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In an abandoned building... I, Assistant District Attorney, Keith Wallace sat with FBI Special Agent in Charge, Sharon Ferrell-Hopkins and Lt. Sissy Van Buren and Detective Edwin "Duke" Baylor...
We had binoculars and walkie talkies...as well as Laptops and IPADs and other sophisticated electronic materials... We had practically been living in this old building for weeks...We were serving point on a sophisticated investigation....
West Philly Crime Kingpin, Fathead Newton , who we had virtually ignored for years ,largely because he kept things quiet in West and Southwest Philly had apparently "retired"...He had sold his connects and from what I had heard, had left Philadelphia...This summer, a bloody war between "Big Cheese", Pete Moss and China White had resulted in 20 some deaths....We had taken down a violent hitman for hire they all were using...Big Cheese had been killed and Pete Moss, Charles Basket Angel Ortega and China White were all serving lengthy prison sentences...Into their wake emerged the very ultra violent Malik Clarke organization... 28 murders resulted amongst other crimes...The entire community was terrified...
Duke,Tyriq and I grew up in that community so we took this personally.... Duke opened up an investigation....along with FBI special agent ,Sharon-Ferrell-Hopkins...They placed plain clothes officers and undercover FBI agents ,mostly Black and Hispanic all over the neighborhoods along with our most sophisticated wiretaps on their cell phones and landlines...
My wife, Detective Carlotta Rodriguez-Wallace and Detective Sirena Pile, Tyriq's wife were deep undercover, wearing a wire in a place most of them might not want to or think of looking..They had been in deep for close to three weeks..
Detective Tyriq Pile and Detective Antonio Hopkins were in an unmarked van keeping a close eye on and monitoring them...As close as possible to protect them...
Meanwhile, Detective James "Jimmy Barlow was also undercover, working the gang from a different angle... He was pawning himself off as a drug supplier "from New York"
Apparently one of Malik Clarke's top lieutenants had fallen deeply in love with Carlotta and was buying her things and taking her places and showering her with money and information on the gangs
dealings and operations that would have been impossible to otherwise know...
Another one of his lieutenants had likewise fallen hard for Sirena and was telling her even more things ,like the fact that a number of guys were stealing and cutting the money short... Information that was mysteriously being sent to these guys and causing friction within the organization...
Within a month we had gathered enough information for me to get indictments on close to 152 people, plus the location of their warehouses and their suppliers....
Sharon looked at me and Duke...
"This is going to be major...We have enough now to call all of our undercovers and plain clothes guys in off the street..including Carlotta,Sirena and Jimmy...They did great work..." she said.
"They damn sure did....This was the kind of investigations that Sirena and I used to put together when we were in Special Investigations...Only never anything this large..."said Duke...
Sissy seemed very distant...She didn't seem herself...She stood by the window with her binoculars watching the street...Neither Duke, Sharon or I said anything to her...I had a feeling it had something to do with her and Ed Cantrell...but I didn't ask her...I left her to herself... He didn't come around anymore and when we did see him ,he was always rushing off somewhere... He did seem happier..
"Yo..Rico, Hop, pull everybody...it's go time baby." he said.
The van picked up the three detectives...
"Welcome in from the cold partners." said Hop....as the van pulled off...
"Wow...it's been three weeks...It's been weird being without you guys and sneaking into that nasty hotel to sleep at night..."said Jimmy...
"I know right? I miss my honey bunny." said Carlotta...
Tyriq and Sirena were in the corner of the van making up for lost time, kissing passionately...While Hop drove... He was the only one of us who was going home to his wife every night...
III-
"Well ,what do we have here? Duke and Rico...Batman and Robin.." he smirked...
"Have you been reading the papers?" asked Tyriq...
"You know I don't read baby." he laughed..
Duke pushed past his bodyguard and snatched him up from the table...Sharon patted him down and Sissy handcuffed him and read him is rights...
"Heyyyyyyyyyyyy, what is this?" he said.
''What this is..is seven, count em...seven first degree murder charges on your head,amongst other things.."I said.
''Aint nobody in West or Southwest Philly that'll testify against me.." he snarled...
"They won't have to....You'll testify against yourself."said Sharon...
"Plus I know some people who I don't think you can intimidate."said Sissy....
Just then Carlotta,Jimmy and Sirena walked in...
Hop walked in with several uniformed cops...
I looked at the gangster....
"Doesn't look like you're too popular." I sneered at him.
He didn't get my humor.
IV-
Most of the people arrested went down on Federal charges and got lengthy federal sentences...I tried Malik Clarke on seven murder charges and got a conviction on all of them....He got sentenced to die by lethal injection and hauled off....
For the first time in years....That area he preyed upon was quiet.....
Carlotta and I, Tyriq and Sirena, Hop and Sharon and Duke and Hazel all went home...This had been a major investigation and all of us married couples had a lot of catching up to do... Jimmy went off to find Angie and Sissy?? She was still waiting for Eddie C. to move his stuff into her house..He had said he was going to,but hadn't as of yet...
I walked into Sissy's office a few days later...Sharon was sitting with her...She seemed like her old self again..
''What are you doing here?? Where is my chica?" she asked, smiling.
"She's asleep." I said.
"Ummmmmm hmmm, she finally passed out huh? I know you missed her, two whole weeks without her." said Sissy.
I smiled sheepishly....Sharon laughed out loud...
"He is so cute...He tries to hide the fact that he loves her so much." said Sharon...
''Not really?"laughed Sissy...
Carlotta,Jimmy,Tyriq,Duke,Sirena and Hop were enjoying a much deserved two days off..along with several uniformed, plain clothes officers and FBI agents who took part in the biggest criminal investigation of this unit's short existence...
As we were laughing, a Tall ,Blond ,well dressed man walked into our office...From the look on Sharon's face, I could tell two things...One...He was a Fed and two, she didn't particularly like him...
He shook my hand first...
Bret Vandenburg's the name...I'm the ASAC...In case you aren't familiar with the jargon...I'm the Assistant Special Agent in charge, FBI..... Frank Cotton is away on an important case....I'm minding the shop until then..."he said.
"I'm Keith Wallace, ADA, Homicide, Major Crimes, Special Victims Unit." I said.
"Oh I know who you are...I've heard nothing but glowing reports about you and the Detectives you work with....You've had a very positive effect on Special Agent Farrell here." he said.
"It's Hopkins." said Sharon derisively...
"Oh that's right...You got married....To one of your detectives right Wallace?" he said.
I smiled...
"Congratulations....I read about that bank robbery case you guys cracked and this latest take down of a major crime figure....As well as the good work you did in taking down Big Uncle and Cat Daddy..Very impressive." he said.
''So Bret, why are you here?" she asked.
"I got a lead on a guy you guys want...A guy who surprisingly slipped away from you...One Haywood Coley Jr." he said.
Now he had our attention....
''Haywood Coley Jr.??? What about him??"I said.
"He apparently got himself arrested in Belize...He's charged with killing a young American girl ,who has vanished and was seen in his company....They haven't found the girl's body and my guess is...They won't...But he's already convicted of five murders here and was serving a life sentence...I have agreed to pick him up and take him off of their hands....Returning him back to prison." he said.
"What about Natalie Tucker?" I asked.
''Who?" he said.
"His girlfriend...She engineered his escape." I said.
"No sighting of her...and besides...I looked over your indictment....As a lawyer, I can tell you...You don't have enough to make a case against her...even for conspiracy...No...we want Haywood Coley Jr.
and I'm going to Belize to pick him up....Would you like to come Sharon?" he said looking at her leeringly...
"No thanks...You pick him up....I just come off of a major investigation....I'm missing my husband." she said.
He smirked...
"Oh yeah, that...you did get married.." he said.
"I did at that." she said..
"Okay...Well I'm off tomorrow for Belize..." he said.
''Have a safe flight."she said.
"Nice meeting you good people, keep up the great work." he said.
He smiled...He looked at Sissy...Smiled and then walked out..
Sharon looked at Sissy...
"That was my Lt. Cantrell, though less charming and most definitely less cool...I was close to filing sexual harassment charges against him twice...He was constantly trying to get me to go out with him, come to his house...and what not...I wasn't interested in him at all.." she said.
Sissy didn't say anything, she just laughed....I looked at her sympathetically...She was feeling some kind of way about something....I didn't know what it was and as a good friend..I didn't pry...I think she sensed that...
"You okay friend?"
She smiled..
"Yeah...Just having some , some feelings....It's a woman thing.." she said.
"Okay....If you need to talk, uh, you know, a male perspective...I'm always available..."I said.
"Good to know...but I'll be okay. Thank you anyway. Chica is the luckiest woman on the planet....To have a husband like you.." she said and rubbed my hand softly...Then she got up and walked out of the office.
(CONCLUSION NEXT)
3 comments:
Wow, these guys took down a major playa and now have a lead on Haywood Coley Jr.??? I was wondering when these two were going to return..You plan to wrap this up in just two installments....I hope it's good.
Great story...Sissy is missing Big Daddy! Great story...You know I like cops and gangsters!
Very rare we get treated to a Saturday outing in Escapades...Nice...
I like the subtle way you are dealing with Sissy, who was kind of laid back in this story...
She's obviously got something on her mind.
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