D.S. the Messenger

by Raymond McClary

  ɸ

  By 2 am, Sage was in South Carolina. He pulled over into a service station, filled his tank up with gas, purchased more soda with caffeine, and any other kind of snack food he could think of that could keep him awake during his travel to get back home. He was back on the road in no time.

  An officer followed Sage all the way to the county line. Sage knew that the officer was waiting for him to go one mile over the speed limit to get pulled over, so he did one mile under it while setting it on cruise control. It was not long before Sage was back on the Interstate and traveling over 90 mph with other early morning drivers. He called Deva at 8 a.m.

  “Hi baby.”

  “Hi Sage, are you just getting into D.C.?”

  “No, actually I'm in Delaware, so I should be there soon.”

  “Oh, that is so good to hear baby. I'm going by the main shop. Mya is meeting me there and wants to talk to me about some houses in a few neighborhoods. So if I’m not back at home I will probably be still at the shop.”

  “No problem. I'll see you in about an hour or two. Talk to you later.”

  “Love you.”

  “Love you too.”

  By 9:30 am, he was home. He hurried inside only to find out Deva was not there. He took a shower, changed into a sweat suit, and got into his car to go to the main tailor shop. The closer he approached the store the more restless he became. When he arrived, he noticed Deva’s car parked in front of the store. He parked behind it. As he jumped out of his car with his briefcase and slammed his car door, he glanced over at a blue car parked across the street with a man inside. Sage did not pay any more attention than that. He walked inside. There were a few customers at the counter.

  “Good morning everyone!”

  “Hey, Brother Sage!” He turned around. It was Scripts sitting in the waiting area.

  “Are you back for good? If so, I have a few ideas you can use for the stores.”

  “Scripts, I’m sorry but I’m not in the mood right now.” He then asked his employee,

  “Is Mya here?”

  “Yes, she’s in her office.” Sage walked to the office, knocks on the door and enters.

  “Why hello newlywed. Your wifey is in the bathroom. So how are you?” A minute passes as Mya is staring at him. “Sage, is something wrong?” He takes a deep breath and says, “Red, I watched you grow from a frightened and fragile little girl. Through your teenage years you were still shy but very much aware of the hood and its dangers. Street smart. Your college years helped to form you into an incredible woman.” Mya smiles as he walks closer to her.

  “Mya, when did that change?”

  “What are you talking about Sage?”

  “I saw Momma S. who said you were the one that helped out a lot, which means you helped with Perry’s travels.”

  “So what’s the harm in that?” Mya rises from her chair.

  “You introduced Perry to those women, didn’t you?”

  He yells, “DIDN’T YOU!” Mya jumps. “You were well aware of his H.I.V. status and lured those married women into a one-man ambush!”

  “I did no such thing!”

  “Oh really?

  “Yes, really!”

  “Well TJ would certainly beg to differ.” Her eyes widened. “Yeah, I know about her. Along with Dorothy, Ann, Connie, Bee and Taylor. But TJ told me just enough to know that you were the one who introduced her to him just before that woman died in my arms. You left a trail of breadcrumbs that implicates you as an accomplice to all of this! I’ll bet any amount of money all of your flights just about coincides with his! That day when I saw you, while I was on my way to visit Perry, you were crying because you came from Perry’s house! Not because of allergies! You are a murderer Mya! I can’t and will not show pity! I’ve seen too much pain and death because of you and Perry’s doings! What I don’t understand, and you owe me this much…why did you do it Mya? Tell me!” Deva opened the door and was standing there listening while the two argued.

  “Mya? Is this true? You helped Perry?”

  “Deva, you don’t understand!”

  “Then make me understand, we are sisters.” Deva walked into the office and sat down in a nearby chair. The room became very quiet for a few moments. Mya finally speaks,

  “I met a man. I fell head over heels in love with. Bruce. He was treating me perfectly. One day I had a surprise that I wanted so eagerly to share with him---- But it was me who got the surprise. I saw him with another woman…. I walked up on him, kicked him in the ass and cursed him out. He was trying to play me!

  The woman with him was actually his wife. That woman pointed and laughed at me as she called him a sloppy mother fucker and that he needed to handle his business, while I stood there coming into realization that I was not even so much as his girlfriend…but his mistress. To add insult to injury, I was carrying his child! I had complications and miscarried.

  I went to Perry while I was going through this ordeal. He asked for the man’s name and where he lived. I gave him the information. He told me he would take care of him. I thought he was going to kill him the way he was talking. But that is when I first saw the side of Perry I never knew existed. One night he told me to take a ride with him. He wanted to show me something. We rode for hours. Finally, we stopped at a cabin somewhere in the mountains. I noticed a car that was parked in front of the cabin. That car belonged to Bruce. I asked Perry, ‘Why did you bring me here?’ He said, ‘So you can watch your revenge at work.’ We got out of the car and walked around near a bedroom window. Perry was giggling. He said, ‘Take a peek.’ I looked and saw that bastard and his wife having sex. The wife blindfolded and handcuffed him to the bed. I asked him, ‘Why are you trying to hurt me?’ Perry said, ‘Look at death in its form take place. Look!’ I did. I watched them have an orgasm after orgasm until he fell asleep.

  Perry told me to go to the car and that he would be there in a minute. I got back into the car and waited. Perry stood up at the window for the wife to see him. By this time I was in utter shock. He walked around to the front door. The wife came out to the porch and bent over. That’s when Perry had sex with her right there on the porch. She went back inside for a moment and then brought him something. At that time, I just put my head down and began to cry. Perry came to the car and asked, ‘Why are you crying?’ I asked him again, ‘Why did you bring me here?’ He then said, ‘I have been having sex with her repeatedly for weeks.’ He also said, he didn’t have to lay a finger on him, because he laid enough on, and in, his wife. He told the wife that it was a fantasy of his to watch her and her husband having sex, so the two of them arranged it. That’s when he told me that he was H.I.V. positive, and he made sure that Bruce and his wife would have the virus as well, and the main reason that we were there is not only for me, but he wanted to watch his poison spread from one person to another. He then asked me if that was a sweet enough revenge for me? I looked at him in horror. I could not believe Perry could do something so monstrous. Then I thought for another moment, I didn’t like what he did…I loved it. I said, ‘Not yet.’ I got out of the car and walked up to that window. The wife walked into the bedroom and saw me standing there smiling. The wife stood there with a baffled look on her face. I started laughing and pointing and told her without a sound, ‘I hope you read lips because I have the last laugh now bitch.’ As we left the area, I asked him, ‘What was that the wife brought you after you had sex with her?’ He said, ‘A washcloth.’

  He began to tell me about the woman in Canada and he wanted me to help him meet women that were married and willing to cheat on their husbands. So I did. Sage, that day I saw you, I was coming from Perry’s house. He was rambling on about demons around him and that he was one of Satan’s Generals and moving up the ranks as the women he infected continued to infect others. I thought it was the medication, along with his condition, that was causing him to speak in such a delusional manner.

  You see Sage, Hell have no fury like a woman scorned.”

  “
Your ass was not scorned! You said it yourself. You got played! Now I’m sorry to hear about your loss. That was God’s will. You helped destroy a lot of lives Mya!”

  He grabs her and says, “May my nightmares, be your daily dreams!” The lights in the room flickered.

  As he lets her go, everyone began hearing popping sounds and noticed a piece of wood chipped from the wall inside the office. Sage yells, “Get down! Someone’s shooting!”

  A strange and unfamiliar voice called out,

  “Sage! Sage! Get out here! I want you!”

  Sage whispers, “Call 911.” They looked at the video surveillance monitor to see if they recognized the person.

  “I don’t know him.”

  Mya says, “That’s the creepy guy who has been coming by for the past few days looking for you.”

  Deva says, “I think I know who that is.”

  “Who Deva?”

  “That’s Sonia’s husband!”

  “Sonia! Sonia who?”

  “The woman you went to go see in New York to tell her about the virus.” Sage looked at her in disbelief.

  “I never told you about that. How did you know?”

  “Her sister Tonia told me.”

  “Her sister?”

  “Yes, Officer Mendez. That’s her sister. Tonia showed me a picture of her sister and her family and said that a man had approached her sister and told her about having the virus. Tonia wanted to know if you were the person that delivered the message, because not only did you fit the description that the brother-in-law gave, you took a DVD to her and showed what Perry had done. It wasn’t long before I figured out what you were doing.”

  “What did you tell her?”

  “I said no, because you were somewhere else. I didn’t know what else to say to her so I had to make up something!”

  “Okay…Okay…” Sage began to think about the man he saw that got out of the car and walked up to Sonia as he stared into the monitor and confirmed that Deva was right. It is her husband. The children that he saw in the car were the same children on the officer’s desk.

  He said, “I knew I saw them before. I just couldn’t piece them together because I was in another state…I have to go out there.” Deva grabs at him hysterically.

  “Oh no you don’t Sage! You stay right here!”

  “I have to go. Someone may get or may have been injured. I can’t have that on my conscience baby.”

  “Please Sage! Please do not go out there.”

  “I will be fine, Deva…. You have to trust me…. Trust me okay?”

  Unsteadily, Deva says, “I love you Sage.”

  “And I love you.” He looked back at Mya with a look of disgust as Mya stared back at him from the corner of the office in a crouched position. He walked down the hall towards the front of the store. The man could see Sage and pointed his gun at him. In his hard Hispanic accent the man says, “That’s right. Walk this way. I want to talk to you before I put a hole in you.” Sage looked over near the waiting room and noticed Scripts lying on the floor in blood. “Why did you shoot him?”

  “Because, he was in the fucking way, now move! You destroyed my life and now I’m going to destroy yours!”

  “I’m sorry that you feel that way sir. I never meant to hurt you or anyone.”

  “Is that what you said to my wife?”

  “As a matter of fact, I did.” The man looks hesitant.

  “Well, it just wasn’t good enough, since my wife took it upon herself to slit her own wrists! Now my wife is dead! I blame you for it! You told my wife about being H.I.V. positive, which means that you were sleeping with her! So you must have it too!”

  “No sir, I did not sleep with your wife. My brother did, and if there’s any consolation, he is dead also. As for your wife, I am truly sorry to hear of your loss. Your wife seemed like a beautiful woman.”

  “Sonia was a beautiful woman! But ever since you showed your face, nothing has been the same! Let’s go outside! Move it!” Sage and the man stepped outside of the store. Police officers were outside and their guns were drawn and pointed at the man. “SIR! PUT THE GUN DOWN!”

  “If you shoot me, I will pull this trigger and kill him!” Officer Mendez walks up near them.

  “Everyone hold your fire! I know him! Paco, you don’t want to do this.”

  “He is the reason my wife, your sister is dead! I want revenge!”

  “No Paco, he is not the one to blame. If you want someone to blame, look in the mirror.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “You know exactly what I am saying. You never gave Sonia the attention she needed after the children were born. You stayed out in the street with your friends. This man had nothing to do with that. It’s the way you treated her that made her vulnerable for anyone to take advantage of her.” “No! You are wrong! He took advantage of her with his money and fine clothes. He could have tricked her or slipped her something.”

  “That sounds like empty excuses Paco. We can talk more about this after you put the gun down. Think of the children.” He starts to look away as if he was pondering about them for a moment. Officer Mendez continues, “I know that they do not want to lose their father also. They need you. Now please put the gun down on the ground.”

  Just when Paco was about to place the gun on the ground, a police officer shot him. Paco’s gun discharged in the direction of Sage as Officer Mendez jumped to cover Sage. More gunfire erupted, people were screaming. Sage felt a sting. As he fell to the ground, the force of Officer Mendez falling on top of him caused him to hit his head on the concrete ground, losing consciousness. Deva ran out of the store and noticed Sage on the ground and began to scream while running towards him. Deva kneeled down beside him.

  “Sage, wake up baby! Where is this blood coming from? Baby! Wake up! You told me that you would be fine! Don’t lie to me now! Sage, please wake up!” A paramedic hurried over and checked Sage’s vital signs. “We have to get him to a hospital.” He said. They rushed him into an ambulance and sped off heading towards the nearest hospital. Deva was in the ambulance with him.

  A paramedic looked down at Sage while inserting an I.V. “It seems like he is smiling.” Deva looked at the expression on Sage’s face. “He is smiling. I’d give anything to know what he’s dreaming about.”

  Sage was leaning against the Elm tree with no visible top. He walked towards a field of roses. They were not the average looking flower to him. They were gold in color. As he stroked them softly, it began to rain but the droplets were light green with a fresh pine tree scent. Sage walked upon a river that when he placed his hand along the stream, it felt like fur, but not like the kind of fur on a cat or mink. It was so soft, Sage wanted to jump into it. He hears words that felt as though they were filled with thunder:

  YOU HAVE DONE WELL MESSENGER. SHARE YOUR STORY AND ALL SHALL KNOW…THOSE WHO KNOW SHALL FEAR MY WRATH. THOSE WHO DO NOT KNOW SHALL FEEAAR MY WRATH…SHARE YOUR STORY…MESSENGER.

  Sage woke up in a hospital bed with Deva laying in his arm. His hand was heavily bandaged and his head was wrapped in gauze. He kisses her on the cheek. Deva wakes up and whispers, “You had me so scared. I was losing my mind. I don’t know what we would do without you.”

  “We?”

  “Yes Sage…I’m carrying your seed.” He kisses her.

  “Sage, from now on, wherever you go, I’m going too.”

  “Well, you don’t have to worry about that, because the only place I’m going is home and to work. No more messages…. That’s someone else’s job. I’ve done just about all that I’m supposed to do.”

  “You are right about that Mr. Mecan.” Sage looked towards the entranceway. It was Officer Mendez wearing a hospital gown. Sage smiled.

  “You saved my life officer and gave me this bruise at the same time. How are you?”

  “I’m fine, and call me Tonia.”

  “Okay Tonia…What happened to your hand?”

  “It’s exactly what happened to your hand.”


  “We were shot. It pierced the back of my hand and into yours. We both had operations to be stitched up. Seems that my brother in law was a terrible aim.”

  “How is he?”

  “He didn’t make it Sage.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that…Scripts! What about Scripts, is he…?”

  Deva answers, “Scripts is just fine. He was shot in the leg. He was playing dead so that he would not get shot again. He’s in the next room over. You can’t hear him?” Scripts is yelling, “Hey! When am I getting my sponge bath? I want that fiiiiinnne nurse too! I don’t want to file a complaint with the Advocate! Oh, there you are pretty nursey…”

  “Tonia. What about the children?”

  “Well Sage, as an aunt, I will also be a mother and a father. They’ll be staying with me. By the way, congratulations! I hear you have a new addition coming to your family.”

  “Thank you.”

  Tonia walks along Sage’s bedside.

  “I owe you a great apology. There are advocates that handle situations such as Perry’s. The health department in particular would have helped you. A lot of occurrences could have been avoided if I had done my job a little more efficiently. I am truly, truly sorry.” Tonia starts to cry.