"Popular Thug II: Beautiful Disaster"

Ch. 5

      (One Month Later)

       Druex sighed loudly, as the group of men continued to argue about something that shouldn't even matter, "Look! We gotta be fuckin' phantoms! We can not, will not, must not leave clues. Hell, we can't even disturb the air when we move through it! Do you get it?"

       The ten man crew were quiet as they listened to the twenty-seven year old man talk. Druex was so skilled in everything, from speech to organization, that it was no surprised that he rose in the ranks of New York's finest so fast.

       He was smooth, with his approach and deliverance, that no one could question his methods. Most of the Los Angeles natives were familiar with his work in New York; they knew he was a perfectionist, they knew he had to have his work clean and thoroughly done, which is where the respect came in.

       "I get it Fredricks but what are we to do with this territory that is strictly for the Japs?" a Latino man, Miguel Rodrigaz, asked looking up from the extra large map.

       Druex rolled his eyes, grimacing at the obvious inexperience of the men, "This is where your negotiating skills come in and if you have none, it's time to get some. You go to the leader, yes, the Boss, and negotiate some terms where we can get in to survey the area. I have my bets on the Russians, I know their work and this is it. But we can't take our eyes off the Japs or the Brazilians."

       "But we have a truce with those Japs," stated another man, Dre Loydd, who was next to Oryan.

       Druex turned his narrowed eyes toward the dark-skinned man, "That don't mean shit in this game. They may see the truce as a way in, as a way to infiltrate when others are too scared to, see we really don't know what the hell they are thinking."

       "True dat, true dat," Dre replied nodding his head.

       "But," Druex exclaimed, "don't assume shit. Nothing in this game is promised, that is just a hypothesizes and nothing has been proven."

       "So what are we gonna do...boss," Oryan smirked looking up at the older man.

       That one word sent a smile to Druex's face, he had all he needed to make this a successful takeover. He had utmost respect from the crew, he had respect for the crew, and they were all willing to do whatever he said.  Druex knew that finally, after weeks of planning, the men were ready to go out on the streets and takeover. Druex knew that control of the game was just a step ahead.

       "Aiight this is our first and most pivotal move," Druex began looking our the room at the diverse faces standing in front of him, their ears open and ready to receive his wisdom.




       "Brittney, I am amazed," Steve Lansing grinned as he looked over at his Vice president.

       Brittney looked up from her notes with a surprised look on her face, "Amazed?"

       "You work, work, work and never breakdown. I'm quite proud that you accepted this job, I don't know where I'd be without your talents. I can't believe something like you escaped Business School," Steve remarked propping his legs up on his desk looking smug.

       Brittney rolled her eyes, Steve had sent her to Business School three years ago when she had accepted the 'temporary' position of Vice President. The job was supposed to be taken away when they found a more suitable candidate for the job. But when she had arrived in L. A. Steve had taken a liking to her and her work ethic.

       "I didn't escape it, it found me...eventually," she smirked as she looked back down at the table and notes sitting in her lap.

       "Don't be sassy," he smiled, looking over at the charts on his desk.

       Brittney chuckled at him, pushing her bangs from her eyes, "So, Mr. Boss-man when are you going to marry my friend?"

       Steve looked at her with narrowed eyes and furrowed eyebrows, "Didn't anyone ever tell you it was polite to tiptoe around certain issues before jumping to the whole point?"

       "No, I was always told that, that was impolite and very patronizing," she replied smiling as innocently as possible.

       "Well, patronizing never looked so good," he replied with a smile.

       "You are a vain man Steve Lansing, a very vain man," Brittney laughed as she placed some papers in her briefcase.

       "I wasn't talking about me," Steve flirted with a wink, as she stood and straightened out her pinstriped suit with the knee-length skirt.

       Brittney raised her eyebrows as she walked toward the door, "Dare me to tell Porcha that?"

       Steve chuckled as she opened the door, "You are a real business woman, Miss Anderson."

       "Until tomorrow," she said, as she walked out the door leaving her boss to his musings.


      
       "Is living behind a preverbal brick wall so bad?" Brittney asked as she pushed her plate away from her.

       She and Druex were eating lunch, at his request, for the fifth time that week. And in a week a lot of issues had come up, even to the point of Druex telling her she lived behind an emotional brick wall, 'all in the name of survival'.

       Brittney had come to terms with the fact that she wasn't so sure of love anymore and Druex had come to terms with the fact that this 'reconciliation' wasn't going to be easy, if it even would happen.

       "Yes, it is so bad."

       Brittney rolled her eyes, sipping slowly from the Martini in front of her, "Like what Druex?"

       "Well, a side from the fact, that you are free in body and bound in mind, you aren't exactly being true to yourself. Anytime you refuse tell yourself the truth means something is terribly wrong," Druex replied.

       "Since when have you become the wisdom of the West?"

       Druex smirked, "Since the West has realized my greatness."

       Brittney chuckled at his arrogant tone before turning serious, "Druex why are you in LA?"

       "Brittney, I can't tell you that," Druex replied regretfully.

       She exhaled silently, trying her best not to get angry, "Druex, I don't know how far I can go if I don't get a straight answer."

       He's eyes narrowed at her, "So you are basing what could happen between us on what I can or can not tell you?"

       "Yes."

       "You're crazy," Druex scoffed angrily.

       Brittney's eyebrows shot-up, "I'm crazy?"

       "Yes," he replied, finishing his Cognac in one gulp. "You...are...crazy. It's like you're giving some stupid thug a reason to kill you. It's confidential B."

       "Why is this so different from what went on in New York?" she asked as she glared at him, she wasn't going to let this conversation die.

       "Because, first of all, I don't want to end up where I just escaped from and secondly, this is so different from what I did when we first met. This is on a whole different scale and let me tell you this: if what I'm doing now works out, I will be one important man."

       Brittney looked at him, an unsure feeling rising in her throat, "I thought you wanted to mend broken fences."

       "I do but I can't mend anything if you're resting six feet under," Druex replied as the waiter replaced his glass.

       She stared at him for a moment before speaking again, "Can this be our test of trust...in each other?"

       Druex sighed, weighing the options in his head, it was the first time she had spoken as if they could be together again. He didn't have the heart to let this chance slip away. "OK, fine, tonight at your place."

       A smile swept across her face as she reached around grabbed his hand, "Thanks."

       Druex felt as if the world had just slipped right from under him and he was floating on her air as he smile back. "Yea."
.....
I'm longing for love and the logical
But he's only happy hysterical
I'm waiting for some kind of miracle
Waitin' so long
So long