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“You need counsel. Your brothers are waiting to make bail once it’s posted. I’m only here because they insisted I let you know that it won’t be much longer before you see sunlight,” he explained with a smile on his face.
I swiped it rather swiftly with my next few words.
“Tell Malachi, because I know that’s who sent you, that I’m right where I want to be. Tell him that I’m good and not to waste his chips. If he bails me out, then I’m coming right back in this bitch. Tell him I’m sitting down for a while and to hold shit down.”
“Mr. Domin—”
“Don’t waste any more of your time here, partna. Go home and get yo’ ass back in bed. Tell them niggas I’m straight. I’ll call them when I’m ready. I’ll let them know when to come get me.”
“I don’t think you understand. You’re facin—”
“I don’t think you understand, my nigga. But I’m not in the business of convincing nobody of shit. Tell my people what I said. Tell ’em I’m good. Tell ’em I’ll call ’em when I’m ready. Any more of your time spent here is a waste and on you. As for me, I’m going to lay my Black ass down.”
“Is there anything you need?”
“Yeah,” I responded, reaching for his tie and pulling him closer so that only his ears could hear me. Though we were alone, I knew that the likelihood of total privacy was slim. His bald head released beads of sweat. Panic was written all over his posture as he nodded in compliance before any words even came from my mouth.
“To be put in a cell with Nelson Smith.”
I released him, allowing his feet to touch the ground without elevation again.
“I can’t… I can’t do that, Mr. Domino.”
“Then, goodbye, Mr. Valdez.”
I headed toward the door. As my fist hit the center, Mr. Valdez called out to me.
“Mr. Domino.”
“Yeah?” I never budged, still waiting to be cuffed so I could return to my cell.
“Be careful. Prison is a wild place.”
“I’ma wild nigga. Maybe this is where I’ve belonged all along, huh?”
The cuffs were slapped on my wrist as soon as the correctional officer realized I was waiting. The guy who had ushered me into the room was not the same one who escorted me back to the cell. In fact, our route was even different.
“This not the way to th—”
“I know,” he quickly responded. “That’s not where we’re headed.”
“Then where the fuck are we headed?”
“To a different wing. Consider this the upgrade.”
“I’m not trying to be upgraded, my nigga. Put me back in the holding cell.”
The more inmates I encountered, the better my chances of bumping into Nelson were. Wherever the fuck we were headed, I wasn’t interested.
“I’ve been given orders. I’m following them,” he explained with a shrug.
We ended up in a much shorter hallway that was lined with smaller, cleaner cells that were nearly filled to the brim. It wasn’t until we reached the end that I discovered the cell I’d be occupying.
“This you right here.” He pointed inside.
I stepped through and placed my hands through the horizontal space so that he could remove the cuffs. I massaged my wrists as I analyzed my new surroundings. Every nigga, other than me, had another individual inside the cell with them.
Fucking Malachi, I concluded with a shake of my head.
