The Herd

Chapter 19

     James and I climbed into the car after breakfast and a calm chat. And by calm, I mean we were debating who we thought were in charge of the bigger picture. We didn't come to a conclusion, just some loose suspicions but we really had no idea what we were talking about. Without any real leads, we were running in the dark.
     James looked at his watch and buckled his seatbelt. "We should be catching him in the middle of his hours." He said. "Connors Street."
      "Got it." I started my vehicle and like that we were off.
At this time in the morning the city was loudest. Everyone was off to work or getting breakfast. People drove, crowding the roads, and people walked, cramming the sidewalks. The parks were filled with joggers or people taking their dogs out for some outside time. That's the good side of the city.
The dark side is what most people either don't notice, or choose to ignore. In the busy roads of Kingdom, there are constant police chases, road ragers, accidents, and street races. In the crowds of walking people there are muggings, drug deals, undercover corrupted cops, undercover mob bosses and gang members. This side of the city only people like me can survive.
After passing through some heavy morning traffic, we made it to the suburbs. Quieter than the city, but hell of a lot more dangerous to be caught alone in. We parked on a single street farthest out of the neighborhood we could without it being in a city road. Better not to drive a nice and fancy car through the hood.
"Connors is just a few blocks down." James said, walking around the car.
"You lead the way." I replied.
As we walked through the neighborhood the passing people gave us stink eyes and dirty looks. Bunch of white guys thinking they're black, and a bunch of black guys thinking they're punks. Mexicans walking around with joints in their mouths, and woman dancing on street corners. We made the point to holster our pistols in clear sight on our hips.
These people around here may not be a part of any gangs, but they're smart enough to know who are. Most of them probably recognize us as well. Me, the leader of the infamous gang The Herd, and James, known to be one of our top fighters. The two of us alone could take this whole neighborhood head on, and they all know who'd walk out.
Ahead of us we could see a man at a simple table stand at the end of a house's walkway. Walking down Connors Street we could faintly make out what the sign hanging from the table said. On a plain white canvas and bold black letters: "Come Get Some."
Classy.
The man at the stand was far taller than me, but had no where near as much meat. Like... he could use a sandwich. Not so much that he was a walking skeleton, but a body just fed enough to run away from the cops. His jeans were fairly torn at the knees, and his convers were slightly breaking. He wore a black tee with a giant marijuana leaf on the front. His sandy blonde hair slightly glistened in the still morning sunlight.
He didn't notice us coming up until we were already a few feet away from him. "Ho-ho-holy shit." He smiled. "Well, if it isn't the one and only Herd."
"How's it going, Christian?" I said, clapping my hand against his and embracing into a bro hug.
James did the same after me.
"Doing pretty well actually." He said, putting his hands into his pockets.
"Pretty good business I assume." I said placing my palm on his table. "Seems like it considering your empty tabletop." I said sarcastically.
"Oh c'mon, Noah." He laughed."Like I'm going to leave bags of weed and crack out in the open on a table."
     "Oh don't bullshit me, that's not all you're selling." I chuckled.
     "What, are you a cop now?" He said. "Sue me."
     "Whatever man." James said. "We're here to talk to you about something more important than your weed."
     "And heroine." He said. "And meth."
     "Dude." James said with a (😑) face.
     "What do you know about The Exterminator?" I asked.
     Chris' face turned from cool and collected to shocked and scare.  "I don't know you that it." He said, louder than necessary. He leaned closer to me and took quick glances around before looking at me. "Not so loud, dude." He said quietly.
     James leaned closer to him and whispered "Why not?"
     Chris straightened up and looked around. I did the same and didn't see anybody. Just a dog sleeping on a house's doorstep.
     "Follow me." He said. He slammed his palm against the tabletop and a little latch on the side opened up. He reached his finger into it and with a small click sound the middle of the table popped open, splitting the two halves. Inside, I could faintly spot baggies full of weed and white powders before the table folded over and the legs pulled in from underneath. Before it hit the ground Chris caught it by a handle that had came from the latch he had opened before. He walked towards the house holding what appeared to be a gray plastic briefcase.
     "That..." James' eyebrows rose in aw, "Was actually pretty cool."
     I chuckled and followed Chris up the walkway, James shortly behind. He led us around the back and into the backyard. In the far corner of the 7 foot tall brown wooden fence was a few thick rose bushes. We followed him until he stood right next to the farthest bush. The immense smell of roses and grass filled my nose, almost making me sneeze. He looked around suspiciously but then took a rose and pulled on it.
     It was attacked to a green string that pulled it back to place when he let go. The bush then made a hissing sound and Christian took a grip by its thickest branch. He lifted it up and the whole bush came up with a squared section of grass and dirt beneath it. It revealed a ladder into a deep hole in the ground.
     "Holy..."
     "After you." Chris said smiling.
     "My god, dude." I said dumbstruck.
     After climbing down, and letting James follow, Chris was last in and the room was pitch black when he closed the top. It was a few seconds of listening to Chris stumble over a few things before he turned on the light.
What in the ass...?
     The shelves that aligned the walls were packed with bags and boxes of weed, crack, meth, and an assortment of other things I don't entirely want to mention. He even had a corner with a locker that had guns spilling out from it.
     "Dude, what the fuck?" James said.
      Chris' reaction to laugh so hard he had to hold his stomach.
     "Dude, having this much shit so close to your goddamn house is dangerous!" I said. "A canine unit could find this shit in a heartbeat."
     Chris laughed again. "Not with the constant flora smell I have running up top from a machine hidden in the bushes."
     "Yeah, well we'll have Kap and his dog see about that." James said.
     "Besides, have you noticed the smell?"
     It took me a moment to figure what he meant, but that's exactly what he meant. I didn't smell anything. This much shit in one room should outsmell an entire drug cartel.
     "I don't smell anything." I said.
     "Exactly." He pointed to the wall at a vent. "Those vents suck in the smell, while a few other certain vents push in a fresh smell like an A.C. Trust me, the back room's even better. Fresh weed plants taller than you, and you can't smell a damn thing."
     I leaned in closer to him and made a smirky face. "How much you sellin' for?"
     "For you guys I'm willing to offer a discount."
     "Oh for real?"
     "Noah!" James smacked me from behind.
     "I'm joking. I'm joking!" I said laughing.
     "Anyway, follow me and we can talk." Chris said, leading us through another door.
     We ended up in a separate room with a metal table in the middle. "Grab a seat and we can talk."
     James and I pulled up a pair of chairs and sat down, Chris sat on the opposite side from us.
     "The Exterminator." He said. "Franklin Von Halgin."
"You know his real name?" I asked.
"Real name? No. That's the name the higher people he deals with knows him by. The name he gives his... friends."
"That's what we're here for." I said. "The higher bosses he's in dealing with."
"Why?" He asked. "Anybody strikes your interest?"
"Well... no actually. We're thinking someone ordered a hit on him from making a bad deal. For revenge." I said.
Chris leaned back and sighed. "Than you're out of luck." He said.
"What?"
"In all of Kingdom history, The Exterminator has never made a bad rep with any other gangs." He stated. "He's a fan favorite. And he's important to most gangs he works with. He owns most of the police, and is the biggest drug lord."
"What?" James said looking to me. "I thought you said he was a minor?"
"I thought he was!"
"Nope." Chris said, shaking his head. "He's been on the top since his gang killed off the Blackhats."
"Jesus." I exclaimed, leaning against the table. How'd my research be so wrong. I was sure it was up to date.
"Who could've ordered such a huge hit then? And why? If he has no enemies then who'd even care?" James said.
"Well, it could've been the cops." Chris thought.
"But you said-"
"He owns most of the department?" Chris cut me off. "Yes he does. That doesn't mean he's deep enough to be off the wanted list. Men like him. Men like you... they're never off that list. They might have finally brought in some federal agents to clean this city up." Chris said sarcastically.
"Please." I rolled my eyes. "The government doesn't give a rats ass about this city, let alone to send in a rat's ass to clean it up."
"Why do you guys care anyway?" He asked. "Your killers for hire. You don't ask questions about a hit. What's different now?"
"He was far to ready for us..." I said. "It almost cost Antonio and Ben's life, and nearly Kap's too."
"That car chase on the news the other night, that was you?" Chris said.
"Guilty." I said. "On account of Kap's reckless driving."
"Well, actually I heard Antonio was driving for the most part." James said.
Before could answer Christian butted in. "So what now?" He asked. "I can't help you anymore than I already have, and I truly don't believe you'll be able to find the employer."
I sighed and thought for a moment. "Do you have any idea where he'll be in the next few days?"
"Nope." He said. After a moment of thinking he raised a finger. "But, I think I know someone who might."
"Who?"
"Alvin the Jack." He said.
"Oh, Hell no." I said, leaning back.
"Who?" James asked.
"Alvin the Jack." I said with a distasteful tone. "A sneaky bastard as slippery as an eel in an oil slick."
"The slipperiest." Chris laughed.
"He was responsible for the fall of the Spartans, the Halos, the Jerseys, and the Outcasts... all killed each other extinct because he wormed himself into their heads. He turned them on each other."
"Many don't know this," Chris said "but he's also the reason behind The Exterminator getting his fingers around the police force."
"What?"
"Alvin and him are close. Brothers almost." He said. "A few years back, Alvin snuck into the department and stole files. Files that would get the police shut down. Files that would get the government down here and shoot up the place."
"What?" James scoffed. "What kinda shit would the police have that would be that bad?"
"No one knows." Chris shrugged. "But it worked, and ever since then the cops have been blackmailed to ignore everything Exterminator related."
"Okay..." I said. "But Alvin disappeared two years ago. Things were getting to hot. He almost got caught so he ran. Never to be seen again."
"Ah, but that's where you're wrong." Chris laughed. "I know exactly where he is every Thursday."
"Impossible." I said.
"You think so? He's been faking a new identity since his disappearance. He knew he couldn't get out of the city, so he changed his face and his name." Chris smiled for a moment, looking back at the both of us. "You know... Jimmy McKyles?"