She stole my daughter’s birthday present! Stop that girl right now!
Big Ray listened in silence as Miller recounted Barksdale’s terrified confession. The pool hall was quieter than usual, the clack of balls almost a muffled echo. He sat in his booth, eyes on the street outside, watching the evening shadows lengthen.
“So,” Big Ray said, finally breaking the silence, his voice a low growl. “Brenda Dupree brings this slick notary a forged deed. Tells him it’s to cover an ‘old street debt,’ implying my backing. And Barksdale, in his infinite wisdom, uses my name to intimidate folks and push through a fraudulent property transfer.”
Miller nodded once. “That’s what Barksdale claimed, boss. He said she played on his fear of you, too. Implying you’d be pleased with him ‘cleaning up’ an old debt.”
Big Ray let out a slow, deliberate breath. His face was a mask of cold fury. This wasn’t just about money. It was about respect, about the integrity of his operation. Barksdale’s forgeries, Brenda’s manipulation—it had drawn unwanted attention, blurred lines, and potentially damaged his carefully cultivated reputation.
“Drawing county law enforcement into my business, using my name for personal fraud, dragging a good family’s name through the mud,” Big Ray enumerated, each point a stone dropped into a deep well. “This is not how we operate. This is not what I allow.”
“He’s a liability, boss,” Miller stated simply. “And so is Brenda.”
“Indeed,” Big Ray agreed. He didn’t want police involvement. That would bring scrutiny to The Cue Stick, to his other operations. No, this had to be handled cleanly, quietly, within the boundaries of street law.
“Miller,” he instructed, turning his piercing gaze to his enforcer. “Go to Brenda Dupree. Don’t touch her. Don’t threaten her directly. Just make sure she understands the gravity of the situation. Explain, politely, that she has until Sunday morning.”
He leaned forward, his elbows on the table. “By Sunday, before church lets out, she needs to clear the record. All of it. The property papers, the custody suit, the whole fraudulent mess. Every document Barksdale stamped for her. It all needs to be undone.”
“And if she doesn’t comply?” Miller asked, though he likely already knew the answer.
Big Ray’s eyes hardened. “Then tell her my crew will handle her personal assets directly. Quietly. And she will never set foot in Pine Creek again.”
He stood up, signaling the conversation was over. “She used my name to protect herself, and she tried to hurt Marcus in the process. Now she pays the price. And Marcus gets his home back.”
The ultimatum was set. Big Ray wasn’t just solving a problem for Marcus; he was reasserting his authority, punishing those who had dared to exploit his name and his street code. Brenda, unknowingly, had signed her own quiet sentence. She had two days to make things right, or face a reckoning far more terrifying than any court could deliver.
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