The Circle: Autumn

by Keisha Ervin

  Rain had given Autumn so many instructions that Autumn wanted to plug her ears with cotton. In the end, Autumn understood that her job was to find out everything about Q—where he lived, where he hung out, who his right hand man was, who his enemies were, his government name, his relationship status, where his family lay their heads, how he did business, and most importantly, what he was holding and where he kept most of his stash. The Porters considered themselves professionals; therefore, they never carried out any job—big or small—without first conducting extensive research on all of their victims and licks, but this would be Autumn’s first time going at it alone. She had to make sure she did it well or else she’d be relegated back to just being a getaway driver.

  After a couple of hours of driving and listening to the entire Brandy CD at least twice, Autumn pulled her rental car into the Courtyard Marriot on Springside Drive in Akron, Ohio. “What the fuck? Ugh, I would never choose this place,” Autumn grumbled as she looked around kind of disgusted.

  “This town must be a piece of shit. Not one real five star hotel in the whole damn place,” Autumn mumbled to herself as she eyed the front door of the hotel. “Part of the job, I guess,” she huffed, grabbing her bag. She could’ve stayed in Cleveland at a Ritz-Carlton, but Autumn wanted to be as close to where Q ran his business as possible and Akron was where it was at. She was on a mission and with her brother and sisters depending on her, Autumn wasn’t about to let them all down.

  Autumn checked into the hotel under the alias Azalea Princeton. The Porters never used their real names when they were researching a lick. They hardly used their real names for much of anything, thanks to Dayvid’s connection to a guy who created the best fake identifications.

  As soon as Autumn kicked off her pumps and took off her oversized Prada shades, she dialed her siblings to let them know she had made it to town.

  “Keep that fucking phone close when you go out there,” Rain demanded through the phone. “We want to know where you at all the time. No bullshit. We want to be updated at least every two hours about your well-being. Don’t play no games,” Rain went on and on. Autumn rolled her eyes thinking, yeesss mom. Rain was always crazy over protective, most of the time it didn’t bother Autumn, but sometimes it got on her nerves to no end. Autumn felt like she was constantly fighting to get her siblings to trust her and give her a more active role in their family business. Although she was the baby of the bunch, she hated being treated as such.

  After she spoke to all of her siblings and endured all of their lecturing, Autumn took a long hot shower, relaxed in her hotel room, sparked an L and got her mind right for the mission at hand. She laid out a white, fitting Roberto Cavalli dress, a pair of gold Guiseppe Zanotti heels and a white and gold YSL clutch. The high-end designer threads were probably overkill for anywhere she would be hanging out in Akron, but that was the look Autumn was going for…definite overkill. She had watched Q in Baltimore long enough to figure out he would probably only be seen with chicks that had their shit all the way together in the clothes, hair, and body departments. Every time she laid eyes on Q, he hadn’t been in nothing less than the best threads. Autumn, a fashion hound and guru, even from a distance could name every tag Q donned.

  Autumn had no worries about herself when it came to the designer clothes, beauty, hair, and body departments. She might not have thought of herself as beautiful as Fallon, but Autumn knew she was a beauty too. She boasted a smooth, blemish-free caramel complexion, perfect teeth, long, natural eye lashes that accented her half-moon shaped eyes. Autumn wasn’t tall, but for a woman she wasn’t short either. She stood five foot five inches tall with a thick-in-the-right-places physique, and flat stomach. Where she was from, all the dope boys wanted her and all of the hood chicks hated her.

  That first night in Akron, Autumn knew exactly what spot she’d be hitting up first. Thanks to good research, Autumn pulled up to Club Vertigo on Main Street and let the valet park her car. From the crowd outside, Vertigo seemed to be the place to be that night, just like she had heard. Autumn had already gotten the scoop from a kid named Trapp that worked for the Porters from time to time that Q was the partial owner of Vertigo—one of the only real hot spots around Akron. Trapp had told Dayvid that there was no guarantee that Q would show up on any given night because Q was constantly changing up his routine. When her brother gave her the information, Autumn decided she would go to Vertigo and take a chance and see if she got lucky. The outside of the club was nothing to look at. It was a nondescript brick building that looked more like a warehouse from the front than a club. These whack ass Midwesterners will obviously party anywhere. Autumn thought as she took in the sights. But for the little neon sign that read VERTIGO, Autumn wouldn’t have even believed the building to be the right place.

  Once Autumn saw how long the line was outside of the club, she knew standing in it wasn’t a Porter’s style. Porters didn’t wait in lines and certainly not when they were dressed up in the best shit like Autumn was that night. She decided that she was too spoiled, too beautiful and too smart to be looking hungry and thirsty in some club line.

  Autumn made the decision that it was time for her to get her game face on and use the gaming skills she had acquired over the years to get herself inside. Shit, if I can game niggas right out of their stacks, getting in the club shouldn’t be problem at all, she told herself. Thank God for her Porter confidence.

  Autumn smoothed her dress down over her round backside and took a deep breath before she sauntered towards the clubs doors. Her heels clicked against the pavement with a nice smooth cadence. She had learned how to walk in heels from Nanny who was one of the most sophisticated women in Baltimore back in her day.

  Autumn approached the door focused on her mission. Surprisingly, there was only one lame, overweight, trying-to-look-hard weakling bouncer at the front door. Oh this shit gonna be easier than I thought. This lame don’t stand a chance against Autumn Porter, she said to herself building up her own confidence. Autumn had already caught the portly wannabe tough bouncer looking at her like she was a pork chop sandwich, so she knew if she played her cards right she would have this one in the bag.

  “Hey sweetie,” Autumn cooed, parting a pretty smile. “You look like you could use some company out here t’night. Listen, I forgot my pass, but Q is expecting me so I trust that you’re going to move aside and let me right up in here.” Autumn licked her plump, shiny lips and smiled brightly flashing all of her perfectly straight teeth.

  “Q ain’t tell me nothing about expecting you though,” the bouncer wheezed, sweat drops the size of beads sliding down his face making a pool near his neckline. He couldn’t even hold eye contact with Autumn…a good sign for her. She looked him up and down. Yuck! This nigga fat and nasty, Autumn thought to herself.

  “Well I’m telling you Q is expecting me, baby. I’m sorry you’re not having a great night. I’m not either. I was rushing out after getting all dressed up and forgot the pass…tuh, my fault for trying to be so fly,” Autumn said, sliding her hand down over her ample ass to entice the Porky The Pig look alike.

  “You see what I see,” Autumn said seductively. Then she winked at the bouncer. “I may not have the pass Q gave me, but I know the password,” Autumn said sexily, licking her lips for emphasis.

  “Pleeease,” Autumn said in a sex kitten, mixed with a desperate house wife moan. “I know you have some compassion for a beautiful woman, dressed to the nines with this sexy body. I know you wanna see me inside and maybe grab these digits later,” she breathed, speaking like she was having phone sex. With that she moved so close to the fat man that he could smell the mint Altoids on her breath and the enticing scent of her Marc Jacobs Daisy perfume.

  “Please is the password and this is the key,” she breathed like she was on the verge of an orgasm, then she reached down and grabbed a handful of the bouncer’s musty crotch and although his dick must’ve been tiny because she still couldn’t feel it, he got the message she was sending.
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  “Oh don’t…” the bouncer panted, but he didn’t push her hand away. He couldn’t take it anymore either. He began wheezing even harder like he just ran ten blocks. He didn’t even care that the desperate club goers in the line were yelling at him and cussing Autumn out for skipping the line. Autumn figured his fat ass probably hadn’t been touched down there by a woman in years so she stroked what little she could feel.

  “Mmmm, seems like you’re happy to see me. Now you don’t want Q to find out how you sexually harassed me out here in public do you?” Autumn whispered. “How you made me rub your dick to get inside knowing that I am Q’s special friend. I don’t think you want me to tell Q all about how this went down,” Autumn said in a baby voice.

  “Ok…ok…” the man said, stepping aside with his entire body trembling with a mixture of sexual excitement and fear of Q. The portly bouncer simply could not take it another minute. He wanted so badly to thrust his hand up Autumn’s dress and touch her ass, but he knew if she really was Q’s special friend and Q found out, he would be dead.

  “I…I’ma let you inside…bu…but, you will need this to show the other security inside,” the bouncer said, handing Autumn a real VIP pass.

  Damn I’m good! she thought. She made up the story about leaving the pass at home, not even knowing that the club really used passes. Autumn took her lucky entry into the club as a sign from God that she was meant to be there that night, casing the joint and Q for the Porter’s next lick.

  Once inside, Autumn took in an eyeful of the club. It was set up like a big open loft, but unlike how plain it looked outside, the inside was decked out with beautiful lacquer floors, shiny mirrors, egg cup bar chairs, and white leather wrap around benches. There was blue and purple dim lighting around the ceiling and floor of the club that casted a sexy, glow across the entire dance floor. The interior made Autumn think of a futuristic décor. The club goers were in different stages of party modes. Some were sitting on the benches all sophisticated like with expensive cocktails in their hands and expensive bottles on ice in front of them. Some were serving it up on the dance floor and others were posted up around the walls puffing on an l and people watching. It was just like clubs back in Baltimore except Autumn noticed that the chicks in Club Vertigo were not dressed as well as she was. A fact that she felt would work to her advantage when Q arrived.

  Autumn slid onto one of the chic barstools and ordered a Remy Martin and coke. Sipping her first drink seemed like an eternity. Autumn ended up sitting at the bar inside the club for two hours before Q finally arrived. When he came inside Autumn noticed how the floor opened up to allow him to walk through. He wasn’t hard to notice and just like she had remembered, Q was still fine as hell. Even in the darkened club Autumn could still see those perfect white teeth shining and that gleaming skin. That night Q rocked a simple pair of dark denim Brioni jeans, a white Gucci V-neck, and a pair of black alligator skin Giuseppe Zanotti high top sneakers. A man after my own heart. Autumn thought as she examined Q’s fashion sense and watched Q seemingly glide through the jam packed club. Autumn also immediately noticed all of the chicks swooning and getting ready to put on their best catch-a-nigga game face and act. Autumn decided to play her hand differently. She played it cool, acted like his presence didn’t mean shit to her and continued holding down her spot at the bar. Autumn knew that niggas like Q always watched for the demure, laid back chick that wasn’t acting so thirsty. That plan could either work or backfire; either way that night, Autumn was taking a chance.

  After almost three hours in Club Vertigo and about four snifters of Hennessey mixed with a few Remy and cokes Autumn was tipsy, frustrated, feeling useless and ready to call it a night. Her buzz had begun to wear off and so had her patience. This nigga ain’t bite at all. He ain’t even pay me no mind, Autumn said to herself. She was all dressed up like she was about to hit the red carpet and Q hadn’t even glanced at her from what she could tell. Autumn watched him long enough to assess that his aura and demeanor was different than any other dude she had come across, especially the ones she had cased for a hit over the years. All of the hustlers she and her siblings had made victims were usually flashy, loud, careless, and downright stupid. They were so interested in showing and telling people what material things they had that most of them never thought far ahead enough about all of the people waiting to stick them.

  So far Q had proved himself to be different. He was laid back, quiet, seemingly observant and just plain chilled. Autumn watched all of his boys being loud and boisterous, but not Q. He was cool, calm and collected the entire time. Q ignored all of the hot girls that were trying to dance seductively in front of him. He was just not interested in anyone around him. Autumn started to think that maybe Q had a woman at home that he was faithful to. If that was the case, it was not a good sign for Autumn or her siblings. A man like Q wouldn’t be easy to get next to and it wouldn’t be that easy to determine what he was holding either. Autumn’s mind raced with all sorts of thoughts, but she wasn’t ready to give up just yet. Autumn was determined to make Q notice her. He wasn’t going to be an easy nut to crack, but Autumn told herself that she was up for the challenge though.

  Autumn was just about to leave Club Vertigo feeling dejected when she noticed one of Q’s boys walking towards her. He was the dude that she’d seen whispering in Q’s ear several times during the night. He was also the dude that kept coming to the bar. This must be Q’s right hand. Finally! She thought. It had been her experience that a lot of top-level hustlas send their cronies to holla at chicks for them. With anticipation causing the hairs to stand up on the back of her neck, Autumn sat her drink on the bar and placed a twenty-dollar bill next to it and waited. She drummed her fingers on the top of the bar and counted a few times in her head. Sure enough, just like she suspected Q’s boy approached her.

  “Aye. How you?” The dude said and Autumn was immediately turned off by his Midwest accent. “You ain’t from ‘round here…that much I know,” the dude said, his one big gold front tooth threatening to blind her.

  “Obviously,” Autumn said with much attitude. It was part of the game. Men loved to be abused by a chick. The worst a chick acted, the more the dude would want her. “Men like a challenge. If your ass is easy, then he won’t stay interested,” Nanny used to tell Autumn and Fallon.

  “You a sassy one ain’t you! I likes ‘em sassy!” the dude that Autumn, had now pegged as yet another lame, said.

  “My name is Dee. Why don’t you let me take you out sometime…show you around?” he asked. Autumn’s stomach dropped. She had been expecting him to say something like, “my boss wanted me to ask you over or my boss is interested,” not for his corny ass to ask her out.

  “Nah that’s alright,” Autumn said almost through her teeth. But then, just like a bolt of lightning, something hit her. If this nigga Q wasn’t going to pay her no mind, why not use Q’s lame right hand man to find out more about Q.

  “C’mon don’t play hard to get,” Dee said sounding desperate. “I’m a nice guy. You gotta give me a chance.” That line alone would’ve made Autumn’s pussy completely dry up if she had been in bed with this lame. She was still trying to figure how she’d use him to hatch a plan against Q though.

  “How about I meet up with you sometime this week. Take my number…let me know where you and your friends hang out and I’ll catch up to you,” Autumn said slyly. The dude was like a pig in shit when he got the number. Now he would look like a big man to his friends...especially his boss Q.

  “A’ight bet. Don’t stand me up!” he said, smiling like a big goof ball. Autumn smirked and rolled her eyes as Dee rushed away to show off. “Yeah right nigga. I won’t stand you up, but I’m damn sure gonna stick yo ass up,” Autumn mumbled as she hopped down from the barstool and stomped towards the exit door of the club.

  ***

  For the next week in Akron, Autumn used Dee, who she found out was just one of Q’s flunkies, to her advantage. Like a runny mouth bitch, Dee told
Autumn everywhere that Q and his people were hanging out each night. If she hadn’t been so enamored with him, Autumn could’ve called in her siblings and got Q good a few times because of Dee’s blabbing ass mouth.

  Thanks to Dee, Autumn had been to clubs, bars, and even bowling alleys dressed in the hottest high-end labels, with perfect makeup and hair trying to get Q’s attention. But still no matter how hot Autumn looked and how many other dudes swooned over her, Q seemed to pay her no mind. Autumn was growing frustrated, but at the same time slowly more and more attracted to Q. It was his smooth ass vibe and perfect demeanor that had Autumn open like shit. Something about Q had her intrigued like never before. Since a little kid, Autumn always liked mysteries and puzzles and Q was proving himself to be more than a challenge to figure out. The thing that baffled her the most though was how he ignored her. She couldn’t understand why he didn’t even blink in her direction. It was like every hustler in Ohio was after her since she’d arrived on the scene. Autumn had publicly rebuffed every one of their advances too. But the one person she wanted to chase her still hadn’t said as much as hello to her.

  ***

  “What’s up baby sis?” Fallon answered her phone on the first ring. Autumn had her lips poked out and her foot tapped against the floor.