THE RUNNER/SCREENPLAY by BRIAN R. LUNDIN (best free ebook reader for android .txt) 📖

police officers pulled two black body bags from the police squadrol and talked with the tech. In a moment the tech backed away from the bodies and the officers nonchalantly placed first Chin in a bag and then Yow and zipped them up. Detective Baxter joined Reggie and the commander.


BAXTER
The Crime Scene Unit guys gave me the wallets of the two Vic, one is named Yow Moon and the other is Chin Lee. A name check revealed they are members of the Chinatown Triad.

HOLLIS
Let’s talk with Jerome.

Jerome, Ted, Marque and Madame Bourneis were in the casino watching the police officers hustle the stick-up men to the waiting police squadrol. Doctor Wright was examining the three dead men with arrows sticking out their bodies.

HOLLIS
Shit, what happened here?

JEROME
I received an anonymous phone call that said Vito Pellegrino had hired some Chinese thugs to kill me. About an hour ago, these hooded sons-of-bitches crashed through the door and announced a holdup, but Pops and his guys and Detective Baxter and his guys were here and got the drop on them.

REGGIE
Where these arrows come from?

Jerome answered as he glanced at Cinque.

JEROME
Don’t know.

VITO
What the fuck is going on?

Jimmy was in his customary position on the couch sipping a glass of wine.

JIMMY
Our people at the police station said that those chinks had been eaten up and that three of them mutherfuckers had been killed by arrows when they tried to stick up the joint. What kind of motherfucka kills people with arrows?

Vito began to sweat as he remembered what he saw in Madame Bourneis eyes. Vito Pellegrino was confused he did not know what to do. The feds had a constant surveillance on Pauli and everything he did concerning Jerome McLemore back fired.

VITO
Who told them chinks to rob the joint, that wasn’t in the contract on McLemore?
JIMMY
Greedy mutherfuckers what’s next, Boss?

VITO
Fuck if I know!

JIMMY
Why not just low for awhile, maybe this shit will work itself out.

Pauli Gaza smiled as he read about the incident in the Chicago Sun-Times.


Mackenzie “Mack” McLemore, the youngest of the McLemore brothers did not have the charisma or intelligence of his older brother Jerome. The gamblers in the Casino Room disliked Mack, but tolerated him because of his brother. Mack often became abrasive to the staff and customers especially when drinking. He resented Jerome acting like his father and always telling him what to do. After years of tolerating Mack’s drug habit and sleeping around his schoolteacher wife and their two young children moved to Cleveland with her mother. Mack spent most of time at the club drinking, gambling, smoking pot and trying to seduce the attractive young female dancers and waitresses. Mack had developed a serious gambling problem and had run up a $10,000 tab at the crap table. The Williamson’s were aware of Mack’s gambling debt and Ollie the manager had instructed the croupiers at the crap table not to extend Mack anymore credit.

It was a busy and warm Saturday night in August, the restaurant and the jazz club had a good crowd as well as the casino. Georgia Skin and poker players filled the seats and a crowd of men and woman gathered around the crap table. Mack had been smoking weed and drinking heavily all evening as he staggered up to the crap table with two off duty waitresses.


MACK
Give me a grand worth, muthafucker!

Mack demanded from RENALDO, the Cuban croupier.

RENALDO
I’m sorry, Mr. McLemore, you have to check with Mr. Williamson.

Mack was embarrassed.

MACK
What the fuck you mean I have to check with Mr. Williamson muthafucker, fuck Williamson.

The gamblers at the table begin laughing, which added to Mack’s embarrassment. Ollie noting the commotion walked over to the table and stood besides Renaldo.

OLLIE
What’s the problem?

RENALDO
Mr. McLemore wants a $1,000 worth of chips, sir.

Mack turned his anger at Ollie.

MACK
What this shit about I have to check with you to get chips?

OLLIE
Let’s discuss this in my office, Mr. McLemore,

MACK
Glaring at Renaldo.
Fuck that, give me the fuckin’ chips or your ass is fired.

OLLIE
Come on Mr. McLemore, let’s go to my office and straighten this out.

Ollie turned to walk away. Without warning Mack hit Ollie in the head with one of the beer bottles on the crap table knocking him to the floor unconscious. Two off-duty police officer working security grabbed Mack and two others went to assist Ollie. Another security officer called 911 and notified Baxter. Baxter called Jerome and told him what had happened and that Ollie had been taken by ambulance to Provident Hospital.
INT. PROVIDENT HOSPITAL-EVENING

At that moment Ollie was inside one of the curtained cubicles that were on both sides of the emergency room. Jerome McLemore and Ted Bunche rushed to the hospital’s emergency room and immediately smelled the cold antiseptic atmosphere that dominated the room. Nurses in white uniforms and doctors with stethoscope draped over their neck hurried between treatment cubicles in the windowless room. The medicinal smell of alcohol and disinfect permeated the room as they were directed by a uniformed and pleasant young man to the waiting room. They sat shoulder-to- shoulder inside the inhospitable room with ailing patients sitting on benches waiting their turn. An elderly couple entered the overcrowded room and Jerome gave his seat to the woman who seemed to be staring into the distance. A young woman, no more than eighteen entered with two little girls holding onto her skirt while she cradle another baby in her arms, Ted gave her his seat. Some people read the standard black hospital magazines, Jet and Ebony. Every time an intern entered, eyes would snap towards him. Shrieks and cries often followed the people whose name he called and they were informed about the condition of their loved ones.

An hour later the same intern entered the waiting room and announced louder than necessary, “Anyone here for a Mr. Williamson?”

Ted and Jerome signaled to the intern and he led them to the Emergency room desk. Shortly a young black man walked to the desk his right hand extended.

Doctor David Thomas
It’s a pleasure to meet you Mr. McLemore; I’ve heard so many good things about you.

Jerome shook the man’s hand. “Doctor…” Jerome asked confused.

DOCTOR
Sorry, sir, I’m Doctor David Thomas, we’ve never met but my mother, Ruby Williams has been one of your writers for years. I assume you are here for Mr. Williamson.

JEROME
Yes we are doctor, how is he?

Doctor Thomas, flipped opened a metal medical chart.

DOCTOR
Mr. Williamson has a fractured skull and maybe brain damage. We’re going to keep him for a few days, run some test; I’ll personally let you know what is going on.

JEROME
Do whatever is necessary, don’t be concerned about the cost and tell Mrs. Williams I said hello.

When Ted and Jerome arrived at the casino Baxter told them what he knew about the incident, Jerome spotted Renaldo seated at a table drinking tea.

JEROME
You ok?

RENALDO
Little shook up! Your brother is mad man, he drinks too much, smoke too much pot and gamble too much. He is rude to our customers and takes advantage of bein’ your brother. He’s a bad man, much trouble we lose customers because of him. He’s a coward, he hit poor Mr. Williamson when his back was turned, badman, badman, he said he was going to fire me for not giving him chips; he already lost lot of money.


TED
What happened?

Renaldo told them of the incident.

JEROME
Don’t worry about that, take the rest of the night off and I’ll see you tomorrow.

Mack was in Ollie’s office with two security guards when Jerome and Ted entered. Ted waived the officers out as Jerome took a seat behind the desk. The opened windows did little to hide the stale smell of alcohol reeking out of Mack’s pores and the bittersweet odor of marijuana. Mack was half lying on the brown velour couch sipping a glass of gin.
JEROME
Don’t you think you have had enough to drink?

MACK
Just getting’ started big bro.

JEROME
What happened?

MACK
That asshole, Olllie told Renaldo not to give me any more chips.

JEROME
Who do you think told Ollie to tell Renaldo to tell you that?

MACK
Fuck if I know and I don’t give a good fuck, that Ollie is just a fuckin’ asshole.

JEROME
I told Ollie to cut you off, he would’ve probably told you that if you hadn’t suckered punched him.

Mack said slurring his words.

MACK
Why you cut me off.

JEROME
Listen, we are in business to make money and I don’t believe in gambling.

TED
The only way to beat them is to book them!

JEROME
You are in on the crap table tab for over ten grand, your bar and food tab is another five grand, and some of our female employees are threatening to quit because of your constant over-bearing flirting.

MACK
Fuck them ho’s, they ain’t shit, and neither is that faggot Ollie!

Jerome looked at his younger brother with disgust and wondered how could two men come out of the same woman and be so different. Mack was a bully, pothead, drug addict and a drunk, whereas, Jerome and Troy neither drink nor smoked. Jerome remembered when Mack was about 16 or 17 and his mother had sent him out to find him. One of the neighborhood boys told Jerome that he had seen Mack with two other boys and Flucky go into Willard’s Grammar School yard. Jerome knew that Flucky was the neighborhood drug dealer and had gotten some of the young boys hooked on heroin. As Jerome approached the yard he saw Flucky heating up a spoon of heroin and give it the young boy standing next to Mack, the young boy shot-up and immediately fell to the ground. He started shaking and foaming at the mouth. Mack was staggering when Jerome grabbed him and led him out the yard. When Jerome looked back the young boy was laying still on the ground the hypodermic needle still in his arm. Jerome told Troy what happened, but they didn’t tell their mother. None-the-less Mack got hooked on heroin and over the years attended numerous rehab centers but eventually always returned to drugs.

Ollie had told Jerome about his brother gambling, drinking and trying to impress the young women working at the club by spending a lot on foods and drinks. Jerome had over looked these faults and hoped that his brother would get over the excitement of the club, but apparently, he was wrong, his brother had gotten worse. It was time to pull in his rope. Jerome’s mouth became dry and his heart pumped faster as he thought about Ollie, possibly having to undergoing brain surgery because of his stupid-ass brother.
Jerome was angry at his brother and knew what he had to do.

JEROME
Ok, this is what’s happening, you will help Ma and Troy run the livery cab business, I don’t want to see you at the club, understood.

MACK
What the fuck is I suppose to do with the livery cabs.

JEROME
I don’t give a damn