Authors: JaQuavis Coleman
The Dopefiend (17 page)
“Speak,” he said as if Millie were nothing.
“I'm Millie, and . . .” Millie said, wanting to introduce herself, knowing that Apple had never seen her except for at the funeral.
“I know who you are, Milian Summers. Originally from Baltimore. Used to run with Tical Manny, right?” Apple said, on point with his information.
“Yeah, how you know?” Millie said, surprised that Apple had known so much even though he was behind bars.
“I have my ways of finding out things. You were with my baby when . . .” Apple paused, beginning to tear up. “When she died?”
Millie shamefully nodded her head and dropped it. Flashes of that horrible day began to form in her thoughts and created an empty feeling inside of her chest. “Yes, I was. The pack she hit was laced,” Millie said, not even looking into Apple's eyes. She was afraid of what she might see. She, herself, had felt like she had lost a daughter, but she knew that her feelings wouldn't and couldn't compare to Apple's. “I know who did it. It wasâ”
“Close your mouth,” Apple said sternly as he knocked on the glass, trying to get Millie to looked up at him. “I know who did it. I knew who did it a couple of days after it happened. News travels fast in here,” he said. Apple knew that it was a possibility that their conversation was being monitored, so he wanted to leave out names.
“But how did . . .” Millie started to say.
“Never mind that!” Apple said, reining his tone slightly. “Let's just get to business, okay?” Apple said, wanting to cut straight to the chase. Tears formed in his eyes and he couldn't stop them from falling and his nose began to run. He looked desperate.
“I left Hazel some money. I was . . . I was going to give it to her when she got clean. But now I can't. I want you to have it and do whatever it takes to get the man responsible for my baby's death. Put it on his head in the streets. Contract for his murder.”
Millie remained silent, nodding in agreement at Apple's instructions. “Do you know where my old house is at? The one Hazel grew up in,” Apple said, knowing the authorities knew nothing about the home he owned. He gave it to Ms. Johnson when he got put away, putting it in her name.
“Yeah, I know where it's at,” Millie confirmed, remembering when Hazel showed her the boarded-up house she grew up in. Hazel didn't have the money to keep it up and was so into drugs that she let the city take claim to it because of back taxes.
“It's underneath the doghouse. I want you to give me your word that you will get him,” Apple said just before with an intense glare. “I know that pack was meant for you. I know! Now it is your duty to do this for my baby!”
“You have my word.”
“I also want you to go see my friend,” Apple said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper that had Hassan's address and number on it. He slid it through the opening at the bottom of the thick glass and Millie grabbed it, quickly putting it in her purse. Apple had clout throughout the jail system, so the guard turned the other way when the exchange was made.
“Tell him to cut Seven off. He will understand,” Apple said.
With that, he hung up the phone and got up and left, not wanting to talk to Millie anymore. He knew that Millie used dope with his daughter and he hated Millie for that. For now, Millie was nothing but a pawn for Apple to seek revenge on Seven. Millie thought Seven was dead, but she soon would find out otherwise. The streets were talking.
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“Lights off!” The sound of the husky corrections officer sounded throughout the halls as the lights shut off. Apple lay in his bed smiling and laughing out loud as tears fell from his eyes, thinking about how he and Hazel would sit up and have fun, just the two of them sharing happy times. She was his pride and joy and the thought of her smile brought brief joy to his heart. But the joy was instantly taken away when he thought about her death. Apple put on a forced smile as he clasped his hands on his chest and closed his eyes, wanting to go to sleep thinking about the good times.
Two hours later Apple was sound asleep and in a deep dream. The images in his head were so vivid and clear, creating a theatrical-type movie in his thoughts. He walked with his arm around Hazel in a New York park. He looked down at her and smiled. In his dream she was still a little girl, smiling while rocking the expensive mink he had purchased for her. “I love you, Daddy,” Hazel said as she looked up at him and smiled from ear to ear.
“I love you too, Hazel. With all my heart,” he said as he spotted a mime doing an act just a few yards from them.
“Ooh look, Daddy!” Hazel screamed as she also spotted the mime. She looked up at Apple and asked, “Can we stop and watch please?” she asked, getting more excited with each word.
“Of course,” he said as he playfully thumped the tip of her nose, making her giggle in enjoyment. Hazel released Apple's arm and ran to the mime as he pretended as if he was stepping out of a gigantic box. His movements were so precise and perfect. Hazel was standing there, clapping in admiration and jumping up and down. Apple watched as he smiled, feeling happy because his girl was happy. He slowly walked toward them, his gators clicking the pavement, and a long trench over his shoulders. He wore an all-white suit with diamond cufflinks to set it off. A toothpick hung out of his mouth and he was looking like a gangster, just as he would like it. Apple joined them and stood beside Hazel as she continued to watch. He took another glance at Hazel; however, she had grown into an adult. She was a tad taller and had red lipstick on now. She still was beautiful and still enjoying the show. She leaned over and pecked him on the cheek.
“Thanks, Daddy,” she whispered. Apple remained silent and just smiled, responding to her with just that gesture. Apple focused his attention back on the mime and observed his movements. Right before his eyes, the mime turned into Hassan.
“Hello, my friend. We are about to get rich,” Hassan said as he showed Apple a duffle bag full of bricks of heroin. Apple frowned as he tried to understand what had happened, not understanding that he was in a dream. He looked at the bricks in the bag and temporarily got distracted. He looked next to himself and Hazel was gone.
“Hazel? Where are you, baby girl?” he called, looking for her, during a total three-sixty searching for her. It wasn't until he looked up the way, did he see his baby on top of the ledge that was over the water. Her nice mink was all of a sudden covered in blood. Apple frowned, trying to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. He squinted his eyes and stepped toward the bridge.
“Hazel!” he yelled as he watched her take off her bloody coat and let it drop into the water. “Hazel! Get down!” he yelled as she took one look at him and smiled. She spread her arms out like an eagle and looked down at the water. Apple took off full speed trying to get her, but before he could make it she leaped.
“Noooooo! Nooooooo!” he yelled as he ran to the ledge and looked down. “Hazel!” he yelled as he began to cry, scanning the waves, frantically trying to locate Hazel. He only saw the mink coat coasting away, coasting on top of the waves. He looked back where Hassan was originally standing and noticed that he had disappeared. Apple was now in the park alone. Apple's dream was symbolic for the failed life that he felt he had lived. He was too busy focusing on the money and he let Hazel slip away from him in his dream . . . just like he did in real life. Apple had abandoned Hazel by going to jail. Apple felt a sharp pain go through his heart and gripped the left side of his chest. In his dream, he was dying . . . The sad thing was that he was dying in real life also. Apple fell over the cliff and followed Hazel to the bottom of the ocean, where they would be together forever. He was finally reunited with his baby and no prison or drug could ever tear them apart again. “I love you, Daddy,” Hazel whispered in his ear as they both slowly fell to the bottom of the ocean.
Apple suffered from a heart attack at 3:15 that morning and never woke up. He was pronounced dead at the age of thirty-nine in his sleep. The doctors said he died of a massive heart attack, but anyone who knew Apple well, knew that he really died of a broken heart.
Chapter Twenty-four
Millie was covered in dirt as she dug with the steel shovel. She sweated as she frantically searched for the package that Apple had told her about in his backyard. It was the end of winter and the weather had warmed up, a good thing for Millie. She wiped the sweat from her eyebrow and dug the shovel into the ground once again, but that time she hit something hard, causing a loud ping sound. Millie quickly dropped to her knees, tossed the shovel, and began to dig hurriedly with both of her hands. Just as Apple said, there was something there. A small chest with flowers on it appeared. Millie dug around the box some more and finally pulled it out. She quickly unsnapped the latch and looked inside. Stacks of fifty- and hundred-dollar bills were wrapped in Ziploc bags. Millie's eyes shot wide open and instantly her arm began to tingle, a natural reaction to a recovering addict: money equated to copping dope. Millie quickly shook off the urge and the voice of Apple sounded throughout her head. “I know that pack was meant for you!” Millie grabbed the money and stuffed it in the book bag she had nearby. She was about to put her plan in motion. Millie had a one-way trip back to her hometown on the east coast. She was about to get herself together and bring the old Millie back. She knew that without power she would never be able to touch Seven. Seven was much too smart to make the same mistake twice and Millie fully understood that. Flint knew Millie as nothing more than a dopefiend, but what they didn't know that she was one of the baddest and biggest that ever graced this ill-willed Earth. Millie was about to go back to her roots and come back full force. She understood that Seven was a boss . . . and to kill a boss you have to be a boss. Simple blueprint to the game that Millie fully comprehended. She was taught by the best.
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Seven and Rah drove down the interstate while Nas lightly pumped out of the speakers, both of them slowly nodding their heads in unison enjoying the melody. Seven had just gotten word that Apple died in his sleep while in jail, and although Apple hated him at the time of his death, Seven still had love for him. Seven looked in his rearview and checked to see if Toya was still following him, with the car full of dope. He used her as his mule, knowing that a woman was always less likely to get pulled over and be subjected to a search. Seven was on his way back from a brief road trip. He had gone to meet his Ohio dope connect to re-up. Hassan had cut him off at the request of Apple, so Seven back from getting his dope from elsewhere. Luckily Rah had family in Ohio who was getting it and that's how Seven made that connection. It worked out in Seven's favor because his new connect had better dope with dirt-cheap prices.
Seven grabbed the spliff from the ashtray and took a deep pull. He kept having visions of himself getting shot by Mouse and that heightened his paranoia to the point where he developed a sweaty hands problem. Seven passed the spliff to his right. Rah grabbed the spliff and reached to the dash to turn down the radio.
“Fam, you okay?” Rah said, noticing the expression on Seven's face.
“Yeah, I'm good. Why you say that?” Seven asked.
“I don't know. Something is just different about you lately. You smoking now and before you never would touch any drugs. You are always in your own little world. You just seem spaced out sometimes. This ain't you, fam,” Rah said as he took a deep pull of the spliff, letting a little smoke escape his mouth just before he sucked it back in deep into his lungs.
“I just got a whole new perspective on life now. I don't give a fuck no more. I don't have anybody but you, my nigga,” Seven said sincerely. Both men took in what was said and like only gangster would, they didn't discuss it any further. There was pain in Seven's voice and the deaths of Hazel and now Apple were weighing heavy on his heart. Seven was transforming into another person. Mouse fucked it up for everybody. If Seven had respect in street before, now he was about to make himself feared. He now understood that fear was more powerful than respect. Because if Mouse feared him, the robbery would have never happened. Now Seven was more ruthless, more strategic, and eventually he would become untouchable. This was the making of a kingpin.
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Millie had just left Apple's grave and left flowers on the site. Although she didn't know Apple well, she felt it was right. She also visited Hazel's gravesite and paid her respects to her baby. Now, the only thing on her mind was making Seven pay. She had camped out in front of Seven's apartment all day to only find out that he had been moved out. She had no idea where to start looking for Seven so she hit the block with a plan.
Millie walked into the dope house with a book bag on her back. The hustlers and some of the fiends began to look at Millie funny, not expecting to see her because of her extended absence from the underworld.
“Is that Millie?” an older man said just before he smacked his neck, trying to find a vein.
“Millie?” another fiend called out, but Millie wasn't there to socialize. She had business to handle as she walked over to the table where four young hustlers sat. Millie approached the table and held the straps of the book bag tightly.
“Yo, can I talk to you all for a minute?” she asked. It seemed as if Millie didn't even say anything because the hustlers ignored her request as they sat around talking shit among each other.
“Excuse me!” Millie said louder this time, demanding their attention. All eyes shot to her and one hustler grew a smug look on his face when he noticed who it was. There was a rumor that Millie had killed Li'l Rico, but he quickly dismissed the notion when he thought about who she was in his eyes: nothing more than a junkie. But little did he know, Millie was fully capable of murder and would be willing to do it again if the situation arose. She was out for revenge.
“Oh shit! It's Millie,” one of the hustlers said as he looked her up and down, remembering how she gave him the best sex he had ever had a while back.
“Damn, it sholl is,” a hustler agreed as he noticed that Millie had gained a little weight, which made her look more healthy.
“I need to holler at y'all for real,” Millie said, growing impatient.
“Yo, what up?” the hustler asked.
“Let's go in the back,” Millie said as she headed to the rear of the dope house. The hustlers all looked at each other, thinking Millie wanted them to run a train on her in trade for dope, but she had another thing in mind. Millie waited in the room as three of the four hustlers came in, smiling.
“I got a proposition for all of you,” Millie said, looking each one of them in the eye. The men instantly began to unbutton their pants but Millie quickly took off the book bag and exposed the bag full of money, catching them all off guard. “It's eighty thousand dollars in here,” Millie said as she kneeled down and placed the bag on the floor. She looked up to see their surprised facial expressions.
“What the fuck? Where you get that shit from, Millie?” one of the hustlers asked.
“Look, don't worry about it. I need somebody killed. Someone I can't get close to . . . feel me? That's why I need you niggas to do it for me.”
“Fuck yeah! Where that nigga at?” one hustler asked as he began to lick his lips and rub his hands together as he stared at the money as if it were steak.
“It's Seven,” Millie said, and noticed all of their expressions had suddenly changed.
“Seven? Big homie Seven? You got to be out of your fucking mind,” one hustler said as he thought about how Seven had tortured and killed Mouse for trying to cross him.
“And even if we wanted to do it for you, we couldn't. Ever since Mouse popped him, he doesn't even show his face around here anymore. Nobody hasn't seen him in a long while. He don't fuck with the hood no more, just supplies it,” one hustler said as he broke down Seven's new habits.
They all wanted no part of it. All of them automatically began to think about robbing the brave woman in front of them. Millie looked at the others and they were all singing the same song, so she zipped up her bag and stood up.
“Scary-ass niggas,” she whispered as she headed out. She saw one of the hustlers slide his hand near his waist as if he was about to pull a gun. Millie wasn't green to the game; she anticipated them having the urge to rob her, because they looked at her as nothing more than a junkie. She quickly pulled out a gun that was inside the book bag, surprising them all, and walked backward toward the door. They never expected Millie to have a gun, but they didn't know Millie's past. She used to hold court in the streets of Baltimore and knew how to handle situations like that one accordingly.
“Don't think about it,” she warned. “I tried to put y'all down but I see Seven got all of you shook. Y'all can get it too,” she promised as she faded into the front room and quickly headed out and ran to an alley off of the block. Millie had to approach the situation from another angle. She understood that Seven had secluded himself and would be hard to touch. But she promised herself that vengeance would be sought. But first, she was to return to Baltimore and get herself together and next time she would come correct.
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Millie sat Indian style in the dirt next to Hazel's grave and talked to her as if she were still alive. To a bystander, it would look as if Millie had gone crazy, but Millie didn't care; she was talking to her Hazelnut. Millie stood up and walked directly in front of the tombstone. She kissed her fingertips and then rubbed the stone that had Hazel's name engraved in it. Millie quickly wiped away the tear that fell, smiled, and walked away. She was going back to see Apple to get his advice on getting to Seven.
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