The Circle: Fallon's Story (THE CIRCLE SERIES)

by Danielle Santiago

  “Leave to go where?” Autumn asked. “We don’t have any money. The Feds took everything.”

  “Then we’ll have to do what we have to do to make our ends meet. We’ll drive to Mexico. Once we cross the border the Feds can’t touch us.”

  “Whoa!” the random girl stated. “I’m not going anywhere. Fuck that. Just let me go about my way.”

  “What’s your name?” Rain asked the girl.

  “Erin,” she replied.

  “Erin, as soon as we are someplace where we can fire a gun without making a scene, I’ll take the handcuffs off. Then you can go about your way,” Rain replied.

  Chapter 1

  Using What You Got

  BAM! BAM! BAM! It seemed like Fallon heard the ear shattering noises way before she identified the source. It all happened so fast. One minute she had her newly pedicured toes up on the espresso colored coffee table surrounded by cash and champagne listening to her big brother toast to the good life, the next minute, it sounded like the entire house was caving in on them brick by brick.

  “What the f…” Fallon started but the words just got caught in her throat.

  Fallon’s slightly slanted eyes went round like marbles as she watched her brother Dayvid’s body suddenly lurch forward. There was a scream, more like a shout of some kind from her left. The sickening crunch of Dayvid’s bones and flesh clashing with the hardwood floors sent a cold chill from the base of Fallon’s skull to the bottom of her spine. Gut wrenching fear is what Fallon concluded she was feeling as a stampede of bodies rushed at her. Fear like she hadn’t experienced since the day the police came knocking to tell her that her parents were dead.

  “Police! Let me see your fucking hands! Everybody let me see your fucking hands! Nobody fucking move!”

  Fallon moved her head frantically from left to right, her long weave ponytail slapping her on each cheek as her head whipped around. Police? Police? Shit wasn’t registering in her brain at that moment. They were the untouchable Porters; there was no way the police could be rushing in on them.

  Fallon’s lips moved, but no sound came through them as what seemed like a million bodies dressed in all black moved pass her like ants at a picnic. Next, Fallon felt hands everywhere; a lot of rough, jarring, abusive hands pawing all over her, even places that were off limits. Fallon was screaming no in her mind, but the words never came out of her mouth.

  “Yo, listen to me. Nobody speaks to these fucking pigs. They always act like they know more than they really know. Don’t fall for it and keep your lips shut tight. Remember the plan. This is a setback, it ain’t over for us. Porters always come out on top…remember that shit. We ain’t down. We ain’t down ever,” Dayvid growled out as at least ten officers dressed in black raid gear dropped their knees into his back. “Shut your fucking mouth,” one officer barked as he mashed his boot on Dayvid’s back.

  It was a raid. A fucking police raid! Things had finally come together in Fallon’s mind. She and her siblings were being busted. But how? After years of being on top and out of law enforcement reach, the Porters had finally slipped up somewhere. Either that or someone who knew them well had rolled over on them. But who?

  Fallon immediately suspected every person she knew in Baltimore. Linx of course was the first person to come to mind. Fallon immediately regretted reconnecting with the devil from her past. She couldn’t help but wonder now if he had something to do with this. Nah, Linx loved her despite his shortcomings. Plus, what she knew about him was that he hated talking to the police.

  “Dayvid!” Autumn screamed. Fallon’s thoughts were scrambled but she was always responsive to her baby sister’s cries from the time they were small children. Fallon could feel heat welling up inside of her like hot lava as she eyed the officer who had his combat boot on Dayvid’s head pinning it to the floor. Then her eyes slowly roamed to her baby sister. Autumn was already crying and shaking. Not a good sign. They always knew that Autumn had too much heart to be in the business, but she was family and she was smart as a whip so that made her a part of them automatically.

  Fallon’s stomach churned as she grew angrier and angrier at being treated worse than a zoo animal. Those bastard cops had her damn near hog-tied while they screamed profanities and basically laughed at Fallon and her siblings. Fallon was sure that more than one of those officers had a rock solid dick and had probably busted a nut when they raided them. That’s what cops got off on instead of sex with their fat, ugly wives. Several of the cops groped Fallon’s ample breasts and touched her pussy and full ass at will; all with the excuse they were searching her for weapons.

  I swear if I ever get out of here each and every one of these pigs will get it. Fallon said to herself.

  “We ain’t down! We don’t go down! We are Porters! Remember the plan and what Dayvid said, ok Autumn. Keep your head up baby sis and I will see you soon!” Fallon screamed as she was finally being hauled through the doorway of the place that had housed her and her siblings after their crimes. Some fucking safe house, Fallon said to herself.

  The clanging of jail cells snapped Fallon out of reliving the worst day of her life. It had been three days since the raid and she couldn’t stop thinking about her brother and sisters. Fallon wondered if they were eating and sleeping ok, if they were being treated like shit or fairly. Fallon couldn’t stop worrying about Autumn the most. Her sister wasn’t cut out for this bullshit. Although Autumn could hold her own, Fallon thought of her as delicate and too pretty to be fighting. Rain was the only one who hadn’t gotten picked up. Fallon could just imagine how crazy her big sister was going being on the outside without the rest of them.

  Fallon was one of the four infamous Porter siblings—career criminals that reigned terror over Baltimore for years. Unless something was nailed down with kryptonite bolts the Porters could steal it. Nothing and no one were off limits; however, they preferred big paying heists like banks, jewelry vaults and occasional drug dealers that had mounted to million dollar status.

  Fallon’s stomach wasn’t feeling right this morning and she knew rights away that the queasy feeling meant one of her siblings were in trouble or in distress. Fallon knew Dayvid and Autumn had been picked up in the raid, but this feeling had to be about something more than them sitting in a jail cell. Something else was up and something serious. Fallon dry heaved for the tenth time that morning. Her gut was never wrong.

  ***

  The Porter children hadn’t had it easy in life. They lost both of their parents a car accident and had been raised by their Aunt Rachel, who they called Nanny. Survival was an understatement when it came to the Porters. They didn’t want to just survive; they wanted to take over the world and they all had different strengths.

  Rain, their eldest sister, was the brain. Rain was always thinking three steps ahead of everyone else and she was really good with planning. Rain was extremely meticulous, sometimes to a fault.

  Dayvid, their brother and Rain’s twin, was the heart. Dayvid was left to be the man of their house after their father died and Dayvid would do anything to protect his family, even if it meant committing murder. Dayvid was protective of his sisters; sometimes what Fallon thought was overprotective.

  Autumn, their baby sister, was the perceptive one. Autumn wasn’t really afraid of shit, but on the same token she cared the most about everybody. She always made contingency plans for every heist so that no one would have to get killed. However, if it came down to one of her siblings shit would be different. Autumn was Fallon’s best friend. When you have sisters you really didn’t need to make outside friends Nanny used to tell them.

  Fallon smiled as she thought about all of them. She knew she was the beauty and the beast at the same time. Fallon was strikingly beautiful, which she used to her and her siblings advantage. Fallon could talk a nigga into a brown paper bag or out of his stacks in no time. Most of the time during the Porter’s heists, Fallon held the very important job of being the distraction. She was damned good at it too. God hadn’t give
n her that Coca-Cola bottle shape, huge tits and gorgeous face for nothing. Fallon was very into using what she had to get what she wanted.

  Fallon closed her eyes trying to calm the bat-sized butterflies jumping around in her stomach. She had no idea what to expect today during her initial hearing in court. Judging from the way the cops raided their safe house, Fallon was facing down some major charges; the least would be felony grand larceny and attempted murder.

  The last heist had gotten out of hand and Fallon had to drop a guard. This was something the Porter’s frowned upon unless it was life or death necessary. Fallon felt like all of this was her fault. From sneaking around with Linx behind her brother’s back all the way to shooting the guard, Fallon felt like karma or some shit was catching up to her. She would make it right though and was determined to see her siblings again in Mexico.

  Once she reached Mexico she would never be separated from them again. Leaving the country was first priority for all of them. That had been their plan once they had amassed what they deemed to be enough money from their heists. Fallon and her siblings knew that more money equaled more problems, especially in Baltimore, so their end game was always to get out at some point. Jealousy was pervasive in the hood and so was snitching.

  After the last heist that had netted them at least three million worth of diamonds, the Porters planned to split up and make their way to the Mexican border separately. Dayvid said it would be easier and less suspicious if they did it like that rather than trying to go in together. Fallon didn’t have a good feeling about the plan because when it came to big moves and serious shit, they never did things individually it was always together.

  Once they all crossed, Dayvid’s lawyer, who had been washing their money for years, had a huge house on the ocean waiting for them to occupy. Fallon had seen the pictures and the house was to die for. Splitting the money, paying Smitty off, closing up loose ends in Baltimore and meeting up in Mexico was all a foolproof plan…until the raid. Before Dayvid was hauled away he told Fallon and Autumn they should still go through with the plan. That’s all Fallon could think about. She wasn’t trying to let her siblings down for a second time. She was going to make it to the Mexican border, one way or the other.

  More clanging metal and what sounded like a stampede of footfalls caused Fallon to open her eyes. She crumpled her eyebrows as she stood up slowly. Her eyes moved rapidly, scanning from left to right as if she was watching a moving train pass. Fallon moved closer to the jail cell bars as a phalanx of corrections officers stomped pass her in a frantic line. Fallon’s face folded into a frown as she turned towards the other females in the Baltimore Detention center holding cell to see if everyone else was as confused as she was. All of the women in the holding cell with her were waiting to be transported to the federal courthouse for a variety of court appearances.

  “Somebody probably tried to escape. This is how they act when they are preparing for a total lockdown of shit,” an older woman announced nonchalantly to all of the chicks in the cell. Everyone turned towards her with quizzical looks on their face. “That’s the only time all of these officers get off their asses and move like this is because of an escape, somebody dead or a lockdown coming,” the woman followed up, seemingly unfazed by all of the chaos erupting around them. Fallon could tell the woman was an old veteran to the corrections system. Fallon immediately decided she would definitely not be in jail so long she ended up like that lady.

  “Before I got in here I seen on the news that some shit happened down at the courthouse. Something like somebody escaped or got broken out and some cops or court people got shot. Something like that, I was only half listening. But anyway, if shit is jumping off at the courts, we might all be assed out for getting some fresh air on the court ride today. Just my fucking luck when I was gonna at least get a quick glance at my kids in the courtroom today,” a gaunt, snaggletooth chick rasped out. Must be a crack head, Fallon thought to herself. She was in jail with the remains of society and it wasn’t sitting right with her at all. Fallon wasn’t going to discuss shit with them. She wasn’t one for making too many friends…especially female friends. She had already sized all of the women up and decided that none of them were on her level, even on her worst day she wouldn’t even be caught dead looking like them.

  Fallon prided herself on her appearance. It was bad enough she had on the same panties and the same hairstyle for three days now. Yuck! Fallon had shuddered just thinking about it. Just as Fallon turned her back to have a seat she heard the loud shouts.

  “Porter! Porter! Who is Fallon A. Porter!” a tall, dark skinned, beady eyed correction officer yelled out. At first, Fallon was going to sit quietly and see if she could tell what the fuck the ape looking officer wanted her for, but that feeling in her stomach already had her so jittery she just spun around on her legs after he called her for the third time.

  “That’s me…I’m Fallon Porter,” she said apprehensively, her eyebrows scrunched in confusion. Four more officers stepped up behind the first.

  “Alright Ms. Porter if you’ll turn around so I can cuff you…then nicely as you can you will come with me. Quietly if I were you,” the ugly officer said, as he signaled for the tower officer to open the cell. The bars slid open slowly and before Fallon could voluntarily step out all four corrections officers grabbed her and damn near dragged her out.

  “Get…the…fuck…off…me! I can fucking walk on my own. I don’t deserve to be treated like this. I ain’t do nothin’! I have court today! Where ya’ll taking me? What the hell is going on?!” Fallow shouted as they handled her way too roughly. Fallon was definitely taking names for later use. She read the little breast plates on all of their shirts, making a mental note of their last names. This wasn’t going to be the end of this shit.

  “You probably had your own little plan all ready to go too, huh? Think ya’ll are so smart…the notorious Porter siblings…yeah fucking right. Well not on my fucking watch you won’t get out of here,” one of the correction officers said smartly. “Down to solitary you go before we end up on the fucking news again today,” he continued. The mouthy correction officer was quickly shushed by another officer. Fallon’s eyebrows dipped low on her face as she tried to figure out what the hell he was talking about.

  “Why don’t you just fucking tell her that her sister escaped this morning why don’t you,” another officer whispered harshly thinking he was out of Fallon’s earshot.

  Fallon’s heart immediately began racing and her stomach turned over in her gut. Escaped! Autumn must’ve escaped! Fallon was screaming in her head. She wanted to laugh, scream, kick, jump or anything to deal with the overwhelming feeling of joy she was experiencing, but Fallon knew that would just get her an ass whooping from the C.O.s . She decided to play it cool until they got to wherever they were taking her. Fallon looked around the dimly lit hallway they stopped in. There were six metal doors on each side of the hallway. Fallon could hear women’s voices yelling from behind some of the doors. She didn’t want to show it, but she was scared shit less.

  Finally, the officers opened one of the doors. Fallon was tossed inside of a dank, musty, cell that held only a cinderblock platform with a thin, mattress on it, a lone silver sink and toilet combination that was built into the wall and a slim, rectangular slot in the heavy metal door. Fallon didn’t even care what her living conditions were at that moment. Her mind was racing in too many directions after hearing that her sister was out. Fallon walked up and down the small cell, her excitement almost palpable.

  “Autumn you bad bitch…you fucking escaped! I bet it was all Rain that got that shit done. I knew Rain wasn’t going to let it go down like this. I fuckin’ love my sisters!” Fallon said to herself out loud as she moved back and forth. She wanted to be with her sisters and brother so bad right now she could taste it. Fallon could actually hear the laughter they always shared and the jokes they always exchanged with each other playing in her ears. She sank down on the cold cinderblock bed that would be he
r new sleeping place and hugged her knees up to her chest. She closed her eyes and bit down into her bottom lip. Fallon couldn’t help but think about the love and the bond she shared with her siblings.

  Baltimore December 2001

  “Nanny…um…wait, listen…it was…” Rain started with her voice jerky and awkward. Her words were cut short with a glaring look from their Aunt Nanny. Dayvid didn’t even bother to say what he was about to say, which left Fallon and Autumn to follow their older sister and brother’s lead. Everyone fell silent. Fallon looked down at the floor and every few seconds she would see Nanny’s feet pass her eyes. They weren’t sure what was coming next because Nanny had a serious poker face.

  Nanny was pacing in circles. Not a good sign for the Porter siblings. Fallon watched as Nanny rubbed her chin and continued burning holes in the floor as she moved with no real destination. It was so quiet they could probably hear a rat pissing on cotton. A loud knock at the door rattled all of them. Fallon’s heart started galloping like she’d just ran around the block. Rain swiped her hand over her face, something she always did when she was nervous. Dayvid played it cool but his eyes said something different and Autumn chewed on her bottom lip like it was a piece of gum. The door rattled again. Nanny stopped moving and exhaled a thick grey cloud of smoke that she had been holding in her cheeks. She padded over to the apartment door and pulled it back tentatively. All of the air seemed to rush out of the room when Smitty walked smoothly through the doorway. As usual, his facial expression was hard to read and the toothpick in his mouth was stiff. He was one cool ass old man. Fallon swallowed hard and crossed her middle finger over her pointer finger. It was something she and Autumn did when they were asking for whatever higher power was up there for good luck.