Free Trickery by Noire Page A

inside with evil satisfaction. She knew Pluto had overheard more than enough of her phony conversation to make him go after Ace and Salida and chop both of them fools straight through the neck. And all Monique wanted in exchange for her clever trickery and the ass-whipping she had just taken, was a front row seat when it all went down so she could flash a big grin at her enemies when their severed heads rolled on the ground.  
     
     

CHAPTER 10
     
    New York hadn’t changed much since he’d left and that made Sallie really happy. All the little rat holes, and grimy digs he used to do business in were still right there where he’d left them, and they were even dirtier and grimier than he remembered.
    He’d spent his first two nights in the city just making sure his surroundings were secure. He was a white boy in Chinatown, and the re-emergence of gangs in the Chinese underworld was a problem he didn’t want to deal with.
    Plus, Sallie knew that Juicy was hiding somewhere in this town and the last thing he wanted to do was run into her and any of her moolie friends. He’d have to kill that bitch over the money he’d stolen from Gino’s safe, and while he didn’t have a problem taking her out, it would be messy, and a mess was the last thing Sallie needed right now.
    So, he had to be careful and he had some work to do too. It  took him a while to carve a hole in the base of the Buddha statue, but it was all cream after that. He stashed Juicy’s loot as far up in the guts of the statute as he could, and then he slid two handguns up in there too.
    Sallie spent his third night on the East Coast in a state of deep thought. He mulled over his pending arms deal with the young kingpin from Harlem and carefully laid out his plan. When everything was organized and crystal clear in his head, he called the fast-talking dude to confirm that he did indeed have the necessary funds to conduct such a large transaction.
    “Don’t fuck with me,” Sallie warned the slimy young kingpin. “I’m fronting a load for you and everything better be in order. ’Cause if it ain’t I’m taking you down.”
    “Muh’fucka!” the kid had barked. “Suck my dick, white boy! A niggah like me is sittin’ on plenty of cash! You just get me them fuckin’ tools and make sure ere’ one of them shits is squeaky clean, a’ight?”
    Sallie hung up and made another call. This time he hit the arms trader who had promised to supply him with the shitload of clean guns. Unlike the greedy young moolie who was planning to spray the shit outta Harlem, this cat was a true professional. He was semi-retired and only popped his head up to do special jobs on special occasions, and just as Sallie expected, the trader confirmed that his arsenal was well-stocked and he was ready to do some heavy business. Satisfied that all his ducks were finally lined up and his dots were all connected, Sallie slept like a baby in his shitty little Chinatown flat.
    On his fourth night in town Sallie stepped out to find some action. Chinatown was ablaze with activity and bright lights. He walked toward the busy avenue where he’d parked his car, passing by storefronts, restaurants, and Asian whores who were looking to turn a quick couple of dollars.
    Sallie walked by and never even looked their way. There was no need to. These flat-assed, bony-butt chicks weren’t his flavor. Instead, he headed north on the East River Drive and drove until it became the Harlem River Drive. He exited at 116th Street, then cruised the neighborhood leisurely. Sallie had to admit that Los Angeles hadn’t been all that bad, but there was no place in the world like New York. It had a pulse all its own, a smell of its own, and a vibe that was unlike any other city he knew. Wondering if he’d run into Juicy somewhere on the streets of Harlem, he drove past pizza shops, beauty salons, travel agencies, and more bodegas and storefront churches than he could shake his nuts at.
    Sallie might have