by Silhouettes
Cedric nodded and cocked his gun. Before the men went inside, I hurried out of the car and jogged across the street. My black hoodie was over my head. Dressed in all black, Derrick didn’t even see me coming. I whispered his name, and that’s when his head snapped to the side.
I wasted no time pulling the gun from my pants, aiming it at him. “Good night, muthafucka. Sleep tight.” The silencer fired off two shots that were quiet as a mouse, but powerful. All Derrick’s partnas saw was his body drop to the hard concrete, but before they could pull out their guns, Cedric dropped one of the men from a distance. The other stood with his hands held up high, away from his body. He stood stunned and shaken, not knowing what to say.
I removed the hoodie from my head. “Do you know who I am?” I asked.
He squinted and slowly nodded. “You Derrick’s son, ain’t you?”
I was trigger-happy tonight, and he had the wrong answer. “Wrong answer. I’m nobody you should know.”
I was getting ready to unload on his ass, but he begged me not to. “You’re right. I . . . I don’t know you and I’ve never seen you before in my life. Let me live, man, and I swear there won’t be no beef between us.”
“Nigga, I don’t trust you. You—”
“But you can,” he rushed to say. “You can trust me. I’ll give you anything you want and nobody will ever know what happened here.”
“What I want is what’s due to me. Eighteen years of back pay, and the sooner you figure out what that is, the better off you’ll be.”
Cedric walked up to me. “Man, why you out here negotiatin’ with this fool? Kill his ass and let’s go.”
“No,” the man said in a shaky voice. “I can take care of that for you. Just give me until tomorrow and you’ll be set for life.”
I told Cedric to hold his gun steady on the man and asked Cedric for his cell phone. He gave it to me, then lifted his gun where the red razor light was aimed at the man’s forehead. I gave the man my gun and told him to shoot Derrick again.
“Why?” he asked.
“Evidence. If you cross me, I’ll have proof that you did this, not me.”
The man hesitated, but shot off two more bullets that tore holes into Derrick’s chest. I took my pictures, and the man quickly handed the gun back to me.
Cedric lowered his gun, unclear about what I was doing.
“Meet me downtown tomorrow by the riverboats at noon. Have my money and you never have to see my face again,” I said.
The man nodded, and Cedric and I ran to get into the car. I sped off.
He couldn’t wait to ask, “That cat Derrick was yo’ old dude?”
I nodded, feeling not an ounce of lost love for him.
“Damn. I thought I was ruthless, but you did that shit with no remorse. From what I know, he got a lot of connections, Prince. I hope that shit don’t come back to haunt you.”
I shrugged, not really giving a care, but hoping that his friend wouldn’t cross me.
The next day, I waited downtown for Derrick’s friend to show up. Surprisingly, he came. He parked right next to me, and waved for me to get into the car with him. I did, but just to be on the safe side, my silencer was right on my lap.
“Tone it down,” he said, gazing at the silencer as I sat beside him with a cautious look on my face. “It’s a done deal, and I promise you that as long as you keep your mouth shut, nobody will ever know what happened. To be honest, you kind of did me a favor. Derrick was gettin’ a bit out of control and he couldn’t be reckoned with. I was to be the next man in charge, so that’s what’s up.”
“So, what about all the niggas he know? I heard they may come after me, but to be honest with you, I don’t mind shakin’, rattlin’, nor rollin’.”
“Someday, or someway . . . Maybe some shit will slip through the cracks. I’m not sayin’ nothin’, and since I’ll be runnin’ things, I’d say you have nothin’ to worry about. If you want complete peace, though, I recommend takin’ this money and gettin’ the hell out of town. This much money brangs trouble to a nigga, and I don’t know if you can handle a lot of heat comin’ at you.”
“How much money is it? You ain’t gave me shit yet.”
I was thinking about the fifty dollars Derrick had given me that day, hyping me up like it was more. I felt the same thing was about to go down, but when Derrick’s partna reached for a silver briefcase on the backseat and opened it, I saw that nah, this was no game. The briefcase was filled to capacity with one hundred, fifty, and twenty dollar bills stacked high. I had never seen so much money in my life, and I couldn’t believe that this shit was coming my way. I kept my eyes on the money, and could barely open my mouth to speak.
“How . . . how much is it?” I asked.
“Three hundred Gs. Now, I won’t be fillin’ this case up again, so spend your money wisely. Word is you’re a li’l soldier. You need to keep on your mission. Trust no niggas, minimize your time on the streets, only go to war when you have to, and do right by yo’ muthafuckin’ kids. You’d be surprised to know how quickly money can get away from you, especially if you don’t do the right things with it. Like I said, I suggest makin’ a move elsewhere. I dumped Derrick’s body last night, and it’s gon’ be just a matter of time when the shit hits the fan. Everybody gon’ be talkin’, and without me knowin’ it, your name may or may not surface. Not sure, but just be on the safe side.”
I nodded, not really understanding why this man seemed so cool with me. His advice made sense. Every fool out here claiming to be a street soldier wasn’t. From listening to him, I could tell it was important for him to be on top. I guess I really had done him a favor, and now he was trying to return it. He handed the case over to me and smiled.
“Remember, I don’t know you and you don’t know me. Good luck, Prince Perkins, and go do you.”
I got out of the car and the man sped off. I was nervous about having this much money in my possession, and the first place I went was to Cedric’s house. It was a late Saturday afternoon and he was still in bed asleep. His mother told me to go into his room and wake him up.
“Wake up,” I said, shaking his leg. “We got some things to do.”
Cedric pulled the covers over his head and griped about getting up. I laid the suitcase on the bed, flipping it open.
“Man, you should see all this money I got. Old boy came through for me. He came through for me in a big-ass way.”
Cedric pulled the covers back, and when he got of glimpse of my stacks, he quickly jumped up from his sleep.
“Damn,” he said with a wide grin on his face. “Where . . . How much did he give you?”
I held up three fingers. “Hundred Gs.”
“Hell, naw! You hit the muthafuckin’ jackpot, didn’t you?”
I agreed and sat on Cedric’s bed counting one stack of the money. In that stack alone there was $10,000. I tossed it to Cedric and his grin got wider. He threw the covers on the floor and hurried out of bed to put on some clothes.
That afternoon was busy. Of course, I went to the mall and hooked myself up with tennis shoes, clothes, watches, etc. I wasn’t big on too much flashy jewelry, but just for the hell of it, I did buy that platinum necklace I’d seen in the window at the pawn shop. Cedric and I ate good at a steak and shrimp shack, then we drove around looking for a car for him. I already had Romeo’s car, and there was no way I was getting rid of it. I planned to have it repainted, and definitely put some new wheels on it. It needed a new muffler, and some work under the hood was needed as well.
By the end of the day, Cedric had found himself a dark blue used Cadillac that needed a little work. The body looked cool, but the leather seats in the interior needed to be redone. The salesman wanted nine Gs for it, but for Cedric, it was worth it. He was hyped, and it felt good to assist a friend who had done so much for me. I told him I had a few more errands to run, and we parted ways. I wanted to see if Romeo had written me any letters, or if he’d called the house for me. Earlier today I’d finally gotten a cell phone, so I
went to Mama’s house to see if she would give Romeo my number. I stood before her as she sat on the couch ignoring me and watching TV.
“No, he hasn’t called,” she said, looking around me.
“Has he written me any letters?”
“Nope.”
“I don’t believe you.”
Her eyes finally shifted to me. They were cold as ever. “First you put your goddamn hands on me, and now you stand there and call me a liar? What has gotten into you, Prince? You are not welcome here, and I want you out of my face, now!”
I inched my way back to the busted-up leather beige recliner and took a seat. This time, I wasn’t leaving. “Look, I know I said and did some things that I shouldn’t have, and what can I say other than sorry? My bad, but you’ve been on some mad shit too, ma. I get tired of hearin’ you bitch at me all the time. Whatever happened to you bein’ nice? You be treatin’ me like I ain’t nothin’ sometimes, and how you gon’ try to come at me with a knife? You could have killed me, and what? I’m supposed to stand there and let you? Nah, it wasn’t going down like that.”
“Fool, you know I wasn’t gon’ do nothin’ with that knife. That’s just your excuse. I will never forgive you for what you did. I don’t care how bad it gets around here, I am the one person you never do that shit to. The Bible says, ‘Honor thy mother and father,’ Prince, so you could go to hell for what you did to me.”
“Okay, that’s fair. But remember, it also says, ‘Do not exasperate your children; instead bring them up in the training and instructions of the Lord. For if you train a child in the way he should go, when he is old he will not run from it.’ I’m your gift from God too. Are you satisfied with how you’ve taken care of His present to you?”
Mama threw her hand back at me. She definitely wasn’t trying to hear that. “I’m very satisfied,” she said.
“Then I’d say you’re in denial.”
She got defensive. “Look, if it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t even be standin’ here today, talkin’ this bull. I did my best with you, Prince. I took you to church when you were little, and I gave you all kinds of books to read. I kept clothes on your back, and food in your mouth. Damn, what more do you want? This is all about you takin’ responsibility for yourself. You are grown, and you need to stop sittin’ back and waitin’ for people to do shit for you.”
“I give it to you for buyin’ me books to read, but, Mama, let’s be real. You took me to church two, maybe three times when I was little. The reason I know some things in the Bible is because, sometimes, I read it. That’s when I ain’t got nothin’ else to read, but I have read some of it. I ain’t no dummy, and, for as long as I can remember, I’ve been takin’ care of myself. We can sit here and debate this forever, but you gotta admit to comin’ up short on your end too.”
Mama cut her eyes at me, then picked up a cigarette to light it. She took a puff, then pointed at me with the lit cigarette in her hand. “You’ve had it good, Prince. I don’t know what the hell you keep complainin’ about. Now, I could have always been a better mother, and, yes, I’ve made some mistakes. But I will not apologize to you for them. Parents are not perfect and kids need to know their place. You’ve had a roof over your head, and I’ve never left you out there on the streets. Be thankful for what you have and stop expectin’ me to give you the world.”
As far as I was concerned, this conversation was over. I had to accept that this was just how the relationship between me and my mama was going to be. I had gotten pretty darn used to it, but it sure would have been nice if she would have recognized her mistakes and apologized for them. I headed back to my room, just to gather some more things so I could go find a studio apartment to live in. Nothing fancy, just a place where I could lay my head down in peace and think about my plans.
I left my room with a huge duffle bag on my shoulder. By the time I got to the living room, Raylo was coming through the door with two brown paper bags in his hand. One bag looked to be wrapped around a bottle of liquor and the other bag had the aroma of Chinese food coming from it. He set the bags on the living room table, staring at me, then at Mama.
He coughed, then cleared the mucus from his throat. “I . . . I have some bad news for y’all. Prince, I’m glad you’re here.” Raylo pointed to the chair in the living room. “Go over there and sit down.”
I wasn’t sure what was up, but I took a seat in the chair. Mama looked confused too, and her face was twisted up.
“I got word today that Prince’s father, Derrick, was killed. They found his body wrapped in plastic behind that grocery store over there on Fifth Street.”
Raylo waited for a response. I stood up. Mama pursed her lips and I bent down to kiss her cheek. She turned it up to me.
“I’ll call to give you my new address,” I said. “In the meantime, here’s my cell phone number. If Romeo calls, give it to him for me, please.”
Mama took the piece of paper with my number on it. “All right. But you don’t have to leave if you don’t want to. G’on back in your room and put up your things.”
“Nah, like you said, I need to start takin’ care of my responsibilities. I’m good and you know I ain’t gon’ be no stranger.”
She smiled, and stood to give me a hug.
“Damn,” Raylo blurted out. “Did anybody hear what I just said?”
Mama placed her hand on her hip. “Who gives a damn? What we supposed to do? Sit up here and cry? I don’t think so. You won’t get any damn tears out of me.”
“Exactly,” was all I could say.
Raylo looked at us in awe. “Y’all some cold muthafuckas around here. Damn!”
I chuckled and tossed my bag over my back like a moving soldier. I was ready to be on my own, but skeptical about tackling this so-called thing referred to as life.
Chapter 13
I had gotten settled in my new studio apartment, which was above a Laundromat and soul food restaurant that lit up the whole block near South Kings highway. The apartment was just a spacious open area, where I could easily travel from one room to the next. I had very little furniture: a sofa sleeper, a two-seat kitchen set, a shelf for my books, a computer, and a plasma TV that sat on an entertainment center. By no means was it anything to brag about, but it was mine. I didn’t have to worry about hearing Mama’s mouth, and not having a phone that rang throughout the day and night gave me peace. I spent a lot of time playing my Xbox and PS3, and I had gotten a Wii to play too. That thing in itself kept me busy, and so did my weight bench. I was dedicated to keeping my body in shape, and since I wasn’t going to school anymore, I had to do something.
A part of me really missed going to school, even more so I missed seeing Ms. Macklin. It had been at least a month since I’d seen her, and pussy had definitely been on my mind. I had been so busy, though, and for a short time, she had to be put on the back burner. I figured she was wondering where I was, so around 8:00 PM that night I put on my fresh new gear and drove to her apartment. It was still chilly outside, so I wore my short leather jacket and flipped the hood over my head.
I knocked on Ms. Macklin’s door, but there was no answer. I knocked harder, but still no one came. I leaned over and peeked through her partially open blinds, but could see no one inside. It was a Tuesday, so I figured she was probably at the strip club tonight. I couldn’t remember how to get there if I tried, but as soon as I turned to walk away, I heard her ask who was knocking. I placed my finger over the peephole so she wouldn’t see.
“Who is it?” she asked again.
I didn’t say a word, and that’s when she slightly cracked the door. She looked at me through the crack and asked what I wanted.
“I came here to see you,” I said. “Open the door.”
She opened the door, and when I stepped inside, I saw that she had a towel wrapped around her body and one around her head.
“I take it you were in the shower,” I said.
She stood by the door, holding the towel close to her chest. “Prince, where have
you been? I’ve been worried sick about you. How dare you make me worry like this? You haven’t been to school, you haven’t stopped by, nothing. I thought you’d done something stupid to yourself, and when you left here that day . . .”
“I just needed to lay low for a while. As for school, sorry, but it ain’t for me. I know how you feel about it, but I don’t have the mindset to be there.”
Ms. Macklin sadly shook her head. “How could you say that? An education is so important. You will not get ahead without it.”
“We’ll see,” I said, taking off my jacket. “But I didn’t come here to talk about school. Maybe later, but definitely not now.”
I walked up to Ms. Macklin, but she held up her hand to stop me.
“I’m on my way to work tonight. Come back later this week, and be prepared to talk to me about why you feel an education isn’t important.”
“I never said it wasn’t important. All I said is school wasn’t for me. As for you goin’ to work tonight, you can scratch that shit.”
She took a few steps away from me. “Sorry, but I have to go make my money. Bills have to be paid, and my mother is counting on me.”
“How much do you make in one night?”
“It varies. Why?”
“’Cause I want to know. Besides, doin’ that shit doesn’t suit you at all.”
“It’s not like I’m overly thrilled about it either, but where else can I make three to five grand a night?”
I reached into my jacket, pulling out a wad of money. Once I counted out five Gs, I dropped it on the living room table.
“There. Paid in full.”
Ms. Macklin looked at the money with no smile on her face. “Prince, I knew you would choose that path. Selling drugs is a guaranteed jail sentence. Why would you want to end up like Romeo? I thought you—”
I sighed, in no mood to hear her lecture. “I’m not sellin’ drugs. I swear to you that’s not what I’m doin’.”
“Then where did you get that money from?”
“Someone owed it to me. I did him a huge favor and he paid me well for doin’ it.”