Thunder and Lightening
Chapter 23
By
Lazlo Zalezac
Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2004

"Dad," said Bill as his father entered the house from work, "Abe 
came over and said we were invited over to dinner tonight."

Jerry settled heavily into his chair, tired from another busy 
Saturday. It didn't help that he had been out late the night before. 
He answered, "That's nice of Sharon. I better go to the store and 
pick up some drinks."

"Abe said that you shouldn't bother bringing anything over. She's 
happy about her new car and wants to thank you for teaching 
Martin how to fix up old cars," replied Bill. He grinned as he 
added, "Abe mentioned that Henry would be there too."

The comment made Jerry grin, as he was well aware that Sharon 
was actively trying to entice Henry into something a little more 
permanent than the big black man was interested in having. He 
said, "It'll be nice to talk to Henry."

"You guys talk all the time. You were over at his house until 
midnight last night," countered Bill. He had ridden his scooter over 
there and seen the latest indoor wall fountain the two men had 
built. It was really an outstanding piece of work.

"Hey, Henry wanted to deliver the wall fountain to the customer 
today. We had to finish it," said Jerry. The fountain was bringing 
in ten thousand dollars. After taking into account the cost of 
materials, they'd make four thousand each. This was their third one 
and they had learned a lot after the first two. 

"I think Abe's mom would be happy if Henry was over at her place 
on Friday nights," Bill joked. He had listened to Abe tease his 
mother about catching her kissing Henry. She had to threaten him 
with a severe beating before he had relented. 

Jerry replied, "Is Abe upset about the idea of his mother dating 
Henry?"

"Hell no. Henry is an important guy around here," replied Bill. He 
had noticed that all of the kids in the neighborhood stood up 
straighter around Henry and everyone called him sir. 

The comment brought a smile to Jerry's face. Everyone respected 
Henry in this neighborhood. The fact that he and Henry were 
friends had eased a lot of tension in the area and prevented some of 
the hotheads from acting violent. He was about to comment when 
he heard the sound of a scooter pull up in front of the house and 
saw the reaction of his son. "Go ahead." 

Bill smiled and headed out of the house. Within a minute, Jerry 
heard the sound of the scooter starting and the pair driving off. 
After changing his clothes, he grabbed a coke and went out to the 
porch appreciating the spring weather. His comings and goings 
were no longer news. The elderly across the street either ignored 
him or waved to him. He waved back to those that noticed him. 

The sky was a clear blue broken only by little tufts of white clouds. 
A jet contrail cut through the sky and appeared to glow magically. 
The oak tree was sending forth leaves that in a few weeks would 
provide lots of shade. The front lawn was still a disaster area, but 
he wasn't about to go through the hassle of planting grass. He had 
never entered the backyard because it was a wild mess of weeds. 
For all he knew, there could be a body hidden in it. 

His private musings were interrupted by the arrival of Henry. The 
huge black man asked, "Got another one of those?"

"Sure do," replied Jerry as he started to rise.

"Don't bother getting up. I'll help myself." 

A minute later, the black man settled on the porch beside Jerry and 
opened the can. With a grin, he took a sip and then said, "That 
neighbor of yours wants to tie me down."

"A scrawny guy like you? I wonder what she sees in you," 
remarked Jerry with a straight face.

"Women go crazy over my bald head," replied Henry just as 
seriously. 

Both of them broke out laughing with the ease of men that had 
traded a long-standing joke. Jerry noticed that Mr. Atkins was 
crossing the street and heading towards them. "I wonder what Mr. 
Atkins wants."

Henry looked up and saw the old man shuffling his way across the 
street. Even as Jerry stood, Henry said, "We should probably meet 
him halfway."

The pair of men walked to the street presenting a sight that would 
frighten people who didn't know them. Over five hundred pounds 
of muscle walking side by side, both looking threatening by nature 
and prejudice. Frowning, Mr. Atkins stopped and said, "Boys, 
there's a meetin' at ma house tonight at eight. Both ya be dere. 
Bring that olda boy from next doo' ov'r wit ya."

Respectful, both Jerry and Henry replied, "Yes, sir."

Mr. Atkins turned with a frown on his face and headed back across 
the street. The two big men stood there watching him go with 
puzzled expressions. Before the old black man made it to his 
porch, Jerry and Henry returned to the porch. After sitting down, a 
very worried Henry said, "Some big must be happening."

"Why?"

"The only time Mr. Atkins holds a meeting at his house is when 
something ugly is about to happen. Last time was when there were 
all them riots in town when the cops killed that kid. This was the 
only area where there wasn't a problem. He called us together to 
make sure that folks stayed in their houses," replied Henry.

"Smart man," replied Jerry.

"Hell, he was scared. He's seen stuff in his life that most of us can't 
imagine," replied Henry. Shaking his head, he said, "To tell the 
truth, I'm surprised that he invited you to attend."

Stories had been told in the area about Mr. Atkins and he had 
listened to them trying to better understand his neighbor. The 
stories suggested that his father had been hung by the KKK and 
that he had been forced to watch his mother get raped one night 
when they went to see a movie. He had bowed to whites his entire 
life, hating them with a passion the whole time. Jerry understood 
rage, but not hate. He figured they were close enough that he could 
deal with a man that hated, even if he was the subject of that hate. 
Nodding his agreement, he said, "Me too."

The pair sat there thinking their own thoughts. Jerry asked, "What 
do you think Martin is going to say when he finds out that he's 
been invited?"

"I'm not worried about him. I'm more worried about his mother is 
going to say," answered Henry. He looked over at Jerry and said, 
"It's not good when you get invited. It's time to act like a man. If 
you fail Mr. Atkins, nobody will listen to a word you say after 
that."

The sound of scooters broke the silence that had fallen over the 
men. Jerry looked over and saw the boys returning from the store 
with bags of groceries strapped onto the rear carrier. They pulled 
up in the front yard and came to a stop in front of the men. Abe 
said, "Mom's expecting you over at the house for dinner now that 
we are back."

Jerry stood and locked the door of the house. Henry and he walked 
next door while the boys rode their scooters thirty feet to park them 
at the door. Abe held the door open for everyone after announcing 
their presence to everyone in the house. Henry shook his head and 
said, "You sure are lazy. Riding that bike such a short distance."

"Hey, we had groceries."

"Where are they?" asked Henry with a smile.

The two boys looked at each other for a second and went back 
outside after realizing that they had forgotten to bring the bags in 
the house. Martin came out in the living room and greeted them, 
"Come on into the kitchen. Mom is setting the table."

The two large men entered the kitchen and it suddenly got a lot 
smaller. Sharon looked at them and said, "You two sit at the ends 
where you'll have plenty of elbow room."

The men sat down at the table to be out of the way.  The boys 
returned with their two bags of groceries and set them on the 
counter. Sharon said, "You boys wash your hands and then sit at 
the table out of the way."

Jerry winked at Henry and said, "Sounds to me like you need a 
man around here to keep the kids under control."

Henry held up a hand to hide his mouth from Sharon and, with 
exaggerated motions, moved his mouth to say, "Thanks a lot, 
buddy."

Sharon grinned but didn't turn around, pretending to be busy with 
cooking. She said, "The thought never crossed my mind."

Jerry burst out laughing at the look on Henry's face. Neither one of 
them believed her for a minute. The boys returned from washing 
their hands and sat down at the table. Martin came in and helped 
his mother carry the food to the table. It was a spectacular meal 
with fried chicken, greens, mashed potatoes, gravy, and corn bread. 
The food was piled high on the plates. After she and Martin sat 
down, she said, "Dig in guys."

Sharon stared in shock at the chaos that ensued. Forks spearing 
pieces of chicken flew out as spoons filled with potatoes and 
greens were used to load individual plates. It was a madhouse of 
activity as everyone grabbed food and piled it on their plate. She 
burst out laughing as she said, "This looks like a boarding house 
scene out of a movie."

Jerry laughed as he took a slice of corn bread. Together, Abe and 
Bill replied, "We're growing boys."

Henry shook his head and filled his glass with iced tea. Once plates 
were filled with food, everyone started to eat. The only sounds to 
be heard were forks scrapping across the plates and groans of 
contentment as bellies filled. Henry and Jerry refilled their plates 
and ate some more as Sharon watched. After clearing their second 
plate of food, the two large men sat back with contented sighs. 
Jerry said, "That was outstanding."

"You feed a man that kind of food and he's not going to want to 
leave," said Henry. Almost as soon as the words were out of his 
mouth, he started blushing as he realized what he had said. 

Abe, one never to let an opportunity to tease someone pass, said, 
"Mom, sounds like your plan is working."

Martin winked and said, "The fastest way to a man's heart is 
through his stomach."

Sharon threw her napkin across the table at Martin, but didn't 
comment. Jerry changed the subject and asked, "So what's the 
news on the bike?"

Abe sat up and said, "I found a 1938 Indian Sport Scout on the web 
at the library and won a bid on it for two fifty. It's in pretty bad 
shape and missing some parts, but I know that it'll fix up real nice."

Sharon smiled and said, "He gave me the money to pay for it 
earlier today. It’s supposed to be shipped to us at the end of the 
week."

Henry said, "Never heard of an Indian Sport Scout."

"Oh, they were the main competitor of Harley-Davidson in the 
early days of motorcycles. I like the way they look." Abe started 
talking about the Indian motorcycle company and the kinds of 
bikes they had built.

It was easy to tell that the young man had researched the 
motorcycle. That didn't surprise Jerry as he recognized that the 
young man really was interested in motorcycles. Sharon had 
balked, but given in after she realized that if he had spent the time 
and effort to fix up the motorcycle himself that he wouldn't be 
reckless when he drove it. When Abe wound down, Jerry turned to 
Bill and asked, "Did you look for a car on the web?"

"Yeah, I did. I found a nice 1952 Pontiac Chieftain."

"Sounds to me like we have an Indian theme going on here," 
replied Jerry with a grin. He was very familiar with the car and 
would buy it. 

Bill grinned and held up his hand, palm side out, as he said, "How! 
Him Scout. Me Chief."

Abe turned to Bill and said, "Chief, Big black man already been 
scalped."

Henry broke out in laughter and said, "Young brave or chief try to 
scalp this big man, he get bottom paddled."

Laughing, Martin stood and said, "I hate to say this, but I've got to 
go. I'm meeting Howard tonight."

Jerry glanced at the end of the table catching Henry's eye and said, 
"You might want to call Howard and let him know that you're 
going to be late."

"Why?" asked Martin surprised that Jerry would interfere in his 
life without being asked.

Henry answered, "Because you've been invited to a meeting at Mr. 
Atkins' house."

All laughter stopped around the table at the announcement. Abe 
stared at his brother with his mouth open, unable to believe what 
he had heard. Martin slowly sank back into his chair, as his legs 
threatened to give out on him. Bill looked around the room puzzled 
by the reaction of everyone. The silence was shattered when 
Sharon said, "Shit. You can't be serious. He's still young."

"Mr. Atkins specifically told us to bring him with us when we 
came over at eight tonight."

If the news about Martin being invited was a shock to Susan, then 
the news that Jerry had been invited was the equivalent to an atom 
bomb being detonated in the living room. She looked over at him 
and asked, "He invited you?"

"Yes, he did."

Abe swore, "Shit. We better find a bomb shelter."

Still confused, Bill asked, "Huh?"

Martin shook his head in disbelief and looked over at Jerry. He 
said, "Any idea what this is about?"

"None."

Henry concurred, "No idea."

Frustrated, Bill asked, "Would someone tell me what is going on?"

Henry turned to Bill and answered, "Mr. Atkins is the unofficial 
law and order in this part of town. When he calls a meeting in his 
house, that means that the shit is about to hit the fan."

"Mr. Atkins doesn't like whites," added Jerry. He paused and 
corrected himself. "That's not quite correct. Mr. Atkins hates 
whites. They hung his father and raped his mother when he was a 
kid. That he invited me over despite the fact that I'm white 
suggests this is really bad."

Sharon looked over at Jerry in surprise. She hadn't known that he 
knew a little of the history of Mr. Atkins. "You knew?"

"I figured it out from little odds and ends that people said about 
him," replied Jerry. Shrugging, he said, "He has a right to his 
feelings and I can deal with that. I understand rage and figure hate 
is pretty close to it. It isn't the person that it is aimed at that is to 
blame, just the history that instilled it."

Henry looked across the table at Jerry pleased with what he heard. 
If Mr. Atkins got angry with Jerry, he knew that Jerry wouldn't 
hold it against him. There were some things that you just had to 
accept even if they weren't your fault. His attitude would earn him 
some respect in the neighborhood.

Martin had listened to the exchange with wide eyes. He had just 
learned details about Mr. Atkins that he had never known and they 
explained a lot about how the old man acted. In a soft voice, he 
said, "Let me call Howard."

The atmosphere in the room reminded Jerry of a funeral. The men 
were solemn sitting in their chairs without talking. All eyes 
focused on Jerry when he entered, as though to say that he would 
have to prove himself this day or his time in this neighborhood was 
over. A few looked at him wondering if he was the reason that this 
meeting was being called. A number of them nodded a greeting in 
the direction of Henry, but Jerry didn't get that kind of reception.

Mr. Atkins sat in his chair with a frown as if he were passing a 
kidney stone at the idea of having a white man in his house. 
Looking at Jerry, he pointed to a kitchen chair directly opposite of 
his to indicate where the large man should sit. Jerry nodded his 
head and sat in the chair. Seeing that no one else said a word, he 
didn't talk.

From his chair, Jerry looked around the room taking in the 
furnishings. The room was crowded with chairs including some 
brought in from the kitchen. The carpet was old and worn, but not 
dirty. The average style of furniture dated back to the fifties and 
was covered with the nicks and scratches accumulated over forty to 
fifty years. It made him wonder what his house would look like to 
others when he was eighty something. 

He took a minute to examine the men in the room. Martin looked 
worried and sat on the edge of his chair. Henry was his normal 
large self, but was trying to look bigger. An overweight black man 
sat in a chair with his hands folded over his belly and breathing 
hard. A couple of men, possibly brothers, were moving their hands 
nervously. They were both thin, but muscular. Two other men 
struck him as average guys. They sat there looking around wide-
eyed at being there. 

A small elderly black man entered the room and looked around. 
Spotting Jerry, he asked, "Wass da cracker doin' heah?"

All eyes turned to Jerry even though it was Mr. Atkins who 
answered, "I toll 'em ta come."

The elderly man sat down in a chair and glared at Jerry with 
distrust. The silence returned to the room. Jerry glanced over at 
Mr. Atkins and saw that the old man was studying him. He 
wondered if the old man was trying to judge his reaction to being 
called a cracker. Jerry didn't smile or frown, but kept his face 
neutral deciding that it wasn't worth making an issue of the 
attitudes of two old men. 

When everyone started shifting, uncomfortable by the tension in 
the room, Mr. Atkins hit the floor with his cane. Without preamble, 
he said, "Day's puttin' a drug house on da corna."

It took a minute for Jerry to figure out that the old man had said 
that someone was setting up a crack house on the corner of the 
block. The idea that they would have a crack house on his street 
angered him. The others expressed their displeasure, but Jerry 
remained silent trying to figure out where he fit into this whole 
discussion. Mr. Atkins asked, "Cracka', wha' ya tink ya shud do?"

Again, it took Jerry some time to understand that he was being 
asked for his ideas on how to react to the situation. Jerry answered, 
"I'll do what everyone here thinks is right."

The other old man cackled and exclaimed, "A cracka takin' ordas 
from a nigger! Tha's rich."

Mr. Atkins asked, "Wha' ya tink a takin' ordas from niggers?"

Jerry knew the two old men were baiting him. He looked at each 
man in the room directly in the eyes as though assessing each. 
Sitting forward, he answered, "I don't see any niggers here. I see 
neighbors and I think neighbors should work together."

Henry sat back and laughed in relief at the answer. His laughter 
was joined by that of others and the tension in the room 
evaporated. Mr. Atkins said, "It's got ta go."

The other men in the room voiced their agreement with that 
sentiment. The real question was how to go about it. The fat guy 
said, "Can't call the man on them."

Jerry frowned trying to figure out what that meant. It was clarified 
when one of the two average looking guys said, "That's right. Can't 
call the cops on a brother."

The guy next to him said, "We tell them to leave."

"What if they don't leave?" asked Martin worried about what was 
being suggested. 

The old man said, "We sho 'em thas we's serious."

Jerry didn't like the direction the discussion was headed. He 
wondered how they would show who ever owned the crack house 
that they were serious. It would be so much better if they would 
call the cops and let them handle it. Showing anger for the first 
time, Mr. Atkins said, "We beats the sheet outta em."

Henry, already knowing the answer, asked, "And if that don't 
work?"

Mr. Atkins answered, "I kill them."

Jerry sat back shocked at the old man's answer. It was the first 
sentence that the old man had spoken that he understood without 
effort. Martin's eyes were huge like saucers. He was unable to 
accept that they were discussing killing someone. All of the other 
men looked at each other and nodded their agreement. Jerry 
frowned and asked, "Why are you the one that will kill him?"

"I'm old," replied Mr. Atkins.

The fat man explained, "He won't be the one that pulls the trigger, 
but he's the one that will take the blame. He believes that he won't 
live long enough to have to go to prison."

Jerry looked around the room wondering which of the men would 
be the one that pulled the trigger. He knew that no one in that room 
would ever tell him. Mr. Atkins asked, "Who's gonna go wit me to 
talk at em?"

Deciding that if big enough men were there, that they could avoid 
escalating it to the next level Jerry raised his hand. Henry nodded, 
happy that Jerry hadn't balked, and raised his hand. The fat man 
raised his hand. Martin looked around and raised his hand. Mr. 
Atkins said, "Not ya, boy. You'se gonna watch an learn."

"Yes, sir," replied Martin wondering what he was supposed to 
learn.

"Day's be dere ta-mar-ra," said Mr. Atkins looking around the 
room, "be heah when day come."

Returning home, Jerry opened the door and found Bill watching 
television. He frowned and said, "Why don't you go over and talk 
to Abe for a bit?"

Bill looked at the faces of the three men and decided that it would 
be best if he didn't argue. Nodding his head, he said, "Okay."

Martin and Henry sat down on the floor of the room and looked 
over at Jerry. The big man looked around and then asked, "What in 
the fuck is this all about?"

"Closing down a crack house," replied Henry.

"I'm not talking about closing down a fucking crack house, I'm 
talking about the fact that we're talking about killing someone!" 
replied Jerry in an angry voice. He had a good job and this was not 
something in which he wanted to be involved. The same held true 
for Martin and he didn't want the young man involved. 

Henry looked over at Martin for a minute and said, "Martin, I'm 
spending the night at your house. You are going to be by my side 
all night and all day until this goes down."

"Why?"

"So you don't tell anyone what I'm about to say," replied Henry.

Jerry listened and realized that there was more going on here than 
met the eye. He looked over at Martin who said, "I'm supposed to 
watch and learn. That's what Mr. Atkins said."

"Exactly. For now, I want you to listen," replied Henry. After a 
nod from Martin, he continued, "About now the guys who are 
opening the crack house have found out about what was discussed 
in the meeting. Tomorrow when we talk with them, it is up to us to 
make sure that they believe we are serious."

Jerry smiled and said, "I get it. When they know we are serious, 
then they'll believe that we'll kill them."

"Right. If they don't leave after our little chat, we're going to have 
to beat the shit out of them to convince them that we are serious. 
They'll leave before the situation reaches the point where it is 
necessary to kill someone." Henry looked over at Jerry to see how 
he was taking the news. 

Jerry understood that, but there was still the chance that the guys 
wouldn't leave. Escalating it to the level of killing was a major step 
and one that it was highly unlikely the bad guys would believe they 
would be willing to take. "So what if they don't leave?"

"I'm pretty sure that they'll leave. A decade ago a dealer that didn't 
leave got killed. Everyone in the area knows that, with the 
exception of some of the younger kids around here and you."

Jerry knew that didn't answer the question and asked, "Suppose 
they are really stupid and stay?"

Henry looked up and said, "Then I guess Mr. Atkins will do 
something."

Jerry shook his head and replied, "That's what I'm afraid of."

Martin, Jerry, and Henry sat on the porch watching the activity in 
the neighborhood. The fat man from the meeting the previous night 
meandered up the street, pausing on occasion to check out some 
sight that appeared interesting to him. Reaching Jerry's place, he 
stopped to check out the truck and nodded his head as he examined 
it. His curiosity satisfied, the man waddled over to the porch and 
sat down beside Martin. The porch complained at the additional 
weight. 

Jerry looked over at the man, thinking that it would be totally 
beyond belief if the man's name was Albert. Since introductions 
hadn't been made the previous night, Jerry said, "I'm Jerry Smith."

The fat man looked over at him and replied, "I know."

Henry laughed and said, "That's Otis."

"Nice to meet you, Otis." Jerry wondered what the story behind the 
fat man was. It was obvious that he commanded considerable 
respect among the men in the neighborhood. 

Otis shifted and asked, "Would you be helping us if your son 
wasn't living here?"

"Of course," replied Jerry thinking about Abe. Some of the other 
kids in the neighborhood were good kids as well, despite the fact 
that they viewed themselves as losers. He pointed to the house next 
door and said, "There are other kids that would be affected."

Otis shook his head as if he couldn't believe the answer. He looked 
over at Henry and saw that the black man was nodding his head 
supporting what his friend had said. Otis replied, "Sure is strange 
for a white man to care so much about a bunch of black kids."

Jerry shrugged and turned to watch the activity across the street. 
Martin felt like he should defend Jerry, but a glance from Henry 
prevented him. Jerry considered what they were about to do and 
didn't like it one bit. The police were there to handle situations like 
this and what they were going to do was pretty close to illegal. 
Asking them to move was one thing, beating them was another, 
and killing them was another yet again. The first he could do, but 
the others were beyond him. This was vigilante justice.

When a Lexis pulled up at the house on the corner, Jerry frowned 
as he realized that his landlord was probably the person behind the 
drugs in the neighborhood. His hands formed into fists, knuckles 
cracking in the process, as the rage threatened to rise within him. 
He muttered, "I'm gonna use his head for a soccer ball."

Grinning at Jerry's reaction, Otis said, "Don't be angry. Angry 
won't do. You gotta be mean to do this."

Henry growled when he saw Joe and Kenny walking down the 
street towards the house on the corner. Kenny was the kid that had 
broken into the house in an attempt to steal Jerry's tools. Martin 
had grown up with both of those kids and the thought that he was 
involved in this made him sick to his stomach. Jerry didn't know 
that much about Joe other than the fact that he was around when 
Kenny had been shot. Jerry realized he should have suspected that 
those two kids were a part of setting up the crack house.

Henry said, "That fucking Kenny. You'd think he'd learned his 
lesson when he got shot by that dealer."

Mr. Atkins stood up from his porch across the street and started 
walking down the block towards the corner house. His progress 
was slow and he had to walk around the potholes rather than step 
in them or over them. The three big men stood up to join Mr. 
Atkins. Jerry paused and then handed his cell phone to Martin 
saying, "Just in case."

Martin looked at the cell phone and swallowed heavily. This was 
just too real for him to handle. He watched as the three big men 
made their way across the street. A chill went down his spine as he 
thought about trying to face them down in a major confrontation. 
Those three guys working together could probably throw a small 
car ten feet. 

The men caught up with Mr. Atkins and made their way to the 
front of the house. Kenny and Joe came out to the porch. Kenny 
asked, "What cha' want?"

Mr. Atkins, looking over the kid with disgust evident on his face, 
answered, "Don't wan' no drug house heah."

