Saint And Sinners (104 page)

“That’s assault!” the girl screamed as she got her bearings. “I’m calling the police!”
She reached into her big bag, no doubt searching for her phone.

“Call ’em! They’ll haul your asses away for being an uncontrolled animal in a public
domain! No ponies in the damn store! I
wish
one of you mothafuckas
would
try to test me! Neiiiiigggggh!”

“Keep making jokes, let’s see how funny it is when they come grab your old ass. You’ll
spend your golden years in jail,” another huffed, pleased with herself. “And shouldn’t
you be somewhere knitting something?”

“Yeah, a beanie to cover that fucked up hairstyle of your’s! Don’t try to come at
me sideways, talkin’ about what I should be doing! Shouldn’t
you
be on the track gettin’ betted on?!” Pam snapped her neck and placed her hand on
her ample hip. “My ex-husband I’m certain has placed his money on
that
one right there! And I’ll
show
you old lady! I will knock all you heffas out! ’Specially you.” Pam narrowed her
eyes and pointed to the thin one in the middle. “Eyes so close together, you almost
pass for a cyclops! You only need one contact, don’t cha?”

“I got my phone out now too, bitch!” The woman waved it proudly, a sneer on her face.

“Good, glad you could find it, now make sure you call the damn dentist first and foremost,
’cause
that’s
the damn emergency! You aint Buffy the Vampire Slayer, yo’ ass is Buffy the Beaver
Dam Maker! Ya two front teeth look like two big ass pieces of white bread, side by
mothafuckin’ side! I can’t decide which animal you are today, you keep changing!”

The skinny one in the middle poked out her lips and held up her phone like it was
a can of mace.

“…911, what is your emergency?” a woman asked on the speakerphone.

“Yes, uh, I’m in Macy’s on West 34
^th
street, and this obese old woman just swung her purse at my friend and slapped her
on the head real hard.”

“Speakin’ of head, Ms. Chomper, I bet when you offer to
give
head, the men run away screamin’! ’Fraid you’ll Lorena Bobbitt they ass!” She swung
her purse wildly again, trying to knock the phone out the heffa’s hand, causing the
small crew to hiss, curse and back up.

“Security!” The perfume woman tried to wave over a portly guard, who stood quite a
distance away. The man began to move about, his tiny feet bringing his oval shaped
body closer and closer as he rocked from foot to foot.

“Security?! It better be for these damn Mane ’nd Tale bitches standin’ here! They
started tha shit!” Pam shrieked as she pointed to the women who were now hollering
at the top of their lungs. “And what is his slow, funny lookin’ ass gonna do, huh?
Take me back to tha toy department where he come from? He look like a damn Weeble
Wooble… They weebles wooble but they don’t fall down!” But as the man grew closer,
she could see the little boiled egg looking ogre speaking angrily into his walkie-talkie.
The lights flickered once again; taking the opportunity, she made a break for it through
the displays, causing shirts and scarves to swing wildly on their display hooks. She
paused when she went through the electronics section and spotted all the screens reporting
the terrible rainstorm she’d she narrowly escaped. Not only that, some parts of the
city now looked like disaster areas.

“What the hell is goin’ on?” she whispered to herself.

The lights flickered again and in the distance, she heard a woman shout, “There she
is!”

Without losing a second, she got the hell out of there while the lights continued
to frantically blink. On the way out, she managed to dip into a restroom on another
floor, out of breath, wheezing and afraid of seeing the inside of a jail. She hadn’t
run so hard in over ten years.

“Oh, Lawd!” She plopped down on a toilet seat lid and eased her phone out of her purse.

Xenia better answer this damn phone! They gonna try to put her mama in the slammer!

*

“Traci, it looks
like my mother is trying to call,” Xenia whispered. “But I promise you it will be
okay!” she assured her pregnant friend. “Jagger is smart, and he isn’t dealing directly
with Koki, so please relax, honey. I know it’s scary, but he and Lawrence will be
just fine!”

“I hope so,” the woman said, sniffing. “And I am sorry about Saint.”

Traci, you’re not helping…

The last thing Xenia wanted to hear was the pre-mourning of her husband, though she
knew Traci didn’t mean that. Regardless, her nerves were already a wreck.

“Okay, well, I’ll let you talk to Mama Pam. Can I call you back in a bit? Maybe we
can keep each other together,” the woman said woefully.

“Of course you can.”

“Alright.”

Xenia clicked over.

“Mama?” she answered in a whisper, as her children still lay asleep around her. She
stroked Isis’ hair like one would a kitten. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

The news was on showcasing the city being torn from tree limb to tree limb, making
Xenia’s gut ball up with unease. She had no room for any more anxiety; her stomach
had loaded with nervous tension without a centimeter to spare.

“Xenia! I’m up in Macy’s!”

“What are you doing there at this hour, Mama?!”

“’Cause they was having a blue light special sale and I wanted to get some stuff for
my new place.”

“New place? Mama, what are you talking about?” Xenia gently slid Isis and Dakarai’s
head off her lap and gingerly got out the bed, so as not to disturb them. She walked
into her bathroom and closed the door.

“Never mind that, I’m in trouble. I got into a—how can I say it?—an altercation with
some fast lipped heffas who tried to take me there! These women from New York got
some big ass balls, but they was gone learn today! I’m Michael Jordan of this shit,
and I got the
biggest
balls of all! That’s beside the point now though… I gotta get outta this damn store!”

“Mama! There’s a horrible storm going on, my cell phone has only been working half
the time, and you are in a store having fights with people! I don’t have the patience
for this!”

“Yeah, I saw on the T.V. how bad it’s getting. What the hell is goin’ on? I can’t
go outside, but outside is safer than in here!”

“Mama,
please
!” Xenia begged. “You are too far from the hotel. Just stay where you’re at.”

“But if I leave, they won’t be able to get me… Accordin’ to the news reports, the
streets are all messed up. I could try!”

“Mama.” Xenia closed her eyes and rubbed them in frustration. “Just stay put! The
police won’t even be able to get there, probably, okay? With all the stuff going on
right now, they aren’t considered about you and some women arguing in a clothing store!
You should be okay. Just lay low and save your battery life on your phone. We shouldn’t
even be talking right now. The electricity keeps going in and out here, too.”

“What kinda crazy business is going on with the weather out here?! What did the weather
man say, Xenia? If I wanted to be in an earthquake type situation, I coulda stayed
my behind in California! The streets are all uprooted, like someone dug into them
with a bulldozer! It looks crazy!”

“Yes, it
is
crazy, so don’t go doing anything insane, Mama. I can’t deal with you right now.
Just stay inside, for goodness’ sake!”

“You ain’t gotta yell!”

“Mama! I don’t have the time or patience for this right now.”

“You ’bout as moody as this damn weather! Here I am about to go to the big house after
being disrespected, and all you can do is yell at your poor mother! Well, I got news
for ya. I may just pack my things and go on back to California since that’s how you
feel about me!”

Xenia sighed and almost dropped her phone as she slumped forward, cradling her knees.

“…And I’m caught in a rain storm, too!” the woman added. “Tell me what the man on
T.V. is sayin’. What is going on?!”

“Yes, Mama, you’re caught in the rainstorm like all the rest of us, and you want to
know why?! You asked me why so I’m finna tell you!” Xenia gritted her teeth, wanting
to unleash once and for all.

“Don’t lecture me about shopping! They had a two for one on—”

“Because your son-in-law is in the streets fighting, Mama!
That’s
why! There is a gang war going on that you refuse to accept or believe, but let me
tell you, when they fight, they fight
big
! Now, I have to go!” Xenia disconnected the call, wishing she could have slammed
it down. She marched out of the bathroom and slid back in bed among her children.
Their body heat against her frame made her feel a bit better as she focused on the
news, now showing distant images of the Brooklyn Bridge closed down due to large amounts
of debris and a fallen support beam…

*

…H
e will try
to trick you…

Saint heard Krishna say those words once again inside of his head… Feeling the blood
pouring from the side of his head, he swiped the spot, gathering a hefty amount of
red upon his fingertips. He reached down to his feet as his body was flipped and tossed
around like a fish caught on a line, and charged forward. He searched frantically
into the darkness, prodding and punching until he could make out anything tangible.

There you are, mothafucka!

Koki became crystal clear, a crimson blood streak glowing upon his cheek. The two
men paused and stared at one another, brewing and fermenting in their mutual hatred.
Saint attempted to get to his feet, but Koki seized him once again, taking him to
the side of the damn bridge, yanking him by the damn leg and dragging…dragging…dragging.
Saint fought and twisted, for he knew the man wished to do one thing, and one thing
only—toss him overboard into the gloomy waters below.

“Ahhhh!” Saint screamed out, punching at the air. As he called out and scrambled to
get control of the whirlwind situation, the rain flooded his mouth. Koki was strong,
crazy, and on a mission.

“Die!” the man screamed out as he slammed Saint against the railing in a bid to hoist
him over the pulleys and steel cables into the open waters. In a flash, Saint saw
the city in peril, his wife mourning and his children, fatherless. His eyes burned
so bright red, he had no doubt they made the flashing lights on the police car appear
like a dimly lit lantern. He had to muster the strength…

The two struggled, hurling profanities at each other as the rain continued to stomp
them to bits. His eyes set ablaze as if flames danced within the corneas. The entire
bridge seemed to rage and combust with the heat of his ferocity as he gathered the
fortitude to lunge forward with all that he had.

“Ahhhhh!”

Racing on pure adrenaline, Saint wrapped his saturated hands around the fiend’s tattooed
neck. He squeezed and squeezed, pressing his thumbs into the bulging muscles, blind
to frantic fingers that clawed at his secure stronghold. He delighted in the dulling,
glazed-over black eyes reminiscent of those on a poisonous serpent. Koki was expiring
in his very grip.