Page 82 of Quasim III: King Inferno

“Sir, that is alrig?—”

“Blood and scratch on his hand, and his shirt was ripped. He said he and his wife got into it, and we had a laugh about women.”

“Okay, that’s great… do you have any video footage of that night? Something we can use, even leak to the media to try and get more people to come forward.”

He looked down. “The cameras are for show. I cannot afford the premium monthly membership anymore for twenty-four hour surveillance. Those guys out there protect this store for me… people know not to mess with this store.”

“Hoodlums aren’t a form of security for your store. Does your insurance company know this?—”

Detective Hill pulled me away. “This entire area was my patrol when I was an officer. These people are taken care of by the neighborhood. Those men, the same ones you are calling hoodlums, protect every business owner on this strip. When I first started patrolling this area, we had a million calls about gangs in the area beating up shop owners or robbing them.”

I looked out the store’s door. “And those men with red flags hanging from their pockets aren’t gang members?”

“They aren’t the wrong ones. You want to paint them as hoodlums because they don’t fit into how they should look for you. We all weren’t given a handout or up in this life, and some of us had to do what needed to be done. I don’t judge; I just do my job and pray I make it home every day.”

“Detective Hill, you seem way too invested with these people. They are criminals. Do you think for a second they wouldn’t hesitate to kill you? Do you know how many funerals I have attended because some punks like them has taken one of my friends’ lives?”

She snorted. “Only difference is they get justice, right? When one of my kind is killed, we never get the justice we deserve. They’re almost always cleared of any wrong doings and able to live the rest of their life, while the mother of the deceased is sent back to the same neighborhood that took her son. We want to exist in this world and not be a threat or killed because the color of our skin.”

“Hill, sounds like you’re on the wrong side of things.” I leaned on the freezer and watched as she became worked up over this.

“There is no side… we’re supposed to protect and serve. Not murder and discriminate. We have a Black governor that is tatted as hell… it goes to show that we shouldn’t judge someone.”

I was less concerned about her and more concerned about the man I saw pass something off. “Yeah, like the drug deal going on right as we have this stupid conversation.”

Rushing outside, I looked at them. “Let me see some ID’s.”

“For what?” The one with golds spoke first.

“Up against the fucking wall and pull those ID’s out.”

They all sucked their teeth and looked at me annoyed. “Detective Hill, this some bullshit.” One of them called out.

“She can’t save you… what did you pass him?”

The one with the golds went into his pocket and I quickly pulled my gun. “Get down on the fucking floor now! Suspect is pulling a gun!”

Detective Hill looked at me in disbelief as she never reached for her gun. I held my gun, as the man lowered himself onto the floor and I cocked my gun back and Hill jumped in front of me.

“He handed him a damn phone… it’s a fucking phone, Parker!”

The man remained on the floor, looking to see where he could get up. “Man, this bitch geeked.”

A younger one tried to walk away, and I snatched him and shoved him onto the car. Thankfully, he was on the smaller side. I slammed his head onto the hood of the car and held my gun to his head.

“I’m not fucking geeked out… what drugs do you have on you?”

“My son! My son!” the owner of the store ran out and waved his hand frantically. “I don’t know nothing. I don’t know anything about a man… let him go.”

He was mistaking me roughing his son up as revenge because he wasted an hour of my time. “Get the fuck back!” I snarled while holding the gun to his son’s back.

“Parker, you are drawing a fucking crowd.” I could hear Hill in the background as everything seemed blurry.

It was like I was here, and then I wasn’t here at the same time. Slowly, I released him, and he scurried back onto the sidewalk. “Get them fucking ID’s out now.”

Detective Hill stared at me. “I’m calling this in, Parker.”

I looked at all of them and then walked backwards to the car. While everyone looked at me, I jumped back into the car and pulled away, leaving Detective Hill.

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