THE NIGHT BIG K DIED
Rain fell over Cocoa like God was trying to wash the city clean of all of its past and present transgressions.
Water rolled down dark streets while police sirens responded, to what may very well be the next cr ime of violence, echoed somewhere far in the distance beyond Dixon Boulevard. Neon lights flickered against puddles outside liquor stores and corner markets where hustlers still moved beneath hooded sweatshirts despite the storm. Peddling some for m of controlled substance or indulging in them.
The streets never stopped.
Not for rain.
Not for funerals.
Not for death.
And especially not for men like Big K. A legendary figure in the City's street.He was by far one of the most feared hustlers in the greater Central Florida area.Coming from a background of pushers.
Inside a waterfront condo overlooking the Indian River, music played softly while cigar smoke drifted through dim lighting. Expensive liquor bottles covered the marble counter beside stacks of cash bundled tightly with rubber bands.
Women laughed somewhere deeper inside the condo. D oing whatever they pleased to enjoy themselves.Cocaine liquor and the rest of the elements of a Fiesta.
A card game continued near the balcony. A couple o f Big K's hitters who never left his side and would do anything for him at the drop of a dime even take a life which was their primary purpose for being in his presence.
But Big K sat alone.
Silent.
Still.
The powerful drug trafficker who once controlled entire sections of Brevard County and other cities throughout Central Florida looked exhausted tonight.
Older than usual. May be this life was taking a toll on him and finally getting back what he owed it.
The streets aged men differently. Contrary to the youth that years in a prison cou ld give you .
Stress. apprehension,suspicion and all of the other defects that came with being a man of power.But the paranoia was what got to him the most ..Not knowing where the bullet that may one day end his life would come from.Who would build up the audacity would it be one of his men?The game is so cold that these days it has no rules.Most of the time the one that is the closest to you is the one that will harbor gain animosity first.
Envy.
Violence.
Sleep deprivation.
Sin.
Everything eventually collected interest. And l ike every interest rate at some point one would have to pay it.
Big K loosened his silk shirt collar slowly while staring through rain-covered windows toward the dark water outside. He thought about his life up until that point, all of the accomplishments that he had made .The money that he had accumulated, the cars and having any woman that he wanted. But what he thought about the most was his Kids he done the best that he could to guide them in the correct path.Being in the streets it was hard especially having two sons.And in the new generation the kids do not what we say but they do what we do..Once he felt that he couldn't keep his son Alexander and Munchy out of the streets he put them under his wing, gave them the game and advised them that if they were going to do anything in life no matter legal or illegal to be the very best at it or next to it.
His breathing felt heavier lately. He had been partyin g a lot since the new cocaine connection that he had established with one of his partners from Palm Beach County's Riviera Beach aka The Raw.
His chest tighter.
But men raised through street culture rarely feared death until it sat directly beside them. And tonight...
Death sat close.
A younger woman walked into the kitchen wearing one of his oversized white shirts. "You okay?" she asked softly.
Big K nodded once without looking at her.
"Yeah."
But it was a lie.
The woman studied him quietly for several seconds.
"You should slow down."
That made him laugh faintly.
Men like Big K never slowed down.
The streets only offered two retirement plans:
Prison. And he was sure to retire to one of them because he had no pla ns of ever giving up the streets.Men like Big K lived by the code created by the wise guys of the Five Family's Omerta the code of silence that had by default extended to the streets through the street players infatuation with Mob figures..Consequently the Code that the men in the streets chose to follow had stipulation.You had some men that followed it to the letter while other only followed it when it was convenient.
Big K felt a constriction in his chest area around his heart ..He grabbed hold to the counter and was about to call out to one of them men that prote cted him before he fell to the hitting his head hard on the marble tile he took two deep breaths past wind and died right there on the floor.