YNs– Grafitti

2011

“Hey, this your boy Boss Man Tremaine. And I’m here to let you know about the dangers that lurk in your neighborhood. If something doesn’t seem right, make sure you tell an adult or call the police. If you are an adult, shield your children and others from terrors in your community,” Boss Man Tremaine declared in the PSA. “There I said it,” he announced to the director of the spot.

“You’ve just cut your time down to two weeks,” the warden of the prison informed Boss Man Tremaine.

He fell into the arms of his mistress Les Anne Kitchens. He hugged her and they left the grounds of the prison together.

“We’ve gotta get a room.”

“Okay,” Les Anne replied.

“First day out, I’m going to go for it. You’re going to get eight years of excellence.” He flexed and flashed a new set of teeth.

Upon arrival at the Double Tree, they looked at the TV for the most part. Boss Man Tremaine moved closer to Les Anne.

“I don’t feel like it,” she pointed out.

“You know how long I’ve been waiting for this?”

“I’m really here to get you back in the game.”

“What? How?” he asked.

“The walls of the city. They’re covered in graffiti.”

“Okay, and….”

“You’ll see. C’mon.”

“I thought we were….” he started.

“There’ll be plenty of time for that.”

They boarded into her S-Class Mercedes.

The day still held with its sunshine and clouds. They rolled up to the side of a burnt out building. On its wall read “CRQSZ.”

“That means you have 37 ounces of product waiting on you on the East Side,” she explained.

“Whoa, I ain’t touching no work. First day out and you’re trying to get me caught up.”

“It’s three a ki plus the extra ounce is on the house.”

“Three?! Goddamn. Y’all giving away work on somebody’s birthday?”

“No, it’s just the connect. He wants to see more influx in clientele.”

“Alright. I can get my weight up in all of this.”

"The graffiti is going to be the basis for allowing our workers to connect the dots on each place where we can elevate the game.”

“Elevate the game? I’ll have the chance to become the king out here in these streets again.”

The vehicle stopped at a bridge overpass. White lettering outlined by red showed the tag “KPMRS.”

“That means your runners have an hour to run the product to the next stash house.”

“As long as they’re on the same page, I’m all about it,” Boss Man Tremaine replied. “When is the connect supposed to come to Delaware?”

“He’s making a trip over to the houses tomorrow. You’ll meet up with him.”

“ I shouldn’t be doing this but the call of the street is powerful. What do we do about the heat?”

“You’ll have to be ready for the cops and the cameras. The bombers will be more than happy to assist you in seeing how many packs get moved out here.”

“I’ve gotta make a trip to Mr. Boxwood’s place. How he stays in business and ducks the feds is amazing to me. He’s going to have the wherewithal to conduct proper negotiations.”

“Yes. We’ll see him in good time. After we take in our pieces, we’ll be ready to distribute them to the block.” Les Anne smirked.

“We’re going to need to do this in good time. We’ve got enough people set up to deliver the work, but we’re still trying to coordinate the times?”

“Times? What times?”

“A lot of the graffiti is being power washed or painted over in a matter of days. It’s a fight to keep the tags on the sites.”

The car smoothed over the Wilmington streets with an ease and aplomb akin to a sled over snow. In the winter, they continued on with their journey into the heart of the city. It pumped out citizens and regulated the flow of the town. Boss Man Tremaine had left his items in the hotel. The first stop was the barber shop. Les Anne waited in the car while he got a clean shape up and nice fade. She noticed that he had left his phone in his seat. His wife called. She quickly sent it to voice mail with the click of the button on the right side.

Boss Man Tremaine had known a few figures in the shop and they wished him well as he embarked back on these streets. When he got in the car, Les Anne looked at him with an ironic grin.

“She called.”

“She’s going to wonder where I am. I know, we can just stop at one of the points. I’ll have her meet me there.”

Les Anne agreed and pulled in front of a dilapidated factory with crumbling bricks. She dropped him off there.

“I’ll make sure you get your stuff.” She drove off into the chill of the day.

Boss Man Tremaine stood in front of the building and watched as his wife’s brand new off-white Lexus LS rolled up to him after he called her back.

Before he got in the car, he snapped a photograph of the “HZSWG” tag on the side of the building.

He leaned over and kissed his wife, Jaceylyn Sawchick’s face. He purposefully smudged her makeup.

“I know you’ve been away, but we always kept in touch. I wanted to give you something,” Jacelyn handed Boss Man Tremaine a Rolex Daytona.

“Thanks, babe. I will cherish this.”

Jacelyn then wheeled off the corner and continued down the boulevard. They found their house and proceeded to their mini-mansion in Greenville. The cops didn’t take the house or the cars because everything was in Jacelyn’s name. They rushed up to the bedroom and felt each other’s touch. In his mind, Les Anne still played in his thoughts. He could sense Jacelyn’s body but his mind focused on Les Anne. Jacelyn noticed a decrease in overall performance from her husband.

“What’s this about? Did being put away for this amount of time change something?” she asked.

“No, it’s not that. I just have things swirling in my head about business.”

“That’s why I’m here. I’m supposed to relax all those worries away,” she said, rubbing the base of his neck.

He got up from the bed and walked into the shower. He came out to a shirt, trousers, belt, socks, underwear and shoes Jacelyn had picked out for him. She had showered and dressed following him.

His demeanor changed in an instant as he looked at his wife. From the time he got on his clothes to the moment where he walked downstairs, he noticed that there had been people standing around with drinks and making small talk.

His mind did not allow him to process the amount of people who cheered when he came down the steps. Whistles abounded and whoops crashed around the dining room. He looked into the faces of the people who had gathered.

In his way of expressing himself, he just sort of waved lightly. And he saw his brother. His eyes lit up and he ran down the stairs and gave him a bear hug.

“Welcome home, Bro’!” Stanhold Sawchuck mentioned. He then turned to the crowd. “Boss Man Tremaine is alive!”

The cheering seemed to be deafening as people held up their phones and recorded the proceedings. Boss Man Tremaine looked at the spread before him. Lobster tails, shrimp, scallops, and crab adorned the table. He looked at a giant cake with a picture of him holding stacks of cash.

“I thank you all for this. I’m going to enjoy this party, but I’ve gotta focus on business, too!”

A huge “Awww!” rolled over the audience. “I have to pay for this house and those cars, don’t I?” he queried. The crowd sort of dissipated after a huge laugh and the music resumed. A live band played rap jazz. He walked around as others sat down at the table. He dapped and kissed and hugged and brought life to a house that seemed dead. Then he saw her. Les Anne with her husband Farlo Kitchens. They walked among the throngs of people who populated the lower level of the estate. Boss Man Tremaine wondered who invited them. Was this a trick? A ruse? He banished these thoughts and greeted himself as if he didn’t just get picked up from prison by his mistress a few hours ago.

“Boss Man Tremaine,” Kitchens intimated. “So, you’re already back in business, huh?”

“In so many words….”

“Well, if you ever want to join forces with us, you’re free to join our ranks. You’ll keep your title as kingpin. Everything will stay the same except for the increase in money,” Kitchens assured.

“It’s something I’ll think about. Thanks.”

“You remember Les Anne. She was just waiting to see you out in the world.”

“It’s great to see you,” Les Anne managed.

Boss Man Tremaine looked at her as if she had been a distant relative. “It’s so wonderful that you both could make it. I appreciate the support.” He journeyed over to Jocelyn and kissed her cheek.

Then out of the door he flew and selected the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon. He traveled down the boulevards and remembered where the tagged buildings stood. With just a few turns of the steering wheel, he could envision in his mind the reality of the various markings. He met up with his runners.

“Hey, you’re out Boss Man Tremaine!” Toliver Grampton exclaimed. He was eighteen-years-old.

“Yes, I’ve gotta keep you knuckleheads in line while out in these streets,” he reminded him with a smile.

“What is the meaning of these markings? It’s the only meaning I haven’t been able to decipher.”

“This means that kilo is going for 2.”

“Two thousand a ki?”

“That’s right.”

“Goddamn.”

“Yes, if we act now.”

“What is this? An infomercial?”

The graffiti stuck out amongst the crawling weeds and the twisted trees growing up through the concrete.

“Alright, get your money right. I’m out here.”

“I know that’s right. I’ll let you go in the wind. I know you’ve got business out here.”

“Absolutely.” Boss Man Tremaine wheeled around to the next location. He looked at the graffiti and made notes on what it could possibly mean. He deciphered the letters on the wall and then read another inscription that read something plain. A gun and rounds surrounded the words “Killmington, Hellaware.” Still, he continued on the strength that he wouldn’t be held up again by the police and sent back to prison.

He thought about Les Anne and Jacelyn. He held onto his place as a man with two women in his life. No kids, just a wife and a mistress. They considered it, too. As he roamed the streets, he felt the twinges of knowing that he remained out here on his first day out of prison coordinating places to extract product.

He looked down the block and saw Jacelyn’s Lexus with Kitchens. By staying in his car, he gave himself the chance to remain incognito. He saw them head towards the Double Tree to get a room. His room with Les Anne remained open. He parked the G-Class and entered the hotel. He stepped right between the tryst.

“I want you to know that I’m not mad. I had your wife for a long time, too. She put money in my commissary and sent me messages throughout my time behind the wall. I’m not mad. I just wanted to let you know that all of us are in this now, and if either Jackie or Les gets pregnant, the other man will take care of the child in private. We don’t have to worry about saying who pays child support, if it comes to that.”

“Babe, it’s okay. Les Anne is with us, too. We were going to surprise you with the announcement of our first child.”

“Whose?”

“Ours,” Kitchens replied and looked at Jacelyn.

Boss Man Tremaine let out a long sigh.