Pretty Kings

by T. Styles

  “They’ll be there,” Avery tells The Russians after ending the call with Bambi. He looks at his family. “I’m so sorry.” He begins to cry. “Please forgive me,” he says to his wife and kid.

  “Good work, Avery,” Iakov Lenin says rubbing his shoulder. “And don’t worry about your family, they’re fine.” His Russian accent is definite. The clear cup of vodka he never leaves home without is held firmly in his hand. “You did well.” He scratches his brown hair with his free hand.

  “Yes, I agree,” responds Arkadi Lenin, Iakov’s brother. He sits on the edge of the table and looks down at Avery. “Before long we will be out of your hair,” he palms Avery’s head, “and your beautiful family will be back together.”

  The Russians have piercing blue eyes and feline like features. Their lips slant downward and clues of their heritage are written all over their faces.

  The Russians came to America many years ago with the dream of becoming engineers. They migrated to Alaska and pursued their goal with great passion. As they observed modern lifestyle, they noticed that he who had lots of money, made the rules. Making a mere one hundred thousand dollars yearly would not suffice. If they were going to be rich, they needed a foot into the drug trade.

  The Russians put their money together and moved to Maryland. They could’ve gone to popular cocaine cities like Los Angeles and Las Vegas, but the markets were oversaturated with drug kingpins already. But in Maryland, they could learn the business and move slowly. They bought a cocaine pack from a small time dealer name Rico, and sold it to a few rock bands on the coast. At first business was good, but before long they lost their clientele because the quality of Rico’s product decreased although his prices increased. Their business with Rico wasn’t in vain, because the Russians studied him carefully. When he wasn’t looking, they learned whom he did business with, and documented the hand-to-hand cats in Rico’s territory. When The Russians learned all they needed to know from Rico, they met another connect in Mexico called, Shorty Valdez.

  With Shorty in their pocket, they murdered Rico, froze his body parts and sent them to the lieutenants in his organization. The message was clear. Get with us or die. Using fear, The Russians claimed Rico’s soldiers and territory. Before long, their reach extended to Maryland, D.C., Virginia and parts of New York. But, they wanted to be bigger.

  After some time they grew even larger but Shorty refused to drop his rates despite the business The Russians were giving him. Before long they learned of the Kennedy Kings, drug connects in the Washington D.C. area that had the purest cocaine the United States had ever seen. Since they couldn’t reach the Kennedy Kings directly, no matter how hard they tried, they eventually were introduced to Avery Graham, one of their distributors.

  Although Avery stepped on his product a few times, the quality was still better than that of Shorty Valdez and Rico’s put together. So the Russians dropped their relationship with Shorty and used Avery exclusively.

  For a year, without conflict, The Russians watched Avery turn from a small time drug lord with a few cars and a medium sized home, to a bigger dealer with several businesses and a larger home. But, when The Russians asked to meet the Kennedy Kings directly, Avery refused to introduce them. Not only would putting them in direct contact with the Kennedy Kings risk his pocket money, the Kennedy Kings didn’t meet anyone. It wasn’t until they hogtied Avery’s wife and daughter, that Avery was willing to talk to Kevin and schedule the meeting.

  Getting the Kennedy Kings to meet with The Russians was easier said than done. When Avery said that the Russians wanted to meet with them, Kevin was suspicious from the gate and he wasn’t interested. But when The Russians asked for one hundred million dollars worth of cocaine, suddenly they became important enough to the Kings.

  To see to it that the meeting went as scheduled, The Russians moved into Avery’s home and took over his family. They allowed him to conduct business as usual on the streets, as long as the wire in his pocket, which allowed them to see and hear everything he did, wasn’t removed. One false move on Avery’s part would result in his home being missiled with his family inside.

  “Please don’t hurt my family,” Avery says as he looks at his family.

  “Why would we do such a thing?” Arkadi says touching his ear. “After all, who’s more honest than the Russians?”

  “Nobody,” Avery says.

  Monday, November 5th, 2012

  5:00 pm

  AUNT BUNNY

  Bunny pushes Jasmine’s wooden picnic table through the cold grass. The biceps in her arms buckle as she puts it in place. She looks to the left and right, and when ready steps onto the table part, increasing her height. The table cracks under her weight, but supports her for the time being.

  It is now Monday, and she still hasn’t heard from Kevin. Now Bunny is expecting the worst. This was the first time she could remember that Kevin ever went days without calling her. Something dark was going on in the Kennedy residence, and she believed Bambi with her sick military mind was involved.

  Slowly she raises her body, until her forehead and eyes are peering into Bambi’s bedroom. From where Bunny stands, she can see a vodka bottle in her hands.

  “I knew that bitch was drinking again,” she says to herself. “Once and alcoholic always an alcoholic.

  When Bambi pops up, and looks around her room, fearing she would be seen, Bunny stoops down and falls off of the table, and into the cold grass. She quickly stands up, dusts herself off and walks to the front of the house. When she see’s a large brown box out front, she nosily opens it up. It’s the new Louis Vuitton winter collection Mitch bought for Bambi. She walks it to her car, pops the trunk and tosses it inside. After stealing, she waddles back up to Bambi’s door.

  Taking a few quick breaths, Bunny digs into her purse, and removes her keys. When she opens the door to the house, Bambi is waiting for her in the foyer. She is not holding the liquor bottle.

  “When are you going to get enough of snooping around on me, Bunny?” Bambi asks. “I mean don’t you have anything better to do with your time?”

  Bunny is shocked. She thought she was being sneaky, and was caught red-handed. “If you don’t want nobody looking through your window, you should close the curtains.”

  “If I do that, how else would you be able to sneak in on me?” Bambi responds. “You’ve been doing it for seventeen years, Bunny. Get a fucking life already, and stay out of ours.”

  Bunny’s face turns red. “Where is Scarlett? I have to talk to her about something.”

  Bambi steps close to her. “After the way you treated Scarlett years ago, I doubt she has anything to say to you.”

  Bunny smirks. “That bottle of vodka you were drinking in the bedroom looked good. I wonder what your sisters would say if they knew you were drinking again.” Bunny loved having dirt on people she chose to control. Without dirt, she was useless. “I bet you wouldn’t be so high on the pedestal then, now would you?”

  The smirk on Bambi’s face was wiped off. She looks down at her feet and shakes her head. Then she looks up into Bunny’s eyes. “If you gonna tell them, go ahead and do it. I’m not about to kiss ass for nobody, and if I started it definitely wouldn’t be yours.”

  Bunny pushes past Bambi and meets Race, Scarlett and Denim in the living room. Although liquor was not allowed in the house when Kevin was alive, they are now drinking wine at the table talking about the current condition of their lives.

  Bunny interrupts them and says, “I know how close you girls are, and I feel bad about what I’m about to say.”

  Scarlett almost faints when she hears those words coming out of Bunny’s mouth. She just knew she was about to put her shady life on Front Street.

  “But, I don’t know if Bambi has told you or not, but she’s drinking again.” Bunny didn’t waste time with chivalries or hellos. She got right down to the cockroach type behavior she was known for. “I’m just letting ya’ll know.”

  “I’m sorry,” Bambi says to he
r sisters. “I got a lot on my mind,” she continues, not being able to say that the real reason she is drinking due to Kevin’s death. “I hope you all can forgive me.”

  Scarlett and Race look in awe while Denim walks away even though Denim knows already.

  Bambi walks to the front door and Bunny follows her. “Look what you made me do, Bambi? You think I felt good about that shit?”

  “It doesn’t matter what you felt,” Bambi responds. “They were going to find out sooner or later so you just did me a favor. I’ll tell you this though; you made yourself look worse in front of them just now. I wonder how that speaks to your credibility. Nobody likes a snitch, Bunny. Or a thief. So enjoy the Louis Vuitton set you just stole and get the fuck out of my house.”

  Bunny is so embarrassed. “Where is Kevin?” Bunny spits. “I want to know and I want to know now.”

  “He’s not here,” Bambi laughs. “Maybe he got tired of you after all. I know you been getting on my nerves for the last seventeen years.”

  Bunny scratches her head. “You know what, it doesn’t even matter. He told me earlier when he called to pick up some more money.”

  Bambi’s eyebrows rise. It’s impossible for Kevin to speak to her or anybody else.

  Bunny moves toward the bedroom and Kevin’s safe. Once in the closet she drops to her knees and enters the code. She pulls the safe’s door open and takes another thousand from the already dwindling stack.

  “Kevin didn’t tell you to get more money,” Bambi says to her with clenched fists as she watches Bunny violate her financially...again.

  “Sure he did,” she responds closing the safe’s door.

  “That’s impossible,” Bambi yells.

  “Why is it impossible?” Bunny asks giving her a knowing look. Bunny stands up and looks dead into Bambi’s eyes. “Bambi, I asked you a question. Why is it impossible for Kevin to say I could get more money? You and me both know there isn’t a thing he won’t do for me.”

  When Bambi doesn’t respond, Bunny smirks, stuffs the money into her large bra cup and walks around Bambi and out the house. Once in her car Bunny says, “Checkmate.”

  BAMBI

  I hate that bitch. I hate Bunny so much I can’t even stand rabbits anymore, because of her name. As I cruise down the street in my Rolls Royce, with a little vodka in my cup, I can feel the stares coming from my sisters in the back and passenger seats. I try not to think about it; instead I glance at the starlights on the ceiling of my car. When I look at their faces I see frustration. But, they don’t know what I endured in Saudi Arabia. They don’t know the things I’ve seen. I need to drink to clear my mind, and I’m tired of apologizing for it too.

  ****

  Saudi Arabia

  October 10, 1994

  Bambi was lying on her stomach in a patch of wet sand. She could still smell the urine from the Iraqi soldier who pissed there not even thirty minutes earlier.

  Last night while under fire, she and Desseray had been separated from their platoon. They didn’t have anyway to communicate with the army about their location, because they were under attack and had to save their own lives, and escape. Up until that moment, they were roaming aimlessly around the desert. Luckily they happened upon a small desert fort, which they wanted to take shelter, until they could be reunited with their platoon. There was one problem, it was already occupied.

  When the coast looked clear, Bambi and Desseray crawled closer to the fort on their stomachs. They stopped when a small wall hid them from view, but from Bambi's position she could see her platoon mate Tatiana inside, bloodied, beaten and tied to a chair.

  At some point during the middle of the night, Tatiana was taken from the Platoon by Iraqi soldiers, and held hostage. It was pure luck that brought Bambi there and she was not going to let her down again. Bambi could see one soldier in the front of the fort and, one in the back and one inside.

  When Desseray peeped over the wall also, and saw Tatiana in a chair with her arms tied she said, "This doesn’t look good, Private. We should go back towards our camp and wait for help. The rest of our platoon should be looking for us now."

  "There’s nothing left of our camp, Desseray,” Bambi told her. “We gotta help Tatiana who as of now is a prisoner of war."

  "I can’t allow this,” Desseray responded. “Trying to save her is too risky. It’s two of us and three of them."

  "Well I’ll take two by myself,” Bambi replied. “I can do this. But I have to move now. If those Iraqi soldiers are out in the open like that, it means that their transport is probably in route. If we don't help her now we'll lose her forever." Bambi felt beyond guilty for letting Tatiana down when she was being raped, and had no intentions on doing it again. Bambi knew Desseray wasn’t a Good Samaritan so she said, “I saw a phone inside too, Desseray.”

  Desseray’s eyes brightened wanting to reconnect with her platoon. “Where, I didn’t see it?”

  “It’s right by her foot,” Bambi continued to lie. “From where I am, I can shoot two of them and we can call for help.”

  Now Desseray was interested. She cocked her weapon and said, "Do what you gotta do, Private. I'll cover you."

  Bambi was just about to take aim at the soldiers when she saw a little boy inside of the fort next to Tatiana and the Iraqi soldier. The child grabbed the soldier’s hand and the soldier roughed up his curly black hair. She didn’t want the child hurt.

  "Fuck,” Bambi yelled dropping down to hide behind the wall. “There's a kid inside."

  "And?" Desseray said shrugging her shoulders. "You have a mission, and if you gotta kill a kid to make it happen so be it."

  Bambi was a lot of things, but a baby killer was not one of them. She analyzed the soldiers again. The one in the front was sitting on the step reading some sort of paper. The one in the back, closer to her, was on guard and ready to attack. Bambi removed her shirt and bra.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” Desseray whispered.

  Bambi ignored her, and spit into her hand and rubbed sand all over her face and neck. She was going for a certain look and needed more sand so she said, “Desseray, spit in your hands and rub sand onto my body.” When she didn’t move Bambi said, “Do it.”

  Desseray helped with her sick scene until Bambi was covered in sand from the breasts up.

  “What is the purpose of this?”

  “I need to appear harmless,” Bambi said, “and like I’ve been out here all day.”

  Bambi stuffed a knife in the back of her pants, and took off of her shoes. Taking a deep breath, she crawled toward the soldier in the back and said, “rape,” in Arabic. “Help me, please.”

  The soldier was about to shoot her until he saw she was unarmed. No weapon. No shirt and no shoes. She looked like a good fuck and he wanted to take advantage. He continued to move closer to her, until she dropped to the sand, clipped his foot, sending him falling to the ground. When he was down she got on top of him, covered his mouth with her hand and slit into the flesh of his throat. His blood splashed all over her breasts and face, dampening the sand at her feet.

  When he was dead, Bambi crawled into the back of the house and peeked through the window. She saw Tatiana tied to a chair, and alone. Bambi opened the door carefully, looked around and entered. Tatiana nodded to the door and Bambi rushed toward it and stood on the side. Two minutes later, the door opened and the soldier told his son, “To always be sure to wash his hands when leaving the bathroom,” in Arabic.

  Bambi caught the man off guard, pulled him to her breasts from behind and gashed his throat. His blood sprayed over her face and hair making her virtually unrecognizable. When the little boy screamed, she caught him quickly and pressed her hand against his lips, muffling his cries.

  Desseray seeing the commotion shot the soldier in the front of the fort in the back of the head when he was going inside to help. He didn’t see a thing coming.

  When all the soldiers were dead Bambi released the boy and told him to sit down, and don’t move. Fright
ened, he quickly obeyed.

  Then she untied Tatiana, and they hugged tightly. “Thank you so much, Bambi,” Tatiana sobbed. “I thought I was dead. I thought I was dead and you saved me.”

  “Where is the phone,” Desseray asked throwing Bambi her clothes from outside. She looked around. “I thought you said a phone was in here, next to Tatiana’s feet.”

  “I lied,” Bambi said placing her clothes on after having gotten what she wanted. Her friend safe and alive.

  Desseray frowned. “So you lied to me? A superior?”

  “Desseray, get over your fucking self already. We rescued a prisoner of war. Think about the medals you’re going to get for this shit.”

  Desseray hated being lied to. So she rushed toward the little boy, grabbed him, placed the barrel of the gun to the back of the child’s curly hair, and blew his brains out. “Now I feel better. There’s one less raghead in the world to worry about.”

  ****

  I wanted my sisters to come to the club dressed as men, to prepare us for the meeting on Saturday. Instead of at least trying, Race keeps crossing her legs although she has on a pair of baggy jeans and Timberland boots. Scarlett has on rouge, although she swears she didn’t smooth on any today, and Denim wore tight jeans, which showed her phat ass, even though she said it was her most masculine outfit. If we walked into that meeting with the Russians like this, we would be laughed at and then killed.

  “I’m ready to go home,” Denim says to me while I’m at the bar getting another drink. “We been out here long and we still look like ourselves. Not only that we are starting to get crazy looks.”

  My body feels like a wave and all was right in my world. I forgot how good it feels to drink, but now I remember. “We only been here an hour, Denim. Relax will you?”