CHAPTER NINE

“Fear not thy sons; they shall do well enough.”

- William Shakespeare

 

Nine sat on a plush baby blue sofa clutching Leaf’s hand. Julius was wrapped up in a blanket, lying in her lap, and when she looked down at him, she grinned when she saw that he was peaceful. Although it was Banker who put him to sleep, she was able to enjoy him in the moment.

To her left was Banker and as always, she held a pencil and paper in her hand, eager to receive orders.

While Nine waited on the director of Royal Babies to meet with them and explain the curriculum, she glanced at the huge picture of a beautiful black baby on the wall in front of her. A gold frame surrounded it, making the child appear larger than life. She envisioned herself as a baby although no pictures of her existed. She resolved to commission a painting of Julius as soon as possible.

Feeling nervous, Nine snaked her fingertip into the palm of Leaf’s hand. When he looked down at his wife’s slender hand, he eased his arm around the back of her chair before pulling her toward the side of his body. “This is a new look on you,” he said kissing the top of her forehead.

“What is that?”

“Nervousness.”

She shook her head and looked down at Julius. “I just want the best for him, Leaf. I want him to have the kind of lifestyle that—”

“We would’ve given our son if he would’ve remained alive,” he said finishing her sentence.

She nodded yes.

Leaf kissed her lips. “Bae, whether he gets into this bourgeoisie ass school or not, with you in his life he’s already destined.” He ran his hand alongside her face. “Because you love him despite his mother and what she did to us by killing our child.”

He lowered his voice when he saw Banker staring directly at the pinkness of his tongue. Most people who were eavesdropping would have at least tried to hide it. Unfortunately, Banker had no cut cards and got caught.

“You good, shawty?” he asked Banker. “’Cause you staring hard.”

Embarrassed, she closed her mouth, ran her tongue around it because it dried out due to being opened, and said, “Sorry.”

“I don’t like that girl,” he whispered. “Something’s off with her.”

“You are just repelled by her because she works for me.”

“It’s amazing. You can be one of the most intelligent or dumbest people in the world if you try hard enough,” he said shaking his head. “Please don’t tell me you actually believe that shit.”

Seconds later, a tall slender black woman with a pointed nose waltzed over to them. She was dressed in a designer suit, which made her appear stuffy as opposed to fashionable and approachable. In her early thirties, the lines on her forehead already penetrated her skin, causing her to age ten more years.

Banker stood up and shook the woman’s hand. “Hello, Vanique,” she smiled. “These are my bosses I was telling you about over the phone.” Banker looked at the baby. “And that is Julius…he’s sleeping.”

Nine and Leaf rose and with a fake smile plastered on Vanique’s face, she outstretched her fingertips. First, she jiggled Nine’s hand before moving to Leaf’s. She didn’t bother to look at the baby. This was about business not cuteness.

“It’s great to meet you. Banker has told me so much about you. Prior to this day, I thought Julius belonged to her. It’s great to see his real parents.” Her grip was cold and she released quickly. “Now if I can get your real name, I’ll be good.”

“Excuse me?” Nine hesitated.

“She gave me your nickname earlier and I felt uncomfortable at first approving your application. Especially after it was denied before—”

“Before you found out we owned Aristocrat Hills,” Leaf said interrupting her. He didn’t fuck with the bitch. “It’s amazing how a little money can change an opinion around here.”

She smiled and tried to conceal her guilt. “You caught me,” she replied with raised hands, colorless palms facing their direction. “We are guilty of wanting the children of Royal Babies to be around the elite of our society.” She dropped her hands at her sides. “And based on your stature, with owning Aristocrat Hills and all, I’m sure young Julius will fit right in.” She smiled and looked into Nine’s eyes. “But first, what is your real name?”

“Marie Antoinette,” Nine blurted out, losing the cool she once possessed. “Lincoln.” She swallowed. “Marie Antoinette Lincoln.”

Both Leaf and Banker gazed at her oddly.

They could look at her crazy all they wanted. But she had no intentions on telling Vanique that she was a Prophet, only for her to forge opinions about their in-breeding practices that were created before she was born.

“Ah,” Vanique smiled brightly. “With a name like that, young Julius Lincoln will be a star here. Wow…Julius Lincoln, it just rolls off the tongue.” She slapped her hands together and rubbed them briskly. “Before we go and sign the paperwork, I hope you and your husband will join us tonight for the benefit gala. All contributions will go to BBIN, Black Babies In Need Foundation.” She looked between them. “Can we count on your contribution…I mean…participation tonight?”

 

****

 

Leaf sat in the backseat and looked over at his wife with abhorrence. After what she pulled in the daycare center, he was starting not to recognize her anymore. “Why would you lie in there, Nine? Why you putting on a show for a bunch of uppity niggas? All she has to do is look at the news and see our faces plastered everywhere from that wine conference you made me go to.”

“How am I putting on a show, Leaf?” she responded coolly. “You are just afraid to fit into society even if it will help Julius.”

“How the fuck you sound? Huh? First off, we make enough money so that neither one of us has to work again in this lifetime. Or Julius, his kids, their kids and his side bitches! You don’t even have to run the drug operation if you don’t want to, because you know the Nobles can do it. So don’t tell me that by kissing some black bitch’s ass, I’ll be helping my son.” He paused. “What I really want to know right here and right now is why did you lie?”

“About what?” She moved around uneasily and was too proud to admit her wrong.

“Everything, Nine! But let’s start with your name!”

“I am not my name, Leaf. What does it matter what they choose to call me?” She looked in the backseat at Julius who was still sleeping peacefully. “Just as long as he has the best lifestyle befitting a king.”

He looked at her with lowered brows, disappointed in her conduct. “I’m sick of you and them fucking fairytale books! That shit you be reading is not real, Nine! You can’t be fitting of this or fitting of that! And if you ever ran out of money, you would see that all of the shit you doing don’t matter! Because not one of your men would stand by you if you can’t drop that paper. If you can’t afford to pay them. All that matters is Julius and me. Not some fake ass bitch in a daycare center.”

Nine’s heart rate increased but she was trying desperately to retain her cool demeanor. Besides, it was unladylike to be rude. “Do you know that Royal Babies teaches children to play Bach at the age of four? And Mozart at six?”

“And none of that shit will matter in the real world! Let’s see how Mozart and Bach help the little nigga if he gets a burner placed to the back of his head.”

“Now who is thinking about him in a deadly way?”

“I’m serious! When I asked you to be my wife, do you know what you said to me?”

“He will be fluent in five languages before he is even in high—”

“Do you remember what you said?” he yelled.

Nine looked away and outside of the window to her left. “That I would love you forever but out of respect, I could never take another name other than Prophet.”

“That shit hurt, Nine. You even said it recently. But I dealt with it because it wouldn’t change how I felt about you.” He paused. “And now you use my last name for an overrated daycare center when it suits you? What type shit is that?” He paused. “Do you even know who Marie Antoinette was?”

“Oh, Leaf, do not be ridiculous.”

“Tell me!”

She laughed. “Do not be disrespectful, Leaf. You just accused me of believing in fairytales. Of course I know who she was. Besides being the Queen of France, she was also—”

“Called L'Autrichienne,” he said with a learned French accent. Although Nine was versed on the customs of the eighteenth century, her husband knew four languages, one of them being French.

Nine gazed over at him, not sure whether to be turned on or disrespected by his attempt to make her look foolish. “L'Autrichienne is French for the word whore...bitch. Did you know that after awhile, Marie was hated by her own people, Nine? And was considered to be wasteful and promiscuous. She wasn’t even educated. And that’s the kind of woman you want to abandon your last name to be?”

“Cousin, you are so busy trying to look down on me that you make yourself appear ignorant. Outside of her downfalls, did you know that although she was not formally trained, just like me, she was self-taught before reining in the family? With our backgrounds being so similar, I guess you should ask yourself this question, cousin. Are you sure that I am the kind of woman you want to remain married to?”

Leaf shook his head and laughed. “You put me and your assistant in a fucked up position just now. And played yourself as fake. I can only imagine what that chick is thinking about us on her way home.”

“Stop being melodramatic.”

“I’m not going to that bullshit ass event tonight so don’t drop your jaw to ask. I’ll have a few of my soldiers take twenty stacks to a few neighborhoods I know need it the most. I do that kind of thing anyway. At least then I’ll know my money will get to the appropriate place.” He hopped out of the car and hit the top of the hood twice. “Johnson,” he said addressing the driver, “take my wife and child home.” He slammed the door and walked away. “I’ll get up with you when I can, Marie Antoinette. Or would you prefer whore?”

 

****

 

Nine stood behind a tall black podium with gold lining, holding a green Parakeet. She long since pushed the argument with her husband out of her mind although the spirit of the disagreement lingered in the air. It was now time for business.

Before her was a sea of men seated in an auditorium built especially for them on the outskirts of her property, at the base of Aristocrat Hills. They were almost a thousand of the most violent men ever put together and yet they were composed, each looking upon their boss with admiration and even lust.

No longer were they their pasts, mistakes or aggressions. From the moment Nine recruited them and gave them each a new name, together they were The Legion.

They were one.

“This is an Australian parakeet called the budgerigar,” Nine said, each word slow, polished and powerful. “On the surface, it appears to be a gentle bird. Non-threatening and vulnerable even. Yet many a black falcon have attempted to eat this animal only to fail.” She strolled from behind her podium and toward one of the aisles.

Looking down at her men, she continued. “Why is that? Why does the falcon try but often flounder?” She stroked the bird’s back with her index finger. “I will tell you why,” she smiled. “Because of a phenomenon called a swarm. Every day, thousands of this little guy will get with other budgerigars and fly together in a pack. When this happens, the black falcon may try and infiltrate, by flying into the swarm, but he is always unsuccessful. In the end, the organized chaos will prove to be too confusing and the black falcon will give up and find another prey. A single prey that has left his team.”

She tossed the bird in the air and it flapped its wings lightly only to be eaten by a black falcon, which was waiting in the corner.

Hiding.

They may not have seen it but she knew it was there.

After watching the bird be eaten, she addressed her men again. “Working together is the only way the budgerigar survives. Working together, they will always outwit and outnumber the black falcon. But the moment one separates from the flock, it will be on its own and if it is not careful, there is no coming back.”

She walked back to the podium and there wasn’t a person in the building who was not pulled in by her charm.

“We must move together with a single purpose. We must be kind to our families and take care of our children. Our responsibilities. We must give back to our communities. But above all, we must take care of one another. No matter who we have to kill.”

 

****

 

After the meeting, Nine walked out of The Academy, a section of property where her men were trained and practiced shooting. Antonius was walking leisurely with her and Nine’s hands were clutched behind her back. “How is your daughter?”

He laughed. “Upset…but she is doing better about Mo’s death. Surprisingly, she doesn’t blame me for his murder.”

“Oh? Who does she blame?”

“The beautiful monster,” he chuckled.

“And that is?”

“You.”

Nine smiled. “I do not take it personally. I am used to holding misplaced blame,” she said as she thought about her family. “In some ways, it makes me stronger.” She paused. “Tell me something, Antonius, are you with your daughter’s mother?”

“No…not for some time now. I’ll be honest and say it was my fault we weren’t successful. I wasn’t ready for a relationship, and she wasn’t ready for the games I played while running the streets. If I have one regret in life, and I don’t have many, it’s letting her get away.”

Nine nodded. “Do you have a girlfriend, Antonius?”

He laughed. “There’s only time in my life for one woman, Nine. And that is you.”

She blushed.

“Why do you ask?”

She thought about the problems she was having with Leaf. His recent judgment of her and her need to be successful in the wine venture. Instead, she left it alone, preferring to remain private. “No reason.” She paused. “What do you think about the human psyche?”

Antonius looked at her before quickly looking away. Beautiful or not, it was considered rude to stare the alpha in the eyes. “Personally, I don’t believe there are any limits to what we are capable of. Our refusal to have limits is the reason we are so powerful. Why do you ask?”

They stopped walking and turned to watch the men fire at the black targets on white paper. With .45 handguns in their clasps, each soldier continued to meet their marks smack dab in the center.

All except Galileo.

“It has always been a consideration of mine.” She shrugged. “Curiosity eats at me sometimes and I question things like that.” She focused on Galileo. “So how is he?”

“A handful. He wants me to pay him for his six month payout early,” Antonius said in exhaustion. Oh how he wished she’d just fire his bum ass and get it over with. “Sounds to me like he’s planning to go somewhere.”

“And what are you going to do?”

“He says it’s for his kid. And that he needed to pay his tuition.” He paused. “But when I checked with his baby’s mother, she said he hadn’t given her any money or stopped by to see his son in over a year. He’s fucking with some new chick who has his head wrapped up.”

Nine’s temples throbbed. One of the rules for her men was to take care of their families and their community. And Galileo’s lax behavior about his family enraged her. “So what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. That’s why I’m coming to you.”

Nine exhaled and then smiled at him. She liked him a lot and respected how he handled business so she didn’t want to tell him what to do. It was important to guide him to think on his own. “Men work better when they are inspired. When they have something to look forward to. It’s the reason I scheduled their payments twice a year because they’ll work harder knowing that if they fail to give it their best, at any moment everything they’re doing will be for nothing. They could lose everything.” She smiled at him. “Make a decision, Antonius, and whatever it is, I will support you.”

Nine walked over to Galileo. He was holding his gun and firing repeatedly off-center of his target. She strolled behind him and wrapped her arms around his body, so that both of their hands were touching the weapon at the same time. Before speaking, she took a moment and remembered the exact words her dearest Fran said to her when she was learning to shoot.

With her lips closely against his cool earlobe, almost in a sexual manner, she whispered, “Whenever you hold a weapon, the only thing on your mind should be your target and your aim.” She paused. “If your mind is on anything else, it could cost you your life. Are we clear?”

Frightened by the solo attention she was giving him, he nodded yes.

“Now fire.”

He hit his target.

“Take care of your son, Galileo, before I do things to you, you could never imagine.”

 

****

 

Gates and Nine were face-to-face, swaying on the dance floor. As always, five members of The Legion, including Antonius and Nine’s cousin Noel, stayed in the background to ensure that no one walked within her space.

She was protected at all times.

Nine’s delicate fingers rested in the palm of his hand as he gazed down into her eyes. Since Leaf was not willing to escort her to the Royal Babies function, out of spite, she invited Gates. And as always, he jumped at the honor to be in her presence. “If it proves so, then loving goes by haps. Some Cupids kill with arrows, some with traps,” Gates quoted.

Nine giggled, since she was quite well versed on Shakespeare. “From the play, Much Ado About Nothing,” she said correctly.

Pleased she knew the verse, and that he was amongst worthy company, he said, “I don’t trust your cousin Alice.” He continued to lead her body to the melody.

Nine grinned. “I take it you have been in her presence recently.”

“Yes, and she isn’t a Nine Prophet fan.”

She wondered did they speak before or after their last conversation. “I am not worried about my cousin. We have our date and time. She just does not know it yet.”

“So let me get this right, you know she’s dangerous and still you keep her around?” he asked with raised brows.

“Do you know why enemies are so sweet?”

He chuckled. “I want to laugh at your naivety and yet by being around you, I’ve learned that there is always a method to your dementia.”

Nine giggled and pressed the side of her face against his chest. His heart rate increased and she inhaled deeply. “When you know who your enemies are, and you play them well, they keep you on your toes. You can close your eyes, and even if they have a gun aimed in your direction, you can still prevent being shot.” She looked up into his eyes. “Enemies are nothing more than coaches keeping you sharp. It is the ones whom you do not know about who are savage.”

He wiped the hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. “I want you to be safe, Nine.”

“Why?”

“So that eventually you’ll come to me, where you belong.”

She giggled. “You know that will never happen, Sir Gates. Leaf and I are at odds but he is still my husband. He was the first man who ever looked upon me at my lowest and lifted me up. Where I was. Without all of the bells and whistles I have now. I will always remember him for that and my loyalty will never waiver. Ever.”

“And yet when I look into your eyes, I can tell that if it were not for him, it would be the two of us.” He paused. “You favor older men, Nine. Most powerful women do.”

Nine separated from him and walked toward the table. He followed, as if possessed, pulling her chair out before she sat down. She took a seat, crossed her legs and waited for him to sit across from her. “Where do we stand with Baltimore, Sir Gates?” she grinned. “Have you given any more consideration to using my product only? Or perhaps stepping down for retirement?”

“You bring me here to discuss business?”

“What better time than amongst music and wine?” She raised her glass.

He nodded and tried to conceal his irritation. “We do need better quality cocaine. But from what I’m told, your connect is in a bind and unable to deliver. Even if I wanted to use him, he is at war with the Russians and that adds a complication to my business that I’m not willing to bear.”

“Trust me when I say that the Russians will not be a concern for long. You and your associates are an important part of my organization. I wish you would allow us to join forces. All I want to do is ensure that we all increase our profit margins. I want what is in your best interest, Sir Gates. At times, I can be possessive. I do not want anybody else selling you coke. In a sense, it is almost as if you belong to me.”

“The way you talk to me, sometimes I feel as if I do.” He paused. “Please, let’s just enjoy ourselves and have our trustees deal with those issues later.” He paused. “Besides, the night is still young and tomorrow you’ll have to answer to Leaf for our evening. When that happens, who knows when I’ll be able to see you again.” He raised his glass. “To the present.”

She raised hers and clinked it gently against his. “To the future.”

When she took a sip, suddenly a beautiful girl with dark eyes and long hair entered the event. She was dressed in an inexpensive long black gown. When she and Nine made eye contact, she smiled at Nine in a manner Nine couldn’t decipher.

Finally, she walked away.

Who was she? Nine thought.