Page 12 of A Boy is a Gun: Part I
I shrug. “The problem is what, exactly?”
“You’re buying her cooperation. She’s no longer interested in pursuing a case against those who assailed her, that’s what.” Lisa’s stance shifts and her lips look like they just sucked a lemon. “She said to handle everything through her new attorney, who just happens to be yours.” She smirks and shakes her head. “You are so obvious with the bullshit, and it’s comical at this point.”
“That’s all you have? I’m taking care of a poor woman who was shot and offered a substantial award for arresting her assailants. The fact that I was the only one that came up with the award? Based on the fact that my father is using the skyrocketing crime and my false arrest as his new campaign point? I offered a reward, and aren’t you receiving tips left and right? I imagine everyone is jumping to get that money, and here you are….” I take another sip. “…interrogating me at my place of business. I guess N.W.A. was on to something when they said, ‘Fuck Tha Police.’”
“You damn well know once the person gets turned in, it’ll be open season between the Administration and the EAC,” Ethan steps up to me, “we’re trying to prevent that.”
Ethan just told me everything without saying a word. He knows more about the case than he’s willing to admit, and he might even be protecting the person in question. If things go my way, Ethan wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.
It makes me wonder if Ethan didn’t want to be on my payroll because he was on Jacqueline’s. “If you know it’ll be open season and you’re trying to get me behind bars, wouldn’t you just step out of the way so it’ll give you more leverage for that so-called RICO case you’re building?” An employee walks up and stands near us. “Sarah, say Good Morning to Detectives Ethan Underwood and Lisa Kimble.”
Sarah smiles at the officers, who don’t even pay her attention. “Good Morning.”
“Sarah has some information for you two,” I sip my coffee as I watch her hand them two thick manila envelopes. “That’ll be all, Sarah. Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome, Mr. Page!” She smiles and bounces off back to the offices.
I wait for Sarah to be out of earshot before I address the officers currently looking at the files. “Any questions?”
Lisa’s face dropped while Ethan’s just became a tad bit angrier. “What the hell is this?”
“Oh, that?” I smile again. “What you’re holding is your life. Your entire credit file, how much money is in your bank accounts, where you live, and the names and addresses of your closest friends and relatives.” I lean into the officers and speak low. “Consider this a warning shot. Leave me alone.” I see from the corner of my eye the one person whom I can honestly say none of us want to see, yet, they’re right on time.
As my father, Senator Eric Page, approaches us, he is dressed every bit of a calculating executive. He’s wearing a dark suit with an open collar and walks fast. Not in a hurry fast, but trying to prove a point quickly. The ‘I don’t have time for your bullshit, so keep up’ fast.
He’s tall, over six feet, and is built like a quarterback. He has a full head of hair, but that’s due to hair plugs and treatment, not genes. His teeth are courtesy of a great orthodontist, and he has a dry sense of humor.
My father and I have a complicated relationship. We’re close, but it’s still a question if we’re close because we’re related or because we’re keeping track of what the other does. I think it’s a combination of both. After all, how many fathers and sons can honestly say they’ve fucked the same woman?
Once my father got wind of me being a street pharmacist, he didn’t give me the good ol’Just Say Nospeech that was so damn popular when white people in the White House were a sprinkling crack in the Black neighborhoods but didn’t want their white kids doped up.
My father decided he wanted in and would do whatever he could to ensure he succeeded.
Does a fellow Congressman have a cocaine habit? My father got the best, purest coke from me to convince his enemy to sign a bill that would cause more harm than good. Another senator loved molly? My dad always had something for him on the golf course in exchange for some lobbyists.
My only caveat was that I don’t sell in Black neighborhoods. I don’t. It’s not a political thing but rather a monetary advantage. When a white person wants to get high, they’re willing to do anything and sell anything for that hit. I can make ten times as much of one white junkie as I do off twenty Black addicts.
I support my father in public, though I disagree with every damn thing he does with his politics. I know his reputation both in Congress and in Atlanta. He’s also one of the biggest cads I’ve ever known in my entire life.
He’s cheated on my mom so much that they both lost count of how many indiscretions he’s had. When my father isn’t actively trying to go back to the glory days of segregation, I know he is dipping his dick in anything that isn’t white.
I also know my mother, Heather, couldn’t care less because nothing would ruin her All-American housewife image. If my mom keeps her lifestyle, she’ll turn a blind eye to everything.
My empire has laced my mother with the finest and the best. Her home is filled with Hermes, Baccarat, and Lalique. Her closet is equally expensive with Gucci, Chanel, and Alexander McQueen. While other people try to downplay their wealth, my mother wants everyone to know how rich she is.
And as long as Dear ol’ Dad has NDAs and secret cash-only payments, no one will ever say anything. It’ll just be rumors. Come to think of it, it’s incredible that I’m not on drugs myself.
“Cameron and Ethan! Great to see you both here!” My dad knew my itinerary, so his visit wasn’t a surprise to me. Seeing the looks on both Ethan’s and Lisa’s faces, my father is the last person they want to see. “And I’m sorry, I don’t believe we’ve met,” he says to Lisa.
“Don’t worry, we won’t,” Lisa bites, causing a smirk from Ethan.
Dad takes it on the chin and smiles. “Passionate energy, I like it.” He turns to me, and I glance behind my father to see a small camera crew already in place. The politician in him never sleeps. “I was doing a quick commercial on how the economy has improved and how you single-handedly helped hire many people. You’ve also given small business owners new life with their leases here at Lenox.” He smiles a bright smile. “And I couldn’t be prouder of you.”
Before I was born, my father was a politician, so I know how the game goes. Smile big. Enunciate. And lie through your fucking teeth. “Thank you, Dad. It’s incredible how there is such a prime opportunity for everyone to become someone in this great city of Atlanta and this great state of Georgia.”
“That is right, Cameron! And it is so good to see our friends from the Atlanta Police Department working hard this fine morning.” My father is smiling so big, and I know what he is about to say next is a whopper. “And it’s so good to hear the cops are out here, patrolling the area and getting the bad guys off the streets and not going after innocent citizens who are minding their own business.” He nods.
Ethan doesn’t know if he wants to hit my father or me first, and he’s barely restraining himself. “What is that you want, senator?”
