Alfonzo (3 page)

A
nondescript black car maneuvered into a tight space parallel to the curb. Its’ driver
wore dark shades, a black cotton Tee and jeans. He scanned the area for undercover detectives
then
tipped
his head s
kyward toward the dull brick building with
distaste
.
He hated the
projects;
he hated everything about public housing. They were like jails
, oppressive and gloomy. Their jail-keepers were
unscrupulous housing police
who
roam
ed the vicinity turning a blind eye to overt drug transactions because they were too busy flirting with the pretty single mothers to care.

Yeah, he
disliked these places because he grew-up in
a
similar
hell-hole
. Today
,
he had
a
n important
job to do
, one which would give
him finan
cial freedom
and the means
to get out of this crappy
city
. He was going to take the money and
live like a king
, some place
where the cost of living was cheap and the women even cheaper.

Satisfied there were
n’t undercover
police
lurking
nearby
,
he
exited
the rental
and walked briskly to
building 533.The courtyard flourished with children and people mingling
around
.
This was a
typical
scene
in the slum-burbs.
Most p
arents
weren’t able to
afford sleep away camp for their children
and
the poor kids ran around the concrete courtyard like it was
a
fucking playground!
A trio of unruly children ran in front of him screeching loudly and he grumbled irritably at the sight of them. He walked swiftly
,
absorbing peripheral details. A duo of elderly
men engrossed in
drunken
conversation
sat not far from the
entryway
and standing on
the brown grass
a couple argued over what else
? M
oney. A
woman push
ed
a shopping cart filled with two
weeks’ worth of
laundry
down an adjacent path as a stray dog lounged
alongside an old
green receptacle
.
The p
olice
were certain to interview the
drunkards
;
they
were undoubtedly too
intoxicated
to have seen anything, yet they’d
volunteer
information
as
dutiful
citizens
.
Everyone else would clam
up;
if they s
aw
anything they’d never tell. They were frightened
the
police would
not
protect them
against retaliation and t
hey
were
right
!

He remained focused, ten minutes, in-out!

Leave no time for an accurate description.

He didn’t worry about witnesses.
Most studies proved eyewitnesses were
unreliable, anyway
.
He quickened his pace
and avoided eye contact with everyone
, passing through as a
man without a face.

T
en minutes, in-out!

He
reached
the front door
,
it
opened
suddenly
and a
n
attractive girl
stepped
directly
into his path.
Their eyes connected
briefly. He detected a glint of
anger
in her beautiful eyes or perhaps
it was
the arch
of
the
perfectly shaped brow
and
petulant
scowl
on
the luscious
lips
which told him this
.
The girl
was y
oung, early twenties with delicious
mocha skin and a grace
ful stride
. He
found her
beauty an
tithetical to the
dismal
surroundings.
In this
place he despised
emerged
the most gorgeous female he’d seen in a long…long time.

He
quickly
looked away
as
she whispered, “Excuse me
,
”
and then
push
ed
past.

Too bad I’m here on
business and not pleasure
, he thought before entering
the
lobby and t
aking
the stairway to t
he fourth floor. The
lay-out
was similar to
a
building
he grew up in. H
e
’d
memorized the lay-out and
watched his prey for two weeks. Like all creatures of habit his routine rarely changed.

At
a
door leading to the corridor he halted
to don
gloves then
removed the gun from his waist
,
quickly screwed on
the
noise suppressor
and straightened his spine
. His ears adjusted to the familiar sounds, babies screeching,
and music
pumping and
elevated voices. He
took a deep breath then cleared his mind.
Years
locked
up
state
taught him ways to block out external
distractions;
it
’s
t
he internal ones
which
were
problematic. Horrible bloody scenes from the past came with a fury
as he stood at the door leading to the hall. T
he s
tark, haunting images threaten
ed
to render him impotent
and he
inhal
ed
.
He took another breath, relaxed, pushed the
gory
images away
and
forced them in a dark corner of his brain
. He c
leared
a mental
path
through the muck and
visualized
the task ahead
, then t
he
image of his stepfather
’
s cracked skull
,
contents spilling onto his bare feet
caused
a paralysis to his lower extremities and he stumbled.

“
Stop…
get
out of my head!”
He seethed and pound his
fist to his
skull
until it hurt.
The bastard deserved it, he told himself. He
had it
coming to him for what he
’d done
.
The beatings and sexual abuse had sent the eleven year old boy over the edge.
The
abusive childhood
broke something in his brain and eversince
Freddie hadn’t been the same.
The crazed
eyes glazed over, his body tensed then relaxed
as he breathed through it like he learned
in anger management classes
.
Finally, he won.

Silence.

Peace.

Death beckoned.

He shoved open the door and walked
swiftly down the
corridor
.

Ten minutes…
do
it…do it…do it
!

A
lfonzo Diaz waited
patiently
at the northwest corner of one hundred and twenty-third street.
The thrill of another business
transaction
puls
ed
through his entire body.
He
pulled down the brim of his baseball cap and surveyed the area.
The street was alive with people standing or moving past the lit shops along the avenue.
To most h
e resembled any other summer dweller soa
king in the atmosphere from a
d
arkened
doorway on side of
a
bodega.
Directly a
cross the street
,
above an unoccupied storefront
were Raul and
Domingo watch
ing
discreetly
from an open window
.
His cousin
Domingo wanted to meet with
Carlos tonight
,
but Alfonzo wasn’t
having it
. Domingo’s
high-strung
personality
coupled with his
dislike of Carlos made for a volatile situation.
Alfonzo wasn’t worried about
Carlos
. He w
as
nothing but
a petty hustler from Brooklyn
looking to score product
and
bringing along a friend
seeking
a new
supplier.
It’s always the one you don’t know you worry about
.
Carlos
vouched for his
b
oy
,
but like
Domingo
,
Alfonzo
didn’t trust anyone
.

Alfonzo rocked impatiently on his heels
. H
e
disliked
doing business in public.
They were t
oo, damn visible
. P
reliminary introduction
s
never occurred in his spot
, o
nly a trusted few got that far
and
Carlos wasn’t one of them. There were
s
nitches
everywhere
trying to avoid lock-up
,
or
undercover
NYP
D
icks
looking
for a
major bust
.
Personally
,
he disliked Carlos
but h
e was
related to an acquaintance
, a dude he played ball with at the Polo Grounds. Juan was from uptown and Alfonzo bumped into the dude often.
I
f anything went wrong
,
he’d
simply
bust
Juan’s
ass
for putting him on to his shifty cousin
.
Alfonzo
adapted a
positive attitude
and shrugged. M
oney’s money
right,
it’s all dirty
?
A
lfonzo glanced at his
watch
, Carlos was late. Another ten minutes and
he’s out!

“
Hola
, ‘
Fonzo
que
paso
?”

He
look
ed up
to see
Xenia, a chica from the west
-
side
. She
moved
toward him
and they exchanged kisses
. She was accompanied by another hot chica. Judging from their outfits they were
heading downtown to
go clubbing.
H
e
slipped her two Franklin’s then
blended into the shadows.

“
Thanks
papi
, sure you don’t
wanna
come hang?
”

His chin
went
up, “
Nah, working
,
but y
ou ladies be careful out here,
watch your drinks and get a cab home,
m
e
siento
?”