Mr. and Mrs. J

Conflicts and Cruisin'

The walls of the Red Hearts shelter was covered with beautiful paintings from Mr J and the kids. Every wall had a drawing or painting of abstract hearts, trees, and animals. Their collective art made that shack of a place feel a little warmer inside. We had been there for three days and already all the kids, and some of the ladies were, smitten with Mr J. They had every reason to. Through his recovery he catered to everyone there. He helped in the soup kitchen. He helped the nurses give out medicine to some of the sickly and he helped teach the children how to do small magic tricks. I thought Oh so he is a magician afterall! The three day stay helped us all to recoup. We were finally bathed and clean and had on new clothes. I snuck and threw my suit away though. I had to get the traces of blood off of me. I kept seeing the looks of death on those security guards faces and it bothered me. I figured if I threw away the suit, then the memory of what happened would subside. But seeing Mr J's arm reminded me of why they had been taken out in the first place, so that helped me to get over it...but just a little bit. 

The good thing about our stay is that Mr J didn't seem to be in as much pain as he was before. The doctors and nurses there really cared for him and I believe it's because they saw how caring he was to everyone else. A doctor even jokingly gave him a medical book on how to fix wounds the correct way. And just like with the aura of Mr J, people kept flocking around us a well.We couldn't even count the money from the Wintiers heist because people wouldn't leave us alone. We had to keep the money bag hidden under Big P's cot. The men of the shelter would always come around wanting to battle Big P and Jimmy to a game of chess or cards. But honestly I think they came around just to see Mrs J.

Mr J was carrying a little girl around, who would not leave him alone. He helped feed her some breakfast with the other kids. He looked over by our beds and saw that Big P had pulled the money bag out. He handed the little girl back to her mother and he headed over to us, a line of kids following him like a magnet. 

"How much we lookin at?" Mr J asked, sending the kids away.

"A little over $3500." Big P said, sounding upset.

"That's it? We went through all of this for that?" Mr J said, grabbing his shoulder.

Big P nodded and flung the bag to the floor.

"Ok well we gotta get back to work. We need bigger and better banks." Mr J said.

"And better strategies. No more off the cuff ideas, Mr J. You damn hothead!" Big P said. Mr J agreed.

"Also we do need more ammo and new weapons. We can't afford anymore gun jams. Sylvie was right. But don't tell her I said that." Mr J winked and nudged me. I nodded.

"Ok so who are we looking at to get it, boss?" Big P asked.

"I'm thinking John Schwartz and his crew. They give plenty of good deals to us usually."

"Schwartz and crew? You wanna take the trip to Florida?" Big P asked, seeming baffled. Mr J shrugged. 

"I don't see why not." 

"Yeah well it could work. Florida is nice this time of year. But his Jewish ass is just racist as all hell." 

"Well what whitey ain't racist against us? At least he gives decent fares to us colored folks." Mr J laughed.

"I say let's do it then." Big P said. 

"Ok well Florida it is! Now the only problem is we need a car." They both groaned and chuckled.

I heard the kids giggling on the other side of the room. They were huddled in front of the ladies room. I turned to see Mrs J come out of the women's bathroom looking refreshed and beautiful as ever. That look of refresh turned into a look of distress when the kids came running around her and pulling on her body hugging floral dress. I could tell by now she was annoyed with them. For the last three days those kids followed her and Mr J around the shelter like they were king and queen. While Mr J didn't mind their company, Mrs J kept trying to get away from them. As she tried to make her way over to us, one of the little boys smacked her on the butt and ran. "Boy, when I see you I'm gonna whoop your little ass!" She screamed out. The nurses gasped and shook their heads. She rushed her way through the crowd of children and over to us.