Array Ashley - Murderville

Baron paced the same back and forth pattern in his home office for two hours as he awaited the phone call. He had just watched helplessly as men put dirt over his wife’s casket, and he was full of wrath. He wasted no time when it came to putting in work. He already had shooters on the ground in L.A. watching Samad’s home. They had been tracking his every step all week and had learned his routine. Baron was determined to have Samad in a six-foot hole before 12 A.M. Baron’s home was full of guests, but he was in no mood to socialize. Everyone was respectful and gave him their condolences, but there was only one thing on Baron’s mind.

Murder

Baron couldn’t focus on anything but executing Samad. He only wished that he was there to pull the trigger himself. He went to the mini-bar and poured himself a glass of his finest cognac before taking a seat behind the desk. He took a large gulp and closed his eyes as it burned his throat on the way down. It was funny how quickly life had changed. Things had gone awry in the blink of an eye. He pulled off his neck tie and threw it across the room as he turned to look out of the large floor-to-ceiling windows. His estate was immaculate and vast, but now that he had no one to share it with all he felt was lonely. It was a painful reminder of better times. I’m getting too old for this, he thought, knowing that it was time for him to bow out gracefully. After handling Samad he was through. Without A’shai he had no one to will his empire to. All that he had built over the years would be divided and nitpicked by the vultures until there was nothing left. Years of living the champagne life had come to an ugly end. He sipped his drink and watched his phone, waiting impatiently, torturously, for his peoples to call. He was tempted to check in on them but there was no need. They were well-trained and obedient young killers. They would get the job done. All he had to do was let them play their positions and within the hour balance would be restored to the winning team. His doorbell rang, and he winced because he could feel the headache coming on. There were too many people around him. He wanted to clear the house but he felt that they deserved to be there. They were celebrating Willow’s life. How could he turn them away? He arose from his seat, taking the cordless phone with him as he went to answer the front door.

“We have a flower delivery for Baron Montgomery,” a young white boy said, while holding a black vase with white lilies spilling out of it. Baron stepped to the side and held out his arm to welcome the boy inside. “I have twenty more arrangements in the van.”

Baron couldn’t believe the amount of love that Willow was receiving. The church had been full of flowers and now his home was being invaded with them as well. It showed how much people really would miss his wife. She was a good woman, and the entire hood loved her. They were really showing out for her, and it didn’t go unnoticed by Baron. The people loved him and were sorry for his loss. Once all of the arrangements were inside, Baron tipped the delivery boy and then closed the door.

The ringing of the phone in his hand made Baron pause mid-step as he hurried back to his office to find some solace.

“Is it taken care of?” he asked without saying hello.

“If you’re asking if your little hit squad murdered me, the answer is no.”

Baron clenched his jaw when he heard Samad’s voice.

“Now you’ve got three more funerals to pay for,” Samad said. “I hope you enjoy the flowers. It’s just a little token from me to send my most genuine condolences,” he stated. “Say hello to my friends when they get there.”

Before Baron could respond the line went dead and the sound of yelling alarmed him, causing his attention to shift to the sounds coming from his living room.

“Detroit Police Department! Everyone on the ground now!”

Baron immediately speed dialed his attorney and said, “Meet me downtown as soon as possible.” He hung up just as the task force came into his office with their guns drawn.

“What the fuck is this? You disrespectful mu’fuckas come into my home on the day I bury my wife?” he asked the lead detective. Baron wondered why he hadn’t been tipped off about this little intrusion. As many cops as he had on his payroll, there was no way he should have been taken by surprise. “I’m going to have your job for this,” he said calmly.

“Oh yeah, Mr. Mafioso?” the white detective shot back sarcastically. “You are gonna get me fired? You’re connected, huh?”

“Like the interstate,” Baron spat.

“Well, we have a warrant to search the premises.” The detective shoved the papers directly in Baron’s face, but Baron was not intimidated. He had nothing to hide. He never kept any work inside his home. That was the number one rule. Never shit where you eat. A smug smile crossed his exhausted face as he stood toe-to-toe with the detective.

“Be my guest,” Baron said. He was so confident that the police wouldn’t find anything that it wasn’t even a worry in the back of his mind. His home was clean, and he felt slighted as he thought of how Detroit’s finest were intruding and disrespecting Willow’s memory.

Baron followed the police into his family room and watched as they went straight for the flower arrangements that had just been delivered. They cracked the black vases and Baron’s heart collapsed when he saw them begin to pull kilos of cocaine from the inside. There were twenty vases in all and each one contained a separate key, wrapped in clear plastic. Samad had set him up and as Baron held up his hands in surrender, the detective forced him to his knees.

In disbelief Baron shook his head as the entire thing seemed to play out before him in slow motion. His guests looked at him with sympathy and shock as they watched him be handcuffed and read his rights. Fuck. How did I let him catch me like this? Baron asked himself. He knew that his head hadn’t been in the right place. Willow’s murder had him distracted and after all of his years of flawless hustling, this is what it had come to. Because he was caught red-handed with twenty bricks inside his home, he was done. They were about to cook him and Baron couldn’t do anything but chuckle slightly to himself at the irony of it all. Samad had set him up good, and Baron knew that with the raw uncut cocaine Samad had access to that he was in for the fight of his life. Years of flying under the radar had just gone straight out the window. Baron felt the cut of the handcuffs as they dug into his wrists and he realized that he could be going away for a very long time. As he took the walk of shame to the police car, he held his head high. He looked at each one of his workers in the eye as he was led out. He had never bowed down to anyone and had enjoyed the fruits of his street labor. He had lived high off the fast life and had risked it all for the sake of the American dream. Now because of Samad he had taken the plunge from grace, but he would take his fall like a man. Just as he had ridden the wave to the top, he would ride it to the bottom because it was all a part of the game. He had hoped to be one of the lucky ones and come out unscathed, but the loss of a loved one had been the tragic event that started the downward cycle. Now he was facing the loss of his freedom, an inevitable opponent that every kingpin must contend with.

AS SOON AS A’SHAI WALKED INTO THE hotel room, Liberty could read the defeat all over his face.

“Are you okay?” Liberty asked as she sat up in the bed and got on her knees. A’shai sighed, not in the mood to talk about what happened. Seeing her waiting anxiously for him was like a band-aid to his ego. He was bleeding on the inside, and Liberty was what he needed to forget about the day’s events. Her long hair cascaded over one shoulder as the white plush hotel robe hung off the other shoulder. Her golden skin glistened.