by Ty Marshall
The officer began nodding his head and smiling as he got a look at the tattoo on Dayvid’s face. “King Dayvid,” he announced sarcastically as if he needed to say the name out loud in order to believe who he had custody. “Oh I been waiting a long time for this,” he said all breathy as if he was becoming turned on by the capture.
“It’s only three of them here, sir,” one of the officers informed as he emerged from another room after searching the house.
“Where’s your twin sister or should I say twin brother,” he joked. “Where’s Rain?” he demanded an answer, almost chanting her name.
Dayvid just stared straight ahead and remained silent. He would die a thousand deaths before he compromised his principles as a man and cooperated with the police.
“You ain’t got nothing to say?” the white gorilla looking officer quizzed.
In typical Dayvid fashion, he looked down at the floor, then back at the officer before saying, “Hate to see that weed go to waste.”
The officer cocked back and landed a thudding blow into Dayvid’s stomach knocking the wind out of him. “Get him the hell outta here,” the frustrated man yelled.
CHAPTER ONE
“Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence to the king, and said, “Let my lord King David live forever.”
(1 King 1:31)
Nova James opened the front door of her apartment and picked up the morning edition of the Baltimore Sun. Walking through her spacious living room, charmingly decorated with all white leather furniture and red wine throw pillows, she tossed the paper onto the white and glass coffee table before hurrying into the kitchen to pour her morning coffee. Gliding back into the living room with her freshly brewed decaf in hand, she grabbed the paper off the table and flipped it open. Nova’s hands suddenly went limp as she lost her grip on the coffee mug sending it crashing to the floor into pieces, spilling hot brown liquid everywhere. Nova felt as if she couldn’t breathe reading the headline blazoned across the front page:
3 OF THE INFAMOUS PORTER SIBLINGS IN CUSTODY AFTER RAID ON SAFE HOUSE; RAIN PORTER STILL AT LARGE.
With her hands trembling uncontrollably, Nova picked the remote up off the table, clicked on the TV and flipped through the channels until she landed on the local news. It didn’t take long for her to see the faces of the Porters plastered on her screen. Tears streamed down her beautiful face, leaving a trail on her golden skin, as her worst fears were coming to fruition in front of her eyes. Unable to bear it anymore, Nova walked to the double glass door that led out to her balcony. She pushed them open and stepped out. Staring down at the steady flow of traffic below, the pain she felt in her gut had only been felt by her once before. Instantly, the luxurious apartment with the impeccable view lost all its appeal and her feeling of invulnerability shattered into a pile of guilt. After all, she knew the vast amount of blood that had been spilled for her to sit perched atop of the high rise overlooking the city. But that wasn’t the root of her remorse. Her regret came from not being able to get the man she loved out the streets before it was too late. Nova turned her face to the heavens hoping for a divine intervention.
“Lord, I know what he does and I know who he is but he’s all I have and I love him,” she prayed.
***
A Few Weeks Ago
Nova stood in the mirror staring at her reflection. She traced her finger against her collarbone and reflected on everything she had been through over the last ten years. The hurt, the deceit, the lies, all the cover ups and the riding she had done for the man lying in her bed. She looked past her reflection and stared at Dayvid relaxing on her king size bed in nothing but his boxer briefs and a wife beater. Nova’s eyes met his as she noticed him studying her every move.
“You know I love you right?” was all he said to her. He knew her very well, better than most, shit better than anyone. He knew what made her tick, her pain and her strength to stay although she knew all this could be over in the blink of an eye.
“I know,” she replied in a soft tired voice.
“Come here,” he motioned while moving towards the edge of the bed. “Everything I do, I do for you. I do it for us. You know that right?” Dayvid asked pulling Nova down on his lap and wrapping his arms around her waist.
There was no one besides his sisters that he loved more than Nova, she was beautiful in every way to him, inside and out. She was five foot seven, one hundred and sixty pounds, thick and curvy. Her skin was a golden complexion and her doe eyes were inviting to any man who met her. Dayvid had been with Nova since the both of them were teenagers. He was the first man she had willingly slept with and the only one she had ever loved. After losing her mom to a heroin overdose at fifteen and her dad never being a part of her life, Dayvid was all she had and she couldn’t fathom the thought of losing him. He knew this and sheltered her because of it. He never wanted to involve her in his criminal ways but knew without a shadow of doubt that she would ride with him for whatever, against whomever. He set her up in a two bedroom condo in The Palisades of Towson about 20 minutes north of the city of Baltimore and made sure everything she needed was at her grasp. In the beginning she was frustrated, thinking Dayvid had only stashed her miles away so he could do his dirt with the herds of women in the city. Dayvid’s reputation spoke for itself, his silent gangster aura and good looks drove women crazy and Nova knew it.
He would always try to ease her worries by telling her, “a real man is supposed to teach you the game, not run it on you.”
As time passed she began to realize it was for her own safety, still she didn’t like that Dayvid insisted on accompanying her whenever she wanted to go shopping or go to the grocery store. Back in the day it wasn’t like that, she was able to roam freely, but the bigger Dayvid became the more precautions he took. King Dayvid was feared in the streets but that led to more hate and animosity. He was smart enough to know that niggas wouldn’t try to go at him but would relish in hurting those he loved. Being the precious jewel that Nova was to him, Dayvid knew he could never recover or forgive himself if anything ever happened to her. She was not only his woman and lover, she was his best friend. She was his queen.
“When is all this going to stop Dayvid? I need you. I need you to be free. How am I supposed to think about our future when our present could end at any given moment?” she questioned.
Dayvid noticed the frustration in her tone, he knew it all too well. She was always scared of something bad happening to him. Nova would fidget with her fingers when her mind was racing a million miles per minute. He intertwined his fingers with hers to calm her nerves and lifted her hand, kissing her ring finger, where she had their matching tattoos. She wore a queen of hearts and he wore a king of hearts on his to symbolize their love for one another.
“I ain’t going nowhere ma, this is it for us. We in, we out and we done this time,” speaking in reference to the one last heist he and his sisters were planning. “This shit is gonna set us straight. I’ll never have to step foot in these streets again. You hear me?” He lifted her chin so that she could engage him eye to eye. He needed her to understand his sincerity. Although he told this story once before, Dayvid knew this was it for him and all he wanted to do was make sure his sisters were set up and straight and his girl will forever be good. Nova didn’t know it, but he had plans on making her his wife once they got to Mexico. He wanted to be a family man, settle down, and have two or three kids. He often wondered if he would have a set of twins of his own. The thought of it brought a smile across his face. His smile would always make Nova change her attitude about any situation. Dayvid would light up a room with it and his dimples melted any tough façade she tried to put up. It was his best feature though he rarely showed it to anyone but her.
“I love you Dayvid Porter and I plan on loving you for two lifetimes, so you better not be lying,” she said returning his smile but trying to still show the seriousness of her words.
“And I’ll give my life for you Nova James, twice
,” he said while pulling her in for a kiss.
They interlocked their tongues passionately and Dayvid picked her up in his arms, carrying her in a fetal positon. His size made her look tiny and her weight was light as a feather to him. Dayvid laid her on the bed gently, pulling her panties down while sporting a boyish grin as he placed her black cotton panties on his head like a hat. Nova giggled at the sight of her sexy, modern day outlaw sporting her underwear on his head.
“Yeah, I wear these proudly,” he boasted pulling them over his face and inhaled her scent then letting them rest around his neck. “I love how your smell,” he continued while biting down on his bottom lip.
Nova immediately knew she was in for a treat. She knew her man and before Dayvid looked to please himself, he reveled in pleasing her body. She spread her legs eagle wide across the bed and Dayvid went head first into her love spot, licking every crevice of her pussy gently before sucking on her clit hard and vigorously as he took in all her juices. Nova caressed his head enjoying the masterful usage of his tongue. She began grinding and riding his face as she gripped his ears like a pair of handlebars. Nova felt her orgasm building and quivered in his grasp until she climaxed in his mouth. Unable to take it anymore, Nova pushed his head away and signaled for him to penetrate her. Dayvid was not only good with his tongue game, he laid a serious pipe and she could not wait to feel him inside of her.
Refusing her offer, Dayvid laid his head on her inner thigh. “Nah, ma it’s about you tonight. Let me know when you ready to go again.” He knew Nova was feeling a certain way that night and his mission was just to please her as she had done for him by devoting her heart and life to him. He couldn’t see himself without her and the thought of ever leaving her out in the world by herself was not an option for him.
***
Present Day
Baltimore County Detention Center housed some of the city’s most hardened criminals and was one of the largest detention facilities in the United States. It was also one of the most corrupt, where money ruled everything and jail officials were willing to turn a blind eye to almost anything for a profit. Inmates greased the palms of correction officers for access to various things that were available to them on the streets including drugs and cell phones. King Dayvid’s reputation was the same behind the wall as it was out in the world. He moved through his unit freely, even amongst hustlers he had leaned on and extorted in the streets. He had the respect of every goon and just the sight of him sparked fear in anyone with the slightest bit of pussy in them. Female officers secretly swooned over him, craving for the opportunity to work on his unit, just to get a glimpse of the man whose name was ringing throughout the entire facility. Dayvid remained stoic and unaffected by all the attention.
Locked in his cell, preforming his daily routine of calisthenics and building up a sweat, Dayvid wasn’t in a pleasant mood after finding out he wouldn’t be going to court that day. He wasn’t concerned about his case so much knowing that the feds had enough evidence to bury the Porters underneath the jail. He merely looked forward to seeing his sisters, needing to lay eyes on them to see how they were holding up. He knew Rain was cut from the same cloth as him and was on the outside doing whatever she had to do to stay free, but his younger sisters were different. Though they were Porters, they weren’t cut from the same cloth as him and his twin. Dayvid and Rain were bred for the life they led and took to the streets naturally and seamlessly; Fallon and Autumn were simply along for the ride. Dayvid jumped to his feet and stood in front of the sink in his cell, barely able to see his reflection in the dirty mirror; ironic for a man who had begun to see things clearer as of late.
After years of only caring about the next come up, Dayvid had begun to think long term, something other than the streets. A better life for his younger siblings and a normal life with Nova. Mexico had been the result of his new mind frame but that plan had been interrupted by the federal government with the help of somebody close to them, that he was sure of it. The thought enraged him more than anything. He took a distinct pleasure in executing rats and had made a good living doing just that for some of the most powerful people up and down the east coast. Now he had his own rodent to deal with and couldn’t wait to lay his trap. Dayvid had some niggas in the district he knew would be down to help and was already laying the groundwork to get the word to Rain and them through one of the female officers that was sweet on him. Hearing his cell being cracked, Dayvid turned to see his cellmate entering. The two men hadn’t said much to one another while sharing a cell. Dayvid wasn’t interested in getting cool with anybody.
“You know a nigga named Shake from down East Bawlmer,” his celly questioned in his heavy Baltimore accent, seemingly out the blue.
“I know a lot of niggas slim, I ain’t good wit names doe,” Dayvid responded. Truth was he knew exactly who Shake was. Him and Rain had hit one of his shipments about a year ago, and then made him cop his own work back.
“That’s crazy yo, I just got off the phone with him and he know you real well,” the man challenged.
“Is that right,” Dayvid said rubbing his hand over his goatee. “I think you got some false info slim. Cuz if a nigga really knew me…” Dayvid said before hooking off on his celly, landing a two piece flush on the man’s jaw, dropping him to his knees. Dayvid kneed him in the face a few times then banged his head into the wall of the cell. Seeing the blood leaking from the man’s face, Dayvid let his limp body fall to the floor and stomped him repeatedly until his leg got tired. Dayvid washed the blood off his hand in the cell’s sink before grabbing his shirt off his bunk. “Like I said, if a nigga really knew me, he knew you pressing me was gonna get your ass whooped,” Dayvid said as he stepped over his cellmate and walked out the cell just in time for chow.
Reaching the bottom of the steps, Dayvid got in line to receive his tray and snatch a seat at one of the tables. He was halfway through his meal when a loud roar from a few inmates near the TV caught his attention. The officer on duty screamed for the men to calm down, but only to be ignored. From his seat Dayvid could see the TV and quickly rose to his feet when he recognized his sisters Rain and Autumn’s faces on the screen.
“Yo, turn that up,” he instructed one of the other inmates walking up on the men now gathered around the tube.
Dayvid watched as the news showed the aftermath at the courthouse site of the audacious escape pulled off by Rain and Autumn. It looked like some shit out the Wild West and Dayvid unknowingly held his breath as the reporter reeled off the names of the casualties. Fallon’s face hadn’t been shown or reported at large like his other two siblings and Dayvid felt a sense of uneasiness. He was finally able to breathe easy after hearing she wasn’t among the dead and in fact was still in custody like him. Knowing Rain the way he did, he knew it wasn’t her plan just to free Autumn and she probably assumed they all would be in route to the courthouse that morning. She was probably stressing out now trying to come up with a way to free him and Fallon. While Dayvid took pleasure in knowing two of his sisters were now free, he knew Rain’s bold actions had made it that much harder for him and Fallon to escape. Shooting his way out was now off the table, he would have to rely on his intelligence and strength as a strategy if he ever planned on seeing the people he loved again.
Dayvid was brought out of his deep thought by the sound of the door of the unit opening, followed by a flood of swat team members entering the unit. Inmates dropped to the floor on their stomachs with their hands stretched out in front of them at the sight of the Turtles, as they were called by the prisoners. Dayvid already knew who they were there for and the smirk on his face needled the group of officers.
“Get the fuck on the ground!” one of them screamed!
“On the ground now!” he repeated.
“Last chance Porter!” another man screamed.
Dayvid refused, hocking up phlegm from his throat and spitting it in the direction of the officers. The glob landed on one of the swat member’s face shield, triggering th
e group to rush Dayvid who stood his ground, throwing a series of punches. His efforts were quickly thwarted. Outnumbered, the officers easily pounded him into submission before handcuffing him and carrying him out the unit to the sound of cheers from the other inmates.
After Rain’s theatrics, the feds felt Dayvid’s power, influence and money would prove too much for the walls of BCDC to contain him. They couldn’t afford the embarrassment of another Porter escaping their grasp. The order had come down swiftly. Dayvid was being transferred to the North Branch Correctional Institution, a super-maximum prison located in Cresaptown, near Cumberland.
CHAPTER THREE
“The Lord laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming.” (Psalm 37:13)
September 2006
Dayvid pulled off the exit and merged onto Jessup Road as the sounds of Birdman & Lil’ Wayne’s “Leather So Soft” pumped through the car. After a few minutes, he pulled up to a nice sized house and turned his black ‘69 SS Camaro into the driveway before cutting off the engine. Smitty’s house sat in the middle of a quiet suburban neighborhood about 15 miles south of the city, in Jessup County, perfect for the unassuming advisor of the Porters. The middle aged man was standing in the driveway with his signature straw hat and toothpick hanging from his mouth. Smitty had seamlessly blended into the neighborhood and could regularly be seen outside watering his grass, while sharing small talk with his neighbors who were ignorant to his checkered past. A smile crept across his face seeing Dayvid pulling in. He instantly began admiring the classic old school whip Dayvid was pushing.
“Whoo,” Smitty said, nodding his head in approval as he walked up on the vintage vehicle getting a closer look. “That’s clean right there King,” calling Dayvid by the nickname he had christened him with many years ago after witnessing him destroy a neighborhood bully a few years older and twice his size in a fist fight. Smitty was amazed. He had been willing to bet a pocket full of cash that the young Porter had bitten off more than he could chew. But Dayvid’s hands proved to be far superior during the altercation and had remained that way over the years. Smitty compared the victory to David over Goliath in the bible. As the story in the bible told it, David would go on to become king, and Smitty said so would the only male Porter one day. His premonition had been correct, Dayvid Porter was street royalty.