17(S2E4)-The Rodriguez Brothers

17

(Season 2 Episode 4)

The Rodriguez Brothers

“Of course not, he doesn’t suspect a thing.”  Antonio said as his eyes shifted from his phone to the two very attractive prostitutes sitting on his couch.  “Everything is going according to plan.  I’m sure he’ll find me tonight.”

Antonio was in the V.I.P. suite of his personal night club in Miami.  He was pacing back and forth in his black suit.  The shirt was a flashy, red, satin thing.  The top three buttons were unbuttoned and a necklace hung there.  The necklace was a golden representation of what Cuba looks like on a map.  In one hand he had a glass of liquor and in the other was a phone.

Antonio Rodriguez.

“I love you baby.”  As he said this into the phone, he shook his head to tell the hookers the opposite.

The women giggled.

Antonio was done and he hung up the phone.

“There.”  He said to the hookers in Spanish.  “Now we can have some fun.”

The prostitute to Antonio’s right asked back in Spanish.  “Hey Antonio, what gives?  I didn’t think you had a wife.”

Antonio laughed out loud.  “Of course not, that was a business associate.”

“Didn’t sound like business.”  The second girl said.

Antonio plopped down on the couch in between the two women.  “Definitely business, but I do have a way of mixing business and pleasure.”

Antonio and the women laughed.  “How does she work with you?”

Prostitute number two asked the question as her hand began to dive into his shirt. Prostitute number one decided to put her tongue into Antonio’s ear.

Antonio was going to have a good night.

“It’s all problems with Cleveland.”  Antonio said as he tossed back the rest of his glass.

Prostitute number one stopped and recoiled on the name on the city.  “Cleveland?  What do you have to do with Cleveland?”

Antonio sighed.  “Yes, I know it is a very un-sexy place, but my brother and I are equal opportunity drug dealers.”

Prostitute number one’s smile returned and she giggled at Antonio’s joke before returning to his ear.  Her hand moved slowly lower.

Antonio tended to babble when he became aroused.  “Yes, well this American asshole  named Elmo has always had us blackmailed into giving him drugs at factory prices.  But it seems he lost the evidence he was using and there’s a bit of a scramble.”

Both prostitutes hands hand found their way to the seat of his pants and Antonio decided story time was over.  “That’s right, senoritas.”

The door to the suite banged open, startling the prostitutes and Antonio.  In walked another Cuban man, who bared a striking resemblance to Antonio.  The new man however, wore a cream colored suit and was extremely well kept.

Roberto Rodriguez.

Antonio became frustrated.  “Jesus, Roberto!  I’m kind of busy.”

Roberto stormed across the room and stopped two feet in front of the couch.  “Busy?  Is this what you call busy, brother?  Fucking hookers while our empire is threatened?”

“It’s not threatened.”  Antonio scuffed.  “You are overreacting.”

 Roberto put his hand up to stop Antonio’s speech.  “Tell your whores to leave.  We need to talk.”

Antonio shook his head.  “Screw you, brother, and anyway, they know about Cleveland already.  They are my personal women.  I trust them.”

Roberto exhaled in anger and rubbed the bridge of his nose as if to stop a headache before it started.  “You trust hookers?  Do you ever listen to yourself?”

“Oh, brother.”  Antonio said in a condescending voice.  “It’s alright…”

Before he could finish, Roberto pulled a Pearl handled Chrome .38 Caliber revolver and then he shot prostitute number one.  Prostitute number two would have screamed if she had time.  Roberto swung the gun past Antonio to prostitute number two and shot her in the face.

“Holy fuck!”  Antonio screamed and stood.  Blood spatter showered over him.  “Christ, Roberto!  I’m covered in dead hooker!”

Roberto frowned and eased up, dropping his gun hand to his side.  “What the fuck is wrong with you, Antonio?”

“Me?!” Antonio said as Roberto reached for the coffee table to grab the courtesy phone.  “Last time I checked, I wasn’t randomly killing your hookers!”

“I don’t have hookers.”  Roberto said angrily, as he put the phone to his ear.  “Yes, we need a cleaning crew in here.”

Antonio walked to the table in the corner and grabbed a napkin, attempting to clean the blood off himself.  “That’s your problem.  You need to have some fun.”

Roberto turned toward Antonio, rage burning in his eyes.  “That’s my problem?  I have an idiot brother who can’t keep his mouth shut about our worldwide business and that’s my problem?”

Antonio frowned.  “Everyone knows about our worldwide business, brother.  Because, we are worldwide businessmen.”

Roberto ignored that comment.  “As far as fun, when the fuck am I supposed to have fun, eh?  Before or after I single handedly keep our livelihood afloat while you use that money to buy stupid whores? Do you think this would make our father proud?”

“Unlike you, I never cared what our father thought of me,” Antonio replied with a shrug, “After all, he was the reason mother died so young.”

Roberto cocked his head to the side.  “You dare to speak of father like this?”

Four men in suits entered the room nonchalantly and began to clean up the bodies and the mess.

“Do I lie?” Antonio answered.

Roberto took three long steps and whipped his gun, backhanded, across Antonio’s face.  The blow sent Antonio backward over the cheap table and to the floor.  Antonio’s face was now bleeding.

Roberto pointed the gun at his brother’s head and pressed the barrel to his temple, “You know, brother, it gets harder every day to put up with you.  I’m starting to wonder why I do.”

Antonio became legitimately nervous.  “I’m sorry brother.  Please reconsider.”

Roberto took a deep breath then pulled back, holstering the gun.  “Fuck it, get up.”

Antonio stood and now wiped his lip with the napkin.  It would be fat and swollen tomorrow.  “What has you so bothered Roberto?  It’s the Cleveland thing, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”  Roberto answered.  “First our hit man, then our cleaners.  All dead.  I believed the evidence to be back in the hands of that dirty old bastard, Kincaid.”

Antonio raised a knowing eyebrow.  “Something has changed?”

Roberto nodded.  “Yes, I received a call from a woman today telling me she has the evidence and that she owns Elmo Kincaid now.”

Antonio shrugged.  “So what?  It is unfortunate that we are still in the same position as before in that city, but isn’t it business as usual?”

Roberto shook his head.  “No, don’t you see?  Something is fishy.”

Antonio laughed.  “We have sent in a hit man and a cleaner team and they are all dead.  That town kills people.”

Roberto had a long pause.  “We are going.”

Antonio frowned like a spoiled child.  “Oh come on, brother!  Cleveland is terrible!  The town is cold and there is nothing to do there!  I do not want to go to Cleveland.”

Roberto shot him a look.  “We are going, brother.  I have had enough of this amateur bullshit.  We are going and getting that evidence even if I have to kill everyone in that city to do it.”

“If you did you would be doing them a favor.”  Antonio joked.

Roberto did not laugh.  “Pack brother.  We leave tomorrow.”

Roberto stormed out and Antonio watched.  As soon as Roberto left, he began to smile.  “Perfect.”

Antonio pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number.  The line rang twice and the other end picked up.  “Hook, line and sinker.”

The voice on the other end replied.

Antonio smiled.  “Just like I said, baby.  We’ll be in Cleveland tomorrow.”

****

Elmo sat in the office of his house.  It was a nice place in Shaker Heights.

It was around noon and Elmo was almost through his third stogie and his seventh beer. No more than three months ago, he had the world on a platter.  Everyone was eating from his hand.

Now it was all shit.

He was being blackmailed by a small time bitch on a power trip while one of his oldest friends was out there, probably plotting his death.

Patti.

Not that he could blame her, Elmo had done her good.  But that was the way in this business.  As much as he liked her, he would have to make the hard calls.  Loyalty usually just got you killed.

He had hired the Librarian to deal with that, though, as well as Rockwell.  Elmo had to tie the loose ends up, and fast.  He was going to have enough trouble dealing with the Rodriguez brothers.

And this evil, Maggie, bitch.

Almost as if he called her, the phone rang.  He stared at it for a second, somehow knowing who was on the other end.  Finally after three rings he put out the cigar, rubbed his eyes and answered the phone.  “Yeah.”

“Well hello Elmo.  Can I call you Elmo?”  It was her.

Elmo growled.  “I would rather you didn’t.”

“Well, that’s just too bad, isn’t it?” She said, taunting him.  “I know you are a busy man Elmo, so here’s the deal.  I want my first payment tonight, at the Ritz, downtown.  Have your men bring it to the penthouse.”

Elmo’s eyes narrowed.  “You’re playing with fire here, lady.”

“A threat?” Maggie asked.  “Oh it’s about time.  I was starting to think you weren’t up to the task.”

“Fuck you.” Elmo said.

“You’re a little old for my taste.”  She said, without missing a beat.  “Tell your man 6:00 sharp.”

She hung up.

Kincaid smashed the handset to the base.

Kincaid took a deep breath, then he picked up the phone and called his man, Terrance.

“What’s up, dawg?”  Terrence answered with his usual inner-city rhetoric.

“Terrance, I want you to get your boys together.”  Elmo spoke with purpose.  “I want you to go to the penthouse of the Ritz tonight at 6:00 PM…”

“… And I want you to kill every mother fucking person in that place.”