Page 40 of Tav
“Sorry, what were you saying?”
Pixie’s inhale of breath is the first thing to alert me that something isn’t right. Well, another thing in this whole weird scene.
“I was asking if you grew up here,” Chewy smiles encouragingly.
He shakes his head as if trying to clear his mind, “Oh, um, yeah. Fuck, was there something in this coffee?” He frowns down at his cup.
There’s a grumbling noise but this time it isn’t coming from Rhodie, it’s coming from his big brother who is trying to hide the pissed look on his face.
“What’s wrong, Officer? Is the coffee not agreeing with you? Maybe you have a sensitive stomach? I tested it myself and it was fine.” Pops picks up the cup and takes a big gulp before slamming it on the table with a big “ahhhh.”
Dickwad looks at his cup for a moment before his eyes roll back and he flops forward, face planting into the table with a thud.
“That worked a lot quicker than I thought it would,” Chewy muses, “How much did you put in?”
“A double dose. I didn’t know how long everyone would act normally for,” Pops answers her, shoving Officer Dickwad’s shoulder. We watch as he melts off the table onto the floor.
“What in the fuck do you two think you’re doing? What about ‘no torture and no murder’ do you not understand?” Marx roars, hands on hips, towering over my grandfather and sister.
“Look kid, I’m off that fucker. I keep seeing his ugly ass face all over the place and I’m over it.” Pops takes another swig of Dickwad’s coffee, swishing it around his mouth a little.
“Ah, Pops, should you be drinking that?” Judge asks, looking concerned.
“Nah, it’s fine. I’m used to this stuff. It won’t knock me out, but it will definitely give me a chill vibe as the youth say.,” He winks as if he hasn’t just told us that somehow he’s immune to being roofied.
Pixie’s eyes have been darting back and forth, taking in the scene. She leans into me, her lips brushing against my ear. “Marx wasn’t joking, was he?”
I pull back, my brows pinched, trying to figure out what she means, “Joking about what?”
Her big, dark eyes bore into mine. “About the torture and murder. Chewy and Pops aren’t, um, ‘normal’, are they?”
A laugh bursts out of me at her wording. “No Pixie, not at all.”
Blanche
I watch as the brothers all talk amongst themselves, probably waiting for Marx’s orders. He’s pinching the bridge of his nose and I’m pretty sure he’s doing the same breathing exercises I’ve noticed Tav’s brother doing. Before Marx can even find the words, the door opens again. “Shit, what now?” he grumbles, turning to the doorway.
My head swings in the same direction, waiting for the next whackadoo thing to happen. When Pops led Officer Martin intothe common room I almost died.
“Just us!” Ana coos, holding hands with Gus, “And look who we found!”
A beautiful older black woman walks in behind them, her hair in intricate braids piled on top of her head. She’s in a power suit type thing, but instead of black, it’s a lovely purple color.
“Hello my favorite- oh hell no! What about ‘stay out of trouble’ do you all not understand? Why the hell is there an unconscious officer on the floor of your clubhouse, Marx!” she says, with all the sass of a pissed-off mother.
“Hey Momma,” Wire says, walking to the beautiful woman and dropping a kiss on her cheek.
“Hey baby,” she replies, before hitting Marx with the death stare.
Chewy holds her hand up like she’s in class. “It wasn’t him, it was me and Pops.”
The woman’s head snaps toward Pops. If the feeling of your balls shriveling up into your body had a human form, it would look a lot like Pops right now.
“Sidney Tombs! What did I tell you?”
“To stay out of trouble,” Pops mumbles.
“So what’s this?” She indicates toward one of Rose Grove’s finest, out cold on the floor.