Chapter Nineteen

London

 

Victoria Station, thousands of miles away from Washington D.C., meant thousands of miles away from money, murder, and drugs. All of that was on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. Victoria Station was dominated by British culture. Masses of people were moving at a swift pace as if they were in a rush to get somewhere. Some were rushing up to the streets, others were rushing down to the trains.

Vida, Tia and a Nigerian by the name of Baron were on the escalator on their way up to the streets and up into the heat of London during the summer.

Baron was tall, dark as night, and handsome. His accent was a smooth British one. He was the contact that was to meet Vida and Tia and make sure they were taken care of once they made it to London. Baron didn’t know Tonio personally; his only contact with Tonio was through one of his business associates in New York. Baron was a man of many connections.

Tia was still shaken up from the customs scare. She was picked for a random search by a rookie customs agent but was free to go after a pat down and inspection of her backpack.

Vida didn’t know what to do when Tia was led away by customs agents, she thought the worst for a second. That is until Baron stepped on the Scene and gave her hope that Tia would be okay and in the end she was.

Now Vida and Tia were on their way to a Tower Hill safe house with Baron. Anxiety still consumed Vida and Tia but they had made it to London. That was a huge plus. All they had to do at this point was lay low and do all they could to avoid attention.

They jumped in a cab and put Victoria Station behind them. Vida and Tia sat beside one another. Baron sat facing them in the British cab. He was dressed in Gucci jeans and a white tank top. The gym was a spot he played on the regular. Diamonds danced around his Rolex. Prada shades kept the sun out of his eyes. He eyed Vida and Tia, they were both beautiful but it was something about Vida that had imprisoned his attention.

Baron smiled a bright white smile and said, “You two beautiful ladies can take it easy now. You are far away from whatever troubles that brought you to the U.K.” His British accent wasn’t hard to understand at all. He could see that Vida and Tia were still nervous. He didn’t know exactly what they were running from back in the U.S. but whatever it was, as far as he was concerned, was all behind them.

Vida and Tia looked at each other and then at Baron and smiled. If he only knew what kind of shit they were in back home, he would understand why they were still nervous.

“It’s gon’ take us a minute to get used to bein’ here, main man.” Tia said and smiled.

Baron nodded with a handsome smile.

“I completely understand, so which one of you is Dawn?”

“Me.” Vida said, on her toes.

Baron looked at Tia and said, “I take it that you must be Carmen?”

Tia winked. “That’s me.” She was looking out the window at all that was London. Never in a million years did she think she’d be in London on the run for murder.

“If you don’t mind me asking, do you ladies have plans…after you leave the safe house, I mean?” Baron asked. He was only paid to give Vida and Tia somewhere to stay for a month.

“Not really, we’ll figure that out real soon.” Tia said.

Baron nodded. “I understand.”

Vida’s attention was out the window looking at all the different people in the streets of London. It seemed like all races were jammed in one place. Germans, Russians, Africans, many speaking French, as far as Vida had seen. There were young Europeans wearing T-shirts with 50 Cent and Jay-Z on the front.

Baron saw that Vida’s mind was thousands of miles away. To him, it was something very intriguing about her. Looking at Tia, he said, “Your friend doesn’t talk much, I see.”

“She’s been through a lot in the past few days.” Tia rubbed Vida’s back, knowing she was thinking about Moe-Moe and Bloody. Moe-Moe and Bloody weighed heavy on Tia’s heart as well but she was able to deal with death better than Vida.

Baron’s cell phone came to life with a 50 Cent ring tone. He pulled the phone from his pocket and checked the number.

“Excuse me for one second, Carmen.” He answered the call.

Tia and Vida paid close attention to Baron’s conversation. He was very careful with his words, he had the shrewdness of a man that knew how to evade conspiracy investigations.

After the exchange of a few quick words he ended the call and slid the phone back inside his pocket. Looking at the backpacks Vida and Tia were traveling with, Baron said, “I see you two packed light.”

Tia said, “Yeah, we was moving fast. We can get all we need here. You got money for us, right?”

“For sure,” Baron nodded. “There’s a nice bit of loot at the safe house for you two. Your peoples back in the states made sure everything was taken care of.

 

****

The Tower Hill Safe house was on a tiny little street in postal code EC3. It was in an apartment building that sat right across the street from a hotel that people were going in and out of.

Baron let Vida and Tia into the plush flat and then closed the door and hit the lights. The girls looked around and saw black leather furniture, a huge flat screen TV, and a serious sound system with speakers in every corner of the room. There were granite counters and marble floors. There were two bedrooms; one was converted into a workout space with a treadmill, weight machine and a punching bag that hung from the ceiling.

“This is where you will stay until you find somewhere permanent to stay.” Baron said. “Have a seat, I’ll be right back.” He disappeared into the bedroom.

Vida sat on the sofa with her arms folded, looking uncomfortable. She studied the apartment.

“Vee, we good now, boo. We made it.” She rubbed Vida’s back.

Vida nodded, but didn’t say a word for a second. Slowly, she looked at Tia and said, “We still gotta be careful over here…we don’t know nobody and we can’t trust a soul.”

Tia nodded. “I feel you on that.” She got up and walked to the window. From the window she could see the hotel across the street. Two police officers were walking down the peaceful street. “The police over here don’t even carry pistols, Vee.”

“I noticed on the way here.” Vida said.

“That’s some wild shit there. I wish I would let a fuckin’ cop wit’ no gun lock me up. Picture that.”

Baron came back into the living room with a black suitcase. He laid it on its side on the floor and opened it. Inside, Vida and Tia could see stacks and stacks of British currency.

“How much money is that?” Tia asked.

“Fifty-thousand pounds.” He said.

Vida and Tia gave each other questioning looks. Baron smiled.

“It’s close to a hundred-thousand dollars in U.S. currency…a pound is about two U.S. dollars.”

Vida smiled and made a frustrated sound.

“I guess we got it made…we’re set for life.” She said sarcastically.

“I know how you feel but this will hold you for a little while. Baron said.

Tia shrugged. “It is what it is. We’ll make it work.”

“I’m not sure what you ladies were into back in the states but I can find you work here in London.”

Vida raised her eyebrows.

“Work? What kind of work you talkin’ ‘bout?”

Looking back and forth between Vida and Tia, Baron said, “Just about anything, you name it, from legal to illegal. Whatever works. May I ask what you two were into back in the states?”

Tia glanced at Vida for a second to see how she felt about Baron’s question.

“Honestly, we were into a little of everything, from legal to illegal but right now we’re not tryin’ to draw any attention to us.” Vida said.

Baron nodded, he caught her vibe. “I understand. I’ll check into a few things and let you know what comes up.”

“Can you help us find another place to stay? I know we can only stay here for a few weeks.” Tia said.

“That’s not a problem. I have a female friend that’ll show you around.” Baron looked at his iced-out Rolex. “She’s from the states also, she’s been here for a few years now. She’s a good friend to have, I’m sure you two will like her.”

“Does your friend know about our situation?” Vida asked.

“She doesn’t know the details, but she does know that you two are from the states and that you both are looking for a new beginning here.”

Vida nodded. “I understand.”

“Trust me, I’ll make sure everything is smooth.” Baron said. He pulled two travel cards from his pocket and sat them on the coffee table in front of Vida. “Those travel cards are good for a week. You can ride the tube with those, the tube gets you anywhere you want to go.”

“You talkin’ ‘bout the train?” Tia said.

“It’s called the tube.” Baron said.

“You’re goin’ to get us new passports, right?” Vida asked.

He nodded. “I’ll have those for you later on today.”

“What about pistols? We need pistols. I don’t feel safe without some steel. Bullshit ain’t nothin’.” Tia said.

Baron smiled. “Are you serious?”

“As a muthafucka.” Tia said.

Baron laughed. “I can get you pistols. What kind do you want?”

“I like forty-fives, but I think a small nine will work. Get us two nines, they’ll hold us.” Tia said.

Baron nodded. “I’ll make that happen.”

He began to wonder about Vida and Tia and wanted to know what their story was.

The front door opened. Vida and Tia turned their attention to the woman that entered the apartment. She had smooth brown skin and couldn’t be a day over twenty-five. She wore tight blue jeans and a white Prada T-shirt. Her silky hair was pulled into a ponytail.

Removing her big frame Prada shades, the young woman said, “Hello, did I interrupt you all?” Her accent was from the U.S., somewhere in the Dirty South.

“Monique, I was just talking about you, you’re right on time. This is Dawn and Carmen.” Baron said and waved toward Vida and Tia.

Monique smiled. “What’s good, ladies?”

Tia nodded. “Ain’t too much.”

“Everything’s cool.” Vida said.

Baron’s cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out and answered the call as he headed toward the bathroom to speak in private.

Monique went to the refrigerator and grabbed a can of fresh orange juice.

“You two want something to drink?” She asked.

“Yeah, let me get one of them orange juices.” Tia said.

Monique tossed a can to Tia.

“How about you, Dawn?” Monique asked.

Vida said, “I’m cool, I want some food for real. I’m hungry.”

“I can take y’all to get some food.” Monique took a seat in the deep leather chair to the right of Vida. “What are you in the mood for? They got everything over here. Burger King, Pizza Hut, just about everything they got back home.”

Sitting beside Vida, sipping her orange juice, Tia said, “Yeah, I’d love some Pizza Hut.”

Baron came back into the living room and said, “I’ve got to run. I’ll be back later. Monique will make sure you two feel at home. She knows how to get in touch with me.”

Tia said, “We cool, see you later. Make sure you check on what we talked about.”

Baron smiled. “I’m on it, Carmen.” He looked at Monique and said, “Show the ladies around.”

Monique smiled. “They’re in good hands.”

Baron left.

Monique stood up and said, “Let’s go get some pizza.”

 

****

 

Hours later, inside the Tower Hill apartment, the sounds of Jay-Z’s, The Blueprint, CD was coming through the speakers at a respectable volume. Tia was sitting on the sofa smoking weed and nodding her head to the music. Monique sat beside her on her laptop. Vida was in the bedroom sleep...stress and jet lag had her beat.

Monique seemed real cool. She’d taken Vida and Tia out to eat, she took them to Tesco, a somewhat grocery store type joint to get a few things they needed. Then they went to a spot in Chinatown where a friend of hers sold knock off clothes by Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton and others for dirt-cheap. Vida and Tia weren’t feeling the knockoff shit but they needed some gear. The whole time, Vida didn’t say more than a few words. She didn’t trust Baron or Monique. She was dealing with them because she had to for the time being. Tia didn’t trust them either but she played it real cool in an effort to feel Monique out.

According to the story Monique fed Tia, Monique was twenty-four. She was from the ATL and had moved to the U.K. two years ago to get away from the states because she was tired of the American way of life. She said she was a free spirit and wanted to experience the world. She planned to do so by not living in the same country more than five years for as long as she was able to move from place to place.

Tia wasn’t buying one bit of that shit, but she accepted it. After all, she and Vida were living a lie as well. Tia told Monique that she and Vida were from New York and owed some very dangerous people a large amount of money that they couldn’t come up with so they decided to disappear. It was the best story she could think of at the time so she rolled with it.

With her eyes on the screen of her laptop, Monique said, “Hey, Carmen, I saw you had Lil Wayne on your iPod, most people from New York don’t really like Wayne.”

Tia blew weed smoke in the air.

“I can’t speak for them. I can only speak for me, I love Lil Wayne, and I don’t care where he’s from. He could be from London.”

Monique laughed at Tia as if what she said was the funniest thing in the world. Tia laughed also. They were high as shit.

Tia passed Monique the blunt and said, “I see you on rap hard.”

Monique took a hit of the weed she had provided.

“I love rap…At one time I thought I was going to get a record deal.”

Tia laughed hard. “Get the fuck outta here.”

“Serious. I had a mix tape out down South in ’03 called, Miss ATL.The rap thing just didn’t work out. I washed my hands of it.”

“So what are you into over here?” Tia asked her eyes were slanted and red.

“Straight up,” Monique took another puff. “I’m in the drug game.”

Tia was surprised that Monique was so straightforward.

Monique saw the surprised look on Tia’s face and smiled. “Ecstasy is a big thing. It’s a lot of money in it, too.”

“I bet it is.” Tia didn’t feel comfortable talking about drugs with Monique, not at the time anyway.

Monique’s cell phone vibrated on the coffee table. She picked it up and answered it.

“I thought you were going to call earlier. It’s always something…I can meet you tonight… Thirty minutes… An hour is good… See you then.” She ended the call.

Tia said, “Gotta go?”

“Just need to meet this guy. He’s been owing me some money for close to a month and keeps bullshitin’ me. I hate that.”

Couldn’t be me, Tia thought, I don’t play about my paper.

Monique got up. “I’ll be right back, I gotta use the bathroom.” She headed down the short hallway.

Tia jumped when the front door opened. Baron smiled. “Take it easy, it’s just me.” He was carrying a backpack.

Tia said, “What’s up?”

He took a seat in the chair beside her and went inside the backpack.

“I got the passports for you.” He handed Tia two passports, red ones.

“You move fast.” She looked at the pictures inside. Her name was Carol Rucker on the passport; Vida’s was Alison Jenkins.

“Those are British passports.”

Tia smiled. “So we are British citizens now, huh?”

“Pretty much. Those passports are clean.”

Baron went back in the backpack and pulled out two Glocks. “I got the pistols also.” He handed Tia the burners.

“That’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout.” Tia held a pistol in both hands. “Now I’m cool.”

Baron smiled. “You know what you’re doing with those bloody things?”

Tia laughed at the accent. “Hell yeah I know what I’m doin’ wit’ these joints, but I ain’t makin’ no noise, I just can’t be walkin’ around naked.”

“Naked?” he smiled.

“Yeah, without no heat.”

“Oh,” he nodded. “I see.”

He handed Tia the backpack.

“A few extra magazines are inside. Be careful, you wouldn’t want to get caught with that hardware here.”

“I don’t plan to either.”

Monique walked back into the living room.

“Baron, is something wrong?” The sight of the guns Tia had concerned her.

He said, “No, nothing’s wrong. Carmen just wanted some protection.”

“Oh,” Monique sat back down on the sofa.

Baron said, “I take it that you and Carmen have gotten to know one another.”

Monique nodded. “Yeah, we’re getting along just fine.”

“That’s good.” Baron stood up to leave “Well, I hate to run but I have business to attend to. Call me if you need anything.”

Monique said, “Will do.”

Baron left.

Monique looked at Tia and said, “You nice with that pistol?”

Tia laughed.

“Baron just asked me the same thing…Yeah though, I’m nice. Let’s hope I never have to get busy over here.”

“Wanna rake a ride?”

“I don’t care. Let me tell Dawn I’m steppin’ out wit’ you for a second.” Tia said.