“Tell me about it. The handcuffs are off, but you make sure this kid understands our arrangement with Pete, and breaking it doesn’t come easily. Therefore, he needs to follow your orders without deviation.”

  “You want me to take care of it myself?”

  “No, you let the kid have his revenge. You just make sure it doesn’t spill over into something bigger.”

  “You got it,” Jorell said and finished his drink. “I’ll let you know before it goes down.”

  “Do that,” Garraway said as he watched Jorell leave the game room.

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  “It’s going down tonight,” Jorell reported.

  “Let me know how it goes,” Garraway said and ended the call.

  Jorell put down the phone and looked at Wilkes. “Go ahead.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Jorell. I won’t disappoint you.”

  “I know.”

  That night, Nikki, Cairo, and Butch were sitting at a table in the back of the Palace. Internationally known recording artist Salomé Warner was on stage performing, and they were discussing who they were going to hit next.

  Wilkes left Jorell’s office at Boom on East 48th and headed for the Palace. He had his people sitting on all three of Nikki’s spots, waiting for her to show up at one of them. When Wilkes got the word that she, Cairo, and Butch were there, he informed Jorell and got his approval to proceed. Now that he had the go-ahead, he called his robbing team.

  “We’re on,” Wilkes said and drove to the Palace.

  The plan was to rob the front door and the gambling room and kill Nikki in the process. That was Jorell’s plan, but it wasn’t good enough for Wilkes. That plan was designed to maintain the peace that Jorell spent too much time explaining.

  Especially since I didn’t care, Wilkes thought.

  Killing Nikki was his priority. He instructed his robbing team to follow Jorell’s instructions to the letter. Get the money, kill Nikki, and get out. He had a plan of his own. When he got to the Palace, he called his men.

  “Everybody is in position.”

  “Do it,” Wilkes commanded.

  Five of Wilkes’s men came in the front door armed with mini-14s and began firing wildly around the club. One of the first shots hit Salomé Warner, and she went down. As one of the band members dragged her off stage, Nikki ran to the bar for cover, firing shots along the way. Cairo and Butch were right behind her. Cairo dove over the bar and came up shooting. He shot one of the attackers as Butch and Nikki made it behind the bar for cover.

  There was chaos as some customers ran for the nearest exit, while others sought cover wherever they could find it. Several weren’t that lucky. As they fired, Nikki crawled out from the bar and flipped over a table. She fired at the shooters, and they returned her fire. Nikki fired at one of the shooters and hit him with three shots, and he fell over, firing wildly.

  While two other gunmen closed in on the bar and continued firing with AR15s, Butch returned their fire and ran out from behind the bar. The two men kept firing as Butch ran for better cover to reload.

  While Butch made his way to better cover, two men came into the club. They had taken the money from the front door and were on their way to take the gambling room, while the other men exchanged gunfire with Nikki, Cairo, and Butch. The two men blanketed the club with bullets as they walked. One fired and hit a member of the Palace’s security team with a shot to the chest before he could get a shot off. He went down. When he was close enough, the gunman shot and killed him as he passed.

  Nikki stayed put behind the table until the shooting stopped. She got up while the shooters at the bar stopped to reload, then fired and hit one of them with three shots. The other turned quickly and fired at Nikki as she ran. Cairo then came up firing on the gunmen from behind the bar. One of his shots grazed the side of the man’s head, and it disoriented him long enough for Cairo to put two in his chest. Cairo took the mini and two magazines from the one he had just killed and headed toward Nikki.

  She saw the two gunmen heading for the gambling room and ran behind them. When she hit the door, the men were in the count room. One was holding his weapon to the head of the cashier while she put the money in a bag. The other covered.

  Nikki saw Megan hiding behind the table with the roulette wheel. She took another look at the gunmen and made her way to Megan.

  “You all right?”

  “I’ll be all right,” she said, and Nikki handed Megan one of her guns. Megan put one in the chamber.

  “Let’s go,” Nikki said to Megan, and they came up firing as the men came out of the count room.

  The men shot back. Megan wasn’t a good shot, but she emptied the magazine on the clip. She didn’t hit anybody. Nikki fired twice, hitting him with one to the chest and one to the head. The other gunman picked up the bag of money and kept shooting as he made his way to the door. Nikki kept firing at him until he was out the door.

  “Go!” Megan yelled at Nikki, and she went after him.

  When the man came out of the gambling room, Butch and Cairo were still shooting it out with Wilkes’s men.

  “Let’s go!” he shouted and began making his way, firing, to the exit. The other two shooters began backing their way toward the door. One fired at Cairo and missed.

  As Nikki came running out of the gambling room, Cairo raised his weapon, fired, and hit a gunman with several shots to the chest. He fell over a table. Butch and Nikki were getting close to the shooters. Butch laid down cover fire, while Nikki moved closer. Once she made it and was set, she covered while Butch ran toward her position. When he made it to her, they both opened fire and fired at the last of the shooters, but the shooters made it out of the club.

  The men ran to a van and got in. When Nikki and Butch came out of the Palace, they fired at the van as it drove away.

  “Fuck!” Nikki shouted as she watched the taillights disappear from sight. Cairo joined them. “Go see how many people are hurt.”

  “On it,” Butch said, and he and Cairo went back inside the Palace to carry out her orders.

  Wilkes sat in his car, watching them until they were inside, and then he started the car. With the shooting inside over, customers began coming out of the Palace and rushing to their cars to get out of there.

  As cars rolled out of the parking lot past Nikki, she didn’t notice that Wilkes had rolled up alongside her. He rolled down the window.

  “Hey, Nikki.” He raised his weapon. “This is for Cedric.”

  Nikki dove for the ground as Wilkes fired. He drove off, and Nikki fired at the car as it sped out of the parking lot.

  As he dove away from the Palace, Wilkes cursed himself for his arrogance. He had her, and all he had to do was pull the trigger. “But instead, you had to announce that shit like it was some fuckin’ movie. Smart.”

  Butch and Cairo came running out of the Palace when they heard the shooting. They saw Nikki getting up from the ground.

  “You all right?” Butch asked.

  “Yeah, I’m okay.”

  “What happened?” Cairo asked.

  “It was Wilkes. He caught my daydreaming, and I let him roll right up on me.”

  “He’s stepping it up,” Cairo said.

  “We hit his main money spot tomorrow.”

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  “Internationally known recording artist Salomé Warner and four others were victims of gunshot wounds when a shooting erupted while she was performing at the Palace nightclub. The victims were taken to New York Presbyterian Hospital to be treated. Ms. Warner, who suffered a gunshot to her left arm, was treated and released. For more on the shooting, we go live with our own Yolanda Teagen outside the Palace.”

  Jorell grabbed the remote and turned off the television. He got his keys and was about to leave when the phone rang. He glanced at the display and answered.

  “Hello.”

  “You see the news?” Garraway asked.

  “Yeah. I’m going to deal with it right now.”

  “I told you that this would happen.”

  “I know. I’m in damage control mode.”

  “Then control this. And, Marques, do it fast. Singers getting shot during what was supposed to be a robbery is not good. Maybe think about hiring out-of-town shooters that can hit what they’re aiming at,” Garraway said, and he ended the call.

  Jorell left the house and drove to the place where he knew Wilkes would be. And sure enough, there he was, sitting on the hood of a car that was parked outside his trap house. Wilkes controlled the traffic and the business conducted in the courtyard and selected apartments throughout the building.

  When Wilkes saw Jorell’s car, he jumped down from the hood of the vehicle. He exhaled because he wasn’t looking forward to this and hoped that he wouldn’t have to die for it. It would have been better for him if he had actually killed Nikki. At least he would have that to show for his efforts. But all he had was money, dead soldiers and civilians, and Salomé Warner in the hospital.

  Jorell rolled down the window when Wilkes got to the car. “Get in.”

  Wilkes looked in the back seat before he got in the car.

  “What the fuck happened?”

  “Collateral damage.”

  “Collateral damage my ass, nigga. Fuckin’ Salomé Warner in the hospital is you fuckin’ up, not some fuckin’ collateral damage.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Damn right, you’re sorry. Get the money, and get Nikki in the process. It was a simple plan, and you fucked it up.” Jorell shook his head. “Where’s the rest of your team?”

  “They are all dead.”

  “At least you got one thing right.”

  “With Salomé Warner getting shot, I knew I had to. He said his man was shooting wild in the air to scatter the crowd, and one of the shots hit Warner.”

  “Good explanation. But, one, I don’t give a fuck, and two, Warner is still in the hospital because you fucked up.”

  “I shot him in the head anyway.”

  “Where’s the money?”

  “In my car.”

  “Go get it.”

  “All of it?”

  “Yeah, nigga, all of it. Fuck-ups ain’t free.”

  Wilkes sat looking angrily at Jorell.

  “What are you waiting for? Go get the money?”

  “Yes, Mr. Jorell,” Wilkes said and got out of the car.

  It was ten minutes later when Wilkes returned to Jorell’s car with the bag of money.

  “Toss it in the backseat,” Jorell ordered.

  Wilkes threw the bag with the money in the back seat and leaned in through the window.

  “I suggest you lay low for a while.” He started the car. “I saw Nikki on the news. She looked pissed.”

  Jorell rolled up the window and drove off, knowing that if Nikki didn’t kill him, he would have Wilkes dead before the week was out.

  Fuck-ups ain’t free.

  As Jorell was driving away from Wilkes’s spot, Nikki was on her way there with Butch and Cairo. That morning, when she woke up, Nikki had breakfast with her mother, and then she went to talk to Barlowe. Nikki was surprised and happy when she arrived and found out that Arya was gone. Conversations with Barlowe always went better when she wasn’t around.

  When Nikki got there, Barlowe was in his kitchen having waffles and sausage for breakfast.

  “Sorry to interrupt your meal,” Nikki said when she came into the room.

  “That’s okay. Come in and sit down.”

  Nikki glanced at the television on the counter. The news of Salomé Warner’s shooting was on the news.

  “You hungry?”

  “No. I had breakfast with Mommy.”

  He picked up the remote and turned off the television.

  “You talk to Queen?” Nikki asked.

  “Yeah, I talked to her. Queen was not happy about her girl getting shot in my club.”

  “What does she want?”

  “You mean other than me covering all of her medical bills?”

  “Yeah, other than that.”

  “She wants to sit down and discuss it.” Barlowe pointed his fork at Nikki. “I don’t need this shit right now, Nikki.”

  “I know that you don’t. You think I do?”

  “You wanna tell me what happened?”

  “It was a hit designed to look like a robbery. One team took the front door and the gambling room, and the other came after me, Cairo, and Butch.”

  “You know who it was?”

  Nikki nodded. “It was Wilkes. He took a shot at me in the parking lot when the shooting was over inside.”

  Barlowe chuckled. “How’d you let that happen?”

  “We ran out after the robbers. I just wasn’t expecting him. But he rolled right up on me. If the fool had just shot me instead of letting me know he was there, I’d be dead now.”

  “Glad it didn’t come to that.”

  “Me too.”

  “You got an end game in mind?” Barlowe asked.

  “Yeah. I’m gonna kill Wilkes. That’s my end game.”

  “I tried to reach out to Duncan Garraway, but his gorilla said he was out of the country and couldn’t be reached.”

  “You believe him?”

  “Jorell’s a lot of things, but he’s got no reason to lie to me. Not about that anyway. I’ll reach out to him again.”

  “What you gonna tell him? That Eddie Marx’s little girl went rogue and can’t be controlled?”

  “Can you?”

  “Can I what? Be controlled?”

  “Yes. Can you be controlled?”

  “I’m not out of control now. Am I?”

  “No. You’re not.”

  “Anytime you think I am out of control, pull me back. Being out of control is bad for your health and for business.”

  “That proves that you’re not out of control.”

  “I’m on top of this, Uncle Pete. I told you that you could trust me, and you can. I just need to finish this business and find out what really happened with J.R.”

  “Ain’t that what this thing with Wilkes is about?”

  “Maybe. Maybe not. The whole shit with Cromwell showing back up outta nowhere bothers me.”

  “You mean you don’t trust Arya.”

  “No. I don’t. I know that’s your woman, but if her lips are moving, she’s telling a lie. Everybody sees that but you.”

  Barlowe looked away. “Arya serves a purpose.”

  “And on that note,”—Nikki stood up—“I’m gone.”

  That was earlier in the day. Since then, Nikki had spent the day hunting down Wilkes to kill him. Her sources told her that, as she suspected, he was at his main spot. It made sense that he would be there. He damn near had an army spread throughout that building, so it was where Wilkes was best protected. They would have to count on the element of surprise. Hit the spot and get out quick.

  When they got there, there were four men in the courtyard doing business. She didn’t see Wilkes in his usual spot. Cairo brought the car to a stop, and Nikki jumped out of the vehicle with two weapons blasting. Guns were pulled, and they were immediately fired on.

  Cairo and Butch fired and hit their targets with shots to the head and chest. Two men drew their weapons and opened fire blindly as they ran toward the street. They were met by Nikki, who killed them as they ran.

  When the other two opened fire, Cairo and Butch took cover and returned their fire. Cairo fired and hit him with three shots to the chest, then he laid down cover fire while Butch fired and killed the other man. Two more men came out of the building, firing with AK47s, and forced Cairo and Butch to take cover. Nikki took cover and fired a couple of shots at one.

  Two men raised and pointed their weapons and opened fire. Cairo fired several shots in the direction of the men, and they fired back. Nikki fired and hit one with three shots before she moved to cover.

  Four men came out of the building and began firing. That was when Nikki saw Wilkes come out of the building. Wilkes fired a few shots at Nikki before he reached cover behind a car. Wilkes raised his weapon and fired until his gun was empty. He ejected the clip and slammed in another. Before he could resume firing, Nikki moved out from cover and took up a position closer to him. He began firing at Nikki.

  While the other two men continued firing and blanketed the courtyard with a barrage of bullets, Cairo hit the ground and crawled to where Nikki was shooting it out with Wilkes.

  “We need to get outta here!” Cairo shouted.

  “No!” Nikki shouted back as she opened fire until she had emptied her clip. She reloaded her weapon. “Cover me,” Nikki yelled as Cairo reloaded.

  As Cairo fired at Wilkes, Nikki stayed on the ground and positioned herself on the other side of Wilkes. Cairo got to one knee and fired. When another man turned to fire at Cairo, Nikki killed him. Right then, Wilkes came running out from cover.

  “He’s getting away!” Nikki yelled, and she followed Wilkes, firing.

  Cairo and Butch fired at the remaining shooters as they ran for better cover. Butch stood up and fired at the men. Cairo rose up from his cover position and fired. He hit the one man with two shots to the chest. While Butch kept firing, Cairo got up and began firing. He fired and hit another of Wilkes’s men with two in the chest. While Cairo covered, Butch reloaded his weapon, and then he shot a man.

  Once the shooting ended, Butch looked around for Nikki. “I don’t see her.”

  “She went after Wilkes,” Cairo said.

  “Come on. We gotta find her,” Butch said, and they ran back to their car.

  They drove slowly down the streets and saw Nikki running behind Wilkes. They were exchanging gunfire as they ran.

  Cairo pointed. “There she is!” he shouted, and Butch sped up.

  Wilkes turned and fired at Nikki. She stopped and fired twice, but she missed, and he kept running.

  When they got to the corner, Cairo and Butch could hear gunfire. They stopped the car and got out. Nikki was sitting on the ground behind a car as Wilkes fired away from across the street. Cairo and Butch joined Nikki behind the vehicle. When they got to the hood of the car and opened fire, Nikki circled around and killed Wilkes.

 

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