Like A House On Fire

Sepia heard a knock on the door...She knew it wasn't me, Kool Kat and Bonnie... She looked through the peep hole and to her surprise...She saw Attorney Ronald Shay, Bonnie's fiance...

"Oh My God, Ronnie, come in...How did you find us?" asked Sepia...

"Bonnie texted me this address and swore me to secrecy once you guys got here...She just wanted me to know that you guys had gotten here safely." he said.

''So what are you doing here?"asked Sepia..

Ronnie scanned the room..He saw the table set up with Laptops, Smartphones and Tablets as well as legal briefs and smiled..

''Quite some set up you guys got here..You guys are serious..."He laughed..."Sepia...I know how prim and proper and professional Bonnie appears in public and to have something like this happen and worse ,everybody she loves and respects know about it is very embarrassing to her...We joked the other day that this is more something I would have done...Not her...I can't bare her thinking that I would be judgemental or that I didn't still want to marry her...Truth is...I can't wait to get remarried to her again...I don't care about this...I just want this business done with...so we can get on with our lives...I was back in Philly goin stir crazy...So I decided to come out here and be with her."said Ronnie..

"You really love her don't you Ronnie?" said Sepia..

"Like A House On Fire..." said Ronnie...

"Awwwwww, that's sooo sweeet."said Sepia..

"I don't care if our wedding is late..I'm willing to wait until everything is settled and marry her whenever..."he said.

''Well...They've been gone for a couple of hours now...I haven't heard from them...This is the only room we have..We only have it for a day...We weren't planning to stay the night."said Sepia..

"You said they've been gone for a few hours?  They were just supposed to get this guy to sign the paperwork right?  That shouldn't have taken this long."said Ronnie...

"Well...There has been a glitch..."said Sepia..

"A glitch?" asked Ronnie..

"This guy is a real clown..He's into a local Loan Shark for 50 Large and they have already broken into his house and killed one of his close friends...They tracked him to a casino where they want him to sign the papers, so they can get out of there before whoever is after him catches up with him.."said Sepia..

"Oh Lawd!" laughed Ronnie...

Ronnie peered out the window...

"Here they are now...They just drove up!" he said...

"Hopefully they have some good news.."said Sepia.

II-

Kool Kat, Bonnie Shay and I entered our hotel room....

"Hey guys...we got an extra guest..."said Sepia ,pointing to Ronnie..

''Ronnie ,what are you doing here, how did you get here?" she asked.

"I rented a car...and I came down here...I couldn't be in Philly and you down here facing this alone.."he said.

"I'm not alone..I'm with Kevin,Walter and Sepia...Kevin and Sepia you know...This is Kevin's associate,Walter Jones..."she said.

"Pleased to make your acquaintence..."said Kool Kat...

"What's up man?" said Ronnie..

''Well? You find him?? He sign the papers??" asked Sepia..

"Yes and No!" I said.

"What do you mean Yes and No?" asked Sepia..

"Yes , we found him....and No he didn't sign the papers...As soon as we got him...Five guys with suits and heavy artillary took him off of our hands...It appears he's wanted by a whole nother set of gangsters..These weren't some lowllife Loan Shark and his goons...These were wiseguys of the "Tony Soprano type..."I said..

"Oh damn!" said Ronnie, taking a seat...

''I didn't want to say anything while we were in the Casino...but all is not totally lost..." said Bonnie..

"What are you talking about?" asked Kool Kat....

"Part of me thought that Ray might try to give you guys the slip....With that going to the bathroom routine..So I slipped my work phone in his pants pocket....It's got GPS....You log into that and you can get his location...I suspect that whoever has him hasn't killed him yet...They wanted something from him."said Bonnie..

I smiled...

"Can I hug your fiance Ronnie? This little lady is sharp!" I said..

III-

 I called my guys and they locked into the GPS tracker in Bonnie's work phone and sure enough they located an old abandoned warehouse, complete with a lookout tower outside the city...They even sent me the old blueprint to the establishment...

Kool Kat, Ronnie and I looked at the location....and studied it closely....

"There was two ways out...They could be hiding anywhere on that property...I counted five guys that made the snatch...It could be more...."said Kool Kat...

''We need some help..."said Kevin...

''Who can get here in time from Philly?" asked Bonnie.

"Nobody...I have a friend here...I gotta call him."I said.

"Shark?" asked Kool Kat...

"Exactly....I sure wish Roscoe Wallace was still in the game...This would be tailor made for him."I said.

"Exactly.."said Kool Kat...

I called Eric "Shark Dollars" Redding...

"Sounds like he got snatched by Two Ton Tony Olivetti and his boys..." he said.

"Man, you sure know all the players."I laughed..

"It's my business to know...He was a Captain and he and his crew tried to break from the boss..Crazy move...but he killed the current boss...The FBI and the Mob want to talk to this guy...He's gone underground...Nobody can find him.."laughed Shark Dollars..

"I think I've found him....He's got the guy I came here looking for in custody...I need that guy alive.."I said.

"Ray Johnson?? That loser...He's a low rent grifter...He's into Jake the Snake Gibbons for 50Large and it was his bad luck to witness Two Ton Tony killing the current mob boss..He's got enough sense not to say anything to the cops and the feds..but them guys want to make sure.."he laughed..

"I got Kools..I may need one of your guys...to help me get him out of that compound..."I said.

"For you Kev...I'll send a man...Just tell me where you want to meet him....I owe you."said Shark Dollars.

"Okay...Tell him to meet me and Walter on Atlantic Avenue..."I said.

''Will do...I don't have to tell you...If you tangle with them it's for keeps...They don't negotiate.."he said.

"That's why I called you...I'm in no mood to negotiate.."I said.

He laughed....

"My man Kev..you'd of made a good gangsta." he said.

"Okay Shark...I'll meet your man in a few." I said.

''Kevin..What do you mean You and Walter will meet him?" asked Bonnie.

"He means this is too dangerous..You, Sepia and counselor will stay here...We'll call you when we are done..."said Kool Kat firmly....

Sepia drove Kool Kat and I to Atlantic Avenue and let us off...

"Please be careful lover.."she said and put her arms around me...She kissed me so passionately,I got aroused...

"Part of me is saying to hell with this...let's go find a room."I joked.

"You are sooo nasty..." she said and laughed a little...

"Nothing in the world is going to keep me from coming back to you babes.."I said and kissed her softly again..

"Take care of my man Walter..."said Sepia as she pulled off..

''With my life baby.." he reassured her.

We both watched as she drove off...Bonnie and Ronald were back at the room.

Bonnie was a good investigator..but she wasn't built for this....Sepia was as tough as nails..my ride or die girl,but I needed somebody to co-ordinate things...and Ronnie was an Attorney...This wasn'this cup of tea either.

"Kools....You ever think about calling it a day with this private eye business and just being normal?" I asked.

"I do.....but that would be boring....Anybody can be normal....But how many people can be us?" he asked.

"Yeah how about that?" I said.

We weren't waiting too long...A Tall slender Black man with his hair in a ponytail walked up to us...He had on Aviator shades and was carrying a guitar case...

Kool Kat took one look at the case and remarked.

"I'm guessing that's not a guitar in that case..."he said smiling.

The man laughed..

"Not the type that plays music " he remarked..

I showed him the layout of the place and how we planned to get in...

"I know where this place is...Wow! Who would have thought these knucklehead Wise guys would hole up so close to where the Feds are looking for them...They hidin in plain sight...The Feds and the cops have been turning this area upside down looking for Two Ton Tony, and you guys found him in one day...Man, what a hoot!" he laughed..  "Come on..My car is over here." he said.

We didn't tell him our names and he didn't offer his...I guess it wasn't important..

IV-

This old warehouse looked eerily quiet in the afternoon sun....It was 40 miles outside of Atlantic City...
I was tracking the GPS from Bonnie's phone...I was amazed that these guys hadn't found it yet and smashed it...

The guy with the guitar case asked....

"So you're certain these guys have him in that middle building?" he asked.

"Yeah..Look...They have a guy on the roof over there.."I said..

Sure enough...a man was on the roof with a rifle...

"Kev ,How did you know how to get in this place undetected.?" asked Kool Kat.

"This is an old military warehouse...Five guys snatched Ray...Which means two,maybe three hung back with Two Ton Tony...They didn't have enough manpower to cover all of the entrances..I was counting on that..."I said...

"Okay...you two tool up..You got thirty minutes...Let me get set up..."said the man...

I had on my Kevlar vest and trauma plate and I had my Glock Nine...

Kool Kat had on a Kevlar vest and Trauma plate and his .357 magnum...

We both looked around and then moved swiftly...

Inside one of the old units...Raymond Lewis Johnson saw his life flying before him...He was tied to a chair....

Two Ton Tony Olivetti was eating a hoagie and laughing...Three of his gunsels were staring at Ray...

"Look Tony...You got nothin to worry about...I swear...Those Feds had me down there for 36 hours and I didn't tell them nothin...Same thing with the cops..They had to let me go..I aint say jack...I got problems of my own..."pleaded Ray...

"Yeah,I heard....Heard you're into Jake The "Snake" Gibbons for 50K...."said Two Ton Tony, a portly man who weighed close to 600 pounds...He wheezed when he talked and could hardly breathe at times..He sweated profusely...

"Yeah...I'm just tryin to square it with him and get out of town...You got nothin to worry about...I swear..I won't say a thing...I won't say a thing...I swearrrrrrr Tony..."he said...He was now crying..

Something Tony's men found hillarious...

"The moulie is cryin...Look at this..."said One..

"See the problem is....Ray..You don't seem like a tough guy to me..If you was ,I wouldn't worry...but a milksap like you will crack under real pressure and since you are the only eye witness to what I did..I can't afford to have you breathing...I gave it some thought...I did...Really I did and ahhhhh,I just can't trust a mope like you...."said Two Ton Tony...

I shot one of his gun men in the foot..

"Yeowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!" he yelled...

Kool Kat put down enough gunfire to back them up and cause them to flee....

I didn't want to kill these guys if I didn't have to... I ran into the room and grabbed Ray and pulled him out...

The two gunmen returned the fire...Ray and I ducked down and Kool Kat mowed both of them down with his .357...

"This way Kev...but as we stepped into the hall...Three guys appeared with uzis and opened fire...The three of us ran out the back......

Two Ton Tony  yelled...

"Get em, Get em..."

On the roof , the man who Shark sent us mowed down the sniper on the other roof and mowed down the three gunmen who were chasing us....

That was six....I knew there was at least one more...The short guy who was doing all of the talking yesterday and perhaps another..I was right...

Kool Kat yelled.

"KEV,BEHIND YOU!!!"

Sure enough...It was him!!!...The guy from yesterday...He made the mistake of drawing on me..I was faster on the shot and I put two rounds between his eyes that came out the back of his head, killing him instantly....

Another man with an uzi was running across the street towards us...

Shark's guy dropped him where he stood...

Then it was silent....

Two Ton Tony walked into the hallway...

"You guys cops?" he asked...

We were silent...

He smiled..took a bite from his hoagie and sipped a soda..

"You know..you might want to invest in salads." I said..

He laughed...he put down his food....

Pulled out a pistol and put it in his mouth and pulled the trigger ,blowing his brains out..before we could do anything!!!!

He fell to the ground...dead!


Ray was stunned...

"Oh My God!!!...Oh My freakin God!!!!...They dead!!!...All of em!!!!!...Oh Lawd...!"he said.

I untied him...

"Is it anymore of em Ray?" I asked.

"Nah...you guys got em all.."he said.

In all nine people were dead....

Ray looked at both of us...

"You guys are worth every penny Bonnie paid you...Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!"he said...

Our sniper friend joined us on the ground...

"You guys want me to drop you off somewhere...?" he asked.

"Yeah...Atlantic Avenue...My wife will pick us up."I said.

"Okay cool." he said.

"Tell Shark, Kevin and Kool Kat send their regards..." said Kool Kat..

For the first time ,he smiled...

"I'll be sure and do that." he said.

Kool Kat looked at the carnage....Nine bodies strew around the compound...a bloody mess...A massacre was more like it....

"I don't know about you...but I'm going to church this Sunday." he said as we walked out of the compound!

He drove the three of us back to the Boardwalk and let us off there....

Ray looked relieved..

"Whew...You don't know how good it feels to have them guys out of my life..Wheww..You guys gonna call the cops?" he asked.

"They'll find em in time...Do you really care about their bodies being found?" asked Kool Kat.

He smiled..

"No...I really don't.."he said. "Thank you guys...You saved my life..They were going to kill me."he said.

"I know...So to pay us back...You're going to sign those papers so our girl can be free of you and can get on with her life."I said.

He sighed..

"I can do that...She's a nice girl..She deserves to have a good life he said.

While we were standing there...a man put a gun to his head...

"Hi Ray...We been lookin for you..." he said.

One guy had a gun on Kool Kat and another guy had a gun on me..

Two other guys appeared...I recognized them all from the film footage...They were the guys who had busted in Ray's home and killed his friend...

Ray shrugged...

"Hi ya Jake,Look..I was gonna return that money....Let me do these guys a favor first and I swear...I'll get you a payment..."said Ray...

"Damn them...You comin with us...Any objections fellas?" asked Jake..

"Nope!" said Kool Kat...

"You got us outgunned and outnumbered...You win, whoever you are." I said.

He laughed..

"I like that....Whoever you are....Keep it that way...You'll live longer than this mope! Good Evening gentlemen..."said Jake as he and his four hoods took Ray ,put him in a car and drove off..

A little while later, Sepia drove up with Bonnie and Ray....Kool Kat and I were standing on the corner with bland expressions on our face.

"What happened? Where is Ray?" asked Sepia..

"Well wife of mine...It's a long story." I said.

" A long story!!! How long is this story?" asked Bonnie.

 "You guys got him right?   No...I guess you didn't." said Ronald.


Bonnie and Ronald looked puzzled...

"We rescued him from one group of gangsters....They're all dead....another long story...and anyway, when we got here...The Loan Shark,Jake "The Snake" Gibbons  and his guys got the drop on us and snatched him." said Kool Kat with a shrug...

''My God, this guy is more trouble than he's worth."said an exasperated Bonnie Shay..

(CONCLUSION NEXT!)