Thin Ice (32 page)

“I’m glad as hell we’re about to get up outta this bullshit,” Jaleesa told her as Kaitlyn grunted her agreement.

“So with the cleanup basically over at Big Mike’s,” Kaitlyn began, changing the subject. “Ya’ll gonna be headed back to Louisiana tonight,” she asked, praying Jaleesa said yes.

Sighing lighting Jaleesa told her she didn’t know yet.

“I gotta get back to the house first and see what is what,” she replied as Kaitlyn told her she understood.

“OK, text me and let me know something,” Kaitlyn told her as Jaleesa assured her she would.

“Ryan just texted me,” Jaleesa told her. “I guess I’ll find out soon enough,” she added, referring to their travel plans.

“Cool,” Kaitlyn replied as they once again admonished each other to be careful and said their goodbyes.

*****

Kaitlyn took the opportunity to call Landon while she had free time. Ice was fortunately handling business at the original spot today. He’d told her not to expect him until night. She was supposed to check on Platinum today as well. Ice hadn’t missed a beat bringing in a new manager and staff.
Hope these last for a while,
, Kaitlyn thought even though after tomorrow it wouldn’t matter in the least. Sighing lightly she waited on the call to connect. Her mind was still on overload about the two men vying for her commitment.

“Hello,” Landon answered guardedly.

“Hey,” Kaitlyn replied softly.

“Hey baby,” he replied happily and she could imagine the smile on his face.

“You need to come here tonight baby, seriously,” he told her his voice conveying his anxiety.

“Why, is something going on,” Kaitlyn fished.

She needed to know what the hell the Feds were planning. Going down with Ice’s ship was not part of her plan.

“Everything is gonna happen tomorrow baby,” Landon told her. “You’ve got to get out tonight.”

Sighing lightly Kaitlyn told him about being in Mississippi. “We’re not even leaving until tonight,” she told him.

This time Landon sighed deeply.

“OK, listen,” he began as Kaitlyn gave him her attention. “As soon as you get back to Atlanta, Ice leaves or lays down to nap, whatever,” he went on. “You get the hell outta there,” Landon told her. “Call me and I’ll come get you,” he added as Kaitlyn remained silent a few moments more.

“OK,” she replied as her mind whirled.

Thanks to Landon she had a time frame and that was what she needed right now.

“So they’re gonna do it in the morning,” Kaitlyn again fished, about the sweep.

“I dunno exactly what time baby,” Landon told her. “I just know that tomorrow this city is gonna be turned upside down, and Ice is gonna be a hot property,” he finished as Kaitlyn grunted slightly.

“You get out and call me baby, do you hear me,” Landon tried again, hoping he was conveying how important her leaving was.

“I will,” Kaitlyn told him.

“Promise,” Landon asked.

“Yes,” she replied without hesitation.

“OK, I’m going to have my phone on all night, so if anything changes, you call me, text me, something,” he told her as Kaitlyn again promised she would.

“It’s almost over baby,” Landon said sweetly.

You don’t know the half of it
, Kaitlyn thought smiling slightly.

“OK,” she replied. “I’ll contact you later,” she told him as he acknowledged her and grudgingly let her disconnect.

Kaitlyn immediately hid her phone again as she headed out of the hotel toward Platinum. It was time to put the final pieces in place and get the slow building avalanche rolling.
I need Tweety and Ryan to be back in place
, Kaitlyn thought as she drove becoming slightly unsettled. She knew that herself and Ice would be in Atlanta in the morning, but if her friend wasn’t in place, that plan B she was still pulling together had better work or the net being dropped by the Feds was going to trap them all. Driving up to the club, Kaitlyn saw the police cruiser. Deciding to sit back and watch for a while, she called Ice.

“Yeah baby,” he answered.

“Five-O is at Platinum,” she told him point blank.

“You see anything,” Ian threw back irritated.

“They just went inside,” Kaitlyn returned. “I’m waiting it out to see what’s up,” she replied as Ian grunted his understanding.

“Bet that bitch ass Tyreece tryna start some drama,” Ian threw out.

“You’re probably right,” Kaitlyn replied as the officers returned to their cruiser and drove away, empty handed.

“They’re gone,” she told Ian. “Headed inside now to see what was up,” she added as Ian told her to call him the moment she found out.

Telling him she would, Kaitlyn opened her door and headed inside club Platinum.

35

Day Six – Afternoon into Evening

Ben was exhausted and it was only 2:00 in the afternoon. They’d spent all morning running around obtaining warrants to pull in the other officers implicated by Giovanni. He also had another interrogation with Carlos in about an hour. They figured they’d given him enough time to stew and really think about the next 20 to 50 years of his life behind bars in a tough maximum security federal prison. Ben’s phone rang.

“Agent Gordon,” he answered amiably.

“Hey Ben,” Landon greeted him. “What’s going on?”

Ben sighed deeply and gave him a very brief overview of where they were with everything.

“So it’s still a go for tomorrow,” he asked, his nerves almost on overload.

Ben assured him that without fail they would be hitting Ice’s club, apartment, and house, tomorrow and taking everyone into custody.

“Have you talked to her,” Ben asked referring to Kaitlyn.

Landon told him she’d called and promised to get out when she and Ian returned to Atlanta tonight.

“OK, good,” Ben returned going on to ask if Landon knew which location they were returning to, the home or the apt.

He told Ben he didn’t know, but once Kaitlyn called him to come and get her, he would let him know immediately. Ben sighed lightly and told him that would be fine, either way, they had all the exits covered, and he was glad Kaitlyn wouldn’t be caught in the line of fire.

“Call me though, no matter what time she contacts you,” Ben told Landon as they wrapped up the conversation.

After disconnecting, Ben thought about questioning Kaitlyn on Ice’s illicit activity before dismissing the idea. From what Landon told him, the woman was simply his love interest and he’d coerced her into the relationship, keeping her with him out of fear and intimidation. Ben seriously doubted Ice confided anything worthwhile to her, besides which, they already had a landslide of evidence to convict him on. Sighing lightly picking up his phone to make another call, his second line rang. Ben answered without hesitation.

“Agent Gordon,” he spoke into the handset once more.

The caller on the other end began to speak as Ben listened growing more incredulous with each word.
Fuck me
, he thought as the conversation began to wind down.

“Yes sir, I understand,” he repeated almost automatically. “Yes, I’ll be here,” he added as the conversation closed and they disconnected.

Ben sat back in his chair and sighed deeply.
Man this is that bullshit
, he thought irritably. The call was from Salvador Akila, head of the organized crime unit, Washington DC, FBI. Seems there had been information gathered from an anonymous informant about Ian Bailey and his activities. Enough information that the FBI had been prompted to act. They were now about to do multi-state sweeps involving Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. In gathering manpower and warrant access, Akila had been alerted to the pending raid here tomorrow. Now he was on his way to spearhead the operation and sync it with the others in the mentioned states.
This operation is gonna turn into a circus,
Ben thought. There was no way to keep it sealed now. He was terrified of a leak somewhere in the circles of GBI, FBI, state and local authorities.
If Ice even gets wind of some foul air
, he thought and sighed deeply knowing the man would drop off the radar and everyone involved would be screwed.

*****

Jaleesa walked in expecting carnage, but the house was still as normal as she left it.

“Hey baby,” Ryan greeted walking into the sitting room.

“Hey,” she greeted still curious where everyone was and what was going on.

“Where is everyone,” she finally asked as Ryan continued to enjoy the game that was on TV. “Garage,” he said simply as Jaleesa’s curiosity only grew.

“OK,” she replied seeing that Ryan wasn’t going to volunteer any additional information and not wanting to piss him off.

She knew he was still absolutely furious about Big Mike screwing up the operation here as well as stealing money and giving away dope.

“I’m going to get some tea,” Jaleesa told Ryan rising and heading toward the kitchen.

“OK, bring me a beer back,” Ryan replied calmly as Jaleesa told him she would.

Walking into the kitchen, she again noticed noting out of the ordinary. Grabbing a glass from the cabinet, she opened the refrigerator and poured her tea, getting Ryan’s beer as well.

Jaleesa was about to walk out of the kitchen when she heard a thud. Turning around she walked toward the closed garage door.
What the hell
, she thought, setting down both the tea and beer, grabbing the large chef’s knife and carefully heading toward the door. Slowly opening it, Jaleesa ventured into the garage as the sight greeting her stopped her in her tracks and her mouth dropped. The men who’d arrived earlier looked up briefly, then returned to their tasks without interruption or hesitation.
Oh my god
, Jaleesa’s mind continued to race as she watched the men, her attention diverted momentarily hearing grunting to her immediate left. Looking over she saw Big Mike, bound and gagged, eyes pleading with her to help him.

Finally tearing her eyes away and back to the men and their work, Jaleesa was still trying to logically process what she was seeing.
So that’s what was in those trunks
, she continued to think as she recalled the three large footlockers the men entered with. There in the middle of the garage was what she could only describe as a mobile butcher shop. The huge industrial size meat cutter and grinder were positioned in the center of the garage with the heavy-duty plastic sheeting covering the floor. The men were using the large, obviously razor sharp knives to cut joint from joint the man they were slicing and putting into the grinder.
Is that CJ
, Jaleesa thought growing ill, as she saw an arm going into the grinder. CJ was the bodyguard that’d disrespected them upon their arrival. Jaleesa could only assume Ryan had found out he had something to do with the theft and she knew that was an automatic death sentence.

She watched almost mesmerized as they continued dissecting the man, running the parts through the powerful saw and then tossing them into the grinder. Finally a small black plastic bag was placed on the table. Looking at it, Jaleesa just knew in her gut it was CJ’s head.
This is some sick shit
, she thought as her stomach finally turned on her and she fled back into the kitchen, barely making it to the huge trashcan they kept and throwing up.

“Shh, its ok baby,” Ryan told her softly, placing his arms around her and supporting her.

Jaleesa couldn’t stop shaking. All she could see was blood, bone, bile, covering every inch of the plastic. She’d watched them dissecting a human being. A man she’d had a conversation with this morning.
Ryan was insane, and that’s all there was to that,
Jaleesa was thinking as she finally stopped wretching.

“Go wash your face baby,” Ryan told her softly as she nodded and walked away, not looking back at him.

As she cleaned herself up, Jaleesa looked at her reflection as the deadly seriousness of her situation hit her again full circle.
If you don’t succeed in this , you and KiKi will be the next filets they’re in there cutting and grinding
, she told herself as the tremors returned. Managing to finally make it back to the bedroom, Jaleesa undressed, except for bra and panties lay down and closed her eyes, praying her sanity wouldn’t leave her. That scene had pushed her almost over the edge. She was absolutely terrified of crossing Ryan at this point.
What other choice do you have
, her mind was raging. She couldn’t stay with this man.
What guarantee did she have he wouldn’t flip and turn on her one day too
, Jaleesa continued to think as she shut her eyes even tighter trying to block out her thoughts.

“Feeling better,” Ryan asked softly as he lay down beside her, pulling her close.

“Sorta,” Jaleesa answered softly.

“I didn’t want you to see that,” Ryan told her calmly looking into her eyes and gently stroking her face.

Jaleesa smiled slightly. “How much did they take?”

Ryan sighed slightly. “All of it,” he answered with a slight edge to his voice.

“Damn,” Jaleesa replied shocked. “Big Mike is an idiot,” she murmured as Ryan smiled slightly.

“Without a doubt,” he replied and kissed her lips gently. “Let’s not talk about that anymore,” he told her as he kissed her neck gently.

Jaleesa told him okay as he returned to her lips kissing her deeply.

“Relax baby,” Ryan told her as he began undressing her. “Let me make your forget all the craziness,” he added finishing his task and kissing her again.

Jaleesa fought hard to block the images out once again as she poured herself into the act of lovemaking with Ryan.

“Mm,” Jaleesa murmured as he slowly made love to her and she enjoyed the feel of him thrusting deeply into her.

“Good baby,” Ryan asked softly in her ear.

“Mm yes,” Jaleesa moaned as the orgasm hit her and she came hard.

Ryan returned to her lips kissing her passionately. He then buried his face in her neck, his pace picking up as he groaned deeply and finished, collapsing on top of her, still holding her tightly.