Chapter Nineteen
“What are you getting ready to do now?” Black asked.
“After what happened at the hospital, I moved my aunt. I got her and Sapphire in panic room one at Wanda’s safe house. Alwan and Daniella Ramsey are with them.”
“Good. Carla said that you and Monika have a plan,” Black said as his phone rang. “I need to take this.” He swiped to talk. “What’s up?”
“Meet me at the Playhouse,” Agent McCullough said when he answered.
“What time?”
“As soon as you can.”
“I’m on my way,” Black said and ended the call. “I gotta go to the Playhouse to meet Mack, see what she can tell me about these guys. But I wanna hear about whatever plans you got.”
“Once I make sure they’re all right, I’ll call you. Monika is with me until this is over, so we’ll get with you later, and she can go over her plans.”
“Okay.” Black paused and thought about whether he wanted to talk to her about Gavin Caldwell, but he decided against it then. “Bobby, we’re out.”
When Black and Bobby arrived at the Playhouse, he parked across the street. Not only was there a long line to get in, but there were also a bunch of people just hanging around outside. They bypassed the line like they owned the place and walked up to the door.
“Garrett?” Bobby questioned. “What are you doing out here?” he asked because Garrett was one of Barbara’s bodyguards, so he generally didn’t get too far from her.
“Babysitting.” He pointed to the people hanging out in front of the club. “Making sure everybody behaves themselves.”
“What we got here?” Black asked.
“The Playhouse is an upscale establishment for adults only. Ladies twenty-one, gentlemen twenty-five.” He pointed to the crowd. “Most of these kids can’t get in, so they just hang out.”
“Reminds me of the old days at the Late Night,” Bobby said. Since the Late Night was for members only, those who couldn’t get in just hung around outside.
Black chuckled. “It does, doesn’t it?”
“Now them niggas over there on the right, that’s what’s left of the G40s. They’ve been losing ground since Rawdawg disappeared.”
Bobby smiled proudly. “I heard about that.”
“The queen ain’t no joke.” Garrett paused. “Over there on your left you got the BBKs.”
“I heard about them too,” Black said and laughed. “Handle your business.”
“Always, Mr. Black,” Garrett said and opened the door for Black and Bobby to enter.
Once inside, Tahanee told them that Agent McCullough had already arrived and was waiting for them in Barbara’s office. Once she apologized for getting them there on short notice and told them that she didn’t have much time to talk, she told them that the Albanian mafia was active in Europe, North America, South America, and various other parts of the world. She said they were involved in trafficking drugs, arms, humans, and human organs.
“I know that. What does the FBI have on them?”
“The FBI aren’t real big on these guys. They’re not serious competition for what the FBI calls traditional organized crime.”
“The Italian mob.”
“The line I got was that they haven’t yet demonstrated the established criminal sophistication of traditional Cosa Nostra organizations.”
“You’re kidding.”
“No, I’m not. Past FBI investigations noted that the Albanian mafia was too widespread and too secretive to penetrate.”
“What can you tell me about how they’re set up? Who’s the boss in New York?”
“That’s the thing. There is no single structured hierarchy like the traditional Cosa Nostra. Albanian organized crime groups in this country have a clan structure so there’s no one clearly defined boss. The clans are organized around a family or a central leader, and the structure is characterized by strong inner discipline. There are punitive actions for any deviation from internal rules. Since most clans are based on blood relations, the number of clan members are limited, and bonds between them are very strong.”
“Damn, Mack. What can you tell us?” Bobby asked.
“That Albanian organized groups are the most violent criminal organizations operating in this country.”
“That is not good,” Bobby said.
“Sorry, I wish I could tell you more. They were affiliated with some Cosa Nostra crime families before they got strong enough to operate on their own. Maybe your friend might be able to help, but as far as the FBI is concerned, big picture, not serious competition for the old Mafiosi.”
“Thanks, Mack. Let me know if you come up with anything I can use,” Black said, and Agent McCullough left Barbara’s office.
“What are we going to do now?” Bobby asked.
“I don’t know, Bob.”
“I hate it when you say that.”
“What, that I don’t know?”
“Yeah, Mike. You’re supposed to know.”
“What did Mack just say? Sorry, I wish I could tell you more, but I got nothing.”
“Might as well have a drink.” Bobby stood up and left the office.
Black sat there for a while, thinking. He was the boss of The Family, so yeah, he was supposed to know what to do next. It made him think about Rain. How was she supposed to always make the right decision every time when he didn’t always know what to do? He stood up.
“Bobby’s right. Might as well have a drink,” he said and left the office to join Bobby at the bar.
They had finished their drinks and were about to leave when Barbara came up and stood between them. She put her arms around them and then kissed each one on the cheek.
“What was that for?” her father asked.
“Nothing.” She kissed him again. “I love it when you two come to see me, that’s all.”
“You know I gotta come check on you,” Black said.
“He’s a little overprotective,” Bobby said. “So am I,” he said, because although he was proud of her, he worried about Barbara.
“I know, Daddy, but I’ll be fine,” she laughed, and then she looked at her uncle. “You in a hurry?”
“Not especially. Why?”
“Because there’s something I want to show you two.”
Bobby stood up. “Lead the way.”
As Black tossed some money on the bar, Barbara looked around the Playhouse for Tahanee. When she saw her, Barbara pointed toward the door, and she met her there.
“I’m going to take Daddy and Uncle Mike to see the setup,” Barbara said.
“Okay,” Tahanee said and opened the door.
Barbara smiled and followed Tahanee out. “I think I’ll be safe with them,” she said as she walked.
“I’m sure you will be,” Tahanee said and kept walking.
“Let the woman do her job,” Bobby said.
“That’s right, Barbara. Listen to your father,” Tahanee said and giggled.
“Whatever, Tahanee,” Barbara said and kept walking. Then she pointed to a building across the street. “I’m thinking about renting that space.”
“You should think seriously about buying the building,” Black suggested.
“I don’t have enough money to buy the building yet.”
“Talk to your aunt Wanda,” Black said.
“That’s right, she does own a bank.”
“What are you gonna use the space for?” Bobby asked.
“To make that money standing outside the Playhouse. I don’t want them in my spot, but I wanna make that money.”
Bobby laughed because he and Black had done the same thing. “We had a spot down the block from the Late Night.”
“The Blue Room,” Barbara said.
“Jackie tell you about that too?” Black asked.
“Aunt Wanda,” Barbara said, smiling, and it caused Bobby to think.
He and Pam had decided that they would keep his violent world from their girls, so where RJ grew up in The Family, Bobby never told Barbara the truth about the family business, and no one else was permitted to either. Now that his baby girl was aware, he thought that maybe he should be the one to share his world with his daughter as he had his son.
Barbara looked at the two men she admired most and wondered, if she asked them what she wanted to know, would they tell her?
“What’s going on with the Albanians?” she asked because everybody in The Family was talking about it.
“We have something they want,” Bobby said.
“Why don’t you just give it to them?”
Black laughed. “Simple. Why didn’t we think of that?”
“We’re working on that,” Bobby said.
“Who was that woman you met with?” Barbara asked, and Bobby looked at Black.
He kept walking for a while before he said, “If you were any other member of this family, I would tell you that it ain’t your fuckin’ business. But you’re not just any other member of this family.” He looked at Tahanee.
“Give us a minute, Tahanee,” Barbara said, and she stopped as they kept walking.
“What I tell you, I tell you. Do you understand me, Barbara?”
“I understand,” Barbara said calmly, but she was excited.
“That woman is FBI Special Agent Bridgette McCullough.”
“So you understand why no one needs to know who she is,” Bobby said.
“Yes, Daddy,” she said because that was obvious. She signaled for Tahanee, and she rushed to catch up with them as they reached their destination. It was a storefront with the window blacked out. Barbara entered the code on the keypad and opened the door. “This used to be a dry cleaner’s.”
“I remember,” Bobby said as he followed her behind the counter to the rear of the store.
“Welcome to The Family’s online gambling operation,” she said as they came into the room with racks of computers and a four-person workstation with ten monitors. Barbara thought that if she could buy the building, she could move the operation there and would have enough space to do other things. Maybe even open that boutique that Kayla’s been bugging me about.
“Impressive,” Bobby said proudly as he and Black looked around. “Very impressive.”
“Thank you, Daddy.”
It was at that second that a door opened and LaSean Douglas came into the room. “Oh,” she said, startled by their presence. “I didn’t know anybody was here.”
“LaSean, I’d like you to meet my father, Mr. Ray, and my uncle, Mike Black.”
“Nice to meet you, LaSean,” Bobby said and shook her hand, as did Black.
“LaSean is in charge of the operation,” Barbara said.
She and Barbara went to high school together and were reunited at a classmate’s wedding. At the time, LaSean was working on her master’s degree in data science at the New York Institute of Technology. When LaSean enthusiastically told Barbara about her minor in data modeling and warehousing and database administration, and her experience in e-commerce, she knew that LaSean was the one she needed to set up an online gambling operation for her.
“What do you think, Uncle Mike?” Barbara asked because approval was important to her, and not just because he was the boss of The Family.
“I think you’re gonna make a lot of money here, Barbara. I’m proud of you.”
“Thank you, Uncle Mike.”