Chapter 20: Plan of Action

I spent the next week, putting people in the hospital, and then meeting with those they represented, to put it kindly, and setting up the opportunity to get them all together in one place at one time.

Once I had that all in place, I went back to Javier and Tony, to let them in on what was headed their way. Javier was not pleased, to start out with.

“Whatchyu mean, dis a good thing?” He snarled at me, trying to be intimidating. Had it been anyone else he was snarling at, I think he would have gotten the job done. I was past being intimidated, especially by him. I’d mostly gotten past my want to kill myself— I had a goal in mind, and I was going to at least see that through, before I thought about that again— but even still, being— so far— indestructible, gave me a bit of confidence— or cockiness, take your pick— that meant that threats didn’t faze me anymore. “The state? Districts? Conglomerate? What da fuck you mean?”

We were sitting in his “office”— the same office in the basement where I’d pretty much kicked ass on all of his gang members a couple weeks ago now. He was sitting behind his desk, with Tony off to the side, though still on the other side of the desk from where I sat.

I pinched the bridge of my nose, closing my eyes for a moment. “Apparently, you weren’t really paying attention, m’ija, so listen, listen Linda!” I snapped back at him. “What I’ve done, in working with you, because if you remember correctly, I do not work FOR you, I work with you- but what I’ve done is lay down the ground work for all of what you’re doing, to turn into something that could get you seriously paid, like multi-million dollars paid, as long as you do what I tell you—”

“Muthafucka, you don’t tell me—” was as far as I let him interrupt me, before I reached out and grabbed him by the front of his shirt, and pulled him just a little bit closer to me.

“Javier,” I growled at him- with difficulty- through gritted teeth; I so badly wanted to call him ‘boy’, not being racially derogatory, but mental-aged-ly so, “put aside your machismo, and pay a-fucking-tention to what I’m saying. Instead of having to fight for just a piece of Tuskegee, I’m helping to pave the way for you to get paid for the entire state.”

I paused for a couple of heartbeats.

“Or,” I tossed at him, “someone else can just as easily take your place.”

Another pause, to give him a moment to get the gist of what I meant.

“In case you weren’t paying attention, the federal government is gone. That means, no president. No congress. Anything federally that can’t be dealt with by computer, is done. And soon, when there’s no one to tell the states how to do their shit, the state governments are going to collapse, too. What the fuck do you think is gonna happen when, when not IF, that happens?” I paused yet again, to see if he actually had an answer for me.

He glanced at Tony, who looked back at him, and then at me, before looking back at him. I wasn’t sure, but I think Tony had gotten it— and was ‘passing the buck’ back to Javier, to see if he got it, too. Javier looked back at me, and shrugged. “I dunno,” he grunted a bit, “No more jobs?”

I sighed, wondering how often he actually engaged his brain past the moment.

“I’ll keep it simple for you,” I said, with clear derision and sarcasm in my tone; his brow furrowed in irritation at that. “It’s like dominos; first the federal government, then the state, then the counties and cities. And with no government—”

“Anarchy,” he blurted.

“By and large, yes,” I retorted, “but also, fighting, and with Powered folks around now, that means that there are gonna be factions, and people who will crowd around those who seem to have power, if not powers. They’ll do it for safety, they’ll do it out of a need for protection, they’ll do it for their families and they’ll do it out self-preservation, among the reasons why they’ll do it. And what do you think that getting the state wrapped up will do for a person?”

I could almost see the light click on for him then.

“Power,” he grunted, and his not-quite-fully-alert look sharpened as he looked at me now with focus and intent.

“Power,” I repeated. “If the plan gets started early, then the person leading all of this can get as many folks under their leadership, including some Powered folks, and when someone else comes along to try and take what’s already pulled together, there’ll be loyalty to keep the masses from defecting, hopefully, and if a person has Powered folks under their belt, then they’ve got a potential fighting force to help them keep their territory, so to speak.”

Javier nodded slowly, seeming to mull over what I was saying. “I get it,” he said at length, “but how do I know that I’m the one who’s gonna be leadin’ things?”

“Well,” I said with a bit of exaggeration, “that could be you, if you listen to what I tell you.”

“Listen to you, huh?” Javier says with some trepidation and, from what I can tell in his voice, suspicion, “so I’m gonna be taking orders from you now? Is that how you think this is gonna go?”

I took a moment to pause and sigh, closing my eyes and pinching the bridge of my nose again. To be perfectly honest, that was exactly what would end up happening, but that was a conversation for later.

I gave a shake of my head, and then spoke. “Instead of looking at it as someone giving you orders, Javier,” I emphasized his name, “you could see me as another advisor. Because I don’t work for you, if you remember, even though I just said that a few moments ago. And instead of thinking about whether or not you’re taking orders right now, think about the long-term, where you could end up with money and power.

“You want that? Then you gotta keep that goal in mind, think about what you want, and what you need to get it, and use the resources you have, to the fullest, in order to get it. If you let your pride get in your own way, you’ll end up fucking yourself out of everything you’re trying to get.”

“Well,” Javier drawled a bit, and then with an almost lazy slowness, reached into the desk in front of him and drew his gun. “What if I don’t want another advisor?” He continued, “I mean, know that I understand the plan, who says I need you anymore?” He set it down on the desk surface, in easy reach, as an implied threat that he could pick up the gun and shoot me before I could move to come at him, if that was my intent. He gave me a faintly smug look.

I paused for a moment, looking at him incredulously; I wouldn’t be surprised if he thought I was in shock at his ability to get the drop on me. And then I started laughing.

I could see that that confused him.

Gradually, the laughter started dying away.

“Kid,” I chuckled softly, letting my disdain loose, “I guess it’s not you’re fault you don’t know who you think you’re fucking with; that’s okay, cuz I had wanted it that way. I keep my secrets close to my chest.

“But,” I then growled, my tone shifting without pause into something darker and more menacing, “I could show you why you wouldn’t wanna fuck around and find out with me, but that’d be the last thing you ever did.” I gave him a slight bit of a glare. “You grab that gun and pull that trigger, and when you’re done and trying to click on an empty magazine, I will introduce you to levels of agony that only the Devil himself could top me on.” I paused. “Or,” I then drawled a slight bit, before using of my speed to reach out and snap up the gun before he could fully realize that I had done so, turning the barrel in his direction now, “I could simply refresh your memory of the fact that I don’t need to have or use a Power in order to end your life, and put someone else in your place to help carry out this plan of money and power, like Tony here,” and I gestured to the aforementioned person to his left. “Or,” I went on, and then lazily put the gun back down on the desk surface, within reach of both him and myself, “I could be bluffing. But, do you wanna bet your life that you can shoot me, before I can kill you?”

Javier still looked at me with a confused expression, but now there was wariness mixed in.

“So,” I drew out the word a bit, “let’s stop with the childish “who’s dick is bigger” bullshit, and make some fucking money, eh?”

Just before we left the house, I stopped the two of them, Javier and Tony, and after reminding them of my skill with a gun— though honestly it was my Power, and it was speed, but they didn’t need to know that truth— I then showed them the 16” machete I had strapped to my lower right leg— that they had both missed seeing, as it and the sheath it was housed in had blended in with my pants— and explained to Javier exactly how I would have used it, if he’d forced the issue. I also made it clear that, as long as he didn’t try to act like he was my boss— instead of my partner, so to speak— then I wouldn’t act like his boss. Throughout all of that, Tony kept silent, and I kept right on thinking that he was likely the brains behind Javier, and probably the actual leader of their crew; either way, he bore keeping an eye on.

With my directions, Tony drove Javier and I— with me riding shotgun— to the abandoned Dollar General on MLK Highway. It had, almost inexplicably, been closed and then pretty much abandoned, after the fireworks of last May, just four months before, and while some of the pricier merchandise had either been removed or looted, a lot of the cheaper stuff was still found on what remained of the shelves, though some of the shelves had been either knocked down, or pushed out of the way to make a fairly large, wide space in the middle of the store. It was enough space for the almost two dozen people— including myself, Tony and Javier— who had come to the meeting I’d called. Or, as far as they knew, the meeting that Javier had called; they all knew that I worked with Javier, as opposed to working for him, but they were all under the impression that he was the head honcho for the person we both worked for. That was also a part of the plan I wanted everyone to get behind; assuming that it all worked out, once it was all in place, I wanted to be able to step back and let things run themselves, so to speak; I wasn’t in the frame of mind to become a governor or dictator. And besides, the smart folks— and I glanced at Tony as that thought crossed my mind— knew that, when it came to ruling over people who could one day turn on you, it was better to lead from the advisor’s position, not from the titular position.

I had to hand it to Javier; once I explained the plan to him, he was able to put it in a way that made it sound like he had come up with it, and that he was the man, steering that particular ship.

But there’s always someone who thinks they know better, and that someone noticed that one of the other up-and-coming crews hadn’t shown up. That seemed to give them the balls to speak up on the matter, and I had to break out the video I’d already prepared for just the occasion.

Video Start

The video opened, showing me, looking into the camera, and then, realizing that it was indeed on, setting it down, aimed at both myself, and the leader of the missing crew, as I pulled back from the camera and revealed him.

“Smile for the camera, DeVonte,” I could be heard saying, and looking at the captive young man- captive, because he was trussed up almost on his hands and knees with some good nylon rope that was damned near cutting off his circulation in some places, holding him in position. “Go ahead and remind me of what you said before, something about, “fuck me and my crew, and I betta hope you don’t catch me cuz you gonna drop me on sight?” Do I have that right?”

DeVonte could be seen looking back up at me from his position on the floor, his eyes blazing with defiance, a ball gag in his mouth preventing him from actually speaking. He was fully dressed in the colors of his crew— black and gold— but that would change very quickly.

“Well, DeVonte,” I said in the video I was showing to the four crews that were present, “You wanted to do some fucking, so that’s what we’re gonna start with.” Confusion seemed to wash over his features, and only seemed to deepen when I turned towards the camera, reached out of the frame for something, and then came back into frame, turning towards him with them in my hand; they were clothing shears. “First, let’s get rid of your clothes; you won’t need ‘em, anyway.” I could be seen moving up behind him, and grabbing at the back of his pants. That was about when he began to attempt to struggle; I let him for a few moments, before I cautioned him that I might accidentally cut him if he didn’t hold still, and then added that blood was such a turn on to use for fucking. That got him to hold still, and while it couldn’t be fully seen from the camera angle, it was pretty clear that I was cutting his pants— and then his underwear, as well- out of the way.