Page 60 of Here Comes the Judge

“Well, bless your heart. Leave me the hell alone about this shit, all right? If you don’t, you’re going to mess it up for your son. When Pete asks why Uncle Jude don’t come ’round no more, make sure you tell him the truth: ’Cause I’m a fuckin’ whore, son, and I tried to blow your uncle.”

“I’ve seen how you look at me, Judge, with those intense, beautiful eyes of yours…Come on, now. Just one time. I bet you’ve been curious.”

“I’ve never thought about you that way a day in my life, may God strike me dead. You’re the mother of my nephew! Jesus Christ!” He spun around, in disbelief that she really thought she may have a chance. “I may be the chief demon of Hell, like my ex enjoyed calling me when she was angry, but there are just some lows I won’t sink to. Oh, and uh, not that it matters, but Cain said you were a lazy lay. You just lie there like a dead deer. Trust me, if I wasn’t turned off by you bein’ practically my sister, or I didn’t have my own woman to help satisfy my needs, that right there would seal the damn deal. You can’t get nothin’ outta me but a ‘How do ya damn do.’”

She dramatically rolled her eyes and sucked her teeth. “Jude, I know darn well Cain didn’t say that.”

“Yes he did. He was drunk and complainin’ about y’alls relationship. You know what they say, ‘Liquor makes the truth run quicker.’”…He said your pussy was dry sometimes too, but that might be more a reflection of his bedroom skills versus anything you’re doin’ wrong. I didn’t give it much thought at the time. If I were fellin’ petty, I’d slip in that detail too, start callin’ you, Sandpaper Sherry.

“You’re more of an asshole than Cain ever hoped to be. Just forget it. I was doingyoua favor.”

“The only thing you can do for me is put on some deodorant. The upwind got a hold of you a second ago. You been sautéing liver and onions under your pits, tonight? Ain’t even invite me in for a plate. How rude!” He chuckled, teasing her to finally get her to walk off.

“Piece of shit!” Sherry stormed away, slamming the front door behind her.

Pete wasn’t even home yet, much to his dismay. He wanted to speak to him about school, and hand him a little money. He took a deep breath, pulled out a different phone than he had earlier, and made a call.

“Kash. It’s time.”

“I got you.”

“I need you to call your cousin, and push the ‘GO’ button on the other thing we discussed, too…” Kash’s cousin, Yashawn, better known as King Boogie, was a top dog in the Nashville chapter of the Gangster Disciples. He also was incarcerated in the same prison as Cain. God sure worked in mysterious ways. Jude needed to get deep inside that place, some way, somehow. Kash happened to have several friends in the organization, one of whom was a high-ranking member he’d grown up with and wasn’t presently incarcerated.One in the joint. One out. Perfect. I can work both sides.This guy could put things in motion, and Jude needed a bit of his time.

“Done.” Kash put him on hold, and a few moments later, a deep, husky voice was on the three-way. “Sup, El Money.”

“Sup, Kash. I understand the Judge is on the phone.” The man snickered. Both of their reputations preceded them.

“Hey, El Money. Yeah, it’s Judge. Hope everything is good with you.”

“I’m good.”

“Best news I’ve heard all day. Look, I’ll cut right to the chase. I got a bit of a situation.” Jude stepped off the porch and made his way farther into the front yard. “There’s some MS-13s tryna shake down my brother, Cain. They put the squeeze on him, and he didn’t fare so well.”

“Yeah, I heard about that shit,” he said. “Cain ain’t so tough without them guns, huh? Crazy ass White boy can shoot his ass off I heard, take down a mothafucka from a football field away, but got flattened by a couple 13s. Hemmed up. They say that mothafucka got molly-whopped, man. Seasoned like a steak.”

“Yeah, that about sums it up. Understand though, the guy who initiated it is a trained fighter, and the one who joined in on the fun was just as bad. Cain didn’t stand a chance. It’s a miracle he’s even still breathin’.”

“That’s fucked up. But what does this have to do with me? What do you want?”

“I already owe them a favor, if you will, for something they went and done to a friend of mine. Poor old timer is still recovering.”

“Word on the curb is that you iced three mothafuckas.”

“The beat on the street is that they tried to steal from me, and got served.”

“Ahhh. Uh huh… I see. I knew there was more to it.”

“Now, they’ve played with my blood. I’m done playin’ though.”

“Why don’t you get them White boys to handle ’em? Aryan Nation? We not down with the MS-13s, but still.”

“I can’t abide by their ideology. I’ll be mixed up in their politics, my name tied to it. My mama raised me better than that.” Judge smirked. “They’ll want something I’m not willing to give.”

“His ol’ lady Black, man. He not about to get wrapped up in that shit. Plus, Judge got too many Black friends, period, to be fuckin’ with them boys,” Kash interjected. Jude recalled when Kash had popped up the other day to drop off some money, and saw Iris sitting on the couch, eating ice-cream, wearing nothing but his robe.

“Good Black pussy will always make us turn a blind eye, huh?” El Money quipped. “You like to dip yo’ white pen in that ink. Write a mothafuckin’ love letter. I got it. Understood. All right. What’s up, chief?”

“I’m ready to get down to business. That three course meal I prepared for them will have to serve as an appetizer because they came back for more. Treated it like a taste test. Here’s what I need… Take care of the two gentlemen in that hoosegow who decided to help themselves to my brother.”

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