Page 4 of Dope Boys: Most Wanted
Before he could reach the primary suite of the home where the machine Aunt Lucille was hooked up to serve as background noise, the aide he paid handsomely to keep her comfortable, safe, and busy enough met him.
“Markus,” she hummed his name sweetly. Ms. Ophelia. She was a little younger than his aunt and served as great company. The two appeared to be best friends more than they were client and employee. “Let me talk to you.”
“Aight,” he muttered, retreating from the door to the spot where Ms. Ophelia scurried to. In the living room, Markus stood waiting for the inevitable. “What the doctor say?”
Ms. Ophelia pulled in a deep breath and pulled the cardigan she wore over her mint green scrubs. She only wore scrubs when they had a doctor appointment so the doctors would take her seriously. “Her blockage has increased. That’s why she’s been so weak lately.”
“So what does that mean? Why isn’t she on a transfer list? Why the fuck am I paying that doctor all this fuckin’ money and he’s not doing shit?” he grunted, trying to keep a level head that was quickly fleeting.
Ms. Ophelia locked eyes with him, stern but soft enough to pull him back center. “Putting her on a transfer list could take months. Years. And you know, like I know, we might not even have tomorrow.”
Markus clenched his jaw and flared his nostrils. “And I’m assuming I have to tell her sons this.”
“You and Nia are the only ones who come to see her, Markus. Whatever y’all are doing out in the streets is more important than their dying mother.”
“She ain’t dying, O. I’m not tryin’ to hear that,” Markus blew, ignoring the comment about his cousins. They weren’t touchingshit on the streets, just making it harder for him to move around with all the bullshit they kept getting themselves into.
Ms. Ophelia softly stated, “Markus, it’s going to happen. You need to make peace with that, and you need to make peace for yourself. Settle down, find a woman who ain’t Neveah. Heaven backwards is hell on earth.”
“I hear you,” Markus grumbled as he turned to walk back to Aunt Lucille’s room.
“Markus…” Ms. Ophelia’s voice lulled with a weight that made him shoulder’s square.
Barely turning to look over his shoulder, his response was just as weighted. “Yeah.”
“When she goes, you’ll have to move on. Don’t get stuck in what this place used to be.”
Markus gave her a nod before easing into the room. Aunt Lucille was propped up on the middle of her king-sized bed, her oxygen mask strapped to her face, and the noon news on the TV in the background.
“In other Majestic Heights news, at noon. Mayor Norman has announced that his Sweep the Streets agenda has taken five known drug dealers off of the streets. The District Attorney’s office plans to prosecute the violators to the full extent of the law. Mayor Norman stated in an earlier press conference that Majestic Heights will not be a place ran by criminals but by strict law and order.” The anchor, Ansley Sharde, reported.
Taking a seat by his aunt after kissing her forehead, he sighed. The load of street life seemed to fade when he was in her presence.
“You don’t need to be listening to this,” he grumbled, reaching for the remote.
Sick or not, Aunt Lucille grabbed his hand and cut her eyes at him. “How else am I supposed to keep up with what you, B, Svyn, and Angel are doing?”
“We ain’t in the mix like that,” Markus attempted to assure her.
“You’re in plain sight and as untouchable as you think you are, you can be touched. Slim didn’t leave you all this to squander it.”
“I’m not.”
“Dropping niggas off the buildings.”
Markus sighed forgetting that his aunt kept her ear to the streets. After all, Slim was her brother and for as long as he and her sons worked for him, she knew what was going on. Maybe that’s why she allowed it. If the streets were going to call, at least they were under the covering of family.
“Did you get it back?” she continued, not allowing him a rebuttal.
“I can make the money back. I got the product. Rock is going to have to be handled though.”
“What the fuck are you waiting on?” Aunt Lucille questioned, finally turning to look at him straight on. “You too soft on these niggas. Kill them where they stand.”
“I could have sworn it was you that just said not to squander what Unc left.”
“I did. I’ve also told you never be a pussy about your respect. Didn’t I?”
“You did.”
