“Yeah, Black, we talked about this before,” Russell said softly.
Bobby punched him again. “I can’t hear you.”
“Yeah, Black, we talked about this before,” Russell said louder this time. “Don’t hit me no more Bobby, please.”
Bobby laughed and then hit him three more times in the face. The last one knocked Russell out of his chair. Kenny stepped up and picked Russell up and put him back in the chair.
“Now, where were we?” Black asked Russell. “Oh yeah, do you remember what I told you the last time we talked about this?”
“That if I tried this shit again, I would regret it.”
Bobby was about to hit Russell again, but Black held up his hand.
“What part of that didn’t you understand?”
“I understand, Black.”
“I don’t think you do,” Black said and stood up. “Bobby.”
With that Kenny grabbed Russell and Bobby went to work on him. When he was done, Kenny put Russell back in the chair and held him there.
“I think you understand now. So the next time we have to have this conversation, we’re not gonna have a conversation. Freeze is just gonna put two in your head.” Black got up and Kenny let Russell go. He fell to the floor. He watched from the floor as Bobby, Freeze and Kenny followed Black out of the house.
When it was over, Russell’s jaw was broken along with two of his ribs, but he was alive and he thankful for that. Since that day, Russell kept a low profile. Anytime he saw Freeze around; he got up and left right away. He celebrated the day that he heard Freeze was dead.
He had heard the word that Kenny was murdered in the street, Black had moved back to the islands, Bobby was MIA and Nick Simmons was running things. Russell remembered Nick from the old days, but he didn’t know much about him. But Russell was always on the lookout for an opportunity to bite off a piece.
Russell was sitting in the back of his restaurant, when Billy Jackson walked in. Billyjack as he was known, had worked for Russell for years. It was only by chance that he wasn’t at the spot with Russell the night Black paid a visit. He arrived ten minutes after they left. For a while Russell wondered if Billyjack had set him up, but over the years he had proven his loyalty time and again. “What’s up, Billyjack?”
“Check this out. I heard from one of my people that some of Black’s people is recruitin’ like they gearin’ up for war.”
“You think they gettin' ready to come at us?”
“That’s what I thought at first, but the way I get it is that Nick is slippin’ and they plannin’ a takeover.”
“You know who’s behind it?”
“Get this; Wanda Moore.”
“Wanda? The lawyer?”
“That’s the way I get it.”
; “Who’d you hear this from?”
“One of Grant’s people,” Billyjack admitted. “Things is quiet now, but it could jump off any time.”
Russell sat back in his chair and thought about the possibilities that this could have for him. The beating he took that night didn’t hurt anymore and Russell was thinking about trying again. This time, he would be a little smarter about it.
“We could work this to our advantage,” Russell said.
“All we gotta do is sit back and pick up the pieces when it’s over,” Billyjack said.
“I was thinkin’ about something a little different,” Russell said and smiled.
“What’s that?”