Three the Hard Way: A Play in Two Acts (17 page)

At the same time, Nick saw two men approaching the back door. He took aim with the rifle and fired two shots. Two bodies dropped.

Cristóbal was asleep alone in the bed. They approached the bed quietly and took up positions on either side of the bed. When Cristóbal didn’t move, Monika poked him with the barrel of her gun.

Cristóbal began to stir. "Good morning," Monika said and eased the gun to his head.

Cristóbal opened his eyes and saw the two of them. He recognized Black. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to kill you," Black said and shot Cristóbal in the eye. "Rest in peace, Kevon." Then Black put two shots in his chest.

Black looked at Monika. "This was too easy," she said as she left the room.

"We’re not out yet," Black said and followed her down the steps.

"Everything all clear out front, Bobby?" Monika asked as Nick and Travis joined them at the door.

"All clear, general," Bobby said and saluted.

Monika gave him the finger. "Let’s move out."

While Monika led her team out single file toward the gate, they were unaware that the bodies Nick dropped had been discovered and they’d sounded the alarm. When the alarm was sounded, lights came on in the compound. Militia men that were stationed at the main gate began firing at them.

"Blow it!" Monika yelled as she ran for cover with the rest of her team behind some cars that were parked in front of the house, and returned fire. Nick detonated the charges he set at the barracks, but not before several men made it out of the building.

"So much for easy," Black said and fired.

When he heard the alarm followed by an explosion, Monika’s operative started up his Chevy Avalanche and speed toward the gate. As the truck barreled toward them, Nick rose up and laid down enough cover fire for them to get in the truck before he jumped in the flatbed, and kept firing until they made it out of the compound.

The Mike Black Saga

continues in;

Commit To Violence

In Your Arms

By Roy Glenn

Copyright © 2010 Roy Glenn

Phase 1

It was just after ten o'clock when Marcus Douglas arrived at the Marriott Residence Inn. That afternoon he had his secretary, Janice, get a room for him in her name, in case Randa was looking for him. He walked down the long hall to his room and stuck the key card in the lock. He entered in the room, dropped the key card on top of the television, and turned it on. While Brian Williams reported the days Nightly News, Marcus wandered around aimlessly. This was his home now.

Marcus loosened his tie and took off his jacket. He reached in the pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. It had been five years since he smoked his last Kool. He sat down on the couch and lit a cigarette. He took a long drag, and then blew out the smoke. It hurt his chest and he coughed a little, but he hit it again. Today had been the worst day of his life.

If this was going to be his home for a while, there were a few things he’d need. "Soap, tooth brush and tooth paste. Deodorant would be a good thing. And I need to shave in the morning." He got up and started for the door. All he had were the clothes on his back. He would buy some clothes in the morning. "This is going to get expensive." Marcus drove his 735i BMW down the street and turned into Krogers’ parking lot. It had been years since he had to shop for himself. Randa did all that for him.

He picked up a basket and headed for the pharmacy aisles. The store was quiet and empty for the most part. Marcus had picked up just about all the items he’d come for when the quiet was interrupted by the sound of high heels, clicking against the tile. His eyes were immediately drawn to the sound. There was a sense of urgency in her walk. Marcus glanced at her as she moved closer to him and had to take a closer look as she passed. She stopped and tried on a pair of sunglasses and kept on walking. "I know her." He followed as she proceeded down the next aisle. When she stopped to pick up a box of hair color and some scissors, she turned and looked at him. Now he was sure. Although she turned away quickly, Marcus was sure that he knew her. "Yvonne Haggler." It had been nine years since he’d seen her. She looked good, even better than she did nine years ago.
If that’s possible.
He remembered the day that she came to his office.

"Marcus."

"Yes, Janice."

"Your two o’clock is here."

"Give me five minutes then send her in."

Five minutes later, Yvonne Haggler was seated before him. She was an attractive young woman, barely twenty-one years old. She was simply, but tastefully dressed. She didn’t wear any makeup and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail. "Mrs. Haggler, tell me what I can do for you?"

"Mr. Douglas, I need your help. My husband Richard died two month ago."

"I’m sorry to hear that."

"Thank you, Mr. Douglas." Yvonne spoke with the deep Mississippi accent that she hadn’t managed to lose in the five years she’d been in Atlanta.

Yvonne was born and raised in Cold Water Mississippi. The oldest of nine children, Yvonne was an average student in her junior year in High School. She met Richard Haggler when she was sixteen years old. Richard was twenty-eight. Richard was born in Cold Water as well, but his family moved away when he was ten. He came back to town to settle some personal matters for his recently deceased mother. When he met Yvonne, he fell deeply in love with the pretty young girl.

Two weeks later, he asked Yvonne to marry him. When Yvonne accepted, Richard sought her mother’s permission to marry Yvonne and take her back to Atlanta with him. Her father had died three years earlier and her mother was having problems making it by herself with nine children. Yvonne’s mother had known Richard’s family when they lived in Cold Water and he seemed nice enough, polite, and respectful, and Yvonne did like him.

Richard had a good job and promised that he could make a better life for Yvonne in Atlanta. Cold Water was a small town and her mother didn’t have any money to send her daughter to college, and began to see this as an opportunity for her daughter to get away from there. Richard also promised he would be able to send her some money every week to help out with the family. After very long and deep consideration, her mother consented for her daughter to be married.

They were married in a simple wedding a week later. And that night they left for Atlanta. They moved into Richard’s mother’s old house in Clarkston, a suburb of Atlanta. Richard was an old-fashioned man and insisted that Yvonne not work. He told her she didn’t have to finish high school if she didn’t want to, but Yvonne felt it was important that she be the first in her family to graduate from high school. Other than going to school, she lived a quiet, somewhat sheltered life as a housewife. She had a few girl friends that she met in school, but Richard thought it was inappropriate for a married woman to be going to nightclubs and things like that, so Yvonne made a very happy life for her and her husband. She was totally dependent upon Richard for everything. She didn’t mind, even though they didn’t have much money, Richard was a good man and he treated her like a queen.

"Richard left a ten thousand dollar insurance policy and I gave it to the funeral people pay for his funeral. Well, my husband was a simple man and I thought he’d want to go out that way. The whole thing came to a little less than seven thousand dollars. They told me that they would take care of things with the insurance company and I’d get what ever is left over."

"That’s pretty standard."

"But I still haven’t got the money."

"Was their some problem with the policy?" Marcus asked as he took notes.

"I don’t know, they wasn’t tellin’ me nothin’. Every time I called to find out what was going on they told me it would just be a few more days. Until two days ago." Yvonne reached in her purse and pulled out an envelope. She took out the letter and handed it to Marcus. "I got this in the mail. They said I could get my money after I signed it."

Marcus read over the letter while Yvonne continued talking. He glanced up at her and smiled. There was an innocence about her. She spoke without making eye contact. He thought that her accent was adorable.

"I showed that letter to my girlfriend, Tyisha. Her mama died last year and she said she didn’t have to sign nothin’ like this. She told me I should show it to a lawyer."

"Well, Mrs. Haggler, even though it doesn’t come right out and say so, this letter is worded to give them power of attorney to settle your husbands estate."

"Estate? What estate, Mr. Douglas? Like I said we’re simple people, we got the house his mama left us. The house is paid for, but other than that, we ain’t got nothin’."

"It does seem a bit unusual to need power of attorney to settle an insurance policy. Have you spoken with the insurance company?"

"No, I just came to see you. Do you think I should sign it, Mr. Douglas?"

"No, Mrs. Haggler. I don’t recommend you sign anything until you get some more information about why this is necessary. Would you like me to look into this for you, Mrs. Haggler?"

"Would you please, Mr. Douglas. Richard used to handle all the business for us. I’m not very good at talkin’ to people like that."

"I would be happy to, Mrs. Haggler."

"Don’t have much money. I been gettin’ by on what money was in the checking account. But I just got a job at Wal-Mart and I’m not making that much."

Marcus smiled at her as he got up and showed her to the door. "Don’t worry about that now, Mrs. Haggler. For now all you need to do is see Janice before you leave. She has some paperwork for you to fill out. I’ll look into it and get back with you in a few days."

Marcus was glad for something different to do. He had opened his own practice a year ago and dealt with the usual stuff. Accident cases, divorce, DUI’s, but it would be nice for a change to actually help somebody. He would do it pro bono if he had to. Marcus checked with the insurance company, and as he suspected, they informed him that they were waiting to receive power of attorney from her representative in order to settle Mrs. Haggler’s claim.

As it turned out, although Yvonne and Richard lived a simple life, in their simple, paid for home in Clarkston, it wasn’t because they didn’t have any money. Richard not only left her a ten thousand-dollar policy, there was also one for two hundred and fifty thousand. And that was just the tip of the iceberg. In addition to the insurance policies, there was a trust fund he had set up for her to receive once she turned thirty, worth another three hundred thousand. He also owned a number of properties in Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. Marcus estimated his estate to be worth well over a million dollars.

A week later, Marcus called Yvonne and asked her to drop by his office that day to discuss her case. She told him she was working that day and asked if he would mind staying late until she got off. "It’s my first job and I don’t want to lose it." He started to tell her that she could quit if she wanted to. But he didn’t want to tell her over the phone that she might stand to inherit quite a bit of money. Yvonne arrived at the office a little after seven thirty. "Thank you for waiting for me, Mr. Douglas. Did you find out something for me?"

"As a matter of fact, Mrs. Haggler, I have some very good news for you. Your late husband does have an estate to settle and at this point, and mind you I’ve only made some preliminary inquires, but I estimate your husband’s estate to be worth over a million dollars."