Deacon King Kong: Chapter 3: Jet Summary & Analysis

Sixteen people watched Sportcoat shoot Deems, but no one would say anything to the police. However, they didn’t have to because the police had an undercover detective on the scene. The detective’s name is Jet Hardman, and he is disguised as a janitor. Jet’s job is to spy on Deems, whom he’s watched for seven months. The police know that Deems works for a man named Joe Peck, a major figure in the Italian mob and their true target.

Jet’s superior is Kevin “Potts” Mullen, an aging Irish sergeant. Potts is fond of Jet and tells him not to go into undercover work because it is difficult and dangerous. However, Jet couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be the first ever Black undercover cop in the Cause. All his life, he’s strived to be the first Black man to accomplish certain tasks, and he doesn’t plan to stop now.

Despite his confidence in himself, Jet is still nervous because Deem Clemens is his first undercover assignment. Jet spends his time near a flagpole in the main plaza of the Causes, the same spot where Deems and his fellow dealers do the majority of their selling. While watching Deems, Jet notices Sportcoat approaching him and senses trouble. Sportcoat looks drunk, and Jet sees that he has a gun. Jet is concerned and unsure of what to do. He wants to prevent violence from occurring, but he also doesn’t want to blow his cover. As Sportcoat gets closer to Deems, Jet almost pulls out the gun he has strapped to his ankle but decides against it because such a move would immediately give him away. Instead, he decides to continue to monitor the situation to see what will happen next. 

When Sportcoat reaches Deems, who is standing around with members of his crew, he asks Deems about baseball. Previously, Deems was the best baseball player the Cause had ever seen, and Sportcoat was his coach. Sportcoat taught Deems everything he knows about baseball and turned him into the best player in the Cause. As such, Deems likes Sportcoat, but Sportcoat makes him uncomfortable, partially because he’s drunk all of the time.

When Sportcoat asks Deems why he stopped playing baseball, Deems tells Sportcoat that he’s found a better way to make money instead. In response, Sportcoat tells Deems that there is better way to make money than playing baseball. Deems condescendingly agrees with him in attempt to steer Sportcoat away from the subject. However, Sportcoat won’t drop it and continues to press Deems on why he isn’t still playing baseball. This angers Deems, and he tells Sportcoat to leave.

Meanwhile, Jet is circling the scene and trying to get a view of what’s going on. In a last-ditch effort, he drops down to the ground to pretend to tie his shoe and watches as Sportcoat pulls out the gun. At the last minute, he yells to warn Deems. Still, Sportcoat is able to get a shot off, which hits Deems in the ear. Nonetheless, Jet’s warning is ultimately successful. because Sportcoat was originally aiming for Deems’s forehead.

As everyone flees the scene, Sportcoat moves to shoot Deems again. However, after seeing Deems on his hands and knees, Sportcoat has a sudden change of heart. Instead, he begins performing the Heimlich maneuver on Deems, who is choking on a sandwich he was eating before Sportcoat shot him. Although Sportcoat’s Heimlich maneuver is ultimately effective, from far away it looks like Deems is “on all fours being humped like a dog from the back by an old man.” Soon after, the police show up and arrest Deems and Jet, although Sportcoat manages to flee the scene by escaping to a nearby building. Jet’s partner, Potts, arrests him in an attempt to maintain Jet’s undercover status.