“Believe me, I know. I didn’t know what fear was until one night, Rain showed up at Paraíso with Wanda, and I looked next to me and Rain had her gun laying in her lap.” Jada laughed. “I got up quickly and gave her what she came for.”
“So, how do we settle this?” Jackie asked.
“Whatever you think is fair. And please understand, this certainly is not about the ladies. To me, it is a matter of respect. His lack of it,” Jada said.
“I understand that, and honestly, I’d have been disappointed if it were.” Jackie raised her glass in recognition of her newfound respect for Jada West. “Simone will be compensated for the ladies and I will deal with Flip personally,” Jackie promised.
“That is the best I could have hoped for,” Jada said, finished her drink and stood up. “It was good to have this opportunity to speak with you, Jackie.”
“Come by and have a drink with me anytime,” Jackie said and escorted Jada to the door. Mr. Nesmith rose to his feet when the door opened.
“Thank you for taking the time to see me,” Jada said as she looped her arm in Nesmith’s and he escorted Jada out of Conversations.
When Jada was gone, Jackie called Baby Chris and told him to get a car and meet her outside. “Where we going?”
“To kill Flip.” Jackie put on her holster, her guns and the vest she thought was a good idea to start wearing and went to meet Baby Chris.
Meanwhile, outside of Conversations, three men sat waiting somewhat impatiently in a Subaru Forester just up the street. Their names were Brooks Parker, who was behind the wheel. Busta Henderson was in the passenger seat, a
nd Martel Reed occupied the seat behind him.
They worked for Kwame Coleman; he was partners in Truckload Freight Transportation with Milton Petty. He ran two gambling spots, a numbers joint where he likes to hang out, and a spot where he ran a sports betting operation. He had been tasked by DP to run the takeover bid against Rain.
They saw Baby Chris come out, and although he was on their list, he wasn’t the target. Knowing that Jackie usually didn’t come out of the spot until two or three in the morning, they relaxed. They were caught off guard when the front doors swung open. Jackie came out and quickly got in the car with Baby Chris.
“There she goes,” Brooks pointed as Jackie and Baby Chris sped away.
“Go after them!” Busta yelled frantically and Brooks started the Subaru.
“They’re too far gone, we’ll never catch them,” Martel said and sat back in his seat.
“So what do we do now?” Busta asked excitedly.
“We wait,” Martel replied calmly. “Or we could proceed as planned and call it a night.”
“And when Coleman asked did we get her, what you gonna say?” Busta asked nervously.
“That she got away. Which she did.”
All three men looked at each other. Then the driver started up the Subaru and the shooters readied their weapons.
“Let’s do it,” Brooks said.
He dropped the SUV in gear and sped toward Conversations. They jumped the curb and raced down the sidewalk toward the line of people waiting to get in.
“Look out!” somebody yelled, and people began running and diving to get out of the way of the oncoming vehicle. Most people made it to safety, some did not.
When the Subaru came to a screeching halt in front of Conversations, the two gunmen jumped out and sprayed the building with gunfire, before jumping back in the Subaru and speeding away.
Chapter Eight
The Game.
That’s how it’s been referred to since it was started all those years ago by Mike Black and Bobby Ray. Back then, when it first began, it was a game that they ran personally for people who couldn’t do their gambling in public. After a while, it became a game for an exclusive group of high stakes players. Over the years, it’s been run by a number of different people in the organization and had always been considered a steppingstone to bigger things in The Family. That list included Jackie Washington.
After Mylo, who was running The Game at the time, betrayed and murdered Freeze, she stepped up and ran things until Black got around to checking on it. Impressed by all that Jackie had done, Black kept her in that position.
A number of things have changed over time, and The Game had lost its prestigious place in The Family. After Jackie got bumped up to Captain, all the money players followed her to Conversations. When Victor went to protect Jada West, Flip was left to run things. Now Jackie and Baby Chris were on their way there to kill Flip.