CHAPTER 27
It was almost too late as the Monterey's men were already there, all loaded up. Two officers died protecting the witness that day. Eventually, they were able to escape. The judge left with no choice, moved the case to that very evening leaving the Monterey no time to act. The witness was sworn in. Then the state attorney stepped forward and began interrogating him. "Tell us as clearly as you can what happened that night."
"I was home." He began, "I've always known Debbie Nelson rolled with the Monterey. She was their girl, always coming around at odd hours. It annoyed me." He sniffed.
"Why did it annoy you? Have a crush on her?" The Monterey's attorney, a stocky man in his late thirties, queried, intending to divert the case in another direction. He looked just as shady as his client, who sat in the accused corner with no iota of remorse. He kept giving the witness a deadly look as if threatening him to keep his mouth shut. The witness didn't look his way. The state attorney had advised him not to so the threatening looks wouldn't pressure him.
"Objection, My Lord. My colleague here is making speculations irrelevant to this case." The state attorney countered immediately
"Sustained." The judge; Robert Swiss cautioned, "Counsel, do not make accusations with no solid proof here again. State counsel may take that again."
The attorney bowed slightly, "My lord." And he moved closer to the witness, "You may go on. But first, for clarity, why did the late Debbie's visit bother you?"
"Every time she comes... came." He corrected hastily. "Monterey go wild trying to impress. Once, they shot my friend in hand for touching her drink at the pub. He didn't know that." He slurred, "He was chilling with this girl and poof. His hand was bleeding."
The courtroom became a little rowdy with 'ahas' and 'Boohoos.'
"Order!"
"So, what happened the night she was killed?" The state attorney asked
"That night, I was out doing stuff." He sniffed again, "She came round, asking if I have seen the Monterey. I ignored her and walked away. Talking to her was dangerous for me being the Monterey's girl and shit. Knew what they did to my friend and all." He looked pointedly at the Monterey boy this time and snickered, then looked away quickly.
The Monterey's lawyer seized the opportunity to butt in again. "Did you somehow carried a grudge against them because of that? Shooting your friend and all." He said, trying to imitate the witness. Everyone erupted in laughter.
"Quiet."
"I didn't have no grudge on them. Couldn't" he laughed like that was the most insane idea anyone could come up with. "Who dares the Monterey?"
Though it was a rhetorical question, everyone in the courtroom chorused, "Nobody."
The clerk shouted "Order." And there was silence again.
"I can't fight them." The witness proceeded. "So I avoided them."
"Smart dude." Shouted someone from the backseat. The judge smacked his rod and said, "I'll hold anyone who speaks rudely in my court in contempt."
The state attorney took a step back then asked, "Did you ever speak with her at all?"
"No. I don't talk shit with her. Not until that day when she spoke to me. I walked away." He stared at the police officers seated in the front seats again. "When she asked me, I ignored her, and when I turned the corner, I saw a truck of shitload coming."
"Truck of shitload?" The state attorney queried.
"Cocaine bro." The witness scoffed, "It was the Monterey's. I ran into the building to stay dead till they were done. If seen, I was doomed. The girl saw her Monterey dude. Didn't think she was in any danger and just went there. I think She saw who I saw." He paused, looked around, frightened. His gaze fell briefly on the police officers on the front seats. Two of them were now standing. Their guns hung loosely at their side. He looked away.
"Who?"
The boy cowered backwards in fear.
"Is the person here now?"
"Yeah." His voice was barely a whisper.
"Who?" When he pointed at a police officer's standing, everyone scampered away from him. "My Lord, I'll like the court to arrest officer Fin for possession of the hard drug and misuse of power and possible accomplice to murder."
The officer was instantly arrested, and the judge charged everyone to be quiet. "State Attorney, please proceed."
"What happened afterwards?" The attorney asked the witness.
He requested s cup of water. The clerk passed him a sealed bottle which he opened and drank from. That seems to have calmed him down, "Her man." The boy shook his head as if replaying the incident in his head, "He just shot her dead."
"Do you know who the man is?"
"Sure." He stared at the Monterey boy again. This time he didn't look away.
"Is he here now?" The attorney asked.
"Yes."
"Where?"
"There. Him." He pointed at the accused Monterey. Everyone gasped.
The judge adjourned the case till a few hours later. The break was just normal courtesy. The offender had been nailed. Everyone stepped out to await the judge's decision. While the witness was being escorted out, a young female lawyer for the state ran after them. She had been passed an envelope by a woman she assumed to be the witness' mother. "This came for you." she said and handed the envelope to the boy. The instant he opened it, he, alongside his escorts, was blown to pieces.
Robert Swiss heard about the incident. The dead witness. The dead escorts. The lawyer whose career ended with that singular mistake. Everything made him so angry he went ahead to sentence the Monterey boy to death through lethal injection. Then he went on to open a case against the Monterey family. He had had enough of them. For years, his father had complained about their fearlessness against even the law. And they continued to misbehave even when he assumed the position after the late judge's demise. It was high time they are dealt with. He didn't go through the usual channel.
The Monterey were all in jail before they could lift a finger. They were all shot dead quietly overnight. But that wasn't the judgment Robert Swiss passed. Another family had taken up the case. The witness, as it were, was a distant cousin of the Smiths. And the Smiths with the Monterey had bad blood. His family wanted revenge and control of the Monterey business.
In the war that ensued, the Swiss became caught in the middle. The Smiths blamed them for their loss. The Monterey felt they owe it to the Swiss to put them in their place for publicly humiliating them constantly. But the Smiths had the upper hand. For years, they have been monitoring their enemies, studying their tactics, buying their way into their business. It was not an easy takeover, but it was done. There were so many casualties. Innocent residents were found dead on the streets and in their homes. Houses were burnt down to erase evidence of a full-blown out organized killing. A few Monterey escaped that day. Most left Miami. Never to be heard of. The ones that survived changed their name for fear of being butchered to death. And so, the ruling family in the suburb Miami became just four. The fifth was never to be spoken of again.
The instant the Smiths came into power, the Swiss became a target. The new lords weren't sure where their loyalty lay. So, they were being monitored. Their phones were tapped into. Conversations were streamed. It didn't take Robert Swiss long to figure out that the power balanced had tipped. The fifth family didn't go extinct. It had been merged into the Smiths. Now, the Smiths had more power than any other founding family. To save his family, he needed to act fast. Because their phones were tapped, the Swiss couldn't involve their kids in the scheme. Then again, who goes telling 21year old and 19year old something that grave? Something that could get them killed if said to the wrong person?
This was why when Robert got his wife into the car for a meeting outside the suburb, they fought. The fight continued until he had to leave. It was all part of the scheme but not entirely complete. Swiss blamed her husband for making the wrong call.
"As a presiding judge, you could have chosen a jury. But no, you played god. You must have been so intoxicated by the power that you forgot who you were dealing with." She mocked.
"They murdered the witness. It wasn't the first, second, fifth. I'd had enough." Robert countered.
"And you sent them all to jail. If you hadn't jailed them, the Smiths wouldn't have murdered them right under your nose. Now, the Monterey, wherever they are, will always come back for our heads. The Smiths, well, you know those are even worse."
Robert Swiss knew she was right. They were not safe. There was only one thing to do, "Divide and conquer." He said.
She inhaled sharply at his suggestion, "That my dear would be another wrong call. Divided, they see us weak."
"But what will you have me do?"
"I say we show a united front. Get help outside the suburbs. Let's reach out to our clients for help." She suggested.
He pondered on it a while, "We need help. That you got right, but we can't just stay here and ask for help. I know how these people run their street. They will sabotage the help and turn them against us. To get help, we need to go looking for genuine ones. Not stay and be calling for it."
"Then what do we do?" Mrs. Swiss asked.
"I'll insist on 'Divide and conquer', It's our best call." He replied. It was the first time he wasn't yielding to her decision. And it was apparent she wasn't going to let him have his way. "You don't trust me." He noted sadly.
"Not after this last call." She threw back at him carelessly.
That hurts. "Then, I must do what I can to fix the problem I made." He told her sadly.
"You're leaving." She said, nodding sadly. Why did he have to be so stubborn about it?
"To get help." He clarified. He had already packed his things; she realized as he stepped down from the car. He went round to move his box. He then came around to bid her farewell. "Take care of the kids. Better to let them believe we are divorced."
"Oh, we are." She smiled at him sourly, "The moment you walk out on us, we are." She threatened. He smiled sadly at her but started to walk away. Not even her threat could make him change his mind. Swiss watched his retreating back and began to weep. She had no idea how to handle this. How was she going to face the kids? He was right. Holding him down would be grasping at thin straws. To deal with the dire situation, they found themselves, and they needed more than straws. Heck, what they needed were machetes and hacksaws, swords and sharp blades. He better be right about this and makes good friends. "When will you be back?" She called to him
"It could be years, honey. But the moment you notice the money trail, even when you don't know who's moving it, call me. Then, it will be the time to come home."
Amidst tears, she nodded. "Okay."
That was years ago. Now, it was time to bring him back and hope for all their sakes that he now has helped. Strong allies, or else, they'd be begging for their lives soon.
"Do you think you've gotten all we need for this war?" She asked, not believing she just used the word 'war'. It had almost ruined them then. She hoped in all earnest that it doesn't destroy them now.
"Yes, I do." He replied confidently, "It's time to come home."
