No Room for Mercy (52 page)

“Yeah, do that,” Dead Eye said as he came up with a
Mini-14. “Get them thangs so we can make this deal and stab
out.”

Q-man drew down with Mini-14 of his own and all three occupants
inside the house eyes grew wide as they stared down the barrel of the
guns being wielded on them by their assailants. “You know what
it is, dude,” Q-man said. “Get us what we want and we
out.”

The man eased up from the couch eyeing Dead Eye coldly. “You
wanna go out like this, Panch?” he asked.

“I wouldn’t be here if it didn’t plan on it, big
dog,” Dead Eye replied as he blasted the man’s
girlfriend, killing her instantly. “Now you know for certain I
ain’t fuckin’ around, homes.”

Q-man opened fire on the two men and he and Dead Eye ransacked the
place as they lay dying on the living room floor. They bagged all of
the product in under two minutes and left the home and jumped into
Big Bounce’s ride where Q-man’s soldier sped away from
the scene, leaving behind three dead bodies inside the home. The band
of bandits had come up on a lick that netted them $160,000 dollars in
cash and thousands more in jewelry along with nine kilograms of
cocaine collectively.

This would become Toodie, Q-man, Dead Eye and Big Bounce’s main
hustle for a while; they would travel from city to city and rob the
very people they’d once done business with, people who’d
trusted them and unwittingly let their guards down given their past
history. With that aside, Toodie still had it in for the click in
Saint Charles. When she was able, she would reach out and touch them
once more.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

LATCHING ON

“One by one by one, they’ve all stood before your very
faces and told you what they were coached to say by the defense.
Friends of Benjamin Holland would never condemn that man because
they’ve all been a part of what he’s been perpetrating
from day one. Friends, lovers and others all came together and sold
this courtroom pure fallacy.”

Lisa Vanguard was in the final phase of her closing arguments in the
Ben Holland murder retrial case over in Denver, Colorado in early
August of 2005, just a few days after Toodie and her bunch had begun
their terror campaign down in Houston.

Lisa had somewhat prepared for the case over the last few months, but
her mind was really elsewhere. She wasn’t giving her best
effort either, and she knew it; the defense was really winning the
case outright, but Lisa had an ace up her sleeve that she was
preparing to use on the defense the following morning to prolong the
case, if only to extend her stay in Denver to further investigate
another case she was developing. She was constantly agitating her
opponent, whom she’d had a history with, by trying to persuade
the jury through the use of overstatements and subtle implications.
Lisa’s last remark had forced a sigh from her opponent’s
lips as he slid back in his chair.

“Objection again, your honor,” Dante` O’Malley, the
pepper-haired lawyer for Ben Holland said in an aggravated tone as he
rose slowly from his seat and shot a look of disdain towards Lisa
Vanguard. “The prosecution is…”

“Operating on mere speculation,” the judge groaned,
having heard Dante`s objection too many times to count.

Lisa ran her hands across her forehead, placed her hands on her hips
and continued with her closing arguments. “Men and women of the
jury,” she said, trying her best to hide her frustration, “the
evidence I have presented today is fact. You’ve seen the
footage of Mister Holland gunning down two men inside of New Orleans’
International Airport. Damenga and Alphonso Lapiente` were both known
peddlers of massive amounts of cocaine. Their sister Carmella was
gunned down October of last year in Mexico with a large quantity of
drugs in her possession. The defense even admits it. This case is a
classic example of revenge over drugs, not because one, Anastasia
Gordon, was gunned down and the defendant had an epiphany that he
should go after the men responsible. Chivalry is dead! Vigilante
justice is illegal! The hard truth is that Ben Holland killed two men
in cold-blood. Remember that as you debate whether this man,”
Lisa said as she pointed to Ben Holland, who sat beside his lawyer
with a calm look upon his face, “that this man killed two
people and has already been convicted of the charges. Why are we
debating water under the bridge again? I ask that you find Mister
Holland guilty once more of first degree murder and uphold the
sentence of life behind bars without parole. I thank you all for your
time,” Lisa ended as she backed away from the jury and took her
seat.

“Court will convene for recess where the jury will begin
deliberation until a verdict is accomplished,” the judge said
as the courtroom began clearing out.

Later that night, Lisa and Dante` met up in a dimly lit restaurant in
downtown Denver where she and Dante` tried to reach a deal over
dinner, but there was much more to their meeting.

“When I heard Lisa Vanguard was prosecuting this case I grew
scared. But I couldn’t let that fear be shown to my clients,”
Dante` said as he poured Lisa a stem glass of white wine.

“Why were you scared? Thought I was going to bring up our
little fling down in D.C.?”

“It wouldn’t have surprised me if you would’ve
managed to get that in doing your closing arguments and take us both
down.”

Lisa laughed at Dante`s remark. The two had a brief affair in D.C. in
1998 when Dante` was in town defending a congressman who’d been
accused of killing his young lover. Her remains were found in a park
on the south side of D.C. in a park and the congressman was under
suspicion. The case was a brutal one that lasted nearly a month, but
Dante` would eventually get the congressman off when it was
discovered that his mistress was the victim of a serial killer
lurking about in the D.C. area. The Massachusetts defense attorney
had met Lisa Vanguard inside a cop bar in Georgetown, and the two hit
it off with the understanding that once his case was concluded,
Dante` would return home to his wife.

“How’s Olivia?” Lisa asked before she sipped her
wine.

“Doing great. She’s resumed practicing, you know?”

“Defense attorney?”

“Yeah. Also family law. But enough of her, it’s really
good to see you, Lisa.”

“Same here, Dante`. You wanna fuck before I win this case
tomorrow?” Lisa asked calmly, just as easily as if she was
asking Dante` to pass the napkins.

“You’re still the same. Blunt and to the point,”
Dante` chuckled. “I would love to bang that tight little cunt
of yours, but I’m faithful now. Have been since we ended our
affair back in ninety-eight.”

“My ass!” Lisa laughed. “Your name is synonymous
with the word cheat.”

“Okay. So I fucks around on my wife from time to time. Who
gives a rat fat ass, really? I’m a sleaze ball, Lisa. You all
of all people should know that. And I’m catching a boner over
here that I would just love to penetrate you with for old time’s
sake.”

“Well, what’s stopping you?”

“I don’t know,” Dante` said as he leaned back in
the booth. “I guess this here case is bringing about a change
in me. Whether my client is found guilty or not, he and his friends
are inadvertently forcing me to reexamine my personal life.”

“I’m drying up over here listening to you, mister.”

“Well, get drier,” Dante` said through laughter. “I
have every intention of winning this case. And as of right now, the
defense is winning.”

“Not for long. Not when I bust this thing wide open with new
evidence,” Lisa said as she slid Dante` several photographs.

“Who are these people?” Dante asked as he eyed several
photos of Ben Holland talking to two men.

“That would be Swanson Gautier and Isaac Montgomery.”

“Please elaborate,” Dante` said, never making eye contact
with Lisa as he was too busy staring at new evidence that could
derail his entire case.

“You’re slacking in your old age, man. Those are two of
America’s most wanted detectives. Ex-narcotics detectives down
the city New Orleans. Just as you have linked Sherman Davis to
corrupt cops in Memphis, Tennessee? I’ve managed to come up
with a little link of my own. What’s Ben Holland doing talking
to two cops wanted by my agency?”

“I knew you had something up your sleeve. You’ve been
slick ever since I’ve known you. Lisa, Ben Holland has paid his
dues. And you know damned well the man was provoked.” Dante`
said lowly as he sipped Scotch on the rocks.

“Ben Holland was in with Damenga`, Dante`, and you know it. And
I know damned well he was in that house where Carmella was shot and
left for dead. You came out lying from the get-go.”

“I’ve told no lies. I only stated the evidence presented
by prosecutors to tell my own story, which is the truth I might add.”

Lisa leaned back and said, “Carmella wasn’t busted with
nowhere near ten thousand pounds of cocaine, so there’s your
first lie.”

“I was wrong about that?” Dante` asked with a smirk on
his face.

“You know damn well you were wrong,” Lisa stated
matter-of-factly. “Carmella had one hundred and forty-four
kilograms on a truck registered to some bullshit tomato company in
Valle Hermoso, Mexico. I could’ve nailed you for that lie, but
I felt it would help my case. And when I present these pictures your
little lie will backfire.”

“That won’t hold water. I can easily claim a
miscalculation in weight being that I’m not a drug dealer. That
won’t be a problem.”

“Everybody that testified for Ben Holland knows damned well he
was in that house in Memphis. They sat there under oath and flat out
lied. Everything I said about Mister Holland was true and you know
it.”

“Okay,” Dante` sighed. “Let’s get on with
bargain barrage. My client is prepared to pay a fine of two hundred
thousand dollars to plead guilty to passion-provoked manslaughter.”

Lisa laughed. “A fine,” she asked as she leaned back in
the booth. “That sounds more like a bribe. You offer me a
bribe, Dante`?”

“Not a bribe, Lisa—a deal. I know you need funding for
your investigation in the North West. The Senate Appropriations
Committee has steadily been denying your requests for more funds, so
you can’t move a muscle. And as long as the republicans are
running things in Washington, you’ll never get those funds. Let
me help you—but you have to help me.”

“I don’t need your help in that matter, Dante`. And this
little bribery attempt will be made known to the court-of-law.”

“You won’t say a thing because I have more dirt on you
than you could ever imagine. And let’s not play the ‘I
got your ass game’, okay? Let’s not pussy foot around
here, Lisa—because I’m talking real numbers. Three
hundred thousand dollars.” Dante` stated lowly, knowing Lisa
was hard pressed for funds.

Lisa paused and drew back in her seat again and stared hard at
Dante`. She then leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table.
O’Malley could see he had touched a nerve within the woman, so
he upped the ante even further. “Four hundred and seventy-five
thousand dollars,” he said calmly. “That’s more
than enough to conduct your investigation. You want funds so your
case in the Pacific North West can get made? Here’s the money
you need on a silver platter. Now, you can show those pictures
tomorrow and keep a penniless man behind bars, or you can let him go
free and pursue much bigger fish.”

Lisa got up from her seat and sat next to Dante` and leaned over and
whispered in his ear, “Who will know about this agreement?”

“Only you and I. But I have to have those pictures, and the
negatives.” Dante` replied in a whisper.

Lisa thought for a minute. Dante` was giving her the fuel she needed
to light the fire she had been trying to ignite. She could easily
hide the money in a separate account and conduct her investigation
into drug activity back in Seattle without reporting back to the
Senate Committee, and once she had enough evidence, she could report
back to the group of Senators with enough evidence to garner an even
bigger budget and bust her case wide open.

Lisa Vanguard was the type of woman to finish what she started. She
was intrigued over the circumstances surrounding the case she was
working in Seattle back in 2002 and she wanted to see just how
far-reaching the drug activities of the Onishi brothers extended and
to also uncover the people who were behind their deaths.

The woman’s mind was working overtime. Drug smuggling and
murder under the guise of legitimate business, hired assassins, and a
murdered policeman—the possibilities swirling around the case
she’d been shoved off of back in Seattle were just too hard to
resist and she wanted back in on the action—with or without the
approval of her superiors back on the east coast. The ends would
justify the means was her thinking, and without giving it a second
thought, Lisa forged a deal to allow Ben Holland to go free—upon
the condition that she received her payoff upfront. Dante` had a
blank check written by a rap mogul by the name of ‘Big
Derrick’, a friend to Ben Holland. He filled in the check for
the agreed upon amount and handed it to Lisa. Lisa in turn handed
over the photos and the two shook hands.

“You will get the negatives when the money goes through. I
trust it’s good?”

“I can guarantee that the money is good. You just be sure to
send me those negatives. No copies. I want the originals.”

“You’ll get what you ask for, Dante`,” Lisa said as
she waved the negatives in front of O’Malley. “So long as
the check clears. I mean, we aren’t talking peanuts here. And
for all I know you could be bullshitting me to get me to let your
client walk free.”