The Old Man and The Dog - Part Two

Now Fluffy is everybody’s hero. Everybody loves him and someone gave this name and it stuck. All the kids that play in the park bring things for fluffy to eat. They fight about who will pet it first.

You know, such an incident does not go unnoticed. This triggered a chain of events that resulted in something unimaginable. First, what happened was, we live very close to the south side police precinct. Now, most of the families living here have one too many kids of their own. Because of that, the quality of life here is very bad. Like it always smells everywhere of trash, piss, and shit. The hood gangs reigned like kings.

But that death drew police attention to the crimes that used to happen here. Like every other day, you would hear that something got stolen, somebody was mugged or a murder every other week. This single random event was going to change it all for the better.

It started with some hidden stories of the underworld coming to light. How even the DA’s office too had been a participant in the illegal empire of drugs.

This common poor financial state among the blacks living in the project turned most of the youth here into criminals. They couldn’t even meet the needs at the day’s end. That’s why they chose this life for themselves. And when there is so many criminal factions, gunfights are a common thing in here. We used ear protectors as the sounds from the gunfights sometimes felt like fireworks from the fourth of July. Just days before Nix died, there was a gang shootout.

We have a bar that is famous for all the criminal big shots around hanging in there. Nix was among the weaker factions. Dwayne AKA D-dawg controls most of the corners in the whole project. And nothing gets past him.

While looking at life was leading, Nix was gradually becoming jealous and ambitious. But he didn’t have enough manpower, reach or money to wage a war and take control. So he slowly built a master plan to remove D-dawg for once and always.

D-dawg had a mistress, Lizzy. A Broadway actress who is very pretty, prettier than the average African-Americans. DD used to visit her once or twice a week. Payed for all her expenses and lavish lifestyle but he didn’t give her one thing. Time. She was alone. DD had a wife who was even more short-fused than him. If she ever knew he has a mistress, she would’ve shot both of them.

So, Lizzy spent most of the nights alone in the apartment. Nix found out about this weak and vulnerable side of DD by using an investigator. This gave him an opportunity.

Nix was initially a good kid when he was young. He had the build of an NFL player and was a smart kid in school. But lacking in leadership and focus. That’s why he had it harder than others. He talked clean, without the usual lingos in front of others. So he used his natural charm and trapped Lizzy into sleeping with him.

She taught in a nearby acting school as a substitute. Nix took Rafe there and introduced as his brother who loves acting. And that’s how it began.

Rafe had it well too. Nix spent a hefty buck on him. That’s why when he rejected NIx and didn’t go with him that day, it punched Nix’s ego hard.

Nix used to drop off Rafe in his Chevrolet. Purely to make an impression. At the exact time when Lizzy’s shift ended. So he took this as an opportunity to get close to her. After weeks of dropping her to her home, he got invited up one day.

And as they were in there, alone, lust took hold on her and Nix got his animal soon to be sacrificed. He took all sorts of photos from every angle. And a few days later, he sent all of it to DD.

With a single photo of another man. The right-hand guy of DD’s rival gang. Coming out of the building she lived in. In a fit of rage, DD shot both the guy and Lizzy without even asking why. Immediately, a war broke off between the gangs.
Within a month, most of the members of DD’s gang were either dead or into police custody.

Nix took this opportunity and with his men, he wiped DD’s hold off and killed the most important ones of DD’s gang.The other minnows either fled or came to nix for shelter and to work for him.

And then came Edward Arturo Taylor. The most ruthless police officer on the south side.

To be continued...

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