by Brick
She was hesitant, but she plopped down on the folding metal chair. “Talk,” she snapped.
“I’d like to talk to you about employing your services.”
She frowned. “I work in a steak house. I serve food.”
“And I’m in need of another server.”
“What?”
“I need a server. I’m one member short on my staff, and I’m looking for a replacement. Would you be interested?”
“I thought you were a lawyer?”
“Of course, I’d have to skim a bit of your earnings off the top until you pay me back for bailing you out,” I observed. “You’re familiar with how skimming works, right?”
Nia said nothing. Sat back in her chair and watched me with a deadly glare.
I had her attention, so I continued. “You’re facing twenty years, which means your coconspirator has sold you up shit creek without a paddle. It’ll be your word against hers, and I can assure you she has already made a plea deal.”
“So what? They can’t prove I did shit.”
“If that was the case, you wouldn’t still be sitting in here. Now, my offer is clear. You work for me, and I’ll make all this disappear.”
If she agreed to my deal, Officer Bryant would start the process of making sure any evidence against her disappeared. She looked like she wanted to jump across the table and fight me. I could see her wheels turning behind her eyes, though. No sane criminal wanted to be locked up. Whether you were a petty thief or not, in lockdown they placed you with the murderers, rapists, child molesters, and violent criminals alike. To the system, all criminals were the same. I could tell by the bruise and her anger that she’d already been in a fight or two.
“Let’s say I considered your offer. What would I be doing in your employment?” she asked me. “I’m not about indentured servitude, either. So if you bail me out, I can give you your money back.”
I smirked, then tilted my head. “Tell me something. How would a waitress at a steak house be able to pay me back fifty thousand dollars?”
She gave me a smirk, then squared her shoulders as she looked at me. “I can skim a little here, skim a little there. You know, from my life savings and my mama’s insurance money. Daddy had a pension. I can make it do what I want it to.”
I grunted, then chuckled. We both knew she was full of shit. If she had that much legal money lying around, she could have bailed herself out and got an attorney. The fact that she had used the same code word I had let me know that she was exactly what the charges painted her to be. I had done enough talking inside these county walls, though.
I stood, picked up my briefcase, and asked her, “So is that a yes or a no, Ms. Nia? You in, or are you on your way to prison for the next twenty years?”
Chapter 5
Smiley
When I’d woken up in my cell and gone out into the general population this morning, I’d had no idea I’d have to fight. Some cunt had told me I was looking at her too hard. Truth be told, I hadn’t been thinking about that bitch. I’d been too busy trying to figure out what was crawling through the shit they called oatmeal. How she figured I’d been staring at her had been as lost on me as it had been on her when I beat her ass.
Through it all, I hadn’t thought that I’d soon be sitting in front of some dude, talking about getting me out of here. Yet there I was, looking into the face of a guy who was holding out a carrot like bait. Now, a huge part of me didn’t want to trust the pretty-looking dude.
I really wasn’t trying to put my faith in some Asian who, if I closed my eyes, sounded like a brotha from my hood. I didn’t know him at all. But as I checked him out, I gave a slight laugh, because he looked too young to be a lawyer. Already I was peeping game, because I was tripping on how he was able to set this up without being suspect.
Yet here I was, thinking about what he was offering me. Weighing the pros and cons of all this shit, coming to terms with the reality that he had just offered me my freedom. Yeah, anyone locked up behind bars and facing twenty years would be glad to hear someone offering them a way out. Still, I was cautious. After dealing with Keisha and being stuck in this place, it made sense that I was leery of this whole situation. I didn’t know what I was going to do.
“Hello? So are you in or are you out?” he said, snapping me out of my thoughts.
My eyes locked on the guy in front of me, and a frown etched its way around my mouth. I guessed I had been zoned out. I’d already started to get cabin fever from being locked up. So I knew that I had to give him my answer, or else I would remained locked up and would continue to suffer.
“I’m in,” I quickly responded.
Felt like I was floating out of my body at that moment. There I was, putting my life in the hands of some random dude. Instantly, I hated Keisha’s very existence because of my situation.
“Then I’ll make it do what it do. We’ll see each other again, Ms. Gaines,” he said.
As he walked on out the door, I hoped that I wasn’t being played. I prayed that I wouldn’t live to regret the decision I’d just made.
* * *
Getting me out must have taken some work. By the time I got wind of the fact that I was being released, which was four days later, I had lost faith in the rescue. A huge part of me had been thinking that maybe something good would come my way for a change, that my mama was guarding me and sending blessings my way. The other part of me had felt like the whole thing was a setup. Had felt like it had to be, because I kept questioning how the guy had even known who I was. It had me anxious, and it had me leery.
However, when the guard called my name and told me I was leaving, I couldn’t lie and say I wasn’t geeked up. Being released felt damn good. All the while, though, on some real talk, I wanted to put my fists in Keisha’s face.
But beyond that, I was just ready to go home.
I gathered all my things in my cell, and after glancing around it one last time, I clutched my bag of stuff and followed the guard. I was checked out, and all the belongings that had been taken from me were returned. Then I was free to go. I walked through the main gate of the jail and realized I could do me again and not be restricted. I wanted to party, wanted to have some fun. I’d been locked up for only a few weeks, but it had felt like years to me, a person who was used to being free. But as I boarded a bus, I realized that my freedom was all due to that Asian dude, and I felt worried.
I knew I had no job to go back to, so that meant I had to go back to the illegal work I had done that got me locked up in the first place. All just to pay the man back for bailing me out. I wasn’t sure how I was going to get those fifty Gs, but I had to figure out something quickly. I knew he had said that he wasn’t going to trick me, but I didn’t trust anyone. Him having a dick wasn’t the main reason not to trust him, but it was a good one. I took a seat on the bus and sat back, thinking about the little change I had from my thieving schemes and the legit money I had in the banks. Owing someone wasn’t in my cards. I had had enough of that with paying bills and other crap. So, my mind was processing and ticking off things that I could do.
I finally made it home after walking for hours once I got off the bus. I cut through the back of several houses just in case I was being watched, and I made it into my house by going through the back porch. Everything was in place. I switched the lights on. Nothing. On and off, off and on. Still nothing.
Goddamn it!
I sighed and shook my head. Fuckers had been cut off. There was no gas, no nothing! Which meant that the little food I did have in the fridge had rotted. Luckily, I had some running water, but still! I needed to go. Needed to leave this place, but where I would go, I wasn’t sure.
My mom had come from Cali, so maybe I could go there. Just change up my look and take on a new name. I could say fuck the man who had bailed me out. It was my life, so I could leave when I wanted.
I moved around my house, cleaning up, lighting candles, and taking stock of my things. I started packing, then sat down. I fel
t like a hot mess. I needed to retwist my lock extensions, but luckily, they weren’t bad. Just needed a little refresher. Touching my low-cropped hair, I sighed. I needed a lineup, but for now, all I could do was take some scissors and trim the sides of my hair some. I smoothed down my hair with some Eco Styler olive oil styling gel, then continued to pack my bag and get ready to go.
“I’ll be back, Mama. I promise you,” I muttered aloud to her presence in the house.
I had stuffed an old photo album of hers and her small jewelry box with the things she had left me in my bag. I had also packed several pictures of us that had been sitting around in picture frames. I needed to go. This life wasn’t for me, not with having to owe some dude I didn’t know. I couldn’t trust that he would keep the cops off me. So I needed to go and keep them off me by myself.
Gazing around one last time, I frowned. I planned on mailing the payment for this house as soon as I got downtown. I headed through my home, not knowing where I intended to lay my head down. There was an abandoned warehouse outside the trap that I liked to sneak into sometimes. It used to be where I’d temporarily store some of my equipment parts for my credit card–making machines. I had long since stopped doing that, but I knew the place was quiet, and I could hang low there without a problem, so that was what I planned to do.
I chain locked the back door to my house and exited the property through the backyard. It was quiet in the hood today, which wasn’t unusual. Every day something was popping off, either something good or somewhat dangerous. So, many people would just chill in the quiet of their homes or on their porches, while some bold kids played or relaxed on the street. Back when I was little, I used to play double Dutch and learned some steps for fun with my girls. Now those days were long gone.
I sighed softly as I turned the corner in the back alleyway I had just walked down. A sudden stinging pain spread across my face as someone shoved me cheek first against a wall, then slung me backward. Stumbling, I held my hand back behind me to get my footing and tried to shake the sudden dizziness I felt.
“God damn it,” I grumbled and rubbed my nose.
“Where you going, Mami?” I heard a voice say.
Tension and fear rocked me to my core. My eyes got wide, and I tried to inch backward. Damn it! I had just got out, and already I was being harassed by the cops?
A tinkling laughter came from behind me. I gazed up to see a tall Latino-looking brotha in front of me. Behind me, where that laughter had come from, was a female who was around my height, with a thick, curving body and crazy big breasts. I felt a little moment of jealousy over that, but I chilled out. My eyebrow rose when she waved my way like I knew her.
She sported two knotted ponytails on the top of her head, something I liked to wear myself. Piercing brown eyes that accentuated her caramel-brown skin stared my way. I noticed that she had a scar from a burn on the side of her bare stomach, and it made me flinch inwardly, as I felt for her. Only reason I had noticed the mark was that she wore a cropped top.
In front of me, old dude, with his sexy allure, studied me, while another equally fine chocolate brotha came from behind him, as if he were the guy’s shadow. They both sported baggy jeans and matching open button-down shirts with black beaters. The chocolate brother had a set of keys in his hands. I saw him wink at me; then he pointed and motioned to me.
Wait, those were my keys. How in the hell had he got them?
“Ya might want to turn on around and head back to your place,” he said with amusement in his voice.
This fool was on some ninja shit. Must have swiped my keys when I was stumbling, ran in my mind.
The chick behind me laughed again, then crossed her arms with a grin. “Mm-hmm, boss man is waiting for you, Smiley.”
At first, shock rattled through me; then rage had my eyes narrowing and my brows dropping as I scowled. “I don’t know none of y’all. So you all can get up out my way. I have business to handle.”
That same light laughter sounded again, and Mr. Latino stepped forward, then looked me over with a smirk. “I think your business is ours, Mami. Especially since we’re the ones who worked hard on getting you out. So, take our advice, because if you fight . . .”
“This shit won’t be easy breezy for you anymore, and you won’t like the end result,” said Mr. Chocolate, who stood by his side.
He was equally well built, and I felt like a caged animal. There were three people surrounding me. Two males and one giggling-ass female. Mr. Chocolate had my keys, and I needed them back. I had to figure something out.
I quietly thought about my options. I could bust the broad’s face with my elbow, then try to jet around the two big-ass niggas, but I could already tell from how they were spaced out that this wouldn’t work.
“Yo, did her eyes just darken? She’s up to no good,” I heard one of the males say.
“Come on, sis. Let us introduce ourselves. Don’t cause a fight and draw attention. We mean peace and not war,” said the chick.
Considering how they all were dressed, it didn’t seem like they were cops, but still, I wasn’t trusting that, either. Fuck this shit. I turned around and was getting ready to go off when I felt myself being lifted up off the ground.
Tall Mr. Chocolate set me back down on the ground and then grabbed me by the back of my neck and pushed me toward my home as he spoke with his smooth, panty-dropping voice and started to annoy me. “Remember when you joined the team, Reagan? You tried to claw off my face. Shit pissed me off for days, Mami. I learned my lesson, though.”
The chick he had called Reagan snickered again, then huffed, “Whateva. I just was protecting myself.”
“Right, which is why I knew we needed three people to get this one. Given how she was moving down the alley, I already knew she might be trouble,” Mr. Chocolate said while I struggled.
Swinging my hands behind me, I tried to dig my nails into his arms. But that didn’t achieve a damn thing other than inciting him to grip the back of my neck harder and give me a shake.
“Chill the fuck out, and we can be cool, a’ight?” he growled against my ear.
My fist shot back into his eye, making me fall forward on my hands and knees. That position alone had me rising up in a sprinter’s form, but it wasn’t worth the effort. As soon as I tried to run, I heard a gun click, and I stopped fighting.
I held my hands up in self-defense. “Okay . . . okay . . . damn. I’m going!”
“Good call, because I don’t want to have to shoot you, girl,” the chick said.
I gazed behind me, and I saw a pink-and-black Glock pointed my way. I couldn’t believe this shit. When it rains, it pours, I thought.
When we reached my house, Mr. Chocolate slid my keys in my hand. I worked the chain locks on my door. Fiddling with the keys, I unlocked multiple locks. Then, with a scowl on his face, Mr. Chocolate opened the door for me and pointed for me to go in.
I walked in. Darkness filled my home. “Sorry. The lights are out,” I said sarcastically.
“Not for long, Mami. We’re working on it.... Well, I am now,” Mr. Latino said.
I turned and watched him disappear on the back porch. Tall Mr. Chocolate seemed to watch him intently before turning back to me and frowning.
“I’m sorry for hitting you, dude,” I said, wanting to restore the peace and still thinking about how to get out of this situation.
“No you are not. Keep moving, shawty,” he hissed, then pushed me forward.
He was right; I wasn’t. They had messed up my plans, and now they were in my home, and there was nothing I could do about it. I headed in the direction of the living room. The sudden sound of the equipment in the house coming on made me jump.
“Wow, you have a nice place up in here, girl,” Reagan said at my side. “We could kick it here for real during our downtime.”
Kick it? In my place? Hell to the no!
“I don’t know y’all from Adam and Eve. The hell you will,” I spat out.
“You’re about
to know us, if you just calm down and chill out,” said a voice from inside my home. It didn’t belong to any one of the threesome who had kidnapped me.
The voice set off alarms of recognition in my head as I moved through the kitchen and into the living room.
The Asian guy who had spoken with me when I was locked up stood in the middle of my place. His hands were in his pockets, a toothpick was in his mouth, and he sported a black jumper that was unzipped enough for me to see his white beater underneath. He was built as if he was ready to be in some MMA fighting match, something I hadn’t noticed before. I noticed his dark Tims, and I could tell he was packing heat from how the leg of his jumper was bunched up. He must have been moving around for it to pop up like that.
On his head was a big cap that gave him a sexy look, which was different from how he’d looked when he sat in front of me and played the lawyer. His long black hair rested on his shoulders.
“Can I get some water?” I heard behind me.
I crinkled my nose in frustration, then moved to drop my bags. “There’re cups in the top cabinet. I don’t have any food in the fridge.”
“You got canned stuff, I see. We’ll be good. Thanks, little mama,” I heard Mr. Chocolate say.
From behind him, I heard the sound of Spanish popping off in my kitchen. That had me really confused. Something strange was going on between those two dudes. I could hear Mr. Latino complaining about how Mr. Chocolate always had to be rude and go through people’s things, searching for food.
“That’s why you got hit in the eye,” Mr. Latino told him, which caused Mr. Chocolate to go off.
In the middle of their bickering, I heard their names, Lelo and Stitch, and it made me laugh aloud. “Seriously?” I asked.
“Seriously what, Nia?” Mr. Asian asked with a frown on his face.
Looking him up and down, I pointed behind me. “Who are they? Who are you? What the hell can I do for y’all? And their names . . . Are they really Lelo and Stitch?”