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“When the door comes open, get in the car and my man will get out. Give him the money first and he’ll get in the other car. This should take no more than 30 seconds. The cars aren’t marked. Love you.”
“Love you, too.” They hang, up and I sit back, holding Smack by the tail as I start to drive again. The Waffle House is right down the street, and I know exactly what bench he was talking about. No one sits there because shootings happened there back to back. Anyone with sense knows to never sit on what is called the suicide bench, but tonight, my good friend Candyce is going to be on suicide watch.
“So his name is Nathaniel Cylinders?” I ask, but I don’t expect Candyce to answer. Therefore, I give her my own plan. “That’s a great plan, Candyce, but before you get out, I’m taking my half of the money. What’s mine is mine. I’m no thief.” I know it sounds stupid as hell, but I’m really not a thief. A reactive killer as of recent, but not a thief. “You might just try to get away with him but remember, if you take off in that car without me, Smack will be laying smack on that ground like some smack.” Truth is, I’m just calling Candyce’s bluff. I’ve never been offended in Smack. I really do love the dog, so I’m leaning on Candyce believing me based off of my prior killings...well, the ones that she knows about. “When I drop you off at the bench, I’m going around the block where I can see you through the trees. When I see you get in the car, you need to circle the block until you see this car. When you do, let the door swing open, and I’ll jump in. You better remember that I have your loaded gun on Smack the whole time.”
“Don’t kill my baby, Lisa. Don’t kill my baby,” she cries, but her cries end soon as I pull up to the Waffle House. It’s packed as usual, however, I don’t wait on anyone to see how frantic I look, so I press on the gas to drop Candyce off at the suicide bench.
“Wait, I can’t get out.”
“Try your best because I can’t get out either.”
As I watch Candyce pull herself up by the door’s handle, she pulls her hair back into a ponytail. Then she looks down at Smack with a crooked smile, and then the smile fades when she looks at me. Good thing I have on my sunglasses. I look away.
“What happened? That’s the least you can tell me before you let me out. You fucked my hair and face up, so go on. Tell me.”
I don’t hesitate to tell her. What else can she do when I have the love of her life cradled in my arms with a pistol waiting to fire? Checking the road both ahead and behind me, I make the conversation quick. That’s the least I can do although I’m shaken as fuck. I have to play like I’m hard as hell so my dear friend who has miraculously survived the attack won’t try anything to save her own life.
