Part II-Chapter 14: TO PLAY AN OPTION

 

 

Chapter 14

To Play an Option
(Ó 2009)

The Office of Alderman Jorge Garcia

That Same Afternoon

1:48PM

There was a quick two tap knock on the door as Grace Alvarez stepped into Jorge Garcia’s office space. He was alone at his desk when she entered, “Excuse me, Jorge, but there is a Ms. Humene on your private line insisting that she speak with you. I’m sorry, but she seems persistent.”

Jorge remained calm even as he heard the name of who that was said to him, stifling any anger he may have felt that this was causing, he smiled slightly and said, “Thanks Grace, I’ll take it in here.”

“I’m sorry, but she wouldn’t let up.” she said remorsefully.

“That’s okay, thanks.” He said and gave a small gesture with his hand to reassure her, plus for her to close the door. Once the door has been closed he placed his hand on the phone that was on his desk, took a deep breath to calm his anger, and then pressed the button for his private line, a number known to a select group of people. He then spoke in a low, controlled angry tone, “Hello? Daisy? Daisy … why in the fuck are you calling me here? Are you that fucked up in the head? Are you really this fucking stupid?”

Daisy Humene spoke with some panic, “Jorge, they were just here, those two fucking cops, they were just here at the hospital.”

“What two cops, you mean Jaworski and Todd? So fucking what? Of course they were there, your fucking idiot moron of a boyfriend got shit on by that fucking psycho they’re looking for. What the fuck, you think you saw the last of them or something? Get your head out of your ass you stupid bitch.”

Daisy’s tone was one of concern and fright, “But they said some other shit man.”

“And what shit might that be?”

“They basically told us how fucked we are by everybody Jorge,” Daisy answered, “That we’re fucked because they are after us, that they are all after us, everybody man. That everyone is turning their backs on us, that everyone we know is gonna shit on us.”

“And you believe that?”

“What the fuck do you want me to believe man? It’s so true and you fucking know it.” Daisy sounded as if she were about to cry, “Look what happened to my Carlito. Those two cops started saying shit about how this crazy motherfucker is still out there watching us. That he’s been watching us for a long time. You know how fucking scary that is man?”

Jorge felt that now he could use her fear to control her, “That could very well be Daisy, he could be still out there watching you both.”

Jorge then began to smile slightly as he heard her say, “Shit man, aw fucking shit.”

He then asked sternly, “Where are you calling from right now?”

“I’m in a phone booth at the hospital.”

“Can anybody fucking hear you?” He asked unsympathetically.

“No, it’s one of those old walk in phone booths.”

Jorge then calmly asked, “What other shit did they tell you?”

“The talked about the Colombians man,” Daisy gulped, “they said that they would be coming after us because the deal got all fucked up. Are they pissed at us man? Will they come after Carlito and me? Are you gonna leave us alone to face those motherfuckers man?”

Jorge answered he assumingly, “Daisy, those two cops are just fucking with your head as well as that idiot boyfriend of yours. I’ll handle the Columbians, besides it was my money that was lost, you should be more concerned with me.”

“They mentioned you too.”

Jorge’s pitch then turned to one of great apprehension, “What do you mean they mentioned me? They talked about me? They know my name?”

Daisy corrected herself, “No, no, no man I didn’t mean it that way. They didn’t mention you by name, but they did say that they know that the money wasn’t ours. They say they have people in the police department I guess that are suspicious that the money really wasn’t ours that it came from someplace else, someone connected in business or politics, something like that.”

“Don’t give me that ‘something like that’ shit,” he growled softly so as to not let anyone hear him on the other side of the office door, “give me something for sure. Did they tell you anything that would indicate that they knew where that money came from?”

“No, they just kept saying that we don’t have what it takes to handle that much cash, and that there are people in the police that are suspicious about that.”

“And what did you say to that?” Jorge asked.

“I kept saying that they we’re all like, ya know, full of shit man, that the money was ours, I kept telling them that.”

Jorge was silent for a few seconds and then asked, “Did they by chance tell you exactly how much money was taken? Did they know if it was a large amount or small amount, anything like that? Did they even know what the exact amount might be?”

“No man, they didn’t say anything like that.”

He then asked harshly, “How the hell did they know any money was involved in the first place?”

Daisy answered, “Carlito said that the one cop, that Todd bastard, he tried to talk with him in the ambulance. He just started to ask Carlito about the money, like he fucking knew about it.” Jorge could hear her sniff and in a few seconds he heard Daisy blowing her nose. “He even mentioned the money when he came back upstairs, he said he heard somebody saying the ‘the money was gone’.”

“Nobody in that group of retards that you call Los Aztecas Monarcas ever stopped to think about denying the fact that there was even any money involved at all?” Jorge said through gritted teeth, “Not even the both of you could deny, even once, the existence of any money? You stupid bitch, by not denying it, you confirmed its existence. Idiots! Stupid, fucking, retarded, idiots.” Daisy listened and heard as Jorge quietly growled in his throat. “Is there anything else you have to fucking tell me you brainless cunt?”

“Yes,” she answered timidly, “they also told us that Los Aztecas Monarcas are plotting against Carlito and me. That they may be trying to get somebody among them to take over the gang and turn them all against us. Could that be fucking happening man, are those guys gonna take over and turn us out?”

Jorge went silent for a few seconds and thought out of what he would have to do. Once he felt that the decision he was about to make the right one, he calmed himself down and spoke to Daisy very serenely and with composure, “Shut up and listen to me Daisy, just shut the fuck up and listen, don’t say anything, don’t interrupt, just listen.” She heard then as he breathed in a couple of deep breaths, he then began to speak, “Don’t worry about the Colombians, I know them, they know me, I’ll take care of them. Your subordinates in Los Aztecas Monarcas? I’ll speak to them also, they will fucking listen to me. Todd and Jaworski? They’re just fucking with you to scare you, and it worked, because you fucking called me ten minutes after they left didn’t you? Don’t worry about them. I have people here on my end that can help deal with them. So, Daisy that just leaves me. I’m the only thing you and lover boy there have to worry about, after all, that was my money that you both fucking had taken from you. My fucking money. Some psycho motherfucker is right now out there having a good time with my fucking money that you had taken by him. My money, do you hear me? My money.” He paused for a moment then continued, “So that means, yes, Daisy, I’m the huge fucking problem for you and your dumb ass Romeo. So, you’d better do everything that I have to tell you, and not deviate from it in the slightest. Do you fucking understand me?”

Daisy answered with a timid, “Yes.”

“Now you fucking listen to me you stupid cunt, it’s too late to deny that there was any money involved in this, so but you both just keep right on telling who ever it is that asks you that the money was yours. If they ask how much, you tell them it was fifty thousand, you hear me? Not even close to the two million that you two fuck ups had taken from me. Fifty thousand, you got that?”

“Yes.”

“I have a friend with a problem on my end, whose problem is going to help clear up all this shit; however, all of you have forced me to play an option that I have only wanted to play if the shit got deep. Well, it has started to get real deep and I have to call in some favors, and get some other people involved. It’s going to be complicated, but you don’t have to worry about that. You just have to worry about two things, keeping your fucking story straight and your mouths shut. Do you understand me?”

“Yes.”

“Because if you don’t Daisy,” he said in a deep malevolent tone, “well, I heard a couple of those Colombian boys mention how they’d love get you alone, away from Carlito, to have a shot at you for a few hours. If you fuck any of this up again in the slightest, I will have you gift wrapped and sent down to Bogotá where you will spend every waking hour with a Columbian cock jammed down your throat or pounding your ass in some jungle whorehouse. Leaving your little Carlito back here all alone to fend for himself.” He fell silent for a few seconds, and then said, “And Daisy?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t you ever … ever … fucking call me again here or any place for that matter, for any fucking reason. If you do, you’ll be on your way to South America within an hour, do you fucking understand me?”

“Y-yes.”

“Well then, hang up the fucking phone you stupid bitch.” With that he heard the click as the phone disconnected, then followed by the dial tone. “Fucking bitch never even said good-bye.” He mocked to himself. Jorge reached into the top left drawer of his desk and pulled out a personal address book. He flipped to the “S” page then picked up the phone and punched in the numbers.

He heard as the phone rang on the other end, it was picked up in the middle of the second ring and it was answered by a girl with a Russian accent, “Good afternoon, Siberia.” Jorge had called the restaurant known as Siberia, catering in fine Russian cuisine, a top three and four star rated restaurant in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. 

“Mila? Is that you sweetheart?” Jorge asked the girl in a cheerful voice, “This is Jorge Garcia.”

“Good afternoon Mr. Garcia,” answered Mila Chekov, the nineteen year old daughter, and youngest child of Pieter Chekov, “Yes, it’s me. Papa has me working full time now here. What can I do for you?”

“I was wondering if I may speak with your father, is he there?” He asked jovially

“Oh yes, he is right at the bar, hold on for one second.” He was then placed on hold.

In about one minutes time Jorge heard the sounds of what seemed to be the kitchen area and heard the gravel toned, Russian accented voice of Pieter Chekov, “Why hello Alderman Garcia, what a pleasant surprise. What do I owe for the honor of this phone call?” Chekov asked in a most pleased of manner. Pieter Chekov, one of the most successful chefs and restaurateurs in the Chicago area, also one of the most feared and diabolical crime bosses in the Midwest as well.

Jorge answered with a tone that was just as cheerful, “Well Mr. Chekov, I was just wondering if by chance, if you’re not so busy in the near future, if we could set up a meeting and discuss that little problem that I told you about.”

“You mean the one concerning your colleague?” Pieter asked.

“Yes, yes sir that one. If you could find time over the next few days, maybe I could bring my friend in and discuss the problem.”

Pieter then asked elatedly, “Why not tonight?”

“Tonight sir?”

“Yes, tonight.” Pieter said with great enthusiasm, “Bring your friend by tonight, we shall have a late dinner, just the four of us.”

“The four of us?” Jorge asked in bewilderment.

“Yes, the four of us, you, your friend, me and Julian of course.”

“Oh yes, Julian! How is your son sir?”

“He just got back yesterday from Ukraine and Georgia on some business there. Come tonight, you know how I am; any time is good time to discuss business. Tonight then ten o’clock sharp, and make sure you both come hungry.”

Jorge knew what this meant, when Pieter Chekov invited you to come, there was no turning down the invitation. He meant that he wanted you there no matter what. Jorge then said, “Ten o’clock sharp it is sir, and we will be hungry. Thank you very much, I appreciate this, I will phone my colleague right now. See you tonight.”

“Julian and I will be looking forward to it, see you tonight my friend.” The phone line then went dead, and then came back to life with its dial tone.

Jorge then pressed the button to his business line and began to hastily punch the buttons to dial the next person. In a few seconds he heard the ringing tone on the other end. This time however the phone had to ring twelve times before someone answered. A woman answered the phone with a tired and bored tone. “Hello, Alderman Stillwater’s Office.”

“Tiondra? Is that you?”

“Yeah it’s me, whose this?”

“It’s Alderman Garcia, is your aunt there?”

“Yeah hold on, I’ll go see.”

Jorge was then put on hold for about three minutes, but to him it seemed an eternity. “Why can’t I catch a break from all the fucking morons we have working for us?” He asked himself under his breath, “Why can’t she get someone with half a fucking brain in their head to at least know if she is or is not in the fucking room?’

Finally, the phone line came to life and the voice of Dee Dee Stillwater came on, “Jorge? What’s up? What’s the matter?”

“The matter is that your lazy dumb fuck of a niece always takes her sweet ass time looking for you. She doesn’t even know if you’re in your own fucking office or not. Jeez Dee Dee, what the fuck kind of hold do you keep on those morons there to keep you where you are?”

Dee Dee answered with a condescending tone, “Now I know that you didn’t call me just to show disrespect on my niece, what’s the problem?”

“Well, Dee Dee, there is no problem if you are free tonight at ten o’clock.”

“What’s at ten o’clock?”

“We have a late dinner date with Pieter Chekov tonight at Siberia with him to discuss your situation, that’s what.”

“Ten o’clock? Why so fucking late, I have a couple of things I have to do for my ward tonight.”

“Cancel them.” Jorge said abruptly.

“Cancel them? What do you mean cancel them? You want me to cancel them just like that?”

Jorge said sternly, “Yes Dee Dee … just like that. You want to get out of this fucking predicament of yours, and then you get your big black ass to Siberia Restaurant tonight and meet us there. Here’s one thing you have to know of right from the start, when Pieter Chekov wants you somewhere, there is no discussion, and there is no debate. If he wants you at his place at ten o’clock do you know what that means?”

“No, what?” she asked sarcastically.

“It means that you had better have you ass there by at least nine forty-five. And by the way, his son Julian will be joining us.”

There was silence on Dee Dee’s end of the phone; she finally asked nervously, “Julian Chekov is going to be there?”

“Yes,” Jorge answered, now feeling as if he had proven the seriousness of this matter to Dee Dee Stillwater, “Julian will be joining us. Pieter said that it will just be the four of us, so that means we will be having dinner in Pieter’s private booth, and when you come you had better be hungry. So don‘t eat anything for the rest of the day.”

“Why does that Julian have to be there?” She asked.

“Because that’s the way Pieter wants it, and Pieter wants it so that you and I will be at Siberia tonight at ten. So that’s what’s going to happen, right Dee Dee?”

There was more silence on Dee Dee Stillwater’s end of the phone, finally she said, “Yes, that’s what is going to happen.”

“So you’ll be there tonight right?”

“Yes, I’ll be there, tonight, at ten, I’ll be there.”

Jorge then said in an extreme serious tone, “What fucking time are you going to be there?”

Again silence from Dee Dee’s end, and then she said, “Nine forty-five. I will be there on or before nine-forty-five.”

“And what else will you be?”

“Hungry, I’ll show up very hungry.” She answered

“You’d better be, don’t insult or offend this man in any way. Show up early, eat his fucking food and enjoy his company.” Jorge then abruptly disconnected their phone call.