In a Cold Sweat (27 page)

About two hours in to it, Bobby got a call from Nick. “Bobby. Is Black with you?”

“He’s right here. It’s Nick,” Bobby said and handed me the phone.

“What’s up, Nick?”

“I just got a call from Monika. She wouldn’t say what it was about, but she said Jackie needs to talk to you.”

“And she didn’t say what, huh?” I asked, wondering what Jackie could possibly want.

“Nope, but Monika wouldn’t call if it wasn’t important.”

“Okay, call her back and tell them to meet me at Cynt's,” I said and pressed end. When I handed Bobby back his phone, he was laughing. I didn’t tell him that I made Mystique stop working there, and I didn’t feel like goin’ into it. “Let’s wrap this up,” I said and went in the bathroom and shot the bleeder twice in the head. When I came out, Bobby was doing the same to the other.

I walked up behind the leader. I promised to break his neck. I picked up the sawed-off shot gun by the butt, and swung it as hard as I could to the back of his neck. I don’t know if it actually broke his neck and I really doubt that it did, but his neck and head did jerk forward. I walked around in front of him, shot him twice in the head, and followed Bobby out the door.

Jackie and Monika sat at Cynt's and waited patiently for Black to get there, or at least Monika did. Jackie was nervous and couldn’t sit still for very long. She’d be all right for a while, but then she’d bounce up and walk around, just in case he was there and she just couldn’t see him while she was sitting down.

“I wish you’d stop doin’ that,” Monika said when Jackie came back and sat down. To her, waiting to report was nothing new and she seemed content sipping her drink and people watching.

“I can’t help it,” Jackie said and picked up her watered down drink.

“I understand, but finish your drink and relax.
 
He’ll get here when he gets here. You like pussy, don’t you?” Monika asked. “Well there’s plenty in here to look at.”

“I noticed you gettin’ your eyes full, Ms. I’m-strictly-
dickly
,” Jackie came back.

“How could you not? It’s very compelling to watch. The atmosphere, energy of the dancers, the raw sexuality of it all, you know what I’m sayin’? I mean, just the look on some of these guys’ faces is priceless.”

“I know. It’s like they’ve never seen a naked woman before. I never have understood that one,” Jackie said as she stood up again and noticed that Black and Bobby had come in.

Since Mylo had mentioned Cynt’s so prominently in his conversation with the man he’d met earlier in the evening, Jackie was apprehensive about them meeting Black there. She wanted to tell Monika to call Nick back and insist that they should meet somewhere else, but she didn’t want to seem like she was overreacting.

As soon as he saw her, Black made eye contact with Jackie. He was on his way to her when Cynt cut him off.

As soon as Black saw Cynt storming toward him, he knew what she wanted. He had meant to talk to her about telling Mystique that he didn’t want her dancing there, but he just hadn’t gotten around to it. “We need to talk, Mr. Black.”

“Yes we do, Cynt,” Black said. “How’s business tonight?”

“Good night,” Cynt replied. “Good night. But it would be better if Mystique hadn’t quit on me. And when I asked her why, she says I should ask you.”

By this time, Bobby was beside himself with laughter. “Mystique quit? What you know about that?”

Black ran his hand over his face. “I told her she didn’t work here any more.”

“Oh,” was the only answer Cynt could manage.

“I was gonna talk to you about it, but I been busy.”

“If there was some problem with her, I’m sure we can work it out,” Cynt said, believing that he had fired her. “Mystique is one of my best earners, Black, so—”

“Cynt, there’s no problem. I just don’t want her workin’ here,” Black tried to explain without having to go into any detail.

“He’s clamin’ her, Cynt,” Bobby said.

“Oh, that’s different. Now
it’s
business,” was her comment.

“I know, Cynt. I’ll compensate you for the loss of income. Think of a price, just don’t get ridiculous,” Black said as the room exploded in applause. Frank Sparrow, the middleweight champion of world, had just come in Cynt’s and was immediately mobbed by both dancers and fight fans.

“I guess we’ll talk about this later, Black. Let me go make the champ spend some money.”

“Oh hell no, Cynt,” Bobby said and grabbed Cynt by her arm. “Don’t do that. The fight is tomorrow night, so he
don’t
need to be playin’ poker all night or leave here with two or three hoes. I got money ridin’ on him.”

“Okay,” Cynt said and snatched her arm back. “And don’t be grabbin’ me. I ain’t one of these young girls you
be
all over in here.”

“Don’t hate, Cynt, you can get some too,” Bobby said, remembering that Cynt used to give good head back in the day.

“Whatever, Bobby,” Cynt said and walked away.

Bobby turned to Black. “Why didn’t you tell me you were
claimin
’
amazon
Shy?”

“’Cause I didn’t want to hear your mouth.”

“You did right. If you gonna keep fuckin’ her. ”

“And I am.”

“It didn’t look right to have what everyone considers your woman shakin’ her ass for every nigga that rolls through.”

“I’m glad you approve,” Black said and Jackie caught his eye once again. “Come on. Let’s go see what Jackie's talkin’ ’bout.”

Jackie stood up when she saw Black coming, until she heard, “Black! Yo Black!” Frank Sparrow yelled as he and his entourage made their way toward Black. He smiled at Jackie and she sat down again to wait her turn.

“What’s up, champ?” Bobby said.

“Mr. Ray, Mr. Black,” Sparrow said, showing respect.

“You got it, champ,” Black said.

“Ready for tomorrow?” Bobby said.

Sparrow raised his right fist. “He ain’t ready for this. I got too much speed and too much power for him. He’s goin’ down,” he said and fainted his right to Bobby’s jaw.

“Watch out now. Niggas have died for less shit than that,” Bobby laughed and motioned for his gun.

While Bobby talked shit with Sparrow’s entourage, the champ looked at Black. “What's the matter, Frank?” Black asked.

“I’m cool, Black. It’s all good,” he said and quickly leaned toward Black. “Everything’s set for tomorrow.”

“What?”

“It’s all set.”

“What are you talkin’ about?”

Sparrow took a step closer and whispered in Black’s ear, “Everything is set for me to go down.”

Black leaned back with his eyes opened wide in shock at what the champ had just told him. Black grabbed Sparrow by the arm. “We need to talk,” Black said and turned to Sparrows handlers. “I need to talk to the champ for a second.”

“No problem, Black,” one handler said.

“Bobby, you're with me,” Black said and led Sparrow up the stairs to Cynt’s office. Once they were behind closed doors, “What the fuck are you talkin’ ’bout?” Black asked.

“Everything is all set for me to do that for you.”

“Do what for me?”

“You know, take a dive in the first.”

“What the fuck is you talkin’ ’bout, Frank?” Bobby asked.

“You need to tell me everything, Frank,” Black said.

“You don’t know
nothing
about this?” Frank was puzzled.

“I don’t know anything about you takin’ no dive.”

“I knew I shouldn’t trust that mutha fucka; that’s why I made sure I came by here. You know, to make sure that’s what you still wanted.”

“What mutha fucka?” Black demanded to know.

“Mylo.”

“Mylo? Who the fuck is Mylo?” Bobby asked.

“Y’all don’t even know this nigga?” Sparrow questioned.

“I know him,” Black said and looked at Bobby. “He runs the game for us.”

“Our game?” Bobby asked.

“Our game,” Black said definitely. “So what did he say I wanted you to do?”

“Since bettin’ been real strong and a lot of action on what round, he said since everybody knows I’m a slow starter that no one will think twice about me gettin’ caught with a clean shot early.”

“You good with that?” Black asked.

“He said you
was
counting on me. Mylo said that since they insisted on a rematch clause in the
contract, that
I’d get the rematch and I’d just kick his ass in the second fight.

“Why didn’t we think of that?” Bobby asked.

“’Cause it ain’t right, that’s why. You're the middleweight champion of the world, the undefeated champ at that. This is your legacy, Frank. You have a chance to be great. I’m talkin’ Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Carlos
Monzón
,
Bernard
Hopkins kind of great.”

“Sugar Ray Robinson?”

“Let’s not get carried away,” Black said and Bobby nodded in agreement.

“They don’t make fighters like that no more,” Bobby said.

“Even that’s possible, Frank. But I don’t think you gonna hang around long enough to win one hundred and seventy-five fights,” Black said and put his arm around the champ. “All I’m sayin’ is that I would never ask you to do no shit like that. Not for money.”

“Yeah,” Bobby said. “You unify
them
belts, defend your title twenty-one times, and retire undefeated as champion.”

“That’s what I’m talkin’,” Sparrow nodded his head.

“One more thing,” Black said. “When I want you to do some shit like that, and that day may never come, you’ll hear it from me. And Frank, try
warmin
’ up before the fight. No weaknesses.”

“Got ya,” Sparrow said and started for the door.

“Hey, Frank,” Bobby called to him before he left the office. “He goes down in the first.”

“Bet on it,” Sparrow said.

“I did,” Bobby said as Sparrow raised a fist and closed the door behind him.

“Let’s see what Jackie wants,” Black said when Sparrow left the room. Bobby opened the door and Black followed him out.
 

When Black and Bobby got with Jackie, she insisted that they had to talk in private. “I need for you to listen to something,” Jackie said and pointed at the laptop that Monika was carrying.

“What's it about?” Black asked.

“Mylo.” Jackie answered.

“Mylo? Why don’t I know this nigga?” Bobby said.

“What about Mylo?” Black questioned.

“You remember you told me to watch Mylo ’cause you didn’t trust him? Well you were right not to trust him. This nigga is grimy for real.”

It wasn’t long before the four were in Cynt's office. Monika set up the laptop and played back the conversation that she and Jackie recorded earlier in the evening. The recording was a little
staticky
, and there
was
a lot of background noises, but they were able to hear what they needed to hear.