him the stench of cigarettes. “Yeah? Which part caught your attention?”
The man smiled. “Well, you in particular. You’re Bruce Kasparov, right? The legend himself.”
Uecker laughed. “Well, look at you, Sonny Jim, the celebrity over here!” Uecker then turned his attention to the newcomer. “But he doesn’t give out autographs for free, you know. I’m his manager; twenty dollars a pop, and of course, I get a percentage of that.” Uecker winked at Bruce.
The man chuckled lightly. “Oh no, that’s quite alright, I don’t need an autograph. Thank you though, for such a tempting offer. But I actually approached this table on a different matter…”
***
Roy’s squad car was cutting in and out of lanes while his police siren screamed at the traffic. Varick had his ear to his cell phone: five rings…six rings... “Blast it, still no luck!” Varick yelled, closing his flip phone. “They aren’t picking up...Bruce or Santos.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll be there soon,” Roy replied.
“Yo, you sure you can’t let me out?” Estuardo whined. “I gave you guys valuable information!”
Roy’s eye twitched in annoyance. “First of all, we’re dragging you along to make sure you’re not full of crap. Second—even if this coffee shop checks out, you tried to get out of your reckless driving rap by confessing to conspiracy to commit murder. You, sir, are a moron.”
“Yo, homes, your boy roughed me up real good. I think I have a concussion or something. Cut me some slack.”
“Shut— up ,” Varick ordered.
“What you gonna do, pig?” Estuardo taunted. “This cage works both ways, you know.” He began to laugh.
“Marlon,” Varick signalled.
“PAH!” Marlon yelled out, as he slugged Estuardo in the stomach with his cuffed hands. Estuardo heaved in pain, feeling lightheaded.
This seemed to satisfy Varick. “See, Marlon here might get out of here soon. But not you— homes . ”
***
“Are you aware of who runs Brooklyn, Captain?”
Bruce puzzled over the question. “I’m not sure I understand what you’re asking...”
The man scoffed. “Scorcher. Scorcher runs Brooklyn.” Kasparov exchanged glances with Santos. “You run a great risk coming to this part of town, you know. Don’t know who you’ll run into. Especially when the buzz around town is that Scorcher wants you dead…”
Taz stopped eating his soup. Uecker, for once, held his tongue. Bruce noticed Santos’ fist clenching, despite keeping a calm demeanor.
“Relax,” Bruce instructed Santos. “You don’t need to get involved, I’ll handle this.” Bruce refocused his attention on the intruder. “So, I take it you’re in Scorcher’s employment…well, here I am. How would you like to proceed?” Bruce smiled at the man, who responded with an angry sneer. Patrons looked on anxiously and the coffee shop had gone deathly quiet.
“I’ll tell you what’s going to happen. Any one of you move a muscle and you’re all dead. I just want the Captain.” Bruce eyed the bulge in the man’s jacket.
“There’ll be no interference from them, I assure you,” Bruce responded curtly.
The man slowly edged toward the entrance door, keeping a safe distance between Bruce and himself. The man snickered. “Now that I’ve seen you up close, you’re not so tough. Too much credit is given where it ain’t due. But me, once I ice you…I’ll be a legend . Say goodbye!”
The man whipped out the gun from inside his jacket, but he didn’t even have a chance to aim it. Bruce directed his arm at the man and made a pushing motion at lightning speed. This simple gesture sent the man flying off his feet and sailing through the air. He crashed through the pane of glass on the north side of the coffee shop, where he bounced onto the sidewalk and crumpled in a heap. People outside the shop screamed in surprise.
There was shock and awe from the few patrons inside the coffee shop. Taz’s mouth dropped open in disbelief.
The man smiled. “Well, you in particular. You’re Bruce Kasparov, right? The legend himself.”
Uecker laughed. “Well, look at you, Sonny Jim, the celebrity over here!” Uecker then turned his attention to the newcomer. “But he doesn’t give out autographs for free, you know. I’m his manager; twenty dollars a pop, and of course, I get a percentage of that.” Uecker winked at Bruce.
The man chuckled lightly. “Oh no, that’s quite alright, I don’t need an autograph. Thank you though, for such a tempting offer. But I actually approached this table on a different matter…”
***
Roy’s squad car was cutting in and out of lanes while his police siren screamed at the traffic. Varick had his ear to his cell phone: five rings…six rings... “Blast it, still no luck!” Varick yelled, closing his flip phone. “They aren’t picking up...Bruce or Santos.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll be there soon,” Roy replied.
“Yo, you sure you can’t let me out?” Estuardo whined. “I gave you guys valuable information!”
Roy’s eye twitched in annoyance. “First of all, we’re dragging you along to make sure you’re not full of crap. Second—even if this coffee shop checks out, you tried to get out of your reckless driving rap by confessing to conspiracy to commit murder. You, sir, are a moron.”
“Yo, homes, your boy roughed me up real good. I think I have a concussion or something. Cut me some slack.”
“Shut— up ,” Varick ordered.
“What you gonna do, pig?” Estuardo taunted. “This cage works both ways, you know.” He began to laugh.
“Marlon,” Varick signalled.
“PAH!” Marlon yelled out, as he slugged Estuardo in the stomach with his cuffed hands. Estuardo heaved in pain, feeling lightheaded.
This seemed to satisfy Varick. “See, Marlon here might get out of here soon. But not you— homes . ”
***
“Are you aware of who runs Brooklyn, Captain?”
Bruce puzzled over the question. “I’m not sure I understand what you’re asking...”
The man scoffed. “Scorcher. Scorcher runs Brooklyn.” Kasparov exchanged glances with Santos. “You run a great risk coming to this part of town, you know. Don’t know who you’ll run into. Especially when the buzz around town is that Scorcher wants you dead…”
Taz stopped eating his soup. Uecker, for once, held his tongue. Bruce noticed Santos’ fist clenching, despite keeping a calm demeanor.
“Relax,” Bruce instructed Santos. “You don’t need to get involved, I’ll handle this.” Bruce refocused his attention on the intruder. “So, I take it you’re in Scorcher’s employment…well, here I am. How would you like to proceed?” Bruce smiled at the man, who responded with an angry sneer. Patrons looked on anxiously and the coffee shop had gone deathly quiet.
“I’ll tell you what’s going to happen. Any one of you move a muscle and you’re all dead. I just want the Captain.” Bruce eyed the bulge in the man’s jacket.
“There’ll be no interference from them, I assure you,” Bruce responded curtly.
The man slowly edged toward the entrance door, keeping a safe distance between Bruce and himself. The man snickered. “Now that I’ve seen you up close, you’re not so tough. Too much credit is given where it ain’t due. But me, once I ice you…I’ll be a legend . Say goodbye!”
The man whipped out the gun from inside his jacket, but he didn’t even have a chance to aim it. Bruce directed his arm at the man and made a pushing motion at lightning speed. This simple gesture sent the man flying off his feet and sailing through the air. He crashed through the pane of glass on the north side of the coffee shop, where he bounced onto the sidewalk and crumpled in a heap. People outside the shop screamed in surprise.
There was shock and awe from the few patrons inside the coffee shop. Taz’s mouth dropped open in disbelief.
Similar Books
