by L. E. Newell
Rainbow frowned and patted him on the shoulder again, then took a deep breath sighing. “He’s buying DVD players and shit like that.”
Sparkle squinted with understanding and started rubbing his thighs and knees, ready to roll. “Okay, gotcha, I’ll be there. Let’s do this.”
Rainbow rolled his eyes to the sky, spun away and strolled down Peachtree.
Sparkle waited about five minutes after he had lost sight of his boy, before he started fidgeting and walking up and down Peachtree. After ten anxious minutes, he bought a Sports Illustrated and plopped back on the bench and started flipping pages. Five more minutes and his patience had worn paper thin as he began to wonder if Rainbow had called it off. Then he saw his boy bebop-ping down the street with two, yep, two white construction workers, who looked like they were straight off the farm. Talking about hillbillies, these dudes were exactly that.
He nonchalantly laid the mag on the bench and crossed the street, heading toward the Sears across the street from Five Points. He didn’t waste any time browsing around as he went straight to the elevator, checked the directory and hopped on one of the three cars available to the sixth floor where the appliances were located. He quickly scanned the area with the radar of a veteran store thief on full alert for any store security, nosey salesman or anyone who may show him unwanted attention. He began to browse along the aisles as if he was interested in the products. At the same time, he locked the prices in his mind in case one of the vics needed to know.
He was about to make his third round when he saw the construction hats bopping up the escalator. The fluttering in his stomach took him by surprise for a moment, until he realized that they were the butterflies. Ah, it is on for sho now, he thought as he turned away and reached in his pants pocket to get the name tag and pinned it to his coat pocket.
He saw them coming his way out of his peripheral vision and walked over to stand close to an elderly couple looking at some televisions and pantomimed a conversation with them. When they got within earshot, he abruptly turned away, speaking in his best foreign accent “And-a dey will-a be on sale for only one-a more week, but just take-a your time. I could a really use da-a commission.”
Rainbow was smiling as he walked up to him and leaned forward to squint at his name tag. “Hello there, my man, Mr. Uh, U. ban…aah whatever,” he said with a wave of his hand and a wink at the vics. The hillbillies, straight out of Mayberry, acknowledged his wink with one of their own. Continuing with the smiley face, Rainbow said, “These fellas here wanna check out some of these DVD players, iPods and aaah.” He looked toward the vics as if he was a little puzzled, then put the friendly smile back on. “I tell ya what, ya’ll gentlemen go with my friend—damn, I can’t never get his name right—he’ll show you all the stuff I was telling you about.” He paused to look around in a conspiratorial way before he leaned closer to them to whisper, “Just remember that everything you choose is like half price, so calculate this stuff like real fast. We can’t be hanging around here all day, you know.” He spoke with a smile and another wink that was returned by the vics in unison.
As Rainbow walked away, Sparkle cleared his throat to draw their attention so that he could duck behind one of the columns by the escalator. Once he had disappeared, Sparkle heard one of them whisper, “Gee, George, he’s one of them there Africana dudes. You sho we can trust him?” That was Sparkle’s cue to look around like he was kinda scared that one of his fellow employees might be paying them attention. He leaned over and touched the smaller of the two on the elbow and whispered, “Could ya’ll please a keep a your tone down? I can’t afford for to-a let nobody know what I’m-a doing-a here.” He paused to look around some more to make certain no one was watching. “I’ve almost made enough money to-a get-a my little sister over here-a to-a this-a wonderful country of yours.”
He still had it. He could tell the vics went for that shit hook, line and sinker by the way they started looking around themselves. Sparkle smiled to himself as he noticed the co-conspiratorial looks on their faces. It let him know that his boy had worked his magic on them and it also put him at ease to continue with his part of the scam, so he led them over to the DVD/VCRs. “Ya’ll can check-a out-a these here. There’s some iPods over in the other aisle if ya’ll want to see some of them, too.”
The bigger of the two, a redhead with lots of freckles across his nose, dressed in cement-stained khaki pants and a blue plaid shirt, pulled on his ear and said in a deep country drawl, “How much dose thangs gonna cost us, man?”
Sparkle blinked a few times. “Everythang you see can go for sixty percent of the price tag.” No sooner had those words slipped out of his mouth, he knew he had made a booboo.
They looked at each other quizzically before Big Red said, “Your friend, Jimmy Ray, said we could get stuff for half price.”
“Jim…” He caught himself right away. “Jimmy Ray said that, ooh well, I guess he really likes ya’ll dudes if he willing to cut his part off that much then.” The sudden look of shock on their faces let him know that he’d lost most of his accent. He was quick to regain himself though and added, “If-a Jimmy Ray says-a fifty percent, then fifty percent it is then.”
Evidently Big Red’s greed overrode his suspicions and he grumbled, “Okay then, how about letting us get about twenty of them DVD/VCRs, printers and cameras and—”
Sparkle cut through him, “Wait a minute dere. Ya’ll sho do want-a lotta stuff. I hope ya’ll got a van or something.” He had a concerned look on his face, but what they didn’t know was that he was setting up his escape.
They looked puzzled at each other before the little guy said, “You mean Jimmy Ray didn’t tell you what kinda money we were spending?”
Sparkle did his best to hide the surprise on his face. He chanced a look over to Rainbow, who was sticking his head out beyond the column spying them.
He must have felt what was going on because he immediately held up two fingers, indicating how much they were supposed to be spending. Sparkle rubbed his finger under his nose and held up six fingers with his eyes bucked wide open. Rainbow mouthed “wow” and then ran his thumb under his neck to indicate bringing the sting to a close.
Sparkle saw the little guy getting ready to turn his head in that direction. He quickly cleared his throat, smiled at him and took out a pad from inside his coat and started jotting down the items they had chosen. After the quick calculation, he said, “Ya’ll don’t-a mind holding on for a moment do you? I’m gonna call Jimmy Ray-a so he can tell his cousin what to expect-a.”
They both nodded their consent so he walked down the aisles and called his boy to let him know what was up. He whispered, “Partner, these boys got nearly six g’s, dog.” And then he said out loud for their benefit, “Okay, we’ll see you in a few then.”
Rainbow maintained his composed look. “Hmm, that’s good, dog. They said that they had two g’s but it looked about twice that much. But hell, that’s even better. Gone back over there. Let’s get this thang over with.”
He walked up a few minutes later and pulled Sparkle to the side. “Oh yeah, check this out. They may try to split up and each of them try to roll with one of us. You got to pull both of them to you because I’ll have the money mitted by then. You ready?”
“Shit, no problem, dog, no problem,” he said full of confidence. He turned from him and walked straight up to the little blond guy, figuring him for the leader of the two since his khaki pants were starched, pressed and cement speckle free. He had a name “Greg” pinned to the pocket on his shirt. “Mista Greg, why don’t you go handle your money biz with Jimmy Ray, while me and Big Red here-a recheck-a this list.”
Greg patted Big Red on the shoulder and departed with a grunt.
While he checked the list with Big Red, he positioned himself where he could see Rainbow when he got his mitts on the loot. Didn’t take his boy long at all and his eyes lit up when he saw Greg pass him a green money bag from under his shirt.
Rainbow arch
ed his brows at him as he slid the bag into his coat. Sparkle hunched Big Red on the elbow. “Hey, I forgot to tell Greg something. Could you go get him for me?” It was time for the shake-off.
Big Red eyed him suspiciously for a second before setting upon the task. When they walked back together, Greg hit Sparkle with what he dreaded. “I’m gonna go with Jimmy Ray downstairs—”
Sparkle cut him off immediately with a sound of desperation in his voice. “No, no, no, his cousin won’t make a deal with anybody but him. Come, we go to do the paperwork.”
They looked at each other strangely; long enough for Sparkle to feel a little unease and doubt creep into their faces. He didn’t give them a chance to concentrate too much. “Hey, if-a ya’ll wanna call-a it off, it’s cool.” He looked around nervously like he was making sure that none of his co-workers were watching. “Aaah, man, a that’s aight. I’ll go get your money-a back. I can’t do-a it like-a this because ya’ll is a-making me a-nervous now. That’s okay, that’s okay, deal’s off, deal’s off.” He started walking toward Rainbow who was about to step on the escalator.
Greg grabbed him by the elbow and said anxiously, “Okay, okay, we do it your way,” as beads of sweat started to form on his upper lip.
‘W yeah, man, it’s gravy now, Sparkle thought as he nodded. “Okay, a-my a-way,” he said, pointing his thumb to his chest. He gave a thumbs-up sign to Rainbow’s departing head, as it disappeared down the escalator. Only he knew that he would wind back around to keep check on how things went until Sparkle made a successful shake-off; in case any trouble started.
He watched along with them as his head no longer showed and then nodded for the pair to follow him. When they got to the elevator, he stopped and bopped himself upside the head. “Godayum I-a almost-a forgot. I still got to get the inventory forms to make this thing legit. I’ll be right back-a in a second.” He beamed a brilliant smile and started away until he felt Big Red walking with him and then put his hand on the doorknob to the business office. Sparkle quickly turned around with a frown on his face. “No, no, I can’t-a take-a you-a in the office. Draw too much attention. I’ll be right back out,” he assured him with a manly pat on the shoulder.
Red looked back at Greg with a puzzled frown, but all he got from Greg was a hunch of his shoulders and a what-else-can-we-do look. Sparkle nodded and entered the office feeling their eyes stabbing him in the back. As if it was an everyday affair, he walked up to the counter and asked the clerk for a credit application. Out of his peripheral vision, he noticed them staring at him. When the clerk bent below the counter to get the forms, he turned to them with an anxious look on his face and waved them away.
When they disappeared around the corner, Sparkle made his move and gently pushed the door open. On the balls of his feet he made a quick exit across the floor to the stairway. As he eased the door shut, he looked across the room to see Rainbow rushing down the aisles to the escalator. Closing the door he ran all the way down the stairs to the street level and cruised toward the exit. Just as he was about to step on the automatic door pad, he looked back to make sure that nobody was following him.
He saw several heads looking upward. A low murmur erupted as several shoppers turned toward the racket. He squinted his eyes, not wanting to believe what he was seeing and immediately bucked them wide open in astonishment when it registered on him that Rainbow was tumbling down the escalator. A moment of pure panic seized his chest before he was able to react, but he regained his composure fast and started toward the escalator to help his boy.
By the time that he had gotten halfway down the aisles, he saw Rainbow roll out at the bottom. Even from that distance he could clearly hear the moan escaping his lips.
“Aw shit,” Sparkle mumbled as he watched in anguish as he started to struggle to his feet as soon as he finished rolling. He continued to walk toward him when Rainbow looked up and spotted him coming. The look in his eyes stopped Sparkle in his tracks and he started having flashbacks to the days when they were young thieves stealing candy apples and other goodies out of the corner store in the old neighborhood. Even from his own mama’s store. They had made a vow way back then—Only one fall at a time—and they all had stuck with it ever since.
After a momentary pause, he started scanning the surroundings for the vics and even worst, the store security guards. As he was radaring the scene, Rainbow waved him away, struggled to his feet and hobbled past him favoring his already bad left shoulder and leg. It seemed like everybody in the store had stopped to check out what was going on.
Sparkle waited until he got close to the door before he started to follow him. Unconsciously, he placed his hand on the .38 pistol inside his pocket, in case he had to ward off any interference if it occurred. He would protect his boy at all cost, regardless of that “one fall at a time” credo.
Before he stepped on the automatic door pad, Sparkle eyed Rainbow gently into the street and took one last look around. It seemed like there was a dozen pair of eyes watching him, but the vics weren’t in sight. Nor was anyone in pursuit, so he walked out of the store and followed his still hobbling partner up the stairs to the MARTA trains.
Sparkle finally caught up with him when he was about to get on the down escalator to the subway. Since Rainbow was still walking gingerly, Sparkle lifted his arm and draped it over his shoulder.
“Ow, godayum, man, take your time, shiiiit, humph,” Sparkle grunted, leaning against his own weight to try to balance himself before he looked down at his boy’s grimacing face. “Damn, dog, you aight? That was a nasty fall you took back there.”
Rainbow looked at him with the full intensity of the pain all over his face, pressed his lips together and growled, “Do I look like I’m aight? Damn, this shit hurts, dog.”
Knowing now that they were out of any immediate danger, Sparkle sighed in relief and started snickering.
Rainbow glared at him. “Man, what in the hell do you find so muthafucking godayum funny?”
Sparkle halted their journey down the steps to grab his side, spitting all over himself laughing. “Dude, you should have seen the look on your face as your ass was tumbling. Damn, that shit was like three stories up—that’s a long way, dog, a long-ass way. Whew! Man, I’ll never figure out why you want to do this shit anymore. Your crazy ass got money’s mamie. You just a wild muthafucka; that’s all I can say.”
Rainbow leaned up against the moving railing and looked at him seriously for a couple of seconds before a small smile creased the corners of his mouth. He blinked a few times. “Yeah, I guess that shit was funny from where you was at. But dog, there wasn’t a damn thang funny about it from my end.”
Sparkle stared at him really hard trying to hold on to a serious face, but that wasn’t about to work. He sprayed Rainbow’s face with sprinkles as he burst out laughing again, even harder than before. “I betcha it wasn’t, oooh shit. Hold on a minute, dog, damn.” He leaned away and grabbed his side and the railing to keep both of them from falling.
They took a few more steps before Sparkle stopped again.
Rainbow grimaced. “What now, man?”
Sparkle cocked an eye at him, looked down the steps and then back at him. “This here ain’t working, partner. Hold on for a second.” Before he could respond, Sparkle grabbed him by the elbow and pushed up under his armpit with all his might.
The only thing that Rainbow could do was form his mouth into a silent scream until he heard his collarbone pop back into place.
With his mouth still wide open in shock, Rainbow leaned on Sparkle until the pain subsided. Finally, he took a couple of deep breaths and sighed. “Damn, thanks, dog. You remember this broken-down old body, don’tcha?”
Sparkle sat down on the moving steps. “How can I not? I’ve been popping that bitch back in place all my fucking life. But forget that, where we headed, man? We surely can’t go get your car right now because those hillbillies have got to be roaming all up and down Peachtree hunting for us.”
Rainbow ro
tated his shoulders around a few times, aahed and started rubbing his knee. He stepped up his pace heading down the moving steps alone. He got close to the bottom and said over his shoulder, “To the club at the West End stop.”
Sparkle threw his hands up in the air. “Why am I not surprised to hear you say that? Junior and ’em still got that spot?” He reluctantly followed him.
Rainbow grunted his way down to the bottom, whewed and turned around to face him. “Oh yeah, those niggas still got paws in that joint, but they done really fixed it up from back when you was out. They got a funny-styled nigga down with them on it now, but shit still be popping on the regular.”
“Yeah, I heard a little something about it, but words out that the showcase spot is Magic City. Now that spot there is hot for a mug, dog, even way down there in the penitentiary.”
“For real, yo.”
“Hell yeah, for real,” Sparkle said.
Rainbow nodded his head in agreement. “That’s the place nowadays, for real, but our boy’s spot keeping paper rolling, too. Hell, they even had a couple of video shoots up in that bitch—Outkast, Usher and a couple of other hot groups. It be popping, yo, on the real.”
“Well, speak no more. Let’s roll up in there, my nigga,” Sparkle muttered as the train was pulling up. Just before the doors closed, they heard some voices hollering at them and looked up to see the hillbillies running down the escalator. It looked like the big one started tumbling down as the train pulled out. Rainbow and Sparkle shot those muthas some birds as the train wheeled out of their sight. “Ain’t that one lovely sight; serves the bastard right causing me all that their pain,” Rainbow said as he elbowed Sparkle in the side.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Browsing Enemy Turf
Less than five minutes later, they were pulling into the West End station. Rainbow was still walking with a slight limp, so Sparkle slowly walked beside him in case he needed his help.