Jay met David and Susan at Susan’s house soon after his meeting with Sam had ended.

Jay wanted out of the clubhouse as soon as possible before he was discovered there by his wife. That meeting would lead to many questions from her that he wasn’t prepared to answer as of that moment.

His plan had not come to fruition yet and he wanted to be finished with it when he finally had to come clean with her. It was all about his family’s safety, after all. That was what he kept telling himself, anyway.

The three new friends, Jay, David and Susan now sat in the living room of Susan’s home drinking coffee and and talking. The large pool glimmered behind them under the hot sun.

“So Jay,” David asked. “How do you justify what we have done to this man at the end of the day?” “Well it’s like a war David. The man you kill or put in prison isn’t necessarily the man that killed your best friend, let’s say. But he is part of that machine that did. So you do the best you can to stop the mayhem and the machine. You have to take the larger view of the entire problem and work at it one piece at a time. But in this case, Sam is at the top as far as we know, at least in this area around us. If we eliminate him, perhaps things will improve for a while. It’s the best we can do for the moment.”

“Don’t you feel the tiniest bit of guilt?” “Sure I do somewhere down in my heart of hearts. I was a police officer, after all. Our methods are out of the realm of honest police work. But somethings need to be done and if the legal channels don’t work and more people are in harms way, then something different must be tried. I am old enough to get over my guilt if I feel any at all. I’m simply looking at the big picture.”

“But you may pay a very high price for this vigilante justice. Your wife and family may loose you to prison or worse.”

“Should I stand by and watch my sister and nephew end up dead. They are in the center of this now. What will happen when Sam finds out that my nephew knows these men and that he might be able to finger Sam through them in some way? Those men may die as well if Sam finds it in his best interest. What about their lives? They may be awful men, but does Sam have the right to hurt or kill them? If Sam goes down, then most of this problem will be gone in one fell swoop.”

Susan looked at Jay and set her coffee cup down on the large, round table and looked at David in a very serious way. “You said it yourself David. You did things in the Army that you felt bad about. But in the end you did it because you were ordered to and it was most likely for the best of reasons. If you didn’t do it, you would have found yourself in the brig again.

Life isn’t always a simple line from A to B. You are still young and have that sense of righteousness that sadly, Jay and I may have perhaps outgrown or out lived. I have done a few things in my past that I was ordered to do and that I felt awful about at the time. But I had no choice and I was under legal orders as you were. It all turned out for the best, I suppose. The outcome if I had not acted as ordered is an unknown.”

David looked back at Susan and spoke. “I came along on this venture knowing that what we were doing was right even if a little out of the norm. Sam has some type of understanding with the chief and at the end of the day, I have seen plenty that makes me certain that we are doing the right thing in the end with Sam. There are sadly, other victims in our families and possibly in other families that if things continue as they are, may suffer further. At this point, we surely have to move forward. There is no turning back for me. I’m satisfied that what I am doing is right if not a little presumptuous.”

“Well then, It’s settled,” Susan said as she lit a cigarette. “I don’t smoke much, but I need one now. This has been on hell of a day. The stress has exhausted me. What’s coming next Jay?” “Well, Sam should be getting stopped and hauled off to jail at any moment, if all goes well.”

Loretta Sat on the edge of her bed wondering what she was going to do next.” Was Sam a cheater or were they both being played by someone in a different cartel or someone with a personal vendetta against her or Sam? She thought about her actions in the past and could find no one that she had wronged. Sam on the other hand was a criminal and always crossing paths with men who might hold a grudge over one thing or another. No matter what, Loretta had to make a decision one way or the other.

She had already talked to her father so that ball was already in motion and she wouldn’t be able to stop that now. She just hoped that Sam could convince her father that he was the good husband that he contended he was.

He had always taken care of business and seemed to be a perfect father and husband. If he couldn’t convince her father of that, then the price he would pay would be a high one. She wished that she could believe him as well, but all evidence of late showed him to be a liar and a cheat.

The car behind Sam flashed its red and blue lights on its roof and then a voice came over the loudspeaker. “Pull the car over now.” Sam hadn’t seen the police car pulling closer to him as he drove down the long dark highway. There was no moon out tonight. He looked down at the dash and saw that he was well within the posted speed limit. He was always a carful driver for obvious reasons.

He pulled over and stopped on the shoulder. An officer approached him on the driver’s side of his car. Sam heard barking coming from the police cruiser.

“Did you know that your brake light is out?” “Oh no officer, I just had this thing in the shop. It is supposed to be in prefect running order.” “Well, that light is out and it is dangerous to drive under those conditions. May I see your registration, insurance and license please?” “Sure officer. I live just down the road. I own Oscar’s downtown and few other businesses here in town.” The officer wasn’t impressed. If anything he was a little peeved and wondered if Sam was trying to push his civic prowess on him as a way to escape a ticket.

“Everything seems to be in order sir. “Wait, what do I smell, the officer said as he hesitated at Sam’s door? Do I smell the order of marijuana coming from your car?” “No way officer, I don’t even smoke tobacco. That stuff is bad for your lungs and your heart. I don’t care what anyone says.”

“My dog is trained to signal me by sitting down if marijuana is present. Just sit tight. I’m going to bring him over.” “No problem officer. I have nothing with me that is illegal.

The police officer called for backup. The police officer then brought out Brad, his canine partner on a leash and let him walk up to the car.

Brad started sniffing around the car and soon was sitting by the trunk of the car, barking. His taol wagging rapidly from left to right. “My dog has signaled me that there is marijuana in your trunk. Keep your hands where I can see them. Can you open it up from inside?” “No, it must be opened with my key.”

The officer walked back to the driver and asked Sam to give him the keys to the car. Another police officer arrived on the scene as this conversation was taking place.

“Thanks for getting her so quickly Paul. Brad has sat down on this stop.” “Yes, I see that. I’ll watch the driver while you search the trunk. The officer that had just arrived walked towards the driver’s door watching Sam. He spoke as he arrived at the door, “Put our hands on the wheel please where we can see them. We don’t want anyone hurt here.”

The trunk was opened and the officer there turned his flashlight into the trunk. There was a large black trash bag sitting in the trunk. The officer bent at the waist and smelled the bag. Paul, looks like a 13-3407. “I see.” “Let’s pull him out and search the car inside.”

“Sir can you get out of the car slowly and with your hands over your head please. Sam was in shock when he heard the code violation number. He knew it well. He had dealt with many of these from his men being caught working for him. His stomach tightened. “Where the hell could that have come from. I haven’t touched any drugs myself for years,” he thought.

“Ok sir, you are going to go into the back of my car. Paul, search the vehicle please.”

Paul moved his flash light across the seats first and then around on the console between the large leather seats and then to the floor. Looks good so far, I’m going in.” Paul moved his had under the drover’s seat and felt a soft material and then the familiar shape of a hand gun. Paul yelled, “gun, we have a gun.” The officer with the gun placed it on sam’s car. It seemed to be wrapped in ladies under ware. Hey George, look at this. Paul help the panties up and shinned his flash light on them.

The officer closest to Sam looked at him with wonder. This had all started just because Sam’s brake light was out. How many times had this happened to the police officer before? “Several times.”

“What’s with the panties sir?” Paul asked. “I have never seen them before.” Then he remembered the phone calls that Loretta had been getting.

The officer looked at Sam and gave him his Miranda rights. Your car will be towed to our impound yard. We’ll have you settled in jail with in the hour. Sit down and watch your head as you get in.”

Sam was beyond flabbergasted. He had no idea how this had happened or who was behind it. “This wasn’t going to make things better with Loretta, that was for sure.”

In an hour he was able to call Loretta and give her the bad news.

“Loretta, I need you to come down and bail me out. Theres plenty of cash in the bottom drawer of my desk on the right side. Come down as fast as you can dear. This is all a terrible mistake. I think someone is really trying to destroy us. You may have been right all of the time. But I haven’t strayed Loretta, you must believe me. Come and get me please. Call my lawyer before you come down.”

Loretta told her sister what had happened and was soon at her home. She entered the house and went quickly into Sam’s office. She found the key for the desk, placed it into the keyhole just above the center drawer and turned it.

She opened the bottom right drawer and found several bundles of one hundred dollar bills lying where Sam had told her they would be hidden. But before she got under the black piece of thin wood, she saw a pair of ladies under ware. She was instantly sick to her stomach.

It would take her sometime to arrive at the police station. She had made up plenty of excuses for the delay on her way to pick up Sam.

He sat waiting in the drunk tank, steaming after his photo was taken. A large woman police officer had placed all of his belongings into a plastic bag before he was led away for the photo. There was some conversation among the men and women sitting in the booking area about Sam and the panties. Then one woman spoke up, “it’s just another crazy night here, as usual.”

The gun had been taken away to ballistics as a matter of normal procedure. It would be checked against casings and bullets left at other crimes scenes. Sam would get all of his belongings back when Loretta bailed him out. In that bag was his Rolex, his wallet, some change, two gold rings, his keys and a pair of ladies under ware that Loretta would surely see. He sat wondering how he might explain that to her.

He knew there was a storm brewing, but he had no idea how large and bad it would be.

___________ __________ __________

Things look pretty bad for Sam at the moment, but don’t worry. It’s just going to get worse for him.