Chapter ?: Domino Effect Part 1.5
The Ringleader
In the parking lot of a Beggar's Pizza diner a BMW 2010 Gran Coup was pulled up beside a fire-orange 1969 Pontiac GTO with the owners of the respective vehicles speaking amongst themselves, the sole inhabitants in the back lot outside the closed dining restaurant. They paid no mind to the mass of dark clouds plaguing the sky; rumbling with rolling thunder and every so often spitting out a squiggling bolt of lightning that illuminated the sky in a flash.
"Twelve thousand, huh? I'll put it to good use." Nate administered the black, hefty garbage filled entirely with money. He nodded in approval as he strung the ties together to close it and hoisted it into the trunk of his Pontiac. "There's a couple of projects going on that need additional funding… and not to mention that office building downtown." On that note, he glanced at Kenny, laughing. "It'll be about a year before that's back up to speed, but it's an acceptable loss that comes with a notable gain."
Nate worked for the city's Labor Management Cooperation Committee; being a mix of a business man and a hustler got him to the top of a corporate entity mostly dominated by white men. It was an accomplishment he was proud of, after all, there wasn't very much for former NFL stars. He had to reform himself from the high life of a football star to that of a successful business man tackling corporate America in one of her worst cities during the harshest of economic times!
"What the fuck you doing, nigga?" The NFL Hall of Famer leaned against the rear end of his bar, folding his arms and looking toward Kenny for answers. "Motherfuckers are being killed left and right, robbing a bank… and now all this fucking drug money! It don't take a detective to see some shit 'bout to go down!" Nate stated enthusiastically, quite aware of whom he was dealing with; his business with the Kingpin's lieutenant was strictly private though.
Kenny absentmindedly paced back and forth in front of Nate, his thumbs hooked into the pockets of his black jeans, he tilted his head back and breathed out a heavy sigh. "My partner and I, we're separating from Kingpin's organization and we're going to kill him," he exclaimed, bringing his head forward and exchanging looks with his friend, a smirk tugging at his lips upon noticing the expression on Nate's face; it was a mix of confusion and humor. "Myself and Tim included, only a handful of people know this man's name, his face, his wife… so, when he dies, nobody will think nothing of the crime empire he's constructed and governed in secrecy. This small faction of ours is working to exploit the existence of the Kingpin in the public eye, it's why we're knocking off all these other drug dealers and gangs." The lieutenant ceased his thoughtless movement back and forth. "The problem is… We don't know what all his resources are so we have to force his hand without him knowing it's us."
"Shit!" It was the only thing he could say, he reared his head back and just stared at Kenny waiting for him to start laughing and admit it was all bull shit. That didn't happen though. He partially frowned and lifted from his car, taking a few steps away from it. "You need to give him somebody to focus on," Nate thought out loud. He was viewing it from the perspective of a hustler and corporate executive; this was classified as a hostile take over from within. "You're smart to put some much attention on him while eliminating your competition, but, if he doesn't have a face to stare at and cuss out then he'll definitely look for sabotage from within." Nate wasn't involved in any of it, yet, possessing knowledge of the power struggle - he couldn't turn a blind eye to the opportunity at hand; it was a real chance at shifting the balance of power in a different direction and giving the city itself some hope at recovering from all the corruption.
"We're framing these two white boys that oversee the other side of town and also provoking hostility amongst all the different gangs. If… we could put a person in the position of openly opposing Kingpin, it would be possible to connect Brendon and Dusty to him and make their betrayal apparent. Them fuckin' faggots have had it coming for a minute now." Kenny pondered the result of Nate's brainstorming, and did so himself. "At first the bank robbery made it look like there was a new player in town making power plays, but Tim is about to set up these Mexicans and link the heist to them."
"How about positioning this guy to be in charge of the Mexicans' activities?" Nate asked. "I got this one motherfucker I'm in the middle of a deal with - shady as fuck! I don't know what it is but this dude is trying to buy out a lot of our renovation projects. We're talking projects that would create over 5,000 jobs in the next few years and this motherfucker want to work against that! White motherfucker that don't want to see niggas doing nothing but making highlights on the evening news for some stupid shit." His agitation was obvious.
"I can have J do a detailed check on this guy; if he's involved in anything out of the ordinary then J will be able to dig it up." Kenny fetched his EVO 4G, scrolled through his recent text messages until he came across the Haitian. He typed in the person of interest's name as Nate was revealing it and asked J to find key information that would stain the man's reputation… and enable Kenny to kill him for more than just being a nuisance in the way of Nate's agenda. "If he proves to be connected to some other shit then we'll use him as a dummy target. It should work in our favor." He walked back to his car and popped the truck using the remote attached to his key chain. "I got an additional $50,000 I want you to hold for me… in case of an emergency."
Three large, black duffel bags were removed from the BMW and loaded into the Pontiac along with the Spas-12 shotgun taken from the dead, fat, white guy in the suburbs, Kevlar ballistic vest, a M14A1 assault rifle used in the bank robbery and different sized suitcases filled with ammunition.
"All you missing is the fucking Gun of Rambo," Nate commented, observing the high powered weapons being dumped in the trunk of his beloved GTO. "And that bow and arrow from that one movie… Punisher! That shit was hot, nigga!"
Kenny paused, half way leaning in the trunk still and glanced at Nate. "Actually, just the bow and arrow. I think Terrell bought a M60 at some point last year. He can barely hold the damn thing. Big as fuck, you know." He situated all of his belongings in the trunk, then took a few seconds to admire the interior. "When you going to let me get behind the wheel of this one?" He couldn't help but ask as he eased back and slammed the trunk shut. "This bitch is nice! I can appreciate American Muscle," he stated with a sly smirk coming upon his face.
"How about never motherfucker," Nate answered quite amused that Kenny would even ask to drive his GTO after wrecking the Mustang four years ago. He may have forgiven, but sure as hell hadn't forgotten. Even if he paid him off… and that money went toward the Pontiac GTO. "I'll think about it when you wreck that Leone Sentinel of yours, nigga. 'Cause I know you not about to let nothing happen to that car!" He walked over to the driver's side door and lean over the roof, glancing toward the BMW and the car's owner as he was about to get in. "Yo! What made ya'll want to betray the Kingpin after all these years? Be straight with me, nigga."
"….a lot," Kenny answered before really thinking about it. "Tim's motives are most likely completely different from mine. Years ago, he tried to force me to kill the woman I love. Somehow he felt she scorned him and decided to return that favor by having her murder the family of a business partner that hadn't owned up to his end of a deal. She thought she was going in for the guy… and after that everything changed. She chose to escape this life while she could. I remained, patiently waiting for this right here; it was inevitable." He wanted revenge for her. He wanted to change how drugs and crime affected this city. One couldn't exist without the other, but the balanced could be adjusted more. "He's constantly taken the people closest to my heart. Now, I'll blow his out his fucking chest… see how he functions without a heart."
It was personal; a hatred that had been building up for years now. It was the one kill that would mean everything and end his proverbial slavery.
