When It All Falls Down 3 - Somebody is Gonna Die: A Chicago Hood Drama (A Hustler's Lady) by Tamicka Higgins Page B

still wished that she had clothing to put on, but she figured that wouldn’t be the kind of thing she could ask for and honestly get.
                  Frank, Tramar’s father, woke up and looked at his wife. He could still feel pain in different parts of his body, as well as one of his eyes was swollen shut. “What was that?” he asked, speaking weakly.
                  “They comin’ back,” Vivica said. “They just walked in the door.”
                  Before Vivica could go on, she heard the footsteps getting closer and closer to the bedroom door. Then, there was the sound of keys jiggling. That was a sound that now terrified her because it meant that somebody – who, she did not know – was coming back into the room. She quickly held her husband tightly as the doorknob turned and the door opened.
                  Vivica looked into the eyes of Knight and Juan as they walked into the room with White Castles. They tossed the bags at them onto the table. “There’s dinner,” Juan said. “He ain’t say we had to get you nothin’, but we figured we would since he ain’t get you enough food for us to give you nothin’ tonight.”
                  Vivica maintained eye contact as she reached forward and snatched the bag. “Thank you,” she said, opening the bag and seeing that there was enough food inside for both of them. “Thank you very much.”
                  “You welcome,” Juan said, backing out of the bedroom.
                  As Vivica watched Juan back out of the room, something told her that maybe he was the one out of the three men that she could talk to. As farfetched as it seemed, she got a vibe that maybe he wasn’t all bad. Sure, he was certainly in the wrong line of work. However, he had thought enough to stop and get them some food when the man in charge, whose name Vivica still did not know, hadn’t made sure there would be enough.              
                  “Wait a minute,” Vivica said, catching the two men’s attention as they stepped out into the hallway. “What is going on? Why are we here? How long are we going to be here?”
                  Juan, who was feeling somewhat resentful toward Byron because of how he talked to him and never shared any women, began to feel a little more open to talking. “I don’t know,” he said. “That nigga don’t tell us shit but what to do day to day.”
                  “And why?” Vivica asked. “Why are you doing this for him then? Why?”
                  Juan looked at Knight. The two of them knew that with their felony convictions, their employment prospects were rather limited. The money that Byron was paying them was not only tax free, but it was also far more than they’d make working at any job across Chicago. Juan shrugged. “Shit, lady,” he explained. “Just like you, we get up and go to work every day. This is just what we do for a living. I couldn’t get into college and stuff like you and your husband here, so this is what I do. Plus, when you get into trouble when you young, and live in a world that don’t give second chances, this is what happens.”
                  Vivica, who quickly recalled her days of working with at-risk youth around Chicago, felt some sort of compassion. While his reasoning certainly didn’t excuse the magnitude of what was going on – kidnapping and holding one against his or her will – she had heard these kinds of stories far too often, especially from inner city youth in the streets of Chicago.
                  “Look,” Vivica said, feeling like maybe she could reason with this young man. “I can make you a deal.”
                  Juan looked at Knight. The two were intrigued to hear what she had to say. The both of them were tired of being Byron’s puppets and not really getting much in terms of a