by Roy Glenn
“I miss the shit outta you, Vickie, and I’m sorry I killed you.” I looked at my two remaining best friends. “Happy now?”
Wanda nodded.
“Good. Can we go now, it’s cold out here?”
Instead of answering my question, Wanda walked up to me with tears in her eyes and hugged me. “I miss her too, Mike,” she said and once again, the three of us cried for the friend we’d lost.
After we left there, we hung out for the rest of the night and ended up at The Late Night where we were all surprised to see LaKela Jackson. She grew up on the same block as we all did, but she didn’t or more accurately couldn’t hang out with us. Her parents were Seventh-day Adventists and once we got older, she wasn’t allowed anywhere near us. She was a good girl, and had been since we were kids, so her being all up in the den of thieves was out of place.
Then I saw that she was with O. He was … how do I say this … a nobody. He was the kind of guy that you called when you needed another guy for a job. I don’t know what else to say about him except that he was the last person that we’d expected LaKela to be associating with. I pointed it out to Wanda and was about to go over there and say something to her, but that was when things got tense with Barrett Capers’ boy, Gun and the rest of his set.
Barrett sells for Andre and capitalized when I killed Bodie. He picked up his dope business, but when he tried to take over the rest of his shit, he found that it was already mine. I never really liked the nigga, but it was business, so I fucked with him when it was necessary to do so, so they’re in here all the time.
Now, Bobby is fucking Gun’s woman Kendra, and she, as she always does, came there with The Gunner, as he likes to refer to himself.
Why mutha fuckas like to talk about themselves in third person is beyond me.
Anyway, first chance she gets, Kendra is gonna find an excuse to get away from The Gunner, so she can fuck Bobby in the storage room just like they do every time she brings her ass up here. Only tonight, The Gunner caught her coming out of the back of the club with Bobby and the shit got tense after that. Gun got in Bobby’s face.
“Stay the fuck away from my woman!” Gun shouted.
“Keep your woman away from me,” Bobby said calmly, and Gun put a gun in Bobby’s face. Well you know when Bobby pulled his gun, Barrett’s set was on their feet with guns drawn.
When they did that, knowing that we weren’t about to be outgunned in our own spot, all of my men, including our security pulled out a weapon. The DJ stopped playing music and the bartenders stopped pouring drinks; each had shotguns pointed at The Gunner and Barrett’s men. Wanda reached in my pocket, pulled out my other gun and pointed it at them.
In moments like this, I don’t know whether to be mad as hell or proud as hell of her when she does shit like that.
“Everybody ease off,” I said, looking at Barrett. He nodded his head.
“Nobody gotta die tonight,” he said, and everybody slowly lowered their weapons, the DJ went back to playing music, my bartenders went back to pouring, and The Gunner dragged Kendra out of The Late Night.
Chapter Three
December 15
It was Bobby’s birthday and the day began with somebody banging on my door and Lo-Lo elbowing me.
“Black, somebody’s banging on the door.”
“It’s probably just Bobby,” Anya said. “If we ignore him, maybe he’ll just go away.”
“No, he won’t, he’ll just bang louder,” Lo-Lo said. “Black!” She elbowed me again. “I know you hear that noise?” She started to get outta bed.
“I do,” I said and got out of bed.
Once I put some pants on, I went to the door to let him in and I was surprised to find that it was Detective Kirkland at my door.
“Mike Black,” he said like I was his best friend and he hadn’t seen me in years.
“Detective. What can I do for you?”
“Can I come in?”
“No, I have company.”
“Suppose I had a warrant?”
“Then you wouldn’t have asked, you’da just pushed me out of the way like I wasn’t shit to you and walked in like every other cop I know.”
“True.” Kirk laughed. “But can I come in anyway?”
I stepped aside, because I was curious to know what he wanted.
“Thank you.” He walked in like he owned the joint. “I hate talking in the hall.”
And I hate fuckin’ cops. “Have a seat,” I said graciously and extended my hand as I sat down in my favorite chair.
Instead of sitting down on the couch, I watched the detective go into the kitchen, get a chair and drag it into the living room before he sat down. I shook my head.
“What can I do for you, Detective?”
“Lisa Benson,” he said and looked at me like I was supposed to have a response to the mention of her name.
What did he expect me to say, Bobby shot her in the head after she emptied her clip trying to kill me; not happening. So, I said nothing and waited for the detective to tell me what he had that made him show up at my door. Without a warrant.
“I heard you were looking for her,” Kirk said.
“Actually, it was Bobby that was looking for her.”
“What did he want with her?”
“What does any man want from a woman?”
Kirk opened his mouth like he was about to ask me another open-ended question, but I guess he thought better of it and leaned back in the chair.
“I can’t figure you out, Black.”
Thinking that was a good thing, I asked, “Why is that, Detective?”
“I been asking around about you and like I said, I can’t figure you out.” Kirk leaned forward. “It’s like you’re two different people.”
“Sagittarius — half man, half beast.”
“Interesting analogy, if not accurate.” He nodded his head like he had figured out something and then he looked at me. “There are people I’ve talked to that think you’re nothing but a vicious killer.”
I pointed at myself. “Vicious Black, remember.”
“Yeah, yeah, that’s just hype.” Kirk laughed, and I was surprised that he seemed to have a sense of humor. “Probably some shit Andre made up to make you seem like more of the boogie man than you already are. But there are other people that think that you’re some kind of hero.”
“What can I do for you, Detective?”
“Then there’s Butler Griffin,” he said like I didn’t just ask him a fuckin’ question. I hate cops, especially an arrogant one like this mutha fucka. “A pimp named Silky.” Kirk paused. “And please, for the purposes of this conversation, don’t insult my intelligence and say you didn’t kill him, because you did. You beat him to death one night while his hos watched.”
I said nothing.
“It’s why you killed him that bothers me.” He paused, I guess to see if I would comment and since I didn’t, he continued. “Word is that he used to beat those women and one day you just got tired of it and you, in your role as judge, jury and executioner carried out his sentence and beat him to death. And then comes the part I really don’t get. Once you killed the bastard, you don’t put his hos to work for you, you set them free.”
“Is there a point here, Detective?” I asked instead of telling him that he was wrong. They do work for me, I just got them off the street so they’d be safe.
“No. No point. Just that I haven’t figured you out yet, but I will. I know you killed Lisa Benson and Marquez Hernandez. I just haven’t figured out why yet, but I will.” Kirk stood up. “I do have one question that you might answer.”
I got up and went to the door, “What’s that?” and opened it for him. I even stepped out in the hallway, so he’d have to come out of my apartment if he wanted to talk to me.
“Bone Crusher’s a big mutha fucka. I need to know how you brought him to his knees? In case I ever have to take him on.”
“Who’s Bone Crusher?” I leaned forward to ask.
&nbs
p; “Catch you later, Black,” Kirk said and walked away.
I went back inside my apartment and closed the door. I was about to go get back in bed with Lo-Lo and Anya when there was a knock at the door.
“Forget something, Detective,” I said opening the door without looking before I realized that it was Bobby.
“He’s gone,” he said and came in.
“Happy birthday,” I said and went to sit down.
“Thanks.” Bobby sat in the chair Kirk had grabbed. “What’d he want?”
“To tell me that he can’t figure me out and to tell me that he knows I killed Silky, and he knows I killed Lisa and Marquez.”
“That’s not good news.”
“Notice I said me, not we.”
“I did,” he said.
“What do you wanna do for your birthday?”
“Same thing we do every day, get fucked up and fuck as many hos as we can.”
“I’m for that,” I said and headed to the room to shower and get dressed. Well, Anya’s sudden appearance in the shower made that take longer than it should have, but once I was dressed, I said goodbye to my girls and Bobby opened the door to leave.
“Happy Birthday!” Wanda shouted and gave Bobby a hug.
“Thank you, Wanda.”
“I knew I’d find you here.” She hugged him again.
“And you just caught us, cause we were getting ready to leave,” Bobby said.
“Then I’m right on time. What we gonna do today for your birthday?” Wanda asked, and I watched the excitement drain from his face. Her hanging out with us meant we could still get fucked up, but fuckin’ as many hos as we could was no longer an option.
“Same thing we do every day, get fucked up and have a good time,” Bobby said.
“The best time,” I said.
“Right,” Wanda said and pumped her fist.
“Come on. Let’s go,” Bobby said, and we started out the door, but Wanda stopped us.
“Wait.” She looked at me. “Is it safe to use your bathroom?”
“Sure.”
“I mean do you have company?”
“Lo-Lo and Anya are here.”
Wanda waved her hand and headed toward the bathroom. “They aren’t company, they damn near live here,” Wanda said and went in the bathroom. Nothing gets past Wanda, she’s got eyes and ears everywhere.
“Why she gotta come?” Bobby asked like a spoiled child who just got his fuck all day pass revoked.
“Cut her some slack, Bobby. It’s her first Christmas without Vickie since she was nine.”
“You’re right. If Vickie were here, the two of them would be off shopping or doing some other Christmassy shit and we wouldn’t see them until later tonight.”
“Exactly.”
“All right. But we dumpin’ her pussy blockin’ ass first chance we get,” Bobby said as Wanda came out of the bathroom.
“I’m ready.” Wanda walked up to Bobby. “Happy Birthday, Bobby,” she said and took the box from behind her back and handed it to him. He quickly tore the paper off and opened it.
“A watch,” he said and held it up.
“A stainless steel Rolex with white gold diamonds,” I said because I was with her when she bought it.
“It’s from the two of us,” Wanda said. Bobby and I exchanged looks because I already told him about the gift I planned to give him. It wouldn’t hold its value like that Rolex, but he’ll enjoy it more. Much more.
After I told Lo-Lo and Anya to come by The Late Night when they got through dancing, we left my apartment and me and Bobby headed for his car.
“No,” Wanda said, and we stopped. “It’s your birthday, I’ll drive,” she said and me and Bobby looked at her and then to her Honda. Bobby dug in his pocket and tossed her his keys.
“You drive,” Bobby said, and we started for the car again. Wanda shook her head and fell in behind us.
“What? My car ain’t good enough for you two?”
“Not big enough,” Bobby said. “We need leg room.”
“I got plenty of leg room,” Wanda said in defense of her car.
“In the front, but the back,” I said, as we got to the car and I got in the back seat. I looked over at the empty seat next to me, looked away and tried not to miss her.
“That’s right,” Bobby said. “It’s my birthday, so I’d hate to have to fight Mike for the front seat.”
“It’s your birthday, Bob. I would let you have the front seat.”
“While you caught a cab and met us there,” Bobby laughed.
“Probably.”
“So, birthday boy; what do you wanna do?”
“I’m hungry.”
“So am I,” Wanda said.
“Starving,” I added.
“So, what do you wanna eat?” Wanda asked.
“You know what I been wantin’ lately?”
“What?” I asked him.
“A hero from Morris’s Deli.”
“Ham and swiss with mayo?” Wanda asked and smiled.
“You know it,” Bobby said.
When we were kids, we used to go to Morris’s Deli and we’d get ham and swiss with mayonnaise heroes. But not Vickie, she’d always get pastrami on rye.
The place was owned and ran by a fat old Jew named Lawrence Morris, that everybody called Larry, he insisted on it. It had been a while since I’d been to Morris’s, but not much had changed over the years.
“Who do we have here,” Larry said when Wanda came in the deli. “Now I know it’s going to snow today,” he said when me and Bobby walked in behind her.
“How you doing?” Wanda asked.
“You got a couple of hours; I could tell you?” Larry shook his head. “What can I get for you, Wanda?”
“Ham and swiss with mayo.”
“Make it two,” Bobby said excitedly.
“What about you, Mike. Ham and swiss with mayo for you too?” Larry asked.
“I think I’ll have a hot pastrami on rye.” Bobby and Wanda looked at me and smiled. I thought Wanda’s cheeks were gonna crack when I said, “And put some sauerkraut on it.”
“Coming up,” Larry said.
“Make mine hot pastrami on rye too,” Wanda said and walked away from the counter.
“Me too, Larry,” Bobby said in a show of solidarity. “But I don’t want any sauerkraut on mine,” and went to sit down with Wanda.
“Everything all right?” I asked Larry.
He shook his head. “Neighborhood’s changing.” He looked at me. “You’re a good guy, Mike, you always were. Always polite and respectful.” He laughed a little; I guess ’cause I turned out to be a criminal. “But some of these characters that come in here.” He shook his head and began slicing the pastrami. “I been thinking about getting out. Retire to Florida like fat old Jews are supposed to.”
“This may sound selfish, but I hope you stay. Neighborhood wouldn’t be the same without you.”
“If I can get somebody to meet my price, I’ll be on the first thing smoking out of town.”
“I understand.”
“Go sit down, Mike. I’ll bring your food,” he said, and I went and sat down at the table with Bobby and Wanda.
“Says he’s thinking about selling out and moving to Florida,” I said.
“Why?” Bobby asked.
“Said the neighborhood is changing. Said if he can get somebody to meet his price, he’s outta here.”
“We should buy it,” Wanda said quickly and got up.
“Where are you going?” Bobby asked.
“To see how much he wants for it,” she said and looked at me. I nodded, and Wanda headed for the counter. Me and Bobby watched as Larry’s face went from happiness because Wanda was talking to him and he absolutely loves Wanda, to amusement at what I assumed was her offer to buy him out and then finally to business like when she told him that she was serious.
Wanda held out her hand and she shook hands with Larry before coming back to the table.
“
What he say?” I asked.
“He wants three hundred and fifty thousand. His annual revenue is about eight hundred thousand, rent four grand a month, and around seventy-five to a hundred grand in cash flow,” Wanda said.
“Is that good?” Bobby asked.
“It ain’t bad. How’d you leave it?” I asked.
“I told him that we needed to talk it over and have our accountant go over his books, but I told him we’d take it,” Wanda said as Larry appeared at the table with our food. She was becoming quite good at laundering our money.
After we ate, we left the deli and we walked down the street to Bobby’s car. Just before we got there, somebody started shooting at us with semi-automatic weapons from across the street. The three of us took cover behind a car and me and Bobby pulled our guns.
“You see who it is?” Bobby asked as the shooting continued.
“No. It happened too fast for me to get a look at them,” I said and glanced over at Wanda. I didn’t like her to be involved in shit like this, but here she is again.
“There are three of them,” Wanda said. “Two are behind the red car and the other one was standing in the doorway.”
“We take the two behind the car and then we get the one in the doorway,” I said as me and Bobby prepared to move on them.
“Give me a gun, Mike,” Wanda said.
“You know how I feel about you and guns. Where’s yours?” I asked as the shooting continued.
“It’s in my car!” Wanda shouted.
“Y’all settle that shit later!” Bobby shouted and returned fire on our attackers. I reluctantly handed Wanda a gun and an extra clip. I may not have wanted her there, but Wanda could handle a gun.
“Go ahead, I’ll cover!” Wanda shouted and began shooting at the red car as me and Bobby moved out. Wanda kept firing at the red car and that gave us a chance to run across the street.
When the clip was empty, Wanda dropped down to reload, but by that time, me and Bobby had made it across the street and were in position to return fire.
I rose up to fire and hit one of the men behind the car and that was when I saw that it was Gun in the doorway. He fired a couple of shots at me and then he took off running. I fired at him, but I missed. Wanda came up blasting again. Bobby circled around to the other side of the car and hit the last shooter with several shots.
