“Then don't go back to O.G. You two are young boys with your whole lives ahead of you. Don't waste your lives doing his dirty work. You're either going to end up in jail, or dead before you're thirty.” Gabe advised.
“Or we could end up filthy rich with lots of ice and bitches.” The other boy smirked. “Now, this is the last time we'll ask nicely. Where's the money?”
“Gabe? Is everything alright?” Came Ruth's worried voice from inside.
“Yeah. Yeah! I'm fine!” Gabe shouted.
“You better give it to us, or we'll involve your wife.” The boys threatened.
“How much do I owe you?” Gabe asked.
“Two hundred bucks.” One said.
“I don't have it on me.” Gabe said.
Suddenly, a shot rang out, and Gabe fell to the floor, blood oozing from the bullet wound in his chest.
“Damn! Bro, what'd you do that for?” The boy with the bat asked, alarmed.
“I don't fucking know! I was just playing around with the trigger. I didn't mean to fire!” The other said with tears in his eyes.
“C'mon, let's get out of here.”
* * *
When Ruth heard the gun shot, she rushed to the sitting room and saw Gabe's collapsed form bleeding all over the carpet.
She bent over him and checked his pulse. She noticed it was barely there. She rushed to the nearest phone and called 911.
Jo followed her mummy to the sitting room, only to see her daddy on the floor, with blood everywhere. Her mummy was crying as she told her daddy to be strong. Jo quietly watched, a little confused at what was going on. After a while, a white and red van pulled up, and strangers came down from it and took her daddy's body.
She rushed up to her mummy, “Mummy, are you going to let this strangers take Daddy away? What if we never see him again?”
Her mummy cried and hugged her tightly, “Don't worry, we will.”
Later that night, Ruth received a call from the hospital. Gabe had been dead on arrival. She quietly set down the phone and cried herself to sleep.
* * *
Ranem Police Department
Precinct 10
Fifteen years later
Lieutenant Ted Baines hated giving the speech he was about to, but it was a necessity. He consoled himself with the fact that it was only done once a year, when the precinct received new recruits who had just graduated from the academy.
He looked at the eager rookies, almost bursting with élan at the prospect of upholding the law and shook his head. A year later, most of them would hate their jobs, of that he was certain.
As his name suggested, Ted Baines resembled a teddy bear with his huge paunch and benign facial features. But his voice was a wonder to hear, a rich baritone that served to relax or to frighten, depending on the kind of mood he was in.
“Okay! Listen up, rookies! You all have successfully graduated from the police academy, but don't think that makes you ready for police work, 'cause it doesn't. The only thing that makes you ready for police work, is ... police work.” He paused to glare at his audience, and was glad to see they were taking his speech seriously. Some were even writing things down.
“Now, let me explain to you all how you all will be distributed among the twelve blocks of our very own Ranem city.” He said as he turned on a power point presentation.
“The city block with most officers is Gulden, while the city block with the least officers is Odton.”
He saw disgruntled expressions on some of the faces of the rookies, but only one of them was brave enough to talk.
“But Sir, Gulden has a crime rate of thirteen percent which is relatively small compared to that of Odton which is a whooping eighty-five percent.” The clean shaven rookie said.
“Your point being?” Ted asked, looking bored.
The rookie blushed but continued, “Sir, I think we need more officers in Odton, not in Gulden.”
Ted Baines yawned, “That's your two cents, boy. You see, Gulden is home to the rich citizens, who donate generously to our department. The mayor wants us to keep them safe. Meanwhile, Odton is filled with criminals and other such lowlives. Did you know that there are more than a hundred gangs in that block alone? Why do you think Odton is also called Ganghaven, a name they relish? We generally leave them alone because the gangs fight and destroy each other, making our work easier. It's the way of things around here, and that's not going to change any time soon. Understood?”
The rookies shouted a resounding “Yes Sir!”, although most of them weren't happy with what the lieutenant said.
“Good! Now get your asses out of here! I've got work to do.” He bellowed at them.
Jocelyn Turner steeled her shoulders as she entered the ratty massage parlor with ten of her thugs in tow. Anyone who saw her would marvel at the change she'd undergone in the last fifteen years.Gone was the naive innocent girl with chubby cheeks and freckles on her nose. Jo had grown into a five feet, six inched slender young woman, with chin-length raven black hair and with tattoos on her arms.Jo was dressed in a sports bra, black leather jacket, ripped jeans and combat boots. A black and white bandana drooped out of her jeans pocket.The interior of the massage parlor was as ratty as the outside. From the neon lighting and the plastic chairs in the waiting room, one could discern that it was a shady enterprise.The receptionist, a bleach blonde with a highly voluptuous figure which she managed to squeeze into a miscropic nurse's outfit, let out an involuntary squeal of fear when she saw Jo and her men.“How may I help you?” The rec
Meanwhile, on the other side of the block, another gang leader was about to wreak havoc on another enterprise. His name was Asher Mason, but everyone called him Ash. He was tall and lean but still with enough muscle to indimidate people if and when he wanted.He had brown hair, a sculpted jaw, full sensual lips and green eyes.Many women came onto him, wanting to be his baby mama or mistress, but he sent them all away.His gang, called the Sopranos, was also another gang to be feared in Ganghaven. At first, people hadn't taken them seriously, but after Ash had singlehandedly put eight men in the ICU without any weapon, people had learned to respect them.Asher and his crew of five men knocked on the door of a storage facility and waited.“Who's you?” Someone asked from inside.“It's the Sopranos. Open up, we've got business to discuss.” Ash said.“Shit!” The voice exclaimed.“Now, now.
Jo marched into one of the most reputable diners in Ganghaven, Jacob's. The place was near empty, with only a few couples at various tables.The proprietor, Jacob came forward to greet her.“Jo, you're welcome! You need a table?” The burly man asked, wiping his greasy hands on his stained apron and offering Jo a handshake.“Yes. I need a table for three. My friends will be here soon.” Jo replied, declining to shake hands.“Well, you can sit at any table of your choice.” Jacob said.Jo thanked him and plopped herself down at the farthest table in the diner.“Except that one.” Jacob murmured.“Did you say something?” Jo asked.He shook his head, deciding not to tell her about his regular customer who always came at the same time each day, and sat on that chair. He prayed his customer wouldn't come that day. Instead, he changed the topic “What would you like?&
Ash was actually very angry as he entered the diner. His friend and contact in the police force had been posted to patrol the streets of Gulden, not Ganghaven. Ash didn't understand why the cops left a place that was in dire need of their presence, and went to a place that was already full of 'em. It was grossly unfair, if you asked him.Ash shook his head and sighed. That was the problem, nobody cared enough for Ganghaven, he thought. He wondered if it was a crime to be born into a low-income earning family.His scowl intensified when he saw that his usual table at the diner was taken. Upon further examination, he found that the three women who'd taken up his space were actually beautiful. That wiped the scowl off his face. Maybe he could join them; flirting with beautiful women always put him in a good mood.As he walked up to them, he saw that one of them had a tattoo sleeve. But that wasn't his problem. His problem was one of the tattoos. It was one of a haw
Andrea Levi sent up a silent prayer as she entered Lieutenant Baines' office, hoping that he'd listen to what she had to say.When she entered, she saw him walking on the treadmill in his office, sweating and counting under his breath. His office was furnished with state-of-the-art furniture, giving it the look of that of a senator or governor. Baines' office was his pride and joy, so he rarely left it.“Levi.” He said in acknowledgement, stopping the treadmill and taking a nearby towel to his face.“Sir.” She replied sharply.Baines took a bottle of water, twisted off the cap and put it to his mouth, almost finishing the bottle's contents in one one gulp.After that, he gave a loud burp before he sat in his chair, not bothering to excuse himself.“What do you want?” He asked impatiently.“Sir, I've come to call a certain illegal operation to your knowledge.” Andrea said as she slid a fi
“Mum, there's a huge drug deal going down in Ganghaven during the weekend.” Jo said as she sat down and grabbed a fork, waiting for her mother to dish her share.“Have you informed the cops?” Ruth asked as she divided the pie into two unequal shares, leaving the smaller part for herself and sliding the larger part over to Jo.Jo dug into her pie, taking some huge spoonfuls before she replied, “Yes. But they don't seem to be interested in whatever happens here,” with her mouth full.Ruth looked terrified, “Jo, you might be the leader of one of the most feared gangs in Ganghaven, but you're still my daughter and you'll act like it! Don't talk with your mouth full.”“Sorry, Mum.” Jo said, before she caught herself and covered her mouth. After she'd swallowed the sweet pie, she spoke, “The police aren't interested.”“That's sad. We're always treated differently down her
Finally, Saturday had approached, Ash thought. Throughout the rest of the week, Ash had devoted his time to studying the layout of the building where the deal was going to happen, and training his men on stealth, something most gangsters wouldn't know if it hit them in the face.Before they left for the bust, he gave them a serious talk, “We've been doing all we can to clean up the streets of Ganghaven without letting people know, and today will be no different. On this op, there'll be no bandanas, no slang, nothing that can lead people to identify us as the Sopranos. If that happens, we'll have the dealers on our backs, and believe me you do not want that.Also, you know that rule I gave you guys, the one that says 'do not instigate or escalate violence without being attacked first'?”His men nodded.Ash continued, “Good. Today, just for today, I want you to fuck that rule.”His men murmured and laughed.“I'm s
“You were saying?” Jo asked smoothly.This time, it was Ash who got incensed, “Look, as much as I'd like to stay and play turf war with you? My men and I have something important to do here!”“And I don't?” Jo replied, not giving an inch.“I know you're here to steal the drugs and the cash for yourself, but that's not happening.” Ash said.Jo wondered why he thought the worst of her motives, “You're an idiot,” She replied, “And we're going nowhere.”“Well, it seems there's going to be a shootout.” Ash said, his mouth drawn into a hard line.Capo stared at him and Ash grimaced. He wasn't actually planning to shoot at the Street Hawks, he was just trying to scare them into leaving.“You won't shoot at us. It'll blow your cover. When they arrive here and see the damage you'll do, they'll up and leave immediately.” Jo said, unworried.As