"Take the bag into the bathroom. Go into the first stall and I'll be back with a bag to split the money," said Earl. Reginald grabbed the bag and walked calmly into the bathroom and went in the first stall. "I wonder what Duane is up to," Reginald said to himself.
Moments later, he heard someone go into the stall next to him. "Reggie," said Earl from the next stall. "Yeah, I'm still here," said Reginald. "Count out half of the money and slip it into this bag," he said as he passed a large brown paper sack under the stall. Reginald carefully counted out five million dollars, and put it in the bag. "Go ahead and leave Reggie, and good luck with your career," Earl said. "You probably won't be seeing me ever again," he finished.
"Thanks Earl, you be careful," said Reginald as he walked out of the stall and out the bathroom door with the bag.
As Reginald reached his car, his cell phone began to ring. It was Craig.
"Yeah," Reginald said as he answered the phone. "Reggie, I know you don't want to hear from me, but you really need to get over to the office A-S-A-P," Craig said. "You need to meet with some execs and talk about the concert about Big Mic," Craig continued. "You're scheduled to be here in 15 minutes," he finished.
"I'll be there in a minute," said Reginald as he hung up the phone.
Reginald secured the duffel bag in his trunk and headed on to the Image office. As he entered the building, he was met by Craig, he didn't even acknowledge him. "Reggie, come on buddy, talk to me," Craig pleaded. "I don't have anything to say to you. You put my friendship with Duane in jeopardy. I don't appreciate that," Reginald said as he got on the elevator.
Craig darted onto the elevator with Reginald.
"Look Reggie, without me, you wouldn't be here, period. So yeah, I used you, somewhat, but you used me too. That's what this business is. We are all whores to the industry! Duane used you to make money for his club and to get new customers into his building. You don't hold that against him, so why do you hold it against me? I was trying to save my neck, and I tried to get you to get another manager so at least you wouldn't know that you were indirectly involved when he went down," said Craig.
"Give me a break Craig. Sonny is full of shit. He was just going to use me to get to Duane too. No matter what, the only reason I got in the door was because of my connection to Duane. It's ironic though," Reginald paused. "You kept telling me he was bad news. Sonny felt the same way, and actually you two were trying to set me up to fall out with Duane," Reginald said. "But you actually brought us closer than ever," he said as he walked off the elevator.
Deane Milner, Claude Donaldson and Arnold Chapman all stood in the hall, in front of the large double doors leading to the conference room. Reginald and Craig walked off the elevator. Tension was thick in the air. Deane broke the ice.
"Thanks for coming Reginald, follow me," he said as he opened the double doors. Everyone walked in and sat around the large table. Reginald thought back to the first time he came into this room and sang for some of these same people.
"Reginald, I understand that you've been involved with a major criminal," said Deane. "While your personal life is your own, we can't ruin our reputation here. I hope you've made new arrangements regarding your management. And I also expect that you'll cut ties with Mister Clemons immediately," Deane finished.
Reginald didn't even blink. "Sir, if I may speak freely," Reginald said. "Absolutely," said Deane. "First, I'd like to apologize for any problems I've caused the company. I greatly appreciate the opportunity that I have in front of me. However, some of the same people who helped to make this possible also stabbed me in the back," Reginald said. "How so," asked Deane.
"Duane, has been my friend and been watching out for me for years. He's never done anything to me that made me not trust him. However, Mister Donaldson and Mister Martin have both broken my trust," Reginald said. "I'm sure you're aware of Craig's problem. Are you also aware that Claude and Craig worked along with the FBI to bring down Duane. They also used my relationship with him to get closer than they normally would have been able to," said Reginald. "I don't deny any of this Reggie," said Claude. "Duane's a cancer to this community and he needed to be eradicated," he said.
"Exactly," said a voice from across the room. It was Sonny.
"Thank you for coming Mister Benson," said Claude. "I wanted him to explain how this whole thing transpired," he continued.
Sonny sat down beside Reginald. "We've been tracking Clemons for several years, but we never could make anything stick on him. We couldn't even get a warrant. Then one of his street boys flipped on him. But it was his word against Duane's and this kid had a lot of product on him. He was looking to sell it to Craig over there. We got a warrant for Craig's office here and found all kinds of paraphernalia. We were going to take him down and search the whole building. Claude intervened," said Sonny. "He said he knew of a guy who supplied most of the dope on the streets of this city and he had a way to connect us with him. Craig was one link in the chain, Reginald was the other," Sonny continued.
"Wait, why wasn't I made aware of any of this," asked Deane. "The less people who knew, the easier we could pull it off," said Sonny.
"The problem was that Reginald gave Clemons a reason to try and go straight. His shipments had slowed significantly from what our ears on the street said. We figured that Reginald wasn't just a friend of Clemons, but also a customer, and a soldier. Craig was going to let us know when Reginald slipped and we'd use that to nail Clemons. Our guesses were wrong, because Reginald turned out to be completely clean, aside from his friendship with Clemons," finished Sonny.
"Okay, but how did you bust him if Reginald and Craig didn't do their jobs," asked Deane.
"We had some new evidence come to light. The police received a phone call from Brandie Lloyd, Reginald's ex-girlfriend. She said that Reginald had been involved in an altercation with her current boyfriend, Shaun Coltson. That same night, Colston disappeared. Hundreds of people heard him threaten Duane and Reginald after the fight. When he disappeared, they took finger prints from his car and his front door. They matched one of Duane's known associates, Hank Thornton. We brought him in for questioning and he spilled his guts. He said that he and some other guys beat up Colston and brought him to the club on direct orders from Duane. He said that Clemons and his associate, known only as Earl, tied him up and burned him. We dropped Hanks charges for more in depth information. He told us when the illegal shipments were due to come in. We never recovered Colston's body, but this gentleman has volunteered to testify in exchange for complete immunity," Sonny finished. "Reginald, by fighting with Colston, you just indirectly got him busted."
Reginald frowned. He was speechless. Then he thought about Spit Fye.
"Where does Jamal Wilson fit in, with all this," asked Reginald. "Easily," said Sonny. "He's one of our best informants. We bust celebrities using him very regularly. He knows everybody, and nobody would ever believe that he's a narc. How do you think he knew all about Clemons? When you and he began to have conflict, we gave him quite a bit of information about Clemons. When Clemons went to him on your behalf, he already knew about the impending bust. He just let us know where Clemons was," said Sonny. "Again, you are the indirect cause of Duane going down," Sonny laughed. "It's beautiful!"
"So you let a murderer be your informant? It doesn't even matter that I watched him shoot my friend in cold-blood? How do you sleep at night," asked Reginald. "I sleep very well, thank you. Jamal's not dangerous to anybody but himself. But your friend pushed him a little too hard. He pushed back," said Sonny. "He plead down to voluntary manslaughter," said Sonny. "He won't serve much time, if any because of his connections with us."
Reginald slammed his fists down on the table. "Fuck you Sonny," said Reginald. "Craig, Claude, fuck both of you too," Reginald said angrily. "Reggie, calm down," said Arnold. "Mister Chapman, with all due respect, I don't want to deal with them anymore. I don't trust either of them," said Reginald as he got up and began to leave the room. "Reginald, wait. What about Big Mic's concert in New York," asked Arnold. "I'll be there," he said as he stormed out of the office.
Reginald was angry, hurt and upset. He just wanted to escape his life. He knew just where he could go. He picked up his phone and dialed. "Yvonne, I'm coming to L.A."
To Be Continued...
Moments later, he heard someone go into the stall next to him. "Reggie," said Earl from the next stall. "Yeah, I'm still here," said Reginald. "Count out half of the money and slip it into this bag," he said as he passed a large brown paper sack under the stall. Reginald carefully counted out five million dollars, and put it in the bag. "Go ahead and leave Reggie, and good luck with your career," Earl said. "You probably won't be seeing me ever again," he finished.
"Thanks Earl, you be careful," said Reginald as he walked out of the stall and out the bathroom door with the bag.
As Reginald reached his car, his cell phone began to ring. It was Craig.
"Yeah," Reginald said as he answered the phone. "Reggie, I know you don't want to hear from me, but you really need to get over to the office A-S-A-P," Craig said. "You need to meet with some execs and talk about the concert about Big Mic," Craig continued. "You're scheduled to be here in 15 minutes," he finished.
"I'll be there in a minute," said Reginald as he hung up the phone.
Reginald secured the duffel bag in his trunk and headed on to the Image office. As he entered the building, he was met by Craig, he didn't even acknowledge him. "Reggie, come on buddy, talk to me," Craig pleaded. "I don't have anything to say to you. You put my friendship with Duane in jeopardy. I don't appreciate that," Reginald said as he got on the elevator.
Craig darted onto the elevator with Reginald.
"Look Reggie, without me, you wouldn't be here, period. So yeah, I used you, somewhat, but you used me too. That's what this business is. We are all whores to the industry! Duane used you to make money for his club and to get new customers into his building. You don't hold that against him, so why do you hold it against me? I was trying to save my neck, and I tried to get you to get another manager so at least you wouldn't know that you were indirectly involved when he went down," said Craig.
"Give me a break Craig. Sonny is full of shit. He was just going to use me to get to Duane too. No matter what, the only reason I got in the door was because of my connection to Duane. It's ironic though," Reginald paused. "You kept telling me he was bad news. Sonny felt the same way, and actually you two were trying to set me up to fall out with Duane," Reginald said. "But you actually brought us closer than ever," he said as he walked off the elevator.
Deane Milner, Claude Donaldson and Arnold Chapman all stood in the hall, in front of the large double doors leading to the conference room. Reginald and Craig walked off the elevator. Tension was thick in the air. Deane broke the ice.
"Thanks for coming Reginald, follow me," he said as he opened the double doors. Everyone walked in and sat around the large table. Reginald thought back to the first time he came into this room and sang for some of these same people.
"Reginald, I understand that you've been involved with a major criminal," said Deane. "While your personal life is your own, we can't ruin our reputation here. I hope you've made new arrangements regarding your management. And I also expect that you'll cut ties with Mister Clemons immediately," Deane finished.
Reginald didn't even blink. "Sir, if I may speak freely," Reginald said. "Absolutely," said Deane. "First, I'd like to apologize for any problems I've caused the company. I greatly appreciate the opportunity that I have in front of me. However, some of the same people who helped to make this possible also stabbed me in the back," Reginald said. "How so," asked Deane.
"Duane, has been my friend and been watching out for me for years. He's never done anything to me that made me not trust him. However, Mister Donaldson and Mister Martin have both broken my trust," Reginald said. "I'm sure you're aware of Craig's problem. Are you also aware that Claude and Craig worked along with the FBI to bring down Duane. They also used my relationship with him to get closer than they normally would have been able to," said Reginald. "I don't deny any of this Reggie," said Claude. "Duane's a cancer to this community and he needed to be eradicated," he said.
"Exactly," said a voice from across the room. It was Sonny.
"Thank you for coming Mister Benson," said Claude. "I wanted him to explain how this whole thing transpired," he continued.
Sonny sat down beside Reginald. "We've been tracking Clemons for several years, but we never could make anything stick on him. We couldn't even get a warrant. Then one of his street boys flipped on him. But it was his word against Duane's and this kid had a lot of product on him. He was looking to sell it to Craig over there. We got a warrant for Craig's office here and found all kinds of paraphernalia. We were going to take him down and search the whole building. Claude intervened," said Sonny. "He said he knew of a guy who supplied most of the dope on the streets of this city and he had a way to connect us with him. Craig was one link in the chain, Reginald was the other," Sonny continued.
"Wait, why wasn't I made aware of any of this," asked Deane. "The less people who knew, the easier we could pull it off," said Sonny.
"The problem was that Reginald gave Clemons a reason to try and go straight. His shipments had slowed significantly from what our ears on the street said. We figured that Reginald wasn't just a friend of Clemons, but also a customer, and a soldier. Craig was going to let us know when Reginald slipped and we'd use that to nail Clemons. Our guesses were wrong, because Reginald turned out to be completely clean, aside from his friendship with Clemons," finished Sonny.
"Okay, but how did you bust him if Reginald and Craig didn't do their jobs," asked Deane.
"We had some new evidence come to light. The police received a phone call from Brandie Lloyd, Reginald's ex-girlfriend. She said that Reginald had been involved in an altercation with her current boyfriend, Shaun Coltson. That same night, Colston disappeared. Hundreds of people heard him threaten Duane and Reginald after the fight. When he disappeared, they took finger prints from his car and his front door. They matched one of Duane's known associates, Hank Thornton. We brought him in for questioning and he spilled his guts. He said that he and some other guys beat up Colston and brought him to the club on direct orders from Duane. He said that Clemons and his associate, known only as Earl, tied him up and burned him. We dropped Hanks charges for more in depth information. He told us when the illegal shipments were due to come in. We never recovered Colston's body, but this gentleman has volunteered to testify in exchange for complete immunity," Sonny finished. "Reginald, by fighting with Colston, you just indirectly got him busted."
Reginald frowned. He was speechless. Then he thought about Spit Fye.
"Where does Jamal Wilson fit in, with all this," asked Reginald. "Easily," said Sonny. "He's one of our best informants. We bust celebrities using him very regularly. He knows everybody, and nobody would ever believe that he's a narc. How do you think he knew all about Clemons? When you and he began to have conflict, we gave him quite a bit of information about Clemons. When Clemons went to him on your behalf, he already knew about the impending bust. He just let us know where Clemons was," said Sonny. "Again, you are the indirect cause of Duane going down," Sonny laughed. "It's beautiful!"
"So you let a murderer be your informant? It doesn't even matter that I watched him shoot my friend in cold-blood? How do you sleep at night," asked Reginald. "I sleep very well, thank you. Jamal's not dangerous to anybody but himself. But your friend pushed him a little too hard. He pushed back," said Sonny. "He plead down to voluntary manslaughter," said Sonny. "He won't serve much time, if any because of his connections with us."
Reginald slammed his fists down on the table. "Fuck you Sonny," said Reginald. "Craig, Claude, fuck both of you too," Reginald said angrily. "Reggie, calm down," said Arnold. "Mister Chapman, with all due respect, I don't want to deal with them anymore. I don't trust either of them," said Reginald as he got up and began to leave the room. "Reginald, wait. What about Big Mic's concert in New York," asked Arnold. "I'll be there," he said as he stormed out of the office.
Reginald was angry, hurt and upset. He just wanted to escape his life. He knew just where he could go. He picked up his phone and dialed. "Yvonne, I'm coming to L.A."
To Be Continued...
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