In Silence and Darkness Excerpt
Cabrini Green is a little slice of hell on earth. He strolled through the courtyards with two of Master's thugs in tow. Broken glass crushed under the soles of the two thousand dollars worth of footwear of the trio. Although it was freezing cold, Blacque had the new cashmere coat unbuttoned, revealing the Sigma swinging in the shoulder harness underneath. He walked briskly and in silence, sensing that the others were struggling to keep up. His gait suggested purpose, and under a different set of circumstances, command. That was his intent. He scanned the buildings as the vicious wind compelled tears from his eyes. Tears that refused to come, possibly because their supply had been depleted.
He saw the young mothers in the windows peering at them. Most of them were curious, intrigued, but others, the smart ones, were afraid. There were the kids playing on the filthy pavement, riding makeshift bicycles and bouncing bald basketballs. Once again every face was black. Then he found what he had come for, examples. There were three of them standing in the shadows of two of the towering buildings. Late teens, he surmised, all of them wearing the uniform oversized Starter and goose down coats. He angled directly for them, increasing his pace and watching their hands intensely.
One of the teens noticed the trio headed for them, took a step backwards and said, "Yo." softly but forcefully to his companions. Blacque and the others were moving so fast that it was too late to run. As the trio watched them approach the "perceptive" one mumbled that the approaching men weren't cops because of their expensive attire. Seconds later he saw Mitchell's pistol and said, "Master." followed by a shudder that had nothing to do with the 23 degree temperature.
"Pockets." Mitchell said flatly without introduction. Each of the boys had a different reaction. One started to reach into his pockets, but stopped seeing that his friends were not. The second, Mr. Perceptive, stood motionless wisely taking time to evaluate the situation. The third, made the poor choice of opening his mouth.
"Pockets? What the fuck is that supposed to mean? You want somethin'?" He said his voice cracking despite his attempt to make it baritone. In one move Mitchell reached inside his coat, produced the Sigma and struck the "mouth" on the bridge of his nose with the back of the hard metal slide. Master's men kept their composure, but shot each other looks of shock. The teen crumpled to his knees as blood ran over the fingers now holding his face. He blinked hard and attempted to stand but found the barrel of the pistol aimed at the side of his head.
Mitchell looked directly at the other two and calmly repeated, "Pockets." The boys slowly emptied the contents of their pockets into their shaking hands. Mr. Perceptive had a large wad of money and the other a plastic bag full of small decks of heroin. Mitchell extended his hand toward the money and as it was handed over he asked," Who's is this?" Perceptive, being smart, thought about his answer as his anxious partner took a step to run. Mitchell reached out with his left arm and grabbed the bulky coat of the runner. He swung the Sigma around, eyed the meaty part of the boy's left thigh and fired. The bullet passed through, damaging only tissue but sending the boy screaming to the ground. Before "Mouth" could even think the Sigma was in his face again. Mitchell's eyes stayed fixed on Perceptive.
"Yours?' Perceptive replied.
"Close", Mitchell allowed, "Try again."
"Master's." Perceptive said, sure this time. Mitchell nodded to the drugs on the ground and one of the thugs picked it up. Mitchell counted the money out and came up with close to five hundred dollars. He pulled a five out of the wad and held it in Perspective’s face.
"This is what you're supposed to get out of this." Perceptive did not move. Mitchell counted out a hundred dollars. "We'll call this a signing bonus. You work for Master now. I'm Mr. Blacque, these are my associates. One of us will be back to show you everything. We do things Master's way. That's it. Until you hear from us you don't hustle. I suggest you tell your boys the same. " he nodded at the bleeding duo at his feet. "Tell everyone" he hissed as he handed the money over. Perceptive searched Mitchell's eyes, not sure what he was looking for. "Bounce." Mitchell instructed and the boy turned and walked swiftly into the maze of buildings.
Mitchell spun on his heels and resumed his stride through the courtyards, with the thugs once again struggling to catch up and the boys bleeding on the ground.
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IS&D Updates
8-17-03:
IS&D still being written. IS&D excerpts were published in the first issue of Spinnings Magazine!!
See Links Section!!
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