There Must Be A Mistake Ch. 11

"I saw you on television Doctor a few days ago. I recognized you when you walked in the door, before all this unhappiness started. The ring will be ready in about an hour. It's been a pleasure doing business with you Doctor"

As they walked out the door Jayden asked, "Why do rich people always get discounts like that, and all of us poor people pay full price?

"Just lucky I guess." He laughed, and ran into the gun store ahead of Jayden; and no alarm went off. However everyone who worked in the store was behind steel bars and bulletproof glass.

Gray said, "I guess everyone in here knows you are carrying a gun, and they are prepared for it. Why are we here?"

"Doctor Luck did a wonderful job arming the vehicle, but he didn't put enough thought into resupply. Each weapon he purchased came with three full magazines. What happens when those guns run out of bullets. Are we supposed to throw the guns at them? I think buying more ammunition would be a more effective deterrent."

Jayden approached the counter and placed his order. The man asked to see his Colorado driver's license as a form I've identification.

When he returned with his packages the man said, "We have some very special items on sale for cash in the back of the store. If you are interested, you'll have to drive around."

"We'll be there in five minutes, we have to walk back to our car."

As they left the store he asked, "Doc, can you get your hands on a quick 10 grand?"

"I guess his sale items are expensive, and illegal."

"I guess you could say that."

"What are we going to do with that stuff?"

"I have a Sergeant friend that would be interested in knowing about it. I'm wondering if this might be the place where the rockets were sold. It might be interesting to find out."

"In that case, I can go along with it."

As Gray went into the Wells Fargo bank to get the money, Jayden called Sergeant Fowler on his cell phone.

"Hey Sergeant it's me, 'TROUBLE', I'm in it again, have you finished your lunch?"

"Jayden, my last check is not looking as big as it used to. What did you do this time?"

"I went into the gun shop next to the jewelry store. They offered me the deal of a lifetime. I'm wondering if that deal included the rockets that shot up our truck. The doc is getting cash out of the bank now. I told the guy I'd be there in five minutes. Can you guys be there in time?"

"I'm not going to be able to finish my dessert because of you."

"I'm happy I'm helping you battle the middle age spread."

"Middle age spread my ass, I'm going to shoot you in the ass accidentally. We'll be there."

Gray walked out of the bank carrying a large manila envelope.

Jayden said, "You drive."

"Really, I get to drive my own car?"

"Shut up and listen. When we get there, back up to their garage, put the car in drive and keep your foot on the brake. Don't look back, just look at me in the mirror. I won't lift the tailgate, until I'm ready to put something into the back. The police are on their way. If anything happens before they get there or I yell go, you get out of their fast. Do you understand?"

"Yes Jayden, I understand."

"Let's go."

It only took them moments to go from the bank to the rear entrance of the gun shop. Jayden left the money on the floor of the passenger side and knocked on the steel rollup door several times before someone answered.

"What do you want?"

"I was told you had some items on sale for cash."

"These items are expensive."

"I am aware of that. I was hoping you had a 50."

The steel door rolled up, and two men holding automatic weapons stood there looking at him dressed in his suit.

"What are you going to do with a 50 caliber machine gun all dressed up?"

"I could ask you what you're doing with assault weapons standing in downtown Denver. You have your reasons, I have mine. I'm going to need about 10,000 rounds of ammunition to go with it. Do you have that much on hand?"

"How much money do you have?"

"How much money do you want. Is the gun new or used. I want to see it. I want to make sure you boys aren't jerking me around."

"Where is your money?

"It's on the floor on the passenger side in a brown envelope. If you get closer than 10 feet to it, my friend leaves in a hurry."

"The gun is new, right out of Rocky Mountain Arsenal. We have 6000 rounds of ammunition for it, also new. I can get you the other 4000 rounds in about three weeks. The price is nonnegotiable, $5000 for the gun a grand per thousand rounds of ammunition."

"I have no problem with the price of the gun. The price the ammunition is outrageous. I'll get that elsewhere. Get the gun ready to go, I'll get your cash."

"The gun and ammunition get sold together or they don't get sold."

"What else do you have on sale back here. Do you have that Jewish thing that you shoot around corners?"

"We had some, but as quick as they come in, they go out. Apparently the very popular with some gangs in the area."

"Do you have any rocket propelled grenades?"

"Yeah, I think we have three of those left."

"How much are they?"

"$1800 apiece."

"I'll take all three of them. What else?"

As the guy was thinking ropes descended from the roofs, sirens blared, and police cars filled the alleyway.

Jayden screamed, "I don't want to go to prison again," as he fell to the floor.

The men with automatic weapons started firing, but they were taken down quickly by the policeman who rappelled down by rope.

Gray did has he was told. He floored the gas pedal to get out of harm's way. He also put a dent in the right front door.

The skirmish was over in less than a minute. Jayden didn't move until a black boot kicked his shoulder. He looked up into the frowning face of Sergeant Fowler.

"I am getting tired of this Jayden. I haven't worked this hard in months. I'm going to be doing paperwork for two weeks just to catch up. If you're not out of my sight in 10 seconds, I'm going to arrest you for disturbing my piece. Get out of here, go, your friend is up the block."

"Would you let me know if these guys had anything to do with blowing up my truck."

"No, I'll keep it a secret from the papers. Get out of here, and thanks for the tip."

Jayden knocked on the driver side door startling Gray.

"Look what you made me do to my new car. It's not even two hours old and the front door is dented."

"What are you moaning about. The car doesn't belong to you it belongs to Doctor Luck. Beside that the dent will give the car character."

"Character my ass; Delicious will take one look at it and know I was driving it."

"How could she possibly know that. Neither one of you are supposed to drive your own vehicles."

"$10 says when she looks at the dent she is going to say, "How did you do that Gray."

"This will be the easiest $10 I ever made Doc."

"She has a 207 IQ and believe me she's smarter than that. All she has to do is grow up."

"Let's go to lunch, then we will pick up the ring and check in with Logan to see what they want to do for the rest of the day."

"Haven't you done enough damage for one day?"

"What damage? I was accosted by an idiot, and I helped the police make a bust. I have been an excellent example of a civilian helping law enforcement make the city of Denver a better place to live"

"You are so full of shit it's coming out your ears."

"We better stop at a drugstore so I can get some Q-tips to clean them out. Come on Doctor, it's almost noon, and I'm getting hungry. Maybe we should call Logan and see what they're doing for lunch?"

"That's a wonderful idea. I'm glad I thought about it. Call Logan and see what they're doing, while I call the realtor."

"What are you thinking about Doc?"

"What I'm thinking about is not getting shot at for the rest of the day."

"Let's not be a crybaby, no one shot at you today."

"Call Logan and see if they want to do lunch."

"Yes sir."

***********

"Miss Delicious wants to know if you want to eat in the cafeteria."

"Hell no, I did that for five years and my stomach has never been the same. Tell her we will go to a real restaurant, with tablecloths, napkins and glasses."

"Sir, she would like to speak to you."

"Oh shit. Hello baby, are you having fun?.... No dear I do not want to eat in the cafeteria. You are begging to get food poisoning.... Yes dear I know you are going to eat there five days a week, but I don't have to. Your 17-year-old stomach may be able to take that poison. My 22-year-old stomach has been beaten up, eaten up, and destroyed by cafeteria food. It will need 10 years or more to recover. Can we please go to a real restaurant?..... No dear. .... No dear .... Yes dear.. ... Yes dear....No dear....We will meet you at the cafeteria in 15 minutes.....Yes baby, I love you too."

Jayden laughed as Gray turned off the cell phone. "You didn't stand a chance Doctor. You should have given up as soon as I handed you the phone."

"Would you shoot me please . I love her, but she is going to be the death of me."

"The college is five minutes away, what are we going to do with the other 10?"

"We could solve another crime, or we could pick up her ring."

"I think we will pick up her ring. My x-ray vision doesn't see any crimes being committed in the area."

"Isn't that lucky for us. I'm going to call the realtor, and see if we can get access to the penthouse."

***************

"You're late."

"Talk to Jayden he was driving."

"What are you hiding from me Gray?"

"I just got here, what could I be hiding from you. I went to a realtor. She took us to three properties. I found one that I liked very much, and I rented it. Then we went to pick up the car. They had to detail it because it was out in the rain so we waited. We called you on the off chance that we could get together for lunch. That was our morning, and here we are."

"I want you to know not one word of what he said is true Logan."

"I saw the realtor and I rented an apartment; don't you dare call me a liar."

"Did you see it?"

"No."

"Why?

"Jayden had a gun in his face."

"WHAT?"

"We walked in to a store and some ass hole pulled a gun on Jayden and me, but mostly Jayden because he was black, and he didn't like black people. Jayden tell her the rest of the story, because she will not believe me."

"This white dude told me he was going to take my gun away, and I told him not to touch it. Another guy with a gun came up behind me and told me not to move. The guy in front of me stuck his hand inside my jacket and I warned him not to touch my gun. He said I'm going to take it and I'm not going to give it back to you until the police come. He tried to pull the gun out of my holster, which was his mistake, because it set off my Taser into his chest. As soon as that happened I pulled my gun and told the other guy to drop his weapon which he did. He called the police and when they got there the Sergeant was one of the men who were on the detail to protect the trucks. We were there for quite a while as they took our statements, and then they took the guy I Tasered to jail on federal charges. End of story."

Delicious looked at Jayden suspiciously. "What was the Sergeant's name?"

"Fowler, Dan Fowler, he's angry at me because he has two weeks of paperwork to do because of today. Not only does he have to do the city paperwork, he has to do the state paperwork and the federal transfer paperwork to get rid of this idiot on a civil rights violation."

Delicious said, "One of you lies, and the other one swears to it. Something fishy is going on here, and I will find out about it. How much did he bet you that I would find out?"

"$10 ma'am."

"Both of you are going to have your balls hanging from a pine tree before the sun goes down tonight. Lying to me is not a capital offense yet, but I'm working on it."

"Jayden please shoot me."

"I will, but only after Logan shoots me."

"Miss Delicious, I don't know what they are hiding, but it's a biggie. It's so big it will be in the newspaper tomorrow morning."

"You are a dead man Gray."

"It wasn't our fault, it just happened."

"What happened?"

"Can we talk about this over lunch, it may be my last meal."

"In that case you can pick where you want to eat."

"McMurdo Sound."

"Where the hell is that?"

"Antarctica."

Delicious started running after him with Jayden and Logan not far behind.

The campus police, in their golf cart, saw what was happening and took off after them.

"You better stop Gray; if you don't, it's only going to be worse for you."

"How can it possibly be worse," he yelled, as he put a tree between himself and the violent female who was following him.

"Tell me what happened?"

"We tried to buy some illegal weapons."

"Are you out of your fucking mind?"

"We had a good reason."

"Right now I have a good reason to shove a stick of dynamite up your ass and light the fuse."

"Well, you're in the right ballpark. Jayden wanted to find out if these guys sold the rockets that blew up the armored trucks. He called the police, told them what these guys offered him, and we set the trap."

"In other words, you were the bait."

"Well, I guess you could say that."

*********

The campus police finally caught up and asked Logan what was going on.

Logan said, "They are engaged, and they are having a rather heated discussion about each other's safety. Right now I think he's losing, and that's why he's keeping the tree between himself and her."

"Who are you guys?"

"We are their bodyguards. We are here to make sure they don't kill each other."

"It looks like you're going to have your hands full with those two."

"This is our first day on the job. I think we are going to ask for a raise when we get them back home."

**********

"How could you possibly be so stupid?"

"I did what I thought you would do."

"That was not the right answer Gray, and you know it."

"Have you calmed down yet?"

"On a scale of 1 to 10, I'm down to about a 20."

"Does that mean I can get a kiss now?"

"Only if you want me to bite your lip off."

"Okay, I'll take my chances, but I'm still hungry, and I want to go to lunch. Do I still get to choose?"

"It has to be in Denver."

"You're being very restrictive."

"Take it or leave it."

"Okay, I'll take it, but under protest. Sushi or Italian?"

"It's too early for Italian."

"Sushi it is. Okay, bite my lip off."

They embraced passionately, and held it for a very long time. When they came up for air Gray said, "I like that much better than fighting with you."

"You still have not told me the entire story. You are not off the hook Doctor Thyme."

"Maybe I'll tell it to you tonight as a bedtime story."

"I may take us scalpel to bed tonight and take off in equal measure of penis to lie. How does that sound Gray?"

"Who is going to adjudicate whether I am expanding upon the truth, leaving out some of the facts, or lying?"

"I am, of course."

"In that case, I shall remove your virginity before I die."

"You are in for one hell of a fight Doctor."

"Funny, but that's what your dad said when we talked about your vacillating over waiting until we get married or making love before that wonderful day."

"I'm going to kill that man. I have to kill him. It will be justifiable homicide, because his mouth has no filter on it. He does not know when to keep quiet. That was a private conversation. He needs to write down everything he is going to say in advance, and give it to someone with brains so they can black out what is not supposed to be said. I was confused and upset when I was talking with him. How can he expect me to deal with him when he tells everyone my most private thoughts. It is not fair, it is just not fair."

"May I tell you something?"

"You are going to anyhow, so go ahead."

"I would not have allowed it to happen, not with me anyhow. If you had been insistent, I would have kicked you out of our room, and sent you either to your room, or to Gordon. As much as it would have hurt me to make you leave, you still would have been a virgin when the morning came. I will not allow you to break the promise you made to yourself. If you think it is hard for you to continue to abstain from having sex for the first time; it's harder me, because I've enjoyed the rapture of sex many times. There are nights I have wanted to break you in half because I needed you so desperately. The only reason I don't do it is because we made that promise to each other. We can do it baby, we can make it. It is only 30 more years, or at least it feels that way."

Delicious pounded on his shoulders, put her head against his chest and laughed through her tears.

"I cannot bear to look at a calendar anymore. The days do not seem to go by. I hope this school thing works Gray. I need something to distract me from you, and him."

"I may have tonic that will distract you if you are interested."

"What did you do?"

"I told you, I rented an apartment. Would you like to see it?"

"I might as well, you haven't seen it. It will probably take a week to clean."

"We will probably have to paint it also."

"What did you do rent a fix me up?"

"I needed an apartment quickly. I took what was available."

"Let's go see what your disaster looks like."

***************

"Look what you did to your car. If you ever say one word about my driving, I will remind you of what you did to this car. It's not even six hours old."

"It was Jaden's fault."

"You were the driver, it is your fault."

"Jayden take us to the apartment please."

"After a morning like we had boss, aren't you taking your life in your hands?"

"She is going to see it sooner or later. I can always jump out the window and run away. I am still faster than she is, but not by much."

"Thank you for noticing Gray. Soon I will be in front of you when we run."

"Do not count on it baby, I will always have the fear factor working for me."

*********

10 minutes later, Jayden and Logan parked the cars in front of Trident Towers.

"This does not look like a fix me up Gray."

"This must be the wrong building, either that or the room is in the basement."

"The next time you lie to me you are going to be lying beside my mother."

Logan walked in first, and asked the concierge for the key to the apartment.

He informed Logan there was no key. There was a code for the elevator to go up to the 16^th floor, and an electronic lock on the entrance door. He handed Logan the information and advised him that all the information would be changed as soon as they left the apartment.

Logan ushered everyone into the elevator. He put in the code and they swiftly went up to the 16^th floor. The elevator opened into a small vestibule. The door on the left was marked A, the one on the right was marked B.

Jayden said, "Do you think you could remember this Logan?"

"I'll manage."

Logan went left, opened the electronic lock and walked into the empty apartment. After a brief look around he said, "Clear."

Delicious walked in to the apartment and her mouth opened wide. There were windows everywhere. The apartment was bright, but more than that it was huge.

"What did you do Gray?"

"I told you I rented an apartment, and this is it."

"This is not an apartment. This is a house on top of the building."

"Maybe that is why they call this a penthouse. I never knew that."

"Can we look around?"

"As of next Friday, it is mine for a year."

"Can we afford this?"

"Yes, 'I' can afford this."

"If I am living here, I am paying my fair share."

"On $60 an hour you want to pay your fair share of $11,000 a month."

"Are you out of your fucking mind? $11,000 a month in rent, we could buy a house and pay less in a mortgage."

"Yes I know, but we would not have this view, would we. Guys could we have a moment alone please?"