Takedown (16 page)

Interesting that she said “me” instead of “us,” like Prescott used to. Since the cops had decided to charge Andre with Prescott's murder despite Kessler's warnings, I guess she was on her own now.

“Not helpful enough. I'm not getting us where we need to be.”

“I'm going to put Tony away,” she said. “That isn't going to change. But I don't want you taking this kind of risk. It's all or nothing for you, Darren. If Tony finds out, you're dead.”

“I know that. You don't have to try to talk me out of this. It won't work. I'm going to see it through.”

“You're determined, all right,” she said. “But if you change your mind, it's never too late to get out.”

“I hear you.”

She picked up her pad again. “I'm going to look into a few neighborhood businesses. I'm hoping to find some connection to Walker or one of his executives. Any idea where I should start?”

“Look into a club called Chaos,” I said. “Tony and his executives hang out there all the time. I wouldn't be surprised if he was laundering money through the place. But I bet you won't find his name on paper. He's too careful to put his name on anything that could burn him.”

“He'll slip up sooner or later. Everyone does. No operation is airtight.”

She was right. Tony would slip up, and I'd be there when he did.

“I'm counting on it.”

F
riday night, I went to Chaos with the crew. I was in a good mood because it was spring break next week. Without school in the way, Jessica and I could spend a lot more time together.

Diamond Tony and his execs were chilling in the VIP corner with a bunch of girls. Tony was known for being a lady's man. Rumor had it he never got with the same girl twice. I could never tell if his girls were paid, or if they just wanted a chance to get with a legend, like groupies with rock stars.

“You're happy tonight,” Ray-go said. He was way too perceptive, but I probably wasn't hard to read. Jessica and I were going to
sleep in the rec room tonight. We'd even hidden an air mattress and blankets up there so we'd be real cozy.

“I'm off school next week.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot you still went.” Ray-go chuckled. He knew I still lived at home. He probably thought I was going to school because my mom made me. “So what do you want to be when you grow up?”

“Rich.”

“You're in the right biz for that.” We bumped fists.

As the lieutenants talked, drank, and surveyed the girls on the dance floor, I kept searching for glimpses of Jessica. Every time I saw her, I felt my blood race. I still couldn't believe she was mine.

Ray-go nudged me. “Check out that guy with the red hair. What's he been smoking?”

It was Cam. He was dancing his heart out behind a gorgeous girl, doing the running man, the robot, the horse-riding dance, anything to make his friends crack up. Whenever the girl turned around, he ignored her and pretended to dance with his friends.

“That's my man Cam. He's class all the way.”

We watched and laughed, but seeing Cam fazed me. Memories flashed before my eyes—the Vet lying dead, Cam freaking out, the Cuz packaging the body like a carcass of meat. I took a long swig of beer, followed by another, wishing the alcohol could erase it all from my mind.

A few minutes later, I headed to the bathroom, and on my way out, I ran into Cam. I had the feeling he'd been waiting there for me.

“Kudos on the promo,” Cam said, but I didn't buy the smile. In fact, his congrats sounded more like a condolence.

“Yeah, that's me. How's everything going on our old corner? Wallop treating you good?”

“You didn't hear? I got out. Couple weeks ago.” He shuffled his feet. “It was time to retire, you know?”

“I know.” I wasn't going to say it, but I was glad for him. “Good luck with your GED.”

I gave him a one-armed hug. For a second, his grip tightened. “Get out, Dare. It ain't worth it.”

That's when I knew: Cam had believed the Vet. He knew I was a snitch. But instead of selling me out, he had my back.

“Thanks, man.”

There was nothing for me to do but walk away. I'd gotten the message loud and clear. But I was in too deep. And Cam probably knew that.

Back at my table, I finished my beer, which had gone flat, and pretended to listen to one of the lieutenants' stories about his crazy ex-girlfriend. Cam's warning didn't change anything. I knew the danger, but I couldn't dwell on it. As an informant, I had to lock away my fear. It was the only way I could keep going.

When last call came, we settled our bill. The total for our table was always over five hundred, sometimes more than a thousand. If Tony was behind this place, it would work out pretty sweet for him. His employees spent a shitload of their money here, which put it right back into his pocket.

The lieutenants headed out, and I waited by the bar for Jessica to get ready. Tony and his entourage lingered at their table. Last call meant nothing to them. Nobody would dare ask them to leave.

Lucky for me, Jessica wasn't serving their tables, so she was done for the night. I put my arm around her as we walked out.

“Oh! I forgot to pick up my check. I'll just be a minute.” She hurried back inside. I waited, talking with the doorman, a hulk called Rashid. He used to work for Tony years ago but had taken several bullets in the leg and now walked with a cane. I'd seen him use that cane to beat the snot out of anyone who messed with him.

Diamond Tony and his executives came out with their girls. I guess they'd decided to move the party to a more intimate location. Vinny slapped my back. He was obviously drunk but happy as hell. He'd been on cloud nine since he'd become an executive. And why shouldn't he be? He had everything he'd ever wanted—money, girls, status. He was living the dream.

“Darren, my man,” he said, like we were best friends. “I hear you got your corners locked down.”

“You taught me all I know.”

He grinned at that, and I noticed another gold tooth in his smile. “Always said you was a good soljah.” He turned to Jessica, who'd come out of the club. “Hey, Jessica.” He looked her up and down, his grin broadening.

I put an arm around her protectively.

Diamond Tony walked up behind Vinny and clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Respect a man's property now.”

Vinny laughed. “Always do.”

“Darren,” Tony said with a nod. “Jessica.” He smiled at her, and I fought to control my reaction. Of course he knew her, I told myself. She'd probably waited on him many times.

“I have cars coming if you'd like a ride,” Tony said, directing the question to me.

“Thanks, but we'll get a—”

Gunshots. Jessica and I hit the pavement. I crouched over her, sheltering her with my body.

People ran for cover or dove to the ground. Diamond Tony sprinted behind a parked car, firing his semiautomatic. One of his execs, Kamal, was facedown on the sidewalk. All I could do was stay low and protect Jessica.

Tires screeched and the car sped away. Tony fired several shots after it, then gave up.

Gradually people started coming out in the open—Tony's guys, clubbers, bystanders. Tony was bent over Kamal, swearing. Rashid was giving someone chest compressions. Vinny was still huddled beside us on the ground.

I touched Jessica's back. “It's okay, they're gone. Let's get out of here before the cops come.”

She didn't answer. Sirens reached a fever pitch as emergency crews got closer to the scene.

“Jessica?” Panic cut through me. “Jessica, talk to me!”

I turned her onto her back. Her chest was soaked with blood.

I
held Jessica's hand all the way to the hospital, then she was torn away from me and rushed to the operating room.

I called her parents, told them Jessica had been shot and that she was at North York General.

If she dies, I'll die. If she dies, I'll die.

In the men's room, I broke down.

Don't die. Please don't die.

I stumbled out of the bathroom, stopping a nurse, asking her to find out what was happening to my girlfriend. She ushered me to the waiting room and told me that someone would come back and tell me.

No one came. I sat there for minutes that felt like hours. I stared down the long corridor at the automatic doors they'd taken her through.

It wasn't long before Jessica's family arrived. They were sleep rumpled, and Kendra was still in pajamas. They spoke to a nurse at reception.

I knew I should go up to them, say something. It was the last thing I wanted to do. If I talked to them, they'd see my guilt. They'd know this was my fault.

I forced myself to go over. The moment Jessica's mom saw me, she grabbed my arm. “You were with her, Darren. You saw what happened?”

“I met her after work,” I said, leading Mrs. Thomas to the waiting area. We sat down. “We were waiting outside the club for a cab, talking to some people. And then the shooting started. It came from a car. I never even saw it pull up.”

“They just started shooting people?” her dad asked. “Were they after someone?”

“A lot of dealers hang out there. They must've been the targets.”

I felt Kendra's eyes on me. She knew that I was one of those dealers. If she was going to tell her parents, that was up to her. Part of me wanted her to—that way they'd hate me as much as I hated myself right now.

“Was Diamond Tony there?” Kendra asked. Her eyes were red from crying. There was no blame in them, just grief.

I nodded. “He might've been the one they were after.”

Jessica's dad was bewildered. “Who's Diamond Tony?”

“Big drug dealer,” Kendra said.

“We never should've let her work there.” Jessica's mom turned to her husband. “Did you know drug dealers went there?”

“Of course not. She said it was an upscale place.”

“It is a nice place, Mrs. Thomas,” I said, trying to reassure her. “I haven't heard of any trouble there before.”

We sat in silence for a while. Every time the doors opened, we hoped someone would give us an update on Jessica. But no one came. The waiting room got so crowded with people waiting for news on the gunshot victims that I gave up my seat. I was sick of sitting still anyway.

I paced the hallways. At one point a doctor came out and spoke to a woman in a hijab. Her son, Kamal, was dead.

Minutes later, another doctor, another family. Pox was dead too.

Two executives dead. Several people wounded. Jessica fighting for her life.

And Diamond Tony had walked away.

A pair of cops showed up and started questioning anyone who
was present at the shooting. Eventually they came to me. I spoke to them briefly in the hallway, out of earshot from Jessica's family.

I didn't know these cops, and they didn't know me. To them, I was a bystander who'd been in the wrong place at the wrong time with his girlfriend. They didn't know I had been Prescott's CI, and I wasn't going to tell them. Since I wasn't a suspect, there was no point in complicating things. I told them that I lived in the area and that there seemed to be a turf war going on between rival gangs. No, I hadn't gotten a good look at the shooters or their car. I wished I had.

They accepted my answers. There was no reason not to. It wasn't like anyone here was going to tell them I was a dealer. And I'd put money on no one mentioning Diamond Tony or the Bloods. They all knew the code.

The cops moved on to question someone else, and I went back to Jessica's family. We waited for at least another hour.

Finally, an update.

An Asian doctor in scrubs came through the doors and stood in the middle of the waiting area. “Jessica Thomas's family?”

We stood up and rushed toward him.

“Your daughter made it through the initial surgery,” he told her parents. “We've managed to extract the bullet from her chest cavity. Because of the amount of blood loss, we've given her several
transfusions. Right now we have her in an induced coma. It will give her body a chance to recover.”

“Is she going to be okay?” Kendra asked.

“Her condition is still critical. We'll have a better idea in the next few days.”

T
he following night Vinny found me in the waiting room.

“I hear she pulled through surgery.” He sat down beside me. “That's good.”

I didn't say anything.

“You been here this whole time?” he asked.

I nodded.

“I don't want you to worry about your corners. They're being looked after. Tony wanted me to check on you. Make sure you're okay.”

“What do
you
think?”

Vinny didn't try to answer that. “Let me know if there's anything I can do.”

“There is. Tell Tony that bullet should've been
his
.”

I didn't care about the consequences. What I said was true and Vinny knew it. That bullet was meant for Tony, but Jessica had taken the hit. For what?

“We lost two execs, you know. Kamal and Pox. Tony's pretty broken up about it.”

“I'm sure he is.” With half of his executives gone, Tony would have to step up, at least until he could replace them. He couldn't stay in the shadows the way he liked to.

Vinny went stone serious. “Tony wanted me to give you a message.”

“Oh yeah?” There was nothing Tony could say that I wanted to hear.

“The people who did this are gonna face justice. Diamond style.”

T
wo days ticked by. I prayed to God. I wasn't sure if I believed, but Jessica did. So if there was a God, I bet he'd be there for her.

Jessica was in an induced coma so she wouldn't fight the ventilator. Everything I heard the doctors and nurses say scared the hell out of me—they talked about blood loss and tissue damage, fractured ribs, a collapsed lung. But she was hanging on. She had to hang on.