Down Stream

A few days later, Detective Angie Belton-Barlow walked into the diner and sat in the back booth.....DEA Special Agent in Charge Carol Redding sat down with her...She ordered coffees for both of them...It was near daybreak....

"Good Morning Sarge." said Angie....

The nickname she had for Carol Redding....She remembered when she was a young rookie Detective and Then Detective Sgt. Carol Redding was her supervisor..Even though Sissy had helped her,Duke Baylor and Tyriq Pile become detectives...It was under Carol Redding that the three learned the ropes and became seasoned Detectives...Angie missed the comradery with her two buddies from the academy,Duke and Tyriq...They had all gone their seperate ways...Duke and Rico had groomed a whole new generation of detectives...Carlotta,Sirena,Tony Hopkins and her husband,Jimmy...and they all were working with Sissy...Her Mentor, Her best friend, the sister she never had...She missed them...Her happiest moments seemed to be hanging out with them and occassionally working a case with them on loan from Internal Affairs..

Now..Carol Redding was a DEA agent and she, Angie Belton had moved on to Homicide and now Internal Affairs..Amazing they were still in each others lives..

"Well girly....it's almost over...We are getting indictments ready on Mr. Spain right now for Conspiracy to distribute control substances,wire fraud and two counts of murder ....You are the best...Sissy and all of her guys are so proud of the work you've done.." she said.

"I sure wish they all were working with me...I feel so alone..."said Angie...

"That's okay...you're almost done...Find that warehouse and then come in..."said Carol....

"Girl, he asked me to marry him, Can you believe that?" laughed Angie...

"Really? Are you sure you didn't sleep with him Angie??" said Carol giving her the serious side eye..

"Noooooo...and it's been all I can do to keep him off of me...All I've done is kiss him...I'm glad this is almost over..."she laughed..

"If your kisses have done all of that....Imagine if you and him did the hibidy bibity....He'd give himself up....and confess to everything..."she laughed...

"I know right? He is really crazy about me...It's only been like three weeks, almost four. It's all I can do to hold him off...I've got to locate that warehouse quick." She said and then changed the subject..."Kevin Morris told me you coined that term the Hibidy Bibity...He had me dying laughing.." laughed Angie...

"I know..He had never heard of the term...How's Jimmy?  How is he holding up?" asked Carol.

"Jimmy is just fine...He's been to see me a couple of times...At night....He has an access key and enters from the backdoor..and he's gone before daybreak...He was with me last night.This is like a game to him...He likes sneaking to see me...We have been uh doing the Hibidy Bibity quite a lot. I've been afraid Manny was going to pay me a surprise visit and catch him there...but he hasn't...He did call me a few nights ago while Jimmy was there...We had just finished...I was so scared Carol..but I handled it." she said laughing..

"Good girl...You've got to be careful...A guy named Smackwater Jack...A Brooklyn thug has been asking around about you and looking into you...Our cover for you is rock solid...But he has been hanging around your house..How did you get here?" asked Carol.

"I know about him...I took three cabs and I made sure I wasn't followed...And that was nice...Having a uniformed cop pull him over the other day and slow him down..."laughed Angie..

"Yeah...You probably didn't know this...but your boyfriend...Manny Spain really tuned him up at the Mermaid Club a few nights ago...Told him he'd better not catch him near you...He really loves you Angie.." said Carol.

"Yeah I know...I feel kind of bad a little for setting him up...but then I think...He's killed two people and had several others killed...and he puts junk out on the street....Then I don't feel so bad.."laughed Angie..

"Girl, you've got ice water in your veins...So Look....Leave through the front door...There will be a cab out front...That's one of our guys...He'll take you where you need to go...I'm going to hang back until I'm sure you're gone..then I'm leaving out the back...This will be our last meeting until you come in....Be easy baby girl."said Carol...

"Always Sarge." laughed Angie...

Carol laughed too.

II-

Some hours later Angie Belton or rather "Angela Courtland" met with Manny Spain at the rooftop pool of one of his condos...

"Ouu Manny this is nice...A pool and a bar and this great view of the city....This is yours?" she asked..

He smiled..

"It's ours baby....You're gonna marry me..." he said...He couldn't take his eyes off of her, How could anybody this sexy exist?? He thought to himself..

"Oh yeah? This again?" she said smiling...

He pulled her to him and kissed her slowly, softly and rubbed her breasts a bit...Her lips were so soft, she smelled so good...He was losing what little mind he had left....

"Ummmmm..."he said...

"Manny, come on ,don't start this up here..." she said trying to ease out of his embrace...

"Where should I start it at?  Girl, you got me started the first time I laid eyes on you." he said and kissed her softly again...

Angie hated admitting it..but she really was enjoying kissing him...He smelled good, his lips were soft ,seductive ..Still she reminded herself..She was acting, this was undercover...she returned his passion a little bit, caught up in the moment...

He was softly rubbing her breasts and she felt herself getting turned on a bit...

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.."she moaned...and then was sorry, She didn't mean for him to hear that...

They continued to kiss passionately.......

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, you liked that didn't you baby?" he moaned... Just then he heard an annoying voice..

"Looks like our timing is always bad huh Manny?" came the voice of Panama Brown, who walked in with his protoge' Smackwater Jack, whose eye was still swollen shut from the beatdown Manny had put on him a few nights before..

Angie sighed a sigh of relief....She had been saved by Panama Brown again...

Manny spun around...Once again, his pants were standing out like a circus tent...

Angie giggled...He was so cute when he was aroused...she mused...

Panama laughed....

"My goodness Manny..Hahahahahahahaa...But I aint mad..She is a hottie..I certainly understand."he said.

Angie straightened her hair and walked to the side...

"You two need to learn how to knock or call ahead." said Manny Spain angrilly..

"That's why I'm here Manny...I don't have to knock or call ahead anymore...This Condo is mine."said Panama Brown.

"YOURS?? What have you been smoking Panama?" asked Manny Spain..

"We bought it." said Smackwater Jack..

"You what?" said Manny....

"We paid the lean on all three of your condos,including this one and we paid the construction company to start working again on your other two.....It's all legitimate and legal like...As of now...I own all of this...You can stay until the end of the week, then you're going to have to leave....I have a position open as a building manager if you want it...For real ."said Panama Brown...

Smackwater Jack laughed and smacked his thigh...

Manny Spain looked like he had swallowed a can of paint...

"I heard you made a deal with the Nidal Brothers to move the rest of your swag.....Good move...They made you a 50-50 split...Good for you Manny,I wish you nothin but luck..Bye now...I'll be talkin to ya."said Panama Brown as he left...

Smackwater Jack turned and looked at Angie..

"Yall can uh finish up what you was doing...hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha." he laughed..

Manny Spain had murder in his eyes.....but he kept his cool...Angie was there after all...Which is what saved both of those guys from being shot right in that suite...

III-

 Manny and Angie drove to the Little Norway section of Philadelphia...To the Bakery-Coffee Shop owned by the Nidal Brothers...Ahab and Ali Nidal..

Ali checked Angie out and smiled at her sheepishly....Angie didn't want to admit it...but she was kind of enjoying the attention she was getting lately...and Ali was cute, she mused.

Ahab looked at Manny.....

"I was wondering when I was going to hear from you...Your boy Panama Brown came by here yesterday....He offered me a side deal...I didn't take it..." he said.

"No time like the present...I want you to get that swag out of my warehouse tonight...Midnight..."said Manny...

Ahab rubbed his brow...

''Where is your warehouse?"he asked..

Manny told him....

Angie was sorry she didn't have on one of her bras with her listening device in it...but she knew the address....She sat at a table and ordered a coffee while they talked...She took out her smartphone..She texted the address of the warehouse to Carol Redding and information on the drop at midnight to her also...Then she erased the text and the number from her history....

Ahab looked at Manny...

"I've got four trucks and eight guys....Will that be enough to move it out?" he asked..

"More than enough.." said Manny...

"Okay...Tonight...We'll move it out...I've made room in my basement for it...Ali...You supervise it."he said..

Ali chuckled...

"I'd like to supervise you baby." he whispered to Angie as she sipped her tumbler of coffee.

"You better stopppp."she said laughing...

Ali laughed sheepishly too..

Manny looked at Ahab...

"Once word gets out on the street that you have the new product...The money will come flowing...I'll get my cut next week.."said Manny.

Ahab and Ali smiled..

"Agreed" they said and the men all shook hands...

"Oh and Ahab....You got an extra guy?  "asked Manny Spain...

"Yeah why?" asked Ahab...

"I need you and him to take care of something for me..."he said and gave Ahab an envelope filled with money...  ''Let Ali and the guys take care of the swag... I need you and your guy to pay somebody a visit...Give him some "encouragement"....you know what I'm sayin?" said Manny..

Ahab laughed...

''Encouragement huh??..Hahahahahahahaha,is that what they call it now of days..? You're talking about Mr. Brown and Mr. Jack eh?" he said.

''Yeah...Don't kill em, bring em to me after they've been good and encouraged.I'll be out by the water." said Manny,laughing.

"For this kind of money....Anything you want boss."said Ahab laughing slyly.

Manny drove Angie back to her duplex...

He walked inside with her...

It was the first time he'd ever been in her bedroom...

"Wait...I'm going to get comfortable" she said and changed out of her dress into a nice sun dress...

When she came out of the bathroom, his eyes nearly popped out of his head...

"Damn girl...you look so good." he said...

"Thank you Manny."she said and smiled..

"This is it..It's not much.."said Angie..

"It's more than enough for me..."he said and began kissing her passionately again...He grinded her into the wall trying to devour her lips...

"Manny, please...calm down...ouuuuuuuuuuuu.." she moaned...

"Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmph...Oh my god Angie!!!...." he moaned...

''Okay loverboy, cool out...Maybe I should have waited until you left."she laughed....

He  was kissing her neck, her cheeks, her eyelids and finally her soft lips again....Slowly and softly...She admitted that he was good, he was nearly forcing her to lose her resolve...but not quite...

She eased out of his embrace...Here we go again she thought.....

"You need to stay focused on...On your business.."she said.

"Getting into your panties is my number one focus of business.." he said.

She smiled..

"My...My ..Myyy..I'm so flattered."she said sarcastically....

He smiled..

"Angie...You have no idea what you do for me, what you do to me...When I'm with you..No matter what happens.I feel like I can conquer the world.."he said..

"Awwwwwwwwww,Little ole me does all of that for you huh?" she said jokingly...

"You laugh...but I'm serious.." he said. Then he looked at his watch....

"I know you are...That's what scares me." she laughed...

"But you're right...I do have to stay focused on my business and I do have to go.....I have a meeting with my lawyer and I've got some other business to uh take care of... I'll see you in the morning."he said.

"Okay."said Angie...

He looked at her and smiled sweetly...He kissed her softly and slowly this time..

"I really do love you Angie....I've probably never been in love before in my life until now.."he said and left...

Angie smiled and watched him drive away....Part of her felt relieved...and part of her felt sad...This was the last time he was going to see Angela Courtland..Her undercover assignment was now over...Mr. Manny Spain was about to be indicted and about to go to prison,probably for the rest of his life...HE was going to hate her when he figured out that she was an undercover cop...who set him up...She didn't feel good about that...

She had in a small way almost come to actually like him as a person...When he wasn't being a gangster, he could be sweet and affectionate...Nobody was all bad...but this was her job...He was still essentially a bad man...An admitted killer, a Drug Dealer...She was doing the right thing...She kept telling herself that...but she still couldn't completely convince herself of that...She had seen a side of him...A sweet side that not many people got to see.

IV-

Manny Spain stood by himself at the far end of Penns Landing...He waited patiently as the car drove up...Ahab Nidal and another man had his .45 aimed at the head of Panama Brown ,who they dragged out of the car and dragged over to where Manny Spain was standing..

"You-You are making a big mistake Manny.." screamed Panama Brown...He had been beaten  bloody...His tailored suit was stained with his own blood and his face was barely recognizable..

"No Panama...You made a mistake...Buying my condos from under me? Trying to make a side deal with Ahab....behind my back.....YOU MADE THE MISTAKE....."said Manny....

He pulled out some papers...

"These are legal contracts...Sign them Panama...Sign them....Sign my condos back over to me."said Manny Spain..

"What? You're crazy..."said Panama..

Ahab cocked his pistol.....

"Alright...O-Okay...I'll sign....And look,Me and Smackwater...We'll leave town...We won't bother you anymore..I-I swear." said a frightened Panama Brown...

Manny motioned to Ahab for his pistol...Ahab smiled and passed it to him...

"I can't trust you Panama..."said Manny..

"Yes you can...Me and Jack we'll leave.I-I-I swear!" he said..

Those were his last words...

Manny Spain fired one round into Panama Brown's head, killing him instantly...

Ahab Nidal and his man weighted his corpse down and dropped him into the river....The cool water splashed ,hitting them both....

"We couldn't find Smackwater Jack."said Ahab...

"Doesn't matter...without his master to throw him a bone....He's of no consequence.."said Manny Spain..

Ahab and his goon headed towards the car...

"You need a ride?" asked Ahab..

Manny turned....

"No Thanks...I'll be alright...I'll see you guys." he said.

He looked out at the waters...

He had wanted to be a better man....He really thought he could get out....Tonight he had killed his third man....His first murder in years...He thought about Beverly West and Angie Courtland, the only two women he had ever loved...He really wasn't worthy of either of them he thought...

"When you break it all down...I'm just a gangster,I suppose." he said to no one in particular...

(CONCLUSION NEXT)