Business is Business PT 2 Page 2

  Derrick sat in the den sipping on a drink when he noticed Jimmy and Big foot enter. “Have a seat,” he ordered. Derrick finished off his drink then looked up at Jimmy. “What happen between you and Eric?”

  “I’m going to kill him when I see him end of story,” Jimmy said simply. There was no way he was going to let anyone get away with shooting him, blood or not.

  “You were fucking the man’s wife correct? Then what did you expect him to do?”

  “He didn’t have to shoot me,” Jimmy huffed.

  “If you were fucking my wife I would have shot you too,” Derrick said seriously. He knew, Jimmy was pissed off but he had to somehow defuse the situation before his sons tried to kill one another. “Listen your brother is on the way I want you two to talk this out and make it right.”

  “I have a hole in my shoulder ain’t nothing to talk about.” Jimmy snapped.

  “There’s a lot going on right now and the last thing I need are my sons trying to kill each other!” Derrick’s voice boomed. “Eric is on his way over, you’re going to apologize for fucking his wife, and the two of you are going to go back to being brothers! Do you understand me?”

  Jimmy nodded. “Yeah pop I understand.” Jimmy was already in hot water with his old man so he decided to keep quiet for now, but when the time presented itself, he planned on returning the favor.

  Twenty minutes later, Eric stepped in the den in a black, slim fitting tailored suit. Immediately, Derrick could tell that Eric was wearing a bulletproof vest or some kind of chest protector underneath his suit. Derrick’s eyes then eased their way down to Eric’s waist where he saw a bulge, which told him that Eric was strapped. A smile quickly appeared on his face he had never seen Eric like this before. Derrick knew that catching Jimmy having sex with his wife had pushed Eric over the top and maybe just maybe it was for the better. “Hey pop,” Eric nodded then turned and faced Jimmy. “Jimmy.” He greeted.

  Jimmy said nothing.

  “You two are brothers and it won’t be no fighting amongst the family so you two better figure out a way to make up,” Derrick said. “Now if you’ll excuse me, Mike has been calling me off the hook I have to call him back,” he said then disappeared out of the den. Big foot followed, Derrick’s lead, and stepped out leaving the two brothers alone so they could talk.

  Once the two were alone, Jimmy stood to his feet and looked Eric in his eyes. “This shit ain’t over. I’m going to make you pay for what you did.”

  “I apologize I shouldn’t of shot you. I lost my cool,” Eric said in a calm tone. “Blood is thicker than water and I just pray that one day you forgive me and we can go back to being brothers.”

  “Fuck you!” Jimmy snapped. “Once my shoulder heals I’m coming for you and I pray to God that you’re ready.”

  Eric nodded. “I’ll be well prepared for whatever it is that comes my way.” He knew there was no way that Jimmy could forgive him for shooting him that’s just not how Jimmy operated. Violence was Jimmy’s game and he had the guts, and heart to do all the things other men didn’t. Just as Eric was about to reply both men noticed Derrick re-enter the room with a mean scowl on his face.

  “What’s wrong pop?” Eric asked sensing that something wasn’t right.

  “Just got off the phone with Mike,” Derrick paused for a second. “Joey Alvarez’s daughter just hired the Lopez Twins to take me out.”

  “Damn!” Jimmy huffed. The Lopez Twins were legends in his eyes. They were as violent as they came and would do whatever it took to get the job done. “Beef up your security and I’ll see if I can find the Lopez Twins and maybe have a word with them.”

  “Ain’t no talking to the Lopez Twins once they’ve accepted a contract that’s it,” Derrick said. “We’re going to handle business as usual this isn’t the first time I’ve had a hit put on me and it probably won’t be the last.”

  “I don’t think this is something that you should be taking lightly,” Eric said. He didn’t know much about how things worked in the family business, but even he knew who the Lopez Twins were. “Beef up your security you’re the head of this family and we need you here.”

  Derrick looked over at Eric and smiled he liked the way his son was thinking. “I may need you to go pick up some cash for me.”

  “Who me?” Eric said with a surprised look on his face.

  “Yeah you.”

  “I don’t think that would be a good idea. Mom said she wanted my hands to always stay clean,” Eric said with a nervous look on his face.

  “Usually that’s Jimmy’s job but since you shot him he’s not able to do his job now you have to take on his responsibilities until he’s back healthy,” Derrick told him. “Think you can handle that?”

  Eric nodded. “Sure pop no problem.”

  Derrick turned and looked at Jimmy and Big foot. “While he’s doing that I need you two to find out where Joey Alvarez’s daughter is hiding at.”

  “My pleasure,” Jimmy said. He was mad at himself for letting Nicole Alvarez get away the other night if he had killed her when he had the chance then there wouldn’t be a contract on his father’s head right now. “We may have a small problem pop,” Jimmy said. “I think Joey Alvarez’s daughter is Mike’s new sweetheart.”

  “This isn’t up for discussion!” Derrick snapped. “I don’t care about no sweetheart find her and let me know when you do!”

  CHAPTER 25

  MIKE

  Mike sat behind the wheel of his vehicle as he watched the Lopez Twins exit the airport. Just from looking at the two men, he could tell that they meant business and didn’t fly all the way to New York to fuck around. “What the hell?” Mike said to himself as he leaned forward and noticed the two brother got into separate cabs. Having to make a quick decision, Mike decided to follow Eddie Lopez. He would have to catch, Danny Lopez another time. Mike pulled out behind Eddie Lopez’s cab. He had no idea what the Lopez Twins had up their sleeves, but he planned on finding out.

  Mike followed the cab into Queens; he had been following the cab for thirty minutes and finally decided enough was enough. The cab turn on a quiet street and Mike immediately hit his lights signaling for the cab to pull over. Mike reached under his seat and grabbed the .380 with the serial numbers scratched off; he quickly screwed a silencer on the barrel and stepped out the car. Mike walked up to the driver’s window and leaned down. “Where you guys headed?”

  “Just dropping off a passenger; why am I being pulled over?” The cab driver asked. Without warning, Mike raised his arm and shot the cab driver in his face at point blank range. He then moved toward the back seat and unloaded the rest of his clip into Eddie Lopez’s body. Mike quickly jogged back to his car and pulled off in a hurry. One of the Lopez Twins were eliminated. Now Mike had to find Danny Lopez before he made it to Derrick. Mike drove down the street and prayed that no one had seen the deadly act he just committed, cause not only would he lose his job he would also lose his freedom. Mike was playing a deadly game and he knew it, but it was no way he was going to just sit around and let anyone take shots at his family. Mike grabbed his phone and dialed Derrick’s number. After the third ring, Derrick answered. “Yeah.”

  “One brother down working on the next one,” Mike said then hung up. He then dialed Nicole Alvarez’s number. “Hey baby I need to see you. Where are you?”

  CHAPTER 26

  ERIC

  Eric walked through the hotel with one of his father’s bodyguards close on his heels. This was his first time handling something illegal for his father and to say he was beyond nervous was an understatement. His job was simple; meet with a few men that owed the family some money and collect it. A simple in and out transaction. The only problem was word got out that Derrick Mason was now on borrowed time so a few business associates decided to try their hand and not pay what they owed. Usually, Jimmy handled these family problems but since, Jimmy was out of commission for a while, Eric had to step up to the plate.

  Eric and the bodyguard stepped
on the elevator and pressed seven. “Do me a favor, when we get back remind me to set up a meeting with the owner of this hotel.” The hotel was beautiful and Eric thought it would be a good idea to invest in it. The two men stepped off the elevator and made their way down the hall until they found the door they were looking for.

  “Step back sir,” the bodyguard said as he raised his fist and knocked on the door. Seconds later a black man with baggy clothes answered the door.

  “Come in, come in,” he said then quickly closed the door.

  Eric stepped in the room and instantly the smell of weed attacked his nose. He looked and counted three men in total.

  “Where’s Jimmy?” the man with baggy clothes ask as he took two quick drags from the blunt that he held between his lips.

  “Jimmy sent me,” Eric said firmly. “I was told you have something for me.”

  “You in a rush or something?”

  “Actually I am,” Eric answered. Something wasn’t right but he couldn’t pin point what it was. All three of the men looked sneaky like in any second they were going to put a bullet in his head.

  “Introduce yourself bro,” the man in the baggy clothes said. “I like to know who I’m doing business with.”

  “Derrick Mason sent me here to collect $80,000 do you have it or not?” Eric snapped he was tired of fucking around.

  “Take it easy bro,” the man in the baggy clothes smiled as he reached under the bed and tossed Eric a book bag. Eric took the book bag opened it and began to count the money.

  “Damn it’s all there you what you don’t trust me or something?”

  “Trust has nothing to do with this I don’t know you,” Eric said in a calm tone. He had heard a million times how dirty this business could be and didn’t plan on taking any chances. Twenty minutes later, Eric counted $65,000. “There’s $15,000 missing.”

  “You sure?” The man in the baggy clothes asked. “Nah its $80,000 in that bag I counted it myself.”

  “There’s $15,000 missing,” Eric repeated.

  “Count it again,” the man in the baggy clothes insisted. “I know for a fact there’s $80,000 in that bag.”

  Eric sighed loudly as he pulled his 9mm from the holster on his waist and shot the man in the baggy clothes in the leg. He then quickly raised his gun at his two partners keeping them at bay.

  “Son of a bitch you shot me!” The man in the baggy clothes growled.

  Eric’s bodyguard pulled out his gun and forced the other two men to the floor and held them there at gunpoint.

  Eric aimed his gun at the man in the baggy clothes head. “Where’s the rest of the money?”

  “Under the bed just please don’t kill me,” he cried as he watched Eric reach under the bed and remove a small book bag. Eric stood there and counted every last dollar until the count was correct. He then walked over to the man in the baggy clothes, raised his foot and stomped the man’s head into the floor. “From now on you and your crew will pay double for product do you understand me?”

  The man in the baggy clothes nodded his head. “Yes I understand now can you please call me an ambulance?”

  “Fuck you!” Eric said as him and his bodyguard exited the hotel room leaving the man lying in a pool of his own blood.

  CHAPTER 27

  DERRICK

  A four-man security crew escorted Derrick to the venue of a charity event that one of his companies was hosting. Derrick had no clue what the event was for all he knew was Eric was responsible for putting it together and it would look good for him to show his face for a while. Derrick laughed, sipped wine, and shook hands with the entire upper class guest that attended the function. Derrick was having a good time until he saw Pearl walk through the front door.

  Pearl walked through the door dressed in a tight fitting white dress that clung to her voluptuous body. She had the body shape of a stripper and carried her goodies well. She spotted Derrick and immediately headed his way. “Hey baby,” Pearl smiled with her arms open wide for a hug.

  “Fuck are you doing here?” Derrick growled as he grabbed Pearl by the arm and escorted her over in the corner so everyone wouldn’t be in there business. “You can’t just be popping up on me like that.”

  “Well if you answered the phone when I called you then we wouldn’t have this problem,” Pearl folded her arms across her chest with an attitude. “What you don’t want your kids to know I exist?”

  Derrick kept a smile on his face while he spoke. “Listen bitch you acting real stupid right now you know that I’m married right? And you also know that my wife is my business partner right? So that means if my marriage gets messed up so does my business,” he explained. “What is your problem?”

  “My problem is you don’t make me feel like a priority,” Pearl said. “You make me feel like you coming to see me is hard work or something.”

  “So you figured you’d come and we we’d discuss this now,” he said sarcastically.

  “Well this is the only way I can get you to talk to me; you don’t answer my calls anymore.”

  “Pearl go home and I’ll see you when I get there.”

  “No you’re going to talk to me now!” Pearl huffed. She knew if she left she might not have ever heard from Derrick again.

  Derrick tried to keep his cool, but Pearl was making it extremely hard. He was trying his best to get rid of her without it turning into an argument or an altercation but from the looks of it, Pearl wasn’t getting the message. “Baby can we please talk about this later?”

  “Why can’t we talk about it now?” Pearl pressed. “What you can’t talk to me in public now?”

  Derrick looked over at Tony and nodded his head. Tony quickly walked over and grabbed Pearl. “Come on Pearl, it’s time for you to go.”

  “Get your fucking hands off me motherfucker!” Pearl yelled putting on a show as Tony and another man from Derrick’s security escorted her out of the venue. It was an embarrassing scene.

  Eric walked up. “Pop is everything alright?”

  “Yeah I’m good,” Derrick answered quickly.

  Eric shook his head. “You know mom is going to kill you right?”

  Derrick nodded. “Yeah I know.” He could tell that Pearl wasn’t going to take being kicked to the curb lightly. The last thing he needed was for Pearl to be acting like this. Derrick knew if Millie were home right now, this whole scene would have played out a lot different. A few minutes later one of Derrick’s bodyguards walked up to him. “Sorry to bother you Mr. Mason but your services are needed out front.”

  Derrick stepped out front and saw Pearl acting a fool, she was cursing, swinging on his security causing a huge scene and drawing a bunch of unwanted attention. Derrick walked up, firmly grabbed, Pearl, and shook her. “Calm down!”

  “No fuck you Derrick!” Pearl yelled as tears streamed down her face. “Any time you call me I’m always there for you and all I’m asking is that you treat me like you care, like I’m not just some chick you’re sleeping with.”

  “How the fuck do you expect me to treat you like a lady when you’re acting like an animal?”

  “So that’s all I am to you, an animal?” Pearl looked up at, Derrick. “Look me in my face and tell me you never loved me.”

  Derrick shook his head. All he wanted was for Pearl to leave and do it quietly, but instead she chose to cause a big scene all for nothing. “Get in the car with my security and let them take you home.”

  “Come with me,” Pearl begged. “We need to talk come home with me so we can get to the bottom of this, you at least owe me that much.”