Unknown

Chapter 1

'Booger' Bordelon watched the street carefully, while posturing as if he wasn't watching the street at all. A solidly built girl waddled down the sidewalk on the other side of the street. Booger waved in greeting but she ignored him. She reached into her snug jeans pocket and retrieved a cell phone.

"What? I'm busy," she snapped into the phone.

She stopped walking and frowned deeply.

"Nuh uh, I tell you what you are, uh huh," she said, then resumed walking again.

She turned the corner, still ranting into the telephone.

Booker heard his own cell phone chime and took it out. An unknown number was in the display.

"Yeah?" he said into the phone.

"Heard you got a little problem," a female voice said.

"What? Who the fuck is this?" he yelled.

"Two of them, in fact," the voice went on.

"I asked you a question, bitch," Booger said forcefully.

"Heard you," the voice said. "I can help you with your little problems."

"Oh yeah, and how you do that, huh?" Booger asked.

"How isn't really important, now is it?" the voice said, still very monotone, almost bored. "Ten thousand each, no more problem. Interested?"

"Uh huh, and next thing I know mother fuckers be at my door, all up in my shit, saying I done reduced them no thank you very much," Booger said.

"It'll never come back to you. Ten thousand each. If you're interested, just nod your head yes," the voice said.

"What? Who the fuck is this? Where you at?" Booger said, looking all around.

"Any idea how stupid you look, swiveling your head all around like that?" the voice said, a hint of mirth creeping into her voice.

"Okay, yeah, I'm interested," Booger admitted, nodding his head yes.

"Okay, tomorrow morning, put two thousand dollars, cash, into the mailbox right across the street. Number 112? See it, right across the street from you?" the voice said.

"Oh yeah, I just drop two thousand in and kiss my ass, huh?" Booger said.

"Then I'll collect the rest when they're done," the voice said. "Bye."

Booger shrugged his shoulders and put his cell phone back into his pocket.

The two problems were Sammy Clivens and Tuquor Amaan Kandira. Both were scheduled to testify against him at his trial next month. Both men claimed to have seen Booger kill Tuquor's girlfriend, Polly. The poor girl was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But since the first inquiry, neither Sammy or Tuquor had been seen.

"Ain't got nothing lose," Booger shrugged and, with one last look up and down the street, went to the apartment he shared with his grandmother.

"Nana, you fell asleep again in front of the television," Booger said gently to the woman that had raised him since he was an infant.

"Oh, let me tell you, ain't nothing worse than getting old," she whimpered as she eased her bulk out of the chair.

Still grumbling and fussing, she walked down the hallway to the single bedroom.

"Damn, Nana," Booger mumbled, waving at the air.

Nana's gas was normally quite offensive, but tonight she was outdoing herself.

"Nana, you eat at Popeye's again?" Booger called out.

"Coupon came in the mail," Nana called back.

"Damn, woman," Booger grumbled and lighted a joint.

Soon, the smell of Nana's gas dissipated and Booger lay down on the dilapidated couch to sleep.

----

"Very good," the female voice said when Booger answered his cell phone.

"What?" Booger said, squinting at the mailbox across the street.

He had been watching it all day, ever since putting the two thousand dollars into it.

"How'd you, where are you?" he asked, swiveling his head around, trying to see the whereabouts of the caller.

"It'll be taken care of," the voice said and terminated the call.

----

Booger walked around the neighborhood, trying to see if he could notice anything out of the ordinary, notice any people he'd not seen around the neighborhood before.

"Hey Booger, come see," Detective LaRocca called out and Booger's insides hardened.

"Yeah, what you want?" Booger yelled, trying to adopt a tough swagger.

"You one lucky little n*gger, know that?" Detective LaRocca said, staring Booger down.

"Yeah, what the fuck makes you say that?" Booger asked, looking Detective LaRocca eye to eye.

"Sammy was found dead this morning, drug overdose, and Tuquor put a gun to his head, suicide," Detective LaRocca said. "Just before giving testimony in front of the grand jury. Wouldn't know anything about that, huh?"

"What you think?" Booger asked.

"Think you about the luckiest n*gger I ever seen, that's what I think," Detective LaRocca admitted. "Lord knows you too fucking stupid have anything do with this."

"Uh huh," Booger smirked and walked away.

His cell phone chirped and he pulled it out.

"Same mailbox, tomorrow morning, the rest of the money," the female voice said before Booger could even say a greeting.

"Nah, nah, I ain't paying shit," Booger laughed into the phone. "Case you ain't heard, Sammy O.D.'d and Tuquor done put a bullet in his head."

"Uh huh, and I told you, there was no way it'd get back to you. Who you think put that twenty five to Tuquor's head?" the voice said.

Booger's blood ran cold. Detective LaRocca had not said what caliber handgun RTuquor had used.

"Barely even made a pop," the voice went on. "But you know that bullet was bouncing around in there, turning his brains into hamburger. Eighteen thousand, tomorrow morning."

"Uh huh," Booger smirked, having no intention of paying the remainder of the money.

----

"Booger, this isn't a game," the female voice said.

"What you going to do, huh?" Booger laughed. "Go to the cops?"

"Don't fuck with me, Booger. Last mother fucker didn't pay me sitting in a wheelchair now. You got until nine o'clock get me the other twenty three thousand," the voice said coldly.

"Thought it was only eighteen?" Booger asked, smiling.

"Wipe that ignorant smile off your face," the voice snapped. "Went up. Next time I have to call you, it'll be fifty."

"Make it a Hundred, huh, bitch?" Booger laughed.

He laughed as the call was terminated.

Diamond pulled up, his Lincoln Navigator thrumming and vibrating as JZ boomed out of the subwoofer. Booger sauntered out to the SUV, smiling widely.

"Shit, man, what you doing?" Booger laughed. And took the small bag Diamond handed him. Diamond smiled as Booger gave Diamond the cash.

"Business doing pleasure with you," Diamond said and drove away.

Booger put the crack cocaine into his vest pocket and sauntered back onto the sidewalk. His cell phone chirped; his grandmother's ring tone.

"Hey Nana, what's up?" he cheerfully said.

"Booger, there's some girl here, says you owe her some money?" Nana's voice crackled worriedly.

Booger's blood ran cold for the second time that day.

"Nana, she still there?" he asked her.

"Yeah," Nana agreed.

"Nana, put her on," Booger asked, trying to keep his voice calm.

"You don't want to cross me," the voice said. "But I'm done talking."

"You listen here, bitch, you hurt one hair on my Nana's head, I swear to God I'll..." Booger screamed into the phone.

"Get me my money, Booger," the voice said and the call was terminated.

Booger ran to the apartment building and ran up the stairs.

"You see her?" Nana asked Booger as Booger barreled into the apartment. "She just left here, not even a minute ago."

"What she look like?" Booger asked the old woman.

"Oh you know, just like any other girl, not enough clothes on, showing us everything we don't need be looking at," Nana fussed. "And using language like I are never heard, I swear I don't know what's up with you children these days."

"Nana, she white, black, what?" Booger asked.

"Black girl, of course," Nana said. "Shirt don't even come down, belly all hanging out, had one of them rings in her belly button, why anyone would want to do that beyond me, I tell you."

----

Victoria carefully removed the skin dye, checking her ears to make sure no traces remained there. The black wig was already in her bag, along with the gold tooth implant.

The padding had been removed as soon as she entered the house, along with the two pennies she'd jammed into her nostrils to widen and flatten her nose.

Nude, she walked to the window and looked out at the street. Booger was visible, looking up and down the street.

"Typical fucking man never sees anything, even if it's right in front of him," Victoria sneered and picked up the disposable cell phone.

There were only ten minutes left on the phone. She could, of course, add more minutes, but she wouldn't. She would use up the minutes, then dispose of the phone and then use another disposable cell phone.

Booger went back into the apartment, still wondering where the girl had vanished too. He had not seen any girl on the street or in the building when he'd run up the stairs.

He got the newspaper and tore several strips, stuffing them into an envelope. Then he went back down the stairs and walked to 112 Sycamore Street and put the envelope into the mailbox.

Then he walked back across the street and waited.

----

"Newspaper?" the voice asked. "Newspaper?"

Booger was amazed. He'd stood in front of the house all day and into the evening and no one had even walked in front of the house, much less looked into the mailbox.

"Go home, Booger, your Nana needs you," the voice sighed.

"I swear to God, you hurt..." Booger threatened.

"And it's fifty thousand now, dumb ass," the voice said and the call was terminated.

Booger ran back to the apartment he shared with Nana and entered.

He heard Nana groaning and whimpering from the bathroom and ran to the door.

Nana lay, naked, on the floor of the bathroom. She had obviously fallen as she was getting out of the bathtub.

Nana!" Booger screamed.

"Booger, you pay that girl, you hear?" Nana screamed back at him.

Chapter 2

Diamond listened; face impassive, as Booger described what had happened.

"And see, it's like this," Booger concluded. "Let me hold fifty, pay you back, know what I'm saying?"

"Uh huh," Diamond agreed.

"Aw my brother, you all right, knows what I'm saying?" Booger smiled in relief.

"I ain't too good at that math shit," Diamond went on. "Fifty thousand, let me see, what the fuck, you my boy, right? Fifty five on Friday, right? Be sixty five next Friday, feel me dog?"

"Fifty... Yeah, shit, that's cool, that's cool," Booger agreed.

"Uh huh," Diamond said and opened his desk drawer and counted out fifty thousand dollars in one hundred dollar bills.

"Man what else you got in there?" Booger jokingly asked.

"This," Diamond said, pulling out a nine millimeter handgun, pointing it right at Booger.

"Shit, mother fucker! Ain't got to be pointing that fucking thing at me, just asking, my brother!" Booger protested.

"And I can't get to this one, got four more all over in this room right here, another five or six in every room of this house, feel me dog?" Diamond went on.

"Uh huh, shit, ain't got to be all up in my face like that," Booger complained.

"See you Friday," Diamond smiled.

"Uh huh," Booger said, still angered.

----

"How's your Nana?" the voice asked.

"She's getting better, thank you," Booger snapped into his cell phone.

"Only got yourself to blame; you'd paid up like you were supposed to, she wouldn't have gotten hurt," the voice said.

"I find you, better sleep with one eye open, that's all I got to say, hear me?" Booger warned.

"Uh huh, don't forget to pay Diamond back. Ten thousand a week? That's some interest, huh?" the voice said, and Booger glared as he heard a giggle.

Victoria dropped the cell phone down the storm drain and continued waddling down the street.

"Your first one?" the elderly black woman smiled as Victoria tried to pull her blouse down over her protruding belly.

"Aw yeah and of course he's all like 'Aint mine'' you know?" Victoria complained. "I told him they got this D.N.A. out there now, he's going to find out Vickie don't play."

"Men, huh?" the woman cackled as she went back up the steps into her dilapidated house. "Sometimes wonder why even bothered making them, huh?"

"I know that's right," Victoria cackled.

Again, as soon as she entered the house, she pulled the bulky padding off and dropped the wig into her bag, then popped the tooth off, then walked to the kitchen. The dye needed to be removed, but Victoria wanted a drink first.

She took a bottle of juice out and took a few deep swallows from the jug.

She froze as she heard knocking at the door.

Quickly, she put the wig back on, and then adjusted the padding. Then she slipped the gold tooth back on and opened the door.

The older black woman stood on the porch, beaming up at Victoria.

"Hope you don't mind, but I remembered, when I was having my Terrell, and Ophelia, last thing I felt like doing was cooking," the woman said, showing Victoria a casserole dish. "So, I grabbed some of my world famous chicken stew, brung it right on over."

"Aw ain't you sweet?" Victoria said. "And I'm just about out of food too! See, we moving, tomorrow's my last day here, believe that shit? He moves me here, then says 'oops ain't got no job, going back to Atlanta, see you' and he's all mad I found him and he ain't even in Atlanta! He's in Birmingham, believe that shit? What's in Birmingham, huh?"

The old woman looked around the squalor and nodded her head in agreement.

----

Booger was sweating as Diamond's SUV approached. His plastid a smile on his face as he sauntered out to meet the vehicle.

Diamond took the ten thousand and listened impassively as Booger made excuses about why he couldn't pay Diamond.

"Uh huh, you ever find that girl?" Diamond interrupted Booger's lament.

"No, and I ever find that bitch..." Booger promised.

"Tell her give me a call," Diamond interrupted and sped away.

"Ain't telling her shit," Booger muttered and again took his post, waiting for another customer to come along.

"Hello?" Diamond said as an unknown number popped up on his dashboard display.

"Hear you wanted me to call you?" a female voice asked.

"Aw yeah baby, how you doing?" Diamond said, trying to remember the voice.

"Don't 'Baby' me," the voice said coldly. "Booger said you wanted me to call; what do you want?"

"I understand you ah; you got a way of solving problems?" Diamond said.

"I do," the voice agreed.

"Booger is my problem," Diamond said. "He owes me a great deal of money and shows no inclination of paying it back."

"And?" the voice asked.

"Convince him that I am not interested in a penny here a penny there," Diamond said. "Convince him it would be in his best interest to pay me what he owes me. In full."

"And what's in it for me?" the voice asked.

"Ten," Diamond said. "And the next time I got a problem, you'll get another ten to take care of that.

"No problem," the voice said and the call was terminated.

"Fucking freaky ass bitch," Diamond said and pulled up to the McDonald's drive-through.

----

Booger looked around; Nana was still asleep in front of the television. He pulled the can of nuts out and put the money into the can.

He wasn't worried about Nana finding the money; she couldn't eat nuts. They were too hard for her to digest, so she just left the can alone. Plus that, he put it on the top shelf of the cabinet, well out of her reach.

Nearly seventy thousand dollars. Diamond could just kiss his ass if he thought Booger was going to remain his boy, his dog forever. Detective LaRocca had accidentally let Andeer Ali-Jabi's name slip.

Booger had gone to have him a face to face with Mister Ahli-Jabi about stepping up the rung.

"Allah is good. Seventy five thousand would go a long way in convincing me that you are serious," Andeer had said. "I have been looking for someone that would be an honorable and fair man and my instincts tell me that you are such a man. Am I right?"

"You know it," Booger smiled and Andeer Ali-Jabi laughed and patted Booger's face.

"Yes, seventy five thousand and we will form our partnership, yes?" Andeer said.

"You eat those nuts again?" Nana asked, nearly causing Booger to drop the can.

"Like them," Booger smiled and stuck the can on the top shelf again.

"You get me those corn chips like I asked?" Nana asked, looking at the bags on the small table.

"Yeah, Nana," Booger said. "But you know the doctor don't want you eating them with your Diabetes."

"Doctors don't know everything," Nana fussed.

----

"Booger watched in amusement as the fat man waddle down the sidewalk. The man reached the corner, huffing and puffing out of breath, and leaned against a light pole to get his breath.

Booker's cell phone chirped and he answered it.

"Yeah?" he barked.

"Diamond's tired of waiting and would like you to pay him," the unemotional voice said.

"This is between Diamond and me, ain't got shit do with you, you done already got your money," Booger said after getting his breath back.

"No, now it's between me and you," the voice corrected. "Diamond has asked me to make sure you're willing to pay him."

"Fuck you, you hear me, bitch?" Booger screamed into the phone, terrified.

"Booger, Booger, Booger, like I'd let you anywhere near my golden ass?" the voice said, almost smiling. "But just to let you know I'm serious about collecting for my friend..."

Booger screamed in terror as the cell phone was shot out of his hand. A chunk of his index finger was missing and blood trickled from the wound.

The fat man waved to the elderly woman and labored up the steps into the house.

"Mrs. Harris, please, no more food," he called out. "God knows you are a wonderful cook, but my doctor really would like for me to lose some weight."

"Oh, all right," the old woman called back. "You look fine to me, though."

"That's what I said but you know how those doctors are," the fat man said.

She closed the door behind her and took off the short wig that hid her blond hair. Then she took off the large man's jacket and began pulling the padding out of her shirt. The pants followed. She put the clothing into the closet next to the front door, and made sure the twenty two pistol's safety was on.

Nude, she walked to the refrigerator and pulled out one of Mrs. Harris' casserole dishes.

"Woman can cook, that's for sure," Victoria agreed and put the dish into the microwave.

Mrs. Harris hummed to her as she fixed her own dinner.

"Shame about that Vickie girl; wonder if she had that baby yet," she mused aloud. "Then that boy moves in; Good God that's a lot of boy! I bet he's at least three hundred pounds!"

----

"Here you go, my man," Booger pasted a smile on his face as he handed Diamond the fifty thousand dollars.

"Uh huh," Diamond said, making no comment about the white gauze tape around Booger's index finger.

"You can trust me; it's all right there," Booger said.

"Uh huh," Diamond agreed, but continued to count.

"Now you can tell that bitch she ain't got shit do with me, right?" Booger asked.

"Uh huh, maybe," Diamond agreed. "By the way, Ali-Jabi said he wants to see you."

"Oh?" Booger said, paling considerably. "Who's that?"

"Mother fucker you was kissing up to behind my back," Diamond said and turned his back on Booger.

"Huh," Booger said and left Diamond's house.

----

"Money goes into the mailbox, 112 Sycamore Street," the voice said.

"Uh yeah, yeah, uh listen, I might have another one for you," Diamond said.

"I'm listening," the voice said.

"Ever hear of Andeer Ali-Jabi?" Diamond asked.

"Yes," the voice said and waited.

"Well, that's uh, that's the next problem I'd like solved.

"Andeer Ali-Jabi is a hard one to get to," the voice said. "That will cost you fifty."

"Thousand?" Diamond said, surprised.

"With him out of the way, you would stand to take over the entire city," the voice calmly said. "It would mean millions for you."