“I was paying for pussy.”
“Wrong nigga.”
“Wrong fucking nigga. But, that doesn’t matter. The pictures say otherwise.”
“Understood.”
“Pictures of me picking up something I’d double take on even the darkest night out and I can’t see shit.I’ma see her. I was fucking around in Clarke on some other shit,” I confessed, “Lost my way and needed directions. Instead of giving them to me, she hops in my ride and makes me get on the passenger side. We were both headed to the same spot.”
“And this nig–”
“Picture after picture,” I confirmed, knowing exactly where he was going.
“Say less. I’ll handle it.”
“If it were that simple I wouldn’t be calling you, Indie. I’d have someone at the office handle it. But, this isn’t that type of–” I struggled with my words. It was uncharacteristic of me, but here I was.
The last thing I wanted was that perfect stranger’s images plastered over the news stations, insinuating something that wasn’t remotely close to the truth. She didn’t deserve that type of scrutiny. Slander. Judgement. She deserved to be showered with compliments. Designer threads. Handbags. Jewelry. And, as many martinis as her system could handle.
“Not me, Ish. I know somebody that knows somebody.”
“I need that somebody in front of me within twenty-four hours.”
“I’ll see you at your office, bro,” he confirmed.
“My office? Indie, thi–”
“They’re legit. Legal. Whatever the fuck you good niggas call it.”
“Good niggas?”
“The kind the law ain’t looking for.”
“They aren’t looking for you either.”
“Not right now. Not as long as I stay out of their way. But, maybe they will be if I bump into whoever the fuck was on the other end of that call.”
“We’re not taking that route.”
I massaged my forehead.
“I need to get my day started. Goodbye, Indie.”
“Stay ready.”
“Ready right now.”
I closed the phone and flipped it over. I removed the battery and then the SIM card. It cracked under the pressure of my fingers. I tossed it into the graveyard with the rest of the broken cards and placed the phone back in its rightful position.
TWO
Beep.
Beep.
The metal detector sounded. I gnawed on the inside of my bottom lip as I watched the eyes of the resting security guard reach me. My legs didn’t stop moving. I continued ahead. In a flash, he was standing in front of me, blocking my path.
“Excuse me, ma’am. I’m going to have to pat you down.”
