Beneath The Surface (30 page)

Black handed the phone back to Carmen and it rang shortly thereafter. “Hello,” Carmen said.

“Mike Black, please,” a female voice asked.

Carmen rolled her eyes. “Hold on,” she said and handed him back the phone.

“What you doing?”

“Sittin’ here talkin’ to Jackie, why? What’s up?” Monika replied.

Monika, Nick
,
and Jett Bronson were part of a special operations unit in South America. Their mission was the destruction of drug plants, seizure or destruction of financial records, and the assassination of drug dealers. Monika’s specialty was munitions, but in addition to munitions she was trained in weapons and commando tactics, now she was his personal assassin.
The perfect assassin.

“You at the new spot?”

“Yup. It’s nice. I like what she’s done with the place.”

“Wait there for me. I got a job for you.”

“You know I like the sound of that. I’ll be here waiting for you,” Monika said and ended the call.

Black told Carmen where to go, and she made her way to the high- stakes gambling house that was run by a gambler named Jackie Washington. She had a degree in chemistry from Rutgers University. But after she was fired for insubordination, Jackie became the third member of the high-tech robbing crew, headed by Travis Burns. Running this spot, the game that Black and Bobby started, was a reward her loyalty. Jackie saved Freeze’s life once, and gave Black the information that led him to Mylo.

Since she had taken over the spot profits have soared, and that small place was getting too crowded. With that in mind, Jackie went to Black and suggested that they needed to move. Black approved.

With the added space, Jackie was able add a couple more tables to accommodate the gamblers, and she even ran a line of working girls. She wouldn’t let them fuck in the house, but she charged them five hundred dollars per night for the privilege of having access to her high-priced clientele.

When they arrived at the spot, Black led Carmen in and looked around for either Jackie or Monika. He found Monika at the bar and approached her. “Hello, Mr. Black,” Monika said when she saw him coming.

“What’s up, Monika?” Black asked and sat down next to her. “I want you to meet Carmen Taylor.”

“Nice to meet you, Ms. Taylor.”

“Nice to meet you too; and
it’s
Carmen.”

Monika returned her attention to Black. “What’s the job?”

“Surveillance,” Black said. “I’ll let Carmen go over the particulars with you,” he said and got up, allowing Carmen to have his seat. “Where is Jackie?”

“In her office,” Monika said, and Black left her and Carmen to talk about what she needed.

Black made his way to the office and knocked on the door. Jackie buzzed him in. He found her sitting behind her desk talking to Travis Burns. He’d graduated from the University of Connecticut with a degree in computer science. He was a natural born programmer turned robbery planner. Always very logical and always
very
disciplined.

“Come out when you get a minute. I want you to meet somebody,” Black told them and left out of the office. He went back to where Monika and Carmen were sitting. Monika got up. “I’ll get with you tomorrow then,” she said to Carmen and walked away.

“Come on. I want you to meet somebody.”

“Who’s that?”

“His name is Sonny Edwards.”

“Who is he?” Carmen asked as they approached Sonny.

“He’s my consigliere.”

“Really. I would have thought that Bobby would be,” Carmen said knowing how close Black and Bobby have always been.

“Bobby is more of a war-time consigliere.”

Sonny stood up. “So this is Carmen Taylor,” he said and looked Carmen over. He turned to Black. “You’re right. She is much prettier in person. All right in here,” Sonny said motioning with his hands. “Eyes, nose and mouth: All right in here,” Sonny repeated as Travis and Jackie walked up.

“Travis Burns, Jackie Washington, this is—”

“Carmen Taylor,” Jackie said quickly and excitedly, “oh my God Carmen Taylor! Oh my God, it’s really you! What are you doin’ in here?”

“Mike and I are old friends,” Carmen said.

Jackie turned to Black. “I always knew you were a Mack, but you get points for this one.”

“Thank you,” Black said and sat down.

“I am so honored to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too, Miss Washington,” Carmen said and touched Jackie’s hand.

“Nice to meet you,” Travis said, and then sat down with Black and Sonny.

“Nice to meet you, too, Travis,” Carmen said before Jackie dragged her away toward the bar.

“You know, when I was in high school, I wanted to be you. Can I buy you a drink?”

“Sure, Bacardi on the rocks,” Carmen said.

“Henny,” Jackie told the bartender.

When the bartender brought their drinks, Jackie raised her glass
and then turned it up. Carmen, never wanting to let anybody
out
drink
her, turned up her glass as well. Jackie quickly had the bartender pour the two of them another round.

“I’ve never seen Jackie this excited about—about anything,” Travis said. “And I’ve known Jackie for a long time.”

“It ain’t everyday you get to meet one of your idols. You heard her, she wanted to be Carmen Taylor,” Black said.

“You sure that’s all Jackie wants from her?” Sonny asked and everybody laughed.

It wasn’t long before the two women were doing straight shots. Two hours later, Carmen and Jackie were drunk. Black shook his head and called Vonda. “V, it’s Black.”

“Hey, Black. What’s up?”

“You need to come down here and get your woman.”

“Why, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. She just got a little drunk doin’ straight shots with Carmen Taylor and—”

“Carmen Taylor—the model Carmen Taylor? Be on channel five, Carmen Taylor?”

“Yeah, she’s drunk too. The two of them down here dancin’ and singing old show tunes. I didn’t know Jackie was into that.”

“
You kiddin’
me, right? Get the heifer drunk, and life is a cabaret old chum,” Vonda said, but she came to get her. As for Carmen, she passed out in the cab on the way to her apartment. When they arrived, Black carried her up and put her to bed.

That following afternoon, CeCe picked up the latest issue of
Jet Magazine
and began flipping through its pages. She had spent the morning at the boutique talking with Jameta. With her spending so much time out of the country, CeCe thought it was a good idea to make Jameta her partner. It was one of the best decisions she’d ever made.

CeCe did feel a little bad about the lie she had told Black, but it wasn’t a big one, and she really just didn’t want him to worry about her.
Mike is so protective of his girls,
CeCe thought.

“Miss Collins, you can come back now.”

CeCe didn’t move.

“Miss Collins?”

“Huh?”

“Miss Collins, you can come back now.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I was a million miles away,” CeCe said. But the truth was she just wasn’t used to being called Miss Collins anymore. When she was in Nassau, she was Mrs. Black. The captain of their boat called her Mrs. Black. The woman that cleaned the house called her Mrs. Black. All of the deliverymen and vendors that she dealt with called her Mrs. Black. CeCe had even gotten in the habit of signing her name as Mrs. Camesha C. Black. In fact, the only one who didn’t call her Mrs. Black was Mr. Black. He had taken to calling her Cee.

“Come in, Miss Collins, and have a seat.”

CeCe came in the office and sat down. “Well, doctor, what’s wrong with me?” she asked and leaned forward.

For the last few months she’d been feeling delighted, anxious, exhilarated and exhausted; sometimes all at once. More often than not, she felt sort of rundown. And then at times it felt like her heart was pumping faster and harder. She had occasional bouts of heartburn and constipation. Her breasts were unusually sensitive. But the thing that bothered her the most was that she had occasional dizzy spells, and she was nauseous at times. Not trusting the doctors on the island, CeCe made an appointment with her family doctor.

“Wrong? Nothing’s wrong at all. You’re three months pregnant, my dear. Congratulations.”

“What? Pregnant? Three months pregnant? I can’t be pregnant. I’m on the pill—I been havin’—” CeCe started to list all the reasons that she couldn’t be pregnant.

Then she got still and quiet.

All at once she felt calm.

And then she smiled. “I’m gonna have a baby,” she said and looked at the doctor.

“Yes, you are.” The doctor smiled.

“Do you know what I’m having?”

“Not yet. If your baby is positioned correctly, an ultrasound may be able to predict the gender after 16 weeks. Do you know what you want?”

CeCe sat back in her chair and gently touched her stomach. “It’s a boy. I can feel him.” CeCe shook her head and shut her eyes. “Mike Black, Jr.”

Meka Brazil felt like she was back. She met with two new clients that day and she was about to have dinner with Wanda Moore to report on the overseas investing projects that Black had tasked her with at their last meeting. Things were definitely getting better for her.

As was her custom, Meka arrived early. She liked to be there when her clients arrived, and Wanda was no exception. In fact, this meeting now represented the bulk of her legal business. If she had a choice, Meka would have much preferred to keep all her business legal, but what could she do.
You could have said no, I don’t do that type of work anymore,
Meka thought as she sipped her drink. Being broke will cause you to make choices that you don’t want to make. She made a promise to herself that Leon was a one-shot deal, and she would be done. “For good this time,” Meka said and raised her glass as Wanda walked toward the table.

“How are you, Meka?” Wanda said as Marcus stood next to her.

“I’m fine, Wanda.”

“Meka, this is Marcus Douglas.” She turned to Meka. “Marcus Douglas, our financial consultant, Meka Brazil,” Wanda said.

“Good to meet you, Mr. Douglas,” Meka said, and knew right away that her status had changed. She used to be their financial advisor.

“Good to meet you too, Meka, and
it’s
Marcus,” Marcus said and shook her hand.

They had the usual amount of small talk over drinks, and got to the heart of the matter once dinner was served. “Coldwater Wind is an offshore wind farm developer that has launched a new operations center in Maine, as part of that state’s offshore wind program,” Meka said.

“I’m not familiar with that company,” Wanda said. “What can you tell me about them?”

Meka handed Wanda a proposal. “If I had known you would be joining us, I would have made one for you, Marcus,” Meka said and smiled at Marcus.