Bargaining Chips
Reed’s
Realm
Every city
has parts where a person wouldn’t want to find himself
having car trouble or wandering around lost at night. In those parts of the city, even the street
cops drive a little fast when they go through.
Some of
the worst areas were the low lying neighborhoods that were a few blocks away
from the docks. These neighborhoods were
scary enough during the day, and as you drove through them during the daylight
hours when things were at their best, there were still plenty of tell-tell
signs of the kinds of things that went on at night. Every house and business had windows and
doors covered in bars or mesh, so it looked as if the streets were lined with
small prisons. Only these small run down,
owner-made prisons were constructed not to keep the undesirables locked in, but
to keep them locked out. Even more
disturbing was the fact was that it would be a lot safer to walk through San
Quinton than it would be to walk these streets at night. After the sun went down, a completely
different breed of life came out to roam.
“You know,
I just don’t understand where all these people hide during the day,” Martin
said. He and Reed were sitting in Reed’s
car, parked across the street from the Fairmont Motel.
“I mean, you
see people out during the day, but they are mostly worn down people that don’t
have anything and never did. Then you
drive through the same part of town at night and there are freaks
everywhere. I mean look at all the hookers
walking around,” Martin continued.
Reed
couldn’t disagree or explain. “My guess
would be that during the day, most of them are sleeping off what they did the
night before. Either that or they are
waiting their turn at the free clinic to get some kind of treatment, or asking
the doctor what might be the cause of that terrible itching and burning
sensation they have been experiencing down
there,” Reed speculated.
“Okay! Okay! That was a little more information than
I really need,” Martin said as the picture Reed had painted in his head made
him squirm a little in the front seat.
Reed tapped
both thumbs on the stirring wheel. “This
is the part of the job I hate. Just
sitting and waiting for something to happen.
It’s like looking at a watch and counting the seconds of your life as
they tick away while the whole world is turning around you. And yet here we are sitting in the car watching
hookers try to snag John’s. Sometimes I
wonder what the hell I was thinking, honestly.
I could have been a lawyer or something, for God’s sake,” Reed spoke.
“Hey, I
know what you mean. I’m not one for just
sitting around either. I would rather be
in the action,” Martin said. He looked
down at the dashboard clock, then back to the hotel door upon which they
focused. “Speaking of action, we have
been here for over an hour and there have been no signs of any life in that
room. How long do we wait before we make
a move?” Martin asked.
“I was
hoping that we might get lucky and catch him leaving so we could tail him and
then take him down in a less populated spot.
We would also have a better idea of what weapons he might be carrying. It’s really dangerous to just walk up to the
door.” Reed looked at his watch and
shook his head. “If he’s not in there,
then he’ll get tipped off that we’re looking for him. But if he is inside, then we don’t know if he
is alone, or whether or not he has an armory of guns and is ready to go down in
a blaze of glory. And look at the
room. This guy was smart. He got a corner room with the door and a
window facing one street, and windows facing the other street. He has great vision around him from inside. Either way, I get the feeling that our luck
has just about left us tonight,” Reed said.
As Reed
finished speaking, he noticed a group of people making their way in the toward
the corner room.
Martin
looked to his friend with a smirk.
“Maybe our luck hasn’t run out quite yet. Check it out.”
There were
four black guys and one girl on the way to the door with 119 on it. As the group approached the door, one of them
continued on to the corner, looked around it, and then nodded to one of the
others. The apparent leader, a twenty
year-old with a red bandana, reached out and knocked on the door.
“Did you
see that?” Martin asked. “Three knocks, then
one knock, followed by two knocks, twice.”
Reed
looked over at Martin, “I sure did. Nice
code.”
The door
opened and all five of the young hoods stepped in and closed the door behind
them.
Martin
looked over at Reed. “What do you think
is going on? Should we call in backup and
swarm the room? Someone is in there and
we have to assume that it’s TJ.”
Reed
paused for a second, considering. Police
work could be handled so many different ways.
Some cops were bull headed, gun wielding, egotistical brutes. Those testosterone heavy sorts used the most
force possible all the time, every time.
They were the kind of policemen who turned up in very unflattering
videos on the evening news.
Reed liked
to think that he was the other kind of cop.
A smart one.
Sometimes force was necessary, no doubt.
There were many times, though, that another, less violent method of
attack was needed to do the job.
“No, we
don’t call anyone. We wait,” Reed
responded.
Martin stared
at the door, a perplexed look on his face.
“If I’m
right, in a few minutes that door is going to open and at least four of them
are going to walk out of that room,” Reed stated.
“What
makes you say that?” Martin asked.
“Just wait
and watch. Let’s see if I am right,”
Reed responded.
They sat
in the car and didn’t take their eyes off the room. No other words were spoken between the
two. Ten minutes went by with no movement
from the room. Looking at Martin’s ever
darkening expression drained Reed’s patience.
“Come
on. Come on,” Reed whispered.
Another
five minutes went by; nothing.
“Man, I
don’t know what made you think something was going to happen, but I don’t—”
Martin stopped in mid-sentence as the door to room 119 opened. The four guys that had entered the room came
out, walking with the swagger of indestructible youth. Two of them went down
“I’ll be
damned,” Martin said as he looked over at Reed.
“How did you know that they were going to come out so quick?”
“Just
think about,” Reed said, shifting to face Martin. “The street punk told us that TJ was in the
room cutting and weighing, getting ready for tonight. So that’s what he’s been in there
doing.” Reed pulled out his pistol and
checked the chamber. “Well, he finally
got it finished. He’s not going to hit
the streets to risk being caught or shot, so when he gets the product ready, he
calls his boys and they come and do his street dirty work.”
“And
the girl? She didn’t really look like a hooker to me,”
Martin asked.
“No, I
don’t think she was either. I think that
could be his girl. That leads me to
believe that he is more than likely alone with her in there now,” Reed added.
“So what
is our move?” Martin asked.
“We go up
to the door, do the knock, and rush in when there’s movement at the door,” Reed
said.
“Alright,
let’s do it,” Martin said.
Reed
reached above his head and turned off the car’s dome light so that it would not
turn on when they opened the doors to get out.
TJ wasn’t likely looking out at them, but being thorough was just
another aspect of being smart.
“Once we’re
out in the open, we’re going to have to close in on that door in a hurry before
we’re given away,” Reed started.
Martin
shook his head in agreement.
“Here we
go. One! Two! Three!” Reed said as they both got out of the
car and headed to room 119. Both Reed
and Martin moved fast over the sidewalk with guns drawn in front of them,
heading to the door while keeping a close eye on the environment around them. Few people seemed to notice. There were a few prostitutes on the other
side of the street. They all just walked
the other way, knowing that something was about to go down and that they didn’t
want to be anywhere around when it did.
The
policemen made it to the door with no sign of any occupants being tipped off.
Reed put his back against the wall at the right side of the door and Martin
took his place at the left. Martin
looked over at Reed, who nodded his head in answer. Martin then reached over and knocked on the
door. Three knocks, then one, followed
by two, twice.
“I’m busy. Go away and come back in a few hours,” a male
voice said from inside the room.
Martin
looked to Reed for direction.
“Do the
knock again,” Reed whispered.
Martin did
the knock a second time, a little harder than the first.
“Damn it!
I said go away. I’m busy,” the voice
yelled.
Martin,
his brow furrowed, looked back over to Reed again. Whoever was in the room was not the only one
getting irritated.
Martin
reached out to knock again, but before he could, Reed motioned for him to stop. The time for being gentle had come and gone.
Martin
watched Reed expectantly. They both took
deep breaths, knowing they were both about to put their lives in extreme
peril. There was no way to predict what
waited on the other side of the door. Reed
cocked his gun, shifted his body to the side, and started slamming his fist with
maximum force against the hollow metal surface.
He banged against the door three times, then one time, then two and once
more.
“Hey, it’s
three, one, two, and then two,” Martin whispered.
Reed smirked at Martin, “Who said I was done?”
Reed
stepped in front of the door, his gun held chest high, and gave the final knock
in the form of his left foot kicking the door open. The door exploded inward, almost out of its
hinges, and crashed loudly against the wall behind it.
Martin
bent down and swung into the room with Reed right behind him.
“Freeze!” Martin yelled. “Police!”
A black
man that Reed assumed to be TJ, and the woman they’d seen walk in, were on the
bed. They’d been startled apart, both
staring wide eyed at the policemen busting in on them. All the curtains were pulled tight and the
room was appropriately dim. A worn couch
and dresser sat against the adjacent wall.
Judging by the tattered surface of both, the weekly rent of the room
shouldn’t have been more than fifty bucks.
The condition of the bed and other furniture wasn’t much better. TJ reached over the woman for the gun sitting
on the night stand next to the bed.
“Touch it
and the next thing you’ll feel is a bullet in your head,” Reed said to the out
stretched man.
TJ looked
at Reed, but didn’t move any further.
His hand was about three inches from the pistol.
“You might
be fast, but you’re not that fast. It’s
over. Slowly back away from the gun,”
Reed added.
Again, TJ
didn’t move. His dark eyes drilled holes
into Reed.
“Do you
want to die!?” Martin yelled. “You won’t
get a shot off before you’re dead. You
feel me, man?”
“Please,
TJ. I don’t want to die,” the girl
pleaded. She was a frozen like a board under
her man.
The drug
dealer narrowed his eyes and clinched his jaw, then moved away from the
gun. He scooted away from the girl and reclined
into the far side of the queen sized bed.
He kept his hands held up in front of his face.
Martin walked
to the night stand and picked up the gun.
“Cuff them
both,” Reed said to Martin, tossing the cuffs he was carrying onto the foot of
the bed. “I’ve got you covered.”
Martin
cuffed both of the suspects’ outside hands to the steel pipe bed head board and
their inside hands to one another. There
was no way they could get loose. Reed
stood with his gun pointed at the two while as Martin secured them. TJ’s eyes never
left Reed.
As Martin
finished, a noise came from the bathroom.
Reed swung his aim to the closed bathroom door.
“Did you
forget to tell me about your friend in the bathroom?” Reed asked.
“Man,
there ain’t nobody in the bathroom,” TJ said.
Reed moved
toward the bathroom while Martin stepped into position to cover TJ and his girl.
“Yo man, there ain’t nobody in the bathroom,” TJ said, his voice agitated. “What do you want, anyway?” He got no response from Reed. “Hey, I’m talking to you, mother fucker.”
Reed and
Martin paid him no attention. They knew
that TJ was just trying to pull their attention away from the closed bathroom
door and whoever was behind it. Reed
turned the door knob and with a quick motion and swung the door open.
“No man!
Stop,” TJ yelled from the bed, struggling against his bindings.
Reed
paused at the threshold, blocking it.
For a few seconds, he just stared into the bathroom processing what he
was seeing, before finally looking back over to TJ, who now turned his eyes
away.
“You son
of a bitch,” Reed said as he put his gun away and moved into the bathroom.
“Don’t
take your eyes off them,” Reed told Martin as he walked into the room.
“Hey,
what’s going on? You okay?” Martin called out.
“Yeah, I’m
fine. Just give me a second,” Reed
answered.
TJ just
looked down and didn’t move. His
girlfriend was equally as immobile.
Reed
finally emerged from the bathroom holding a small baby in his arms.
“You brought
your baby here?” Martin asked TJ.
The
criminal said nothing, refusing to look the policeman in the eyes.
“That’s
pretty messed up, even for a drug dealer,” Martin added.
TJ finally
broke his silence. “What do you want
from me?” he asked.
“What
makes you think that we want something from you TJ?” Reed asked.
“For
starters, there are only two of you. We’re
sitting here cuffed to the bed and not sitting in the back of a police car, so
you must want something. Otherwise we’d
be in jail already. So what the hell do
you want from me?” TJ asked.
“That’s
what I like about you, TJ. You’re a
smart man,” Reed responded. “And to
answer your question, all we want is some information.”
“Well,
you’re wasting your breath, cause you only getting two things from me,” TJ
said.
“And what
would those two things be?” Martin asked.
TJ looked
over at Martin and then back to Reed.
“You’re going to get both Jack and Shit from me!”
“Is that
right?” Reed asked.
“That’s
right! I ain’t
telling you anything,” TJ said with a laugh.
“Oh, I
think that you will. As a matter of
fact, I’m confident that you will fully cooperate with me,” Reed said, rocking
the blanket swaddled infant in his arms.
The baby continued to sleep as if he weren’t in the middle of a very dangerous
police action.
“And what
makes you think that?” the drug dealer asked.
“Because
you want to see your son again,” Reed said.
“I have a feeling that you don’t want him to be in foster care, and have
your parental rights taken away. Correct
me if I am wrong. You know all I have to
do is take out my phone and make one call and he is out of your life forever.”
TJ didn’t
say anything. He just looked down again. The woman beside him started to speak, but
stopped when TJ tugged on her arm.
“I believe
he thinks you’re bluffing,” Martin said.
Reed
walked over and handed the baby to Martin.
The other policeman carefully cradled the small baby in his python sized
arms. Reed knew that Martin had next to
no experience with children, but holding the baby, no one would ever have
known.
“Last
chance,” Reed said, stepping closer to the bed.
TJ still
was silent and motionless.
“Fine,
have it your way,” Reed said as he pulled out his cell phone and opened it up. He dialed a number and then put his phone on
speaker.
“New
Orleans Police Department.
If this is an emergency, please hang up
and dial 911. How may I direct your
call?” the operator asked.
“I need to
be connected to child protective services,” Reed requested.
“Please
hold for a moment while I transfer your call, sir,” the operator said in an
even tone. The phone started to ring
again.
“TJ—,” the
girl on the bed pleaded. The drug
dealer still just sat there and did nothing.
“Child
Protective Services, this is Jody. How
may I help you?” the new voice on the phone asked.
“Alright,
I’ll do it. Just don’t turn my baby in,”
TJ said, finally looking up to Reed, his eyes softer than they had been.
“I am
sorry, sir. Could you repeat that. I could not
quite understand you,” the voice on the phone spoke once more.
Reed
looked into TJ’s eyes.
“Sir, are
you there?” the voice asked.
“I’m sorry.
I accidentally dialed the wrong number. My mistake,” Reed said into the phone and
then flipped it closed.
“So what
do you want from me?” TJ asked.
Reed
reached into his inside coat pocket and pulled out a folded up sheet of
paper. He slowly unfolded it and tossed
onto TJ’s lap.
“I want
him,” Reed said.
TJ looked
at the picture and then back at Reed.
“Is this
what this is all about?” he asked. “About Marco?”
“So you
know this man?” Reed asked.
“Yeah,
this is a crap-tastic picture of him, but yeah I know
him,” TJ said.
“You said
his name was Marco?” Reed asked.
“Yeah,
that’s his name,” TJ responded.
“What is
his last name?” Martin asked.
“I don’t
know.” TJ said.
“What do
you know about him?” Reed asked.
“He is a
dealer, but not like me. I am just a
little fish in the pond, and I like it that way. Less mess.” TJ said, shrugging his shoulders and jingling
the two sets of handcuffs holding him down.
“Marco is a bigger fish. He’s
like the middle man that connects the big boss with the guys on the street.”
“So he’s
your supplier?” Reed asked.
“Not directly,
but he’s involved.”
“Who does
he work for?” Reed continued.
“How the
hell should I know? Look man these are
not the kind of people you ask a lot of questions. I don’t care who is running the show and I
don’t want to know to be honest because of times like this. If I knew and I gave them up, I would be dead
weather I was on the streets or in jail,” TJ explained.
“Look, do
you know where I can find him?” Reed asked.
“Hey, I’ve
said enough. I ain’t
telling you anymore until I know you are good on your word about my son,” TJ
said. He looked at his son with a
longing expression.
“Just
answer my questions yes or no, or the deal is off, TJ. Do you now where I can find this man?” Reed
asked again.
TJ looked
up at Reed once more and with a total anger in his eyes he nodded. ”Yes I do,
but I’m not telling you until I know my son is safe. That is the deal. Take it or leave it,” TJ demanded.
Reed
walked back over to Martin and took the baby from his arms. Reed looked down at the baby, who continued
to sleep peacefully. He was so innocent
and completely unaware of what was going on in the room. The world held so much promise for a little
one like this. He was starting with a
few strikes against him, but there was still hope.
“Uncuff the girl,” Reed said without looking up.
Martin did
as instructed without question.
“Get up
and come over here,” Reed said to her.
She slowly
got off the bed and walked over to where Reed stood. Reed looked back to TJ.
“Do you
trust this woman TJ?” Reed asked.
“Yes, I
do,” he said.
Reed
handed the baby to the woman. She took
him and looked back at Reed. He knew by
her lack of protest at what had gone on that she was not the little boy’s
mother. Even so, she looked at the baby
with affection, and would take care of him.
She would do so out of fear of TJ if nothing else.
“Get out
of here,” Reed told her.
She looked
over at TJ and he nodded to her to go. She
then turned and walked out of the motel room.
“Thanks
man, I appreciate you doing that,” TJ said.
Reed
walked over to the bed and stood next to TJ, who was still cuffed to the head
board. Reed leaned over and picked up
the picture of Willings from the bed. He stepped closer to TJ and spoke in a low,
soft voice. “Don’t get the wrong idea
here. I only let them go so I could find
out where to find this man. Truth be
known, the thought of you having anything to do with that baby makes me want to
throw up. You are scum and I would hate
for you to raise your boy, because he would walk in your shadow. So just so we are clear, I didn’t do that for
you. I did it because I need to find
this man and you are going to tell me where he is, and you are going to tell me
right now, because that was the deal,” Reed said.
TJ’s eyes turned back to stone with
anger. “Helping you is the last thing I
want to do, but a deal is a deal,” he said.
“You can find Marco at Club 9.
That’s where he hangs out a lot.”
“Are you
lying to me?” Reed asked.
“We had a
deal and on my son’s freedom, I swear I’m telling you the truth,” TJ
answered.
“I can
tell you one thing, cop. If you find him,
and believe me that is a big if, you will quickly see that you are in way over
your head on this one. I just wish I
could be there to see the look on your face when you’re about to die,” TJ
added.
Reed
flipped open his phone and dialed once more. He then turned the speaker function back on
as he had done moments before.
“New
Orleans Police Department. If this is an emergency, dial 911. How may I direct your call?” the familiar
voice asked.
“Yes, this
is Unit NO-377. I am at the Fairmont
Motel on 53rd and K. My
partner and I just apprehended a drug dealer and we are holding him in room 119. We need back up units to our location, please,”
Reed requested.
“Roger
NO-377, backup units are on there way,” the voice said.
Reed
closed his phone and turned his attention back to the restrained criminal.
“You can
just keep wishing, TJ, because the only thing you are going to be seeing are
the bars from inside your cell,” Reed said as he walked past Martin and over to
the door.
“And by
the way, there are no ifs, ands, or buts to it,” Reed said as he looked back
over his shoulder at TJ. “I am going to
find him.”