Free Black 01 - Black Rain by Vincent Alexandria

another meeting in three hours. That should give you time to freshen up and get dressed.”
    Dread adjusts his penis in his pants and gathers himself.
    He slicks back his jet-black hair, wipes the sweat from his brow, adjusts his clothes and takes a deep breath.
    He blows her a kiss as he pulls the bathroom door shut. Chase puts her ear to the wooden door just long enough to hear the bedroom door close. She goes into Vincent Alexandria
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    the bedroom to make sure he has exited. The room is vacant. She can still hear the men laughing and talking in the other room.
    She falls upon the bed and breathes a sigh of relief as she retrieves her cell phone from her underwear and tries to call Agent James back. His line is busy. She tries two more times and returns the cell phone to her purse, frowning. He should have been expecting her to call back. She tries to convince herself that he’s contacting Joe and letting him know she’s at some hotel in Iowa.
    Two hours later she finds herself in the back of the black sport utility vehicle with Dread sitting next to her. They are to meet with one of Dread’s supporters.
    Dread usually doesn’t get involved in the collection of money that is owed, but in this case, he explained that Iowa police officer Charles O’Brian has been skim-ming the profits in the amount of forty thousand dollars in the last two months. Dread wants to make an example of this guy.
    An example for Dread always ends up with someone being killed. He is serious about his money and loyalty.
    Chase hasn’t met this O’Brian guy, but he has to be a fool to steal from Dread. If she’d known how sinister this guy was before she took the case, she wouldn’t have gotten into it. She hates being in these situations where Dread is handling his business; they’re more like executions than examples.
    She stares out the SUV’s window into the starlit, country night and wonders about her fate. She opens the window a bit and breathes in deeply of the cool, sweet, country night air and almost forgets the danger. She 76
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    says a silent prayer that she will come out of this assignment alive.
    They pull into Moville, Iowa, a small and rustic town.
    It looks like Mayberry—the town in the old Andy Grif-fith TV show. A big oak tree grows in the middle of the town square as they pass the jailhouse. All the homes have white picket fences.
    Is Otis in his cell, drunk, with his cow grazing behind the jailhouse? Are Barney and Andy inside drinking coffee and explaining life lessons to Opey and Goober? They quickly pass through the tiny town and pull off on to a road that leads to a sprawling field. Chase spots the Sioux City, Iowa, police vehicle as they pull up beside of it.
    “Chase, you stay here. I’ll be right back.” Dread kisses her on the cheek, and before she can answer, he gets out of the car with Brutus, Weasel and Ronnell.
    Officer O’Brian gets out of his police cruiser with his palms exposed as he greets Dread. O’Brian is on the overweight side with a carrot top and freckles that cover his broad face. He looks like he could have played football at one time, but gave up his dream and settled for fried Hostess Twinkies, two at a time. The buttons on his one-size-too-small shirt cling to their threads as his huge belly protrudes, and you can see his protective vest in the gaps between the buttons.
    He stands about five feet, ten inches, with a childish face and stubby fingers. Dread looks disgustedly at him.
    Chase lets her window down so she can hear the conversation. The night air has dropped at least twenty degrees, and puffs of vapor appear from their mouths as the men speak.
    She fidgets. It would be foolish for O’Brian to come Vincent Alexandria
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    out to this deserted place alone. She surveys the area.
    Something moves just beyond the clearing. The high three-quarter moon illuminates the surroundings.
    The tall prairie grass, about three to four feet high, dances in the night wind. She pulls