Revelations of a Drug Lord

Characters Andre’ Brown (Dre’ Slay) Andre’ was known to his friends as Dre; to his enemies, he was known as a cold blooded killer and local drug lord; Dre’ Slay. André was pulled into the world of money which he inherited from the block. He was holding down territory and lived for the war for new territory; ultimately giving him, power.

Accompanied by money and power he kept a feared and respected hand, cover with the blood and tears of his rival victims. He was like a walking crypt keeper; the owner of death…Lucifer in the flesh. His heart only felt a twinge of love and that was for the two people who walked the shadow of death with him, Rashida and Darius.

André stood a towering 6ft 7 inches. He was flawless, with impeccable chocolate skin and deep dark alluring eyes cultivated by black, thick, arched eyebrows and his goatee gave a beauty that was deceiving.

Rashida Clemons Rashida could be and has been mistaken for the tomboy of the crew. Her curvaceous body, was camouflaged by baggy jeans. Loose hooded sweatshirts masked her round perky breasts. She had a rough edge and could roll with some of the toughest, lead an army of savages, employing in them, "kill or be killed" and she had no quorum about being the deliverer of death.

As a child, Rashida was always left to fend for herself, left to protect herself and she carried this trait into her adulthood. A survivor as well as a warrior, Rashida formed a bond with Andre as a pre-teen. She joined one battle in André’s defense and they created a bond that no one but she, he and Darius understood.

Darius Rogers One would never know that the son of a preacher would amount to what Darius has become. The church and his father’s roll never rested well in the heart of Darius. His father’s short comings as a man of the cloth and as a husband caused Darius to see his father as a hypocrite, therefore, straying from the church. To him the temple of God, was used as a way to manipulate and control the earnings of its members. Darius deterred from the predominant roll of a preacher’s son, and respectable, straight laced youth of the community to join

the block huggers in search of people he could paste together to make a family.

Darius was placed into numerous detention centers and this is where the bond between Darius and Andre began.

The smaller of the two, Darius was swift and quick with his hands. He was constantly thinking, evaluating others. His smarts and quick hands complimented the devious mind of Darius. Andre, Rashida and Darius formed a crew of their own called, Revelations, the foreseers of everyone’s demise; but their own.

REVELATIONS OF A DRUG LORD Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. ~Psalms 34:14 Please forgive me and give me a new heart. Amen."

"The sinner's prayer" is ... Peter did not tell him to ask God to forgive him for all his sins and to ...

Can a man take fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned? ~Proverbs 6:27

“Here lies a young man whose fate was determined by man. I ask his friends, is this the way you want your life to be?” Reverend Uphill spoke these very words at every young man’s funeral whose death was a circumstance of street violence. “When will you see, that the path to righteousness is the path that the Lord has set forth through the church?”

Darius turned to Andre and smirked. Although the man standing at the pulpit garbed in a satin, gold and purple robe was not his father, Darius saw them all as the same, liars and deceivers. He believed in the street’s code. In his eyes the streets were plain and simple and in black and white. Take it or leave it. He decided long ago that he would take it, embrace it, live and bask in it. He reaped from this life and reward was all he sought after. Could the church give him the finances he need to push that 2014 Mercedes Benz C-Class? No. Could the church give him the finances to afford the 22 inch chain with canary yellow diamonds that swung at his midsection? No. That’s all Darius cared about; living the life of the hood-rich and feared. Not once did he care about being respected.

“I ask the youth to take the time out to consider a better path to take in life. Michael Trench would want that. We pray that before he was taken from us, he asked God for forgiveness and welcomed him into his heart, so that he may reap the rewards of heaven.”

Rev. Uphill stood in silence saying a private, but quick prayer for Michael.

“We will take this time to pay our last respects to Michael Trench. Please allow the family their time to say their goodbyes.”

Rev. Uphill raised his hands, gesturing to the family to stand, then stood back from the pulpit and rested in his chair.

"My baby! Lord, God why? He was a good boy. He never hurt nobody…why Lord?

He never done nuttin’ wrong!"

Darius leaned in towards Rashida and whispered. “The hell he didn’t. That niggah

know he was dead wrong for skimming’ off our product. One thing I know is that niggah reaped what he sowed. I aint hear preacher man say that.”

Rashida clenched Darius’ hand. Granted, the only time she stepped in a church was to attend a funeral, she knew that Darius was being disrespectful.

After the family viewed the body, Dre' gave the signal. They had their own purpose for attending the funeral. Michael’s twin brother Martin was said to have the money that Michael made off of The Revelation’s product. He’d been laying low ever since Rashida put a bullet in his twin. The only chance they had to get what belonged to them was to catch Martin at the wake. Martin was the last person in the family to view Michael’s body. Rashida’s attire wasn’t any different from the other women in attendance. She wore black pants, a black blouse and a long black trench coat. The trench hid the two glock 9’s that rested in the wait of her slacks.

Rashida hurried to the front of St Mark’s Baptist Church to catch Martin before he sat with his family. She tugged at the twin’s shirt. Martin turned to hug the assumed mourner. When he saw that the woman he was about to hug was Rashida, his body stiffened.“That’s right Marty, play the part.”

Marty kissed her on the cheek. Rashida wrapped one arm around him as she dug the glock into his side with the other; none the wiser. She leaned in and whispered. "You know why we are here. Where is the dough?”

Martin already came to the conclusion that he was a dead man anyway. Never before has Darius let anyone live to tell they got over on him. He decided to go out like a “G”. “Listen pretty lady! You are a lady, right?”

Rashida shoved the gun deeper into his side. “Don’t mess with me, Martin. See your mom sitting over there with you and your brother’s twins beside her? Don’t let me bed you next to your brother, in here. Kill the jokes and kick up our money” Marty chuckled as he looked over his shoulder.

“You think that I care about lying next to my brother? We came in this world a few hours apart, we can go out one after the other. You know what Revelations and you can do for me!”

Marty pushed Rashida away revealing the gun in her hand. Gasps of surprise filled the room, plaguing the silence. Martin’s mother rose to save her last son’s life.

Rashida aimed the gun for Martin’s mother.

“You think you wanna fill me in on where it is now?”

Martin’s mother ignored the gun that was pointed to her head.

“Chil', you are in the house of the Lord. You must know that? Whatever you are

going through that brought you to this point can be rectified in the eyes of the Lord.

He is a forgiving God and a merciful God. Let my son live to repent for the wrong he has done you. Taking his life will not solve this. Pray to our Lord, ask him to come in to your heart chil’. Your days are numbered. You need to live and bask in the love of God, rejoice in his name. Only he can take you out of this miserable life you are leading. You need salvation chil’. Only then will you be at peace. Now put the gun down, baby. You don’t want to harm me or my son.”

Martin's mother's words penetrated through her soul. Her logic seemed to be spoken so clear, as if it was that simple. Martin's mother's face transformed into the image of Rashida's grandmother, who was just as wise and God loving.

Rashida avoided her eyes. They spoke of no hate, even for the vile act that was taking place. The church was silent.

“Martin?”

Tears rolled down Martin’s face. He refused to speak. Rashida looked over at Andre whose patience was growing thin. She knew to carry out his wishes or be viewed as weak. She cocked the gun and asked again.

“You’re toying with my patience, Marty. Where is the money?”

Martin laughed. Rashid re-aimed the gun at Martin and pulled the trigger. His body laid before his mother. The twin’s mother held her dying son in her arms. She looked up at Rashida.

“Lord forgive her, she does not know what she has done. Have mercy on her Lord, she is just a chil’.”

Rashida stood frozen for a second. She couldn’t fathom that this woman asked for her to be forgiven for killing her son. Darius ran to the front of the church to rescue Rashida. She stood with the gun aimed at the attendees.

“Come on Shida, we gotta go!”

Darius dragged her from the front and made way out the door they came in. She still held the gun up to the crowd. For the first time in her life, she was affected by taking the life of another, although she lived by the street code kill or be killed. # Malik sat on the hood of an abandoned car, with his brother Lenox. "This is the last time I'mma let Henry disrespect Momma!"

Tears of frustration ran down his face. Lennox on the other hand didn't understand

how easily Malik could shed tears for a woman that barely fed or clothed them.

Malik was the elder of the two, he was about to turn thirteen, but Lennox was aged well beyond the ten years he lived. His heart was cold to his mother; he felt no sympathy for the woman who gave him life.

"Man, you are one soft punk. Here we are sitting out here because Henry put us out and all you can think about is Henry hitting her? You need to think about how we're gonna eat."

Malik tried to remember what his father taught him through a letter he received the other day.

Luke 6:37 Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

As he shut his eyes, Malik repeated this over and over again in his head.

Dennis "Shut 'em Down" Watson, was once a cold blooded murderer. He was a legend in the streets. Shut'em Down went from the grim reaper to preacher, after serving ten years for killing his own father in a heated argument. Shut'em Down hadn't been a part of either of his children's lives until he became an ordained minister. Ever since then he wrote Malik and Lennox with hopes of sending a message stronger than the message the streets gave his sons; the teachings and the word of God. "Lennox, Daddy just wrote me the other day and he told me to always remember, to forgive and we will be forgiven."

Lennox laughed wickedly. "Forgive? Forgive who? Man, you must be crazy! Keep believing that crap you get in them jail letters. That man, thinks there's a place called heaven? If he was so smart, why is he in jail and not here saving momma?"

Lennox waited for Malik's reply."Yeah, thought so."

Malik wished there was a way he could reach his little brother. He felt him slipping away from his guidance. Little did he know Lennox wished the same thing. Lennox slid off the hood of the car and headed across the street to the corner store. "Yo, L, where you going? Henry told us to stay put till he calls us." Malik shook his head and continued to the bodega. Anytime Lennox and Malik stepfather beat their mother or wanted to control their mom he made them wait outside the building until he was finished. Malik believed that God would soon answer his prayers about keeping his mother safe. He knew things happened for a reason and that God had everyone's life mapped out. His first obligation was to keep his baby brother out of trouble until that day came.

"Let me get a bogey."

Lennox stood in front of the counter with his fitted Yankees cap pulled over his eyes and his hands inside his jacket. Alzar; the owner of the store stared down at Lennox.

"Lenn, you mother warned me about you antics. You no get cigarettes here! Now, go!"

Lennox looked down at his hand balled up inside his pocket with his finger pointed out. "I said, give me a bogey. I aint trying to hear your mouth today Zar! Give me a damn bogey." The more Lennox spoke the further he pushed out his finger. Zar finally caught on to the message Lennox was sending.

"Look, Lenn, you mother nice lady. You no want no trouble from me! Turn around and go home. I warn you." Alzar's face grew angry. He was always nice to Lennox and his brother. He knew Lennox was trying his patience. "You always the bad one.

Not like Malik. You gonna be the death of your mother. She no have to put up with you and you badness."

The look in Lennox's eyes had Alzar wondering if Lennox was bold enough to test him. Everyone knew Alzar was a no nonsense man. Although he studied regularly, he was not to be played for a fool.

"I'm telling you Zar, you don't wanna get on my nerves. Give me the damn bogey or I'll..." Lennox started to raise his hands out of his pocket, his eyes spoke of nothing but hate.

"Don't move Len." Lennox ignored the warning and before he could fully pull his hand out Zar pulled his piece, cocked back and shot him in the chest, just as Malik opened the bodega's door. BOOM! Lennox's small frame fell back into the potato chip display sending the rack as well as his body to the floor.

"NO!!!!"

Malik ran to his brother’s body. Lennox's hands rested at his side revealing nothing but two silver coins and the hands of a young child.

"Why'd you do it Alzar? Why?" Alzar stood frozen, lost for words. He thought Lennox was trying to rob him. "Hold on Lennox. Hold on!" Malik looked up at Alzar who was still holding the gun in his

hand.

"Call an ambulance man! What you standing there like that for? My brother needs help or he's gonna die!" Alzar heard nothing. Malik rose from his brother's side and ran to the counter. He tried to open the side door leading to the other side of the counter in search of the phone but Alzar raised the gun again and shot Malik. His body was thrown into the isle. Neighborhood kids ran to the store's window and saw Lennox laid in a pool of blood. Within in minutes sirens blared in the mid-day air.

Alzar realized that he shot two young boys as he dropped the gun to the floor.

"What have I done? Merciful Allah, what have I done?"