Part II-Chapter 22: THE TEN STORY SUMMIT

Chapter 22

 

The Ten Story Summit
(Ó 2009) 

9:45 PM

That Same Evening

David Todd and Noel Jaworski both stood together on the open-air, top tenth floor of the parking facility located on the corner of Hubbard and Orleans Streets. At this hour they were the only two people there, and their’s was the only automobile. They stood on the northeast side of the parking lot, leaning against the four foot concrete wall. They were both overlooking a beautiful view of the Chicago skyline on this cool clear October night. The John Hancock building had an orange band of lights at its top instead of the usual white in celebration of the upcoming holidays of Halloween and Thanksgiving. When Thanksgiving was over, they would be changed to blue and white for the Jewish holiday of Hanukah, then to green and red for Christmas afterwards.

Across from them, directly on the Southside of the parking facility was the Merchandise Mart, a building so large that it has its own zip code. It too had orange lights illuminating its top floors. When you scanned the building going westward, you could see the Holiday Inn straight across Orleans Street that was connected to it with a sky bridge. Still looking westward in the distance just from the Holiday Inn and between the building that is the East Bank Club, you can see the United Center which is home for the Chicago Blackhawks hockey team, and the Chicago Bulls basketball club.

The cool October air was also filled with three distinct aromas. The first was that of chocolate, it was coming from the Blommer Chocolate Factory that is located directly west of where David and Noel stood, across the Chicago River and the METRA tracks. The other was a combination of charbroiled steak and garlic. That was coming from the Gene and Georgetti Italian Steakhouse that was directly across the street on the north side from the parking facility, and right under the “L” tracks.

“Man that’s sure making me hungry.” Noel said.

“You ever been to Gene and Georgetti?” David asked.

“No, can’t say that I have.”

“Best steaks in the city, hands down.”

“Well then, you got to take me there after this is all over.” Noel said, “No matter how it turns out. We’ll either be celebrating, or having our last meal as free men.” They both then began to hear the sound of tires squealing as a car began to make its way up to the top floor. Noel looked at his wristwatch, “Hey man, they’re right on time.” Both men watched as a set of headlights began to show its beams on the concrete walls below them and then soon to the walls of the top floor parking area. It was a late model black Chevrolet Blazer and it made its way up the final incline and turned directly towards them. The driver parked it right next to David and Noel’s car, the shut down the engine and turned off the lights. The three passengers inside then opened their doors at the same time and began to exit the Blazer. The three passengers were Ernie Adams, Celia Hanna and Paul Hester.

“Hey guys and girls.” David said and stepped up to them all to greet them. He was followed by Noel. Each exchanged handshakes and hugs.

“How’s it been going guys?” Noel asked, “I suppose you saw the circus on TV today?”

“Sure did Noel,” answered Ernie, “and as I did, all I can think of is what Bogart said in that old movie about that this was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

Celia let out a laugh, “Beautiful? Let me tell you all something from a black woman’s point of view, that Dee Dee Stillwater? Man that is one ugly ass sista.”

Celia’s remark brought out a hearty group laugh, then Ernie looked around and asked, “Where’s Xiang? He late or something?” 

“Xiang’s not coming.” David answered.

“Why not?”

“Because Xiang doesn’t know about this one.”

“He doesn’t?” Ernie said with some surprise.

Noel said, “No, Ernie, we decided to leave him out of this one, there is something that Dave and I may have to do, and we both felt that you all at least deserve some sort of forewarning.”

David then said, “Yeah guys, we’re going to just warn you about something that Ski and I are maybe going to have to do, but, unfortunately, we can not ell you what it is.”

“Why not?” Paul asked.

“Because Paul, what Noel and I are going to do, well, it just may cost a career and a pension.” David answered; it brought silence to the group. “And this has been our baby from the start, and if the shit hit’s the fan, well, Ski and I don’t want to bring anybody else down with us.”

Noel then added, “Actually, it will be two.” He looked to his partner, “If you go, I go Dave. There’s no sense even debating. I know if it will be you, you’re gonna do the same. Been partners … and friends too long man.” That drew a warm smile of appreciation from David.

“What is it that you both are exactly going to do?” Ernie asked.

“Ain’t gonna tell you Ernie,” David answered, “but I guar-an-damn-tee you all that … you’ll know what it is when it happens.”

“You guys ain’t going to the press are ya?”

David and Noel stayed silent, then Noel spoke, “When it happens … you’re going to know. We don’t want to implicate everyone involved in this. That’s the main reason Xiang is not here. When Dee Dee Stillwater became involved this way, well, it all became political now. And you all know as well as Dave and I do about Chicago style politics.” Noel paused and looked at them all, they were nodding in agreement. “But, if everything goes well … and we’re both hoping it will … then only those who deserve it are going to go down.”

David then spoke up, “Listen guys, and let me say something that will stay just between us, okay? You’ve never heard me say what I’m about to say, understand?” He looked around as everyone nodded ‘yes’ in agreement. “Because if it ever comes up I will deny the hell out of it.” He looked at all of their faces. “Ski and I have been dealing directly with this man, this vigilante, now for over six years. We believe that we know him better than anyone else does. We believe that for some time now, that he has been committing these attacks to deliberately have us do what we are doing now, to expose these fucks. Every attack is linked, except that we both still can’t link Freeman and Ortega with any of the others. Our guy has been fucking up the lives of some real scumbags, yes, but they are all of the low level here. The low level people who do the dirty work for the upper level rats. They do all the sales, and the terrorizing, and they are, in the eyes of the ‘higher ups’, expendable and replaceable. But the vigilante, by getting rid of these jag-offs has made the lives of the innocents around them much safer. By doing so, he has also been bringing to light some of the real fucking criminals in this town.”

“Yeah,” Noel added, “and if you wanna know the truth, as far as Dave and I are concerned? Well, what the vigilante is doing is nothing compared with what those fucks over at city hall are doing.”

“I don’t want to sound all mushy and sentimental here,” David then continued, “but frankly, I love my hometown here, and I’m tired of those bastards over there keeping that gangster type, Al Capone reputation alive. I mean New York, Philly, Vegas, even L.A. had their share of gangsters, but it never left here, and these shits are one of the reasons.” He paused and saw the expressions of agreement on their faces. “Now you all know how it goes with these politician bastards, when they get exposed, they try to take those who expose them down with them. So please guys, let’s leave it here and Ski and I will handle it and take what ever happens.”

Noel then said, “I do have to hand it too all of us though. We’re good; we are fuckin’ “A” good. The way we have all worked together and kept this whole thing under wraps? Others would have broken down and leaked something years ago.”

“That’s for sure.” David agreed, “I mean those idiot politicians are either too arrogant, too stupid, or a combination of the two. They have no idea still that we’ve been investigating them. I have to say that Jorge Garcia was smart enough to not involve himself with this task force shit. But something tells me that he’s being kept in the inner circle there. So with that said, has anyone found any link to Dee Dee and Chekov?”

Ernie spoke up, “Well I do have one little thing from our girls in Stillwater’s office.”

“What’s that?”

“One of them recalls a few days after the attack on Julian Chekov that she answered the phone and a man with a Russian like accent called and asked to speak with Dee Dee. In fact, he was insisting. She thought nothing of it at the time; Dee Dee was in her office and took the call. Our girl recalls that Dee Dee answered the phone, put whoever it was on hold, shut the door and talked with whoever it was privately.”

“That could have been Pieter Chekov,” Noel said, “Our guy at the FBI has been filling us in on the Chekov family. Apparently, they‘re good at keeping their mouths shut too. They‘ve been able to work well under the radar here at least, or just paid well enough to do so, if ya know what I mean.”

David then added, “Right and our guy in the Bureau filled us in a little on Julian Chekov. Julian was no lightweight. He is … or now I should say was … one bad ass mutha.” He then breathed in a sigh, “Which confirms what Xiang told us the night we were out where they found Julian, that our vigilante … is even more of a dangerous man than we thought. Come on … Julian Chekov? I mean really, to take Julian out the way he did? To say that a crazy son-of-a-bitch like Julian Chekov had no chance against someone like the vigilante, well … that speaks volumes.”

There was a momentary pause, and then Celia spoke up. “So, what happens now?”

David answered, “Well, the good news for the both of us is that the Mayor spoke up a bit prematurely, there is no toll free number for any ‘vigilante hot line’ yet. You saw Dee Dee stumbling through that at the news conference. The Mayor just gave the okay to set up this task force, so, that’s going to take a few more weeks. We understand that Dee Dee began to pressure the Mayor in her own sweet way to get this task force approved.”

Noel added, “And the timing of her attempts to pressure, excuse me, I mean persuade Hizonor, to do so is in our opinion not coincidental. It was just a week after the attack on Julian.”

“Yeah,” said David, “You all probably noticed today that she never, ever brought race into this thing, as is her usual format. She couldn’t after all because of Freeman and the Bartholomew kid, and now Julian Chekov. No, you saw Dee Dee going through a completely different line of bullshit. She was standing up for justice, the constitution and the rule of law. This proves to me that she’s full of shit.”

Celia then said, “Yeah, I noticed that shit. I even laughed at that because it surprised the shit outta me. Makes me even more suspicious about what she‘s up too.”

Ernie spoke up, “Hell yeah, because I did get some word off the street and its has been confirmed guys. There is a bounty out on the street for anyone who finds this vigilante, and it was put out by Pieter Chekov himself. Get this, one million cash if ya bring him in dead, but two million if you bring him in alive.”

Paul added, “Chekov wants to take care of this guy himself, I guess in the traditional ways of his ancestors.”

Ernie then said, “Maybe old Dee Dee is trying to find a way to make up some quick cash herself and finally retire and get the hell out of here.”

“I don’t know,” said Noel, “old Dee Dee seems different lately, a little nervous and stand off-ish.”

“So what’s the bad news?” Celia asked.

“The bad news?” David answered.

“Yeah, you said the good news for you two was that there is no toll free number and it’s going to take some weeks to put this task force together. What’s the bad news?”

“Isn’t that obvious?” David said with revulsion, “Ski and I have now got to spend the next few weeks with Dee Dee Stillwater putting this damn task force together.”

“That’s right,” Noel added, “and she has made sure that Dave and I have been taken off all of the rest of our work load to just focus in on this.”

“Shit!” exclaimed Paul.

“Shit indeed,” Noel affirmed, “starting bright and early tomorrow morning we have to meet Dee Dee at our office and start going over the initial plans. She’s our boss now throughout this thing.”

David then spoke, “And we have to go to her office every now and then and report directly to her, so Ernie inform your girls there to make no attempt to identify themselves to us in anyway.”

“Yeah, we don’t even want to know who they are.” said Noel. “We don’t want to jeopardize anything, or put them in danger in anyway. Tell them to totally ignore us. We’ve all worked too hard and come a long way to have it all get messed up with any little bullshit thing.”

David then said, “So that’s what’s going on now guys. One good thing that may come from this is the fact that we are working so close with Dee Dee. We can watch her and get a little closer inside to Garcia too maybe. Let’s keep meeting and setting them up in our usual way. But please, one thing that we need from all of you right now, and everyone else involved, Xiang is not know anything about this. This whole meeting right now? It never happened.”

“It’s not because we’re going behind his back,” Noel said, “It’s because he’s our boss and our superior, and basically we happen to like the guy. Like we said before, this is now Chicago style gangster politics getting involved, we just don’t want to see him go down in this. They’ll tear him up.”

“So are we agreed with that?” 

“We’re all agreed.” Celia said. “Right guys?” 

“You got it.” said Paul.

“You fuckin’ ‘A’ can count on me dudes.” Ernie said.

“Okay then,” David said, “let’s all go home, I don’t need to tell any of you that Ski and I are going to have a long day tomorrow. We’ll be in touch. If anyone needs to call another meeting, just do it in our usual way.”