Chapter 44
Trooper
“Mr. Carter, I’m sure you think this is a joke, but understand this, we know everything about you.
We know how you got your start and how you made your money.
We know about your connection to Sinclair Taylor and Carlos Robertson.
None of that really matters to us right now.
You can walk if you’ll just tell us what we need to know. ”
He pointed to the pictures on the table of Carlos and me entering Chavez’s then leaving. They had closeups of the bag with the money.
“Was this a pick up?”
I looked him right in the eyes then my stare moved to his partner before a smug grin crossed my face. I was curious about why the female fed who’d been with him when they picked me and Carlos up had been replaced by this fat ass muthafucker, but at this point I didn’t care.
“Yeah, it was,” I said coolly, causing them both to get excited. I swear their eyes shone like it was Christmas Day.
“Okay, so tell us about it.”
“Aight, so check it. Los took the order, but when they made the delivery, it wasn’t right.
Shit was all fucked up, so we bagged it up and decided to take it back.
When we got there, he tossed it on Chavez’s desk and ripped him a new one.
Los told Chavez he wanted his money back ’cause the product was bullshit. Not quality at all.”
They looked at each other, trying their best to contain the excitement brewing, but I was about to fuck up their entire mood with the next thing out of my mouth.
“So you know how muthafuckers get about their Thin Mints. I told Los don’t sweat it, but he was like ‘nah, fuck that. I paid good money. I want quality product’.”
“Thin Mints?” Rogers said, looking confused.
“Yeah, muthafucker, Thin Mints. Them Girl Scout cookies be some serious shit. You can’t be delivering cookies that are all crumbled, so Los wanted his gotdamn money back.”
I leaned back in my chair and watched the pisstivity unfold.
Their faces got red as fuck and Rogers’s fist slammed down on the table as he stood.
“You think this is a gotdamn joke? It’s not a fucking joke.”
“Yo, bring that shit down. You asked what happened and I told your ass. Chavez sold Los fucked up product, so Los wanted his money back. How the hell you sell somebody fucked up cookies? Them shits be like ten dollars a box now. Can you believe that?”
Allen laughed sarcastically then pointed at me. I would have knocked that shit away, but I was still cuffed.
“You mean to tell me you expect us to believe these bags held Girl Scout cookies. That Chavez, who’s known all over the east coast as one of the biggest coke suppliers, sold Carlos Robertson Girl Scout cookies.”
“Shit, I don’t give a fuck what you believe. I’m telling you what the fuck these pictures are about.” I kept a straight face as my eyes moved from one to the other.
Los and I had the same story. I wasn’t worried about that. It was a running joke with us, but now it was time to put things into play.
If the feds were holding us with no evidence, it meant they were digging and trying to build a case.
A case I assumed would lead to taking Chavez down.
Apparently, we were there because they expected Los and me to cut a deal for our participation and freedom.
Fuck all that! I wasn’t, had never been, and would never be a gotdamn snitch.
That was some bitch shit and there wasn’t an ounce of bitch in my entire fucking being. I put that on everything real.
I didn’t fuck with Chavez like that and he wasn’t shit.
He was a pussy ass muthafucker, but he wasn’t about to do time off somthing I set in motion.
If they wanted him, they’d have to make it happen without me.
Los felt the exact same way, so I wasn’t worried one way or another about that.
It really didn’t matter what they said they knew about me and Los either.
If they had a case and could truly make something stick with either of us, we’d be shipped off already and doing muthafucking time.
I was very intelligent and well versed on how this shit worked. I knew to keep my cool, never give them what they asked for, and until they charged me? Deny, deny, deny. Even after I faced the judge, I should deny.
“I hope you like being here because you’ll be here for a while.”
“That’s cool, but if I don’t get my call real muthafuckin’ fast, expect to be sued the second I walk out this bitch.
Feds or not, you have no reason to hold me, so I want to talk to my lawyer.
Until I do, get the fuck outta my face, but understand the longer you hold me here, the more commas you’re adding to that gotdamn check the government will be putting my name on. ”
I winked at Rogers and this muthafucker had steam coming from his ears. I had been there for hours and was done playing with their asses. All I wanted to know was why we were there. They’d played their hand too early and now it was time for me to play mine.
“Fuck you. You don’t run shit, not in here,” Allen yelled.
“You ain’t my type, playboy, but he looks like he might take you up on that offer.” I nodded at Rogers, and Allen rushed me, grabbing my shirt.
I kept my cool and didn’t react, but on everything, both of their asses had just shortened their lifespan. The countdown would begin as soon as I was out this bitch.
“Allen, Rogers,” a voice barked from the door.
Allen let me go and I delivered a smug grin, which really pissed him off, but they both left and the door slammed.
Hopefully, somebody had their head on right and I was about to get the fuck outta there.
I needed to get to Sophie. She was likely stressed the fuck out.
She was alone, and after what went down at her place, she needed me.
There was no telling what she was thinking, and if she called, she couldn’t get me. That had me all types of fucked up.
Another few hours passed before the door opened again and I smirked when it was the female officer originally with Rogers when they’d brought us in.
She walked over and sat on the corner of the table right in front of me with a sly grin on her face. Her stare was seductive and I was really getting annoyed because this shit was too much.
“So you really want to risk your freedom to protect Chavez?”
Her eyes were all over me, but when she focused between my legs, I scooted down in my chair a little more, separating my feet so my legs opened wider.
She wanted a show. I’d give her that since I was about to embarrass her ass.
“Baby girl, I’m not risking my freedom. You don’t have shit on me. I’ve been out the game for a long ass time. I made a clean break.”
“Don’t be so sure about that.” She stood and stepped between my legs before she looked down at my lap then into my eyes.
“We always have an ace in the hole.”
“And what is that? I fuck you and you conveniently get rid of evidence you don’t really have?”
“Maybe.” She smirked.
I chuckled and looked her right in the eyes.
“Shorty, you couldn’t get this dick if I was facing life without parole, but you damn sure can’t get it for no bullshit case you’re trying to build.
Now, I’ll tell you like I just told those other dick riders.
Either let me go or give me my call, but keep staring at my dick and those commas keep growing on that muthafucking check. ”
I smirked and she got mad as hell.
“You don’t know who you’re—”
“Man, get the fuck outta here with that. First you send them pussy ass muthafuckers in here trying to scare me, then they send you in here trying to fuck me. This shit is a gotdamn joke.”
I laughed loud and deep and she stormed off. The second I was free, I’d be making plans to make some feds disappear. Believe that.
About twenty minutes later, the door opened again and Rogers came in, grabbed my wrists, and uncuffed me. Once I was free, he pointed to the door and I laughed.
“Damn, I can’t get a goodbye hug or no shit like that? Hell, we just spent quality time together.”
“Watch your fucking back, Mr. Carter. We’re everywhere.”
I smirked and walked out. As soon as I hit the hall, Los was coming out of the room next to me. We shared a look, but didn’t say a word. Once we collected our shit and were out the door, Los went the fuck off.
“Yo, can you believe that shit? Almost twenty-four muthafucking hours because those muthafuckers are trying to build a case on Chavez. I should go shoot his ass right now just because I’m so gotdamn pissed.”
“Nah, don’t do that. We have to chill for a minute. They’ll be following us for a while. You already know how that goes.”
“Shit, I don’t give a gotdamn. I’ll body their asses too. They won’t have a gotdamn case because there won’t be a body.”
Los was mad as hell, and so was I, but right now I had bigger problems. I had to get to Sophie. I had multiple missed calls and texts; something was up.
“Yo, Girl Scout cookies?” Los said with a grin.
“Shit, yeah. You know muthafuckers be mad as fuck about that. I told them you wanted a gotdamn refund.” I smiled and he laughed.
“They got mad as fuck when I said it. Foaming at the mouth and everything. Rogers was spitting on me because he was so damn pissed. I feel dirty as fuck. I’m about to head home and shower,” Los said while I checked my messages.
“Fuck!”
I held my hand up to stop Los so I could hear the message from Sophie and got heated with every word. I looked around as I moved toward the street and held my hand up to hail a cab.
“What’s up, Troop?” Los asked when he actually paid attention to my expression.
I moved to the next message and listened instead of answering him.
“Ay, Troop. This is Story, hit me back at this number as soon as you get this. We need to talk.”
“The fuck is going on?” I mumbled.
As soon as the cab stopped, I pulled the door and got in. Los was right behind me and didn’t say anything until the driver asked where to and I rattled off, “Bellevue Hospital.”
“Yo, what the fuck we going to the hospital for, Troop? What’s going on?”
“Sophie.”
“Shit, the baby?”
“I don’t know, she didn’t say, but she was attacked in the parking garage at my place.”
My fists tightened and I punched the back of the Plexiglas hard as hell several times. The driver glanced at us through his rearview, but thankfully he didn’t try to put us out and kept going.
“Muthafucker. I told her not to leave.”
“Troop, calm down. It’s been an entire gotdamn day. You couldn’t expect her to stay put for that long and she didn’t know where the fuck you were. You’re not mad at her, you’re upset because of what happened. So just chill for a minute until we get there and see what’s really going on.”
I dropped my head into my hands, trying to calm myself, but it wasn’t working. All I kept thinking about was if something had happened to that baby because I wasn’t there, Sophie would never forgive me. Shit, I couldn’t forgive myself. We couldn’t take that type of hit.