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Pov of German-American Thug
9-July-1921
We traveled in silence in the truck through the streets and I could not take my eyes off the equipment those men were carrying. They wore some kind of dark-colored clothing and metal pieces over their chests, in addition to being incredibly armed with a pile of war weapons that I doubted were even easy to obtain.
Besides, they did not look like anything I had ever seen before.
''Are they trustworthy?'' one of the men traveling with us asked our boss.
''Yes, for now, I suppose. If not, that madman will take care of dealing with the traitors'' said our boss, who remained hugging his rifle while looking at the streets as we moved through Chicago.
''The plan is simple'' said the group leader while my brother and I stayed watching him. ''We know where the lieutenants of the North Side Gang are meeting right now. It seems they are gathering to talk about something. We do not know if it is because of us, but it is a meeting where several of their bosses are present. Ideally, we have to scare them, go in violently and subdue them, take the lieutenants and some of the important members with us while giving the rest a beating. I do not want dead men, so do not go too far with the violence and no shooting. At most, we expect them to have revolvers and nothing else and, because of the hour, they should be asleep or already falling asleep, so there should not be too many problems'' said the man who seemed to be leading the group.
''And what about us?'' I asked, looking at my feet.
''You only watch the side streets and stay hidden. You do not have to see them because we will surely cause quite a commotion among everyone. Besides, we will not be the only ones. Four more trucks should arrive. We will strike hard and take several with us. There should be no police presence and your job will simply be to run out… How much do you have in your pockets?'' asked the one leading the operation.
''Four hundred and fifty dollars'' my brother and I replied almost at the same time.
''Hand over two hundred dollars. If you have too much money in your pockets, it would be suspicious. Even if the money gives credibility to the story that you just received your pay, nobody pays that much for a job as simple as the one you do at the mill'' said the one leading the operation, extending his hand.
We quickly handed him two hundred dollars each, which he put inside a box.
''We will return it to you later if everything goes well. In case the police capture you for any reason, do not say anything. Say you did not see or hear anything. That is all you need to know'' said the group leader.
We simply watched as those men checked their weapons while only the sound of the truck moving forward could be heard.
''We are here…'' the driver said.
''You to that street and you to the other end. Those are the main places where the police could arrive from'' said the leader of the operation.
I jumped down from the truck and hid in the street they had pointed out to me while my brother ran toward where they had indicated.
The street was far too empty to be the base of a criminal gang, until I noticed that, farther inside that dead-end street, there was a group of three men tied up with bags over their heads. They seemed to react when they heard my footsteps and began complaining, since they seemed to have something in their mouths that prevented them from shouting.
Peeking out into the street again, I saw how other trucks arrived and a pile of men in dark clothing began to gather in front of the houses while forming a line between the groups and seemed to aim in all directions as they moved in an almost perfect formation.
It did not take them long to reach the doors of the houses, where two men from the group positioned themselves on both sides of one of them and one of the men turned to give the lock a hard kick, throwing the door open.
The crash was heard throughout the entire street and that was repeated all along the avenue where we were, where multiple blows echoed and the lights soon began turning on.
Shouts were soon heard everywhere and were followed by a lot of broken glass and other things that, in the silence of the night, made it seem as though everything happening nearby could be heard.
My heart was pounding as I watched everything that was happening, trying to see what was going on, but since no gunshots could be heard yet, it seemed that everything was fine.
Until I saw a window break and a man was left almost hanging from it.
Then I saw something grab him and pull him back into the building, only for me to catch sight of someone beginning to smash his face with punches.
Several minutes passed while I watched people begin leaving their houses to see what was happening, at the same time that many leaned out of the windows to discover what was going on, since the commotion inside the buildings only seemed to be increasing.
Until someone came out and fired a revolver into the air, which caused all the witnesses to quickly begin returning to their houses and hiding inside their homes.
It did not take me long to see the group of our bosses begin coming out and throwing men into the trucks. They seemed to be tied up and had bags over their heads, and they threw them inside as if they were simple boxes.
That was being repeated in all the buildings they had entered, until they began loading a pile of objects into the trucks, since it seemed they had fulfilled the objective and were now taking the opportunity to rob the Irish.
I remained watching as there were still some people glancing toward the streets, but soon some of the trucks began to move, quickly leaving the area.
But while some of the work to evacuate everything was still going on, I began to hear the whistles and bells of some police cars that seemed to be coming from my side.
I took a deep breath and tried to do my job. I began going out into the street where I heard the noise of the police and started running down the avenue. It did not take long for me to run into two police patrols loaded to the top with officers, some of whom were even hanging onto the sides of the vehicles.
''HEY, GET OUT OF THE STREET!'' a policeman shouted at me while hanging onto one of the patrol cars.
I stayed in the middle of the street with my hands raised.
''GET OUT OF THE DAMN STREET, YOU IDIOT!'' another policeman shouted.
I slowly brought one hand toward one of my pockets to see if I could make them get out of the vehicle.
''WHAT DO YOU HAVE IN YOUR HAND?!'' a policeman roared.
''SHOW ME YOUR HAND!'' another policeman shouted while drawing his revolver.
''RAISE YOUR HANDS AND PUT THEM BEHIND YOUR HEAD!'' one of the policemen shouted, getting out of the first patrol car and aiming his revolver at me.
I slowly brought my hands toward my head.
''ON YOUR KNEES, NOW!'' a policeman shouted.
I remained standing, trying to gain as much time as possible.
''I SAID ON YOUR KNEES!'' they repeated again.
And slowly I began to kneel.
''TURN AROUND!'' another policeman shouted as he began approaching slowly while aiming his revolver at me.
I did what they ordered, turned around and ended up kneeling with my back to the policemen. Just then I saw one of those men's trucks pass in front of me and soon a second one appeared, also escaping through the streets.
''EMPTY YOUR POCKETS SLOWLY!'' said the policeman, whose footsteps I could already hear very close to me.
''It is just my money'' I said while slowly lowering one hand and letting the dollars I had fall onto the road.
''Funny, you damned scum. Where is your weapon?'' a policeman said while shoving me against the street and handcuffing me.
The policemen began sticking their hands into my pockets, trying to find something, but they found nothing. Then they lifted me up so the other officers could keep searching for the supposed weapon.
''Looks like it was not him, Lieutenant'' one of the policemen said.
''But… ah… damn it. You, damned bastard, because of you those criminals got away from us'' the lieutenant said, striking me with a finger in the chest.
''It was not my intention… I was running away from there'' I said while trying to control my breathing.
''Put him in the patrol car. We will see what he says at the station'' the police lieutenant ordered.
It did not take them long to push me toward the vehicle and put me in the back while the policemen finally headed toward where everything had happened.
When we arrived, the street was completely empty.
Nothing was left anymore, except a couple of men who were trying to find out what had happened.
More policemen soon arrived and began finding out everything that had happened. It did not take them long to begin asking witnesses about what had occurred and, above all, the thugs who had been left behind, who had black eyes, swollen lips and faces inflamed from how much they had been beaten.
They took a lot more detainees with me, since, while searching the place, they realized it was a gang hideout and began dismantling the whole thing.
And so it did not take long for me to be sitting in a room with two policemen looking at me.
''What were you doing there?'' the policeman asked me.
''I was coming back from work'' I said, remembering the story I had to tell.
''Where do you work?'' they asked me again.
''At a mill on the outskirts of the city'' I replied.
''What were you doing at the crime scene?'' the policeman asked.
''I was going home with the money they had given me after the month's work'' I replied.
''Why did you block traffic?'' the second policeman asked me.
''I was running away… there was a madman with a gun in the middle of the fight. I heard the shot and started running. I did not want them to take the money from my work, which I need to buy food'' I said, grimacing.
''So you have nothing to do with it?'' the first policeman asked me.
''No, I was just in the wrong place, nothing more'' I replied.
''Then what happened? What did you see?'' the second policeman asked me.
''I did not see anything, I only heard things breaking'' I replied.
''Let us see, sir… you did not see anything, but you say there was someone with a pistol'' the policeman said.
''I did not see him, I heard him. The moment I heard a gun go off, I ran for my life. I am one of the people who supports my family and, if I die, how the hell are my relatives going to survive with the economy the way it is?'' I replied to the policeman's question.
''Send him to the cells and let the judge handle it. Charge him with disorderly conduct'' the second policeman said and it did not take them long to put me in the holding cell.
There I stayed, surrounded by a pile of Irishmen and other gang members whose faces were so swollen that some of them could barely even breathe. All squeezed together inside the cell, I could only hear the groans and complaints of pain from the rest of the prisoners.
I remained locked up for several hours, but afterward they sent me somewhere else. The others were being taken to a criminal court, while I was sent to the Police Court branch of the Municipal Court of Chicago, so it seemed that the plan had worked.
It did not take long for me to appear handcuffed before the judge, who had just finished reviewing other cases.
''Your Honor, Gunther Weber. He is charged with disorderly conduct'' a court official said.
''Do you have a lawyer?'' the judge asked me while looking at me with a hostile expression.
''Your Honor, if I may… I was hired for this case'' said a man in a suit while adjusting a button on his jacket.
''He has a lawyer'' the judge said while writing.
''Your Honor, a moment to speak with my client?'' the lawyer asked.
''Two minutes'' the judge replied.
''Come'' the lawyer said, pointing at me with his finger before beginning to whisper to me. ''Relax, I will handle everything. Do not say too much.''
''Ready, Your Honor. We ask that this be resolved without a jury and my client pleads not guilty based on the facts of the situation'' the lawyer said while approaching the podium.
''Summary'' the judge said.
''Your Honor, the accused in question was in the vicinity of the crime scene and blocked the street through which the policemen were trying to mobilize. By stopping to arrest him, it is suspected that multiple members of a criminal gang escaped who could have been detained'' a court assistant said.
''This sounds more serious. Why is he only charged with disorderly conduct?'' the judge asked while looking at the prosecutor.
''The accused argued that he was in a state of panic, fleeing from gunshots, and that he froze when the police arrived'' the prosecutor said.
''Counsel'' the judge said, looking at the man.
''Indeed, Your Honor. My client was returning from work at the mill. He had been paid the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars corresponding to his monthly salary, since he had stayed working late to finish an important order. He left work at 3:20 and was in the area at 4:15 when he heard the uproar caused by that act of vandalism. Upon hearing the gunshot, he first thought of saving his life and fled the area… as any normal person would. He tried to escape down the street and, in his state of terror, could not distinguish whether more shots had been fired. Precisely while fleeing, he found himself face to face with the police. In the darkness of the night, he could not immediately distinguish that they were officers and, terrified, tried to keep escaping until they began shouting orders at him… orders that he obeyed in full. Here we have only a poor victim who was in the wrong place at the worst possible time'' the lawyer said.
''Prosecutor'' the judge said.
''We do not wish to pursue the charge'' the prosecutor replied.
''Dismissed. Next case'' the judge said.
One of the guards approached and removed the handcuffs from my wrists, while the lawyer pushed me lightly on the back to get me out of the court.
Leaving the court, there was a group waiting outside.
''Free and without charges, as I promised'' the lawyer said, extending his hand.
''Yes, yes, we appreciate your services'' my boss said while handing the lawyer an envelope with money.
''Come on, Gunther'' he said, pointing toward a car where my brother was.
Once inside the vehicle, I remained looking at my boss.
''Good work… both of you. Albert, here is your share: two thousand dollars. That compensates for the money we took from you yesterday and also for helping… Gunther… here, five thousand dollars'' our boss said while handing us the envelopes.
''And why more for me?'' I asked, looking at the thick envelope while my brother stared at me.
''For keeping your mouth shut. You said nothing that could help them, nothing. You are absolutely trustworthy, and that pays extra. Easy money, eh? But be careful about spending too freely. You do not want the tax authorities getting suspicious. Spend it wisely… Besides, we were very lucky'' our boss said while smiling as the car began to move.
''What happened?'' my brother and I asked with interest.
''We grabbed the boss of the North Side Gang, along with a large sum of money. We are interrogating him to get him to tell us where he has hidden his reserves of money and alcohol. We eliminated our competition in the north. We are the only important gang in the north and surely everyone will now know how we operate. Ah, by the way, you will now work at another bar that we will soon take under our control. Now that there are no heads, we will take over their businesses and we will have to watch quite a few places. So, Gunther, you will be in charge of a group of streets, since I can trust you, and Albert, you will be in charge of an entire place… That is good work'' our boss said while slapping our cheeks.
''Great'' I said, looking at the money I had in my hands, which seemed like a dream.
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If there are spelling mistakes, please let me know.
Leave a comment; support is always appreciated.
I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.
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