Chapter Twelve
CHAPTER TWELVE
A dog-eat-dog world
G randpa was dressed in a ghost-white suit and a healthy dose of vintage swag. His white tie hung from his neck, the silver flecks in the design glowing in the currents of sunlight. A white cowboy hat donned his head, large oval-shaped diamonds wrapped around the white silk band. He gripped his white marble cane with a beringed hand as he made his way to the fitness center front door. A slight look of strain and angst shone in his eyes. One white and gray snakeskin cowboy boot stepped leisurely in front of the other as he made his steadfast approach. Jasper, one of the two men that accompanied him, dressed in black and dark gray camouflage, opened the door for the old bastard, both sporting guns on their hips.
Uncle Danny was the second flunky. Enslaved blood. Lennox snatched his large jug of water from a nearby counter, tipped it to his lips, and took a big gulp as he leaned against the white wall, waiting for the circus act to begin. Thankfully, his ten o’clock client had just left—a lady he personally trained every Tuesday and Thursday. Minutes prior, he’d seen Grandpa lurking in a dark blue Lexus with tinted windows, parked right outside his place of business. Yes, he knew it was him without seeing him. Grandpa had many cars that his sons and grandsons would drive him to places in. This was one of his favorites.
He sensed the old bastard approaching before he even saw him. Lennox figured it was a gift and a curse. This feeling he would get deep inside of him that burst free, ringing the alarms whenever something nasty was slithering his way.
“Grandson,” Grandpa said proudly, raising both arms as if about to initiate an embrace. “So good to see you!” Lennox took another gulp of his water. “I’d like to speak to you privately, if you don’t mind.”
Lennox kept drinking, then belched. “…I mind.”
“Well, isn’t that a shame? Don’t tell me I’ve come all this way for nothin’?”
Lennox could feel the eyes turning his way as people began to eavesdrop and look on. An older man was standing there, fit as a fiddle, donning expensive, flashy clothes covered in jewels and gold. Grandpa Wilde plucked his hat from his head with a slightly shaky hand, and held it modestly against his stomach. Thick, long waves of silver hair with snow-white highlights fell across the man’s face, partially concealing one of his snake-like blue eyes. His silky white beard appeared more lustrous than usual as the bright gym lights hit it. What a conniving and contradicting sight to behold .
“I ’spose, since you’ve left me no choice, I’d hate to have to talk to you out here then, in front of all of these good folks about such a sensitive matter.” The old man dramatically sighed as he slowly moved his arm about the room, waving the marble cane with the gold tip about like some magician wand. He don’t even need that fucking cane. Just has it for show. A darkness flashed across his face as his faux frown stiffened while pretending to be wrought with sadness by being turned down.
“If you hate the idea of it so much, leave.”
“You know I can’t do that, Lennox. They’ll be an audience I guess for us to discuss private affairs. Like how your whore of a mama’s lovely, long Lebanese legs were spread wide fuckin’ open, exposing that black, hairy bush you came out of, but then it was for every Tom, definitely Dick, and Harry to slide into and—”
“Shut up.” Lennox barked, slamming his bottle down on a nearby counter. “In the back.”
Grandpa and the two-armed men followed him into a small storage area filled with yoga mats and dumbbells. Lennox closed the door behind them, then faced them, arms crossed. He and Grandpa stared each other down, eye to eye. He imagined they looked like two rival fighters right before the big brawl. In fact, they were.
Grandpa’s lips pursed, and his salt and pepper thick brows bunched as his icy stare intensified. His lips suddenly bowed in a warm smile, as if he were some robot and someone had flipped a switch. He then slapped Lennox’s shoulder hard.
“Look at you…” He scanned him from his face down to his feet. “You’ve grown up to be incredible. Strong. A fortress. I couldn’t take my eyes off you when you came to visit the other day.”
“You call that me comin’ to visit? You kidnapped me, and the rest of my cousins that you’ve labeled AWOL, at gunpoint.”
Grandpa ignored him and went on with his spiel. “You’ve grown into a strapping young man. You’ve got a ruggedness about you. You’re so damn robust.” Grandpa’s eyes narrowed as he looked him up and down. “…You don’t have any children, though. And you’re unmarried. Maybe you still like to play the field?” He could tell Grandpa was fishing, trying to elicit a response. He remained quiet. “You’ve endured. Lost your mama… got caught up in some legal tangles. Had no money. Cut off from the family. My grandbaby wants nothin’ to do with her big brother. Y’all used to be close. Silva… she’s doing just fine though. Grandpa’s precious baby girl.”
“What is this? A phony psychic reading? And Silva isn’t a baby anymore. She’s a grown woman, and you turned her against me.”
“I did no such thing. She just lost respect for you is all. That’s none of my business.” The old man rocked back on his heels. Smug as ever.
“You can ruin my relationship with my sister, cause all of the mayhem you want, but you can’t boss me around and run my life. I’m my own man.”
“See? That fight in you, that strength, both physical, emotional and mental, is what I love about you, Lennox. The problem is you need to understand that family, your blood,” Grandpa softly poked him in the chest, “are the only ones you can truly trust. That’s why I have only a handful of staff that I share no bloodline with. It ain’t worth the hassle, and it damn sure ain’t worth the risk.”
“But if someone doesn’t wanna work for you, you should respect that. Love is an action word. You don’t force folks to do stuff they don’t wanna do if you love ’em. That’s not love. That’s selfishness. Control.”
“Well,” Grandpa shrugged nonchalantly, “I strongly disagree. Parents have to tell children to do things they don’t wanna do all the time, boy.”
“I’m not a child.”
“You aren’t… but you’re mine. My grandchild. You belong to me.” His voice hardened. “The elders always know what’s best. Why do you think things always go to shit when the younger folk are runnin’ things? If you look at ancient times, it was the elders, the grandparents and great-grandparents, who made all major decisions for the clan. Wisdom only comes with experience. Experience only comes with time. Time only comes with age. People say all the time how blood will treat you worse than a stranger, and that may be true in some cases, but that blood is like a code. It stands for somethin’, Lennox, and it can’t be broken. Code of honor and respect. The blood of Christ… Flesh of my flesh, blood of my blood.” He placed his hand across his heart. “Family is the answer.”
“You’re the answer? Then I’ll never have a question. In fact, I have nothin’ to say to you. Consider me mute.” He leaned forward and lowered his voice, while the subdued sounds of ‘Love Me JeJe,’ by Tems played in the background.
“Lennox, you can pretend to be deaf, mute and blind, but the Lord will open your eyes and force you to see. This is my last appeal to you.”
“Grandpa, the Lord will force us to do nothing. I have free will, as do you. You’ve been exercising your free will,” He placed his hand on his hip and leaned slightly forward. “And I’m just doin’ the same. There’s something called Jahannam, and according to my mama, it’s a bad place for evildoers in the afterlife. Islam’s definition of hell. I’m not Muslim, but I respected my mother’s beliefs. You wanted to talk to me about my mama’s legs bein’ open when you first got in here making a ruckus. Well, guess what? The doors of Jahannam will be wide open for you . I’m sure most men would prefer the legs… My whore of a mother, as you like to call her, will be looking down on you from Heaven, and when she does, I ’magine you’ll beg her to spit on you to help put out the fire. But instead, she’ll grab some gasoline, pour it all over your writhing body, and laugh as you burn.” Lennox cackled.
“Watch it now.” Grandpa’s chest rose and fell faster, and his complexion deepened. “You watch your tongue, boy… I see you’ve been takin’ lessons from crazy Kage! Yeah… I know you two been slippin’ and slidin’ ’round one another like blobs of snot. Family are also the only ones who can get close enough to hurt you, Lennox, but the blood saves. It heals. You better hope and pray I choose the latter.”
“If you respected family so much, Grandpa, you wouldn’t have treated my mother the way you had. She was married to your son. That made her your daughter, too. She was married to the son that did just about everything you asked, and you couldn’t even let him have that in peace. You were jealous that he didn’t love you as much as he loved her, and angry that she didn’t care about you or your twisted opinions about her. You want to be worshiped. Your ass kissed. I ain’t gonna do it. You can come up here with the army brigade, National Guard, and Scooby Doo and Shaggy, and it won’t change a damn thing. My mama was the same way, and you couldn’t stand that she wasn’t afraid of you. Now, if you don’t mind, I need to—”
“Boy, I’ve heard about enough of your lip.” Grandpa jetted his finger in his face. “I want to make somethin’ quite perfectly mother-fuckin’ clear to you. I don’t know what mountain you think you’re standing on, but this ain’t the hill you want to die on. And let me clear that shit you said about your mama up. I never had any ill will towards your mother. Did I like that Aaliyah was one of dem Muslims? Abso-lute-ly fucking not. Did I think she was good enough for the likes of my son? Hell no. I also didn’t give a shit about her bein’ no doctor and havin’ all that education. But you’re right. Your father loved her, so I didn’t touch one hair on her head. I have two simple rules. First rule: Any of my children or grandchildren can love whoever they want to love as long as that person doesn’t interfere with me and my business.
“Second rule, I won’t cause any intervention with anybody y’all are married to, as long as they don’t cause significant, intentional harm to me, or any of my family members, especially those that are involved in the family business. Let’s be fair because your mother broke both of those rules. She knew what was expected, and she decided to do the exact opposite. Multiple times. I gave her ample opportunity to shut the fuck up. Sometimes that woman put silly ideas in your father’s head. He’d get ballsy, and then he’d have to be set straight.” Grandpa placed his hand back on his shoulder. This time, with a bit more pressure.
“Set straight? Like some doll that fell on its side. Toys. Little GI Joe men. That’s all we are to you. Green army soldiers made of cheap plastic. A bunch of damn toys!”
“Nonsense. Nothin’ I do is for play—”
“You want to use family, and not regular ol’ people because family is a commodity to you. You want blood because we’re easier to control, manipulate and extort. You accuse me of standin’ on some mountain, but you can’t even stand on an anthill on your own. This mountain of mine? This thing called life? At least I climbed it by myself! You’re a tyrant and a coward! You couldn’t do a fraction of what I’ve succeeded at, and the best achievements in life have little to do with money, Grandpa. Greedy men like you sit back and count your cash while sitting in the middle of your bedroom, alone, not noticing the stench of burnin’ flesh. You never realize a flame is spreading until it’s too late, because you’re so engrossed in your greed and power trips. You totally miss the fact that your ass is on fire!”
“Get it all out, boy!” Grandpa cackled. “All of this make-believe stuff you’ve concocted in your head! No, I want family because family are the best men for the job!”
“Bullshit. It’s gives you an advantage that can’t be compared. You know our full history, from five generations back, maybe even more. You know what we’ve achieved, and where we’ve failed. You know many of our secrets, the things we’ve done. Like you knowin’ about me driving out to Kage’s house. Case in point, I am sure you know now that I found the little tracker you had one of your fuckheads put on my truck. It’s been removed. Proof that you are watchin’ us every chance you get. In some cases, you were even at the hospital while we were bein’ born. You know our ticks, pet peeves, temptations, advantages, gifts, and limitations.
“With a new person you meet, or some stranger that you get to know, you still would have missed a lot of that important information. Only could take their word for some things, because not every detail about a person can be charted or verified unless you were right there, when it happened. With your children, grandchildren, brothers, and cousins, you were there, in some capacity, every step of the way. Getting the play by play. Watchin’ them like some Boogeyman. The more you know about someone, the more power and leverage you have over them. You want to be king of the mountain. That’s why you’re pissed that I’m tryna climb it. This just in! Breaking news… Guess what, old man? I don’t have to climb the mountain, or be king of the mountain. I am the mountain…”
Grandpa’s hand slipped from his shoulder, and he gripped the top of his cane with both palms. Picking it up a wee bit from the ground, he slammed the tip with might down onto the concrete floor.
“Lennox, your fucking mama is dead. You probably blame me for that, even though it was her own health that took her out of here. Your father is not to your liking. You probably blame me for that, too. Nothin’ I can do about that. Perception is a skewed lens. You blame me for you and your sister’s falling out. Ain’t my fault that I spoil her. Take care of her. She’s a good lady, and deserves my love. Now, I told you very clearly what the situation is, as well as the consequences. This was a courtesy visit. The last opportunity you have to do the right thing.” He pointed his finger in Lennox’s face. “I will tell your mother’s entire family about her whore ways.
“I’ll tell them about what a foul-mouthed tramp she was, and about the disrespect she showed me as the patriarch of this family. I will then let a few important folks know that you ain’t kill just one man, you killed several, and I have the proof. You’re a fucking killing machine. And you liked it!” He sneered. “Your father begged me, cryin’ his eyes out for them to not take his boy away. You’d gotten yourself in some shit you couldn’t get out of. The boy wasn’t no kin to you, and that’s why he told on you faster than a Cheetah on roller skates. I agreed to help my grandson out of a jam, even though you and I were on the outs.
“You yelled at me for your mother’s American memorial service, here in Texas, that the family had after her body was shipped to Lebanon so that her friends in the states could say goodbye. I was her father-in-law, for God’s sake, regardless of how she and I didn’t see eye-to-eye. You made a big ass scene. Told me to get out. Four of my men had to drag you away.”
“Four of your men?” He scoffed. “They were my gotdamn younger cousins! More blood on your payroll!”
“Doesn’t matter. You proved how ungrateful you were, boy. After all I have done for you over the years.”
“I didn’t ask you to do a damn thing for me. My father did, and he did so behind my back. You did it not to help me, but so I’d owe you one day. You must think I’m a fucking idiot. I’m not rollin’ over for anyone, especially not a psychopath who sends men out to murder families on Thanksgiving, then pretends to be Santa on Christmas.”
“Don’t you stand there and act all high and mighty! You could’ve turned down my help, but you didn’t. You’re no better than what you’re trying to pretend you’re not. A cold-blooded killer. You were a gun for hire. You were willin’ to work for those yuppies, but not for your own grandfather doing pretty much the same damn thing! I would have paid ten times more, and there’d be no trace! You did that to spite me!” Grandpa tossed his cane on the floor with a big crash and jeered.
“…And you did it so sadistically, too. Rubbed it in my face. Lennox, in spite of all of that, I know you’re one of the pure ones. Deep down. You have such a beautiful soul.” Pretty little things… “You want to do the right thing. You want to be loyal.” Like a good little dog… “So, you think long and hard about what’s on the line.”
“If I come from your bloodline, how pure, righteous and loyal could I truly be?”
Grandpa sneered as he got in his face. “I will take your dead mama down, and you right along with her. I will have you spend the rest of your days practically under the prison, and then drag your mama’s tattered, tramp skeleton out of that lopsided grave in that piece of shit country of her’s, set it out under the blazing sun, and let the crows fuck her pelvic bone until it turns to dust! Her final act of servitude as a lady of the night.
Don’t.
Fuck.
With.
Me!
Now, you fetch, and roll over and play dead. Only messin’ around with me, you won’t be playing for long, boy. It’ll be for real. For eternity. It’s a dog-eat-dog world, Lennox, but you just remember this: Every dog has its day…”