Changed Man

by Roy Glenn

  I laughed. “I’m not gonna laugh.”

  “You’re laughing.”

  I tried my best to stop laughing, but I couldn’t. Vickie folded her arms across her chest and plopped down on the bed next to me.

  “Come on,” I said and tried hard to stop myself from laughing. “Show me what you gotta show me.”

  “Okay.” Vickie bounced up and once she caught her balance, her smile returned. “You ready?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you’re not gonna laugh, right?”

  “Just show me, Vickie.”

  “Okay.”

  I swear, when Vickie grabbed the bottom of her halter-top and started to pull it up, my head began to spin.

  “See.”

  “See what?” I squinted.

  “My belly piercing.”

  I moved closer. “Oh, that’s cool.”

  Vickie giggled. “I got my nipples pierced too.”

  I laughed. “Let me see.”

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “’Cause.”

  “’Cause what?”

  “’Cause I said so,” Vickie giggled, but she hadn’t let go of the bottom of that halter.

  “Come on.”

  Vickie giggled some more and looked around the room like there was somebody else in there. “Okay, but you gotta promise not to tell anybody?”

  “I promise,” I said quickly.

  “Not even Bobby.”

  “Not even Bobby,” I said, nodding my head quickly and raised my right hand. By then, I was leaning forward anxiously anticipating seeing Vickie’s titties.

  “I’m serious, Mike.”

  “I am too. I swear, I won’t tell anybody, especially Bobby.”

  And I wouldn’t because if I did, he would sweat her relentlessly about showing him too. I wouldn’t do her like that. “Let me see.”

  Vickie pulled the top over her head; she wasn’t wearing a bra and those fuckin’ tits were a thing of beauty.

  “Can I touch them.

  “Go ahead,” Vickie said quietly and of course, touching them led to sucking them and sucking them led to me fucking Vickie that night, in her room, while her parents were asleep in the next room.

  “You need to give me what I need,” Michaella said to bring me out of thoughts of Vickie and she assumed the position with her hands against the wall. After I fucked Michaella, she dropped me off at Andre’s.

  Bobby was there when I got there, and Andre handed me something I wanted. I let it be known that I wanted to know who Vickie used to buy from and who she got high with.

  People were falling all over themselves to tell me that she got high with Erickah Green and I knew where she got her shit from.

  “I need the two of you to find Ronin. Get my money and remind him that Friday means Friday, not the next fuckin’ Wednesday.”

  “Ronin?” Bobby questioned. “You need us … for that?”

  Andre got in his face. “Yeah, Bobby, I need you and Mike for this. Since the two of you have been focusin’ on the gambling, mutha fuckas been getting lax. I need them to know without question, that if you fuck up in my house, Mike Black and Bobby Ray are coming and they will kill you over my money. That clear enough, Bobby?”

  “Yeah, it’s clear.”

  Billy Ronin. Bobby was right; Andre could have sent Benny and Dupre to collect from Ronin. He just wasn’t the type that was gonna be a problem. But I saw it from Andre’s point of view too. Nobody feared Benny and Dupre, and Andre needed to make a statement about his money.

  Even though it was beneath our talents, I was excited about going to see Ronin, because that’s who Erickah Green did her business with and I knew that Ronin liked to let women smoke there.

  They run out of money … and they always do … that pussy is mine, he told me once.

  When we got to his apartment, Ronin was not only waiting for us, he was glad to see us, which was rare when me and Bobby show up at your door.

  “Black, Bobby, come on in,” Ronin said and stepped aside. “I just wanna say that I’m real sorry about what happened to Vickie,” I said as he went in another room. “She was real cool people, you know what I’m sayin’,” he shouted as Bobby sat down at the kitchen table and I looked around the apartment.

  When he came out of the other room, he had a bag with him and he put it on the table in front of Bobby. “There you go. It’s all there, you can count it,” Ronin said and that was when I saw it.

  I was looking at the pictures that he had on the mantle when I noticed the glass vases on each end. Hanging from one of the vases was the necklace that Wanda gave Vickie for her birthday the year before. Since I was with her when she bought it, I was sure of it.

  “No need for that, I’m sure it’s all there,” Bobby said.

  “And tell Andre that I’m sorry about being late. It won’t happen again.”

  “I know it won’t, Ronin” I said. Bobby was about to get up to leave. “What’s your rush, Bob? Relax a minute,” I sat down at the table next to Bobby. Ronin looked at me strangely, “I need a drink.” I looked at Bobby. “What about you? You wanna drink?”

  Now it was Bobby looking at me strangely. “Yeah.”

  “What you got to drink in this camp?”

  “I got some gin,” Ronin said sheepishly.

  “That’s fine. Make it two,” I said and now Bobby was looking at me like I was crazy. I never drink white liquor.

  I sat there, looking between Ronin, that necklace, and Bobby. He had known me long enough to know that something was going to happen, so while Ronin poured the drinks, Bobby discreetly checked his weapon.

  “Here you go,” Ronin said when he put the glasses on the table.

  “Thanks,” I said, but made no motion toward that glass as Ronin sat down across from me. “Yeah, it was a real shame about Vickie. Did you come to the funeral?”

  “No, Black, I’m sorry. I was tied up with some business and couldn’t make it.”

  “That’s all right. It was a good service. How close were you and Vickie, Ronin?”

  “We were cool, know what I mean. Like I said, she was cool people. Always had a smile and something nice to say to everybody. People like that, they’re a rare jewel, know what I’m sayin’.”

  I looked at the necklace and then I looked at Ronin. “Vickie … she come here a lot?”

  Ronin sat back and looked between me and Bobby.

  “Sometimes,” he said and that was the moment when Bobby realized where I was going and his facial expression changed. “But, not very often.”

  “I heard her and Erickah Green used to be over here all the time,” I said and stood up. Bobby picked up his glass of gin and drained it.

  “Where’d you hear that from, Black?”

  “Erickah.”

  I stopped in front of the necklace. “I swear, Black, I didn’t have anything to do with what happened to her.”

  Bobby put his gun on the table.

  “I know that.”

  “Okay, yeah, her and Erickah used to come here to smoke.”

  “All the time?”

  “Yeah, yeah, she was over here a lot, but she wasn’t here the night she OD’d.”

  “I know; she was with me that night.” I picked up the necklace and looked at Ronin. “She give you this when she ran out of money?”

  Ronin dropped his head in his hands and Bobby picked up his gun. “Please don’t kill me, Black,” Ronin pleaded, and Bobby put one in the chamber.

  “You served it up for her.” Bobby put the gun to his temple.

  “Probably sitting right here at this table.” I stood in front of Ronin.

  “I’m sorry, Black.”

  “For what?”

  “For whatever.”

  “It’s cool.”

  “Please don’t kill me, Black.”

  “I’m not gonna kill you, but this is gonna hurt,” I said.

  “It’s gonna hurt a lot,” Bobby said and stood up.

  Bobb
y pulled Ronin up from his chair and punched him over and over again in the face. And then he reached back and punched him again. This time Ronin went down from the force of the blow.

  I stepped up quickly and began kicking and then stomping Ronin repeatedly in the face. Bobby grabbed Ronin by his shirt and pulled him to his feet. Bobby reached back and hit him several times in the face and he went down again. I grabbed the back of Ronin’s head and began pounding his face into the floor. By this time, Ronin’s face was a bloody mess, but I didn’t give a fuck, I pulled his ass up from the floor and began to ram his face into the wall. I let Ronin go and once again, he slumped to the floor.

  “You done?”

  “No.”

  I looked around for something to beat Ronin with. I picked up a chair and stood over Ronin. He tried to cover his head as I beat him with that fuckin’ chair until it broke. I dropped what was left of that chair and pulled Ronin to his feet. I dragged him out of the apartment, down the stairs and into the street.

  I picked Ronin up and slammed him down on the hood of a car. Then I got out my gun and I shot Ronin twice in the head to put an exclamation point on that statement.

  As long as Andre got his money, and the statement he wanted was made abundantly clear, he didn’t seem to care that I killed Ronin.

  Chapter Six

  It was a few days later when I got a call from Andre. He said that he wanted me to meet him at Evers Marina on Outlook Avenue. When I got there, I was escorted down to the dock and aboard a boat.

  “What do you think?” Andre asked.

  “This yours?”

  “Just got it today,” Andre said proudly. “This is her maiden voyage.”

  For the next hour, we cruised around Eastchester Bay talking shit and sipping cognac. I had never been out on the water before and I loved it. The water, the fresh air, the peace and calm … I loved it.

  “I got a little job for you to take care of,” Andre said as we headed back to the dock.

  “Of course, you do,” I said quietly, knowing that Andre didn’t invite me down there just to show off his new boat.

  “I want you to go see Big Ed Davis.”

  “How much does he have for me?” I asked.

  “The mutha fucka is into me for fifty large,” Andre replied.

  I got off the boat thinking; one day I was gonna have me a boat like this.

  One day, but not today. There was money to be collected and niggas that needed killing. So, I called Freeze and told him to meet me at my apartment.

  “Where we goin’, Black?” Freeze asked when he got there.

  “We goin’ to kill a mutha fucka today.”

  We left there and walked down the street to the garage where I parked my cars, and went inside. I took the cover off the Seville and tossed Freeze the keys.

  “You want me to drive?”

  “You said you been practicin’, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Time to show and prove,” I said. “Now, let’s go get this nigga.”

  But that didn’t happen, at least not that night. When Big Ed heard me and Freeze were looking for him, he got ghost. For the next two days, we looked everywhere, talked to everybody that might have seen him. Nada. Nobody had seen this nigga. That was until a hooker that went by the name of Ms. Assuanta told me where to find him.

  When I did finally catch up with him, he was sure we could work something out. I looked at Big Ed, shook my head, raised my weapon and shot Big Ed twice in the head.

  “What you do that for?” Freeze asked.

  “I didn’t like the way he was looking at me.”

  “So, what you wanna do now?” Freeze asked, shaking his head.

  “Search the place. See if we find any money.”

  Freeze found twenty grand and a bunch of dope, so Andre wasn’t too mad when I told him that I had killed him. The reason for that was in addition to killing Big Ed, me and The Kid killed four more of his men.

  “Damn it, Mike.”

  “What was I supposed to do? Let them kill us?”

  “Listen, Mike, I know you’re upset about Vickie and shit, but you ain’t gotta kill everybody. You keep this up and I’ll be out of business.”

  “No, you won’t. Somebody will always be willing to step into the void.”

  “I know that, Mike, it was a figure of speech.” Andre shook his head, but a few days later, he was calling again. “I need you to go see Dexter Corey and I don’t want you to kill him. Just get my money from that nigga, but I need him alive, Mike. You understand me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. Take Bobby with you.”

  “Okay,” I said and left Andre’s office.

  But instead of getting Bobby to go with me as I had been instructed, I went alone because I didn’t like Dexter’s shit-talking ass and I had wanted to kill him for years. Andre knows that, so I guess that’s why he insisted that I take Bobby with me. But I didn’t care what Andre said, I was going to kill Dexter and even if Bobby was with me, he wouldn’t stop me.

  When I got to the house where Dexter did business, his boy, Kojo opened the door. I could tell by the look on his face that he was surprised to see me, and my being there worried him. Before he let me in the house, he looked around, maybe to see if I was alone, I don’t know. After that, he let me in. Kojo led me to the back of the house where Dexter and two more of his men, Taylan and Simeon, were in there with him. They didn’t look happy to see me either.

  “What’s up?” I said and sat down.

  “Nothing, Black, what’s up with you?” Dexter asked.

  “Why you wanna play like you’re stupid, Dex? You fuckin’ know what’s up. Andre wants his fuckin’ money. Now stop fuckin’ around with me and go get that money.”

  I could tell that both Taylan and Simeon were moving around behind me, but I couldn’t see them or what they were doing.

  “Well, Black, it’s like this–” Dexter began, but I wasn’t trying to hear whatever he was about to say. I took out my gun, turned and shot Taylan and then Simeon.

  Dexter jumped out of his chair. “Damn, Black!”

  I glanced at Kojo and motioned with my gun. “Why don’t you move over there where I can see you.” Kojo moved around in front of me. “And put your gun on the table.”

  Once he was where I could see him and was unarmed, I turned my attention to Dexter.

  “Now, what were you saying?”

  “I wa … I wa … I was …”

  “You were just about to go get my fuckin’ money, weren’t you, Dex?”

  “Yeah, yeah, Black.” He looked back at Kojo. “Go get the money,” Dexter said, and he quickly got my money.

  “There you go, Black,” Kojo said when he sat the bag in front of me.

  “It’s all there, Black.” Dexter pointed at me. “You tell Andre that I’m sorry about being late and it won’t happen again. You tell him I said that.”

  “I know it won’t happen again. Because you’ll be dead,” I stood up, picked up the bag and then I shot Kojo twice in the chest.

  “Oh shit, Black!” Dexter shouted right before I put two bullets in his head.

  When I got to Andre’s office, the look on Shawna’s face told me that there was something wrong. I was about to ask her what was up, but when Andre’s office door swung open, I got my answer.

  “Mike Black.” Detective Kirkland said.

  “Detective.” I snapped my fingers a few times like I was trying to recall his name, but I knew exactly who this mutha fucka was and what he represented to me. “Kirkland, right?”

  “Right,” he said and got in my face to intimidate me. I don’t know why. It didn’t work the first time, so why he thought that it would work this time was beyond me. “But you can call me Kirk.”

  “Right.” I said and took a step closer to him, because I wasn’t intimidated by him. “Kirk it is.”

  “I’ve been hearing a lot about you.”

  “I hope that it was all good, Detective,” I said.


  “No, Black, it wasn’t. People tell me that you’re a very dangerous man and not the one to fuck with.”

  I laughed because it was the truth. “I don’t know why people would say that about me. I’m a peaceful man,” I said, and Shawna had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing.

  “I’m willing to bet that there are a bunch of people who would strongly disagree with that statement.” He paused. “Like Silky. I’m sure he wouldn’t think you’re such a peaceful man.”

  “Did you ever find out who killed him?”

  “Yeah. You did. I just can’t prove it, yet. But you beat him to death that night in front of his women and now those are your women,” Kirk said and from that I knew two things.

  One, somebody was talking, and I needed to find out who and two, I learned that Kirk was thorough, and he was going to be somebody that I was gonna have to deal with.

  But he made that clear to me at our first meeting.

  The detective stepped away from me like he was going to leave, but he got right back in my face. “I might as well ask you while I’m here.”

  “What’s that, Detective?”

  “You wouldn’t know anything about the murder of Wilson Goode?” Kirk asked.

  “Wilson’s dead?” I laughed.

  “Okay, Black. You can laugh that shit off and make jokes all you want, but I know who you are and I’m coming for you,” the detective warmed.

  “I ain’t hard to find,” I said and went in Andre’s office without saying another word to the detective.

  When I closed the door to the office, Andre was seated behind his desk and he didn’t look happy. “I see you met my new best friend,” Andre said.

  “We’ve met before.”

  “So I hear. Did you kill Silky?” Andre asked, and I responded with silence.

  Andre shook his head. “You gotta come outta this. Too many mutha fuckas gettin’ dead and it’s bringing to much heat on me.” I stood up and headed for the bar. “That nigga is in here with some shit damn near every day and Cavanagh says he can’t be bought.”

  “Every man has a price.”

  “True, it just may be harder trying to find his,” Andre said and laughed. “I mean, look at him. He’s got honest cop written all over his face.”

  “Don’t you hate it when that happens,” I said.