The Godfather of Roxbury

“I should go.” said the woman. 

She looked to be in her early 30s. She was tall and slim but she wasn’t petite in the places where it really counted, if you know what I mean. She looked foreign but it was hard to place her race and ethnicity at first glance. Plus she had a bit of an accent so there was no doubt that she wasn’t from America. Also she was wearing a lime colored peacoat with aqua colored leather gloves.

“You gon leave without giving me a hug? Come on, you know that’s foul.” Said a guy of average height, wearing gray joggers and a red beanie.

“Screw this bum, where’s my hug?” Said a bigger boned guy wearing a black quilted North Face. 

“Please. I gotta flight to catch tomorrow let me-” 

“Where are you going now then? Wherever it is I can walk you there.” Said the last guy who was wearing a purple t-shirt that read “Bratz” and had all of the main crew on it including Yasmin, Cloe, and…well I’m not gonna name anymore because I’m already risking losing my street cred by knowing the first two. Anywho, this final guy was short but not quite a midget. Still, his friends probably called him such to mess with him. Also it was a wonder he wasn’t shivering because this was Roxbury in the later half of fall.

“We can walk you there” said the guy with the red beanie as he pushed himself in front of the rest of his crew to be face to face with the woman.

“I’m…fine thank you” 

The guy in the red beanie cleared his throat and spoke once again. “I don’t know about these two, but this isn’t gonna play out how you’d like for it to.”

***

“I make her ass scream and holla, like rock bands

I'm a beast, I'm off the leash

I am rich like a bitch

On my pro-active shit

Pop that pussy like a zit

I go by the name Lil Tunechi

Your girl is a groupie

And nigga, you's a square

And I would twist you like a rubix”

I was in the intersection blastin the explicit version of “Pop That” by French Montana featuring Rick Ross, Drake, and Lil Wayne. No one to tell me I can’t listen to worldly music. No one to say I’m going to hell for enjoying it. No one to tell me I should get a coupe and sell my motorcycle because bikes are too dangerous. I get to live by my own rules. Adulting at its best. A few moments later the light turned green and I was the first to drive out.

I ended up on the highway by accident. It took me 25ish minutes before I saw pedestrians again. Or at least I think it was that long. I wasn’t really counting. I was trying to figure out where I was really. Though this nomad lifestyle had its perks there were some pretty major downsides too. For one, though public transportation was much slower, the bus drivers and train conductors had routes they knew and streamlined maps for the passengers. Thus, everyone knew where they were going. Unless, they weren’t from the city. But even then it wouldn’t be too hard for outsiders to learn. The second downside to being a nomad is that I had no reliable place to go to to sleep and eat.

I couldn’t go home cause my family recently disowned me. No point in trying to explain why though because it's a long story. I’ll just say it was for creative differences. Also, I couldn’t buy food at the moment because I had no money. If I wanted work I’d have to probably do vigilante work because the whole city probably knows my face by now. My opps probably have all their heads on swivels looking for me. That’s why I’m wearing these reading glasses where I poked out the lenses. If glasses worked for Superman maybe they could work for me. Still, I needed some dough quick. I was a starvin child (even though I was 18). But I needed to stay lowkey. Or die trying. Hopefully without the dying part.

I drove by a park I knew. It looked like the one I used to go to occasionally near an afterschool program some of my elementary peers went too. And if that’s where I was then Burger King shouldn’t be too far. Maybe I could see if they could give me a Whopper for free.99. If not, since I’m infamous maybe I could scare them into giving me some free food. No…that’s not the kind of person I was. Whatever the case, I figured I’d figure it all out once I got there. I saw a long road with a bunch of two story houses on each side. Along those houses, only a few people were outside. Mostly white people jogging or walking their dogs. I saw one man pissing on one of the walls of one of the houses. But that’s none of my business. Then after maybe 5 minutes I ended up on another highway. Fuck!

I finally found someplace where I knew exactly where I was. I was in the area near Roxbury Crossing on the Orange Line. This was near John D. O’Bryant, the highschool I graduated from. I def wasn’t going to stop there to make a visit. Fuck that. Too many bad memories. But I knew there was a Dominoes nearby. So that’s where I was headed. I ended up at the intersection. Thoughts of pizza flooded my mind. What would I get? Meatlovers, Buffalo Chicken and Ranch, better yet what about Hawaiian? 

The light was taking so long to change. Then I saw a woman waving at me in the area in front of the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center. Matter of fact it was a man. Or maybe not. Idk, all I know is that the person had a patchy beard and was wearing an accentuating orange sundress. I was not trying to see any of that. I tried to ignore that individual because now come to think of it they looked a little homeless or addicted to crack. Maybe both. Either way I had enough of interacting with folks like that in the neighborhood I grew up in. I was Gucci. Then the person said-

“Yo! You’re the guy who killed that cop right? James Senju right!”

I kid you not. Everyone who was around us, be it drivers with their windows open or pedestrians, or even normal highschoolers hanging out in the area, broke their necks to look at me. So, left with no choice I said -

“You got the wrong guy”. Then fortunately the light changed and I left this dude, er I mean person, high and dry. 

Well that last part is half cap. I actually drove all the way around the buildings connected to Reggie Lewis and had a little stakeout from a distance and the person was still there. I waited until barely anyone was around and I drove back to where I’d first seen the guy and pulled over.

“Yo! You called me earlier?” I said.

“James, oh I’d hoped you’d return. I -”

“Yo you can’t just be calling my government like that. You tryna get me capped?” I said with some bark in my voice which surprised both of us tbh.

“Sir. I just wanted to say that my client was wondering, if you’d possibly, might consider-”

“Dude I ain’t got all day!”

“Would you like to do a job? It pays I promise!”

Jackpot. Maybe doing things like this was how I was gonna make an honest living from now on. I calmed down and said in response-

“Oh, who’s you boss then?”

***

“Having the super ability to stretch your limbs longer than an average human doesn’t mean you deserve a high value man.” said the host whose back was turned to me. All I could really see was that he was dark skinned, wore a black turban on his head, and he was wearing a formal gray full piece suit. I knew the man even before I saw his face.

“I’m not saying that! I’m just saying it makes me unique compared to most other women. And what I’ve been able to accomplish due this trait…and my particular circumstances…I think it is one of the many reasons that I am a prize for any potential partner” the caller on the line said.

“In other words, you bring nothing to the table and believe you are the table. Listen m’am I don’t have enough time on tonight’s show to informally diagnose the mental issues you have. Besides, I'm not a psychologist. I’m many things but not that. You are delusional and you are wasting my time. If you really need me to point you in the right direction, book a session.”

The host dropped the caller’s call.

“And that’s tonight’s show. Remember, to tune in next week to get a chance to speak on the show. Hopefully we won’t have to encounter any nutcases next time”.

The host closed his laptop and then spun around in his chair. He looked me dead in the eye. I wanted to strangle him.

“James! Ah yes! Well I don’t have much time but I wanted to know if you could help me with a little task. Come sit.”

“I’m fine standing.” I said, my eyes not wavering from his. I think he could tell I wasn’t thrilled to see him.

“Come, you’re a man after all so you know that it's only respectful to bring yourself to the level of your fellow man when you step into his domain. I’d do the same in your house. So please come. Be the man I know you are and sit with me so we can chat.”

A sharp white claw-like object darted through the air and missed the host’s neck by a hair. It was one of mine and it came from my right wrist almost as if it was just a reflex.

“Tell me what you want before I change my mind.” I said. 

Part of me knew that if I shot another claw at him it wouldn’t miss the second time around. However, an odd thing that I noticed was that the host seemed surprised by the claw but not scared.

Nonetheless, the host felt his neck to check for blood. Then after feeling not even a scratch he sighed deeply. He may be able to maneuver his audience to kowtow to his words but I wasn’t the one. 

Oh and you’re probably confused on who this man is. So lemme give you some context. Sagooru Khatri is one of the leading misogynist influencers online. Though he wouldn’t admit to the misogynist part if you asked him. He was born in India but is now a Bostonian, unfortunately. I don’t know all the specifics of his backstory but I’d rather spend my time focusing on more important things than learning about this bum. Man got 1.5 million subscribers on YouTube and he markets himself as some kind of tenured relationship and self improvement guru. But he ain’t shit (if we’re being frfr). To many who can see clearly, like myself, he really specializes in breaking people down so that he can reap the benefits that come from it. As well as feeding the fantasies of his incel audience and their urge to take all females down a peg because they can’t get bitches. I mean, I can’t get bitches my damn self but I’ll never become scum, like these scrubs, because of it. I guess I was just built different.

Sagooru started again, “I know chivalry is dead, with young men these days especially. That’s why most of them are doomed. But I thought you were different. However, despite your apparent strong feelings towards me, for reasons I won’t force you to get into, I would like to hope you can still help me with a little issue I have.”

“Go ahead.”

“I will if you promise to let me keep my head. I don’t have magical powers like you and my face is my main money maker.”

Though it was against my better judgment I remembered that I did need money so I should at least hear this man out. I put my hands in my pockets and sat down in the chair in front of him. Then said -

“Ok. Speak.”

“So a person I know recently got kidnapped and-”

“You want me to save them? Hah! If they’re anything like you then good riddance. ” I stood up and prepared to leave.

“If you would just hear me out!” 

That stopped me dead in my tracks. Sagooru the guru lost all his posturing when he said that because, I may have been trippin, but he sounded hopeless, maybe even desperate in that moment. I didn’t say another word then but I turned back toward him and squinted my eyes confused as all hell. Seeing that he gained my interest once again he continued.

“Have you heard of a woman named Yukta Singh?”

“Yukta Singh. Hmm. No one comes to mind.”

“You know, the model. She was on Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. Indian like me. It was a big thing all over the internet!”

“Yea! I do know her! She’s one of my celebrity crushes. If the opportunity ever presented itself, well I ain’t no Lebron but I’m gonna have to shoot my shot ya know? WAIT A MINUTE! SHE GOT KIDNAPPED!?!”.

“Yeah…me and her actually know each other from way back. She was a friend of a friend of my brothers. I wasn’t anybody back when we met. She was early into her modeling career and…I didn’t try to get with her or anything. I had a wife then who I was madly in love with so-”

“YOU HAD A WHAT?” I couldn’t believe my ears.

“Yea, I don’t talk about when I’m streaming because you gotta keep some things private when you reach any kind of celebrity. But we were happy. If she saw how I would later get out of poverty. If she saw who I was today, at least the me I put on for the world, she’d be disappointed. But that’s neither here nor there now. She died.”

“Of?”

“Cancer”

I wanted to say sorry for your loss. But fuck this dude. I was so conflicted that I sat in silence with him secretly trying to figure out how to respond. Luckily I didn’t have to because after a brief pause he went on.

“So in regards to Yukta. She was very kind to me and asked me about my life and my passions in life. I wanted to be a pro hip hop dancer at the time but that was going nowhere fast. Still she encouraged me and gave me some advice on what she learned in pursuing her dreams. I gave up on my initial dream but I never forgot our talk. It lowkey inspired the direction I took with my YouTube channel. We never talked again after that. 3 years later I became Sagooru Khatri, the internet phenomenon. And funny thing is she openly became my most high profile detractor as a result. I don’t blame her. Anyway, my brother told me he found out that she got kidnapped because she went to meet some childhood friends. Some guys who she friendzoned back in highschool and led on for fun.”

“Betas as you would call them.”

“Exactly. Betas. Well these Betas got her to meet with them to catch up for old times sake. But they didn’t expect she’d actually be willing to meet due to how drastically different her life turned out compared to theirs. However, after they met she noticed something was wrong. Soon those guys threw her into an SUV one of them owned.”

I couldn’t help it but I needed to interrupt, “Wait? If this is all true? How do you know all this detail?”

“Cause, the dumbasses forgot to take her phone. They put her wrists and feet in wraps but they stood outside the vehicle for almost 45 minutes arguing about what to do next. Specifically who would get to smash first.”

“Wow.”

“Wow indeed. Now James, look. I know you may hate me. I know for a fact she hates me. But I’m going to go and try my hardest to save her because no one deserves what she's going through. Especially a borderline saint like her.”

The room was quiet for a good three minutes. This all was surprising talk coming from the guy I remembered him to be online. I was really doing some soul searching, weighing the pros and cons of helping this guy and what may or may not happen as a result of it. Then I finally knew exactly how I was going to respond. I looked at him and this time I was the cocky one, 

“I’ll help you, but the money can’t be chump change. Also… I’d need a place to sleep temporarily. You think I can crash at yours?”

“Money is not an issue but how many nights?” His business demeanor finally returned. Dude knew how to code switch like a pro, I had to give him that.

“A month at least” I said.

“Done.” He said without any hesitation.

And that’s how it happened. That’s how for the first time in my life since becoming an adult I did what I vowed never to do. Compromise with the devil.