Chapter Seven
A little while later, the girls parked their motorcycles in a hidden spot only Jelly Bean knew about.
Yes, they both had bikes now. They insisted on buying them with payments to Leon after he offered to get them vehicles of their choice.
They then walked a half block to find Oscar in the park.
Oscar watched as the girls walked up to his bench and he just stared at them before he motioned for them to sit. “What do I owe the pleasure of you two girls coming to see an old man like me?”
Jelly Bean reached out and patted his hand. “I love you, old man. Never forget that.”
He slowly nodded his head then he looked away for a minute.
The girls waited for him to speak again.
“So, what is happening exactly?” he asked them.
“Well, you know there’s been trouble here, right?” Jelly Bean asked him. “Cartel trying to move into Boston.”
Oscar nodded. “Yeah, been hearing about that. But Mr. V won’t let them. He sorta took out the trash the other day, right?”
Jelly Bean nodded. “Yeah, he did. Only problem is some late comer trash followed the cartel here and we met one of them today. Wahda dumbass too. He just climbed over Mr. Leon’s wall and tried to walk up to his door just as bold as you please.”
Oscar just stared at her then threw his head back to laugh deeply and loudly enough to disturb the birds. He even wiped his eyes and then he shook his head. “That takes real balls, ladies. I mean really? He just jumped over Leon’s fence and headed up to the house? Wow, that’s some kind of crazy.”
Jelly Bean nodded. “Yeah, but he was higher than a kite when he did it. He even told us he was hoping to make his bones by killing Leon for the cartel. When we told him that Leon had taken care of the cartel, he didn’t believe us.”
Oscar looked down at the bats in the girl’s hands. “Did you convince him, old school style?”
Jelly Bean shrugged. “We did our best to protect Leon’s house. “
“With those bats?” Oscar asked, knowing the answer before they even admitted it.
Jelly shrugged. “It’s all we had.”
Rebel chuckled. “My sister is lying. We each have a gun and a switchblade.”
Jelly Bean shrugged. “We just preferred using our bats on this particular nimrod. He did the same to his little sister, nearly crippled her.”
“So, we also despised this creep,” Rebel admitted.
Oscar paused and looked at them both. “I see.” He knew these girls could and would do serious damage to men who beat on women. “So why did you come see me then?”
Jelly sighed hard and admitted, “He wasn’t alone. He has a brother. Frost and Jake found the sister... all beat to hell. She told them that her brothers were still out here. We’re one brother short and we have to find him. Any ideas where to look?”
Oscar looked around the park and nodded.
“Yeah, I got an idea. Been hearing things about a trio staying down by the water. Heard there was someone living at the old light house again. Some mighty shady business going on down there, so you girls be careful. Lots of traffic out there all of a sudden and not all of it is good.” He shrugged. “At least that’s what I hear.”
Jelly Bean stared at Oscar, knowing he was always right. She then turned to look at Rebel.
Rebel nodded back.
Jelly Bean leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Thanks Oscar.”
“You stay safe, Candy Girl.” Oscar nodded back. As the girls got up to leave he called out, “I already asked some of the guys to watch out for you two.”
Jelly Bean smiled and replied, “Of course, you did.”
A half hour later...
The girls found a place not far from the lighthouse where they could watch it and not be seen.
Oscar had been right, there were people coming and going all day.
Jelly Bean knew a lot of them and she had to shake her head. She looked over at Rebel and whispered, “Why am I not surprised at the company these losers attract?”
Rebel snorted.
Then they both turned and observed Big Mac storming out of the light house.
Big Mac was a dealer from the shadow fringe of Boston.
No one knew where he stayed when he was in town but that was what kept him safe.
It kept him safe but everyone that knew him also knew he had his own team of enforcers.
They roamed the back streets and they kept his empire running.
They were men who showed up and collected the money and made everyday life miserable.
They would just as soon shoot you if you didn’t have the money you owed Big Mac whenever they came around to collect it.
Mac turned back and yelled, “Ricco better have the money he owes me by sunset or he’ll never see dawn. He made promises and I gave him credit. He promised me the money and he better come through or I’m taking it out of his fucking hide.”
Another man stood in the doorway and yelled back, “My brother will pay you. He’s out right now but he ain’t hiding. As soon as we get into the cartel, he’ll keep his word. He’ll get you a connection.”
Big Mac growled and shook his huge fist. “He’d better or he’s a dead man walking. Nobody lies or tries to fucking cheat me.” The large man turned and stormed away.
Rebel looked at Jelly Bean. “Oh boy, Mac is really pissed. What do you think Ricco promised him?”
Jelly snorted and shook her head. “Knowing an addict, it could have been anything. Even something he never should have talked about.”
“But the cartel is dead,” Rebel reminded her. “We all watched them blow up and Leon has the remaining two locked away. The cartel is no more.”
“I know but Ricco doesn’t realize that yet. And neither does this loser,” Jelly Bean pointed out. “The injured woman this morning said they followed them in hopes of gaining a position.”
Rebel scoffed. “Yeah, by helping them wipe out the Vincinti family. Did they really think they could get in that way? I mean come on, that’s just a mess waiting to happen.”
Jelly Bean agreed, “And they would have found out the hard way that something like that wouldn’t be allowed here. Leon has more friends than they do and those same friends would have hunted each one of the Gondo’s down and repeat the favor.”
A sudden movement from the front of the lighthouse caught their attention and they both watched as Benzo paced at the top of the steps on the landing.
He was on his phone and apparently no one was picking up on the other end.
Then when the call went to voicemail, Benzo was screaming into the phone, “Ricco, you better get tu culo (your ass) back here. Big Mac wants his money and he’s demanding you keep your word about the intro to the cartel.
You promised him money and a position and you better not fail.
That man is going to kill us. I ain’t staying here to face that man again.
I’ll stay until four then I’m leaving. This has been nothing but a cuestión de azar (crapshoot) since we got here and I ain’t taking your place in this deal. ”
His words carried over the distance and they weren’t happy words.
Jelly Bean glanced over at Rebel.
She raised a cell phone up.
Jelly Bean looked surprised and exclaimed, “Why, you little thief.” She snickered.
Rebel handed her Ricco’s phone. “You have the best comebacks I have to admit. So you do the honors.”
Jelly Bean tapped the screen then scrolled and hit call.
The phone at the lighthouse steps rang. Halting, Benzo snapped his phone up and slapped the screen to say, “Where the fuck are you?”
“I’m heading to hell, hermano,” Jelly Bean replied. “You coming to join me? I got your hot seat all set. We have a meeting with the devil to get our asses cooked at noon. So, you’d better hurry!”
Rebel almost fell over laughing.
Benzo pulled the phone from his ear to check the screen to be sure it was his brother’s phone. Then he put it back to his ear and yelled, “Who the hell is this?”
“It is the girl who beat the holy crap outta your retarded crackhead loser of a brother.”
Rebel nodded at her and whispered, “That was a mouthful.”
“Que?” he replied. “No, he would never get beaten by a woman.”
“Sorry Charlie, but he has broken ribs, a busted shoulder and oh... my sister broke his ankle.”
“You bitches!” Benzo yelled.