Paying The Cost

It wasn't until early the next morning that Damien had
finally strolled into his home from business. When he entered his
elegant place of residence, he had already knew that Diamond had been
sleep and that Don had finally found peace in his dreams, but when he
walked into the kitchen to find food for their morning meal, he had
saw Lil' D's lanky frame draped in a suit staring out into a view
overlooking the city, smoking a blunt. He had thought to himself, "He
must've inherited the insomnia disease along with me and Don."
He walked slowly toward the balcony with the beautiful view
of the city and opened the door. When Lil' D turned around to see
Damien, a large, youthful smile crept on his face. "Can't sleep?", he
asked softly with a voice full of care.
"Not without my medicine, pops." Lil' D lifted the blunt in
the air to show Damien his so-called medicine and Damien couldn't help
but laugh. Damien held out his hand in greeting and Lil' D took it and
embraced his best friend's father as is he were his own.
When their embrace was broken, Damien asked, "What's going
on, Lil' D?"
Lil' D shook his head and replied, "Nothing I can't
handle, boss."
"That's what I like to hear.", Damien said with a smile as
wide as Lil' D's. He inhaled the smoke into his lungs before passing
the blunt to Damien. Damien gladly took the blunt from his young
protege and laughed, "I don't know how you know I smoked. Very few
people know that."
Lil' D scoffed, "C'mon pops, real smokers know smokers
when they see 'em."
They both laughed as Damien pulled on the blunt and
exhaled the marijuana air. "Ya' know, I have to smoke something before
I could even attempt to sleep. That's the price for the life I lead, I
even passed on the disease of insomnia to my son." He continued to
pull on the marijuana smoke, letting it offer a comfort that no amount
of money could provide. "But you know if I could trade my life in for
a good night's sleep, I wouldn't. I made myself a promise that if I
ever gained a family, I would provide them with a home cooked
breakfast every morning, no matter what I had to do to provide food
for my family, I would do it. So now I have to live with this, the
decisions I made."
Lil' D nodded his head in acknowledgement, "I understand,
pops, and I respect you for it." Damien passed the blunt to Lil' D and
he continued, "I also respect you for making Don wait to be on the
path to take over the throne. I respect that because I see potential
in him too, pops." Lil' D hit the blunt again before continuing. "Alot
actually."
"I know, but it was more than the potential I saw. No
father, no righteous father wants to see his son pass before him, and
in this line of business, it's real easy to lose your life, no matter
how far up the totem pole you are."
"I feel you, pops. I wish my pops thought like you." Lil' D
laughed with Satan's heckle. "Shit, I just wish he was an actual
father to me, instead of abandoning his post, but fuck it though, I'm
eating now ain't I?"
Damien hated seeing the sadness in Lil' D's eyes. It
reminded him too much of his own past. "That you are."
"It wasn't too long ago when I had. nothing, family. Moms
wasn't ever there for me. We lived in the same house a long time when
she was sober." The memories of seeing his mother cracked out on the
living room couch surrounded by other addicts still startled him to
this day. The distant stare in their eyes still haunted him, and
Damien knew it. The stare in Lil' D's eyes were too familiar, and he
hated remembering the times he himself had experienced.
"Word."
Damien wanted to converse about something more present
and more pressing and he knew that Lil' D would have something
pressing to discuss if he had waited all night for him. He grew
curious and wanted to make sure he changed the subject. "So Lil' D,
what pressing matters did you have to bring to my attention?"
Lil' D had so much on his mind that he wanted to address
to Damien that he had forgot that there was a purpose to his visit to
the kingpin's condo. "Yeah, but it ain't nothing I can't handle with
your permission, boss man."
"What's goin' on?"
Lil' D took another hit of the blunt before answering.
"You remember that nigga, Rico over there on 41st in Harlem?" Damien
really couldn't recall the name and it showed on his face. "Yeah you
may not remember Rico, but I know you know about his older brother.
You do remember JuJu, don't you?" The hatred that boiled in the grown
man's eyes gave evidence to Lil' D that he had just reopened a wound
that had begun to scab over. Damien remembered every detail of the
young man who had at one point in time tried to murder his son. He
remembered that moment as though it had happened yesterday. He
remembered his son in tears bursting through the front door,
screaming, "Lil' D just got shot!" It was the first time in a long
time that he had felt like he wasn't untouchable. Had it not been for
Lil' D taking Don's bullet, only the Devil knew what evils would have
taken place. "Well, apparently, Rico got it in his heart that he tired
of you running Harlem. He's still sore about losing his bitch ass
brother, and my little nigga put me on to a plot him and his crew got
cooking up and shit, the way I feel, ain't nobody fucking with my
family, so I wanna handle this shit personally for you, pops. Let me
bring his soul back to you, pops."
Damien was shocked by how commited Lil' D was, but in a
way, he knew that if he would take a bullet for his son, he would take
a life for his family. "How reliable is your source?"
Lil' D caught Damien's dark gaze and answered, "I'd put
my on his info. My little Pablo don't lie. He may do a lot of shit
beyond his age, pop, but he don't lie. One of the realest niggas, word."
Damien nodded his head. "Alright, how you gonna handle it
Young D?"
Lil' D smiled, "Well check this out. Since ya' boy wanna be
a snake ass nigga, I want this suspect ass nigga's own people to turn
their guns around and blaze at him. I want him to feel the pain of
having his homeboys turn on him. I want to see the pain in his eyes
when he realize that he gone leave this earth by himself."
Lil' D smiled while Damien thought to himself, "Look
what the world has turned him into. Young demon." Then at that point,
Damien had Lil' D's new name in mind. "Young Demon." The door behind
Damien had opened to reveal a still sleepy Don. Damien smiled, "I love
the plan, Young Demon. The ruthlessness about it....." His smile grew
wider, inherently proud of his inherited son. "It's sexy, something I
would hav thought myself. I want it taken care of as soon as possible."
Lil' D or now, Young Demon, nodded his head in
acknowledgement and respect. Don rubbed his eyes and watched as his
little brother increase in ranking. Seventeen and Capo status. "I got
you, boss."
Then Damien's evil smile crept on his face, and he was no
longer the loving father figure. He was now the ruthless killer that
New York feared. He had his own malicious plan cooking on the stove in
his brain. "One condition."
Don walked toward the conversation, a move he would regret
later. "What's good, family?"
Damien looked upon Don as though he had looked down on
him, like he wasn't worthy of being in his presence. So in his mind,
he had decided to present his only son a chance to prove himself.
After all, you can't be the King of New York if you have never killed
somebody. "I want my son to go with you." He said with a smile, eyes
analyzing every body movement his son made. He could tell that his son
was truly shocked by the news. He should be. Most kingpins wouldn't
send their sons on the battlefield. That's what seperated him from the
average. Most kingpins climbed to their positions with dilligence and
smarts. Damien climbed to the top by making other kingpins and dons
alike cower in his presence, and Damien would make sure New York
feared Don the same way they feared him. "I want Don to be the one to
place a gem inside of what's his face's heart."
Young Demon looked in Don's eyes to find fear, but he found
none. Don knew that his time to prove himself would come. He knew that
his father would never hand over his throne that easy.
Demon didn't want Don involved. He knew he didn't have a
choice really, but instill he had hoped that the way things were would
last forever. It satisfied Demon just to be Don's best friend and best
soldier, while Don was molded to be a king of diplomatic proportions,
but Demon just guessed that Damien had started from the bottom, he,
himself, had started from the bottom, and Don was to be no exception.
"You wit' that?" Demon asked, hoping he would say "no", knowing he
would say "yes".
Don smiled a malicious smile and replied with venom dripping
from his tongue, "But of course. Anything for the family."
"Good." Damien said with horrible intentions for his enemy.
"I want you two to start on that today, no school. I'll send somebody
to pick up your work and bring your doctor's to your teachers, matter
of fact, I'll just give Diamond the excuses when I drop her off at
school. Demon, I want you to tell Don the plan. Don, take the lowkey
car, take a trip to The Armory out there in Southside Queens, and ask
for the rasta, Banks. I'm uh call ahead and tell him to expect you.
While you guys are preparing yourselves, Demon, I want you to call up
your people and assemble yourselves before setting up Rico. I have
some more business I want you two to come speak to me about after this
is handle." Diamond watched from outside of the clear door and with
her big brown eyes, she watched her brother becoming a man, and the
fear in her eyes reflected back in her vision. The two young men
nodded their heads and Damien added, "And son." Don looked in his
father's eyes with questioning eyes that reminded Damien of the time
when he was just five years old and he had asked his father what he
had done for living. He had never lied to his son, but he didn't tell
him the whole truth either. Now, as Don stood as a man, he was about
to learn the whole truth about what his father had done. His father
had ushered his son to come closer to him. Don's steps were heavy,
cherishing the moment where he was to gain his father's respect.
Demon shook his head and looked into Diamond's eyes with
sorrow. They were both connected by the same pain of knowing that Don
was to become a full fledged killer in mere moments and there was
nothing they could do about it. He smirked, hoping his smile could
ease her pain. Seeing her eyes roll made him shake his own head and
look down at the ground. He thought to himself, "I didn't take a
bullet for him so he could take one later."
He licked his dry lips as the prince came in arm's reach
of the king. Damien reached out and placed his hand on his son's
shoulder. He looked deep into Don's eyes, and told him simply, "Make
me proud, son."
Don nodded his head, and his head fell to the balcony
floor. Damien had picked his head up with his index finger and looked
deep into his son's eyes and he found his son's mission was clear.
Demon couldn't do nothing but look and think to himself, "This isn't
right."