Killer Diamonds (2 page)

             
“Ace, go get our money!”

             
Ace disappeared down the hallway with Craig following behind him. They left Skillz in the kitchen with the remaining man.

             
“Where’s the rest of the money?”

             
“He doesn’t keep it here,” he said with a whimper.

             
At that moment, Craig returned to the kitchen with Nano. “What the hell happened?” He looked to Skillz for an explanation. From the scene in the kitchen, it was obvious they hadn’t followed the plan.

             
“Niggas had smart ass mouths.”

             
“Y’all were supposed to wait until you got the dope.” Nano shook his head disbelievingly. “Check the house!” Craig disappeared to go search the house. Nano looked at Skillz, “I said, check the house.” Reluctantly, Skillz lowered the nine and left the kitchen.

             
Nano surveyed the table. He estimated there was approximately twenty bricks on it. “Not bad for five minutes,” he thought. He searched for the light switch and when he located it on the wall next to the door, he flicked it twice. Next Nano set his duffle bag on the table and started throwing the dope inside. Halfway through, he was interrupted by a knock on the door. He looked up to see two individuals wearing ski masks peering in through the window. He ignored them momentarily while he finished loading the bag. He then opened the door for Hitman and Time saying, “Got about twenty of them.”

             
“Everything clear,” Hitman asked.

             
“They’re checking it out now.”

             
Hitman was about to say something else when all of a sudden two gunshots echoed through the home. He glanced at Time and then Nano. “You got him,” he asked nodding at the man still on the floor. Nano nodded and Hitman turned to Time, “Come with me.”

             
As they left the kitchen, Nano walked over to the man, shot him in the head, and watched his body land on Kane’s. He waited to make sure he was dead, and then followed Hitman and Time.

             
The hall was empty when he left the kitchen. All members of the team were now separated in the house. He thought about just taking the dope and getting out, but you don’t leave team members behind. He took cautious steps down the hall holding his .357 in front of him. He heard a scuffling noise ahead of him and came to a sudden stop. It sounded as if someone was moving about franticly. He eased down the hall to the first door and peeked in. He realized the noise was coming from Craig and Ace as they scooped money off the floor and into the briefcase. It was their money Eve had left to count. She was lying dead on the floor. Nano didn’t even wonder why she was dead; they could leave no witnesses.

             
“When y’all finish, get out of the house.”

             
They both nodded. With that said, Nano moved on. He moved past the next door and stopped again. There was a stairway leading upstairs and a rumbling noise coming from the top. Two members of the group were accounted for and three remained in the house. He assumed the noise was Hitman, Skillz, and Time, but they would have to sweep the house before leaving. As Nano started up the stairs, he heard the distinctive voice of Skillz say, “Bingo!”

             
Hitman and Time were in the process of ransacking one of the rooms looks for valuables when they heard Skillz yell out.

             
“He found something,” Time said.

             
They abandoned their search quickly and went to find Skillz. They found him in a women’s bedroom. The room was large with light yellow walls and flowery white and yellow linens on the bed.

             
“What you got,” Hitman asked him.

             
Skillz didn’t bother to turn as he told them, “Check it out.”

             
Hitman and Time didn’t need any encouragement and quickly moved towards him to see what he’d found. They both smiled when they saw what he was looking at. A safe sat in the corner of the closet. It was two feet wide and four feet tall.

             
“Y’all think something is in it,” Skillz asked them.

             
“Hell yeah,” Time said. “He was fucking that chick and this is her room.” Skillz fell to his knees and tried the lever on the door. “It’s locked,” he said.

             
“Do you think we can carry it,” Hitman asked the other two.

             
Skillz stood up, planted both feet, and tried to move the safe. It didn’t budge. “It must be bolted to something.” Time dropped to his knees and attempted to push from the bottom while Skillz still held the top. It still wouldn’t move.

             
“Damn,” Time said with frustration.

             
“Leave it,” Hitman said.

             
Skillz looked up with a pleading expression, “We can get it, we just have to figure out how.”

             
“Leave it; we got what we came for.” Hitman turned to leave the room and immediately came to a halt. An old man was standing in the doorway holding a 12-guage shotgun in his hands. 

             
“The police are already on their way,” he told them.

             
Nano came to a stop on the stairs when he heard the unfamiliar voice. He was certain it was a man, and certain he had said something about the police. Nano took then remaining steps slowly, took the duffle bag off his shoulder, and set it down in the hallway. Silently, he moved across the padded, carpeted floor. When he came to the door he thought the voice came from, he peeked inside. He fell back against the wall. “How did they let an old man get the drop on them,” he wondered. No matter how good the old man was with the 12-guage.

             
Nano thought about what to do. He figured busting into the room would just create a chain reaction. One in which the old man would probably panic and let off a shot. He determined his best bet would be to creep up behind the old man and put him down with a head shot. Nano looked into the room again and was happy to see it was also carpeted. Nano eased inside. Placing one foot in front of the other he began to close the distance between himself and the old man. When Nano felt he was close enough, he raised his .357 and pulled the trigger. Nano thought he’d missed from the recoil of the gun. He expected the shotgun to go off; however, he hadn’t seen when a patch of the man’s head flew off. Almost a full second later, the old man fell to the ground. Nano lowered his .357 and sighed.

             
“Y’all slipping in here,” he told the others. Hitman decided it wasn’t the time to respond at looked at Skillz and Time. “You ready to go,” he asked them.

             
Time and Skillz gladly forgot about the safe now that they thought the police were on the way and got up to leave. “The old man said the boys are on their way,” Hitman reminded. “Craig and Ace got our money?”

             
“They got it,” Nano replied.

             
“So we got what we came for. Let’s go.” Hitman headed for the door with Skillz and Time right behind him. It was at that moment that Nano walked to the closet and looked inside. He was curious why the three men had been inside it. He saw the safe and wondered why they hadn’t gotten it. Suddenly, police sirens in the distance interrupted Nano’s thoughts. He quickly pulled his thoughts away from the safe and fled the room. He stopped in the hall only to grab his duffle bag with the bricks. As he made his way down the stairs, blue lights began to bounce off the interior of the house. It appeared as if the house was surrounded. “Shit,” Nano cursed. He didn’t know which way to go.

             
He ran back to the kitchen, and once there realized the rest of the group must have exited through the backdoor. Nano quickly rushed out into the night. Usually, they would walk away from a job, but the old man had botched that plan. He thought fast. Distinctly, he could hear the sound of footsteps approaching. He saw a flashlight just as someone yelled, “Freeze!”

             
Nano took off running. He ran through the neighbor’s yard and scaled the wooden fence. He looked behind him and saw that a uniformed officer had done the same. Nano’s adrenaline began pumping faster knowing he had a runner behind him. Nano ran faster. He figured he was at least two seconds in front of him and with the sound of the officer’s keys and handcuffs jingling he felt as if he couldn’t shake him.

             
The lick had gone wrong. He was running from the police with a duffle bag filled with twenty kilos of cocaine, and a .357 with two bodies on it. Nano made a left. He had to get rid of the gun. He flung it over a fence as hard as he could. He then took off his gloves and flung them over another fence never losing his stride. He knew Tip was a half block away waiting on him. Hopefully, the rest of the crew had gotten away. His thoughts were focused on everyone else when the next fence came into view. It was much taller than the last one he jumped and he had to be sure he made it over. When Nano slowed down to time his jump, he miscalculated. He had to spring off his left leg instead of his right, and coming down the fence caught his thigh.

             
With his balance thrown off and when he landed, he had to do something he knew he’d regret. He had to drop the duffle in order to regain control of himself. “Fuck,” he cursed looking back. Maybe he would be able to shake the police officer and circle back for it. Nano continued to run until he came to a clearing. He looked left, and then right. Immediately, he felt relief seeing the Explorer parked on the other side of the street.

             
Nano took off running towards the Explorer. Just as he started to cross the street, two police cars turned on the street. As he looked the other way, another two pulled onto the street from that direction. He thought about making a run for the SUV, but he didn’t want to jeopardize Tip. There was no way he could do that. Nano accepted the fact that he was caught. He stopped, threw his hands in the air, and dropped to his knees. Seconds later, he was drilled to the ground. In an attempt to fight of the police for Tip’s sake, he refused to be cuffed. It was then that they started beating him. Dizziness overcame him. He refused to pass out until he knew Tip was ok. He looked at the Explorer pleading with it to pull away, and finally it did.

Chapter 1

Present Day

             
The group was seated at the large round wooden table in silence. The only thing they shared was the assorted drinks they had in front of them. Some of the glasses contained alcohol, others were merely flavored water. Hitman had called them in for a meeting. He was their organizer. They’d been waiting impatiently for the news he had to share with them. They knew they were going back to work, and going back to work could only mean one thing, they were about to get paid.

             
“What’s up with Tip? She’s late,” Skillz asked the room. The anticipation was killing all of them. However, he was the only one to break the silence. Everyone else appeared agitated, but they stayed mute.

             
“She’ll be here,” Hitman said. He was sitting at the head of the table. His glass was filled halfway with Absolute. His clean-shaven head gave off a radiance even in the dimly lit room. Everyone knew Hitman was the Godfather to Tip’s son. Skillz turned away realizing it wouldn’t be a smart idea to press about her whereabouts. Suddenly, a horn blared from outside. “That’s her right there,” Nano said. His voice was filled with certainty, in defense of his son’s mother.

             
A full minute later Tip appeared. She walked into the room wearing a pair of Obey pants that matched her white Aether hoody. She took the chair next to Nano and looked at the group around the table. “I’m sorry everybody,” she said sincerely.

             
Skillz sighed in an exaggerated manner triggering an outburst from Nano. “Man chill out with that! You know we have a son we want to be responsible for!”

             
“Ah dawg, you saying that cause that’s your baby mama. If that had been one of us, you’d be pissed too.” Skillz looked around the room waiting for someone else to agree with him. The rest of the group didn’t comment. They were more interested in what Hitman had called them there for.

             
Nano quickly came to his feet. He was wearing a blue fitted cap that had “NY” on it. “It ain’t none of your business what she is to me! Let me know if you got something on your chest.”

             
“Alright people,” Hitman said. “We came here for this money, so let’s talk about it.”

             
Tip could feel the tension in the room and felt obligated to explain. “I had to wait for the babysitter,” she said trying to apologize again.

             
“Pssst,” Skillz said looking to Time for some assistance.

             
“It’s all good,” Hitman interrupted holding up his hand. He looked at Nano indicating he needed to calm down. Nano beamed at Skillz and then took his seat out of respect for Hitman. They had been best friends since they were young. The room was silent. Hitman, Craig, Ace, Nano, Tip, Time, and Skillz all looked around the table at each other. It was time to discuss business. If they chose to go to work, it would be their twelfth lick together, with the exception of Nano who missed the last two while incarcerated.

             
“Ok boss, what’s the big secret you got for us,” Skillz asked.

             
Hitman casually looked around the room at each of their faces. He did it slowly seeing the anticipation in their eyes. “The Sanco diamonds,” he finally said killing the suspense. The group stirred in their chairs. A few glanced down at their hands; some took a drink from their glasses. It was as if he’d just given them bad news.

             
“Shit… that lady’s protected like she’s the president. How we gonna pull that off,” Ace responded to Hitman’s statement.

             
“Easily.” Hitman slightly raised his voice to make sure everyone was paying attention. “Every Thursday, Amanda Sanco’s bank transfers large amounts of money to other businesses. That’s how.”

             
“I heard you say diamonds,” Time countered.

             
“I did. This Thursday Ms. Sanco is having a public auction. The diamonds will be the biggest attraction. We will place a bid on them.” Hitman looked around the room knowing they weren’t following him.

             
“What do you plan on doing,” Ace asked. “Are we going to snatch the diamonds?”

             
Hitman didn’t immediately respond, he continued to look around the room raising the anticipation. “We’re not going to snatch the diamonds. They will come to us.”

             
“We don’t have to go in,” Nano asked, his mood visibly lightening.

             
“Nope.”

             
“Ah man, I like that,” Skillz said his attitude changing. Tip’s late entry forgotten.

             
“How much are these diamonds worth,” Tip asked taking a drink from Nano’s Crown Royal Black.

             
“Sixteen point five million dollars,” Hitman answered obviously excited.

             
“Whoa!” Tip’s eyes became large; she leaned back in her chair, and looked at Nano.             

             
Hitman slid his chair from the table. He then stood and walked into the adjoining room. When he returned, he threw a folder on the table. Nano grabbed it. When he open it, he found it contained photographs.

             
Hitman continued to explain. “These are the drivers for Ms. Sanco. The white man you see is Mr. Rogers; he lives with his wife, no kids. Time I would like for you to hold that residence down for the group.” Hitman grabbed his drink from the table and continued. “The black man you see is a man named Mr. Davids. He lives with his girlfriend and thirteen-year-old daughter. Nano and Tip, please take his residence.”

             
Skillz chuckled leaning back in his chair. “We all knew they would be working together.” No one else expressed an opinion on Nano and Tip working together.

             
“This is it everybody. If y’all want the diamonds, we have one week to come up with a plan. There’s only one shot to take them.

             
“I thought you and that lady were cool,” Tip asked smiling.

             
“We are,” Hitman said as if the question surprised him.

             
“So what are we going to do,” Ace asked wearing a pair of Oakley shades to conceal his lazy eye. “If this lady has diamonds, then she has cash too.”

             
“There’s cash,” Hitman confirmed.

             
“How much dough is this lady holding,” Skillz asked.             

             
“It varies. Sometimes they’ve been known to move a mill or two. Listen…” He looked around the table at their faces. “All of us can walk away millionaires and never look back again. This is who we are and this is what we do. Who’s in?”

             
Everybody began to look around the room at each other. Ace broke the silence first. “You got me boss.”

             
“I’m in,” Tip said and turned to Nano smiling. Everyone waited on him to respond. “If my baby in, y’all know I’m in.”

             
“I’m in too,” Time said looking at Nano.

             
“Bling! Bling,” Skillz chimed in.

             
“How about you,” Hitman asked looking at Craig. He was the quietest of them all. He surveyed the room and everyone that he considered to be his family. He then began to twiddle his fingers. “Shit, I always wanted to travel the world. I’m gonna need me a yacht to get across the water.”

             
Everyone burst out in laughter at that.

             
“Alright y’all, that make us a full circle. The group has voted,” Hitman said with a smile.