Money Is King: The Complete Series

by Nicety

  “Are you ready to tell us what’s on your mind, son?” He recited it like it was embedded in his brain from years of practice.

  “Yeah I…I think I am.” I responded never losing my cool even though I was now losing my patience.

  “Alright now gon’ and tell me what you have to say. Tell us what happened. And know that it’s okay. Everybody makes mistakes. I know you didn’t mean to shoot that girl. I know it.” He rambled turning on the tape recorder putting on his best show.

  “What do you need a tape recorder for if you got cameras in ever corner of the room?” I asked throwing him off.

  “Well, uh, cause we like to have every form of communication we can just in case one goes out or is unavailable. But go on son, tell us what happened.” He said sliding the tape recorder closer to me.

  I hesitated, I wanted to tell him to kiss my ass or stick his dick up his ass and sit and spin on the shit but I figured that would end badly. The goal was to get the fuck out of here not to get locked up for police brutality. I could tell he was waiting on me to say exactly what he wanted to hear so he could go out there and high five it up with his boys. They wanted an open and shut case that was easy as possible. He wanted me to rollover on myself just like that so he could go to his nice cozy home in the suburbs and kiss his wife and kids goodnight. But what he failed to realize was that in my mind, what he fucking wanted didn’t matter.

  “Listen guys. I’d love to help you all out. Really, I would. But if you ain’t charging me with anything then I can just as well get the fuck up and walk out that door without you being able to say a damn thing to me. So either charge me and lock me up or get the fuck out of me face.” I responded casually making sure every word was spoken into his old ass tape recorder just the way he wanted.

  “You’re a smart aleck I see. You thing this shit is cute huh? You think this shit is funny?” He asked standing snatching up his recording device and manila folders. “We’ll see just how smart you are. I’ll be right back.”

  He walked out of the door pissed. I sat back in the chair feeling like I had just on a championship game. I was undefeated. The next time they came back in that door I would officially be a free man. They had nothing on me and they knew it. All of their scare tactics and bullshit spiels were worthless right now. It was so old and outdated they needed to take that shit back to the drawing board. I wanted to smile but I knew the fuckers were watching me on candid camera.

  I could credit Yolo and Mink to this waste of almost an hour of my life. My phone buzzed in my pocket but I dared not get it. The cops forgot that I had it on me and if they remembered they would try to confiscate and go through it looking for shit they had no business looking for. A few more minutes went past before I realized they were holding me in there letting me stew in my own misery. I was damn sure tired of being in there and it showed all on my face and posture. Scooting up close to the table I put my head down on my arms trying to calm down and remain as patient as possible. That’s what they wanted me to do, lose my damn mind. That’s how they break you down.

  More minutes passed. By now my patience was basically nonexistent. I wanted out and these niggas was about to mad. I stood straightening my clothes headed for the door and turned the knob. It was locked and of course it was. They were definitely now treating me like a damn suspect. I turned to walk back towards my seat blowing more steam out of my mouth when the bad cop came back in the door with the most serious look on his face.

  “Now you listen here. We have fingerprints that place you at the scene of the crime. So you can’t just weasel your way out of this one. Now stop dicking around and tell us what the hell went down out there!” Detective Rich snapped. “You think we don’t have the skinny on you? Yeah, we know all about your previous felony, murder! We know all about how much time you did downstate.”

  “What the fuck does one have to do with another? I didn’t try to kill Flava!” I said feeling fed up with his shit.

  “What makes us think you didn’t? If you’ll kill once, you’ll kill again! Ain’t that right?” He spat droplets of his disgusting spit on my nose.

  “Man fuck this and fuck you; either charge me and lock me up, throw me in jail or leave me the hell alone. That’s it period.” I snapped folding my arms shooting him a stern eye as I wiped his spittle off my damn skin.

  He was a little too close to my face, close enough that I wanted to slap his long ass nose off. The stale smell of two day old caffeine was on his breath and it reeked of funk and lack of toothpaste. If I had the small tin can of Altoids that I usually keep in the car on me, then I would have offered the man one or six. Once he saw that his scare tactics were not working the way he wanted them to, he calmed down to try a different approach.

  “Alright, I ain’t gonna play with you. I’m just gonna be honest with you. You’re right. You aren’t under arrest and you can walk out that door. But know this, if we find any reason to come and pick you up and we gotta hunt you down, you will regret it.” He whispered leaning in as he sat down.

  “Excuse me? Is that a threat detective?”

  “No sir. It’s a guarantee.” His grin spread across his face slowly but it made mine even bigger as I followed suit. “So is there anything that you would like to say before you make this even harder for yourself in the long run.”

  “Uh, yeah I got some shit to say. I would like to say that if this interview isn’t over right fucking now and you still want to talk then it looks like I’m going to need my lawyer, bruh.” I smirked giving him the icing on the cake.

  After I served his ass with my guarantee that he was not about to get an ounce of confession to bullshit out of me, he leaned back in the chair scratching his chin with one hand while showing me the door with the other. My feet could not move fast enough to the door as I tried the knob again and it worked. I walked past all of his comrades getting a glimpse of their evil glances as I damn near danced right past their asses and headed out the door.

  “Peace fellas.” I laughed the whole way to the door.

  The look on their faces could have burned a sinkhole the back of my head. When I made it outside unscathed, I knew that it was not a trick. I was truly free. There was no telling what kind of shit Mink had up her sleeve to frame me for the shit. Whatever it was it was good enough to make Yolo believe her even when he knew she wasn’t shit. I couldn’t really blame the nigga cause he was out of his mind fucked up in the head over Flava. But when I told his ass to wake the hell up, he should have been able to do it with no hesitation.

  When it’s someone you claim like a brother, you should never believe that person would do you wrong. So either I was never a brother to him or his mind was truly twisted up so badly that he couldn’t see anything past his pain. Mink was such a manipulative bitch that when she preyed on the weak, it seemed like she ate them alive. She fed off shit like that. I didn’t think that Yolo was such a weak minded ass dude but I guess I didn’t know him as well as I thought I did. It hurt but the fact that he had me going through any of this shit hurt even more. Fuck him.

  I stepped down the last stair on the outside of the precinct, looking around wondering where my truck was. My phone buzzed once more and as I took it out I was hoping to see a couple of missed calls from Lasha. She was a beast and I knew she could handle herself around Mink’s ass. But there was nothing. Only a few notifications from Facebook that I wasn’t interested in. I was heated beyond belief figuring like she would have called by now to tell me something. She was my only hope to keep my name clear and be my alibi for last night. Without her I might be shitted on. My fingers made the call my brain didn’t have the heart to make.

  This was my life. I spent so many years locked up for some shit and I did not have any intentions on going back. The phone kept ringing and ringing until finally the voicemail picked up airing her sexy ass voice in my ear. It was nice to hear her voice but it would have been even nicer to hear it in person. Maybe she was in a part of the hospital where they had no servic
e or maybe…maybe she never went to the hospital at all. Maybe she lied about having my back and it was truly over between she and I. I swear all of the females that I’ve been fucking around with have been nothing but drama and bullshit. If she was done then I was most definitely done too.

  I needed to see my son. He was the perfect end to any bad day and this one was definitely one for the records. CJ always brought a smile to my face no matter how badly I just wanted to stay mad. That little boy gave me life over and over again when I hugged him, talked to him, or saw his smile. It was hard to believe that someone so pure and full of life and love could have ever came out of that bitch of a baby momma of mine. Yeah, I needed to see my seed to end this day on the best note ever. But I still couldn’t find my motherfucking truck. I turned left and then right then walked around to the back of the precinct where the parking lot was until it hit me. My stupid ass left the damn thing at the hospital when the dick ass cops drove me here. Shit!

  Chapter 8— Mink

  This nigga put me out the room like he was ready to get his fuck on with this hoe. When he shut the door I put my ear to it as he walked back to his seat. He could put me out but that was not going to stop me from ear hustling to find out what the fuck he was being so secretive for. I didn’t appreciate it and I didn’t like it. After everything I did for this nigga, trying to help him get some kind of justice for his bitch being stretched out and this was the thanks that I got. Ugh!

  It was frustrating as hell that I could not even hear the mumbling of their voices no matter how hard I pressed my ear to the side of the wall. Not to mention the fact that my momma bought into that whole ‘go home and get some rest’ bullshit. She should have known better than to let some nigga tell her what to do. I never knew she was that type of person since I so very rarely saw her with a man of her own. Her lonely ass was too busy trying to work and barely raise kids. I’m glad I vowed to never be as worthless and pathetic as she was.

  “Mink, Mink. Why are you standing there with you ear to the door like that?” Speak of the devil as my momma came out of nowhere being all up in my business.

  “No reason.” I shooed her off.

  “You’re nosey ass. If he wanted you to know what was going on in there he’d invite you in. If you’re that desperate just take your ass in there and ask them what they are talking about. It’s probably nothing. Just talking to Flava and trying to keep her spirits up. But you wouldn’t know nothing about that, now would you?” Her mouth went on moving but the words sounded much like the parents from those old ass Charlie Brown cartoons.

  “Momma, would you leave me the hell alone? Damn. Every time I look up you always got something to say.” I spoke quietly still trying to get a listen to what they were saying in the room.

  She wasn’t helping me at all, distracting me from what I was trying to do. Sometimes I think she liked fucking with me, pissing me off to no end. She liked seeing me mad like a wild dog ready to kick somebody’s ass when I didn’t get my way. It’s the only reason I could explain why she always stuck her nose where it didn’t belong. She had better be careful though. My momma didn’t know the real me and if she was not careful she could end up like Flava. Hell her death would be more beneficial to me anyway cause I know she had a will or an insurance policy on her ass that would pay off big time.

  “You need to get your butt away from that door and c’mon here. I’m ready to go.” She said walking back towards the lobby where CJ was waiting the entire time.

  “I’m busy right now. I’ll meet you guys at the car.” I said steadily trying to shoo her away.

  “Mink, I’m not waiting on you. If I make it back to that car and you ain’t there by the time I start it up, I’m gone. Your behind will be left and I don’t know what to tell you about getting home.” She said swaying down the hall. “You ain’t got no damn money to get on the bus.”

  “I could just pay for a cab and when I get there you can pay for it.” I said thinking out loud.

  My momma turned back with a raised eyebrow and a crazed looked on her face. She had to have heard me even though I could have sworn that I mumbled that shit through my teeth. If I was that loud to her then I knew Yolo and Lasha could hear that I was still outside the door and weren’t going to talk about anything major until I was gone. Tired and beyond annoyed, I walked off headed for the lobby beating my slowpoke slew footed momma there in no time.

  “Now I beat you to the lobby. Who’s the one not ready to leave?” I said sucking my teeth as she approached CJ and me.

  “Girl, don’t test me, hear? It’s been a long day and it still ain’t over. Won’t nothing be right until they tell me my baby is out that damn coma and doing fine.” She said getting onto the elevator.

  “Huh? What’s wrong with auntie? Is she gonna be alright?” CJ asked already beginning to wreck my nerves with his twenty four questions.

  “Yeah boy. She’s gonna be just fine. Now don’t you worry yourself. You understand?” My momma replied still coddling him like a baby.

  “Momma, why don’t you tell the boy the damn truth? You always trying to shelter him from the world. Hell if we don’t tell him then he’s gonna find out the hard way in them streets.” I said crossing my arms and rolling my eyes at her weakness as we exited the elevator walking out into the parking garage. “Like I did.”

  “Mink, you found out about the world the hard way because that’s the path you chose. You need to start taking responsibility for your actions.” She said grabbing CJ’s head leaning him against her body in a side embrace.

  “Yeah whatever.” I shrugged not feeling anything she had to say.

  We made it to the car, without anyone saying a word. There was tension there and we all could feel its presence. I was used to it. Whenever I came around there was always some dark cloud looming over me and whoever else was with me. That’s how I knew I was the black sheep of the family. I haven’t been liked for so long that it became more of an annoyance than anything else. I would much rather be feared than liked, hated than loved. At least I knew those were true feelings and not that fake shit people smiled in your face with.

  My momma drove like she was driving an old folks brigade to their bingo night. I was hungry, tired, and annoyed. Three feelings that didn’t make me good to be around and here she was taking all day to get home. I still had not figured out what I was going to do especially since I didn’t know if the police had actually gotten Cesar to confess to an attempted murder he didn’t do. Cops were good for shit like that, making a muthafucka feel guilty enough to confess. I could only wish they had gotten him to do it since he was already a felon.

  Another fifteen minutes later and we were finally at home. I kicked my shoes off and laid back on the bed wondering what my next move would be. I needed to get some money and fast but all of my resources were dry. Apparently with Cash being missing in action and Yolo being on the fence about whether or not he wanted to fuck with me or not, I had nobody on my team. The only thing I could think of was to get a few thousand dollars from my momma but I didn’t even know if she had that kind of money lying around. She always kept her bedroom door locked with a padlock and it wasn’t even a bad one. She had to have spent money on that lock cause it was one of those ones that was virtually indestructible.

  “Ma, I’ve been calling dad but he hasn’t been answering. He ain’t even called me back neither. You heard from him since he left the hospital with those cops?” CJ asked walking the room.

  “You saw him with the cops?”

  “Yeah. He told me not to worry, that everything was going to be okay. But he ain’t answered my calls and I’m worried.” He responded seemingly like he was fighting back tears. “Did he have something to do with what happened to auntie?”

  “Eh. Baby, your daddy is not everything that you think he is. Okay? He’s not the upstanding man that he’s been teaching you to be. You know what a hypocrite is?” I asked him sitting upright.

  “Not really. I think it’s when you sa
y one thing but do another.”

  “Something like that. So your daddy is not who he says he is. Its better you found out now so you don’t get your heart broken later.” I smiled.

  “But I still wanna talk to him. If he had something to with what happened to auntie than maybe I could help him. You know get on the straight and narrow again.” He smiled back with gleam in his eye.

  “Boy, leave your daddy alone. Okay? There ain’t nothing you can do for your daddy. He’s hopeless, washed up, fucked up. You understand me?” I spat standing up getting in his face so that he could understand that I meant business.

  “What’s going on in here?” My momma stepped in sticking her nose where it didn’t belong once again.

  CJ put his head down. I thought he was going to cry and show the weakest for of emotion a man could show in my eyes but he didn’t. He got it from his daddy, never to cry in front of women. Even after my talk he was still using the teachings that Cesar had always taught him. I was going to break him of that shit if it was the last thing I did. I shooed my momma off letting her know she needed to go find something else to do away from my room as I backed both of them out of my room door.