Free Entangled by K. Elliott Page B

months.”
“What’s his address?” Jeremiah asked.
“According to the Department of Motor Vehicles, he lives on Trade Street, downtown.”
“He probably lives in the high-rise where Davis led us.”
“That’s my guess, too,” Mark said.
***
    Ruff was on a new team now, no longer playing by the code of the streets. Theodore Ruffin, III was officially an informant, and he hated every minute of it, but he couldn’t imagine doing twentyfive years in federal prison. He would be close to sixty years old when he got out.
    When Dawg arrived with the product, Ruff and Mark were sitting in Ruff’s living room watching The Jerry Springer Show. Ruff introduced Mark to Dawg as TJ. He assured Dawg that TJ was cool and could be trusted.
    “Anybody who is a friend of Ruff’s is a friend of mine,” Dawg said as he shook Mark’s hand.
“Good, ’cause I expect to be doing a lot of business with you guys. Ruff tells me that you boys have some good shit,” Mark said.
“The best in town,” Dawg replied.
“I need two kilos ASAP,” Mark said.
“How much money you got?”
“I got about $50,000,” Mark said.
“I ain’t got shit,” Ruff said.
“Don’t worry, Ruff. We’re gonna give you something on your face,” Dawg said.
“Can we deal or what?” Mark asked.
“Hold on a second,” Dawg said. He left and went outside to his car and came back with three kilos of cocaine. He gave Mark two; the other went to Ruff.
“I see this is going to work out just fine,” Dawg said as he counted the money.
“You damn right it is,” Mark said as he held the product to the light.
***
    Two days had passed since Jamal’s evening with Dream and her parents.
He had been thinking about his mother every since he’d left the Nelsons’. He needed to find her just to know whether she was alive. He had driven to Dawg’s condominium and asked him to take a ride. Jamal shared the questions Dream’s parents had asked.
“Maybe this girl ain’t for you after all,” Dawg said.
Jamal turned and faced him. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, if her parents are all that worried about your mother and what school you went to, it just sounds like they don’t think you’re good enough for their daughter.”
Jamal was silent for a while. Finally he spoke. “I really need to find my mama, though. I need to know if she’s alive.”
“I understand, man, but you may not want to deal with your mama when you see her.”
“What do you mean, man? This is my mama we’re talking about.”
“I know, but you remember how your mom was out there before you left? I mean, she was like a walking corpse, stealing everything she could get her hands on to buy dope.”
What Dawg said had irritated Jamal, and if Dawg had been anybody else, he would have slapped him. “I know, man, but it’s my mama, my only living flesh and blood that I know of.” His voice full of emotion.
“I feel your pain, man, honestly I do, because you know you’re like a brother to me, but some things you have to block out of your mind in order to go on. I mean, if you keep dwelling on shit you have no control over, you will fuckin’ go crazy, man. Honestly, you got to let it go. Take my daughter, for instance. I love her to death, but her stupid-ass mother won’t let me see her. Some days I want to see her badly, but I know I can’t. So rather than fuckin’ my whole day up, I have to block it out of my mind or else I will hurt some undeserving stupid mu’fucka who might come out of the mouth wrong.”
Jamal had forgotten about Dawg’s daughter. She had been born while Jamal was incarcerated.
They rode for the next twenty minutes in silence before Jamal turned onto Albert Street in his old neighborhood. His old house was made of wood, with gray paint peeling from the side. No grass was in the yard, just dirt. The house was abandoned, and the windows were boarded up. Jamal stopped in the driveway, and childhood memories flooded his mind.
Mary Stewart had worked two jobs to