Thatâs my best friend and sister, and besides, she been quit doing that.â
âSo whatâs her profession now? Call girl?â
âFuck you, Mike. Iâm hanging up.â
âOkay baby, Iâm sorry. I was just playing. You know I love Linda. If I didnât I wouldnât let you take my son around her.â
âWell, donât play like that. You know how I am about Linda. Plus, if I tell her what you said, sheâd probably kick your ass.â
âYeah, right.â Michael laughed. âLinda may have some heart, but she ainât stupid.â
âShut up! Ooooo, you make me sick.â
âThen go to the hospital.â
âI already did. I work at one, fool! Remember?â
They both laughed.
âI love you, baby,â Michael said.
âI love you too, and when I get home I want you to love me some more.â
âYou got that, baby. Youâre the queen.â
âSee you later.â
âBye baby. And tell Malik to call me when he gets over Lindaâs.â
âOkay, baby.â
Michael hung up the phone and began pacing the living room while drinking his glass of Remy Martin. He was contemplating his call to Frank Mathews. In the beginning, Frank said he only wanted to deal with Michael. Michael was trying to figure out a way to make him understand that Sam wanted to continue with the connection. He knew he couldnât make up a lie. The best thing he could do was try to persuade Frank to deal with Sam. Even if he wouldnât work with Sam, Big Luke was coming back soon, and Sam personally knew Big Luke, so he could cop from Luke directly. Although his prices would be more, Sam would still have a steady flow.
As Michael paced, he began to wonder if Sam was capable of becoming the next king of the jungle. He always knew he had the heart. Sam was a killer. Not only that, but he killed without reason. The thing that kept Michael in doubt was if Sam had enough brains and patience to deal with making future decisions. Was he capable of making his enemies bow down to his rule? All this had to be done with finesse, and Sam was lacking in that area.
If anything happened to Sam after he quit, Michael would feel responsible for letting him continue. But as Sam had put it, he was a âgrown-assâ man. So Michael decided to let Sam be his own man.
Michael placed his call to Frank.
âHello?â
âHey, Frank, itâs Mike.â
âHold on a minute. Where you at?â
âIâm at home.â
âIs your line clear?â
âYeah, itâs clear.â
âGive me five minutes. Iâll call you back.â
Frank never talked business on his phone. Heâd always go to a phone booth and place long distance calls on his bogus calling card.
âHello?â Michael answered.
âItâs Frank. Whatâs the problem?â
âWhat makes you think thereâs a problem?â Michael asked.
âWell, first of all, you donât call me during this time of the day unless youâre on your way up. Also, I know you canât be finished with everything that fast. And you never call me from your home phone.â
âYeah, youâre right, but there ainât no problem. I just need to talk to you about a few things.â
âIf itâs about Big Luke coming back and you wanting to continue on, I canât do that. I only deal with you in his absence.â
âI understand that, but this ainât got nothing to do with Luke.â
âThen talk, Mike. Time is money.â
âWell, you know Iâm quitting in a few months, and Luke wonât be coming home for at least another six months, which leaves the city four months without some good shit.â
âWhat are you getting at?â
âWell, my partner, Sam, ainât tryna quit. He wants you to continue movingââ
âNow hold on, Mike. Let me refresh your memory. When we first met, I told