The Commando and the Call Girl

"Amen to that."

"Chet?" Tiffany asked suddenly. "I know that you don't know me very well; but I can be a great wife to you. I know that I'm a hoe. But it's not true that I can't become a housewife. I can be submissive, agreeable, easy to get along with...

Especially for the right man."

"You mean, "especially for the white man", Austin says as he thinks to himself.

He knows about the "easy to deal with" sister, first hand. His fiancée, is extremely agreeable despite the fact that her own father had warned him about her antics with every man she had dealt with prior to meeting him.

The only difference was that they had always been black...

It couldn't have been about character. She had already forgiven him for his loose dick activity on four occasions.

But his supervisor Aaron Banks in moments of candor would talk of how bitchy his own wife was with him over even the smallest of infractions.

He attributed it to what he called the "residual effects of slavery" where the black female slaves were taught to serve their white masters with humility and respect while spurning and challenging their black mates every chance they got.

But hey. Who was he to look a gift horse in the mouth? Or, in this case, a tight asshole...

"Tiff, I...want...everything that you want. Trust me on that." He said to her as he caressed her shoulders. "It's just that I have things to secure before I can take that step.

I'm...I'm battling my brother for control of the family business and unfortunately, if I show up with a black wife, my ultra conservative father will give the reins to my brother.

In other words, until that happens, we can't take that step."

"How long?" She asked.

"This has been going on for years, he's always been..."

"No Chet. How long before you take over the business?"

"Oh. Three or four months...tops."

"And then you'll come for me?"

He smiled, kissed her lips and said... " it'll be just like the scene with Richard Gere and Debra Winger in "An Officer and a Gentleman."

"Wouldn't we be more like him and Julia Roberts in "Pretty Woman? I mean, her character and myself both have the same occupation, and we both have fallen hard for wealthy and handsome men."

"Point taken my dear." He said as he got up and dressed. "Now, I've got to go."

"Be safe...my love." She says to him.

The two embrace passionately and seconds later, Special Agent Austin "Chet" Sharp is out the door and into the Rolls Royce Phantom that had once belonged to a prominent counterfeiter who was now a 20 year guest of the government in Federal lockup.

He can't believe that his first instinct is to go over to Sassy y Classy and beat the shit out of Tony Lino for the humiliating way he handled Tiffany.

But could he really justify such an action given the way that he himself had just handled her?

Chapter Ten

Mercy had smiled on Calvin as this night, he'd be relieved by Dinesh himself. He knew that this meant that he would be able to leave on time and possibly catch the last bus home before they stopped running for the night.

Dinesh had also spoke with Mrs. Watson, who had informed the store owner of Calvin graciously waiting with her until the store filled with slot players to which he rewarded him by allowing him to "ride the clock" until such a time that Mrs. Watson felt comfortable with allowing him to leave.

Standing at the bus stop in front of where he had been arrested was a non starter. He needed to walk down further to the next closest one which he knew was one block away.

But just as he passed by the townhome, he heard a voice call out to him.

"Mr. Jefferson."

Calvin, while he tried to ignore the voice, he found that he was curious as to why she was now reaching out. But if she wanted his attention, it wouldn't be an easy task as he was extremely hesitant about engaging her especially given what Aaron Banks had told him.

Tiffany, for her part, could literally take his refusal to answer her as a sign that she had accomplished her mission. Afterall, how could Tony hold this against her? She couldn't make the man respond to her.

Or could she?

"Mr. Jefferson would you please stop for just a second? I really need to tell you something."

Calvin stopped in his tracks and did an about face.

His cock nearly jumped out of his slacks at the sight that greeted him. Tiffany wore a skimpy robe that, a lot like the towel from last night, barely covered her body. He knew now that she was a stripper/escort and probably didn't have many issues with nudity or showing off her curvaceous frame to other men.

But she hated black men right? So why was she showing her body to him?

He found that he desperately needed the answer to this question.

"So, what can I do for you Ms..."

"Tiffany." She replied.

"Ok, Ms. Tiffany. How do you know my name and why did you stop me?"

"I did a little research. And I'd like to know where you're going in the middle of the night?"

"Considering that I was damn near executed last night by sitting at this bus stop." Calvin said as he pointed to the stand. "I'm going to walk down to the next one and see if I have better luck."

"That's not a good idea." She explained.

"Oh?" He said. "And why is that?"

"That stop puts you directly on the turf of some local cartel members. They may view a black man sitting in front of one of their dens as him being an undercover DEA agent."

"Sigh. Fine, then I'll go to the one that's before I get to this one."

"That's a no go as well."

"Let me guess. That spot belongs to a group of skin heads; am I correct?"

"Nope. The Jamaican Posse."

"You've got to be bullshitting me here. I can't wait here, I can't wait there. How the hell am I supposed to get home?"

Before she can respond. Calvin watches in horror as the last bus of the night flies right by the empty bus stop and down toward the cartel controlled area.

"Well, if that don't just beat all?" He says in frustration. "May I ask why you are so hell bent on ruining my life?"

"Ruining your life? What are you..."

"You don't deal with the brothers; that's fine. But let's do a quick recap here. You piss all over me because I work retail. You call the cops on me for no reason. You've made it impossible for me to sit at the stop in front of your house, and now that I've missed my bus and according to you, I can't go to either of the closest stops without getting into some shit with two different gangs, I now have nowhere to wait until the buses resume their morning schedule.

So please, Tiffany. Allow me to apologize."

"Apologize?" She said with visible shock. "What are you apologizing for?"

"Yeah. I apologize on behalf of the black man that fucked your head up so badly and that caused you to hate the rest of us so. I'm sorry that it happened to you.

Because your willingness to screw up my life tells me that you've been severely wounded by someone who looks like me."

Tiffany had never given much thought to the origins of her anti black men stance. She only knew that giving off such a vibe endeared her to Tony Lino who had expressed a similar sentiment.

She just never saw herself as being in a position to have to deal with the target of her hatred and ire. And now her cognitive dissonance was working overtime as the two conflicting thoughts regarding Calvin Jefferson were clashing like nobodies business.

"I'm...not accepting your apology. Its not necessary. You haven't done anything to me. I'm the one who needs to apologize.

From the moment I met you, I've treated you with contempt. I was wrong for that. And you're correct, that contempt almost got you put into a terrible place.

So, instead of you apologizing to me for something that you didn't do. I'm asking you to forgive me for causing you actual harm."

Calvin was stunned. He could hardly believe what he was hearing. She sounded so sincere. So believable. He too, now suffered from the same cognitive dissonance.

And the "Team Tiffany" side was winning out...

"Look it's fine. Let's just forget about..." Calvin started to say.

"No. I need to hear you say it. I need to hear you say that you forgive me."

"Sigh, I forgive you Tiffany."

"Good. Now, why don't you come inside and wait for the bus to start back running? You can even get a quick nap. How does that sound?"

"It sounds great, but I can't ask you to do that."

"You're not asking. I'm offering."

"I'm very appreciative. But I have to turn you down."

"Well, in that case, would you care for a cup of coffee?"

"I'm not much of a coffee drinker."

"You'll like mine. I promise."

"Sigh, ok."

"I'll be right back!" She said excitedly as she ran into her townhome.

Seconds later, Calvin hears a blood curdling scream come from that same abode. He rushes through the door to find a petrified Tiffany face to face with a deadly Egyptian Cobra looking poised to strike at any moment.

Down the street, an unknown man makes a quick call on a burner phone to report in.

"This is Porter. Go ahead."

"The package has been delivered."

"Any issues?"

"Naw. It was a walk in the sun. The dumb broad left her back door unlocked."

"Well, that went well. Your employer will be pleased."

"My employer? Your employer too, bud."

Dennis Porter laughed. "You're the Dellasondro lackey. Not me. I'm the freelancer. I'm the specialist."

"Speaking of which...where the fuck did you get that snake from?"

"Hello? Specialist. Remember?"

"How can I forget? Look man, I just have one question."

"Which is?"

"After you finish wiping out the Lino's and their associates, how soon before you set your sights on us and do likewise?"