Filthy Rich-Part 2 (11 page)

 
Chapter 10

The state of the art exercise room was scarcely populated with old white men in sweat suits and sneakers. Their crimes, although felonious, were mainly white collar. Most of them were rich men who'd bilked people out of their life's savings, retirements, and 401Ks. There was no remorse in them. If anything, the only thing they were sorry for was that they'd gotten caught.

As a few of the men spoke to each other while on exercise bikes and treadmills, they spoke about their schemes and their regrets that they'd gotten too greedy at points where they should've pulled out sooner. If they'd pulled out, they wouldn't be sitting in prison for decades being punished for taking innocent, elderly people for every penny they had ever worked for, let alone their houses and their grandchildren's college tuitions.

Among the men, Luke couldn't help ear hustling as he jogged on a treadmill while a flat screen television played on a front wall several yards in front of him. As he listened to the men, he couldn't believe their arrogance. He couldn't believe their lack of remorse. If there was one thing Luke couldn't stand, it was folks who preyed on people who couldn't quite defend themselves. That shit always got underneath his skin.

Luke wasn't an angel of course. He was the furthest thing from it. But he had morals. He had a fear of karma. It was because of those things that he only believed in inflicting revenge on those who were involved in the same game he played, not innocent civilians. It was Chetti and Darien who believed even a person's children were up for grabs if the family was crossed. It was them who'd give the order to murder a mother on a Sunday morning directly in front of church if her son stole from them. Luke could never give that type of order.

An officer walked into the exercise room and headed towards Luke. Reaching him, he said, "Mr. Bishop, you've got a visitor."

"Alright," Luke told him. "Let me get a quick shower first."

The officer nodded.

Luke grabbed a towel, wiped sweat from his forehead and headed off to the shower. Moments later, in a new sweat suit, he was headed across the yard with the officer by his side. Reaching the visiting area, he assumed it was either the Feds or an attorney who was there to see him. It couldn't have been Pamela because all her visits with him took place at the trailers.

The visiting room was filled with dozens of steel tables and benches. Several vending machines lined its walls. Televisions overhung from all for corners of the room. Magazine stands also lined the walls.

"Sit anywhere," the officer told Luke.

Luke sat at a table in the center of the room. A distance away through a window, he could see the trees that surrounded the compound as the sun shined over them. For a moment, he yearned for the life he had beyond those trees.

A door opened.

Luke turned to see who was entering the room. When he saw who it was, he thought his eyes were deceiving him for a moment. He thought it was a mirage. He just couldn't believe it. But as the person began to head towards him, he knew for sure it wasn't a mirage or a figment of his imagination. It really was Cedrick.

Practically leaping from his chair, Luke grabbed his brother and hugged him tightly. "Man, I thought you were dead," he told him. "I thought she'd killed you."

Cedrick didn't hug his brother back. Instead, he kept his arms at his sides. He had no interest in returning his brother's affections.

Finally, realizing his brother wasn't hugging him back, reality struck Luke like lightning. He realized he wasn't worthy of his brother's hugs. He wasn't even worthy of his brother's visit. Realizing all that, he slowly let his brother go, stepped back and looked at him. In Cedrick's eyes he saw darkness, displeasure, and more. Sighing and wishing things could be different, Luke said, "My whereabouts are secret. No one is supposed to know I'm here. How'd you know?"

"Let's just say someone in the FBI granted me a favor," Cedrick told him without changing the expression on his face.

"Brandon?"

Cedrick didn't answer. He just stared at his brother.

Silence.

After several moments, Luke stuffed his hands into the pockets of his sweat pants, turned and headed to the window. Looking outside, he said, "I know it may not mean much but I came looking for you the day the mansion was raided."

"To cover your own ass?"

"No, to set you free."

"Too little too late."

Luke couldn't say anything else.

"Who's idea was it to kidnap me?" Cedrick asked.

"Mother’s."

"But you and Darien went along with it."

"What other choice did we have?"

"The
right
fucking choice!" Cedrick yelled angrily. "I was your damn brother for God's sake!"

With his back still to his brother, Luke said, "And if we had made the
right
choice as you say, what do you think she would've done to
us
?"

Shaking his head, Cedrick said, "So, rather than die yourself for doing the right thing, the two of you decided to let me sit in that room and die day after, day after, day for trying to do the right thing for the family, huh?"

The truth pained Luke. He closed his eyes and grimaced.

"Do you know what she put me through in that room, Luke? Do you know the things she did to me? Do you know the torture?"

Luke continued to keep his eyes closed. The darkness behind his eyelids somehow made the moment easier to deal with. His heart and conscience was still killing him though.

"Yeah," Cedrick continued. "I think you know. In fact, I'm
sure
you know seeing as how you're the father of our own baby sister's child."

Luke grimaced again in shame. The truth cut like a knife. It cut all the way through to his soul and further.

"Yeah, you know what that sick bitch did to me. It was hell, a hell that you played a part in locking me in."

Luke couldn't speak. He couldn't turn to face his brother knowing he'd failed him terribly. He'd betrayed him and didn't look back. Up until the moment just before the raid, all he had thought about was himself. Now he was truly ashamed of himself for being so selfish.

"Don't worry about it though," Cedrick said. "I didn't come here to argue and point fingers. I just came to let you know to enjoy the ride ahead of you."

Luke opened his eyes and turned.

"Seeing you sit in here isn't satisfaction enough for me, Luke, especially now that I've discovered you've cut a deal that will most likely allow you back on the streets again. No, I'm not satisfied."

Both brothers eyed each other.

"What's going to satisfy me is seeing the look on your damn face, Luke, when you have no idea what is coming finally collides with you. There's a huge shit storm coming. When it does, there will be no deals. There will be no way to hide or run. When it happens, what you've lost up until this moment will in absolutely no way compare to what you will lose
then
."

Luke listened in silence. His ears had never been more focused on someone's words than they were at that moment.

"
That's
when I'll be satisfied, Luke. And mark my words, little brother. It's coming."

With those words spoken, Cedrick stood up.

“Cedrick, we’ve got to stick together, bro. Did you hear what happened to Darien last week?”

“No, and don’t care,” Cedrick muttered as he turned and left the room leaving Luke with silence to bare, inner demons to battle and a curiosity of what his brother meant by "You have no idea what is coming until it finally collides with you.”

Luke dropped his head.

The door opened.

Footsteps quickly made their way across the floor to Luke.

"Mr. Bishop?"

"Yeah."

"Look, I shouldn't be telling you this but…”

Officer Flippen stopped before speaking further.

Looking at the officer, Luke asked, "What is it?"

With a nervous expression on his face mixed with worry, the officer looked at the door and then back at Luke. Stepping closer to Luke, Flippen whispered, "There's been a rumor going around among the officers. It's bad for you."

"What?"

"Well…”

The door opened.

The burly Sargent with a massive amount of pimples spread across his cheeks appeared at the door. "Officer Flippen," he said.

"Yes."

"I'll take Mr. Bishop back to his cell."

"But, I thought I was taking him back.”

"You're relieved, Sir."

The officer paused for a moment. He then looked at Luke with a weird countenance and with eyes that silently said, ‘You'd better watch your back.’ He then walked off. Officer Flippen would prove to be an ally for Luke but he had no idea why.

As Luke headed across the yard and back to his cell with the Sargent beside him, he couldn't get the officer's words and the expression out of his head. It was obvious something was up. Luke knew it definitively. Why else would a Sargent go out of his way to walk him back to his cell?

                  * * *

Nessa stormed into Sidra's living room pissed off. "Fuck," she screamed. "That damn snake!"

Piper walked into the house behind her.

"What's goin' on?" Sidra asked.

"That bastard, Brandon!"

"What about him? What'd he do?"

"He didn't pay the damn Mexicans!"

Sidra shook her head.

"Since he didn't pay 'em, they just caught me in traffic and got me for all the product I just got from Chavez!"

"Damn, Nessa, that was a lot of money! All gone down the drain.” Sidra plopped down on the couch, leaned back into its cushions and began massaging her temples.

"Well, shit, Nessa, you can't let that muthafucka get away with this shit."

"Damn right she can't," Piper co-signed.

“Plus, you know NaNa is going to want his cut regardless.”

Silence filled the room.

Growing annoyed with everything around her, Nessa stood and began to pace. “Shit, that’s a heavy fuckin’ loss,” she stated under her breath. Things were just starting to get rolling for her.

Sidra reached underneath a cushion of the couch and pulled out a gun. Since she started holding money for Nessa, she started making sure to keep pistols stashed. Never knew when a muthafucka might decide to try and kick her door in. Now waiving the gun, she yelled, "I say we get that sneaky son of a bitch, cut his balls off, put a hole in his head and dump his ass in the water!"

"Calm down, Sidra," Nessa told her while still pacing.

"She's right, Nessa," Piper agreed. "You can't let his ass get away with this shit."

"Mom, don't start."

"I told you that was what your problem was. You're too damn passive, too soft."

"Mom!”

"Don’t mom, me. To make it out here, you've got to be a vicious bitch."

"Hell fuckin' yeah," Sidra agreed. "If the streets find out you let the Mexicans cross you, everyone's goin' to come after you."

"You'll be a target." Piper began coughing. Amidst the coughing, she said, "You've got to get these muthafuckas." Her coughing then grew heavier and raspy, causing her to bend over.

"You okay?" Sidra asked.

Piper continued coughing. Sitting on the couch, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. Placing it to her mouth, she coughed into it. Pulling it away from her mouth slightly and at an angle that only she could see, she looked at it and saw blood. Quickly, she wiped her mouth and stuffed it back into her pocket.

Looking at her mother, Nessa asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just need a cigarette."

"A cigarette?" Sidra asked in disbelief. "You just had such a deep cough, it sounded like someone was outside tearing up the streets."

"Just give me a cigarette, bitch."

"No, I’m not contributing to your death,” Nessa fired.

"Goddamn it!" Piper screamed. "Just give me a fuckin' cigarette. Is that too much to ask?"

Both Nessa and Sidra looked at each other for a moment. Sidra then went into her purse, got out a pack of smokes and handed them to Piper. Accepting them, Piper removed one from the pack and lit up. Then going back to the point she was stressing a moment ago, she said, "You've got to tighten your shit, Nessa. We've come too fuckin' far to let it go down the drain."

"What, you think I don't know that?"

"I can't tell."

"Nessa, we've got to move on these muthafuckas," Sidra chimed in.

"Look," Nessa told them. "I already know that. Trust me; Brandon isn't going to get away with what he did. But getting his ass has to be done right. We can't just blow his head off. He's a Fed. They give bitches the chair for shit like that. We're going to have to deal with his ass in a special way."