Adversary

by S. W. Frank

  Shanda sighed and a tear slipped down her cheek which wasn’t meant for Selange’s eyes and her friend wiped it away with a finger and a sad smile. “I’ve been living in a jealous hell because I figured you had everything I didn’t. But damn when I sit here and think about how tragic your life has been and how you overcame that shit I want to fist pump and say that’s my fucking girl. You deserve a good man and you have him. Alfonzo’s so right for you. I promise to be a better friend. Oh look at me crying like your ass, big crybabies and we’re supposed to be so damn tough.”

  “Oh shut up and let’s hug!” Selange cried.

  They embraced, leaning their heads on ach others shoulders and crying in sisterhood.

  Healing.

  Then Shanda whispered. “I’m pregnant.”

  This woke a lioness. “Alright, no more of this whining. Call him and ask what time he’s coming home.”

  “Why, to hell with him?”

  “Do you want to confirm he’s cheating or sit here and cry?”

  “And a phone call is going to tell me?”

  “Just do it.”

  Shanda rolled her eyes but to appease the suddenly hyped woman she called Giuseppe’s line. He didn’t answer and she disconnected. “Too busy fucking to answer, I suppose.”

  Selange took the phone out of her hands and started going through apps until she found the one she needed. She learned a lot from the guys, mainly Nico and Crazy Nicky about locator apps. There were some really good ones too and what Shanda didn’t know was their phones were companions to their men. Activate the program and ‘voila’ there’s nowhere to hide. Where Giuseppe was did not coincide with Lucia’s address. It was kind of risky going there, if it was business they were screwed but woman instinct told her Shanda was right about his activity. “He’s not at Lucia’s.”

  Whatever the hell Selange did, Shanda was thoroughly impressed because on the screen was a location laid out on a damn map with an address.

  “Get that spray paint, B-K payback. You ready to do this shit or what?” Selange asked.

  The smile that lit Shanda’s face made her eyes pop. This was Shanda. This was her friend. This was the woman who never let a man get away with shit. In sisterhood they went to let a selfish Don know Shanda wasn’t a doormat or property. She was a person he claimed to love and asked to marry, crying in the dark, pregnant with his kid. The men were sticking together, they always did with their Man Code bull-shit while the women bickered and turned on each other with savagery. No fucking more, she thought, appalled at Giuseppe’s gall. When she returned from Africa she’d have Sophie call a meeting. These mistresses in the shadows were getting put on notice there's only one Queen Bee. Selange didn’t give a damn about the repercussions; somebody had to have Shanda’s back against Giuseppe’s tyranny.

  They were off, Selange giving Estefan a turn by turn down the dark streets.The outdoor markets were closed. They traveled maze-like, narrow streets and soon passed many luxury villas in coastal Santa Flavia with cultured gardens with access to private beaches. Whoever Giuseppe was with lived in a quaint villa that had sculptures dotting a field. There was his Mercedes, shining like a Prince’s carriage near the front with his driver at the wheel. Selange instructed Estefan to cut the lights and gave him some bull-shit story that they were playing a prank on one of the women. He didn’t look too happy but he waited with the car as they stayed out of sight like thieves with designer bags.

  “We have to crawl from here; you think you can do it?” Selange asked as leader of the Special Ops Mission.

  “Bitch, who taught you how to tag, me, remember?”

  Selange laughed. “Bitch and who taught you how to buy spray paint when they asked for ID?”

  Damn, that’s true. They didn’t sell spray paint to minors and Selange came up with the art student cover and even had the ID’s made to prove they were from an art academy. She sure did. “You, that’s right, the shit slipped my mind.”

  “I thought so.” Selange quipped glad to see the sparkle return to Shanda’s eyes and that’s what their clandestine operation was meant to do.

  They snuck to the car. The driver was dozing and they went to town. They shook and sprayed and giggled like kids and the driver didn’t suspect a thing. Shanda made a penis in a woman’s mouth and scrawled whore in red. Selange did pretty daisies and grass. It looked good on the metal canvass of gloss black. A pretty garden to represent a woman’s tranquil spirit.

  Shanda shook the can. “Girl, I’m out.”

  “Me too,” Selange responded and that’s when the driver rolled down his window when he spotted their heads and honked the horn.  Selange gave the Tenente the finger and he scowled because he couldn’t do shit.

  They dashed back to the waiting car laughing, feeling naughty and bonded by sisterhood against all despots like Giuseppe. 

  Giuseppe was in a dream; his sculptress had invited a friend to their tryst. The friend pleased him below as he sucked on Alanda’s melon tits. But when the horn blared he stopped. His gun was in his hand, butt-naked he jumped to his feet and peered out the front window. When he saw his car he growled. The bold colors and pornographic picture on the side was a message. His woman had found him out. How she traced him here, he would learn later. The anger at the driver caused him to fire a bullet through the window, and deliberately he missed. It was a warning shot. How could he let anyone get as close to his car without seeing?

  The noise reached the women and their eyes bulged.

  “Oh shit!” Shanda exclaimed cupping her hand over her mouth, “Somebody’s pissed!”

  Selange was as cool as her husband. “Now he knows how you feel. He’s put on notice and so is the slut he’s with!”

  Shanda smirked. Selange stuck her neck out tonight, she really did. She had needed a friend. What they did made her feel better. No it didn’t solve the problem with Giuseppe and it was only a temporary pain reliever. “Thanks girl.”

  “B-K is how we roll, remember?”

  “I almost forgot.”

   

   

   

   

  ***

   

   

   

  “Did I say I liked golf?” Alfonzo mumbled to Sergio as he walked across the immaculate green as the sweaty caddy lumbered up the hill with the clubs. He hated the shit out of golf, more than the opera. Yes, triple hated it and decided it was worse than sitting in a room full of women yacking in a beauty salon. He hated that too. This was business 101, engage in an activity that your client likes and soon business standards relax. That’s what happened and a multi-million dollar contract was going to an associate to put him back in the black, courtesy of the government’s head Procurement Officer.

  Sergio’s labored breathing received a side eye from Alfonzo. The man was far too young to lack endurance. He’d have to start bringing him along for work-outs and help improve his cardio. Sexing required stamina and women didn’t want a three minute man. He saw lots of potential in Sergio. He was eager to learn, and that’s always a good sign. Sergio got a bump up from the mailroom last month to sales. Yeah, there he could talk figures and not lay one hand on cash. No office, yet though. He had to earn his notches. A cubicle with the other squirrels to see if he had what it took to burrow his way out and up. Baby steps with guiding hands are what a man like Sergio required before walking on his own.

  “You were pretty good, though cuz, for real,” Sergio offered to appease his sullen cousin.

  Alfonzo kept his voice to a low growl. “Let me give you some advice. Stop trying so hard and maybe you won’t piss people off. Be yourself Sergio and don’t kiss everybody’s ass. There are people in this world who’ll never like you, no matter what. You’re my blood and I’m sick as hell watching you dance to the tune of everybody but yourself!”

  Sergio nodded. Straight-talk is always what he received from Alfonzo. No sugary phoniness like the brothers in the ‘hood he had co
nsidered friends, yet the minute he turned his back, they talked smack and even professed how they didn’t like his ass. Yeah, he felt Alfonzo’s heart on this subject. Two-faced people, false love, he didn’t want that crap in his life anymore. He’d take Alfonzo’s advice and do him from now on.

  “I hear you’re banging Lucia, is that true?” Alfonzo asked when they finally reached the main building of the country club where their car waited.

  The hesitation was a confirmation.

  “I hope you know what you’re getting in to, do you Sergio?”

  “We’ve been friends for a while. It’s only recently we took the relationship to the next level.”

  “Are you feeling this woman?”

  “Man, am I.”

  “She’s got a brother who’s also a close friend of mine.”

  “But, I’m family.”

  They were in the car, cool interior, Tony in front, rolling away from self-important people with nothing better to do than bore themselves to death with golf. Alfonzo’s eyes scanned the greenery, scoffing at the man-made turf. “Stop throwing around that word like a shield. Matteo’s closer to family than you are at the moment. Right now if I had to take a side, trust me it wouldn’t be with you Sergio.”

  “Well that sucks doesn’t it?”

  “Sure does.” Alfonzo took pity on the sensitive player. “You know why I say that Sergio?”

  “Fill me in, please go right ahead cousin.”

  “I have a history with Matteo, took bullets with the man, had long conversations and observed his character. We can disagree on fundamental things but at the end of the day we have the same interests. He’s loyal and he doesn’t go around doing dumb shit. He knows what’s at stake.”

  “But, you don’t know me well enough to risk sticking your neck out for me, is that right?”

  Alfonzo noticed the dimmer in Sergio’s disposition. Sergio didn’t understand much did he? “I’ve stuck my neck out for you Sergio many times and I’m still doing it. I love my brother but I piss him off every time I stand in your corner. There are times when doing the right thing calls for a man to step away from wrong. I see you trying Sergio, but stop trying and just win your damn respect by doing right.”

  “And how do I do that?”

  “Not kissing ass for one. Stop trying to out-slick people for petty cash, like the stunt you pulled with the metro card. Another way is not sneaking around with Matteo’s sister. Her father’s dead and that’s her brother. He’s obligated to look out for her well-being and who she’s messing with is his business. In our profession we have to keep an eye on the people getting close to family. They could be feds. That’s why you make yourself known, step to his ass like a man, and then keep the shit moving. He may not like it but he’ll respect you for coming correct. Giuseppe is big on respect, don’t grovel but don’t shoot off at the lip. Give him the courtesy he asks by acknowledging he’s a goddamn Don. Don Giuseppe, trying calling him that for a while without being condescending. When he’s sick of hearing that shit he’ll bark at you and when he calls you cugino, you’ll know he’s accepted you as family. Hell if he calls you stronzo or cazzo, that’s a good sign, too, comprende?”

  “Yeah,” Sergio nodded. He hadn’t thought about it that way.

  “Good, muy bien, now can we shut the fuck up, I hate this yacking mess?”

  Sergio smirked. He gave a nod and kept his mouth shut. It’s true, Alfonzo didn’t like unnecessary conversation. Give him quiet, music and when he did converse the words were meaningful. He’d learned a lot from his cousin. Talk about respect, heck he respected Alfonzo more than everybody else in the family, he was just plain damn scared of his Uncle Nico because that sonovabitch was really crazy, seriously.

  The kind of stuff Uncle Nico does borders on psycho. For example, who thinks going to kill somebody is a hunting expedition?  Nico even says creepy stuff like, “If you’re close when a person dies, pay attention to the sound of the eerie quiet, then notice how there’s a sudden twitch after the heart stops beating, that’s called a postmortem spasm.”

  That’s sometimes the type of conversation Nico had with the living which made Sergio wonder whether Uncle Nico was really sane. Yep, he decided Uncle Nico was a bit crazy or maybe seriously screw-up!

  The musical ringtone was unmistakable. Giuseppe phoned. “One o’clock in the morning there, ooh, let me guess drama with the woman, eh bro?” Alfonzo said light-heartedly.

  Giuseppe’s anger climbed through the device. “Your woman and Shanda put graffiti on my car!”

  Alfonzo squinted. This he hadn’t expected. “What are you talking about?”

  “I was with a friend and they vandalized my automobile.”

  Alfonzo’s jaw clenched. He didn’t find humor in that nor did he envision his wife involved in that sort of thing. “Did you see them do it?”

  “My dumb driver confirmed your wife was with Shanda and they did this.”

  Damn. Alfonzo slid up in the seat. “Did you get sloppy and get busted with a chica Giuseppe?”

  “That is not the issue!”

  “I beg to differ. You got busted and now you’re suffering the consequences. Be glad it’s only your car.”

  “This action is unacceptable fratellino. The women do not know their place!”

  “What place is that?” Alfonzo asked. Giuseppe’s tone was not well received.

  “That they are not in charge.”

  “I don’t see the correlation. You got busted fucking, your fiancée let you know by tagging your ass but you interpret that as who’s in control, you lost me.”

  “Then you will understand when I spank them both. These acts cannot go unpunished.”

  Giuseppe sounded like an ass, a chauvinistic brute who couldn’t accept he’d been caught by his fiancée in a compromising position. Alfonzo took issue with his threat to lay a hand on Selange or hell even Shanda. Maybe, he didn’t understand a husband’s position on the subject, but the opportunity to inform a brother was presented and clarification given in no uncertain terms. “Fratello, I love you, but here’s the thing. Put one hand on my wife pendejo and I’ll choke the life out of you. That bull-shit you’re talking is getting me upset. In my family we don’t beat women to keep them in line. Cool down, go back to fucking if that keeps you tame but your ass better not harm those ladies or we’re no longer brothers.”

  “Do not sanction me fratellino. You have no say in what I do!”

  A deep breath, long and controlled occurred. Alfonzo noticed Sergio trying to look preoccupied. Alfonzo’s skin became flames. A low hiss emanated from Alfonzo and Sergio suspected if the two were face-to-face Alfonzo’s fist would strike. By the sounds of the conversation Giuseppe was talking junk.

  “I gave you a warning and don’t test me brother.” Alfonzo seethed. His body coiled as he leaned forward. “I have never struck a woman hombre because I do not rely on brutality to reason with my wife. Didn’t you tell me you clocked a dude in Brooklyn who disrespected a chica not long ago, was that fake chivalry hombre?” Alfonzo espoused.

  “That was different stronzo!” Giuseppe exclaimed. His voice spilled out to the confines of the quiet car.

  “How so?” Alfonzo asked.

  “He was not a Don who requires respect from his men.”

  “He was a man. Respect comes from how men treat their women also, no?”

  “And what is your suggestion that I let Shanda retaliate in public without punishment?”

  Alfonzo changed tactics. Infuriating Giuseppe from a distance may not bode well for Shanda. Giuseppe wasn’t stupid enough to touch Selange with Estefan around. “Brother, I know you’re upset. I’ve been there, believe me I know firsthand. But, you love Shanda and you’ve hurt her heart. She cannot beat you, nor does she want to control or rule anything. She only wanted to send you a message that you’ve violated her trust. How do you repair a broken trust? Humility fratello and acceptance of your wrongdoing. A man who professes to love, yet raises his fi
st to beat his lady is a disgrace and demonstrates weakness. A strong male, which I know you are, will cool his temper because he knows his powerful fists are not meant to be used on females. There’s a reason you chose her fratello, she’s your soul mate and has a fiery spirit. Cool down. When you’re calm I suggest you talk.”

  Giuseppe went silent.

  Alfonzo grimaced. Giuseppe’s prized vehicle was a late model black Mercedes, he pictured it defaced by graffiti. He sighed, damn babe, that’s cruel, but funny. “Hey, you can get another car, but can you replace Shanda?”

  “Ah, this is why I love you fratellino. You are not afraid to speak truth to me. But do not threaten me again stronzo. When I see you I will pummel you for the boldness, you are not female. Do not forget you are my little brother and since we are without a father, it is my duty to fill that space.”

  “Suck dick. I don’t need a damn father; I need a brother and as far as the lesser status crap, don’t go there. You throw around rank too much Giuseppe. Let’s not forget who outranks who. If I were an arrogant sonovabitch like you I’d constantly remind you why I’m wearing this ring.”

  “You wear it because I allow.”

  “No, hermano. I wear it because you can’t handle the responsibility. You’ll get us killed with your temper plus you’re best at breaking things.”

  “Well that is true. Your jail is worry while I am free to do as I please.”

  “Come on stop bullying all the time. I know you and you don’t really want to hurt Shanda. Stop fronting.”

  “I will not beat the women but I will scare them to save face in front of my soldati, capisce?”

  An exasperated exhalation is what Giuseppe got. “If that’s what you need to do,” Alfonzo finally said as he leaned back and disconnected. Immediately he rang Selange.

  “I know I know. I shouldn’t have done that, right?” she said before he could say hello.

  “Why’d you tag the car nena?”

  “Your brother’s a slut. Shanda’s pregnant and he’s stressing her out. He’s selfish…he really is.”