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“Judge… Let me… let me plead my case.”
“Oh, no, sir.” Jude sneered and shook his head. “You inmycourtroom now. Mano a mano, just you and me, baby. The jury has been excused, and you had a chance to shut the fuck up and leave well enough alone fifty-’leven times! I can’t have you hangin’ around, still barkin’ orders that disrupt the apple cart. You’re disturbing the food chain, my friend. We’re all sharks,” Jude raised his hands and shrugged, “heartless folks. I’ll give you that. I’m no better than you, ’cept for the fact that I don’t shit where I eat. I don’t fuck up another man’s hustle because of my own insecurity, and I don’t try and Christopher Columbus someone, take their damn land and claim it as mine, then expect a big ol’ chicken dinner wit’ all the fixin’s for it! Sharks, motherfucker! That’s what we are! And you keep tossing goldfish and guppies in the tank, muckin’ it up. You keep nippin’ at my fins. Worst of all, you didn’t even have the balls to deal with me man to man. You kept sending in your troops, and I took ’em down…” He seethed.
“No, no, no… I—”
“Sí, sí, sí, motherfucker! You got angry when my guys retaliated, for some shit YOU had started. I didn’t start this shit, Perro.Youdid. But I’m damn sure going to finish it. Gotta send a message… you know how this goes. I want you to remember that. The pie was big enough for all of us, but you were greedy, and jealous of the money I was making, as well as the respect I have in these parts. I earned that shit. I worked for it! And if you think I was going to let a slimy, greasy motherfucker like you crawl and slither on through and take my kingdom, you were out of your rabid ass mind. Oh, and just so you know, there’s no such thing as loyalty. I’m sure you want to know how I found you…
“I was patient like you wouldn’t believe, and patience really isn’t my forte. Guess how I tracked you down? You’ve got a rat in your group.” He smiled with glee as the man’s eyes turned to slits. “I paid someone in your own camp to give me your whereabouts. Some people are so quick to turn on you. Hell, dog eat dog world. That’s why Diablo wasn’t there at the bar tonight.” Jude grinned big and wide when he saw the shock on Perro’s face. “Yeah… your main man saw this as an opportunity. He’s probably writin’ his acceptance speech right this damn minute. Now, he can slide right into your spot and take over as leader. You’ve been replaced, even before you’ve been erased.”
The last bit of hope seemed to evaporate right then and there from the man’s eyes.
“NO! I will disappear, okay?! You’ll never see me again!”
“I promise, you’re gonna disappear regardless.” Jude chuckled.
“Why… why are you doin’ this, Judge? You coulda just sent someone to get me… Someone who wouldn’t have recognized you.” The man’s words slurred. “Now, they’ll come after you. They’ll know it was you, motherfucker. They’ll know…”
“Well, it’s interesting you say that. See, I told Cain I would handle you personally. Now, as far as anyone knowin’ it’s me, I highly doubt that, sir. See, this here car has a fake registration outta state. Secondly, nobody would ever think I’d get my own hands dirty, this late in the game. Like you said, once you get to our status, well, we’re like Charles Manson! We have others do the work.” He chuckled. “We just plan it all out. Difference ’tween you and me though is that I like to get down and dirty. It’s a pleasure. And because of that, because someone would really have to know me to understand this about me,” Jude crouched down, cocked his head to the side, and looked the bastard in the eyes, “they’ll believe it could beanyonethat snuffed you.
“In fact, why do you think I waited so gotdamn long and didn’t jump on you months ago when you got your claws first in Paul, then Cain?”
He could see the fear and realization shine across the man’s face.
“Yeah, I held off, made it seem like I needed the GDs for protecting my turf. I don’t need their damn protection for my trap houses, motherfucker. Igavethat shit to them. Free and clear. Several of ’em are now friends of Cain. It was a pretty sweet deal if you ask me. So, I beg to disagree, Perro. Nobody is gonna look my way because on top of all of that, I’ve got an alibi. Right now, I’m visiting Cain in prison. My cousin looks a hell of a lot like me. Rob is his name. He’s a nice boy, but still a fuckin’ Cooper down to his bones. We’re so proud of him!” He chuckled. “He drove my truck to the prison, has on my clothes, my watch, has my cellphone, the whole nine. We even put a temporary black star tattoo on his face. He’s a great guy… graduated from college and everything. He’s on a million cameras, walkin’ around, lookin’ just like his big cousin, Jude. He has my I.D., dyed his hair black, cut it just like mine, and grew his beard out just for this special occasion. So, how can I be in two places at one fuckin’ time?”
“FUCK YOU!!!”
“Awww, it’s sinkin’ in now, huh? You’re up shit’s creek. I’m good, buddy. In fact, you got a lot of enemies: Gizmo, down there in Houston, Jason, Armont, Tyrell, the entire GD East Tennessee gang, the Memphis Maniacs… I heard about the number you pulled on them a few months ago. A few of them Neo Nazi boys ran you outta dodge too, called you all kinds of beaners and what not… Oh, and you have one more enemy, I almost forgot. Your mama. She wishes she had swallowed you with a little salsa on the side.” He grinned.
“FUCK YOU, FUCK YOU, FUCK YOU!!!”
Jude got back to his feet and aimed the gun. “You’re the last crossword puzzle… Señor El Perro del Infierno. You have been found guilty of all charges. I sentence you to Hell, where all good hell dogs such as yourself belong. You’re going home, sweet home, but not Alabama!!!”
BOOM! BOOM!
Jude shot the fucker twice in the head. Dropping his gun to his side, he took a moment to appreciate the clean holes he’d made, then hopped in the car. He backed it up, pulled it into the barn and parked it. Getting out, he grabbed the canister of gasoline he’d used earlier, and sprinkled the dead man with its contents before tossing his cigarette over the bastard, igniting a flame that turned into a flesh burning inferno…
This is for Cain, ’cause he’s able. This is for Paul, for he’s revered. This is for me… Jude, for I am judicious…What a perfect retirement gift for the Judge.
These are the rules of the game. Break them and die.
Court is adjourned…
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
The Gift of Flawed Perfection
Isaid Iwasn’t gonna help, but I have to. I guess Nurse Katherine was right about me…
Iris wrapped her arms around Lark and squeezed. The woman’s entire body rattled and shook, emotions running high. Lil’ Peep’s, ‘Right Here,’ played on low from Lark’s phone.
“It’s going to be all right,” Iris reassured as she pulled back and looked into Lark’s eyes. This time, she didn’t bristle from the sight of the woman’s swollen black eye.
Tom had become pissy drunk, they’d gotten into it, and he hit her square in the face. He was full of apologies the following morning, but this time, Lark wasn’t swayed. Once the kids were off to school, after Tom had gone to his brother’s, she packed her and her children’s belongings, and headed to a motel. Her sister had changed her mind and stayed in Kentucky to be with a man she’d met online, so Lark had to do it all by herself. Iris assured her that she could.
“Now, you take this.” Iris pulled out a wad of cash and placed it in Lark’s hand, closing the woman’s fingers around it. Lark looked down at the money, sobbing hard, and then her eyes almost popped out of her head.
“Oh, my goodness. I can’t take all this money, Iris! Oh my God!”
