cherry ,Where is the back exit?"I asked.

''I'll show you." she said and she and Calvin led me down the back hallway ,down the stairs and to the back exit.

"Take care of yourself Kevin." she said.

"I will darlin.." I said and kissed her forehead.

''Be Easy Doc." said Calvin.

"Always babe!" I said.

III-

Kool Kat drove by and picked me up...

"Damn Kev...What happened to you?" he exclaimed upon seeing me...

"Mike Traine is what happened..."I said.

"He did this?" asked Kool Kat..

"Him and about ten of his boys...They kidnapped me and Sepia...They still have her." I said.

"We gotta come back on him and come back on him hard..." said Kool Kat getting angrier and smacking his big fist into the palm of his hands...

We drove to the basement of my office...It was closed now...I figured that I had lost whoever was tailing me.

In the basement of my new office building, Clerow stood with his .45, Owen Todd had his .45, Eddie and Albert, Gus's two security guys had riot pump shotguns, Kool Kat had a .44 magnum and a riot pump shotgun..Patricia "Big Nasty " Porterhouse...Who I hadn't seen in years greeted me with a hug...She had a riot pump shotgun....and a Glock nine...Baby girl didn't play.

"Oh My God Kevin...How long has it been?" she said.

"Too Long Babe." I answered...

"When you called..I had to come..." she said.

''Glad you did.."I said.

''So who we gotta take down?" she asked.

"Big Fish...Mike Train." I said.

"We on it... I can't stand that fat smelly bastard...Walkin around like he owns the neighborhood." Said Eddie.

"That's his plan ,to take down all of your businesses eventually and have you paying him tribute." I said.

"I'll be damned."said Albert.

I smiled...I knew taking down Mike Traine would not be a hard sell. Nobody liked him.

Peeping Tom and Lockpick Johnson and Sean Jackson arrived too...

And to my surprise...there was another knock on my back door...

"Who is that?" I said.

Kool Kat smiled...

"Open the door Kev...They insisted on coming.." he said.

'Who?" I said.

"Freinds of ours...When I told em what Mike Traine did to you..I couldn't stop em from comin." said the Big Man.

It was Chess, Donald Smooth and Chris Thompson!!!...

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked.

"Heard you was in need of some muscle....So , we here babe!" said Chess.

''Damn right..We here for you Kev!" said Donald Smooth.

Chris Thompson looked at me and smiled...

"Nobody kidnaps you my man  as far as you and me go back and my girl Sepia  too!and just gets away with it...Uh Uh....It aint gonna stand.Now order us some hoagies and steaks....Let's sit down and eat,put our heads together and talk about how we take this jamolk down!"he said.

Mike Train wanted war...Now he was going to get one!

(TO BE CONTINUED...)