Freaky Deaky

"Yeah, I presented your demands. I'm trying to think of what Mr. Woody said. I think he said, "Oh, really?" Something like that."

He watched Robin draw on her cigarette and blow the smoke out hard and then flick ash.

She said, "Well, obviously the bomb didn't go off."

Donnell didn't say anything.

"If it did it would've been on the news." She drew on her cigarette again.

"We have to trust each other. Look, I know you're cool, okay? So don't overdo it."

"Girl, you the one called the meeting."

"I want to hear you say something, that's all. I want to be sure."

Donnell said, "Wait now. You blow up the man's car knowing I could've been in it, but not caring shit whether I was or not."

She was shaking her head saying, "No, uh-unh," even before he finished.

"I never thought that for a minute."

"You didn't have to think it, you knew it. You send me a bag of dynamite, leave it by the door, and you want to know can you trust me.

I have to think on that one, see if it makes any sense."

He listened to Robin say his name, "Donnell?" with a nice tone, slowing up and looking him in the eye, like to let him know this was from her soul.

"We haven't seen each other in sixteen years. That's a long time, isn't it?"

Donnell said, "Let me get the McKinneys to play something bluesy."

That jerked her line.

"Don't do that. Don't fuck with me, okay? I'm saying it's been a long time, I wasn't thinking of you one way or the other. I wasn't even sure you worked for him. I saw you only once and thought, Is that Donnell? But when I was talking to you on the phone, this morning, I knew. I felt some awfully nice vibes. I wanted to call you right back, really, and say, Hey, let's do this together."

"Except there was a bomb gonna explode. You said to me I'd hear it in about two minutes. Oh, you were angry, I could hear that too."

Robin waited a moment, staring at him.

"It didn't go off, did it?"

"Let me tell you what I feel about this, kind of vibes 7 get," Donnell said.

"A person that sends bombs, they into heavy shit. What I see you doing, you're thinking how you can use me, being on the inside. See, I understand that.

You're not thinking to favor me none 'less it helps you."

"We both make out," Robin said.

"You've been with Woody how long, three years? And you're still driving him around. What else-cleaning up after him? You need somebody on the outside."

"I'm looking at that," Donnell said, "as it happens to fit into my plan. But do I need somebody outside known for making bombs? That's the question I ask myself. What happens the police want to talk to you?"

"They already have. It was all show, nothing to it."

The woman wanting him to think it was nothing. Donnell eased back against the cushion, watching her smoke her cigarette like she was enjoying it.

"They got on you quick, didn't they?"

She said to him, "They use computers now, Donnell."

He didn't care for that shitty tone of voice.

"They feed in names and if you know either one of the Ricks brothers and you happen to have a sheet, there it is.

The cops talked to you, didn't they? What's the difference?"

"Man, we cool, huh?"

She said, "I'm not worried. Are you?"

Donnell put his arms on the table again.

"They talk to Skippy?"

"Skippy's well hidden."

"Bet you thought you were, too, but they come knocking at your door."

Donnell leaned on his arms, getting closer to her.

"I'm gonna tell you something. There's a dude knows what you're doing.

The dude even guessed close to what I'm doing. I mean it was barely in my head what I'm doing and the dude knew it."

She wasn't cool now, unh-unh, staring at him.

"You hear what I'm saying? This dude is on us."

"Who is he?"

"Name Mankowski."

That poked her.

She said, "I know him-he's a cop. " And stubbed her cigarette out, hard.

"Used to be. They suspended his ass, threw him out.

But he keeps coming around like this." Donnell reached across the table, laying the palm of his hand in front of her.

"You know what I'm saying? Comes by with his hand out.

The dude's looking to score."

She was still on the edge of her seat.

"But I met him. He was one of the cops."

"He show you I.D.?"

"I don't remember."

"

"Cause he don't have none."

Confusing the poor woman.

"Then what's he up to?"

"What I'm telling you, girl, the dude's Mr. Shakedown.

Was on their rape squad when they threw him out. And before that, guess what he was?"

You know, at first," Greta said, "he doesn't seem like a bad guy. I mean getting arrested for creating an improper diversion… But here's something else." She turned her head on the pillow to look at Chris.

"You awake?"

"Yeah, I'm reading."

"Anything good?"

"I think I've found it. The part Robin doesn't want anybody to read."

"Go ahead, I'll wait."

"No, tell me about Donnell."

"Well, he and some other Black Panthers…" Greta looked at the sheet resting against her raised knees.