Little Gangster (Pt. 6)

This particular "gangster" was not really "little." And, he was not really a gangster per se; He just benefitted from some of the gang-related, illicit activity he was involved in. He was an ally and he played the part. But this particular young man should have known better. He was a married man with 3 children. He was 28 years of age. He was a cement finisher. He did a good job and work was steady. He was ambitious. That is not so bad. He was trustworthy. That is a good trait. He was muscular because he lifted weights in his garage. He had sizable biceps and forearms which accentuated his tattoos. His nickname was "Clover." We all have our weaknesses and shortcomings. Clover's weakness was that he had a great deal of pride. He was very concerned about his image. Because of the neighborhood where he grew up; he knew drug dealers. They trusted him. Every now and then he was asked to deliver drugs and collect money. He was offered reasonable portions of some of the drug money. He took it. He enjoyed having the extra cash, and it seemed so easy to get. He never got arrested. One time he was asked to make a delivery of heroin. He was to receive $10,000 in cash. He was told to keep $4,000 for himself and to deliver the remaining $6,ooo to a certain address. He went to deliver the cash, but nobody was there. He took all of the cash home. Weeks passed and he heard from nobody regarding the undelivered cash. One day he received a phone call from someone who wanted the $6,ooo. It was not the same person who was originally supposed to collect it. Clover told him he would not give it to him; and not stated in a courteous manner. Several weeks passed and one Saturday night, Clover took his family to an expensive Mexican resaurant in West Los Angeles. Two men approached him and his family and demanded the $6,000. Clover made a serious mistake. He cussed the men out. No humility. No discussion. No reasoning. No promise of a future payment. No. Just pride, image and a false belief that rude words would end the problem. One of the men pulled out a 38 Special revolver and shot 4 bullets into Clover's chest. Clover's wife and 3 sons (ages 9,7 and 5) screamed as they watched Clover bleed to death in the parking lot. It was a tragic scene. It was extremely sad. It did not have to happen.