The Ivory King

Two rookie Vice cops in a patrol car on a late night stakeout killing time.

"Save it for the judge you scumbag! oh you thought the feds wouldn't find out? The hidden account in the Cayman Island, the dead secretary it all adds up and its bloody mess Councilman, its a bloody mess that leads straight to you. You think you can just take from the innocent people in this city with out consequence. Now unlike my partner here I'm capable of compassion but I swear on the oath Councilman if you don't tell me the location of the girl your going to be shark food once my guy big Rick here throw's you off this plane and if you think I'm limited to the law due to the badge I wear, well you thought wrong; dead wrong!"

"Wrong...dead wrong" I repeated louder..."I said your wrong Councilman!" 

-Silence 

"D****t, Nicole that's where you supposed to come in at."

"What?" Nicole asked surprisingly 

"The part where I say your wrong dead wrong councilman right before big Rick hangs him off the plane."

"No I think you skipped some parts Toni" Nicole defends herself "Sonny and Rico didn't catch the Councilman until after the girl was found; it was the ransom money Sonny was looking for not the girl. My part doesn't come in until the plane lands and big Rick unlocks the Councilman’s leg cuffs and escorts him to the back of the patrol car.

"But how?" I asked "That doesn’t make any sense why would they even risk their jobs by ignoring court order and skipping out on getting a warrant only to recover five hundred thousand insured campaign money. What your suggesting is that they pretty much kidnaped the Councilman off the books. I'm telling you it was the girl; the whole scene was about the girl."

"No it wasn't remember big Rick and Rico found the girl in an abandoned house in Coconut Grove guarded by the Haitian pirates days before they could catch up with the Councilman and hung him off the plane." Nicole continued "Plus five hundred thousand dollars was a lot of money in Miami in the mid-80's."

"What Haitian pirates?" I asked aggressively "I think you're talking about a completely different episode."  

"No your the one-off track. I'm talking about the episode were the councilman gets hung off the plane. What episode are you talking about?"

"Look I have that whole season on DVD set, I just saw the episode the other night alright so just save your self the embarrassment of being wrong again and just follow my lead when it comes to classic cop shows. Okay?"

"No not okay Toni. Being a VIP member at blockbuster doesn't make you a expert on classic cop shows. Sonny and Rico initially went after the Councilman because of the missing Champaign cash and the dead secretary. The missing girl held for ransom by the Haitian pirates was just a bonus."

"For peat's sake Nicole there was no Haitian pirates. I know you want to believe that there were Haitian pirates but there wasn't."

"Yes, there was!"

"No.. no there wasn't!"

"Ladies ladies" The vehicle's in-dash scanner radio broke in. "May I remind you that we are on tax payers dime as of two hours ago, the subject should be arriving at his suite any minute now. Keep you eyes open and stay in character....over."

"Copy that Koopa," I said, "Sorry Just trying to educate our friend here...over."             

"Don't apologize to me you should apologize to Nicole. She's right about the Haitian pirates you know...over."

"What?" I responded loudly trying to drown-out Nicole's burst of yelling and clapping in celebration.

"Yeah, the pirates held the girl for ransom over a coke deal went bad" Agent Collins the current head Analyst of Las Vegas Special Operations Division and former Coast Guard intelligence officer nicknamed 'Koopa' continued on the opposite end of the radio. "Big Rick and Rico recovered the girl in the first few minutes of the episode, after that the objective was the campaign money as well as getting a confession on the dead secretary...over."

"Boom! in your face, see there Ms. know it all "Nicole boastingly claimed victory by mimicking a half curtsey in the tightly closed in unmarked two door metallic black Lexus SC 430 passenger seat. "I told you the plane scene wasn't about the girl."   

"Well not so fast Nicole, that's where both you and Toni are wrong." Agent Collins radioed in "The Miami court didn't grant Sonny and Rico a warrant so in the eyes of the court what they did was technically kidnap the Councilman. Of course the Councilman didn't know it at the time but the blue piece of paper Rico promptly presented him was actually Sonny's car title to his new banana yellow Testarossa Ferrari not an arrest warrant. At that point the Councilman surrendered with the hopes to sway Rico and Sonny with some hush money, then they flew away but it wasn't in a private plane it was in a helo...over" 

“What do you mean it wasn't a plane? "Nicole asked suspiciously" I specifically remember the councilman being cuffed and shoved into a small executive plane."

"As a matter of fact, it was a plane because I remember the pilot wearing these ridiculously neon orange shades." I continued "And since when you became a Miami Vice fan Koopa?...over"

"Hey I'm a native so naturally Hawaii five O is always going to my first love but I've always loved Miami Vice, I mean how could you not. Sorry to break your hearts ladies but it was a Bell 222UT, we called it the Air wolf back in my rookie years with the Coast Guard...over”        

"A Bell 222UT?" Nicole played back his foreign terminology out softly two times as if she was cramming for finals exam the next morning. 

"Wait how do you know this to be fact Koopa" I protested "You got some kinda behind the scenes Intel on Miami Vice your not sharing...over"  

"No need for behind the scene Intel, Its just common sense...over"

"Copy that, but I think your wrong on this one," Nicole said" It was defiantly a private Jet in the show...over"

"Okay, ladies since you’re so sure how about we make a little wager...over"

"Awl hell no Koopa you still owe us drinks from the last bet you lost when you swore that Assistant Commissioner Watkins wore medical briefs instead of boxers due to an old golfing accident" I continued "Do you know what I had to go through to get that information."

"Copy that Toni. No, I don't know what you had to go through to get that" Agent Collins responded humorously "Why don't you enlighten us...over"

"Go to hell Koopa"

"What are we betting on" Nicole asked

"Let's hit up the Rhino after this. The looser has to order two rounds of Moscow Mule and pays for winner's lap dance...over"        

"Wilco; I'll skip the lap dance, you just double up on drinks...over"

"I'm telling you Nicole don't do it Koopa is a con man when it comes to alcohol and lap dances."

"Awl C'mon Toni where's your Vegas spirit baby...over"

"My Vegas spirit died along with my dignity when I had to flirt and engage in that close slow dance with Commissioner Watkins at last years reception to prove you wrong about his tightly whites.” 

Both Nicole and Agent Collins laughed.

"Drinks at Rhino's; Okay Koopa your on. After this bust, we go back to HQ and pull up the Miami Vice episode archives." Nicole said with confidence.

"There's no need to wait until objective completion, I’ll prove it to you now.” Collins continued, “Allow me to explicate…”

"Oh boy here it comes" I mumbled to my self. Koopa has away of always using words that don’t necessarily fit into his sentences when he’s about to hustle someone out of something. I first became of witness of this unruly habit of his about a year ago during an field assignment when he told a hotel bellman that it was ‘momentously important’ that he grants him access to the hotel’s security room in order to investigate an alleged   

Taliban weapons supplier. 

“See the FAA won't regulate small private jets” Agent Collins explained “Only military grade helicopters and commercial airlines are permitted to fly in and out of the coast due to illegal trafficking...over"

"Since when?"

"Since Nixon's war on drugs effort in 1971. That was lost of course but it left behind a ripple of difficult and unnecessary flying regulations but it made it a-little more difficult to smuggle to the states until the Cartel’s started recruiting corrupt agents in customs. Look it up its all there...over"

"Well I guess you have a convincing point,” Nicole said

“Of course I do.” 

"Maybe it was a helicopter. You know your one knowledgeable guy Koopa, drinks on me at the Rhino tonight okay."

"Copy that. Thanks, Bailey law enforcement isn't just a career for me you know; there's a lot of passion that comes along with it as well...over"

"You know I wish everyone back at HQ shared that same will and passion for the job, Vegas would be a lot safer then it is now."

"Nicole, I wouldn't give him that much credit," I said, "He's not the angelic intellectual your describing."

"Oh give him a brake Toni, Koopa does a lot of good on the force, he's not always up to mischief, he brings smarts and know how to the squad too."     

"That's right Bailey, Smarts and know how." Agent Collins confesses "Like it took smarts for me to hack into the resort's wireless internet from the van ten minutes ago and look up that exact Miami Vice episode on YouTube...Over"

"You cheated!!" Nicole Said

"Hey hey cheated is such a strong word. I simply ‘improvised’. So how about those drinks" 

"See I tried to tell you. He’s is a conman, a real pro.” I added 

"But no you heard him, Toni, what he was saying sounded official."

"Sounded official to you maybe, all I heard was someone trying to get out of paying for his own drinks tonight as usual."

"So when's this diamond dude supposed to show up in his hotel room?”

"This diamond dude’s name is Horace Déodat Mercier” Collins answered, “ He's nicked named ‘The Ivory King’ back in his homeland Republic of Côte d'Ivoire.”

“What is his he doing here in the states?” I asked, “And what does he have to do with us in Vice?”

“He’s the former muscle man and protégé of Bothwell Hlahla….”

“Wait…who’s Bothwell?” Nicole interrupted 

“Hlahla is a blood diamond dealer turned millionaire from the Marange fields in Zimbabwe. Hlahla and our target Mr. Mercier here parted ways in late 2006 with hopes to expand the illegal rough diamond empire. Profits were looking good until Mercier drifted off script.”

“Be official Koopa” I replied 

“Always. According to Intel Mr. Mercier secretly assembled a small network of diamond mine slaves to over take the entire Marange fields, hijacking a little over a quarter of a million in rough diamonds.” Collins continued, “The recruited diamond mine thief’s were under the impression that the profits would be divided among the group.”

“Let me guess Mercier had them killed instead of splitting the money right?” Nicole asked.  

       

“Worse; instead of dividing the cash as planned, Mercier decided it would be more profitable hijacking diamond mines across Africa then actually abiding regulations from the International Diamond Council and the United Nations. But In order to influence his band of slaves enough to take on the risk of prison time or mutilation by the hands of militia rebels groups..."

"Okay my turn" I interrupted "The b*****d kidnapped the mine slaves wife’s and daughters and held them for ransom right?"

"That is correct."

"Ransom how?" Officer Bailey asked, "Their diamond slaves they can't afford to pay what ever he's charging."

"Well Nicole that's where we come in. From what we've gathered Mercier" Collins paused and rearranged his words carefully...."Well I guess you can say loaned the women and children out to human trafficking networks reaching out all over North America. The diamond slaves turned hijackers wont pay the ransom in cash but in labor and stolen diamonds. They are lead to believe that once Mercier is satisfied with their production and performance, he'll let the women and children go free." 

"And that won't ever happen will it?" I asked

"Not if he's anything like his mentor Bothwell Hlahla. No"

"So what's supposed to happen Koopa" Officer Bailey broke the silence "There just going to rob diamond mines after diamond mine to work off this so-called ransom?"

"No" Agent Collins responded "If there is such a ransom that can be satisfied they won't live long enough to see it. Its a developing country so they do things differently over there. Powerful International mining interest groups like De Beers and global investors mostly from Russia, Brazil and Cuba for instance. They own the mines but the local militia rebels and gorilla groups run it. Let's just say its safer putting on a bright orange bullseye vest and robbing Fort Knox then it would be stealing from the mining rebels."

"Okay, sounds manageable so we kick in the door cuff 'em, hog tie 'em and drag 'em down to HQ" I said "Well hand him over to the boys in Organized Crime investigations ink 'em up get him process then squeeze information out of him on where the women and children are located. Then where off to Rhinos right?

“Affirmative” Koopa responded  

Author's Note

Critique welcomed.