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“What do you think?” Bobby said and that was when he noticed that Wanda was checking her weapon. “What you doing?”
“I’m going,” Wanda said, put her gun in her clut
ch and stood up. “She was my friend too, Bobby. I have every right to be there,” she said and looked at Black. “You can’t keep me out of this. Not this.”
Black exhaled because he knew it was pointless to object, especially since she was right. Black started for the door. “Let’s stop fuckin’ around and go get this done.”
Oscar Rooney had been convicted of aggravated assault and sentenced to twenty years to life in prison because of the particularly heinous nature of his crime. A sentence that, unbeknownst to Rooney, was served under Mike Black’s protection. But while he was in prison, he was a model prisoner and was able to make parole and had been released the day before. He felt fortunate that he had a place to stay and the promise of a job waiting for him after the crime he’d committed. Those things were instrumental in the board’s decision to parole him. But he didn’t know that those arrangements were made by Wanda.
Nobody met him when he got out, he had no family that he still had contact with. They all cut ties with him when the trial revealed what an animal he was, so his family wanted nothing to do with him. But there was one person there when he got out, and he was sent there by Black to see that he got to the small apartment that had been arranged for him. To Rooney, he had served his time and been rehabilitated, that he had paid the enormous debt that he had with society. That may have been true according to the state, but there was a debt to be paid and three people had come to his door to exact payment.
Rooney was surprised when there was a loud knock at his door. He had just gotten out of prison, he had no friends that knew or cared that he was getting out, so he wasn’t expecting anybody. Thinking that it was the building’s super coming to tell him something he’d forgotten to mention when he gave him the key, he got up and opened the door to three faces of death.
“Black.”
“Hello, O. You don’t mind if we come in,” Black said, and Bobby pushed him to the floor. Black walked in with Wanda behind him and Bobby closed the door.
“What are you doing here, Black?”
“Fuck you think I’m doing here.” Black kicked him in the face. “I’m here to kill you for what you did.” Black kicked him in the ribs this time.
“And I been locked up for what I did. I did my time, Black!” Rooney shouted as Bobby kicked him.
“And how you think you did that time, huh? How you think it happened that a piece of shit like you didn’t die violently the first night you got there? You ever wonder about that?”
Rooney didn’t answer, but he knew, at least he did now and yes, he had thought about it. He thought, when he was going in, that he would be in constant danger in general population and would be forced to do all of his time in administrative segregation.
“You were under my protection in there because I swore to the people in this room that nobody was going to kill you, but me.” Black paused and looked down at Rooney. “But now, after all these years, I know that I’m not the one who should end your life.”
Black lowered his weapon and looked at Wanda.
“You were right, Wanda. You have every right to be here. LaKela was your friend. You should be the one to kill him.”
“He’s right, Wanda, you have to be the one,” Bobby said, and he took a step back.
Wanda smiled, and then she removed the gun from her clutch. “Get him up on his knees,” she said and Black and Bobby helped Rooney up. “Look at me.”
When Rooney raised his head, Wanda placed the barrel of the gun against his forehead and pulled the trigger.
“Thank you, Mike. May her tortured soul finally be able to rest in peace.”
Chapter Sixteen
Victor was the first one to wake up when they touched down at the airport. He had slept pretty much the entire flight back from Paris. He passed out the second he claimed a seat. Knowing that they were leaving soon and who knew when he’d ever make it back to Paris, he was determined to make the last two days memorable, so he did, and that meant not sleeping. Plenty of time for that on the plane, he said more than once during the two days.
Victor unbuckled his seatbelt and stood up. After a good yawn and stretch, he went to wake up Jada. She was sitting with her legs crossed at the ankles beneath her seat and her hands on her lap.
“Jada,” he said and shook her lightly. “We’re here.”
“Thank you, Victor,” Jada said and wiped the corners of her mouth with the tissue she was holding.
She covered her mouth and yawned as Victor went to wake up Carmen. She was propped up with her feet on the chair and a blanket over her head. Victor tapped her foot.
“Wake up, Carmen. We’re here.”
Carmen pulled the blanket from over her head as she yawned and made an unsteady attempt to stand up. She caught her balance before Victor had to grab her.
“I’m all right,” she said and continued her stretch.
