Every Man a Menace Read Online Free PDF Page B

Shadrack. “For one thing, you can stop being a slave. Stop acting like this man, this King Arthur, is your God Jesus. You know: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yes sir, Arthur, sir .” He paused, shook his head. “You could run away, right now, never see the man again. Let me ask you something straight up, no bullshit. How much is he paying you?”
    “He’s not paying me anything,” Raymond said. “You know, down the road, another job, that kind of shit.”
    “You believe him, John?” asked Shadrack.
    “Don’t know, don’t know the man. Don’t know Arthur either, hard to say,” John said.
    “Well, I do know Arthur,” said Shadrack. “I been knowing him. He ain’t the type to send a man to do a job and not pay him. How much is he paying you?”
    “Twenty,” said Raymond. “If it all goes through.”
    “He tell you they planning on ripping me off?”
    “That ain’t Arthur’s way,” Raymond said. Everything was moving too fast. “Respectfully,” he added, “I don’t know this man.” He pointed at John. “I don’t talk business in front of someone I don’t know.”
    “Again, boy, you missing the damn point,” said Shadrack. “John here, he belongs. You don’t. You can say anything in front of him. He’s my partner. Now listen: if Arthur is paying you twenty—and that sounds about right—but if he is, I can pay you a lot more than that.”
    “For what?”
    “For letting us know how he’s gonna do it.”
    “You’re paranoid,” said Raymond. “We gotta stay on track, man. The ship’s sailed.”
    “Gloria already told us that,” said Shadrack, dropping his head like he was disappointed.
    Raymond felt outmatched. The air smelled stale.
    “Listen,” Raymond said. “I’ve been doing this kinda shit for a while. I know how things go. I’m gonna ask you one time: Can we work together? Get this job done? Make sure it goes smoothly? I’m not here to play games. Let’s stop all that. Nobody’s gonna rip nobody off. You gonna get your shit, like always. That’s it. Can we just slow down? You keep doing you, but just be a little more normal? I’ll get paid my little chunk of change. You’ll get paid. Arthur’s happy, everybody’s happy?”
    “I told you he was wise,” said Shadrack.
    “You sure did,” said John.
    “That’s your word? Nobody ripping nobody off?” said Shadrack.
    “That’s my word,” Raymond said.
    “So, when you do hear that they’re gonna rip me off, you’ll at least listen to my offer?” asked Shadrack. The smile was gone. His face was deadly serious.
    Raymond looked at John: he was staring at the floor, holding his eyebrows up, looking like he was contemplating an answer of his own. A clock ticked somewhere in the room.
    “If that happens, I’ll hear you out,” Raymond said.
    Shadrack snapped and pointed his finger at John like a gun. “He sings in seven tones, and feels as much as you,” hesaid. “Feels it right in his chest. He’s filled up with feelings. He’s filled up like a poet in a love story.”
    They took Raymond along with them that day. They rode in John’s car, a black SUV. John drove, and Shadrack sat in front, with Raymond in back. They took Silver Avenue over to Palou, crossed Third Street, and headed up the hill to Hunters Point.
    When they got to Harbor Road, they told Raymond to wait. He watched them walk to an old, flat, two-story housing project with a group of teenagers standing in front. John talked to them briefly before the door opened. The streets were quiet. Laundry hanging on a line between two buildings flapped in the wind. Trash blew here and there.
    When they came back, Shadrack said, “Goddamn, she got him on a tight line, though.”
    “It is what it is,” said John.
    They went to Oakland next. John drove the speed limit, stopping at every stop sign. He held the wheel with both hands and kept his eye on the rearview mirror. He was a professional. In Chinatown, an Asian man stood waiting on the corner of Seventh and