A Monster Amongst Us

"Wow...It's a good thing Rollie Rollerson is picking up the tab for this...because at $125.00 a plate, I don't think I'd be sitting here." I whispered to my wife Sepia. She giggled...She was sitting next to the person that was being honored... Westley East... One of the city's biggest African-American movers and shakers..He was a millionaire, who gave money to hospitals, charities and what not and somewhat of an activist for women's rights......Very highly respected..

Robert Foxworth and his wife Bonita sat on the other side of me and Conrad Nelson and his wife, Jill sat next to them....Cock Robbins and his wife Vanessa sat  across from us... Hot steamy platters were delivered to us..I must admit ...The food was good...but not worth $125.00 a plate...

My friend, Sean Jackson and his wife Sheila were also there , at another table....For some reason Sheila had refused to sit at the same table with Westley East....I wondered what was up with that... While we ate, I noticed that my wife Sepia appeared to jump or twitch as if someone had pinched her..at least twice.. and then I saw her get an angry and flustered look on her face and move her left arm as if she was moving something..

Rollie Rollerson took a small spoon and clanged on his wine glass.....

"Ladies and gentlemen...Ladies and gentlemen...I hope you all are enjoying your food......." he laughed...

'It cost enough." came a voice from the crowd.   That remark was met with laughter....

"I uh hope you all are enjoying this meal....It is my great pleasure to introduce a man who should need no introduction to you....He's given generously to several charities and been a crusader for women's rights....Tonight we are honoring him with the Philadelphia Chapter of the NAACP's IMAGE AWARD FOR
2011..EVERYONE , GIVE A HAND FOR MR. WESTLY EAST..." said Rollie Rollerson..

There was thunderous applause..He stood up.....

'Heh ..Heh..Heh...You all are too kind...you're too kind....All I can say is thank you for this prestigious award...Thank you...I am humbled..." he laughed....

Sepia looked very irritated at him and got up from the table and headed towards  the open bar...

I followed her to the bar and gently touched her arm.....

'What's eating you?"  I asked.

"When we go back to sit down, can we trade seats?" she asked.

"Trade seats? What for?" I asked.

"I can't sit next to that man another minute Kevin...I'm just two seconds from decking him." she said, now visibly angry.

'What's going on?" I asked.

"He's a pig..He's been running his hand up my leg and up under my skirt all night..pinching me and copping a feel like some damn school boy....I wasn't going to tell you because I know Rollie Rollerson is on the board of directors at your job and I didn't want you making a scene." she said.

"I won't make a scene..but I damn well will go say something to that jerk." I said...Now angry myself.

"No Kevin...No....Just switch seats...Forget about it." she said.

"You sure?" I asked..

"Yeah..I'm sure." she said.

II-

I didn't make a scene...I simply switched seats with Sepia....I noticed that Conrad Nelson had switched seats with his wife, Jill also on the other side of us...A light skinned woman, she looked as red as a beet...Conrad looked as if he could rip Westly East's head off.. It wasn't the least bit funny, but I found myself chuckling  a bit.

Later on, I excused myself and went to the men's room....Like Mulberry Street...The Men's room was at the end of a long dark, dimly lit  corridor....As I was coming up...I saw in the shadows...a man who had a woman pinned up against the wall...

'Please Mr. East..Please....let me gooo." said the woman...

"Not until you give me some sugar.."came a male voice..

There was the sound of a kiss.....

"Okay..I gave you a kiss..now let me go...." she said...

"Aww come on...I've been fighting and giving money to women's rights organizations...I should at least get a reward huh? Heh..Heh..Heh..." came the male voice...

"Please...I gave you a kiss..now let me go..."

"Aww come on...don't leave me like this...I'm as hard as hell..." came the male voice...

'Mr.East..If you don't let me go..I'm going to scream." she said..

''Come on...Just one more kiss,,,,a long one...come on...."he begged...

She must have stomped on his foot and kneed him, because I heard a loud yell....

'UMMMMMMMMMMMMph...owwwwwwwwwwwwww..ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.." came the male voice ,who by now was apparently Westly East....who fell down...as the young woman took her cue and ran off.!!!

I now made my presence known and helped him up....

"You okay Mr. East?" I asked...faking my concern...and trying to hide my desire to laugh in his face...

"Yes....ummmmph, yes....I uh, uh...I tripped....It's very dark down this hall...I'm going to speak with management about that...Thank you young man." he said...as he stumbled back to the ballroom...

I pulled Sean Jackson to the side and told him about what Sepia said East had done to her and what I had witnessed him doing to another lady....What he told me next surprised me.

''Hey Kev..That's why Sheila didn't want to sit at the table with him...She told me that years ago before she and I met...She went to him for a job...and he put his hands under her dress and tried to force her to give him oral sex in his car..She fought him and leaped out of his moving vehicle and ran like hell...She didn't even want to come to this...but Rollerson paid for our tickets and all...The man is as slick as canned grease Kev..He's a real pig."

''Yeah..I see... I think he put the moves on Jill Nelson too...She and Conrad switched seats ....You think he was drinking?" I asked.

"Drinking? He's a pig 24/7 ..He don't need alcohol for that." said Sean....

"Well ,I don't know about you buddy, but I'm out of here....Because if I see him near my wife..I might have to hurt him." I said.

"Man Kev...Sepia is so mad , she might cut that dude." he laughed...."Me and Sheila are right behind you." he said.

Just then Robert Foxworth walked past me...He appeared to be angry..

''Counselor...What's up?" I asked.

"Man..If that dude wasn't who he is..I'd deck him...He palmed my wife's behind just now....I grabbed him and asked him what his problem was and he just laughed, like it wasn't nothin....I'm out of here." he said as he stormed toward the coat room..

"Come on Sean..Let's grab our wives and go." I said.


III-

It wasn't a week later that the newspaper ran a front page story about Westly East......"BLACK MILLIONAIRE- PHILANTHROPIST ACCUSED IN SEXUAL HARRASSMENT PROBE!"

I wasn't surprised...Given the way he'd acted at that dinner the week before...I read the story with amusement about how three young women were saying that he had made improper advances towards them.....He of course was denying everything....I had to laugh...What a crock...He was blaming it on ,who else-"The Media" that was slanted against him......

His foundation was now losing donations and a huge hue and cry was going out....I read day after day as two more women came forth with accusations and he of course had more denials...This scandal was becoming the talk of the city....

Then one day...I got a visitor in my office.. It was a young man named Bruce Harvey....I didn't know him, but I certainly recognized his name...He was an investigative reporter at the Inquirer...He had written the story.

"Mr. Harvey...Mr. Harvey...What can I do for you?" I asked.

''Well  Mr. Morris... I know that in addition to being an Editor of this magazine and a brilliant writer and blogger...I've been a fan of your writing for years....that you are also a private investigator...I need you to do some investigative work for me." he said.

''Who me?. For you?/" I asked.

"Yes...The subject matter is Westly East." he said.

"From what I've been reading in the papers..You've done a  good job yourself.." I said...

"Yes....I found three to five women who told me about him and his activities....Only thing is...They insisted on being anonymous and just a few days ago...Three of them retracted their stories and refused to talk anymore..." he said.

"You think they were bought off?" I asked.

''Somebody got to them...That's what I want you to find out." he said.

''What about the other two?" I asked.

"They're scared...This may be deeper than just a pay off..." that's what I want you to look into." he said.

"Well....for a chance to work with you...It's worth the risk...even though he is a friend of a guy who is on this magazine's board of directors." I said.

"I'll pay you handsomely for your help." he said.

''Deal" I said.

I couldn't know it then....but this would be the first and the last time...I would ever see Mr. Bruce  Harvey.

(To Be Continued...)

Smoke & Mirrors

Chris and I drove and parked behind the gray surveillance van that belonged to Kevin Morris and his crew...
We had tumblers of coffee, doughnuts and pastries and orange juice for Kevin, Sean Jackson, Clerow, Kool Kat ,Peeping Tom and Lockpick Johnson..

''Hey Thanks Guys...we should work for you cats more often." Laughed our friend Kevin, who was only too glad to help us..

Just two days before we rented the entire first floor of our new condo out to Bruce Studden...We had Lockpick Johnson and Peeping Tom wire the entire floor for sound and video... Clerow and Sean Jackson drove around the complex ...Always in a different car snapping photos of all of the shady charactors coming and going... A lot of them were drug couriers coming to drop off the days take and pick up payments...Some were pimps ,dropping off money and receiving payments for the girls...Others were just people who owed Bruce money.  True to his word...There was no actual illegal activity being run from the building, but neither Chris nor I wanted Bruce and his cronies collecting and distributing money used in a criminal enterprise in our building either.


"Chris...Chess...With the phony paper work you got from Robert Foxworth and Chance Howard and the existence of this tunnel and just the shady ex-cons we have going in and out of this building..We got enough to send Bruce Studden back to prison for violation of his parole." said Kevin...

'Yeah ,I know...but I want to really put the kibosh on him..once and for all...I know this cat is planning something big...the robbery of that bank...He's being cool for now..but I know it's just a matter of time.." said Chris.

Chris and I had mostly kept a low profile..We sent Owen Todd around to collect the rents with Donald Smooth and another guy usually waiting in the car....They never saw Kevin's people and even if they did...Except for Kool Kat..They didn't know any of them...

Then one night, Kevin called Chris and Me...we got the break that we wanted.

"You guys gotta hear this." said Kevin as Peeping Tom played the videotape.... There sat Bruce Studden and four guys who we knew to be expert box men and heist guys....

''Everything ready boys." said Bruce .


''Yeah.. We got silent explosives...Flashlights and cuttin materials..." said one guy...


"And we got bags and two cars parked three blocks away." said another..


''What's the take?" asked the third guy.


"This is a big take...I'm talking close to ten million a piece for all of us... Tomorrow night...We go through this basement and walk in and take the vault....We come back through here and we all walk out and vanish into the night....Just like that." said Bruce Studden.


"What about the alarm?" asked a third...


''Already taken care of...When we bought the design of that bank from a "friend" a few years back, we found out where the alarm is....I gotta guy on the inside who will cripple the alarm just before midnight....Then we walk in ,blow the safe and walk the hell out." said Bruce Studden.


'I gotta admit Brucie...When you told me about this when we was in the joint...I thought you had gone mad..but I gotta admit...This is incredible..." said one guy...


"My stuff is already packed and shipped... I plan to just vanish into thin air...Like I was never here....By the time these jumolks figure out what I did...I'll be a thing of rumors...like that D.B. Cooper guy.Hahahahaha." laughed Bruce.


"They don't call ya Killer Bruce for nothin." said the fourth guy.


"Hahahahahahahahahahaha."laughed Bruce.

Sean got good photos of all four of our bank robbers. That and the video footage ,plus copies of the fake paper work was all we needed to box up and send anonymously to one Special Agent ,Burt Shylock of the FBI.

Chris and I shook Kevin's hand....

''Kev...you did it again." I said.

"Nah Chess, Chris...You had this whole thing figured out before we even got involved..." he laughed...

Me, Chris, Kool Kat, Donald Smooth, Kevin, Sean Jackson, Clerow, Peeping Tom and Lockpick Johnson all opened a bottle of champaigne and toasted.. Tomorrow night was going to be an interesting night.

II-

It had been the first time I'd actually been in Rita Davis's presence since we had made the deal to buy the condo...

She was a completely different woman around Chris than she had been just a month ago when Conrad Nelson and I were going through the initial negotiations... I don't know what Chris had done to her, but she was friendly...engaging...warm...

The power of love!

"Ohhhh Chess, I'm sooo happy for you and your wife...You've got to bring your new baby around for me to see...and if you need a baby sitter, I am available." she cooed.. "I just love babies." she said.

"Heyyyyy...what about me?" said Chris, pretending to be hurt...

''Awwwww...mama didn't forget about youuuu.." she cooed..

"Damn right..cause you know I need my little snickerdoodle.." said Chris...

This was sooo unlike him....I think I liked her better when she was a harpy...

A little after midnight...We heard what we had been wanting to hear....

"FREEZE SLIMEBALLS...YOU ARE ALL UNDER ARREST!!!!! I AM SPECIAL AGENT BURT SHYLOCK OF THE FBI...IT'S ALL OVER BABY BLUE!"

Chris looked at me.....

"Where does he get his dialouge?"  he asked...

I laughed and shrugged my shoulders....

''It's all over baby blue? He sounds like he was on Miami Vice." laughed Rita..

The three of us looked out the window and we saw about 16 FBI agents with automatic weapons marching four guys in handcuffs to a huge van....

We saw our old friend Agent Shylock perp walking his prize catch, Bruce Studden to the van alone...Killer Bruce looked perplexed, He couldn't understand just what had happened.... Everything went perfect..except that when he and his four guys entered that bank from the sub basement...The FBI ,(who had been anonymously tipped off by us) was waiting!!!!!How could they of known???...He had told nobody..Nobody..except the people actually involved and they were all in handcuffs...He must have been thinking.....

Chris said that it had taken him and Owen Todd close to six hours to find the entrance to that secret sub-basement and tunnel..It had been very well hidden...Which was why all of the construction crews and work men and inspectors who were running in and out of that building knew nothing about it....Not to mention that the paperwork detailing the work had been well hidden for years!


The three of us watched as they drove off with the would be bank robbers in tow...We raised our glasses of champaigne and toasted...

"Nice going guys...I'm glad that that toad is going back to jail..." said Rita.

''So am I...He was just trouble." I said.

"Wow, guess you guys are nice guys after all...Looks Like I was wrong about you two." said Rita.

"We told you." said Chris as he kissed her on the cheek..

A kiss on the cheekturned into a long passionate kiss on the lips between Chris and Rita that frankly made me feel uncomfortable ,being that I was there without a woman myself!!

With that...I saluted them both and headed home to my own wife...I doubt that they even noticed that I had left.

EPILOUGE:

Bruce Studden was sent back to State Prison to finish out the last three years of his original sentence and then he faces five years in the federal pen for the attempt to rob the bank...The other four guys all got five to ten in the federal pen for their part in the bank robbery....

A few days later, Owen Todd, Donald Smooth and I sat in a Dunkin Donuts having Coffee and doughnuts..

"Anybody seen Chris?" asked Owen Todd.

"Nah...I aint seen him." said Donald Smooth...

''He'll be around...Right now,he's in love...He's with that babe, Rita, twenty four seven." I said.

"Wow...I've never seen him like that , Not over no one broad..." said Owen Todd.

"Nah, me neither.." said Donald Smooth.

"First time for everything gents." I laughed as I sipped my coffee and stared out the window.

Over And Under

Donald Smooth and I sat in Attorney Robert Foxworth's office early the next morning....He had Coffee and Water waiting for us....His protoge' , young Attorney, Chance Howard brought the documentation we had asked for the day before and presented the documents to us.

"So according to these documents, A Ralph Butler originally owned that building...You familliar with him?" asked Robert Foxworth.

''Hell yeah...He was an old school player...Long before Eldorado Mack, Cakeman Raven, Mingo Robinson or any of them...He was the man!  Used to run everything in this area...I'm talking late 70's...80's through to the mid 90's...Then he went to jail and while he was gone...Several young bucks, starting with Big Daddy and Wally Gator and leading up to Johnny Porter took over and lost all of what used to be his...." said Donald "Smooth".

"Well...You say that this, Bruce Studden said that he owned the property before he went to prison a few years ago?  Not according to public records...It was purchased by a Bernadette Lorita Davis...Lock stock and barrell and owned by her until you guys purchased it a couple of weeks ago." said Robert Foxworth.

"Bernadette Lorita Davis?...That's Rita Davis....Mingo's fiance and Chris's main squeeze." I said.

"Yeah...We looked her up....She owns two beauty salons and a cosmetic store on the east side...and before that, check this out...she used to be an exotic dancer...." said Chance Howard...

"Oh really? And she buys an apartment complex? That's real interesting." I laughed...

"Not really..Not when you think about it Chess." said Robert Foxworth.

"Huh?" I asked.

"What he means is this Chess....She was Mingo's old lady....Mingo had about ten corners operating in his heyday...He was pulling in big dough....Those guys don't put anything in their names...Not their cars, their homes, their businesses....Because if they get busted..The feds will seize everything they own..They get a girlfriend or a relative...Somebody with a clean record to sign off on their purchases....They own it in name only.....Mingo probably gave that building to Bruce Studden or Studden may have put up the money...but on paper...It belonged to Ms. Davis legally.....He has no claim to it." said Chance Howard.

"Okay, so that explains that." I said.

"Oh and one other thing we found kind of odd." said Robert Foxworth.

''What was that?" I asked.

"A construction company called Meyer Stucky and Sons built a tunnel or sub-basement in that building about five years ago...See, it's on this map and plan of the building..." said Robert Foxworth.

"A Tunnel? Sub-basement?  Really? " I asked..

"Yeah...it was kind of hush -hush and according to the paperwork here...There was some shady dealings involved....Like phony city permits written up that nobody has any memory of and that are just plain phony."
said Chance Howard.

"Well where is Stucky?" I asked.

''Dead.  Heart attack three years ago.  His son moved to Europe and sold the company to...Guess who?" said
Robert Foxworth.

"The lovely Ms. Bernadette Lorita Davis!" I said.

"Yup and she didn't even know that she owned it until about a month ago...when she unloaded it to a rival company for a profit...More than likely, Mingo Robinson and Bruce Studden actually owned it or bought it out and used her name...." said Robert Foxworth.
"So what do we do now?" asked Donald Smooth...

"We go and find Chris and Owen and tell em what we found out." I said.

"Okay...so they have a sub-basement and tunnel under the building...I guess for a speedy escape or is there something else? " I asked.

"Well....Guess you have to figure that one out Chess." said Robert Foxworth.

"Well counselor...you've been a great help." I said as Donald and I got up and we shook Robert and Chance's hands and left.

"So what do we do now?" asked Donald Smooth.

"I guess we have to contact Chris and Owen and tell them what we found out." I said.

II-

Donald Smooth and I found Chris and Owen and told them what we had learned at Robert Foxworth's office....He smiled and he and Owen led us to the sub-basement that they had found...The door that led to it would easily be missed, because there was already a basement in the building...but no one would have suspected a sub-basement and a tunnel unless they had the master plan of the building...

"Man...I don't know how many strings these guys must have pulled to do this..but I got to hand it to them..It was a bit of genius...." said Chris.

"Chris man..What are you talking about ?" I asked.

"Come on you guys, let's go upstairs to the roof of this building...It will all be apparent to you." Chris said.

Our construction guys were doing amazingly good work, renovating this building. They weren't finished yet, but both Chris and I were pleased with the job they had been doing...

Once on the rooftop...Chris ,Owen Todd, Donald Smooth and I stood there, taking a breath of fresh air and just staring at the buildings in the surrounding area.

"Okay guys..what do you see?" asked Chris...

"Buildings" said Donald Smooth...

"Correct and what building is right across from this building?" he asked.

"The Philadelphia National Bank." I said rather non-chalantly...

"My man Chess...I knew you'd get it." he said.

"Get what?" I said.

"The bank Mr. Chess....This tunnel leads right to the bank..." said Owen Todd.

"What?" said Donald Smooth and I almost in unison...

"I don't know how long these knuckleheads have been planning this....but they have a direct line into that bank's vault...They plan to just walk in and take the money and walk out.....And here's what is really cute..At first they were willing to kill us or get us to turn ownership over to them...but now, Brucie is willing to let us be the owners , while he and his crew rip the bank off and walk away scott free!" said Chris.

''Well we can't sell to him now...We've got to cover this tunnel up." I said.

"Nah...I got an idea Chess..We are going to rent that floor out to them and let them take the bank." said Chris.

"Are you nuts?" I asked.

"Nope...Don't we know a certain FBI agent who owes us a favor?" asked Chris....

I thought, then I smiled.....

"Man...I like how you think..." I said.

"I knew you would." said Chris.

(Conclusion Next)

All You Had to Do Was Ask!

We parked two blocks down from Freddie's Barbershop.....Kool Kat and Owen Todd walked up to the two toughs who were standing guard outside...They put pistols to their temples and quietly marched them away.....Donald Smooth walked across the street to a Black BMW gingerly parked on the corner with tinted windows and got the drop on the driver and another guy who was inside and gingerly marched them away....

Chris and I walked into the barbershop....where Freddie was just finishing up Bruce Studden's haircut....I sat down next to a thick ,muscular thug and put my pistol in his ribs and quietly whispered..."Don't twitch or I'll drop you where you stand...." He got the message quick.

To Bruce's horror, he looked into the eyes of Chris Thompson!!!!!   Freddie, his other two barbers and three customers all got up and began heading for the door....

"Nice haircut Brucie....I've been lookin for a barber...I need to start comin here..." said Chris...

Bruce looked around...He didn't see his guys outside and he was startled to see me sitting quietly next to his bodyguard...

"So you're gonna do me right here huh?" he said, almost whimpering....

"Come on Bruce....You know me better than that?  All these witnesses..You think I'm going to risk going to jail over you...right here, right now?"

"Well what is this about?" he asked.

"What is this about?  You tell me Brucie....You send hitters after my main homey, Chess here two times and let me just say..If Chess or a member of his family had gotten just a knick...just a knick...Brucie...they would be picking parts of you up all over Philadelphia and Southeastern Pennsylvania...you feel me??? But to get back to you...What is your beef with me?   I'm not in the game anymore...I'm totally legit...I got nothin you want." said Chris.

"I want that building." he spat...

"What Building?" Chris asked.

"That building you finesed the panties off of Rita Davis to purchase....It wasn't hers to sell...That was my building....I purchased it...I was runnin business out of there for Mingo before I went to jail.." he spat.

"Well Hell Bruce...all you had to do was ask...You don't go puttin a contract out on people." said Chris.

''So you'll give me the building?" he asked.

" Helll No.  It's Chess and mine now...Legally....We bought it.....And we are not going to have you or nobody else sellin drugs or runnin women up in there either.And for your information...It was a legitimate business transaction...Then the panties came off" said Chris.

"Don't matter...That was my buildin..I collected rents, I conducted business ,all out of that building..I laundered money, the whole works...That was mine!" he spat.

"Well ,like I said...It's mine and Chess's now...She had papers drawn up with her name and her name only as the legitimate and legal owner and Chess and our lawyer dealt with her...I only closed the deal." said Chris.

"Yeah, I guess you did." said Bruce.

''What?" said Chris...Who now was no longer in a joking mood...

"You heard me!" said Bruce who looked like he was going for a gun...until he heard the click of my gun and saw Chris's gun on him and realized that he'd lose no matter what he did.  He was not a stupid man by any means.

"Look....Let's compromise here...I'm not into runnin women  in this area and I aint runnin drugs no more period...I just got out of the joint...I need some income man." said Bruce.

''Get a job." said Chris... I smiled....

"Okay, well look...How about this...When you guys finish renovatin..You rent me a floor?   I give you my word Chris...No drugs, no babes ,no juice....I aint into that , not here....I swear." said Bruce.

"We rent you a floor?  For what?" said Chris...

''Just to chill and to conduct business...My count.Just the money Chris...Nothin else....The real business will be nowhere near where I lay my head, I swear.." said Bruce.

"I might could do that....." said Chris..

"Okay...Could I make you an offer?" he asked...

"Hold that thought...Give me a number where you can be reached and we'll get back to you...In the meanwhile, your contracts on us are off." said Chris...Who signaled me to get up...

"You got my word...the contract is up. You guys will get no more trouble out of me.'" He said..

"Your boys are safe and sound...They're around the corner, unharmed. If you try to go back on your word Brucie, the deal is off and you'd better find another city to live in" said Chris.

"Okay...Okay...I gave you my word didn't I....A playas word is bond or has that changed?" he asked.

"How long was you in the joint?" I asked.

"Three years, six months and 14 days Chess." he said with a sigh.

''Some things done changed." I said.

"True dat." he said as Chris and I left the barbershop.

II-

A few hours later, Chris and I sat in Josies having a few beers and talking..

"You really want to rent a floor out to that creep?" I asked Chris...

''Don't be ridiculous Chess...I just said that to stall him.  Something is up...First he wants to buy the building, then he agrees to rent a floor and he's saying all along that he's not going to be running women or drugs out of there....I don't buy it...That's how Bruce Studden makes his money..He runs women, he sells drugs and he puts juice on the streets...He's all about the money...and there's a reason he is so interested in that building..." said Chris.

"What do you think it is?" I asked.

"I don't know...but I just wanted to stall him until we could find out...." said Chris....

"How are we going to do that?" I asked.

''We gotta do a little snoopin."  said Chris...

"I'm going to Robert Foxworth's office tomorrow...He's got  a friend in records..I'm gonna look up the history of this building" I said.

"Now you're talkin...Take Donald Smooth with you...Me and Owen Todd are going to take a real close look inside that building. I gotta feelin there is either something in that building or it's location that is very valuable to Brucie...More valuable than he"s lettin on." said Chris.

(To Be Continued....)

Best Part Of Waking Up!

Rell and I were in a deep sleep....Our baby girl was in a crib across the room from us...Next door..our baby boy was sleeping peacefully....It was a dull sound at first....I thought I was dreaming....then I woke up and realized that my Android was going off....It wasn't a phone call though...It was my silent house alarm...somebody was breaking in!!!!!!  Lockpick Johnson had installed a back up system for the regular system, so that if somebody beat the first system...the second one would still go off....Someone apparently had.!   I peeped outside my window and I saw a car parked directly across the street from me with tinted windows...

I was careful not to wake my family.  I slipped on my trousers and my shirt and grabbed my .45 and headed downstairs...I grabbed my android and called Donald "Smooth"....

"Hello....What's up Chess?" he said...He too had been sleeping..

"I got houseguests man...." I said.

"Huh? What?" he asked.

"Somebody is breaking in as I speak and there is a car across the street." I said.

''Sit tight Chess...I'm on my way." he said and hung up.

The culprit was at the back door.... I crouched and waited for the door to open.  When it did...I stuck the muzzle of my .45 right at his adams apple.

"Freeze....Kind of early in the morning to be paying someone a social call isn't it?" I said.   "Now drop that heater and lay face down on the floor." I said as I took his gun and his tools and another gun and a knife off of him... ''Gee Boy scout...you came prepared didn't you?" I laughed... The man said nothing.

Within a few minutes...Donald Smooth and one of his associates marched the two guys who had been in the car to my back door...

'We got em Chess...They got an arsenal of guns in that car." said Donald Smooth.

"Tie em up and gag em...." I said.  I turned to the one who was trying to break into my house....

''Who sent you?" I asked..

He said nothing.....Just then the hulking figure of Walter "Kool Kat" Jones appeared in the door way....

All three men's eyes got as large as saucers.....

"A guy named Goldie  man....It was Goldie...He gave us this address and paid us...He told us to kill everyone in the house....It was Goldie...I swear." said one of them.

Kool Kat hadn't uttered a word....Such was his fierce reputation on the street.. Kool Kat looked at me...

"Hey man, you got any more of them cookies?? They was good." he said.

Donald Smooth and I laughed...

II-

I decided not to waste anytime with these three cretins... I called the police and turned them over to them for B&E....Donald Smooth, Kool Kat ,Owen Todd, Donald's "associate " and I knew who "Goldie" was...Goldie was Stevie Gold, A low rate West Philadelphia hood....The kind of guy who "arranged" things for the highest bidder..Usually murder and kidnap...He also was a loan shark.

Kool Kat took the door of his apartment off the hinges...and Owen and Donald Smooth put the muzzles of their guns in the sides of his two henchmen...

"Heyyyy what the hell is this?" said Goldie...

"It's explanation time you cheap punk." I said as I aimed my .45 at his head and charged towards him....


''Do you boys know who I am?" He said as Donald Smooth and Owen Todd entered behind me...He hadn't seen Kool Kat yet.

I grabbed him by his collar and slammed him into the wall....He still had that stupid toothy grin on his face.

"Do you know who I AM?  " I asked...

"Yeah...Yeah..You're Chess, Chris Thompson's boy." he said.

''So why did you send hitters to my house?" I asked.

''Who me? Come on....I would never do a thing like that.." he said , still smiling that nutty smile of his...

Kool Kat ,who was now in the room had heard enough...He passed me his gun.

''Watch laughing boy here" he said

"Huh?" I asked , a little confused...

''Wait a minute Chess, let me try something." he said...

He cocked my gun and shot Goldie in the shoulder....

"ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHH, you crazy son of a...." he yelled in pain as blood poured down his side and onto the floor and he slumped over his desk.

"Alright now Goldie.....Next time Chess asks you a question and you lie...I'm gone shoot yo foot off...Then after that I'm just gonna kill you." he said with no hint of a smile..

They certainly knew who Kool Kat was and what he was capable of...and now all smiles were gone..

One of his Henchmen fainted...The other one began urinating.....

"Hey man...get a hold of yourself " said Owen Todd....

"Okay...Okay....A West Oak Lane player by the name of Bruce Studden put the contract out on you and Chris...He can't locate Chris...but he knows where you live and work...I just supplied him with guys....First time, two of my guys got shot....And I guess the second group I sent didn't do any better huh?" he said.

"Guess not....Okay Goldie...Here's the deal...You're out of business  as of right now....Give Bruce his money back or whatever...I don't care...Tell him you work for Chris and Me now....I want information on him..Where he lives, Where he eats and drinks, the book!" I said.

"Okay...Okayyyyy...just get me a Doctor....I've been shot.." he said.

"You'll live." said Donald Smooth.

"Don't get your blood on my suit...This is an expensive suit." said Kool Kat.

Once we were all in the hallway, I pulled Kool Kat to the side....I was half laughing and half serious.

"I know Kevin doesn't let you get down like this." I said.

"Nah...Kev would've had a heart attack if he had witnessed that last play...but with these street dudes, you gotta play hardball sometimes, let em know you serious.....but Kev is still my dude." he laughed.

Donald Smooth and Owen Todd left too... As he was leaving, Owen Todd looked at the guy who had urinated on himself and said-

"You know man....They sell Depends at the WAWA, but you look a bit young to have to be using those."

The guy shrugged...Goldie, who was still holding his bleeding shoulder yelled to one of them..

"Get on the phone and call a Doctor..and you...get a mop and clean that piss up and then after that...you fired...Don't come round here no more...You're embarrassing....People all over the city gone be laughing at me..I gotta reputation to uphold." he snapped.

We heard that as we were walking down the steps..We all laughed.

III-

We met with Chris Thompson at Jakes Hot Dog joint later on that day and told him of the early morning activities...Naturally he laughed.....

"Sorry about your troubles Chess...It's really me that Bruce wants....But I'm impressed with the way you guys went about getting the information....I got a scope on Killer Bruce anyway...A cat I used to know from the neighborhood told me where he might be." said Chris.

"Oh yeah?" I said.

"Yeah, he gave me a couple of adresses. Looks like tomorrow, we pay Mr. Studden a little visit." said Chris.

"I'm down with that." said Donald Smooth.

"Me too." I said.

(To Be Continued...)

Snickerdoodle

I  remember that Chris Thompson always told me that even though he was out of the street life...He never the less never wanted to get so comfortable that he was caught slippin.  My guess was that this was why he still carried a piece and why he still moved from apartment to apartment and kept his address basically a secret except for me and Donald Smooth...He always feared that somebody from his gangster days might be lookin to make a name for himself or to settle an old score....

Me? My name is Chess...I'm his best friend and business partner...Sometimes I carry a piece too...Today wasn't one of those days!

It started out pretty normal...For me at least!... I met with Grady and his construction crew at the apartment complex that we had bought from Rita Davis....Donald Smooth was with me...Chris had been out with Rita the night before and had called and said that he wasn't going to make this meeting...It was cool because there really was no pressing need for him to be here...He had handled the final negotiations about two weeks before and the crew was here and ready to begin work..

"So Chess..We are going to put in new windows....and siding and take care of that roof..It's in shoddy condition." said Grady..The contractor.

"Good and I want all new plumbing fixtures." I said.

"We on it and we got carpenters coming in to look at the apartments...We are going to make them all ultra -modern, Euro type suites...I got a team of painters comin to look at the joint tomorrow too." he said.

''Cool beans..I love what you did to that English woman's loft." I said.

"English woman? Oh ..the Black babe that Ralph Scallion is screwin?  Yeah, we hooked that place up...When were you up there?" he asked.

"I own it Grady...I was up there before she moved in." I said , shaking my head...

Donald Smooth laughed....

Just as he did.... A Black BMW turned the corner....The windows were dim so I couldn't see the driver...It was broad daylight and he turned the high beams on....That was odd I thought...but I didn't think...Then the car sped up and headed toward us....The window came down and a guy with an uzi aimed at me...

''Chess, look out!" screamed Donald Smooth who dove and knocked me down... Grady and his crew ducked and bullets were sprayed all along the avenue...breaking the windows of several cars... We all crawled on our bellys and attempted to find cover...Then the BMW stopped and began to back up....

Donald Smooth pulled out his .38 smokeless and fired two shots at the car...The first shot blew the back window of the car out and we heard a yell...

"Arrrghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....I don't believe it..I've been shot.."

Donald let fly with yet another shot and the gunman dropped his uzi in the street.. and yelled...

"I been hit....I been hit...Oh my goddd...stop the car...put it in drive....drive nigga drive....come on.. we gettin hit...aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...I didn't come out here to get shot...arggghhhhh it hurts...it hurttttss..." he yelled...

The car then sped off.......

When the smoke cleared...We all stood up......

"What the hell was that about ?" said Grady...

"I don't know....Your guys okay?" I asked.

"Yeah..we alright..." he said as the men dispersed...

"Must have been a case of mistaken identity" said Donald Smooth...

" Yeah" I said... we both knew that that was a lie.

II-

A few hours later....Donald Smooth and I sat in our office in the shopping center we owned.

''What do you make of that?" asked Donald Smooth.

''I think somebody definitely doesn't want us in the housing business or at least not THAT house." I said.

''But why?"asked Donald Smooth.

"Guess you don't know who used to own those apartments and who lived there and conducted business there do you?" I asked.

"Nah, who?" asked Donald Smooth.

''Mingo" I said.

"Mingo?  He's dead...I thought that babe that Chris is bangin owned them units." asked Donald.

"She won em by default after he died....She couldn't or didn't want to be a landlord...and after everybody more or less moved out, the place fell apart...That's why she put it up for sale. She used to be his woman." I said.

"You think Chris knows?"asked Donald.

"He's gotta know by now..." I said.

"That aint exactly pillow talk Chess." said Donald Smooth...

"Trust me..Chris knows."I said.

"Knows what? I know what?" came the unmistakable voice of Chris Thompson.

"That your babe used to be involved with Mingo." I said.

"Yeah , she told me....She told me the first night we was together...They was engaged...Here try these, they are good." he said.

He had a tray of hot cookies with him that he put on the table...Donald and I ate the cookies...They were good..Not just good, exceptional!!!!

"Wow these are great..where did you get em?" I asked.

"My baby made em...She bakes...They're sugar cookies..called Snickerdoodles." he laughed.

"Snicker whats?" asked Donald Smooth...

"Snickerdoodles.....In fact, that's my little pet name for her...My little snickerdoodle.." laughed Chris.

"Some men have women making pancakes for em after a night of good lovemaking...This guy has em bakin cookies." said Donald Smooth....We all laughed as we muched on the cookies.

"So what about Mingo?' he asked.

"We had some company at the site today man.....Company in a Black BMW with tinted windows and an uzi."I said.

"What?" asked Chris.

"They  shot the place up...but nobody got hurt....and I think Donald Smooth hit two of them.." I said.

"Kill em?" asked Chris...

"No..just wounded them.....Mingo has been dead for a minute now...Think he's got any crew left that wants to claim that property?" I asked.

''Nah..that crew fell hard...they all got stiff sentences or they got killed..Aint none of them left....Except...Oh my God.....Except....Bruce....Bruce Studden..." he said.

"Killer Bruce?" I asked.

"The one and only...His number two man...He got paroled recently I heard...He went up a couple of years ago for manslaughter."said Chris.

"Damn...the court system in this country has got to be improved." said Donald Smooth.

Chris and I both grew silent and gave him the side eye for a minute....I saw Chris smile slightly and just shake his head.

"I didn't see him, but I couldn't make out the guys in that car." I said.

"He probably sent some muscle...He wouldn't come himself.." said Chris...

He went in the drawer and pulled out a .22 and tossed it to me...

''Come on....I know you done got comfortable and didn't have your piece." he said.

I smiled....Donald Smooth went downstairs and started the car....

III-

The first place we stopped was at Walter "Kool Kat" Jones's house... Kool Kat as he was known was as fierce an enforcer as has ever walked the streets of Philadelphia....Like Chris Thompson...He had retired from the street life and was an honest man...He mostly helped our friend, Kevin Morris, the private investigator out with his cases...Serving as back up muscle.


"Chris...Chess, Donnie Smooth, to what do I owe the pleasure? And what is that you guys are munchin on?" the big six foot four, heavily muscled man asked when he came to the door.

"I need a favor." said Chris Thompson.

''Ahhh When Chris Thompson asks for a favor...Who can refuse? " the big man laughed.

"I know you mainly roll with Kev...but do you think he can spare you?" asked Chris.

''What's shakin?" he asked.

"Bruce Studden is back on the streets." said Donald Smooth..

''Killer Bruce eh? Mingo's boy.....I heard he got paroled...Heard you was uh seein Mingo's old fiance ." laughed Kool Kat...

''Damn man...Nothin get by you Kools" laughed Chris...

"Can't...That's why me and You and maybe Deacon Basil are still alive in our retirement." he laughed...

"I figure you, Smooth and Chess is all the muscle I need for right now....You know where Killer Bill lays his head now of days?" Chris asked.

"You got me there..but I know somebody that might know." said Kool Kat...

''Cool...Tomorrow, we'll pay Killer Bruce a visit." said Chris....

"Okay...but hey man, before you leave...pass me some of those snickerdoodles...I love em." said Kool Kat.

"You've heard of snickerdoodles?" asked Donald Smooth.

''Hell yeah...Loved em when I was a kid." said Kool Kat.... Chris just beamed...and gave me and Donald Smooth a  "See I told you ." look.

(To Be Continued....)