New York's Finest (21 page)

I didn’t ask any questions. Nor did anyone else.

“
By the way,” Stone said to Reggie, Damian and me, “the leader of the Assassins for Hire wasn’t Walt. He was their fall guy.”

“
Well who’s body parts did they belong to?” I somehow managed to say without a problem.

Stone looked at me, stepped towards me and gave me a peck on the forehead. The same thing he would do after he let Reggie and me stay up late watching scary movies, and then he would tuck me in bed. And he always managed to do one thing—give me a kiss on the forehead. That meant I wasn’t getting an answer. I hated when I was left in the dark about shit.

New York’s Finest Kiki Swinson

Chapter 23 – D – Day

Today was the day of the first shipment for Miguel. I was tired but surprisingly I wasn’t nervous. In my mind, I didn’t have anything to be nervous about. I figured it was because I felt secure and safe when I was doing my job. All of the madness stayed back in New York.

This was a long day for me and the crew. Our flight was taking off at six thirty that morning. First, we were flying to Phoenix, followed by a two-hour layover. Then we were flying to Dallas, followed by another hour and a half layover. Then the flight crew was changing. Our regular crew would stay the night and take the first flight to New York the next day. We flight attendants always flew back to New York that same day, but not as part of the crew. We helped out if the new crew needed help, but we were tag-a-longs. The airline started doing this after 9/11, but went back to the regular schedule around 2007. Then the recession hit and the airline went back to this same old crazy schedule.

Ironically, I loved it. It helped me when it came to planning and scheduling shipments for Reggie and I. And I knew the long layovers in Phoenix and Dallas were to ensure all of the corporations’ packages that were packed on the plane.

When I was in Dallas, I got a chance to talk to Damian. He had me call an unknown number on one of the pay phones in the Dallas airport.

“
Hey you, I miss you already,” Damian said.

Although it brought a smile to my face, I wanted to play it cool. “Really, what do you miss about me?” I replied.

“
Check you out,” Damian responded. “I love it when you play hard to get. But remember you’re gonna pay for it when you get back here.” I heard him laughing when he said that.

I had to laugh too when I heard Damian laugh. “I’m looking forward to it.”

“
Talk to Reggie yet?”

“
Briefly. I swear I was about to tell him about us this morning. But then I chickened out. I was afraid of how he would react,” I replied. Quite frankly, neither one of us knew how he would feel about our new status. And I actually think Damian was just as afraid as I was, but he was too damn hood to say it out loud.

“
I understand. So, if this will make you feel any better just take your time because with everything that’s going on, now is not the right time anyway,” Damian said. “Speaking of which, I need to let you know what’s going on.”

Those words immediately piqued my interest. “Well, what are you waiting on, tell me what’s up,” I demanded.

“
Well, as you know we agreed not to let Dre and Ben know that we knew what was going on. But somehow they picked up on something because we got a call that they’re wilding out around there. Dre is starting beef with a few of the niggas in the other buildings.”

“
Did they say why?”

“
Since we got the plug about what he and Ben were trying to do, we shut down the whole shop. Nobody out there has any of our stuff. It’s like a ghost town and those niggas are going crazy because they don’t have any work.”

“
They never acted like that before when we ran out.”

“
Exactly. Which is why we really know what time it is with them niggas. Any other time they wouldn’t be getting all crazy, but the reason why they’re doing it now is because they know we still got plenty of product left. And the fact that we’re telling them differently is getting them cats on the edge. We’re stopping their flow and their plans to fuck up our operation and they ain’t like that this too much.”

“
How long do y’all plan to do this?”

“
Until we find Vanessa. Unfortunately, she’s gone into deep hiding. Her mother, sisters and brother aren’t answering their phones and all have left their houses. But we have someone at each of their homes in case they come back.”

“
What does Reggie plan to do in the meantime?”

“
Concerning Vanessa?”

“
Yeah,”

“
Well, he just closed all of the accounts and credit cards they had together, and thanks to Stone, he was even able to empty out the bank accounts in her name alone. And don’t ask me how your uncle did that. That nigga got connections all over the fucking place.”

I laughed at Damian’s remark. But he was right, Stone was a well-connected guy.

“
And lastly, we haven’t been able to get any information on the last two assassins. We think they are chilling with Dre, Ben and Vanessa. But Reggie is cool. His mind is focused. I went with him to his physical therapy today and he looked good. I think all of this shit had him motivated to get back into the action. As soon as we left physical therapy, we went to the field where we do our target practice, and he shot off at least fifty rounds.”

“
I just hope he finds that trifling bitch and make her pay for all the shit she’s put him through,” I said.

“
Don’t worry. Her day will come.” Damian said.

“
Well, I hope so. She’s been walking around for far too long especially with all the shit she’s done.”

“
Be patient baby. Be patient. Everything is going to happen when it’s supposed to. It’s all about timing.”

Damian was right. Timing was a key factor. A lot of people fuck up and get themselves in shit they can’t get out of because they react out of emotions. Women do it all the time, which is why we can’t run the fucking world. At the end of the day, I wanted to hear that Vanessa’s ass was tortured and that we didn’t have to worry about her grimy ass anymore. I mean how dare that bitch put out a hit on my parents? They’ve never done shit to her cold-hearted ass. Reggie was the one who fucked around on her, not my parents. So, it was just a matter of time before karma catches up with her.

Although it was a long day, I was happy when the plane landed in New York a good twenty minutes early. I was more ecstatic that we could pull right in the gate. Usually when we landed early, especially this early, there was always another plane in our assigned gate, usually waiting to take off. But not this time.

Since this wasn’t an overnight trip, I just had my overnight handbag. I usually waited on Sabrina, but I was still upset with her after I found out she told that bitch all my business, so I grabbed my things from the overhead compartment and turned my phone on and saw I had a ton of voicemail messages that had come in during my three hour flight from Dallas.

I called my voicemail and the first message was a frantic message from Damian. “Naomi, somebody blew the whistle! The Feds raided the Polo Grounds and tried to raid Reggie’s penthouse, but Reggie was able to get away. Be careful and call me as soon as you get this message.”

What the fuck! I was nervous now. I didn’t understand what was going on.

I listened to the next message. This one was from Mr. Wright. “Naomi, we have a problem. The DEA and FBI both called and plan on intercepting your flight as soon as it lands. What I’m told is both agencies received an anonymous phone call from someone who told the Feds that you and your brother are running a drug smuggling operation through our airlines. They had a lot of questions for me and my boys. They know someone is working with you guys, they just don’t know who it is. If you get this message in time, I had Rick to pull out his old Halloween costume from last year that he has stored away in his locker. It’s an old woman’s wig, a dress and some makeup left for you inside of the waste basket on the side wall of the last stall of the second restroom departing your gate. You know the one—“

Fuck, the message cut off. I hit the next message and Mr. Wright completed his voicemail message. “Okay, your phone cut me off. It’s the last stall in the second restroom. You know which one I’m talking about, we have talked about this before. There will be an Out of Order sign on the stall door. If you don’t get this message in time and the Feds get a hold of you, please don’t panic. The Feds have nothing. It’s the corporations’ shipments and most judges, even Federal judges, will not give them a search warrant that easily based on the word of an anonymous phone call. That shit never happens.” he continued and then the message cut off again.

Fuck! My nerves were all over the place. After all the passengers exited the plane I stood there not knowing whether or not it would be safe to leave the aircraft myself. Thoughts of Federal Agents bailing towards me while I attempted to make my escape became overwhelming and scary. My heart raced uncontrollably. I had no idea what to do. I did know that whatever I decided to do, I needed to do it very quickly because there would be a cleanup crew coming aboard this aircraft at any second. Meanwhile I managed to clear my mind long enough to get Damian on the phone. He sounded like he was in complete distress. “Had your flight landed yet? Where are you?”

“
Everybody left the plane but I’m still on board trying to figure out what to do. I got the message about the Feds going up in the spot at the Polo Grounds and Reggie’s house.”

“
Look baby girl, get off that plane now. And get out of that airport as soon as you can without getting spotted.” his instructions began.

“
And go where? I heard that the Feds are all over the fucking place looking for us.”

“
Try to get back to the spot where you and Reggie got your emergency travel bag and I’ll meet you there.”

“
What time are you going to be there?” I panicked. I didn’t want anything to happen to him. He and I had already planned to spend the rest of our life together so we can’t start it off like this. I couldn’t picture him going to jail. Or even I for that matter. I knew we needed to be very careful about how we went about this thing.

“
I’ll be there when I can.”

“
How long do you want me to wait for you?”

“
If I’m not there within the hour than leave and go south.”

“
Go down south where? I don’t know anyone who lives down south.”

“
Listen to me Naomi, you’re gonna have to calm down. Let’s just take this thing one step at a time and meet me at the spot. Hopefully, I’ll be able to finally get in touch with Reggie before I meet up with you.”

“
Think I got enough time to go and clean out my place before they get there?”

“
I’m not sure. But, you can try. Just be careful though.”

“
Alright.” I said and then I ended our call.

After I got up the gumption to exit the plane, I inconspicuously made my way by all the hundreds of passengers and into the ladies restroom that Mr. Wright had instructed me to go to. As soon as I entered into the stall, I grabbed the contents from the waste basket and immediately got dressed. When I was done, I walked out of the stall and looked myself in the mirror. I couldn’t help but smile because I swear I didn’t recognize myself with this
grayish colored wig with streaks of black, an old faded blue dress, a pair of orthopedic shoes and a folded-up walking cane. And once I finished taking inventory of myself, all I had to do was unfold the walking cane.

I knew I should’ve left my handbag behind and stashed it inside of the wastebasket but I needed it. I had too much valuable shit with me to carry in my hands, so I pressed forward. Now all I needed to do was get out of the airport before the Feds made it here. The bad part was I had to act the part of an older lady and walk with a cane while carrying a one thousand dollar overnight handbag. Now was the moment of truth.

Everything was going well. I had made ground by getting to the nearest exit but right after I walked by the baggage pickup area,
I immediately noticed several Federal Agents who were being accompanied by the airport police and I damn near had a heart attack. They were fifty feet away from me and if I wanted to make my escape, then now was the perfect time. Unfortunately for me, every government agent with a badge and gun had every exit in this entire fucking airport blocked off. I was pissed at myself because I had to move slower than I wanted to. I probably played the part of the old, crippled woman too good. Time was of the essence and I had picked up my walk, but I didn’t want to overdo it. So the possibilities of me getting away from law enforcement were slim to improbable.
And even if they weren’t, where would I go?

I was fortunate though. I noticed Mr. Wright and he spotted me. I don’t know how he knew it was me but he was trying his best to steer the Feds from me. It became very clear that they had gotten to the airport sooner than we’d anticipated. Their presence didn’t derail my plans to get out of here but they did put a little doubt in my mind that it might just be a little harder to maneuver my way through the terminal.

Meanwhile, the Feds and the airport police were minutes from closing in on me. I tried to

figure out my next step as my heart raced uncontrollably. The edge I had over them was that they were looking for a young woman fitting my description and not a senior citizen woman wearing a grayish colored wig with streaks of black, an old faded blue dress, a pair of orthopedic shoes and walked with a cane. Believe me, I acted the part on queue and used my knowledge of the airport’s security system to my advantage. Mr. Wright had hooked me up. Only a select few employees knew the airport was equipped with over a thousand rotating surveillance cameras and fortunately for me, I was one of them. Mr. Wright made sure of that. I also knew there were so many cameras that the security staff could not observe them all simultaneously, which immediately prompted me to change my escape plan.