Three days later, the meeting with the Kings was set and the plan was to meet at the Spotted Frog, an English style pub known to the local riff raff as neutral territory.
As I’d promised Indigo, I had not killed or maimed Caleb... much. He was a wealth of information, however, and that meant, we were heading into this meeting with the balance of power on our side. Drea had been selling ‘forgotten’ children to what she thought were loving couples, in order to make a little money. Caleb was the broker, and he’d take the pretty ones and sell them to the Kings. The reason Caleb was even at the club was the Kings had threatened death if he didn’t get inside and find their product. What Caleb didn’t realize, was the Kings were gonna kill him anyway, and I was perfectly happy with that.
Sundance, Wrath and I arrived ten minutes early to find Baby Doll and his crew already seated at a table in the back. As we approached, we were stopped by two large, well dressed men. Clearly Baby Doll’s security.
“I gotta pat you down,” one of them said.
“I don’t think so, Hoss. We know the rules. No one here is packing,” Sundance said.
“Sure, I’ll just take your word for it,” the guard said sarcastically, before stepping forward.
“I’d advise you not lay your favorite hand on me. ’Cause you’re gonna lose it the second it touches me,” he replied.
“It’s okay, boys,” Baby Doll called out in a syrupy tone. “The Howlers are my friends. At least, I thought they were, until recently.”
“We’re here to clear the air, that’s all,” Sundance said.
“I assume we all respect Earl and his place enough to come unarmed,” Baby Doll said.
Sundance nodded and we took our seats across from the Kings.
The Spotted Frog was originally owned by a well-respected fence named Earl Jacoby. A British ex-pat who could move stolen goods like no one else in the area. The pub started out purely as a way for Earl to launder the money from his highly lucrative fencing operation, but soon became his full-time passion and pride and joy. Eventually, Earl went completely legit, but the Spotted Frog remained as neutral territory for Rocky Mountain hoodlums and thieves like us.
“I trust your kids are good. How’s Orion?” Baby Doll asked, as if we were visiting over tea.
“A fuckin’ pain in my ass most of the time, but at least he isn’t in jail, and no one’s calling me Grandpa, so I can’t complain.” Sundance played along with the pleasantries.
Baby Doll sat in the middle of two men. To his right was a man I recognized from the night we rescued the girls. He was wearing sunglasses to hide the shiner I’d given him and puffing incessantly on a vape pen. On Baby Doll’s left sat a younger man, who sat silently, doing his best to look tough.
Despite his appearance and demeanor as a jovial, rotund, ball of joy, Francis “Baby Doll” Mason was a ruthless gang leader who was responsible for numerous kidnappings and murders. But despite his body count, at his core, Francis “Baby Doll” Mason was on opportunist. A bottom feeder. He was smarter than just about everyone he came up around, and possessed an uncanny ability to read people, so was able to survive and eventually thrive on the streets.
Like most criminals, his real education began when he was first enrolled in the Colorado State Penitentiary. That’s when he started the 719 Kings and when he first met Dagger, his cellmate. If Baby Doll was the brains of the operation, Dagger was the muscle. Plain and simple. Baby Doll didn’t give a shit about old school beefs or political race wars within the prison, and he kept his nose out of the other gangs’ businesses. Baby Doll built his empire on missed opportunities left by the other gangs who were usually too busy trying to kill each other rather than make money while on the inside. His initial crew was made of rejects and castaways but grew quickly in numbers while managing to fly completely under the radar of the prison staff. Once released, he took his education to the streets and the 719 Kings truly took root.
“I’m so glad to hear your family is well, Sunny. Now, would you be so kind as to tell me which one of these two gentlemen killed Dagger?” Baby Doll asked, all pleasantries removed from his tone.
“Now, look, Baby. Your guys took out one of ours first,” Sundance said.
“And we’ll surely deal with that here tonight,” Baby Doll said, barely restraining his seething anger. “But first, I’ll ask again. Which one of these two killed Dagger?”
“I did,” Wrath said. “I shot him right in the fuckin’ head. You know what else? You don’t scare me.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Sundance ordered before turning back to Baby Doll. “I’m sorry. Wrath doesn’t always think before he acts, and I haven’t done a good enough job explaining our history.”
“It’s only because of our history that we’re here tonight,” Baby Doll said.
“And I appreciate that,” Sundance said. “It’s my hope that we can shake hands and walk away even.”
“I’m sorry, what was that? Even?” Baby Doll bristled. “Your men execute my best friend, steal my property, and kidnap two of my members and you think we’reeven?”
“Like I said, your men drew first blood,” Sundance said. “Wrath shot Dagger in self-defense.”
“Wrath assassinated Dagger after breaking into one of my houses to steal my property. Your man was killed during the same robbery. And you have my merchandise. I am the offended one here. How to you propose to make me whole?”
“Here’s how I see it,” Sundance said. “Wrath taking out Dagger cancels your guy killing Scrappy. As for the girls, they never belonged to you, so you can just chalk that up as a business loss for this quarter. As for kidnapping any of your crew, I have no idea what you’re talking about, we let the other guys at the house go.”
“Yeah, and we never even found the guy who killed Scrappy,” Wrath said.
“He’s right here,” Baby Doll said. Motioning to the young man next to him. “He’s the one who stuck your little piggy. Earned his stripes for it, too. This is Dagger’s nephew Lil’ Frisco.”
