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“I’m… okay…” he choked out, blood puddling from his mouth.
“Shhh… Don’t try to speak.” Jude pulled the man’s shirt up and checked his wounds. It appeared the bullet hadn’t gone all the way through, and it didn’t look close to his heart. He sighed with relief. Jude had been shot twice in his lifetime. He knew what to look for. “I know it hurts like hell but stay with me, Paul. I’m going to get you help.”
Moments later, Jude was on the horn, and several of his employees had sprung into action. They were already en route because he’d called them and let them know Paul had hit the buzzer. The buzzer was a silent alarm in Paul’s belt buckle that worked similarly to a Life Alert device, only this one sent a mayday straight to Judge’s phone. If pressed, it meant he was either getting robbed, there was some sort of explosion, or the police were on the premises, and he couldn’t talk or call to give further details. As they arrived, Jude unveiled the masked men. He didn’t recognize them, but it was more than obvious they knew of him. He searched one of their pockets and retrieved a cell phone, then used the fucker’s thumb to unlock it. From the dead man’s text messages, they were gang members and had been planning this for weeks.
Like so many other things in Jude’s life, having complete control in a messy industry was key. He expected the unexpected, twenty-four-seven. This wasn’t the first time, so everyone he entrusted knew the routine.
An ambulance was called right away for Paul. The cover story was rehearsed for the doctors who would no doubt call the police once they saw his injury. Their description of attempted robbery would be, in fact, the truth. The armed men would be left where they were, and Paul would say he managed to get his gun and shoot them in self-defense, which was his right as a red blooded American. Thus, Becky was wiped down and left at the scene to take the fall, and before Paul was hauled away, his hand was wrapped around the grip and trigger to leave his own fingerprints on the revolver. Case closed.
While that happened, Jude’s crew removed any incriminating information, such as receipts, an iPad, a couple of burner phones, and some other items—but there wasn’t much because Paul followed the rules and no one was to have any ‘work materials’ at their residences. On paper, Paul looked pretty good. A guy who’d stayed out of trouble for many years after a tough time of it. He even worked a part-time cover job, as a delivery man.
A couple hours later, Jude was back in his truck, mad as hell.
Paul was not only an employee, but a friend. His chief chef. The bastard would be out of commission for weeks. These guys knew what the hell they were doing.Go after the head cook.They’d planned to kill him after they got what they wanted no doubt, which was quality meth and money, but Paul didn’t have what they expected. They more than likely were going to force him into their car and have him lead them to the stash. Jude knew Paul, of all people, would never have done that because it would have risked other lives and he had a sense of integrity. Jude had helped him pay off some pretty hefty fines some years ago and since then, he’d always been loyal.
Sizzle would work harder to pick up some of the slack, but as Jude drove, and the day grew darker, he felt more and more detached until he found himself at a park, sitting on a bench. Alone. Lost in his thoughts.
His phone buzzed after a while, with Iris sending him photos and short videos of the plastic covered furniture, the moving men setting things up, and the whole nine. Her excitement was palpable. He mustered a smile and texted her.
Glad you’re happy, baby. Enjoy it. I’ll be there tonight.
After a few moments, he took a deep breath and called Kash.
“How is he?”
He could hear noises in the background, people in the hospital talking. “They got him in surgery right now. They think he’ll be okay. Said he was lucky.”
Jude took a deep breath and nodded, then hung up.
In the distance, a little boy and girl were playing, with a short guy standing nearby, watching them. He assumed he was the dad, and they were siblings. The children chased one another, laughing, without a care in the world. A memory came to the forefront of his mind.
He, Cain, some more neighborhood kids, and several of their cousins, were chasing each other across the dirt in their front yard, wearing only their Underoos. The sun was beating down on them, hot as Hades, but they were happy. Mama was grilling burgers, and Daddy was on the porch with his brothers, playing cards, smoking, and getting drunk. When it got pitch dark, Daddy sparked the firecrackers, and he spun him around by his arms, making him scream, holler and laugh, under the stars. Country music blared from the house all night long, the mosquitos were biting, and the grasshoppers were hopping.
It had been a damn good day…
I need that back… that feeling. Everything is a sign. It’s either a push to keep you going in the same direction, or a sign to stop you dead in your tracks. My brother is in prison and I’m losing money trying to find that needle in a haystack to get him out. Eli is happy, and I want to keep him that way. My nephew is feelin’ lost, messing up in school. I’ve just gotten into a new relationship, and I’m fallin’ hard for this lady, and there isn’t shit I can do about it. But more importantly, I don’t want to do shit about it, ’cause I like it… and I deserve this shit. I deserve a good woman like her, so, I got to make this shit right. I wanted a woman just like Iris for a minute now, and now she’s here. Then I’ve got this situation with Paul and these fuckers who tried to rob and ice him. It’s time for a new plan.
…ALL RISE! The honorable Jude ‘The Judge’ presiding, Court is now in session…
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Every Wave will Crash
The rhythm ofDarius Rucker’s, ‘Hands On Me’ played from Eli’s new laptop computer. Jude had spoiled the man on his birthday. Blue and white balloons still floated about, tied to various pieces of furniture. They’d gotten him a big vanilla cake with white icing, his favorite, and plenty of gifts, many of which were books he’d wanted, an iTunes gift card, and art supplies. Iris had arrived for her visit, and though they’d run some errands as usual, the time had gone by way too fast. The two were cleaning up and sprucing up his apartment, hanging new artwork they’d purchased from a shop in the mall, and putting up some other items, such as new socks he’d needed from Walmart.
Iris told Eli to take a break while she arranged his colorful cups in the order of the shades of the rainbow, just as he liked them. She shot him a glance and smiled. He was rocking back and forth to the music, enjoying himself. Eli bobbed his head in a strange way once the music got punchy, and then snapped his fingers, swinging to and fro to the beat. The sight warmed her heart.
“Myyyy ex-giiiirl friend, loooves this song.”
Iris closed the kitchen cabinet, climbed off the counter she’d been using as a stepstool, and dusted off her jeans.
“Your ex-girlfriend, huh?” She smiled. “What was her name, and why’d you two lovebirds break up?” She plopped down on a chair, the one she always sat on in his place, and cracked open a cold cola. Boy did it taste good going down.
“Freee-da.” He slowed his body movements and looked up at the ceiling, as if spotting an invisible dream bird that only he could see. He finally lowered his gaze to her. “Sheee was pret-ty.” He sat down across from her and pulled out a thick pad of drawing paper, grabbed a sharpened pencil, and began to scribble. “We… broke up…”
“Yes, I know, but why?”
“Beee-cause, her… pair-rents, were emmmmm-barrassed by meee.”
