Chapter 5
824 Words
Chapter Five
Darius Roberts was an intelligent person. He was African American with a bald head and stood a little over six feet tall. He led a local street gang and hadn’t been arrested since he was a juvenile. His crew respected him and followed his orders. He knew what jobs were risky and handed those off to his less valuable people. He kept a few flashy but safe ones for himself in order to maintain his reputation.
Years earlier, as he was working his way up the gang’s ranks, he’d gotten his hands dirty many times, and his people knew that if needed, he would do so again.
Today he was standing with his back against the wall of a local convenience store listening to the thunder of an approaching storm. His purpose was to be seen by his people, who headed to the back alley. They all had cash from the day’s sales to turn in. Yesterday, collections were conducted somewhere else, and tomorrow would be another location. They kept it random and communicated the location in code as each day was ending. This reduced the chance of a rival gang attempting to try to score quick cash. It also kept law enforcement from having time to organize and make an appearance.
He was conversing with one of his crew when he noticed a woman get out of a fancy, bright blue car that looked out of place in the neighborhood. She was of average height and weight and had bi-racial features, with medium-length black hair. He knew all of his working girls, and she wasn’t one of them. Also, her confident walk showed that she wasn’t looking to score one of the products his organization provided. Yet, he was sure he knew her. She was still twenty yards away when he figured it out. Without the uniform, she was out of context. This was the paramedic who saved his brother’s life four years ago. Juan had accidentally overdosed that day, and Darius had found him unconscious and barely breathing. This medic, Tasha, had been the one to arrive, and she and her partner had saved Juan’s life.
Her ambulance passed through the neighborhood two days later, and she stopped to ask him about his brother. Darius remembered that.
As she approached, Darius said, “Tasha, right?”
“Hey, Darius. You remember me.”
“I didn’t recognize you at first without the uniform.”
“Those days are behind me. I’m in the hospital now.”
“Too bad. You did good work out on the street.”
“Thanks. How’s Juan?”
Shaking his head, Darius answered, “You saved his life that day, but there wasn’t anyone around a year later when he did it again. He’s gone.”
“I’m real sorry about that. He was a nice kid.”
Darius could tell that her words were sincere.
“So, what brings you to my neighborhood? Looking for work? I can always put a pretty girl like you to work,” he said with a smile.
“No, that’s not what I’ve got in mind. Can we talk alone?” Tasha asked with a smile.
Darius nodded to the man next to him. The guy gave Tasha an appraising look as he walked away.
When he was gone, Tasha said, “I’m looking to go into business for myself, and nothing like you’re thinking. No conflict of interest. I’d like you to introduce me to your boss. The people who you have to report to.”
Darius’s eyes went wide, and he shook his head, “It doesn’t work like that. I don’t take people to them.”
“If you had a good reason, could you throw my name their way?”
“They don’t like that kind of thing. Too easy for the police to get involved.”
“What if you had good reason and were sure this wasn’t police-related?”
“What are you talking about, girl?”
After thinking for a moment, Tasha said, “Let’s do this differently. Think about this, who’s the one person out here on the streets that’s your biggest problem? Who do you wish would go away and never return?”
Snickering, Darius said, “Just one?”
“Who’s the one you hate the most.”
“Bobby Wilks. I told him to stay away from my brother, but he didn’t listen. He got him hooked and sold him the last fix that killed him.”
“Wilks? I don’t know him,” Tasha said casually, hoping for more information.
“He runs with the South Side Cobras.”
Nodding, Tasha said, “One more question. I’ve got a friend who broke his back, and the pain is real bad. I know you don’t do illegal things but do you’ve any suggestions where I could get 20mg of Fentanyl?”
“Girl, what’re you doing? No one out here cares about milligrams. There are many names for what you’re looking for, but it’s known as jackpot around here. I don’t know what game you’re playing, but it best not cause me any problems.”
“I promise. No problems,” Tasha assured him.
“I don’t know about such things, but from what I’ve heard, there’s often a jackpot dealer at 5th and Jefferson this time of day.”
“Thanks. I’ll be in touch.” Tasha smiled and walked back to her car.
- Writer
