The Widow Of Magnolia Lane

Part 18

Demaris 'Ameechie' Harris grabbed a magazine from his sister's bathroom and laid it over his thighs.  He reached in his right pocket and broke open the Swisher Sweet Cigarillo, emptying its contents in a nearby bush beside the porch.  Blowing off the last traces of tobacco, he licked the large brown leaf inside and out.  He reached in his left pocket and seized a plastic bag containing the best weed West Baltimore had to offer.   Carefully tossing seeds and sticks, he peppered the herb freely throughout the blunt.  Satisfied, he rolled it tightly and lit a fire to the skinny brown cigar, observed it, and shook his head in approval.  

He held the blunt in front of the three young men standing around him as though it were a trophy.  They grinned and laughed, waiting impatiently for Meech to light the end of it.

"The fuck Meech?"  Why you playing with it?" Khalid yelled.

"Man this nigga trippin'.  He acts like he the only muthafucka that know how to roll a fucking blunt", Romero hissed.

"Come on Meech.  Hurry up and light that shit", Trayvon bellowed.

"You cain't just light a masterpiece, you gotta feel it, smell it, and look at it before you set a flame to it".  Meech said smiling.

"Man just light that muthafucka" Khalid yelled.

"Bull fucked your face up, bad nigga".  Meech lit and pulled off the blunt looking up at Romero.

"Fuck that ol' ass nigga.  He lucky I ain't shoot his ass", Romero snatched the blunt from Meech and inhaled deeply.

 "Man. If you pull a gun out on Bull, you betta shoot him, cause if not he gonna kill ya muthafuckin' ass.  That nigga bat shit crazy."  Trayvon grabbed the blunt from Romero.

"Meech? has Akoni called you yet?"  Rasheeda came out of the door and began to pace on the porch with the young men.

"Nah.  Why?"  Meech turned to Rasheeda.  His head had begun to feel lifted and he started to snicker at the colorful bonnet adorning her crown.  "The fuck you got on your head?" he started to laugh.

"Boy stop playing with me.  I just saw on the news that that bitch's husband was killed.  The police called and told me they were swinging by.  Said they had some questions to ask me.  I've been calling Akoni all night.  I need to know what the fuck is going on"  Rasheeda could feel the heat rushing to her neck and chest.  She hated to mention Akoni's name in the same sentence as Natalie's.  

"I ain't seen Akoni since last night.  I haven't talked to him today".  Meech inhaled and passed the blunt to Trayvon.

"Yall need to put that shit out now.  The police will be here soon."  Rasheeda rolled her eyes at the young men and went inside the house.

Meech looked over his shoulder to make sure Rasheeda was inside and away from the door.  He turned to the young men standing in front of him.

"I bet you Akoni killed that nigga", Meech whispered.

"Man...You betta not let Rasheeda hear you say that shit."  Trayvon griped.

"For real.  When we left out of Bulls Joint, St. James was driving my sister car.  I was here when he dropped the car off and picked up Akoni's truck.  He handed me the keys."  Meech looked up at his friends.

"Where was Akoni?"  Khalid asked.

"I don't know.  I didn't see him.  He may have been in the car too.  I overheard him talking to St. James earlier last week on the phone talking about killing his ex's husband.  That's why St. James is down this way.  He here to help Akoni."  Meech looked over his shoulder again for his sister.

"Fuck all that.  That ain't none of my business."  Romero shrugged.  "What I wanna know is why you had those fucking Russians around the way?"  I don't fuck with their leader.  He a grimy ass nigga".  Romero stared at Meech waiting for his answer.

"Man chill out with that shit.  You always ready to pop off of on a muthafucka.  You the reason we got thrown in the fucking pit in the first place".  Meech shook his head at Romero.

"I have done already told you whenever I see that nigga Barloff,  it's gonna be a situation.  He knows what he did. And I ain't forgetting shit."  Romero bit his lip.

"You need to let that shit go.  I got this.  We working out a deal.  Maybe we can split territories and double the profit."  Meech grinned.

"Nigga, you crazy.  Akoni is going to kill yo' dumbass if he finds that out."  Trayvon looked around at his surroundings.

"He could have picked any dealer out there.  Why he chose you?"  Romero asked.

Meech began to smile.  "Because I got something he wants," Meech said.

"What you got?  The fire out here on the corners betta than your shit?  Romero looked down and shook his head.

"Trust me.  I got what he needs.  Pretty soon I'm gonna be running these streets.  Yall' betta shows me my respect now.   Meech looked at the three men standing before him.  He grinned at their clueless faces.

"That dude that got killed was representing Barloff's dad."  Trayvon looked at the news headline on his phone and turned it around to show his friends. 

"Meech.  You need to watch your back with those niggas.  I'm telling you Barloff ain't nothing but a clown.  On some real shit!"  Romero looked at Meech and sighed.

"Let me worry about that...I got this.  Meechie looked up and grinned at their bewildered faces.

"Man, how you got this? The Russians are starting to take over.  Buying up properties and shit around here to use as their trap houses.  You a fool for making any kind of deal with them.  For all we know, he could have had that lawyer killed.  And if he will kill his lawyer, he will kill you too" Romero knitted his brows at Meech.

"Like I said.  I got this.  I'm gonna make sure we all get paid."  Meech pulled off the blunt one last time and plucked the stem off.  

"Don't yall say another word about this shit.  Akoni pulling up".