ANYTHING 4 PROFIT (ANYTHING FOR PROFIT) (29 page)

             “Ant’s right, Mike,” Meka chimed in. She’d been sitting on the couch in her mother’s living room listening to the heated exchange between her brother and her “brother.” “I can’t see myself gettin’ no regular 9 to 5, and slavin’ for no muh’fuckin’ cracker for the rest of my life for a salary that’s barely gon’ be enough to survive off of either. Coming home tired every night, livin’ from check to check… that’s for them suckas and squares, Mike, not
us
.”

              “Meka, you like a sister to me. Naw, fuck that, you
is
my sister. But I’m
out
.” All Mike could think about was the new life growing inside Nikki’s womb. That was his new beginning.

   Ant D shook his head in disbelief, and took two more good snorts from his little bag of powder.

             “Damn, Ant, slow that shit down!” said Meka. Over the past few weeks, she’d witnessed her brother’s coke habit go from bad to worse.

             Ant ignored his sister and addressed that lame shit Mike just said. “Fuck that! Nigga, I’ma get money ‘til they put me six feet in the fuckin’ ground! And it’s gonna take an army of them muh’fuckas to take me out anyway, so that ain’t happenin’ no time soon! So
fuck
that nigga Zulu! And fuck the po-lice too! Fuck
all
them muh’fuckas! My name Ant D, nigga!” he stated animatedly, gesturing wildly with his hands.

              Mike shook his head. His best friend was unbelievable. “Ant, look here, my nigga. I don’t know what type of shit you on right now, but this ain’t no Scarface movie, and you ain’t Tony Montana! And even if you was, you see how that shit ended for him, right? This shit can’t last, nigga!”

              Ant got quiet for a second. He looked like he was deep in thought. He scratched his chin and said, “You know what, Mike… You right, I’m not Tony Montana…”  With a screw face, he exclaimed, “I’m fuckin’
worse
!” After that, he beat on his chest three hard times.

              Mike knew that was that coke talking, so any attempt to reason with Ant would be futile at the time. There was no use. Mike just shook his head. He said, “I’ll get up wit’ y’all later,” and then he turned and broke out. After he walked out the front door, the screen door slammed shut behind him.

$$$

              “Did you tell him?” asked Nikki.

             “Yeah, I told him,” responded Mike, with a hint of sadness in his voice. He felt bad for abandoning his old family. But at the same time, he felt a sense of relief at no longer having to look over his shoulder all the time. For the first time in his short life, he was actually happy. He looked at Nikki and her protruding belly, which not only carried a new life, but a new beginning. Now he had a chance to right his wrongs, and protect his child from the horrors he had faced growing up.

    Nikki and Mike sat in his Escalade outside the entrance of an upscale eatery Downtown. They were talking and making plans for the baby, discussing the things they needed to get him. They had recently found out from a sonogram that the baby was going to be a boy. Upon hearing the news, Mike and Nikki were elated.

   “What should we name him,” asked Nikki, as they watched customers exiting from the restaurant that sunny winter day.

              “What you mean what we gon’ name him?” asked Mike jokingly. “He gon’ be named after his daddy.”

             They both laughed. Nikki said, “Ok, you get this one, but the next one
I’m
naming.” She laughed again.

    Mike rubbed Nikki’s stomach and felt his son kicking inside her womb. “You feel that?” he asked, with awe in his voice.

                   “Yeah, I feel him, baby. He’s just like his daddy. Already fighting and starting trouble…”

                   All of a sudden a black ‘96 Chevy Impala came to a screeching halt beside the Escalade, facing the opposite direction. Before Mike could react, semi-automatic shots were fired from the front and rear windows. The barrage of gun fire was over within seconds, but the aftermath would last forever.

   The Impala sped off, leaving the Escalade riddled with bullet holes. People slowly got up off the ground and started screaming for the police. There was blood everywhere, and shards of shattered glass all over the pavement. Folks were running and hollering, but there was no movement inside the vehicle.

   In the distance, the blaring sound of ambulance sirens could be heard getting closer and closer. They were coming to hopefully save lives. But there was still no sign of life inside the Escalade…

   The only thing ever constant in life is change. Some people change for the better, some change for the worse. But change is as inevitable as death. Unfortunately, sometimes change can come too little, and too late. Especially when you’re willing to do… ANYTHING FOR PROFIT.
  

      
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