by Askari
***
The Following Morning...
Gladys Miller, the fifty year old block captain for the 500 block of Glenwood Street was leaving her house when she noticed the black Jaguar that was parked on the corner. “I know good and goddamned well these motherfuckers ain’t out here slinging them rocks again,” she said to herself, assuming the vehicle belonged to a drug dealer.
For the past ten years she relished over the fact that she played a part in cleaning up one of the most notorious drug corners in North Philly, and now that 5th and Glenwood was relatively drug free, she planned to keep it that way.
She glanced up and down the block looking for any signs of the car’s owner, but the only person she saw was a scrawny little Spanish man dressed in blue overalls. He appeared to be loading up the bread truck that was parked in front of the corner store. She looked inside of the truck and realized that another Spanish man was sitting in the passenger’s seat. He was watching her like a hawk, and his cold eyes sent chills down her spine. Defiantly she locked eyes with him for a few seconds, and then headed toward her car.
The man who was loading the bread truck slipped inside of the corner store, and for some strange reason Glady’s intuition was telling her that something was wrong. She glanced at the Jaguar one last time, and then climbed inside of her car. I don’t know what’s going on, but something ain’t right, she thought to herself.
As she started the engine she noticed that smoke was seeping from underneath of the Jaguar.
“What the hell is—”
Ka-Boom!
The loud blast lifted the sedan off the ground sending scrap metal and broken glass flying through the air.
***
In Upper Dublin, Pennsylvania
Sonny was awakened by the warm sensation of Daphney deep throating his dick. He looked down and the only thing he saw was the shape of her head underneath the silk sheets. She was going up and down on his shaft, while moaning and slurping.
“Well goddamn, Mrs. Moreno. That’s how you feelin’ this mornin’?”
She kissed the tip of his dick, and then pulled the sheets away from her body. She then spun around on her hands and knees, and arched her back, giving him a back shot view of her pussy. “I wanna get fucked by my husband,” she insisted.
He smiled at her. “Oh, is that right?”
She turned back look at him and slowly twerked her ass. “And you better fuck me hard.”
“Hard huh?”
“Umm hmm,” she purred while popping her ass one cheek at a time. “If it ain’t rough, it ain’t right!”
“Say no more.” He positioned himself behind her and used the tip of his dick to play with her clitoris and pussy lips.
“Ummmmm! Damnit daddy!” The feeling of his dick going up and down her slit was driving her crazy. “Daddy, you better stop playin and put that mutha’fucka in me!”
He laughed at her. “Nah,” he teased. “I was layin’ here mindin’ my own business. So now,” he dipped his 9 and a half inches inside of her, and then quickly pulled out, “ya ass is on my time!”
“Yo, stop playin’,” she whined.
He smacked her on the ass and continued to tease her. Again, he used the head of his dick to caress her clitoris and her pussy lips. She rocked backwards, attempting to get him inside of her but he laughed at her and pulled back.
“Sontino!” she whined like a spoiled baby. “Stop playin’ all the time!”
“Ain’t nobody playin’!”
Wham!
He rammed his dick inside of her and she damn near jumped off the bed.
“Nah, don’t run!” he grabbed her around the waist, and then quickly pulled out.
“Oh my God!” she continued to whine like a baby. “Why the fuck are you teasing me like this?”
“Shut the fuck up!” He rammed his dick back inside of her and stroked so hard that she came instantly. “Yes baby! Just like that!” she encouraged him. “Fuck me like that!”
After fifteen minutes of nonstop pounding, he exploded inside of her and together they collapsed on the bed. He looked at the alarm clock on the nightstand and saw that it was 6:15 a.m.
“Damn, I gotta hop in the shower and get dressed. Can you twist somethin’ up for me?”
“I gotchu. Just hurry up because we have a lot to get done this mornin’. Aside from packing our luggage, we gotta visit my daddy, and make it to the airport by at least ten o’clock.
“I already know Mrs. Moreno,” he replied in a sarcastic tone of voice. “We ain’t even been married for a whole 24 hours and you try’na boss me around already!.”
“Don’t front. You know it turns you on when I boss you around,” she laughed, and then twisted her beautiful face into an ice grill. “Now get ya sexy ass in the fuckin’ shower ‘fore I fuck you up!”
“Damn,” he chuckled as he leaned forward to kiss her on the lips. “What’s up wit’ all that bass in ya voice?”
Never mind me,” she said in between kisses. “That’s just my boss voice.”
Sonny laughed. “Oh, that’s ya boss voice huh?”
“Yup.”
His iPhone vibrated on the nightstand, and the screen indicated that the caller was his mother. He accepted the call and held the phone to his ear. “What’s up, beautiful? How you feelin’ this mornin’?”
“Is your father over there?” Annie asked in a concerned voice.
“Naw. Why would he be over here?”
She sucked her teeth and sighed. “I don’t know. He didn’t come home last night and I was thinking that maybe he stopped over there to take care of somethin' before you and Daph left for the Bahamas.”
Confused, he scratched his head. “Naw mom. I ain’t seen him since the weddin’.”
“Alright, well can you call around and see if you can track him down for me. I’m starting to get worried.”
“Aww man, you always worried about something,” he laughed trying to lighten the mood and lift her spirits. “I’m sure he’s a’ight. He’s probably at one of the spots or somethin’. I’ma find him, and as soon as I talk to him, I’ma have him call you.”
“Alright baby, you do that because I’m really starting to get a wierd a feeling.”
“Just calm down, I gotchu. I’m sure that everything’s okay.”
“I hope so,” she replied, and then disconnected the call.
He called Rahmello.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
“Yo,” Rahmello panted. “Sonny, what’s poppin’ brozay?”
“You already know,” Sonny replied. He listened closely and heard the sounds of a woman moaning and speaking in Spanish. “Yo, who you wit’?”
Rahmello hesitated. “Umm, Umm, you don’t know her,” he lied. He held his index finger up to his lips, signaling for Olivia to be quiet.
Sonny shook his head in disbelief. “Yo, you wit’ Olivia ain’t you? And you better not lie.”
“Come on bro, you buggin’ right now.”
“Nigga, answer the question!”
Rahmello sighed. “A’ight man, fuck it. Yeah I’m wit’ Olivia!”
Sonny was steaming. He specifically told Rahmello not to fuck with this broad, and what does he do, he fucks with her anyway!
“Listen Mello, you lucky I gotta plane to catch, ‘cause if I didn’t I’d be over there fuckin’ you up! But you better believe when I get back to the states, we gon’ sit down and talk about this shit.”
“A’ight man, whateva.”
“Yeah, I gotcha a’ight man whateva,” Sonny shot back. “But dig though, I need you to stop whatever you’re doin’ and pay close attention.”
The phone went silent for a few seconds, and then Rahmello’s voice eased through the receiver. “What’s up, brozay? Holla at me.”
“You seen or heard from pops this mornin’?”
“Nah, I ain’t seen him since last night. Why, what’s up?”
“My mom just called and told me that he didn’t come home last night.”
> “He’s probably at the stash house,” Rahmello suggested. “I gotta shoot over there in lil’ bit so I’ma see what’s up.”
“A’ight, get on top of that,” Sonny replied. He sparked up the freshly rolled Backwood that Daphney just handed to him. “Oh yeah, and before you leave the spot grab one of them piggies that we turned into bacon bits and drop it off wit’ the young bul Heemy.”
“Heemy? Who the fuck is Heemy?”
“The young bul from Delhi Street.”
“A’ight,” Rahmello nodded his head. “Say no more. I gotchu.”
Chapter Sixteen
It was 8:35 a.m. when Sonny and Daphney pulled into the parking lot of SCI Graterford. He’d been calling Easy’s cell phone for the past hour, but to no avail. A concerned expression was written across his face, and like his mother he was beginning to suspect that something was wrong. He handed Daphney his phone.
“Keep callin’ him while I go in here to holla at ya pop.” He climbed out the Ghost and looked up at the 40 foot wall that surrounded the prison. “Damn,” he said to himself. “This some ancient history, King Author type of shit.”
As he headed toward the entrance an eerie feeling washed over him, but he shook it off and entered the building. After handing over a fake driver’s license and going through a metal detector, his left hand was stamped with an invisible ink, and he was escorted to the visitor’s house.
About twenty minutes later, the corrections officer at the front desk announced, “Alvin Rines! The visitor for Alvin Rines, report to the front desk!” Sonny got up from his seat and headed toward the officer. The fat white man gave him the once over, and then shook his head in contempt. “Look at this fuckin’ asshole,” he said to himself. He was referring to Sonny’s flamboyant appearance. Aside from his powder blue YSL sweater, his Seven Jeans, and his navy blue Mauri’s, his customized jewelry was more than enough to make the flashlight cop green with envy.
“Devin Scott?” the C.O. questioned while glancing at his clipboard.
“Yeah, that’s me,” Sonny lied.
“Alright, go through the door right there,” he gestured toward the door that led to the visiting room. “One more thing Mr. Scott,” he pointed back and forth between Sonny’s watch and necklace, “you wouldn’t happen to be a professional athlete or some kinda of entertainer would ya?”
Sonny picked up on the officer’s insinuation and scowled at him. “Nizzaw. Just know that the tax money I pay is the money that pays for your salary.”
When he stepped inside of the visiting room he immediately attracted everyone’s attention. His diamond earrings, Rolex, and BBE charm resembled a light show, and the clarity of his VS1 diamonds spoke volumes with the slightest movement. He paid his spectators no mind and scowered the large room looking for Alvin. He spotted him sitting in the last row of chairs directly in front of the vending machines. As he walked toward him, the muscular, brown skinned man stood to his feet. He was dressed in a cocoa brown, one piece jumper, and a pair of cream Pradas. His body language was somewhat tense, and behind the lenses in his gold framed Prada glasses, Sonny could see that sonething was bothering him.
“What’s up Alvin? Is everything good?”
Alvin embraced him with a fatherly hug, and then placed his hands on his shoulders. He looked Sonny square in the eyes. “First, lemme start by sayin’ congratulations and welcome to the family.” He noticed Sonny’s confused expression, and smiled. “Yeah I know right,” he shrugged his shoulders, “word travels fast around here. Speakin’ of which, I’ve been hearin’ a lot of stories about you.” He removed his hands from Sonny’s shoulders and returned to his seat.
“A lot of stories?” Sonny replied as he sat down beside him. “About me?”
“Yes,” Alvin shook his head, “about you. Look around and tell me what you see.”
Sonny looked around the room and shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. Mutha’fuckas is lookin’ at me. What’s new?”
“Exactly!” Alvin nodded his head. “Your whole style Sontino, it’s too loud. Anytime a man can walk into a room full of people visiting a family member that they haven’t seen in a while, and he becomes the center of attention that’s a major problem.” He gestured toward his BBE charm. “Man, look at this shit. That’s every bit of a $100,000, and that’s not including them big ass diamonds in ya ears and that dumb ass Rolex.”
“What?” Sonny screwed up his face. “Yo, I know you ain’t have me come all the way out here just to tell me this dumb ass shit?”
“Naw,” Alvin shook his head from side to side. “I asked that you come because I’m worried about the welfare of my daughter and my grandbabies,” he said in a sincere voice.
“Ya daughter and ya grandbabies? What the fuck my jewelry gotta do wit’ Daph and the kids?”
“It has everything to do wit’ them,” Alvin fired back. “If these mutha’fuckas is sittin’ in this visiting room watchin’ you, then what the hell do you think the feds are doin’?”
“The feds?” Sonny chuckled. “All of my shit’s legit, and if it really comes down to it I can cover all my assets wit’ my 1099. My sports bar’s poppin’. My nightclub’s poppin’ and together they make about a $700,000 a year so fuck the feds.”
Alvin removed his Prada frames, and shook his head in disappointment. “Yo, this is deja vu like a mutha’fucka.”
“Deja vu?” Sonny countered. “Ol’ head don’t take dis the wrong way, but you had your turn and now its mines. Just because you fell, that don’t mean I’ma fall. I’m not you,” he said while slowly shaking his head. “I'm Sonny Moreno, not Alvin Rines.
Alvin chuckled. “Are you sure you’re not me or at least who I used to be? Sontino, the only difference between you and me is the money! You probably count yours and me but I had to weigh mines.”
Sonny laughed at him and clapped his hands together. “A’ight, ol’ head, talk that shit!” The laughing stopped and he looked Alvin dead in his eyes. “That might be true, but all dat YBM, Get Down Or Lay Down, shit is over. The only thing you weighin’ up these days is some old ass memories.”
Alvin was heated. Every fiber of his being wanted to smack fire out of Sonny’s face, but somehow he managed to keep his cool. “Dig right, I’ma let that slide because my intentions don’t revolve around you and me bumpin’ heads. Rather my only concern is my daughter and my grandchildren. It’s bad enough that I can’t be there to love and protect them, but you Sontino, you have the opportunity to be the man that I’m incapable of being right now.” He took a deep breath and fiddled with his Prada frames. “All I’m askin’ you to do is to quit while you’re still ahead. I mean shit, you even said it yourself, you have two businesses that are doin’ extremely well and when you couple that with the real estate company that I left to Daph, y’all should be more than straight.”
Sonny remained quiet. He recognized the bald truth of Alvin’s statements, but he also remembered what happened the last time he attempted to take his foot off the gas pedal. He lost Riri and their unborn child.
“Listen ol’ head, I feel where you’re comin’ from and all dat. So this what I’ma do, I’ma take some time to figure out what’s best for me and my family.”
“Yeah you do that,” Alvin encouraged him. “And while your at it, I want you to think about Daph. I I I want you to think about the way that she looks at me toward the end of every visit. Think about the pain in her eyes. It’s the pain of a daughter who has to live with the reality of her daddy never comin’ home again. All of her pain and suffering,” he shamefully lowered his head and took a deep breath, “it burns through her eyes Sontino. I’ve been lookin’ at those tortured eyes for over 20 years now.” He stood to his feet and Sonny did the same. “I need you to think about Keyonti. I need you to imagine her growing up in this cold world without the love, protection, and support of her father. Then I want you to ask yourself if you’re man enough to look that little girl in the eyes and tell her that her daddy’s never comin’ home a
gain?”
The impact of his word hit Sonny like a ton of bricks. He thought about the streets and how they affected the women in his family. Then he thought about Keyonti and what seemed to be inevitable. He attempted to speak, but Alvin waved him off. “It’s no need to talk about it. Just be a man and do what your family needs you to do.”
As Sonny turned to leave, Alvin stopped him in his tracks, “And Sontino, whatever you do,” he paused for a second, “you better believe the streets is watching.”
***
Back In Philly
Agents Terry Long and Monica Brown were riding down Broad Street when Agent Long received a phone call from Detective Sullivan. “Terry, where are you?”
“Monica and I are heading toward the office. Why? What’s going on?”
Detective Sullivan chuckled. “Everything’s okay, well for us anyway. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for The Moreno Family.”
“Oh yeah,” Agent Long replied. “What makes you say that?”
“Well, we found a body this morning.”
“Did Sontino catch up to Gervin?”
“Nope.”
“Well did Gervin kill Sontino?”
“Nope.”
“Well what the fuck happened, Sully?”
“It’s Ervin Easy Moreno, Sontino’s father. We found his body this morning and whoever killed him, they got his ass good.”
“What’s your location?”
“Were on the corner of 5th and Glenwood.”
Agent Long made a U-turn at the intersection of Broad and Spring Garden. “We’re on our way.”
***
When they arrived on the scene the first thing they noticed was a burnt up Jaguar that was sectioned off by yellow crime scene tape. The paint job was scorched to a crisp, and light strands of smoke were rising from the car’s surface. The crime scene unit was conducting their investigation, and the uniformed police officers were doing their best to keep the neighbors at bay.
Agent Long parked the navy blue Excursion a few feet away from the corner, and beeped the horn to elicit Detective Sullivan’s attention. The middle aged black man opened the back door, and smiled at Agent Brown.