King Kong grabbed the note. “There is only room for one,” he read aloud. His eyes flew to Phil and Saddam. “I guess Smooth Suave solved the puzzle.”
“So, the question is, what will he do next?” Phil had a big frown on his face. “You can bet Suave, Cobra, and Daddy Lizard won’t let this go. They didn’t kill Danny, which means they have something else up their sleeves. But what exactly?”
Chapter Seven
“Man, you are a genius.” Cobra slapped Suave on the back enthusiastically. “I couldn’t believe Danny spilled the beans like that.”
Suave grinned and shifted positions in his lawn chair. He crossed his legs and took a sip of his beer. “I knew Danny since we were kids. He was a coward then, and he’s a coward now. All of Danny’s power comes from the gorilla.”
Suave, Cobra, and Daddy Lizard laughed as they drank beers and smoked weed. They now had all the information they needed to bring King Kong to his knees.
“I still think we should have put out Danny’s lights.” Daddy Lizard’s face now held some concern. He wanted Suave to kill Danny when he was kidnapped. “He could be a problem later.”
“The man didn’t see our faces. We’re good.” Suave puffed on the spliff and blew smoke in the air. “Plus, I’m not scared of those fools,” he said, firing off a few F-bombs.
“Please don’t kill me. I’ll tell you everything you want to know,” Cobra mimicked Danny in a squeaky voice, his body trembling as if he had the chills.
Daddy Lizard spat out his drink as he roared with laughter, tears running down his face.
Cobra’s face became serious moments later. Fun time was over. It was time to talk business. “We need to put some men on the bar,” he remarked, referring to their headquarters where they conducted business. “That message to King Kong will no doubt reveal we knew he robbed us, and we had taken Danny. That idiot may try to hit some of our spots.”
“Get some workers on it now.” Suave nodded in agreement. “Tell them to shoot first and ask questions later.”
Cobra took his cell phone out of his pants pocket and proceeded to make the calls.
* * *
“Danny, how are you feeling, my brother?” King Kong took a seat in the white, padded accent chair by Danny’s bed. It was three days after the kidnapping, and King Kong stopped by Danny’s house to see how he was doing.
Danny’s face was still bandaged up like the Mummy. He groaned. “A lot of pain, man. But Miss Gala gave the wife some strong pain medication, and that’s helping a little.” Danny’s voice was very low, with his eyes shut tight as he lay propped up on two fluffy pillows in his king-sized bed. “I took a bad beating, King.”
King Kong nodded his head as if Danny could see him. Anxiety filled his eyes. What did Danny tell Suave? “So, did you see who took you?”
“Nah. Those cowards attacked me from the back, and then blindfolded me.”
“What did they want? Why did they say they grabbed you? What did you tell them, Danny?” King Kong jumped to his feet and began pacing.
Danny shifted restlessly on the bed and groaned as pain washed over his bruised body. “I didn’t tell them anything, King.” Danny opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling, avoiding eye contact with King Kong. “You think I would do something like that?” Danny began a coughing fit.
King Kong waited until Danny settled down. He could tell Danny was as nervous as a hen in a cockfight. The question was... Why? “You do know it was Suave, right? He sent us the same message we sent him.”
“I thought so at first. But when they didn’t ask me anything about the robbery, I figured I was wrong.” Danny glanced quickly at King Kong before looking away.
“See, what I can’t figure out is why these men kidnapped and beat you for nothing,” King Kong replied as he sat down again, pulling the chair closer to the bed. “Who knew about that message we planted on Suave’s men that we robbed, except Suave and his people?” King Kong leaned over the bed, his ugly face all twisted up in anger. “I am going to ask you again, what did you tell them, Danny?”
Danny swallowed hard. “They asked about our operation, but I didn’t tell them anything. Why do you think they beat me up and glued my mouth shut?” Danny was desperate for King Kong to believe him. If not, he knew King Kong wouldn’t hesitate to do what Suave and his men didn’t do. Danny and King Kong may be like brothers, but money was the only thing that King Kong loved. Anyone or anything that threatened his drug empire had to go—including his beloved brother, Danny.
“One of them said, ‘Oh, your mouth is sealed? Okay, we’re going to make sure it stays that way,’” Danny informed King Kong. “You see my face, man? You think they would cut me up if I had said anything?” Danny forced himself to lock eyes with the gorilla’s dark, infuriated ones.
King Kong held Danny’s stare for a few seconds, then responded, “Maybe you held out until they beat you so badly you couldn’t stand it anymore, so you talked. Is that what you did, Danny?”
“Shame on you, King!” Danny struggled to sit up straighter but whimpered in pain and slumped back down on the bed.
King Kong inhaled deeply, exhaling loudly as he reclined back in the chair. “Sorry, man. You know you’re my right hand. I had to know if they pressured you into telling them anything that could come back to haunt me. You do know I would understand if you had to talk to save your life, right?” King Kong’s eyes held faked compassion. He looked point-blank at Danny as if he were trying to hypnotize him to reveal the secret.
Danny wanted to roll his eyes. Yeah, right. You would put a bullet in my head right now, and then do the same to my wife and three kids to eliminate all the witnesses. He moaned and groaned as he slowly and deliberately raised himself a little. He looked King Kong straight in the face. “I. Did. Not. Say. Anything.” He placed his hand over his heart. “We’re in this for life, King. It’s you and me all the way, brother.”
Danny wondered if he had managed to fool King Kong, and King Kong wondered if Danny was full of crap.
King Kong’s face broke out in a wide grin. “My bad.” He reached over and took Danny’s hand into his. “I apologize for doubting you. You know I get a little anxious sometimes, especially when dealing with that snake, Suave. I’m happy he didn’t get the info he wanted. Next time I hit him, it’s not only business, but it’s also personal.”
Danny tried to smile but grimaced at the pain that shot through his jaw. “We’re going to take care of him, King. Just wait until I get back on my feet.”
“That’s the plan, baby.” King Kong released Danny’s hand and stood to his feet. “I have some business to take care of, but I’ll stop by later. Call me if you need anything. Cool?”
“Thanks, man. Hold it down out there until I get back.”
“You got it, Danny. I’m out.” With that, King Kong walked toward the door.
Danny closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief as he slowly and painfully lowered himself down on the bed. Good God, he pulled it off. King Kong bought the story as he hoped he would.
“You have to rough me up a little bit, so King Kong doesn’t suspect anything,” Danny had said to the men who kidnapped him after he had told them all they wanted to hear. “I need him to believe me when I tell him I didn’t say a word.” Danny was sure they would go easy because he had cooperated.
“No problem, Danny. I think we can do that for you.”
The men laughed. Danny didn’t know he was going to get the whooping of his life, whether or not he asked for it. It was just GP—General