“Listen girl, I’m gonna tell you straight. This isn’t the best place for a little thing like you to be. We have white girls like yourself come down here all the time, and the police find many of them dead within a few weeks. If I was you, I’d pack up and leave now!” The stranger said. Mackenna trembled at his words.
“I can’t my daddy cut me off and had that cabbie drop me off here!” She responded to him. “I don’t have any money, or a place to stay. What am I going to do?”
“I tell you what. You could come to work for me. The job doesn’t pay much, to start, but there are other rewards. But first, let’s get you a place to stay away from all this riff raff. I’ve got a room that just became available at one of my buildings; I’ll put you up until you’re on your feet!” The stranger told her.
“You would do that for me? Thank you Mr.…um, what’s your name?” Mackenna asked.
“Me, I’m Chicago. I keep watch on these streets and make sure everything is in order. The police don’t do shit down here, unless they’re making money off of it, so we gotta take care of ourselves.” Chicago informed the young girl walking with him.
“So how does Chicago end up in New York?” She giggled. Mackenna was curious about the man she was sure had saved her life and wanted to know about him.
“I grew up around here, but made something of myself and was able to get into law school. But unfortunately, there aren’t many law firms looking to hire a ‘Brutha’ from the ‘hood, so I came back here, and took over for my pop!” Chicago told her. Mackenna was so naïve that she had no idea what Chicago really did to make a living. He just thought he was a guy in a nice suit that kept the slum in order.
“I guess you can take the man outta the ghetto, but you can’t take the ghetto outta the man!!!” Chicago concluded. Mackenna giggled. The pair talked some more as the reached what Mackenna presumed to be the building Chicago had told her about and stepped inside.
|