A Black Man's Pain III

By Teresa Browning

Deaths relentless pursuit seems to have no boundaries as Ervin is forced to gaze into its eyes yet again. He finally realizes that for some, walking a full-season into maturity, wisdom, and love comes with a heavy price. That price, having to choose between you and the ones you love most; are you ready for the gripping undercurrents to be revealed? From the final battle, Ervin learns what it means to be a true worrier; he shall have his victory, but at what cost?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Teresa Browning
• Release date: Sep 29, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393458081

Book preview

Chapter 1

The phone began to ring in Col. Wilkins’ office. He picked up and answered with, Yes.

Sir, there’s activity with Mr. Wyatt; you need to see this, said Lt. Davis.

On my way!

Col. Wilkins stopped what he was doing and rushed down the hall to the private surveillance room he had set up to monitor all activity at my house. What he and his team were witnessing was a huge shock as they watched Crystal removing a small bottle from her purse and placing it under the blanket covering me. She carefully shook it and quickly snatched her hands back as though she was scared of what was in the bottle, and then walked out of the room.

Lt. Davis said, She made a call to someone just before entering the room and said something about It will all be over in a few minutes, and that she would meet whomever she was talking to at the agreed location.

Activate Alpha team. I want to know her every move, said Col. Wilkins.

Lt. Davis radioed Alpha team as Col. Wilkins continued viewing the monitors. It looked as though I was still unconscious from the crash two days before and was unaware of what was happening to me.

A thought flashed through Col. Wilkins mind and he immediately picked up the phone and dialed.

Sgt. Anderson! said the voice on the other end.

Col. Wilkins said in a commanding voice, Get Delta team ready to move now! Make sure they have a medical pack and full antidote kit for spiders, wasps, and ants. Their target destination is the Wyatt home.

Yes sir!

Col. Wilkins returned his attention to the monitors and saw me beginning to wake up. I grabbed at my left thigh and yelled out in pain. Whatever it was that Crystal put under that blanket had begun attacking me and depending on what it was there would be no room for error; timing was critical and Col. Wilkins somehow knew it.  

The only person that came in the room was Crystal. It appeared as though we were the only ones there, the house was quiet.

I said, Hey babe, where are the children? Oww! What is that sticking me? as I grabbed the sheet to crush whatever it was.

Command this is Delta 1, over.

Col. Wilkins grabbed his radio, Delta 1 this is Command, what’s your ETA, over?

ETA in 10 Mike’s, over.

Situation critical, code black and silent; inform when in place and wait for my signal, Command out.

Roger that Command, Delta 1 out.

As Col. Wilkins refocused on the monitor he heard Crystal saying, I’ve waited years for this very moment to come, and now it’s finally here. Since you only have a few moments left I’ll tell you my little secret. It was me Ervin, I was the one behind it all. I swore I would get my revenge on you and my vow is now complete.

I said, What do you mean; I’ve had nothing but love for you my whole life. I’ve done you no harm.

Crystal replied, Hahaha, that’s where you’re wrong. My dad almost beat me to death because of you, and because of that beating I lost my baby. Yeah, our little 30-second afternoon delight resulted in me getting pregnant with your child. Imagine my surprise when I found out. I was scared shitless and you were nowhere around to help take the pain away. You forgot all about me and left me alone to deal with everything. I wanted to tell you but my dad said if I ever spoke to you again he would finish the job this time. I watched you go from girl to girl just like your brother, no concern about who you stuck that little dick into. All those years I watched and waited. Piecing the perfect plan together to get you back for the pain you caused me. Well, now it’s my turn to fuck you like you fucked me; you ruined my life and now I take yours.

I said, I don’t believe you. We shared too much love together for you to do this to me. My children, our children; how could you do this to them, to me?

It was easy getting the cops and Sgt. Maj. Scott involved because you were the center of both their focuses. All I had to do was provide information and they would take care of the rest. Had your friend Col. Wilkins not been around to interfere, things would’ve gone faster with Sgt. Major. Then again had he not been around, you wouldn’t have found out about your real wealth and I would be out of all that dough. Thanks to your friend, anyone that knew of my involvement is now dead. I couldn’t be more pleased with how this turned out. No need to fret over spilled milk, your time is over. Goodbye Ervin, enjoy the ride to hell, it’s been a real pleasure doin’ you.

Command this is Delta 1, ready and standing by, over.

I shouted, You won’t get away with this!

Looking back Crystal said, I already have. Don’t take it personal, just finishing the business, then she turned and walked out closing the door behind her.

Descending the stairs she made another call and said, He’s going to sleep now, I’m on my way. Without taking another look, Crystal was out the door and gone.

Col. Wilkins waited until Crystal turned the corner off the street then shouted into his radio, Delta 1, move in now!

Out of nowhere men came from every direction and entered the house. Part of the team rushed up the stairs to find me barely conscious in bed while the others secured the area. It was obvious that I was highly allergic to whatever had stung me and there was no time to waste with treating me.

They stripped the covers from me and checked my vital signs. I was barely breathing and my heart rate was low. It seemed as if my throat was closing from the reaction to the poison so they pulled out a tracheal tube and inserted it down my throat to restore normal breathing. At the same time, they administered an Atropine injection to help counter the effects of the poison. Once that was done, they carefully looked to see if there were any visible signs of bite marks or traces of a poisonous insect in the area.

Ervin......Ervin, wake up son, it’s me.

The voice was familiar but I couldn’t quite make out who was calling my name, and for some strange reason, I couldn’t open my eyes to see who it was either.

I see you still like to pretend you’re sleeping so I have to tickle you awake. Errrrrvin....it’s time to get up. Come on now.

I struggled to open my eyes to see who was talking and when I did it was the greatest surprise ever. With a big smile, I said in an excited voice, Granddad, what are you doin here?

Well, it’s good to see you too Ervin.

Oh granddad I’m so glad you’re here, I’ve missed you so much.

Grandpa laughed and said, I’ve missed you too Ervin. Looks like you’ve had a challenging time since we last talked.

Challenging! That’s a huge understatement. More like a Devil’s curse if you ask me. These women out here are crazy!

Grandpa laughed heartily and said, You can’t rush a good relationship son. That seems to be the biggest thing going these days. You young people want things so fast and don’t even realize what you’re doing to yourself or the world. Your grandmother and I took our time and got to know each other first. Enough time to become true friends. We didn’t go from what I call the Meet and Greet then straight into marriage. And by the way, marriage ain’t those crazy church ceremonies with metal rings and vows. True marriage takes place the very moment when the man accepts the woman’s offering of her sacred ring and he enters into her holy sanctuary. The two become one in spiritual matrimony. Believe it or not, it wasn’t until we were best friends that we made the decision to take the big step into marriage. That decision took time, almost 7 years to be exact and no intimacy; or sex as you young folks call it.

Seven years, are you kidding me! Who has time to wait that long? I think I would die if I had to wait more than six months.

At that moment I was suddenly brought back to conscious reality from the pain in my leg to find myself barely hanging on. I reached for my leg and whatever was stuck in my mouth.

Col. Wilkins arrived at that time to find me in critical condition as one of the men grabbed my hand to keep me from pulling out the tracheal tube. I was told it was allowing me to breathe.

Col. Wilkins said, Everything is fine Ervin, we’re getting you out of here. Then he instructed the team to switch bodies the moment the ambulance arrived. Thinking I must have heard the wrong thing due to the drugs they may have given me, I didn’t try to understand the statement. I was still alive.

After seeing the surveillance footage, Col. Wilkins realized there was still some unfinished business to take care of and decided it was no longer safe for me to be seen. He had me reported as dead on arrival from a toxic insect bite and arranged to have a body brought in by ambulance to cover my vanishing act.

One of the other men noticed me holding my left thigh and moved my hand to find a wound with what looked like a stinger still present.

Sir, I think I’ve found the injection point and it looks like it may have come from something in the bee or ant family, said Sgt. Morgan.

Ok, get him stabilized, we’re taking him out through the escape tunnel. Make sure it’s sealed when you go, said Col. Wilkins.

Suspecting there was more going on than he was being told at the time, Col. Wilkins had Sgt. Taylor tap into the house security circuits during the fiasco with Sgt. Major Scott to make sure his hunch was correct or not. They were monitoring all along and had just enough time to save me from a horrible ending.

I could hear sirens blaring in the distance as the ambulance drew closer. The men pulled out a black jumpsuit and quickly dressed me in preparation for my extraction. These guys were good. They had me suited up and down the ladder into my dad’s secret room before the ambulance arrived. They seemed to know this house better than I did because they knew exactly where to go. Even of things I wasn’t aware existed yet.

Sgt. Morgan flipped the switch to the secret panel, opened the doors and went to the far wall. He rotated what looked like a 9mm hanging on the rack and another door opened to a hidden tunnel system. It led to another house a few blocks away that dad had maintained just for these purposes. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. My dad has been gone for almost three years and I’m still learning unbelievable things about him.

The men put me in this supercharged cart and we went zooming off through the tunnel.

The medics finally arrived and parked the ambulance as close to the front door as possible to keep anyone from noticing what they were taking into the house. These men were well trained and apparently knew this process well as they all moved like seasoned professionals.

Shortly after the ambulance arrived, Willow, in a half daydream about one of her classmates, was turning down the street and the warm smile quickly turned to a concerned look on her face once she noticed the ambulance in the driveway. She couldn’t imagine why it was there. Then suddenly, thoughts of the twins flashed through her mind. Willows' heart began to beat faster as she got out of the car and rushed into the house.  

Dad, what’s the ambulance here for? shouted Willow. No one answered and the house was very quiet.

Before she could get to the stairs two men appeared from the office and stopped her from going any further. Willow jumped at the sight of the men being there and asked, What are you doing here and where’s my dad?

Sgt. Wallace replied, He’s upstairs with Col. Wilkins ma’am.  We’ve been instructed not to let anyone go up yet.

I want to see my dad, can you get him please? Dad, it’s me. Are the twins ok? Willow shouted up the stairs."

Sgt. Wallace said, They’ll be down shortly ma’am. If you would wait over there I’ll have the Colonel come speak with you.

Willow grabbed her phone to call Michael. The phone rang once then Michael picked up, Hey sis, what’s up?

Michael, I’m at dad’s and there’s an ambulance here. Something’s wrong, can you get over here please?

I’m right up the street. I’ll be there in a minute! Michael hung up and pressed on the gas. He didn’t know what to think or what could possibly be wrong with me.

Hearing Willow’s voice, Col. Wilkins instructed the men to wrap things up. As he came down the stairs, Willow hung up the phone and asked, Hey Col. Wilkins what’s goin’ on? Is my dad alright?

Before he could answer, his radio went off, Command, this is Alpha Team, over.

Col. Wilkins grabbed his radio and answered, Alpha Team, this is Command, go ahead.

We have arrived at the rendezvous point. There are several others here who appear to be the cops from the city, over.

Maintain watch and report the primary’s movement until further notice. Command out.

Col. Wilkins what’s going on? said Willow.

The medics put the replacement corpse in the body bag and proceeded down the stairs with the stretcher right after Willow asked her question. As they reached the bottom step Michael burst through the front door as Willow let out a horrified scream at the sight of the black bag the medics were carrying down the stairs on the stretcher.

Daddy, nooooooooo! Willow cried with a look of disbelief on her face.

Michael froze in place just inside the front door as he watched the medics approaching. He said with a shaky voice and pointed finger, That’s not my dad, right? Where’s my dad?

Michael went to the stretcher and tried to open the body bag but was grabbed by Sgt. Wallace and held back.

Please tell me that’s not my dad! said Michael.

Col. Wilkins walked over to Michael and said, He’s gone son. We did all we could do but the poison had gone too far.

Poison! What do you mean poison? He was killed! said Michael in a shocked voice.

No, it was an insect sting. A very dangerous and toxic sting. We’ll have to run some tests to know what it was exactly. Whatever it is, your dad must have been highly allergic to it. I’m sorry son. We can’t let you see his body right now.

Willow walked over and put her arms around Michael. As tears streamed down both their faces, Michael asked in a hopeless voice, What are we gonna do now?

Col. Wilkins motioned for the medics to leave then turned to Michael and Willow saying, It may not seem like it now but things will be just fine for you. Your dad left clear instructions with me, which I will go over with you when the family has had time to recover. For now, I think it’s best that you try to inform everyone else of the news. I need to go with the medics and give my report to the police as to what happened here. These men will stay here with you until we wrap things up.

Michael had no words, he was numb. Realizing he was going into shock, Willow gently walked Michael over to the couch and sat down with him.

I tried calling Angel and Crystal but neither of them answered the phone. Do you think I should try again? asked Willow in a soft, distraught voice.

Michael turned his head slowly and said, Let me try this time. He picked up the house phone and dialed Crystal’s number. Her phone rang but there was no answer. He dialed the number again, still no answer. As Michael began to hang up Crystal answered the phone as though she knew of nothing going on.

Hey baby, what’s up? as she held up a finger to her mouth to quiet those with her.

In a sorrowful voice, Michael said, Crystal this is Michael, where are you? You need to come home now; something’s happened to dad.

Why, I just left there a little over an hour ago. What do you need that your dad can’t help you with?

Crystal listen, I don’t know how to tell you this but...

Michael, just tell me what’s goin’ on, I’m in a meeting and you’re scaring me.

Dad’s gone.

Gone where Michael? You’re not making sense.

Dad is dead Crystal. The phone went silent for a few moments.

Michael, that’s not funny and I don’t have time to play right now. Is he there with you? Put him on the phone please?

Crystal, I’m not playing. Dad is dead! You need to come home now.

I don’t believe you Michael. Ervin was fine when I left. Who put you up to this?

Willow took the phone from Michael and said, Crystal, dad was poisoned, he’s dead. The medics took him out just a little while ago. We need you to come home.

Michael heard Crystal’s screams through the receiver then the phone went dead. He just stood there shaking; the empty feeling wouldn’t leave his body or his mind. How could this be happening when everything had been going so well for them?

After Crystal finished her dramatic performance and hung up she turned to the men with a broad smile on her face and said, It appears our work is done gentlemen. That was the kids calling to confirm that the bastard’s dead.

Crystal reached into her bag, pulled out a large envelope and handed it to one of the men. She said, That’s the final payment in full. As a safety measure, have some of your guys cover the reporting of the death. We don’t need anyone looking too hard. It was nice doing business with you Lt. Crandell.

The pleasure was all ours. Let’s go boys.

As she walked away, Crystal called Andre to inform him of the good news and made plans to meet up later after she dealt with the children at home. She knew she had to put on the performance of a lifetime if this was going to work according to their plan.

At that moment, Col. Wilkins was leaving the house when his radio went off. Command, this is Delta 1, over.

Delta 1 this is Command, go ahead, over.

Package is stable and in route to base, over.

Good work Delta 1, staff on standby to receive at Titan Hall. Ghost protocol; Command out.

Roger that Command, Delta 1 out.

Chapter 2

It was 12:37 pm when Col. Wilkins arrived at Tri-Mergency Memorial Hospital to meet with the coroner. He reached into his inside jacket pocket, pulled out a shiny metal card and swiped the keypad; entering the building through a private entrance to keep from being seen by the general public.

Making his way down to the lower level and into the morgue he met up with Dr. Joseph Morrow.

Hey Joe, what have you found out about who our deadly culprit might be? said Col. Wilkins.

Well Frank, since I have who was delivered to me, your man is very lucky to be alive. What stung him was a highly venomous ant called a Maricopa; the most dangerous species of the Red Harvester ant group.

Very clever, mumbled Col. Wilkins.

Is there anything else you need me to do for you Colonel?

There is Joe; I need this to be reported as I explained earlier, dead on arrival: cause of death, venomous ant bite. The victim’s name is Ervin Wyatt. No one is to view the body! This one goes high up Joe, it must remain classified.

If you had to personally come to see me Frank, I know it must be serious. Don’t worry, it will be exactly as you’ve instructed.

Thanks Joe, I’ll inform my staff on the identity of the insect we’re dealing with and get back to you after things have been resolved. If you need me for anything, I’m available.

You bet Frank, take care.

Just as silent and swift as he came in, Col. Wilkins was gone. Thoughts of the numerous challenges I had faced these past few years began flashing as he made his way back to base. Storm, I hope you know what you’re doing with this one, he said to himself.

Somewhere out there, Col. Wilkins knew that Storm wasn’t far away and had been watching the whole time. And he was right, Storm was watching and as bad as he wanted to, he knew it wasn’t the right time to be seen around me. It was still too dangerous. But it wouldn’t be much longer before all would be made known and everyone who played a part in this would be punished for their evil deeds.

Col. Wilkins pulled out his cell and dialed a private number. The phone rang once, Maj. Parks, how can I help you?

Col. Wilkins here, I’ll be arriving shortly. Have everyone ready for debrief in twenty minutes.

Yes sir. The phone went dead.

On her way to the house, thoughts flashed through Crystal’s calculating mind as she carefully went over every sequence of her perfect plan. The next move is to meet with the coroner first before going to deal with the children, she thought out loud. Making the next turn, she headed straight for Memorial to see Dr. Morrow. His autopsy report was the pivotal point that would make all their planning a success.

As she arrived at Memorial, Crystal parked in her usual space then sat for a few minutes to get herself ready for the next performance of the afternoon. Reaching over into the glove box she retrieved an alcohol pad, tore it open then rubbed it on the skin as close to both eyes as she could to make them begin watering. The burning sensation also made the eyes turn red, which helped make it appear that she had been crying.

Now that her makeup was in order, Crystal got out of the car and rushed through the emergency room entrance looking to draw the attention of as many staff as possible. This performance had to be a perfect ten because all the staff knew her professionally as Dr. Wyatt.

Seeing the head nurse in the hallway, Crystal frantically ran up to her and said, Carolyn, where’s my husband? Is he alright?

Dr. Wyatt, your husband was brought in this morning. Come and sit down please, said Nurse Cassey as she motioned for help from other staff at the nurse’s station.

No, I don’t want to sit down; I want to know how my husband is doing. Where is he! exclaimed Crystal.

The nurses looked at each other wondering who would be the one to explain that her husband was dead. Then Nurse Cassey said, Dr. Wyatt, your husband was pronounced dead on arrival and his body is down in the morgue. I’m so sorry to have to give you this news.

Being the great actress that she was, Crystal pretended to get weak and partially faint; falling into the arms of the nurse’s around her. With tears streaming down her face she mumbled my name. They helped Crystal to a chair and waited while she slowly recovered.

One of the nurses brought some water and handed it to Crystal. She said thank you and drank a little then asked in the weakest voice, Is Dr. Morrow still here? I want to see my Ervin, whipping tears from her face.

Nurse Cassey said, Yes he is. I’ll let him know you’re on your way. Do you need one of us to go with you?

Thank you Carolyn, but no, I’ll be fine on my own.

Doing her best not to reveal the huge smile building on the inside, Crystal made her way to the elevator and headed down to the lower level. Part one of the act was a success, now it was time for the close.

Dr. Morrow was standing in the doorway waiting to receive Crystal as she stepped out of the elevator. He said, Dr. Wyatt, I wish it were under better circumstances that we were seeing each other. I’m truly sorry for your loss.

Thank you Dr. Morrow, I wish it were also. Can you tell me what happened please?

Yes, I have my report with me; let’s take a seat over here. They walked over to a sitting area and sat down, then Dr. Morrow opened the folder in his hand and began to explain the situation just as Col. Wilkins had instructed him earlier.

What we found as the cause of death was a highly allergic reaction to a very dangerous insect bite. We know this because we were able to run an analysis on its stinger that was found still in the wound. The culprit was the Pogonomyrmex Maricopa, the deadliest of the Red Harvester Ant species. They are quite common in North America.

Something as tiny as a little ant is all it took to take my husband away from me. He didn’t do anything to deserve this.

It was no one’s fault, just an unfortunate meeting of two beings at the wrong place and time. There’s nothing anyone could’ve done to stop it.

I’d like to see my husband please, would that be ok?

I’m afraid that won’t be possible at this time. The body will have to be cremated due to biohazard. I’m sorry.

Crystal sat in silence for a few moments then said, "If that’s the way it has to be then so be it. Thank you for your time Dr. Morrow, I’ll be back later to get copies of the death certificate and any personal items. I need to get my head together before I see our children right