T-Bone - L. Wilder Page 0,68
Shadow growled. “You’ll make the calls, or I’ll use that knife to fill you full of holes. You get what I’m saying?”
“Yeah, I get it.” Booker thought for a moment, then asked, “And if I get ’em here, what are you gonna do to me?”
“I’m gonna level with you, Booker. No matter how this thing plays out, you’re not gonna walk out of here.” Shadow crossed his arms as he leaned back in his chair. “But you got a choice. You can either go out fast or I can take my time with you ... make sure you feel pain like you’ve never felt before. So, what’s it gonna be?”
“I’ll make the calls.”
“Thought so.” Shadow pulled the knife from Booker’s thigh, then used it to free one of his hands. “Get your phone and start calling. Bring them in three or four at a time.”
“How am I supposed to get them here?”
“I’m sure you’ll think of something.” Shadow’s tone turned threatening as he warned, “Don’t fuck this up, or there’ll be hell to pay.”
Booker nodded, then made the first call. As soon as the person answered, Booker said, “Yo, Dreads ... I’m gonna need you to go by and get Nickels and Tiny. Bring ’em over to the warehouse ASAP.” There was a brief pause before Booker continued, “I’ll explain when you get here.”
When he hung up, Shadow asked, “How long will it be before they get here?”
“Fifteen maybe twenty minutes.”
Riggs stepped over to Shadow. “I just checked in with Moose. They’re in position.”
“Good.” Shadow turned to me and said, “Now all we have to do is wait.”
Just as Booker had said, his men showed twenty minutes later. From the office, Riggs watched Booker’s security feed and used his mic to let us know that they were approaching the front door. “They’re about to come in. Big one in the back with two in the front.”
“Got it.”
With guns in hand, Shadow and I stood on opposite sides of the door with our backs against the wall, staying out of view as we waited for them to enter the building. My heart started to race as the door opened and the three men stepped inside and walked past us as they talked amongst themselves. It was clear that they had no idea we were behind them when they continued towards the office. I glanced over to Shadow, and as soon as he gave me the nod, we both stepped out of hiding. I aimed my gun at the big guy first. I wasn’t one who liked shooting a man in the back, but the thought of Gus being laid up in that hospital had me squeezing the trigger. The deafening sound of gunfire echoed through the warehouse as Shadow and I instantly killed two of the three men. When the third started to bolt, I shifted my aim towards him, shooting twice before he dropped to the ground. The scent of burning gunpowder filled my nose as I looked down at the lifeless bodies sprawled out on the floor.
Shadow stepped over to them, giving each of them a nudge with his boot, and once he was certain they were dead, he looked over to me and said, “You radio Moose while I go up and get Booker to make the next round of calls.”
“You got it.”
As soon as I got word to Moose that the coast was clear, the brothers rushed into the warehouse and moved the bodies into the car they’d driven here. While they were busy cleaning up the mess and driving the car next door, Shadow and I went upstairs to deal with Booker. Shadow took Booker’s phone and put it into Booker’s free hand as he said, “Time to make another call.”
“I heard gunshots.” Panic filled his voice as he said, “What the fuck did you do to them?”
“That’s none of your concern. Make the fucking call.”
“You killed them, didn’t you?”
Shadow got in his face as he roared, “Make the fucking call!”
“Fine … fine, I’ll do it.” With his hands trembling, Booker dialed another number, and as soon as the guy answered, Booker said, “Hey, man. I need you to go get Puckett and Leon and bring them over to the warehouse.” There was a brief pause before he said, “I don’t give a fuck. Get them and get your ass over here.”
With a defeated look in his eyes, he hung up the phone and handed it back to Shadow. As he shoved it into his back