Come From Under

These two guys pushed  the car off the side of the road into the river....

They stood on the bridge and laughed as the car began to sink into the river...

I was awake and the cold water was pouring into the trunk fast and waking Kool Kat up...

He was coughing and trying to rise above the water so he could breathe...He like I ,knew that these old cars had an easy way to get from the trunk to the front seat.  He and I both made our way to the front seat...but more  water was pouring in...fast!

"Kev, we sinking deeper and more water is pouring in...If we don't get out of here soon, it will be hopeless.."said Kool Kat..

 "Try the doors.."I said...

The doors were fighting the water and wouldn't budge...Water was just gushing in....

"Look out Kevin..." said Kool Kat as he pulled the head rest off and began banging at the windows...They were starting to crack....but not fast enough for me..

I pulled my .22 out...They hadn't gotten that...

"Turn your head big man." I said....

I fired one shot....That's all it took and the windshield exploded...

Kool Kat looked at me and smiled..

"That's what I'm talkin about babe!" he said and we both swam out of the car and to the surface...

We both said nothing...We stood on the bridge , soaking wet ,gasping for air and glad to be alive....

A little while later, a familliar car drove up....

It was my wife Sepia...She had my daughter with her....

She took one look at both of us...Soaking wet and smiled..

"You guys just can't behave can you?" she joked...

Kimmie said...

''Daddy all wet..."

"Yes he is baby, he and Uncle Walter jumped in the river.." said Sepia, still laughing...

''They jump in the river?" asked Kimmie..

"It was a hot day baby girl, they wanted to cool off."said Sepia, smiling..

"Yo Kev....I want first dibs on those two clowns...I'm not playing..." said the Big man, who was enraged...

"You'll get no argument from me..."I said...I was angry too...Angry at being duped...Angry at myself for believing Markham Baylock's crazy story....

"I promise you....When I find out where they are...I won't call the police...You and me, will take care of both of them..."I said..

I couldn't deny the big man his pound of flesh...

''Come on you two...Let's get you some dry clothes...You're going to get the back of my car all wet.."laughed Sepia..

"You're having too much fun with this bad girl.."said Kool Kat...

"I know..." she laughed...

Walter and Sepia had hit it off from the time I first introduced him to her....That was some years ago when Sepia and I were just living together...He liked her sense of humor, her edge...He told me..."That's the girl you're going to marry or at least YOU SHOULD MARRY...She'll always have your back..."

He was in Puerto Rico when we did get married...but upon returning and hearing the news...He gave me three up top...

"Way to go Kev...and she fine too!" he added....

He wasn't the least bit angry at her teasing...but Markham Baylock and his flunky was a different story...

II-

So Once again...It was back to headquarters....

I had Markham Baylock's` cell phone number and lucky for me..He hadn't discarded it... He was making a few calls to some people in the area...and I had my five newest investigators...The four ex- CIA and KGB agents tracking his calls and his movements in the area...Pinging the towers and following the chatter..

Peeping Tom walked over to me..

"I did a little digging Kevin...This fella Markham is a shrewd guy..A Heavy duty Investment banker..He had taken some of the guys in this Super Pac...for a lot of dough...He apparently got them involved in a Ponzi Scheme of some type....They put a contract out on him...He was the one that put the reporter ,Cole Hain on to them and what they were into....He led Hain all the way...Probably tricked him.....When Hain got killed..He went underground....Then he found out about you and tricked you into doing what he couldn't do..."said Tom..

"Checkmate them...."I said.

"Right....You got inside that laptop....deciphered all that information and knocked them out...Thus ,solving his problems...He still has their money...Rumored to be millions and he's not under indictment for anything...The cops and the feds don't know his name..."said Tom....


''I know his name..."I said.

"So do I.." said Kool Kat...

"Well...You guys are in luck...We've located them...At least Markham..."said  one of my guys...

''Call Clerow...Tell him where to meet us..We won't be outgunned again." I said.

III-

Once again we found ourselves in a parking garage....

The roadster was parked where it always was...

Markham Baylock was  not dressed in his customary straw hat....He was peeling off a couple of hundreds to the attendant...

"This should take care of my bill, thanks for keeping this car for me..."he said laughing...

The attendant walked away...

Kool Kat opened the door of the Roadster...He and Lockpick Johnson stepped out, Gingerly smiling at the shocked Markam Baylock!!

 "Nice Ride.." said Kool Kat aiming a .40 caliber at him....Lockpick Johnson aimed a .45 at him...

"This is a nice car...You just can't stay away from it can you?" I said..

Markham Baylock turned around, stunned...

"You two!   How did you? How did you??" he said..

"Questions aint in your vocabulary....."I said..

He looked to the side..

Clerow had a .45 trained on his new goon in a side car and Owen Todd had a .45 trained on another one of his goons...

"Now I'm going to ask a question...Where is Ottto?" I asked..

''Who?" he said.

"Oh you're going to play dumb huh?"I said.

"Maybe I should start breaking his fingers huh Kev?...Bet'cha that will make him talk." said Kool Kat balefully..

Baylock looked terrified...He spit out Otto's whereabout's immediately...

An hour later...Markham and his two goons were taken to the top of an old water tower that Kool Kat and I used to play in when we were kids...and tied up...Minus their pants,socks and shoes...

"You can't do this?" screamed Markham...

''We just did!" said Kool Kat.

"It's better than what you tried to do to me and my friend...You tried to murder us....Take a look down..That's a long drop....After my friends and I are gone...You can yell and scream to the top of your lungs...Somebody might hear you and they might call the cops and free you....One word about us and I have enough on you to assure that you'll do some time...You cheap con man..." I said and pointed my .40 cal at his head...

"Please...Please ..Please don't kill me...Please, I'll do anything you want Kevin..Anything you want...I'm afraid of heights......Lawd Jesus..."he said..He was sweating...

"There's a train that leaves town tomorrow afternoon....BE ON IT!!  I'd better not ever see or hear from you again!  UNDERSTAND??" I said..and cocked my pistol...

He closed his eyes and urinated on himself...

"OKAY!  OKAY!!!!  I'M GONE LAWD HAVE MERCY!!! I'M GONE!" he said, crying like a baby...

The two goons, also tied up with him shook their heads in disgust...


I took some three thousand dollars in cash out of his wallet...I had earned it...I passed Kool Kat half of it...

"One thing about you Kev...you keep money in a brotha's pockets...." he said laughing raffishly....

"Remember...I found you once...I can find you again...."I said to Markham.. "Come on Kools, we got a man who's pretty good with a taser to see..."I said..

The big man smiled raffishly then turned to Markham and his two goons and said-

"Pray it doesn't start rainin..."

Clerow and Owen Todd smiled..

We left the three of them up on that Water Tower , screaming their lungs out for someone to rescue them...

IV-

A night later...The murderer and former associate of Markham Baylock known as Otto was sitting in the bar having a drink, when Kool Kat and I sat on either side of him...

He looked like he'd seen a ghost...

Two Ghosts...

 "You two!   How did you? How did you?? How did you get away....??" he said..

He looked like he was going for his taser....

Kool Kat hit him so hard, he sailed out of his chair and slammed into the wall....

Before he could get himself together and go for a gun...I punched him hard in his face again and I put my .38 smokeless in his face...

"Ugh Ugh boss...Somebody wants to see you..." I said and took my .38, My .40 cal..Kool Kat's . 40 cal and his 357 mag off of him....

Detectives Edwin "Duke" Baylor and Angie Belton-Barlow arrived with five uniformed police officers...

 Duke pulled Otto up and handcuffed him...

"We been waitin a long time for you fella.." said Duke..

Otto was wanted for a Double Homicide!

"Thanks Kevin." said Angie , as they dragged Otto out of the bar..in handcuffs with a black eye and a swollen jaw...

Lt. Sissy Van Buren was there also...

" Thanks Kevin...That wraps up the case....We didn't have any charges on your client...Markham Baylock...A couple of officers found him and two guys tied up at some Water Tower...They didn't have any pants on...You uh wouldn't know anything about that would you?" she asked ,giving me the serious side eye..

"ME? noooooooo." I lied..

"Well Anyway...He seemed to be in a hurry to get out of town...One of my officers escorted him to the airport...He took a flight to London..."she said.

''Well, How sway." I said.

"You're too much....Good Night Kevin..Thanks again." said Sissy....who chuckled and walked out!

Kool Kat laughed...

"I got a feeling your sexy cop friend is on to you..." he laughed..

"Sissy? Oh Yeah...She always has been.."I laughed...

We bellied up to the bar...

"What'cha drinkin Kev? It's on me..." said Kool Kat...

"Corona..." I said.

"Your usual."said the Big Man....He looked around... "I like this joint...I could grow to love it.." he said...

I smiled...

EPILOUGE:

 I wrote the story on Sepia,Bonita,Olivia and Beverly that Markham Baylock was supposed to write for my new publication....

Otto Frankenheimer was convicted of two counts of first degree murder and given two life sentences..

Markhman Baylock was found shot to death in London , a few months later....His killers are unknown...

Sepia sat in the kitchen with our daughter....It was midnight and she was having a problem sleeping..

"Doesn't look like we'll be having that uh conversation tonight.." Sepia sighed as she rocked Kimmie..

I fixed her a warm bottle of milk and sat her on my knee....I began telling her about the adventure Uncle Walter and I almost had...and like clockwork...She drifted off to sleep....

''We may have a little uh conversation after all.." I said laughing..

Sepia  looked at our sleeping baby and smiled at me!..

"Hmmm, we might at that!" she said.