Black Gangster (17 page)

"Leave the water running when you get through," he yelled. He stood up and stretched, then walked over to the window and pushed back the drapes. The sky was still covered with stars. He stared out for a moment, then the cigarette he held burned his finger, and he cursed and dropped it on the carpet; as he bent slowly to retrieve it, his mind returned to the thought of what lay ahead. Ever since the whiskey business had been taken out of his hands, he had been wondering and waiting. If he could only have reached Donnie, it would have relieved his mind, but every time he called, it seemed as though Donnie had just left or would be back shortly.

"The water feels wonderful, baby," Dot said as she came out of the bathroom nude. She walked over to the dresser and removed two towels. She tossed one to Roman, then began to dry herself.

Her nudity didn't even arouse his interest. Any other time he would have paid attention because her body was very stimulating, but now his mind was occupied with his problems.

"You better hurry, Roman. We got to stop and pick that money up from Prince before going to the airport." Her voice carried the sound of a woman who was sure of herself, who knew just how far to go with her man. She carefully selected her traveling outfit from the closet. She was fully dressed and sitting in front of the mirror fixing her hair when Roman came out of the shower.

"You better get a hurry on, baby. We ain't got all night." She pulled off a red wig, then slipped on a black one and straightened it on her head.

Roman glanced around at her. "You really got your nose open over this trip, ain't you, Dot?"

Dot didn't even bother to answer. She knew what he said was true. This was the first time in her life she had ever left Detroit, let alone flown on a plane. She was looking forward to the trip more than he realized. It was not just the idea of going to Chicago; it was the joy of being able to travel, being able to see something besides the slums that were over ninety percent of her life. If she had anything to do with their future plans, she thought coldly, it wouldn't be the last time they traveled.

"Why don't you wear a suit, honey, instead of that sports outfit?" she asked. "You look better in that dark silk one, baby."

He continued to put on the checkered sportcoat. "Don't worry about it, woman. We ain't going to no goddamn fashion show. Besides," he added, "I want to be comfortable."

Before they left, Roman glanced quickly around the apartment. "You're worse than some old woman, man. We ain't goin' be gone but a couple of days at the most, Roman, so ain't no sense you acting as though we were leaving for good."

"It ain't about that, Dot," he snapped. "I got this funny feeling, woman, as though something is wrong. I don't know just what the real deal is, but I got a hunch something is boogie about this whole funky affair."

"Shit," she replied, drawing the word out. "Whatever happens while we're gone, daddy, ain't goin' hurt us. We ain't got no money here, so if something should happen to the pad while we're away, we ain't goin' lose nothing we ain't able to replace. Besides," she continued, "ain't no nigger in this city crazy enough to break into your apartment, man." She hit the light switch, flooding the room with darkness.

In the Twenty Grand Motel on the west side, Prince glanced at his watch irritably. He realized that he would have to bring this impromptu meeting to an end before Roman arrived. "As I've already told you guys, ain't nothing to worry about. Chinaman is going to be there with three carloads of men. You, Preacher, all you got to do is make sure one of your lieutenants arrives on the spot at the proper time. I've already made preparations, so there won't be any problem about transportation. There'll be three cars at your disposal for your people." He glanced quickly at Ruby to confirm his words.

She picked up a tablet from the bed where she was stretched out. "That's right, Preacher. We got one Ford, plus two '64 Buicks waiting to pick you up at the warehouse." She pointed a pencil at Danny. "There's two cars there for you, too, honey," she said, raising a hand to stifle a sigh.

Prince flashed them his self-contained smile. "That makes eight carloads of activists we are sending out today. There ain't no way for nothing to go wrong." His voice began to rise. "If each one of you instructs your men properly, ain't nothing going wrong. At three forty-five today each and every one of those men will instigate trouble somewhere in that crowd. When the police move against the instigators, they won't be pickin' people. The first blacks that don't get out of their way quick enough will get their heads cracked. In a crowd that large, them niggers ain't goin' stand for it. They goin' start to fight back. That's the time your boys will make their move and get away. It's as simple as that." He chopped down with his hand to emphasize his words. "It's gettin' late. Preacher. You and Fatdaddy hold up a moment; the rest of you get on home and get some rest. We got a busy day ahead of us." He waited patiently until Ruby closed the door behind the other men.

Prince glanced at his watch, then nodded to Ruby. She picked up the phone and had the desk put through a call for her. He waited until she hung up. "No answer," she replied to his questioning glance.

He removed a key from his pocket. "Here, Fatdaddy. Get some real cool help, then go over to Roman's place. I want you to search it real good. Bring back all the paperwork you find. Anything that looks like figures or addresses. You know what I mean. Anything you think the police might be interested in, bring it to me. Oh yeah," he added, "if you come across any money, pick that up, too." Before Fatdaddy could speak, he continued. "Don't worry about Roman or his woman. They won't be there." He tossed the key to Fatdaddy. Ruby got up and walked to the door. Fatdaddy glanced at each of them, then took the hint. Ruby held the door open, then waited until he was in his car before slamming and locking it.

Preacher grinned. "I hope you don't give me the fool's rush when I get ready to leave." They both laughed at his remark, then Prince opened a package of cocaine and held it out towards Preacher.

"You know, Prince, I got the biggest goddamn responsibility in this shit jumpin' off tomorrow, or rather, today." He snorted a nose full of coke, then held out the package to Prince. Prince gave it to Ruby as she sat down on the bed beside him.

"I know, Preacher, but I ain't got nobody else I can trust with such a job. As you know, man, Chinaman's got his fool-ass head in the clouds over this picketing bullshit." Prince made a disgusted sound. "Can you beat that, man! The guy is really sincere. He thinks we are really working towards helping some of these nuts. Man, I don't give a fuck what happens out there, as long as we get ours."

Preacher reached for the cocaine. "Yeah, baby, I can dig that, but this is big potatoes, man. If we rip off that bank like you got it planned, the feds are going to be all over this motherfuckin' city before God gets the news."

"Ain't no ifs about it, Preacher; the thing is going down today, whether you lead them niggers or not."

Preacher threw up his hands. "Wait a minute, man! You know I'm going to take care of it; it's just that I was kickin' the thing around a little, that's all. You know how the old saying goes," he said, then added, "telephone, telegraph, or tell a nigger. Those are the three quickest ways in the world for people to learn your business. You know that, Prince, as well as I do."

Prince laughed coldly, then reached for the cocaine. After taking a big snort, he said, "All the men on this job with you, Preacher, are handpicked. It ain't no game for no lame, man. I got the very best, baby. I got the strongest brothers you could ever want to work with you on this. If you should have to hold court in the streets with the cops, you couldn't ask for any better help. Each one is a killer."

"And you already know you ain't goin' have no trouble out of the police, Preacher," Ruby said, speaking in her softest voice. She flashed her magnificent teeth at him.

He smiled in return. "I don't need that soft con, Ruby," he said. "Your man is doing a good enough job of that already without your help." They all laughed good-naturedly. It was as though they were planning a weekend picnic rather than a bold daylight robbery.

"Okay," Preacher said loudly as he got to his feet. "I been sold on this thing ever since you brought the idea up, Prince. It's just that the day done arrived, and I know I got to get off the pot or shit."

Prince walked him towards the door. "I'll stop by the crib today and talk to the other guys as well as you, Preacher. Ya'll can look for me around two o'clock. Don't worry about nothing, baby, this thing is in the bag." He held the door open and stood in the doorway until Preacher drove out of the motel parking lot. Then he stepped back into his suite.

Ruby stared up at him from the bed. "So far, so good," she said calmly. They understood each other better than they realized. Each in his own way needed the other, mentally as well as sexually. If either had any qualms about what could happen later on that day, they were well concealed.

"You ain't made that call to Chicago yet," Ruby reminded him quietly.

"It's too early, honey. I think it will be better if I wait until we get outside somewhere and make it from a pay phone."

She smiled. "You really got a thing about phone calls, ain't you, Prince?"

"Ain't no sense taking unnecessary chances, Ruby. Whoever they got on the switchboard might like to eavesdrop on calls, and at this time of morning a longdistance call would probably be right up the operator's alley. No baby, I think it will be a hell of a lot wiser to stop at a pay phone after we drop Roman and Dot off at the airport."

"I wish they would hurry up and get here," she said. "I'm gettin' sleepy as hell." She started impatiently for the kitchenette, but a knock at the door stopped her in her tracks.

She rushed to the door, but before opening it she glanced carefully between the large drapes that covered the picture windows.

"It's them," she said over her shoulder as she opened the door. Roman and Dot came in quickly, and Ruby shut the door behind them.

Prince snorted some of the coke and held the dwindling pile of dope out towards Roman. He started to reach for it, but Dot's voice froze him. "Roman," she said loudly, "don't you know you'll get sick on the plane if you snort that shit?" He hesitated briefly, but before he could make up his mind, Ruby had taken the cocaine and snorted the rest of it.

"When mama speaks, you listen, boy," Ruby chided him harshly. The undercurrent of contempt in her voice didn't escape Dot's notice. She bristled but decided not to say anything, although her eyes glittered with hate.

Prince reached under his pillow and pulled out a long envelope. He tossed it over to Roman. "There's ten thousand dollars in there, Roman. Be sure to take good care of it."

Roman managed a smile. He glanced down at the unsealed envelope, then started to stick it in his jacket pocket.

"Count it, man. I don't want no shit from you when you get back about it being short." Prince got up and glanced at his watch. "You better slip on a sweater, Ruby. This time of year it's kind of chilly in the mornings."

They waited until Roman had finished counting the money before leaving. Ruby got up under the steering wheel. "It'll be better, man, if we drop you at the airport. That way the car won't be tied up out there until you get back," Prince said quietly.

Roman didn't bother to comment as he held back the seat of the Cadillac for Dot to get in. She climbed in, stiff with unconcealed anger. "How the hell are we supposed to get back from the airport when we return from Chicago?" she snapped as she sat down.

Ruby laughed coldly. "You're supposed to be coming back from there on the train, aren't you, darling?"

Roman broke in, attempting to change the subject before sparks started to fly. "You know, Prince, I'm kind of glad to be gettin' the fuck away from here today. When that shit jumps off, it's going to raise plenty hell for some people."

"Maybe," Prince replied shortly.

"I done tried, but I just can't see no reason for rippin' off that gun shop, man. What do we need with all those guns? It ain't goin' do nothing but bring more heat down on us." The baffled note in Roman's voice revealed that he was really upset by Prince's plan.

Ruby drove in silence, and when she hit the expressway she put her foot on the gas. At this hour in the morning there was very little traffic. She caught the outside lane and stayed there, passing everything in sight.

"We aren't really in that much of a hurry, dear," Dot said coldly, her words dripping with sarcasm. "We really have plenty of time, you know."

Prince smiled self-consciously. It was rare that these two women could come together without one of them trying to hit a tender nerve that the other couldn't conceal. "I have to disagree with you, Roman," he began. "It's very important that we have enough guns to go around. In this day and age, any organization like ours has to have plenty guns or the police will kill you like a dog every time they catch you in the streets."

"I can dig where you're coming from, Prince, but our thing ain't about that, man. We are supposed to be going for the buck-hard, green cash. It ain't about open conflict with the police."

Prince snorted. "You can't help but have conflict with the man, baby. No matter how hard we try, we goin' run into trouble with the police. So the best thing in the world for us is to have some shit to return an eye for an eye. Dig this, man, we can't allow the man to shoot down our people whenever they feel like it, like they did Shortman."

Roman cut in. "Some police got shot down first, Prince, before anything happened to our people."

"Damn that!" Prince exclaimed. "It ain't our problem to worry about every pig that gets shot down in the streets. That's their job, baby. That's what the city hires them for. What I'm trying to get across to you is that, from now on, every time they retaliate on one of our people, we goin' sock it right back to them." Prince tossed him a skeptical glance, then continued. "What you don't understand, Roman, is that whitey don't understand but one thing-violence. Brutality is his way of life, baby, so he don't respect nothing but violent measures. If you don't show him that, he goin' keep his foot right in your backside."