A Trip to Baltimore: Part II, "Rally the Masses" (582 hits)
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Submitted by shadow (View user info) at 2006-05-02 12:55:06 EDT
http://www.ubersite.com/m/87393
A Trip to Baltimore part II, Rally the Masses
There'll be hell to pay when all is said and done, that's for sure. The first call I make is to Jack Russell (who would have been Wilhelm Rusinski were it not for a change at Ellis Island) an old partner from our P.G. County days. Jack's a good friend and is generally well liked by everybody, a trait whose value cannot be overstated. We set to meet at a neutral zone, a house in eastern Howard County. The crew is already there when I arrive.
"Hey Shadow, I'm sorry about Sanjay. Damn if that isn't the worst news I've had all year." Jack and Sanjay had a mild rivalry a couple years back, for the attentions of a certain girl, but they stayed close "bros before hoes" as the saying goes.
I am surprised to see who showed up. There in the living room of the one-story prefab house is a motley collection of triggermen and women. Blue, a girl with a sharp tongue and blunt weapon, Saint, never a killer, just there for moral support, Jesus, the long haired martial artist, Cricket, a thin and wiry techie, Reverend Bill, the metal head with a short fuse and Zach, who is already drunk.
Shit. This is going to be harder than I thought.
And by the way, how did we all get fruity codenames?
I make my greetings, half of the people here know me, the other half have only heard of me, but Sanjay was well liked and traveled in many circles. Everybody wants to know who killed him, why I'm still alive, and what I plan to do about it. I can see Saint scowling through his dark glasses. I have known him for years, but each time we meet he has forgotten me, it's the nature of us... I am a shadow.
He speaks, Irish accent dripping over every syllable "What I want to know is why the fuck were you laying low when Sanny died? And just how who the fuck is responsible?" Saint means well, he's just angry. I would be too.
"I found out the same way you did, I got a phone call this afternoon from the police in Baltimore. You know as much as I do at this point." I reply.
"Why weren't you there last night? Sanny stopped into the club last night and looked scared as hell. Where the fuck were you.?" For a moment I am lost in his words, the novelty of a black man from Ireland complete with dreads has never been lost on me.
"Wait, Sanjay was at the club?" I ask, snapping to attention. "What time did he get there?"
"Just after doors opened at 9:30" Blue chimed in. "He said he couldn't find you. Said something big was coming up that you should know about, but then he just grabbed a drink and left."
"Did he give any names? Anything at all?" Blue looked at Saint, as if asking approval. Saint nodded.
"He said Johnson was taking him out of town for a while, on a road trip. I think he said you were supposed to come too." Now that is strange, why would our officer friend want to take Sanjay on a road trip? Alex had known Sanjay almost as long as I had, what had they been up to?
"I need to make a phone call" I turn to head towards the door, Saint grabs my shoulder. I let him turn me back around.
"You're not going anywhere 'til we get some answers. Where were you last night?" Saint is about to hit me, and I am about to let him. I can see it in his shoulders; he's locking in for a punch. Well, I might as well tell the truth.
"I was in Fort Meade, with Jess. I never heard the phone ring." His right arm comes across connecting his fist to my temple. I flinch at the last second; I really don't like being hit. He knocks me backwards, scattering his own collection of cds in the process. He rushes in and pins my back against the wall, his black trench coat sweeping around us. Holding me up by my throat and shoulder, he screams so hard and so loud that a bit of spittle lands on my face.
"You fucking cunt! You were getting fucked while Sanjay was dying! He trusted you!" The others move in to break us up, I throw up my hands. I can't breathe well enough to speak, so all I can do is stare at Saint, and wait for his rage to pass. "Somebody should have warned him about you, fuck!" He squeezes harder; I continue to look through those dark glasses into the eyes beyond, filled with tears of rage. I have to wait for him to let go, that's the way it has to go down. I'm going to lose consciousness if it doesn't happen soon. "I should fucking kill you."
He drops me. I choke a few breathes down, lolling from the pain in my head. Saint is pacing a few feet away, Blue comes over to check on me. "Saint," I sputter, "if you want to kill me then just walk out that door. You know as well as I do that I'm next." I cough up a bit of flem, rubbing the side of my face. "It doesn't make any sense why they'd kill him and not me. No sense..." Blue scoops me up from the stained green carpet and deposits me on the stained brown couch. Saint is pacing.
"I need to make a phone call because officer Johnson could be in trouble" I'm in pain, and we're losing daylight fast. This time it's the Reverend who speaks up.
"Why do you care about some cop, Sanjay never told us about him."
"That's because I told him not to, I didn't want Alex to get involved. I don't think you understand... Alex and has known Sanjay almost as long as I have, and he's known me even longer; he's my brother." They all turn, they all stare. "Well, half brother anyway. Same mother, different fathers."
Saint drops the rage and just looks surprised, "You mean to tell me that one of 'Baltimore's Finest' is the brother of a contract killer?" I nod. "And this lad was going to take Sanjay out of town, and bring you along?" I nod again, that seemed to be the case. "And neither of them saw fit to tell you about this?" Ah, yes... the plot thickens.
"I'll be back in a few minutes" I stand up from the couch and walk out the side entrance of the house, my head still pounding. I dial the numbers and wait for the ring... ring... ring... It's a thousand years before he picks up.
"Officer Johnson." The baritone states. "Hello?"
"Alex, it's Shadow... we need to talk."
"I figured you'd be making this call. You heard about Sanjay?"
"Obviously."
"What do you want from me?" he asks. He and I haven't spoken since we wound up on opposite sides of the law. As a professional courtesy; we made it a point to stay out of each other's way.
"Hey now, aren't you happy to hear I'm alive still little bro? Considering the recent turn of events-"
"You haven't cried yet have you?" he demands.
"I haven't had the time. I think whoever did this means to kill me, Alex. I need your help. Sanjay and I worked nearly every job together for the past two years, and I was in deeper than him."
"You knew that being killed was a possibility when you signed up with your 'organization' and I have no sympathy for you. I can't help you."
"Alex, you and I are not so dissimilar you know. In many ways we work towards a common goal."
"Bullshit, I put the bad guys in jail, you are a bad guy."
"You put the bag guys in jail, I kill them. We both take them off the street. But that really doesn't matter right now, hell you can hate me if you have to, this is about Sanjay and I need to know what you know to make this right." I light a cigarette, there's nothing more stressful than divides in a family.
"Shit, Shadow. It breaks the fuckin' heart. I know you and Sanjay were closer than he I ever were but damn it, I'm going to miss him." He pauses, draws in a long breath and sighs audibly. "Don't worry about identifying the body, it's taken care of. I called his mom too, she wants to talk to you. I didn't tell her any of the details but, well, you know. You know more about his last days than anyone."
"Alex, Saint and Blue were at the club on Saratoga Street last night; they said Sanjay came in sometime before ten. Mentioned something about you taking him for a road trip?"
"He didn't tell you?" Alex asked, concern in his voice.
"Tell me what?"
"Shadow, Sanjay turned state's evidence. He was going to be our key witness against Henry Coleman."
Holy. Fucking. Shit.
"I'm sorry, did you just say he was going to testify against Henry Coleman? As in Henry C. the man who could buy and sell our asses any day of the week? The man who paid us to-"
"Yeah, dipshit, Henry C., that's why the two of you were supposed to get out of town yesterday. I can't believe he didn't tell you, he brought this to me three weeks ago. Holy shit, Shadow, you better move."
"I'm already on it, and I know why he didn't tell me"
"Why" Alex asked. I could hear the fear in his voice, very endearing coming from my baby brother.
"He didn't tell me because I would have stopped him." We said brief goodbyes, I went back inside. Reverend Bill looked up from where he was crouched over a passed-out Zach.
"What's the word?" He asked. The entire room grew silent.
"It's our boss, Henry C., he put the hit out on Sanjay, I don't know if I was included but I have to assume the answer is yes. Sanjay turned rat three weeks ago, that's why he was in a rush to get out of town, they probably killed him when he back to his apartment to pack."
"I wouldn't buy that for a nickel" Saint said. "Why would he do that and not tell you?"
"Because if he'd told me I would have changed his mind, like I always do. It's my fault." I really want to cry, it takes every strained muscle in my body to keep from shaking. "We need to hit his lab, it's in a rented garage two blocks down from his apartment. That's where we'll get the gear. We need guns too, and Blue, if you're not ok with that you have my leave to back out."
"No, I'm cool." She answered, "I'll make an exception, but you know a hate guns."
"Ok, somebody stuff Zach in the bedroom and staple a note to his forehead, I need a bit more in the way of reinforcements. Everybody get your shit, this goes down in three hours."
Next: Taking the Lab
User Reviews
Submitted by shadow (user info) at 2006-05-03 12:04:25 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Hilarity: I was renting a basement room in a house on Gross ave about 7 years ago (back in high school) I used to walk to the Weiss to buy groceries before they revamped the whole road system in that area, now it's all "safe" and "controlled" boo. I thought it was funny though, a bunch of us kids got bussed into Atholton High in the affluent center of Howard County, teachers always complained about the "bad element" coming in from Laurel.
Fried_green: Did you know that the Tally-ho Motel actually housed two of the 9/11 terrorists? That's funny. Just north of there on Rt 1 is the Three 9's bar, where I keep getting dragged out to despite the fact that I live in Baltimore now. That's a dive bar if I've ever seen one.
Submitted by fried-green-potatoes (user info) at 2006-05-03 11:51:06 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
You've got some awesome locations to work with here... There's the intersection of All Saints and Whiskey Bottom (used to be a little red light district nearby that the cops would bust up every few weeks) ... the town of Savage... the "Tally-Ho Motel" just off Laurel Park, one of the seediest racetracks on the East Coast.
Submitted by Hilarity_Ensues (user info) at 2006-05-03 08:56:44 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by shadow (user info) at 2006-05-03 08:36:24 (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by fried-green-potatoes (user info) at 2006-05-02 22:25:32 (#)
Ranking: 2
PeeGee huh? They used to dump old couches and bodies along Lottsford Road
until the Redskins moved in and ruined the neighborhood. This sounds like
Whiskey Bottom Road or Elkridge.
---------------------------------
I used to live off of Whiskey Bottom, right on All Saints.
A have a handful of friends in Elkridge, but I try to avoid the trailer parks at all cost.
"it's a small world aaaafter aaaall, iiiitttss a small world aaaafter aaallll!" that's going to be rolling around in my head all day.
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Ha, I used to live on Robinson Blvd., right off All Saint's. It is a small fucking world.
Did you live in those Apts. across (well, diagonal really) from the Weiss?
Submitted by shadow (user info) at 2006-05-03 08:36:24 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by fried-green-potatoes (user info) at 2006-05-02 22:25:32 (#)
Ranking: 2
PeeGee huh? They used to dump old couches and bodies along Lottsford Road
until the Redskins moved in and ruined the neighborhood. This sounds like
Whiskey Bottom Road or Elkridge.
---------------------------------
I used to live off of Whiskey Bottom, right on All Saints.
A have a handful of friends in Elkridge, but I try to avoid the trailer parks at all cost.
"it's a small world aaaafter aaaall, iiiitttss a small world aaaafter aaallll!" that's going to be rolling around in my head all day.
Submitted by Stagger_Lee (user info) at 2006-05-03 01:23:54 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by fried-green-potatoes (user info) at 2006-05-02 22:25:32 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
PeeGee huh? They used to dump old couches and bodies along Lottsford Road
until the Redskins moved in and ruined the neighborhood. This sounds like
Whiskey Bottom Road or Elkridge.
Submitted by Brdn_Nkd (user info) at 2006-05-02 14:29:06 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by firefly (user info) at 2006-05-02 13:53:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Dead_0hi0_Sky (user info) at 2006-05-02 13:49:04 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Hilarity_Ensues (user info) at 2006-05-02 13:34:06 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Me likey. It reminds me of the days when I used to run around with a much sketchier crowd. Ahhh.... memories.
Woohoo!!! Go MD baby.