The Banks Sisters 3 Read online

  Wolfe started laughing as if it were the funniest thing in the world. “We’ll see, bitch!”

  Chapter 29

  Gotcha

  Zzzzzzz . . . Zzzzzzz . . . .

  Tallhya was sleeping like a baby when the spy app she had connected to Mean-Mug’s phone vibrated, informing her that the phone was in use. She woke up immediately.

  Mean-Mug: IHOP on Biscayne at 11

  Flashlight:Cool. Riccardo is with me

  Tallhya leapt out of bed, hopped into a pair of jeans, a T-shirt, and sneakers. Then she drove straight to the IHOP and waited.

  Tallhya waited patiently in her car, smiling on the inside, in disbelief that her plan was finally coming together.

  All of her life, she had been pushed around and given orders by family members. Now she was the one who had researched everything, and though it wasn’t her plan, she was masterminding a major robbery.

  Everything was falling into place. The guys were meeting with Riccardo, the driver of the armored truck, and they were putting the finishing touches on their plan.

  She sat in the blue Mercedes AMG and watched as the guys arrived, ate, and listened in as they were securing their final plans.

  “So Riccardo, man, if you wanna pull out, let us know right now.”

  “I’m all in.”

  “And you sure you are going to be the driver, right?”

  Riccardo answered, “Been doing it for the past three years.”

  “Now, are you sure that the one guy is going to be a rookie?”

  “Yes. It’s going to be his first day out of training and his first day riding along without having his trainers with him.”

  “And they assigned him to your truck?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you sure that this is going to be a day to do it?”

  “Yes. We have extra money to deliver to the three major companies in that area. And on top of that, the people at auction we would’ve picked up. So at the point we discussed, that’s where you have to take the truck down.”

  “Okay. We got it.”

  “After all is said and done, you will do the interviews with the police. You don’t know anything. And once you cleared from them, at midnight that night, we will meet you with your cut.”

  “A’ight, cool. That’s sounds about right,” Riccardo said.

  “So it’s all set in stone, right?”

  They gave each other five. “Man, this shit is going to be great. And we going to eat.”

  “To money, and a lot of it.” Flashlight toasted with their glasses of lemonade.

  They shook on their plans and Riccardo left. Meanwhile, Flashlight and Mean-Mug sat there, gloating about how things were going to be great.

  “Told you it was coming sooner rather than later.”

  Mean-Mug nodded. “Yeah, you did.” He gave his boy a hand slap.

  Mean-Mug and Flashlight were as happy as a faggot with a bag of dicks. Life was about to be great for them. They sat in their booth discussing how they were about to come up and how life was about to be great for them.

  They strolled out of the IHOP excited that their plan was about to come into motion.

  Tallhya sat in the car and was excited that things were finally coming together for her.

  Chapter 30

  Ice Cream Truck

  Rydah was relaxing on the couch with the TV remote, channel surfing, when Tallhya rattled her key into the lock and stormed into the house. Rydah looked up.

  “Damn, girl,” she beamed at her sister after seeing how happy she was. “Pass that shit over and let me inhale whatever the hell you been on.”

  Tallhya was smiling like an only child on Christmas morning with a room full of presents. “I got something I have to tell you.”

  For the past few days, she’d been keeping her movements close to the vest, but now it was time to share her plan with her sister, friend, and confidant.

  Rydah perked up, tossed the remote onto the table, and gave her sister her full attention. Taking a shot at what had Tallhya so giddy, she said, “Did you finally meet up with Fonz again?”

  “He did call me, but that’s not it.” Tallhya copped a seat.

  “What did he say?”

  “I mean, we talked, but right now I just don’t have no time for him, though.” She didn’t bother explaining to her sister her way of thinking, because she didn’t feel like hearing Rydah’s optimism when it came to Fonz. Plus, she had bigger fish to fry right now, like this plan that she had been babysitting for quite some time now.

  “Okay, okay.” Rydah was done guessing. “If it’s not a guy, then what is it?”

  “I found a way to get a freakin’ shitload of money, but I’m going to need your help to pull it off.”

  Joking, Rydah said, “What, bitch, you plan to rob a bank or something?”

  Tallhya said, “Nope.” She was thinking, But you’re close. “I plan to rob an armored truck.”

  “Now I know you’ve been smoking something.” Rydah waited for the punchline to what she thought was a joke. When the punchline took too long to come, Rydah said, “Nobody’s robbing anyone’s truck, girl. You aren’t that hard up, and you ain’t broke.”

  “Just hear me out,” said Tallhya. “It’s not as crazy as it sounds. I promise.”

  All types of warnings went off in Rydah’s head. Up until that moment, she thought that her sister was joking. “I’ll be a monkey’s aunt,” she said in disbelief. “You serious, aren’t you?”

  “Yup.”

  “Well, let me stop you right there, sis. We’re not going to be robbing anybody’s truck. Not an ice cream truck. Not a candy truck. Not a trash truck. And certainly not an armored truck. Girl, have you lost your mind?”

  “If you’re done,” Tallhya said, “I’d like an opportunity to explain. Give me that.”

  There was nothing on God’s green Earth that could come out of her sister’s mouth that would convince her to rob an armored truck, but for shits and giggles, Rydah agreed to listen. “I’m all ears.”

  Tallhya told Rydah everything. The more she spoke, the better she felt. For the past couple of weeks, keeping what she was doing secret from her sister had been eating her alive.

  After hearing everything, Rydah said, “Listen. You already know I got your back like a tight bra strap.”

  Tallhya could hear the sincerity in her sister’s tone.

  “But I wouldn’t be much of a sister if I wasn’t honest. And honestly, I don’t think that this is a very good idea.”

  Tallhya was not perturbed. “Tell me that a million dollars don’t motivate you.”

  “I’m not saying it do or it don’t, but—”

  Tallhya cut her off. “I understand. I know this type of shit isn’t who you are. I still love you all the same. But this won’t be my first time doing this type of thing.”

  Tallhya told her about the bank jobs they’d pulled back in Virginia. “And most of all,” she said, “this shit is personal for me.” She wanted to make Flashlight and Mean-Mug know that they’d fucked with the wrong bitch.

  Rydah looked her sister dead in the eyes. “I get it,” she said. “But can we find a better way to achieve that than robbing a truck? We smarter than those niggas, and there’s a way that we can outsmart them. I know there’s a better way.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “I disagree.” Rydah shook her head. “There’s always more than one way to skin a rat.”

  Tallhya wasn’t trying to hear that. “You’re always looking at the things from the righteous perspective. God and the Universe can’t handle everything. Sometimes you have to trap the rat yourself. It’s more satisfying that way. At least it is for me. Can you respect that, sis?”

  “Of course I do, but I also know there has to be a smarter way. If we can just put the emotions aside and utilize our intellect . . . because doing life in the pen is not where we want to end up.”

  “Well, that’s a risk we take. But if we get away with it, then
look at the reward.”

  Rydah was operating with tunnel vision and could only see it her way. “I’ma respect your way, but you’re going to have to respect mines.”

  Chapter 31

  What’s Going On?

  The sound of the front door opening and closing ceased all talk about the plan to rob the armored truck. The room was thick with awkward stiffness when Wolfe entered the house.

  “What’s going on with y’all? The tension in this bitch is tougher than leather,” he said,then planted a kiss on his boo’s lips.

  Rydah kissed him back. “What you talking about? We good.”

  “Seems like a sisterly squabble is in progress.”

  “We ain’t got nothing but love for each other,” Tallhya said defensively.

  “Sometimes we gotta agree to disagree,” Rydah added.

  “You got that right,” Tallhya quipped.

  Rydah was so busy trying to hide what they were talking about from Wolfe that she hadn’t noticed that he was carrying something. “What’s the deal with the briefcase?” she asked, diverting the subject away from her and Tallhya’s disagreement.

  Wolfe plopped down on the sofa between them and set the leather briefcase on the glass coffee table. He fingered the numbered dials on the front of the case, popping the locks. He removed a large manila envelope that contained pictures.

  When Wolfe began to spread the photos out onto the table, the sisters’ eyes got as big as eggs.

  “That’s them motherfuckers right there,” Tallhya said, pointing at the flicks. “That’s the one I called Flashlight, and this is the one I nicknamed Mean-Mug.

  “That’s Abe and Prince,” Wolfe informed them.

  “Wow.” Rydah was puzzled. Pointing at a guy in another photo, she said, “That’s the dude named Tiger that I told you tried to holla at me that night at the club, the night I went out and all that stuff happened with Buffy and her leeching-ass friends.” Then she looked again. “That’s the guy Ken and Jake.”

  Wolfe drew the conclusion. “All them motherfuckers were working together that night, running the scam.”

  “But the dude Tiger wasn’t with them. He didn’t come into the picture until later.”

  “Right,” Wolfe surmised, “because they wanted to have multiple opportunities at getting at you.”

  “Mean-Mug and Flashlight was after us both?” Tallhya asked, a little confused.

  “You mean Abe and Prince,” corrected Wolfe. “They were after Rydah. They figured that her parents were rich enough to pay any amount of ransom to get their only daughter back, hence the failed carjacking. And after they botched it, Rydah never rolled out by herself again, so they didn’t get another shot. However, they somehow found out that the two of you were sisters. Saw an opportunity with you, Tallhya, and took it.” Wolfe’s voice was as calm as a summer breeze, but his eyes were as deadly as a tornado.

  “So . . .” Rydah finally let the truth sink in. “Buffy really did have something to do with me getting carjacked?” In her heart, she already knew this, but seeing the proof was different. “Our entire friendship was bullshit.” She tried to shake it off, but the thought was still disheartening for her to believe.

  Wolfe was blunt. “You knew what it was off top, baby.”

  “I did, but to have more concrete proof . . . that shit hurts. I’m human.”

  Wolfe looked at her. In many ways, Rydah was very naïve and innocent. Those were a couple of the characteristics that drew Wolfe to her. That and the fact the she was the most beautiful girl Wolfe had ever met.

  “Most people don’t have a heart as genuine as yours, babe. Most people are sheisty and evil and solely motivated by jealousy or money,” he said.

  “I know, baby. I know!” Rydah said, laying her head on Wolfe’s chest. He put his arms around her.

  “Never change your heart, baby. In more ways than one, because your heart is so good, and we are profoundly connected. It just makes me better.”

  “Awwww, that’s so sweet and well said.”

  “Real talk. A good woman is the only thing that can make a rotten nigga sweet.”

  “Thank you, baby.”

  “All that sweet shit don’t mean I ain’t going to deal with these niggas, though,” he said.

  “What now?” Rydah asked, already knowing the answer. It was written all over Wolfe’s face.

  “I’ma have them niggas scooped up,” he told her.

  “Then what? I mean, after you have them scooped up?” she asked.

  Wolfe was honest. “You don’t want to know,” he said.

  Tallhya felt no pity for them. She said to Wolfe, “Don’t forget what you promised me.”

  Wolfe glared at her. “I gave you my word, didn’t I?” He wasn’t used to being questioned, and he didn’t care for it. The only reason he didn’t make a big deal out of it was because she was Rydah’s sister. If she wasn’t, he would have taught her to stay in her place.

  “I know you haven’t had a lot of experience dealing with real brothers, but real niggas do what they say and say what they mean.”

  “My bad, brother-in-law. You right. But you didn’t have to put me in my place like that,” she said, trying to bring light to a dark topic.

  “Actually, he did,” Rydah said. “You needed that.”

  “I did,” Tallhya admitted. “So, now that we know their identities, how do you plan on going about it?”

  “I’ma deal with it.”

  Tallhya asked, “Can I ask for a small favor?”

  “I have to know the favor before I can say yes.”

  “Can you hold off for a couple days before you get at them them?” Rydah asked. “Please, babe, I need you to do it for me.

  Tallhya looked at her sister and smiled. “Please, brother. Please?”

  Wolfe thought that this was an odd request, especially coming from Tallhya. If he’d read her correctly, she was the type that wanted wrongs righted. Quickly. “Something you need to tell me?” he asked.

  Tallhya was quiet, going back and forth with herself mentally, trying to determine if she wanted to share with Wolfe what she knew. On one hand, she wanted to be real with him, but on the other hand, she knew that he wouldn’t let them rob the truck. And he definitely wouldn’t allow Rydah to participate in her scheme.

  Wolfe waited.

  Tallhya asked Rydah, “What do you think?” Wolfe was her man. Let her decide whether they should keep him in the dark.

  “This is the same man that had us followed. He’s like Big Brother. He sees everything.”

  Tallhya said, “Damn.” How could she be so stupid? “You already know, don’t you? You’re just testing me.”

  Wolfe said nothing.

  “Well, you won’t believe what I found out.”

  “Try me.”

  Chapter 32

  401K

  Riccardo, an 8-year employee of the Cashmore Armored Truck Company, exercised an enormous degree of patience and precision wheeling the 10-ton steel behemoth through the constipated byways and highways of South Florida. The truck didn’t handle as well when it was weighed down with cash, and today, they were at the truck’s limit. The company was short on help, so Riccardo and his two partners were asked to pick up the slack, pulling an additional route on top of their all ready busy regular route.

  Riccardo pulled the truck into the loading area of the Hard Rock Casino. “You guys ready for this one?” The Hard Rock was hosting a popular nationally televised poker tournament. Fifteen hundred players signed up to play, each ponying up a $10,000 entry fee.

  From the back of the truck, Teddy said, “Yep. Let’s do this.” He and Mike were the hoppers, the guys that got in and out of the truck. There were two buttons, one located in the front and the other in the back of the cab, that had to be pressed at the same time in order to release the lock on the cab’s door. Riccardo and Teddy hit the buttons, disengaging the hydraulic locking system.

  Teddy and Mike hopped out of the back of truck to load the m
oney. They wore blue and black security uniforms and carried badges and guns. It took twenty minutes to load thirty bags of legal casino money onto the truck. The rest of the money was designated to be delivered to the Federal Reserve Bank for safekeeping, but before it got there, one more pickup needed to be made. It was a small bank branch on Seventh Avenue.

  Riccardo maneuvered the truck into the cramped parking lot, nearly clipping the bumper off of a green Camry. Once he got the truck where it needed to be, he said to Teddy, “This is it, my friend. One last stop. You ready?”

  It was Teddy’s last day on the job. He’d put in his retirement papers last month after he’d paid his faithful dues to the company with not one mishap. Teddy had given Cashmore thirty years of service. It was still hard to believe that after today, it would be over.

  “Yep.”

  They hit the buttons.

  Riccardo said, “Make it epic.”

  “I will.”

  Teddy smiled as he and Mike hopped out of the vehicle, clueless how true that innocent remark would be.

  Riccardo sat in the driver’s sear in front of the bank thinking, There is no turning back now. He planned to leave the company in about two more years himself, after everything blew over. That was how long he’d decided he’d have to continue to do this job in order to not draw suspicion. He knew that the company would require him to do PTS counseling. And who knows? If he played his cards right, after the Post Traumatic Stress counseling, if he was lucky, the company may even put him on disability. But if all else failed, he’d just have to do this job for another two years or so and that was it.

  He inhaled a lung full of air. The hardest part, thought Riccardo, will be laying low and not spending any of the money. When he quit, he would move back home to the Dominican Republic and live like a king.

  Yup! He had it all figured out.

  Life is good, he thought as he sat at the wheel of the truck, smiling, waiting patiently for show time.

  Teddy made his way out of the bank. He was feeling himself, knowing that today would be his last day of having to look over his shoulder, carrying someone else’s money. His mind was so gone on the plans he’d made for him and his wife once he retired that he wasn’t paying attention to details—like the man dressed in black who had just crept up from the sewer Riccardo had intentionally parked next to. Teddy was three feet from the truck.