“Check it out,” Cos said bringing Duce out of his wet dream. Duce followed his eyes to the other side of the room. A lone bouncer was standing against the wall next to a door marked PRIVATE. A man wearing a fur coat with a lady on each arm ambled over and greeted him. After exchanging a few words, the bouncer opened the door long enough to usher the man and his ladies through. In the few seconds that the door was open, they got a glimpse of the other section of the club. This was where the gambling went on.
“How much you think they’re holding?” Duce asked, trying not to stare too hard.
“I don’t know, but they won’t be holding it for long,” Cos ensured, pulling his jacket back exposing the small Uzi that hung from a shoulder sling.
A few seconds later, a girl came out of the back. She stood about 5’5” even though she was wearing high stiletto heels. The girl was dressed in a white bikini top with the matching thong. The flimsy string was almost invisible between her chunky sized ass cheeks. She leaned in and whispered something to Cos that Duce couldn’t hear. Cos nodded and tucked a $100 dollar bill into her thong before sending her on her way.
“What was that all about?” Duce asked, not really understanding the exchange.
“A little advanced planning,” Cos said and left it at that.
The two men continued to sip drinks and flirt with the strippers for about the next half hour or so. At several points, Duce found himself distracted by the pounds of flesh walking around the Doll House, but not Cos. He kept a constant vigil on the door making a mental note of everyone who entered or exited. Just when Duce was about to ask him when they were going to get it popping, he waved him silent and nodded towards the entrance of the club.
Thor’s brutish form appeared in the doorway, with Cowboy on his heels. Both of their faces said ‘strictly business.’ Thor’s broad back looked as if it would split the stitches on the three-quarter leather jacket he was wearing. When he moved, you could see the butt of his shotgun on one side, and what looked like a short mop handle on the other. The bouncers at the door spared Thor and Cowboy both a brief glance before turning away as if they hadn’t seen them.
Cos made eye contact with Cowboy and nodded his head towards the door to the gambling spot. Keeping his hands low, he held down four fingers. Cowboy nodded and headed to the bar followed by his hulking friend. They sat at the bar just a few feet away from where the door to the gambling room was situated.
“Show time,” Cos whispered in Duce’s ear as he silently made his way across the room. Duce gave a brief look around and followed. Cos crept up slowly to where the door guard was standing and slid the small Uzi he was carrying from beneath his jacket. He took a minute to look around then pulled down the ski mask that had been rolled up on his head like a cap. Duce followed suit, pulling the stocking cap over his face.
When the guard turned around, Cos hit him with a sharp elbow to the gut. When the guard tried to double over Cos followed with a knee to the nose, breaking it. For the finishing touch, Cos whacked the guard in the back of the head with a small black jack, knocking him out. Before he could hit the ground, Duce caught him under the arm and placed him gently on a chair.
Duce had never heard him approach, but Thor was suddenly standing mere inches away from him. He gave the two men a checkered smile before pulling the ski mask down over his face. Reaching under his coat, opposite the shotgun, the man pulled out a very large sledge hammer. Swinging the hammer with all his might, Thor knocked the door to the gambling room off the hinges.
Big Sam Waters was a gambler, dope dealer and parttime pimp. Backed by some heavyweight cats from uptown, he had created the Doll House. It was a place where you could lose your money to one of the larcenous strippers who prowled it or in one of the dice games going on in the back. It was his pride and joy and because of it he was on his way to becoming a very rich man.
“How much is in here?” Moochie asked testing the weight of the shopping bag he was carrying. He was a barrel chested man who sported a full beard and mustache. Notorious for his skills with a knife, and his willingness to use a gun, Big Sam had hired Moochie to make the money pick ups.
“Counting what we pulled in earlier this evening, about $40,000. There’s another fifteen or so in the back, but I’m gonna keep that here just in case,” Sam said, mauling a chicken leg. He was a large man with a big belly and lips that seemed to dominate most of his face.
“Sam, you need to stop keeping all this bread in here at one time. Arrange for three pickups instead of two.”
“Fuck that, Mooch. This is a gambling spot. You gotta have enough bread in here to cover it if one of these mutha fuckas gets lucky. Never let it be said that Big Sam didn’t pay his winners. Besides, that’s why I got you making the pick ups. A nigga ain’t stupid enough to go at you,” he said, thinking of all the horror stories he had heard about Moochie. “Come on,” Big Sam wiped his hands on a napkin and rose from behind his desk. His large gut bumped against the desk, almost spilling the two liter Diet Sprite he had been drinking. “I gotta hit the main floor to make sure these bitches are on their jobs.” Big Sam and Moochie had made it out of the money room and halfway through the maze of gaming tables. when the door to the spot came crashing in.
The guard who had been standing behind the door caught the worst of it. The door, with the added weight of Thor’s blow, knocked the guard to the ground, pinning him. With a grunt, Thor brought the sledge hammer high over his head and slammed it into the center of the fallen door. The man gurgled up blood and passed out, or died. No one checked to see which.
The second guard wouldn’t be so easily taken. He drew his pistol and aimed it at Thor but Duce slapped his arm upward as soon as he pulled the trigger. Bullets ripped through the ceiling and rained plaster down on the gamblers. Duce followed with a sharp left to the head which succeeded in dazing the guard. Using every ounce of his strength, Duce hit the man with an uppercut to the chin, knocking him into the wall. The man tried to right himself to rush Duce but Cos stopped him by placing the barrel of the Uzi to his temple.
“Nigga, don’t be stupid. Get yo ass on the floor!” Cos ordered. Not wanting to get shot, the guard did as he was told.
Moochie immediately went into action. Tossing Big Sam the bag containing the money, he drew his weapon and fired on the robbers. The high-powered slugs scattered people and money as Moochie tried to lay down anyone who wasn’t on his team. Duce and Cos dove for cover, while Thor upended one of the tables and used it as a shield. Bullets splintered the wood and ripped through the cheap fabric Big Sam had used to cover them, but Moochie only managed to graze Thor’s arm. The big man snarled and popped up from behind the table, letting off a quick burst from his shotgun. Moochie was able to get out of the way, but the same couldn’t be said for a gambler who had poked his head up to try and lift some of the loose bills on the table. Stray pellets tore the side of his face off, sending him into a back spin.
The third guard, who had been watching from the other side of the room, cut loose with a Mac 10, hitting people and furniture. Duce executed a diving roll, narrowly escaping the bullets that tore into the wall where he had been standing only seconds prior. He moved with a fluidity that had been honed from years of stalking players of the underworld. He tumbled across the floor with his back coming to rest against a slot machine. For the moment he was safe, but the third guard kept firing, pinning him.