Page 7 of His Favorite Felon

“Sorry, Junior. I have to go.” He hung up and mouthed, “I love you, baby girl.”

I didn’t realize at the time, but that suitcase would take years from my life and strain my relationship with my dad, whose presence seemed to fade with each step he took as he left me sitting there, still holding the receiver to my ear.

CHAPTER 3

Justice Sr (Slick)

It’d been a month since I last saw and spoke to my baby girl. Lord knows this has been one of the toughest decisions I’d ever made, but I don’t know what else I could have done.

I was in a hurry that morning. I worked for a young guy named Link, who trusted me to handle a drop-off. I was about to do it, but when I looked in the bag and saw half a million dollars worth of drugs, I felt that familiar urge—the one that makes you greedy and reckless.

I transferred everything into a suitcase and only realized too late that I had used one similar to the one I gave to Justice. It wasn’t until I met with my buyer, opened the suitcase, and saw a bunch of girly clothes instead of the drugs I had packed. I called Justice immediately, but she didn’t answer.

I had a contact in Virginia who wanted to pay me for the product I had. He was gon’ pay me two hundred thousand. I was taking less, but that was still good money.

I planned to use that money to re-up in another state. I wanted to sort things out before Justice came back from her trip, so I had two weeks. I wasn’t getting any younger, and working for a young cat who could be my son wasn’t cutting it.

I wish I could go back and make different choices. Had I continued on the right path, my one true love wouldn’t be in prison. Justice was the only one who still believed in me, even after others tried to reveal who I truly was. She only believed in me and trusted what I said.

I had fucked up with my first baby mama, my oldest daughter, Jamie, and with Justice’s momma.

Justice’s mom, Regina, was a beautiful soul, very much like Justice, which haunted me. They were two peas in a pod, too trusting and always wanting to see the best in others. But I learned early on that there are two kinds of people in this world. I was a taker—if I wanted something, I’d work for it, but if doing things the right way took too long, I’d take shortcuts.

My sweet girl and her mother were inexperienced and easy to exploit. They were what the streets considered green; they were easy targets. I suppose you could say I let Justice down. I should have prepared her better, but fear held me back. When I tried to teach Regina about the streets, like the innocent girl she was, she became curious about the city's darker side, and I let her explore it.

We were like Bonnie and Clyde. She rode with me when I had to make drop-offs. She wanted to know who was who, and when I was busy, she started making runs for me. She enjoyed the adrenaline rush she got while cos-playin’ a street runner. By the time I realized it was too late, it was too fuckin’ late.

When I thought I was being smart, moving products faster than all the other runners, I didn’t realize I was losing focus on my woman. It had been months before I noticed she had started using the same drugs we had been profiting from. By the time I realized what was going on, she was poppin’ perc 30’s like there was no tomorrow. It got the best of her, though, because she couldn’t focus on nothing but the drugs.

I couldn’t tell Justice the truth. I couldn’t tell her that I was the one who introduced her mother to my world, and that it was me who caused her to OD.

So now I was forced to be honest. I wanted to tell Junior that I fucked up and that the drugs were mine, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it. I did what I did best. I pretended everything was okay. Justice wasn’t in the streets, so no one would link her to the drugs. She had never been locked up before, so she would get a slap on the wrist and be released in a few years.

But for me… I decided that would be the last time she saw me. She didn’t deserve such a coward for a father. So I did what my father did. I left her to fend for herself. If I couldn’t help her, I’d remove myself from her life. It was the only thing that made sense to me.

Our house was facing foreclosure, so I packed a few bags of clothes and decided to hit the road. I had no plan, so when I got in the car, I just drove.

My phone had been ringing nonstop since I missed my drop-off. Link had been patient during the first two weeks, but now, after four weeks, I knew I was living on borrowed time. I just hoped that whatever was going to happen would only affect me. I didn’t want Justice to be involved, but mentioning her name made me nervous and regretful for making her a Junior.

My phone rang again. The name Link popped up on my screen. Instead of ignoring his call like I usually do, I answered but didn’t say anything.

“Aye, Slick. You know I hate chasing a nigga down for what’s mine, right?”

I said nothing.

“Cat got your tongue, huh?” He paused for a moment. “It sounds like you’re driving. I hope you’re being smart and making your way to me.”

I wanted to tell him all the ways I wasn’t scared of him and how he had me fucked up, but I bit my tongue. Not out of fear for the youngin’, but to keep from angering him. I had to keep my cool for Justice.

I grabbed my phone, disconnected the call, and threw it out the window. I had nothing left for me in the city, so I’d continue to drive until I ended up anywhere but the city.

CHAPTER 4

Officer Legend

JANUARY 24, 2021

“Inmate Jenkins!” My voice boomed through the west wing. I looked through the thick security glass separating me from the inmates. Nearly forty women sat in the open area. Jenkins was the only one not sitting. She placed herself directly in front of the TV. She was looking to cause trouble.