by K'wan
“Hell no! Why would I bring drugs on a visit?” Tionna snaked her neck.
“That’s what we’re trying to find out.” The beefy one slipped on a pair of latex gloves. “Take your clothes off, please.”
“Are y’all serious?” Tionna tried to appeal to the pretty guard, but the girl ignored her and kept fumbling with a black case that was sitting on her desk. Inside it were round swabs and what looked like a pair of thin tongs. This guard also donned a pair of latex gloves before stepping in front of Tionna.
“Either you can strip willingly, or we can detain you and make you strip. In such a case, you would miss your visit, and we might even be able to see about putting a charge on you.”
“A charge? What kinda charge could you possibly put on me for not wanting to give y’all bitches a free show.” Tionna was getting indignant.
“Obstruction of an official investigation. You and I both know who your man is, so we know they’re paying special attention to him. Make it easy on yourself, boo.” The beefy guard slid over a container to drop her clothes in. “Strip.”
Tionna wanted to jump on both of them and claw their eyes out, but it wouldn’t help Duhan’s situation if she caused a scene. Swallowing her pride, she took off her clothes. The pretty guard took the articles of clothing she’d discarded and began to swab them, while the beefy guard watched her like a predator. “I’ll need to check your bra and panties, too, to make sure you’re not trying to smuggle anything in,” the beefy guard said, a little too enthusiastically for Tionna’s taste.
“Bitch, you must be crazy.” Tionna backed away.
“Chill out,” the pretty guard said to the beefy one. “You don’t have to take off your panties, miss, just lift your bra and your breasts so that we can make sure there’s nothing in there.”
Reluctantly, Tionna did as she’d been told. “Are y’all satisfied now?” she snapped.
The beefy guard looked at the other one, who gave her the signal that she was clean. With a saddened look on her face, the beefy guard gave Tionna her clothes back.
“Sorry about that,” the pretty guard began, while Tionna put her clothes back on. “The dog detected drugs on you. We didn’t find anything, but you’ve got residue all in your clothes.”
“I tried to tell y’all that I didn’t have anything.” She wiggled into her pants. “Can I go now?”
“Yeah, you can go,” the pretty guard said.
As Tionna was leaving, the beefy guard made a parting remark: “You got a nice-ass body, girl. If you ever decided you do wanna try to bring something in, maybe we can work out an arrangement.”
“Eat a dick, you dike bitch!” Tionna snapped before slamming the door behind her.
Tionna had just barely made the bus that would take her to Duhan’s building. When the bus reached the Otis Bantum Correctional Center, also known as OBCC, the passengers were herded into another waiting room to wait for their respective inmates to be pulled down. Tionna almost ran through the doors when she heard them call the name Collins. She made to go into the main visiting area with everybody else, but, to her surprise, she was led in another direction. The guard led her into a room lined with two-sided booths separated by Plexiglas.
“Oh, this must be a mistake. I’m not supposed to be on this side,” Tionna told the guard.
The guard looked down at his clipboard. “You’re here to see Collins, right?”
“Yes, Duhan Collins.”
“Then you’re in the right place. You were red flagged.”
“I was what?”
The guard pinched the bridge of his nose as if she was working his nerves. “Red flagged, ma’am. You required additional searching, so you’re on a noncontact visit.”
“No, this can’t be right. Please, I haven’t seen my husband in almost six weeks,” Tionna pleaded.
“I’m sorry, sis, but there’s nothing I can do about that rule.” His heart went out to the pretty, young girl, but his hands were tied. “Listen, they didn’t find anything on you, so this won’t be an ongoing thing.”
“Thanks,” Tionna mumbled and went to the assigned booth. She wanted to cry over all the things that she was going through, but she didn’t want to make herself look any more of a mess than she already did. Doing the best she could to make herself presentable, she waited patiently for Duhan.
The moment he came out, she could tell something was wrong. His eyes had bags under them and he hadn’t bothered to brush his hair. She greeted him with a loving smile, and though he returned the gesture it was halfhearted at best. “Hey, baby,” she greeted him.
“ ’Sup, T.” He sat down on the other side the glass. “What’s the word on the streets?” he asked, getting directly to the business.
“Damn. Well, hello to you, too.”
“Sorry, I got a lot on my brain right now,” he told her. “I got a visit from the Levine Friday.” He said the lawyer’s name as if it left a foul taste in his mouth.
“What’s he talking about?” she asked.
“More money, of course. I already spent fifty grand with the nigga and he still got his fucking hand out for another five.”
“Five thousand dollars, what the hell for?”
“Transcripts, the fee for the private investigator, yada yada. All this bread and I’m still sitting up, looking at a shaky case.” Duhan sounded disgusted.
“Duhan, where are we gonna get that kinda money? I’ve already pawned everything except my engagement ring.” She rubbed her finger.
“I got a few people on the street that owes me bread. Did you reach out to homebody from Fifty-fifth?”
“Yeah; he said he was gonna make arrangements to meet up, but every time I called him after that, he never picked up.”
“Then fuck that nigga; I’ll try to get the bread up myself. Yo, it seems like I can’t depend on nobody but my fucking self to keep it funky,” Duhan said. “And what the hell happened to you? It looks like you slept in your fucking clothes or something.”
“It’s a long story. But what’s up with you, babe? Duhan, I know the lawyer got you tight by asking for more money, but you don’t have to be so short with me. What’s with you today?”
“I’m trying to figure some things out in my head, one of which being this.” He pointed at the glass.
“Some bullshit; they tried to say I had drugs on me when I came through,” she said, trying to downplay it.
“Did you?”
“Of course not, Duhan. I told you that I wasn’t bringing nothing else in here after the last time,” she reminded him.
“You told me a lot of shit, but how much you held true to is still in question, T,” he said coldly.
“Duhan, what’s the hell is wrong with you?”
“I should be asking you the same thing. Where’d you go last night, T?” he asked in an all-too-calm voice.
“I didn’t go nowhere, baby,” she lied. Tionna had initially been against the noncontact visit, but, seeing the murderous look in Duhan’s eyes, she was thankful for the protective glass.
Duhan folded his hands on the table in front of him and looked her in the eyes. “You know, jail is an interesting place. We got all this concrete and steel separating us from the outside world, but it doesn’t stop us from getting the word on the streets before anyone else. We get some pretty interesting stuff up here, too. You wanna know what I heard this morning?”
Tionna knew damn well that she didn’t want to see where he was going with it, but she asked anyway: “What?”
“I heard that there was a shoot-out last night at that spot uptown, you know that piece-of-shit hole-in-the-wall that you and Gucci love so much—Mochas. Yeah, they said that Don B. and them niggaz got into a big shoot-out with some niggaz from the projects, the boy Happy and them. Ain’t Happy the same nigga that I had to check for sniffing around you?”
“I guess,” she said.
“Don’t guess, baby. Anyhow, they get into this wild-ass shoot-out and the police ended up rushing the
spot on some goon shit. They had to shut the place down.”
“Word, that’s crazy. I wonder what they were shooting about,” Tionna said, faking ignorance.
“See, that’s the craziest part.” He laughed. “I did some digging and come to find out the whole thing was over a bitch. Can you believe that?”
“No,” she said, starting to get very uncomfortable.
“Yeah, seems like that bum-ass nigga Happy caught feelings over some broad that Don B. was pushing up on, a pretty, dark-skinned chick from uptown named T. Now let me ask you again, Tionna, and think carefully before you answer. Where the fuck did you go last night?”
She thought about lying, but it was obvious that he already knew what time she’d been there, so she decided to tell the truth, or at least as much as was necessary. “A’ight, look, I went out for some drinks last night with Boots, Tracy, and Gucci, and—”
“I fucking knew it,” he cut her off. “Every time you get around them whore-ass broads, you act like you ain’t got no fucking sense, sniffing around any nigga that looks like he’s handling.”
“Duhan, it wasn’t like that.”
“Then what the fuck was it like?” he shouted. He noticed a guard looking in their direction so he lowered his voice. “I’m in here trying to keep from going away until my kids are in college and you’re in the street with them fucking cluck-head broads. All I asked of you was to keep it a hundred and be a real bitch, but I guess it was too much to ask. Once a ho—”
“Now hold the fuck on,” Tionna said, stopping him. “Since you’ve been in here I’ve held you down like a real bitch is supposed to, packages, visits, all that shit. I even put up with these bum-ass bitches you continuously stick your dick in, risking my life and yours, and you got the nerve to question my loyalty because I went out to have a few drinks. Muthafucka, for as much as I’ve been through, riding for you, I deserve a night out. And the next time you even think about calling me out my name it will be the last time you see me in this bitch. See if you can get your little jailbait whore Sharon to come out here and get felt up every time she wanna see you.”
“What the hell does Sharon have to do with any of this?” he asked, a little too defensively.
“Duhan, please don’t play with me. Just because I’m not on your back all the time doesn’t mean that I’m slow.”
“Tionna, I told you I ain’t fucking that girl,” he insisted.
“Then you might wanna tell her that, since every time I see her she hints otherwise.”
Duhan placed his hands on his head. “T, I don’t know what that girl’s problem is. Ima get at her.”
She looked at him as if he was completely missing the point. “Her problem is that you’ve got her thinking she doesn’t have to respect me, and getting at her is what’s got your ass in a sling now. You know what, talking to you is like talking to a damn wall. I ain’t got time for this shit, Duhan. I’m out.” She stood to leave.
“Tionna, wait.” He placed his hand on the glass. “Baby, don’t leave.” She wanted to stay mad at him, but seeing him pleading from behind that glass moved her. With a sigh, she sat back down. “I’m sorry,” he continued. “I know you be running like crazy trying to hold me down, T, and I didn’t mean to come at you sideways, it’s just that this place is starting to get to me.”
“Duhan, even though I’m not in here with you, I’m bidding with you. For as long as you’re in here, away from us and the kids, my soul can never rest. I’m here for you.”
“Always.” He pressed his hand to the glass.
“Always and forever, like Heatwave.” She pressed her hand over the glass to match his.
“And that’s why I love you, Tionna.”
“Not as much as I love you, Duhan,” she said sincerely.
“Time,” the guard called from the end of the room.
“Damn, it seems like we never have enough time together,” Duhan said sadly.
“Baby, if a day was forty-eight hours instead of twenty-four, it still wouldn’t be enough time. But don’t worry, Duhan, this will all be out of the way soon enough.”
“One way or another, right.” He seemed to deflate after the statement.
“Hey, what did I tell you about that kinda talk? We’re gonna beat this, Duhan, you hear me?” she said sternly.
“Yeah, ma, I hear you.”
“Collins, I know you hear me, muthafucka!” the guard yelled.
“Hold ya fucking head, son, I’m coming,” Duhan yelled back. “Let me get the fuck up outta here before I end up with another charge for fucking this nigga up.”
“Don’t feed into that, baby, you just hold ya head. You’re a boss, and never let nobody take you outta character,” she told him as he was walking back the way he’d come. Duhan suddenly stopped short and came back.
“Collins, don’t make me come down there!” the guard shouted, making his way toward Duhan.
“Tionna, you know I love my kids more than my own life, right?” he said hurriedly.
“Of course, and they love their dad, too.”
“Good. Because if I find out that you’re back to fucking around with that nigga Happy, you’re gonna have to be the one to explain to them kids why their father is up for murder and they’re mother is in a wheelchair. Don’t fuck with me, T. You understand?” Tionna was so shaken by the fire in his eyes when he spoke that all she could do was nod. “Good,” he said just as the guard reached him.
“You got a problem, convict?” The guard was pissed for having to come get him. He outweighed Duhan by about thirty pounds or so, but he had bitch written all over his face.
Duhan looked him directly in the eyes. “Nah, I don’t have a problem, but I’m sure I can find you one if you need it that bad.”
The guard weighed his options and decided against testing Duhan. “Let’s go, Collins,” he said with a little less bass in his voice.
“That’s what I thought.” Duhan strutted passed him. “Remember what I said, Tionna,” he called over his shoulder just before he disappeared behind the iron door.
CHAPTER 21
“Hold the fuck on, I’m coming!” Animal shouted from his bedroom at whoever was banging on his front door. His eyes stung too bad to see the hands on the SpongeBob clock mounted on his wall, but his aching body told him it was way too early. After he’d left Gucci he’d gone straight home, but found that he couldn’t will the sleep to take him, which was the problem with some designer drugs. They left you wired for most of the night, but when you crashed, it came down on you like a train wreck. Animal slipped on his bathrobe and dropped his .38 in the pocket on his way to the front door. He never had visitors unannounced, especially at that hour. Pushing his hair from his eyes, he looked through the peephole and sighed when he saw who was on the other side.
“What?” Animal asked when he opened the door.
“It’s time to wake yo ass, up, son. You know the early bird catches the worm,” Silk said, inviting herself inside.
“Silky, the only worms I’m interested in are the ones in the bottom of a tequila bottle. Do y’all know what time it is?”
“We know exactly what time it is, but you don’t because you were out partying while business was being conducted,” Tech said as he crossed the threshold, followed by China White. “Rise and shine, little brother, we’ve got some things to talk about.”
“Tech, I love you like cooked food, but my head is hurting too damn bad to listen to this shit this morning,” Animal grumbled, shuffling into the kitchen. He rummaged through his cabinets, trying to find a can of coffee, but couldn’t get his brain and his limbs to cooperate.
“Let me get it,” China offered, seeing that he was clearly out of it.
“Thank you, Ms. White.” Animal kissed her on the cheek. They were all close, but his and China’s relationship was different than the collective. Ever since she’d first come into the clique she’d taken a liking to the little orphan and played the role of surrogate big sister to him. China was
n’t that much older than Animal, but she had a wise spirit and he could come to her with anything.
“Animal, what is all this bullshit you got on the walls?” Silk took one of the masks down and started playing with it.
“I wouldn’t expect a hood rat like yaself to know the difference between art and bullshit.” He took the mask from her and placed it back on the wall. “Somebody twist something up, my head is killing me.” Animal took a seat on the couch next to Tech, who was watching the news. An attractive brown-skinned woman was on the screen, recapping two shootings that had happened in Harlem the night before.
“I see y’all took care of that thing,” Tech said to Animal.
“Yeah, man, I told you the young boys had it faded,” Animal replied.
“How’d they do?”
“Brasco handled his business, but I gotta get at Ashanti about his damn moral system. That boy needs sensitivity coaching.” Animal shook his head.
Tech smiled like a proud father. “That boy is gonna make a fine wolf when he comes of age.”
“You mean if he comes of age: he ain’t got no scruples.”
“I can remember a time when they said the same thing about you, and you turned out okay,” Tech told him.
“Yeah, because I know the difference between the man and the animal, so I can tell a good situation from a bad situation. Ashanti ain’t got that kinda sense.”
“Yo, wasn’t you there last night?” Silk pointed at the screen, where they were showing the front of Mochas, the location of the second shoot-out.
“Yeah, that shit turned into a hot mess,” Animal admitted.
As Tech was watching the screen, a terrible thought materialized in his head. “Animal, I know that wasn’t you who shot that fucking club up?”
“Tech, I’m an animal, not an idiot; that ain’t had nothing to do with me. Don B. got into it with some niggaz over a broad and muthafuckas started popping,” Animal said, as if clubs getting shot up were everyday occurrences.
“That dude stays in some shit.” China sat a cup of coffee in front of Animal and went to sit on the recliner with hers. “You’d think with all the money he’s got, he’d have something better to do than getting people killed and shot at.”