Thin Ice 6 - Hangman & Socrates (29 page)

Finally he found the complex and turned in. Again the frown was almost instant. Roderick couldn’t understand how they were still renting the rundown, ramshackle units he saw in front of him.
They need to condemn these damned things,
he mused finding building F and pulling across from it. He wanted to observe his son unnoticed. He wouldn’t need to wait long as the young man emerged almost instantly moments later, apron thrown across his shoulder as he walked toward the front of the complex, and Roderick assumed, the bus stop.
He doesn’t even have a car,
he thought frowning. He’d been sending Emin more than enough money for Tariq to have not only a car, but better living arrangements. He made a mental note to go see Emin again and get some answers. As he thought the door swung open again and he saw Hasaan emerge looking frail and worn.
He’s still a junkie,
Roderick mused, frowning again.

“
He’s going to self-destruct,” he murmured aloud removing his focus from Hasaan and seeing Tariq reach the top of the hill.

Starting the vehicle, Roderick moved toward the front, slowly and careful not to draw attention to himself.

The bus came some ten minutes later and Roderick again immediately fell in behind the huge multi passenger carrier and followed, watching intently as each passenger disembarked at the various stops. The trip took almost forty minutes when Tariq finally got off the bus and walked across the parking lot to the pancake house sitting in the plaza.
Well at least he’s doing honest work,
Roderick thought and sighed slightly. He wanted far more for his son than restaurant work, but he was pleased that he wasn’t on anyone’s corner selling dope or hustling for a living.
So now what,
his mind questioned. Roderick decided that Tariq would be at work at least four hours, giving him time to return to Emin and get some answers to his questions. Roderick also pondered his own future as he drove. He had to make some decisions and moves and he didn’t have the luxury of time to make them. Seeing the on ramp to the interstate, he once again pushed away the contemplation and concentrated on the task at hand.
One thing at a time,
he told the nagging in his mind as he drove and turned up the radio trying to drown out the sound.

*****

“
Say man, when is your next hearing,” Poncho asked. He was getting out today. Seemed his lawyer had found a couple of loopholes in the case and the execution of their prosecution, filed an appeal and won it.

“
Not for another 18 months, maybe 12 if they’re feeling generous,” Blue replied.

“
You got people, plans, when you up and out,” Poncho asked as he continued to smoke and wait on the guards to retrieve him.

“
Not really,” Blue replied calmly.

Poncho grumbled slightly before giving him his mother’s phone number.

“
Moms will always know where I am,” he explained. “Get up with me,” he added as Blue nodded and thanked him.

“
Come on down to Atlanta, you might like the south,” he chuckled as the guards finally arrived and opened the door.

Poncho bid him goodbye once again as Blue promised to contact him when he got out. Watching the man’s back until he left, Blue sat down on his bunk and exhaled deeply. He did indeed plan to contact Poncho just as soon as they gave him the word of his release. Lauren was still at the top of his list.
What if she’s married, with someone else, has kids,
his mind tortured.

Blue was sure Lauren had moved on with her life, carefully keeping her past a guarded secret.

“
I don’t give a fuck,” he groused quietly.

She could have twenty kids as far as he was concerned. A man was definitely not an obstacle either in his book. Blue had waited too long to let small technicalities get in the way of what he wanted. Lauren was the woman he loved, he’d been the first man to love her and she would always be his in his mind.
There ain’t nobody out there who knows that damned girl like I do,
Blue thought longingly. His mind took him back to their time together years earlier. He replayed the night the cops showed up and the last time she’d called him. Blue wanted to hear her voice again, touch her soft skin and look into those beautiful brown eyes.

“
Shit,” he swore softly, wishing he’d actually not been careful and gotten her pregnant when he had the chance.

At least then there would have been something tangible to always bond them together. Blue knew he had to stop brooding. There were months to go before he would get the chance to act on his plans, until then all he could do was bide his time and keep his nose clean. He didn’t want anything to hinder his departure from the place he was in.

He recalled Poncho saying that Lauren was in the game and doing well.
Shit, what did you expect,
his mind piped up. Grunting slightly, Blue nodded absently. With Hangman Cisneros as a father, Blue was pretty sure Lauren was a well on her way to being a millionaire. He already knew she had no qualms about killing, his mind going back to the botched robbery attempt by the two suppliers.

“
Just stay put baby,” he murmured aloud once more.

Blue was terrified of the thought of anything happening to her, or that she would suddenly decide to pick up and take off. Calming down and assuring himself she would have no reason to run with things being so good there, Blue again concentrated on doing his time and getting out.

“
White,” the guard barked as he walked up to the cell.

“
Yeah,” Blue returned, giving him a curiously look.

“
Come with me,” he told him, offering nothing more.

Blue shrugged slightly before complying with the instructions and followed wordlessly as they walked down the long hall way heading toward the warden’s office.

*****

“
Everything in place for tonight,” Ian asked, taking in the marquee in front of the club.

He’d purchased the property only six months earlier. He and Ryan were doing very well in the business now and Ian was no longer hustling for change. They had quite the reputation in the game, completely warranted, for being ruthless and strictly business. Ian had even earned a new nickname; Ice. Smiling slightly at the memory of the kill that earned it, he sighed lightly.

“
Yeah, all the liquor was delivered yesterday” Carlos replied, breaking his thought.

Carlos was Ian’s bodyguard and security.

“
That’s good to hear,” Ian replied. “This club is going to be like nothing Atlanta has ever seen before,” he added as Carlos readily agreed.

“
Where do you want to have lunch,” Carlos asked as they began driving away from the club.

“
Let’s do something simple, steakhouse is fine,” Ian replied.

Carlos again nodded and headed toward the restaurant as they continued talking about the grand opening. Ian had managed to secure several celebrity appearances, promising free tables and VIP service.

Arriving they went inside and were seated. Carlos was still scanning the menu when he looked up and saw the expression on Ian’s face.

“
What,” he asked simply.

“
I know her,” he murmured as Carlos turned around to see who he was talking about.

“
Oh, Tweety, yeah,” he replied recognizing the woman.

“
She deals,” Ian half spoke, half questioned.

Carlos told him that the woman and her best friend did some small time dealing, but they mostly ran armor.

“
Hmph,” Ian replied continuing to watch the woman.

She seemed to be with a different man every time he encountered her.

“
So if they’re making cash, why is she always acting like a trick,” Ian questioned, having an immediate dislike for the woman.

Carlos shrugged before answering.

“
Maybe she just likes spending other people’s money, or she’s addicted to dick,” he chuckled, laughing at his own pun.

Ian smiled slightly, but said nothing more. The man sitting at the table with her rose and left moments later, just as Ian and Carlos’s meals arrived. Another woman joined her moments later.

“
Is that her partner,” Ian asked, looking the woman over appreciatively.

Carlos again turned around to take in the women, then answered Ian’s question.

“
Yeah, that’s KiKi,” he replied as Ian again grunted.

“
She a trick too,” he asked, intrigued now and hoping Carlos said no.

“
Shit, hell no,” he replied.

Ian heard the venom and gave him a look.

“
She’s deadly Ice, I mean seriously deadly,” he replied going to give Ian a quick rundown of the woman.

“
I don’t even know if she likes dudes, I mean she’s supposed to be fuckin’ this dealer name Tripp, but hell,” Carlos trailed off.

Ian continued to regard the woman, as they ate. Changing the subject Ian once again began to talk about tonight and the things he expected from the club. He didn’t forget the woman or the things that Carlos told him about her, filing it away for some future use in his minds file.

“
If tonight doesn’t go well, I’m going to hold you personally responsible,” Ian told Carlos, who assured him everything was under control.

His phone rang and he answered chatting pleasantly with his brother. Ian was still observant however, noticing the tension between the two women as they talked. He got a quick glance at the bruises covering KiKi’s arms as she gave Tweety a hurried glance. For reasons he couldn’t explain right now, it pissed him off to think someone had abused the woman that way. He saw Tweety give KiKi a look and her nod her understanding. They rose moments after that, paid their check, and left the restaurant as Ian returned to his conversation with Ryan and thought no more of it.

*****

Roderick was once again in place outside the restaurant some four hours later, waiting for Tariq to leave. He’d done a very quick glance inside the open side door and saw his son still working feverishly inside the kitchen. Roderick was still angry about his meeting with Emin earlier. She’d been taking the money he sent and supporting her new boyfriend, his three kids and her own four children.
No wonder my damned son moved as soon as he turned 18,
he thought the guilt descending that Tariq didn’t even have a contact number to call and let him know what was going on.
So are you going to approach him now,
he mind questioned when the BMW pulled up and distracted him. The windows were tinted enough to obscure his vision of the driver, other than being able to ascertain it was a woman by the long hair and feminine fingers he saw on the steering wheel. Roderick watched as Tariq came outside and got into the car, hugging the woman slightly.
Who is this,
he wondered continuing to pay rapt attention.

They conversed for the next few moments before Roderick saw the exchange. He’d been in the field long enough to know a buy when he saw one. Obviously Tariq was the buyer, since he saw the money he handed to the woman.
No, Tariq, damn, tell me you’re not on that shit too,
Roderick thought angrily as he gripped the steering wheel tightly. He thought of following the woman when she pulled off, but decided against it. He had no jurisdiction here and he had no idea who she could be headed to meet. Sighing deeply Roderick continued to watch and wait, feeling helpless and praying against all odds that there was a reasonable explanation for Tariq buying the dope. An hour later his son strolled out of the restaurant as the red Monte Carlo pulled up.
What now,
Roderick mused. The man got out of the driver’s side and handed Tariq the keys as another truck pulled up. This one advertised the garage the man obviously worked for.
So that’s why he was taking the bus,
Roderick finally understood. His car had been in the shop. Smiling finally, Roderick started his own car and followed Tariq back to the apartment complex, after they made a stop at the grocery store.

Roderick waited until Tariq locked his car and went inside, giving him an extra fifteen minutes in case he came back outside, before exiting his own vehicle and casually strolling over to the vehicle and taking down the VIN number. Returning to his own car Roderick called in a favor from one of the few friends he had still willing to be associated with him and got all the info he needed. He quickly went to work. Roderick paid off Tariq’s car arranging for the title to be sent to him. He wanted to put money into an account for him, but Tariq didn’t have an account they could find. Roderick wasn’t ready to reveal himself yet, so that would have to wait. The only thing still bothering him was the assumed drug habit Roderick thought his son had. Taking a deep breath he got out of the car and quickly blended into the darkness that encompassed the complex, making his way behind Tariq’s building. Thankfully their unit was on the ground and he found it with ease. Roderick watched them unobserved through the sheet that didn’t quite cover the window of the bedroom they stood in. He saw Tariq take the small packet from his pocket and give it Hasaan.
Thank God for that much,
Roderick sighed deeply.