The Fleeing Felon

5. Pressure

5 PRESSURE SOUTH SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA

Same Morning

2:30 a.m.

“Jimmy? Jimmy, can you hear me?” Johnny asked as he quickly walked back into the living room of their so-called headquarters. The headquarters wasn’t an abandoned, dilapidated home but most people mistook it for that. It was an older home that served its purpose for now. “Jimmy, you there?”

He glanced around the room and finally saw the taller, older Jimmy relaxing on the war-torn couch, his jeans tattered as if he had not changed them in a week. Jimmy hadn’t showered in the same amount of time, but he was accustomed to it. He wasn’t known for his cleanliness.

Jimmy’s eyes were closed. Johnny wasn’t sure if he was really asleep or if Jimmy was simply ignoring him like he normally did.

“I hear you,” Jimmy grumbled as he turned over on his side, resisting the temptation to bark additional orders to one of his subordinates. He grabbed the blanket from the floor and pulled it over him.

Johnny should’ve known better than to wake up Jimmy but he never learned. There was something obviously wrong with Johnny. He always got into trouble even though he had been under Jimmy’s tutelage for five years, since he was twenty. No matter how many lessons Jimmy gave, Johnny never seemed to learn them. Over and over again, he made the same mistakes resulting in tirades from each of the other crew especially Jimmy.

Jimmy never knew why he kept Johnny around despite his numerous foibles. Perhaps, Jimmy had a soft spot for the younger Johnny who reminded him of himself. That’s what Tommy and Brad always said when Jimmy resisted their many attempts to force Johnny out of their circle.

“Johnny doesn’t have what it takes to be a dealer,” Jimmy’s brother said emphatically whenever the topic came up.

But Jimmy never listened.

That night, Johnny broke the cardinal rule: “Never wake up Jimmy” unless there was an emergency.

It was an emergency of sorts. That’s what Johnny told himself as he turned on the living room lights. The sudden glare poked into Jimmy’s eyes confusing his already semi-conscious mind.

“What the f**k, Johnny?”

Jimmy jumped up from his cozy, sleeping position and sat down on the couch. His head was c****d towards the floor as he rubbed his blonde hair with his right hand trying to subliminally wake himself up from the stupor.

“I know... but this is an emergency,” Johnny said.

“Emergency? Jimmy asked. “It better be.”

Jimmy looked for something on the coffee table to quench his thirst but there was nothing around. Instead, he stood up, stretched his legs, and sat back down again hoping to get additional rest before the group had to leave for their daily appointments.

Two pairs of footsteps from the back room could be heard approaching the men in the living room.

“Emergency?” Tommy asked. He had heard Johnny’s shrill voice in the other room.

“Yes, an emergency,” Johnny responded in a half-hearted confident way; the way Jimmy told him to project assertiveness many times over the years. Johnny hoped the others would believe him this time. They rarely did.

“Sure. Did you hear that, Brad? It’s an emergency.”

Tommy winked at Brad, an impressionable nineteen-year-old who also admired Jimmy and aspired to be like him. Lately, he had been taking his cues from Tommy instead.

“I want to hear this one. It’s going to be good.” Brad laughed and then held it back out of concerns about offending Jimmy’s authority.

“Hey, guys. It is. I promise it is.”

Tommy was about to retort with another sarcastic remark when the glaring look from Jimmy stopped him.

Jimmy looked towards Johnny again and forcefully stated, “Go on.”

“Well, you know that party.” Out of habit, Johnny snapped his fingers as a way to jog his memory. “The one that’s tonight. You know. What’s his name’s party?”

Johnny looked towards Tommy hoping that his puzzled expression would prompt Tommy to provide the missing name. Tommy, however, withheld the name and pretended not to know. He wasn’t going to assist Johnny in any way and help him out of this predicament. When no response was forthcoming, Johnny turned towards Brad who shrugged his shoulders.

“Roger. His name is Roger,” Jimmy interjected with a sense of disgust that his crew wouldn’t ease the pending source of his frustration. “What about his birthday party?”

“I have a friend of mine. He’s actually my cousin’s cousin’s friend. On my mother’s side. Or is it my father’s side? Chloe? Cynthia? Charmaine? I don’t—”

“Get to the point, Johnny,” Jimmy snapped. “We don’t have all night. I want to get back to sleep.”

“My friend’s at that party right now...Roger’s birthday party. He’s there to—” Johnny stopped himself and focused on what was really important to tell Jimmy. “Anyway, he said that Rick is there. At the party.”

“Rick?” Jimmy asked, pondering the name. “Which Rick?”

“You know, Rick. The one in prison. That prison in Florence.”

The other guys looked at each other dumbfoundedly.

“You know that native guy from the Rez,” Johnny added hoping that this would clarify things.

“Rick Prato?” Jimmy asked when it finally dawned on him who Johnny was referring to.

“Yeah, that’s him. He’s at the party. Selling drugs.”

“Rick’s at the party selling drugs?” Jimmy stood up and sternly looked at his younger brother who was silently standing at the far corner of the room, listening to the conversation without involving himself. Jimmy nodded in a way that the brothers would when they understood each other.

His brother exited the house and took off in his car.

“When did he get out of prison? Jimmy asked. “Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

“I didn’t know,” Tommy answered.

“Me neither,” Brad added somewhat ashamed.

Johnny gave a blank stare.

“Doesn’t he owe you money?” Tommy remembered as the image of Fredrick became clearer in his mind.

“The hell he does. Five—no six grand. He f****d up the last job which got him pinched. He never paid me back and the cops confiscated my product.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Johnny added as if recalled the events. In reality, he did not. He was just glad that he was the person who found out and told Jimmy. That has to count for something, he reassured himself with a bit of pride.

“Good work, Johnny. I knew there was a reason why I keep you around.” Jimmy slapped Johnny’s shoulder as a sign of approval.

Johnny smiled while the others acted nonchalant about the rare praise from Jimmy. They were obviously annoyed.

Jimmy grabbed his phone and dialed Fredrick’s number.

“Caitlin, I told you that I’m busy,” Fredrick said without looking at the caller ID.

“So, you’re back with Caitlin. I see,” Jimmy spoke softly with the intent of intimidating the unsuspecting Fredrick.

“What? Hey, Jimmy. Man. What are you calling me about?” Fredrick was caught by surprise but knew this day was inevitable.

“You know why, Rick. Don’t act all innocent. You’re gonna pay me back every red cent you owe me. Do you hear me?”

Jimmy’s crew’s heads nodded in agreement.

Fredrick walked to the back of the resort suite like an animal fleeing from a predator, hoping none of the partygoers could hear the conversation and the stress in his voice.

“Hey, Jimmy. I’m out of the business now. I’m not gonna work for you anymore.”

Fredrick remembered his promise to Caitlin. Jimmy and his crew sold heroin and other hard drugs. m*******a was not their cup of tea. Fredrick didn’t consider himself Jimmy’s competition because he was only selling m*******a. But he knew that Jimmy wouldn’t see it that way.

“Not gonna work for me anymore? Jimmy asked. “We’ll see about that. You think you’re gonna stiff me out of my money. I’m going to get it one way or another.”

Fredrick knew what that meant.

“I’m serious, man. I’m out of the business,” Fredrick said with desperation.

“Is that why you’re at Roger’s party? You’ll be out of the business alright unless you sell enough product to make up for what was lost. You owe me, man.”

Fredrick breathed deeply. His throat gulped as he struggled to speak.

“I’m... I’m not at a party.”

“You think I’m stupid now? My brother’s on his way.”

Fredrick didn’t respond. Instead, he panicked and hurriedly walked through the crowd towards the suite’s exit. His eyes were focused on only one thing, looking out for Jimmy’s younger brother. Was he there already, following him? Fredrick didn’t know. He headed to the resort’s parking lot and drove away on his cherry red Kawasaki 650.