It was light by the time the cops found Ricky. Empty pill capsules and dirty dime bags were found inside his car as the blue uniformed enforcers busted his windows in order to reach him. Cairo silently watches from afar as his former best friend is wheeled away in a stretcher, his hands handcuffed to the metal hand rails. He could imagine the paramedics frantic motions as they desperately wipe the saliva frothing at Ricky's mouth and the remnants of opiates smeared all over his nose.

The crowd gathered outside murmured quietly amongst each other. Or rather, they should’ve. The pedestrians gazing at the scene, much to Cairo’s annoyance were gossiping loudly as if it didn’t concern them. To those uninvolved, the sequences were like actions in a traumatic play.

“This neighborhood isn’t the same as it used to be,” one of the bystander remarks.

Cairo wheels around and leaves the area. Every second he stayed there was suffocating. Besides, he had other responsibilities to attend to.

The grey morning sun had risen and was blazing down on Cairo by the time he reached the apartment complex. Slowly lifting himself up the stairs using the rails, Cairo stops in front of the indigo colored metallic door.

Cairo takes a deep breath. He had not slept for two nights and was in no mood to fake a smile. However, despite the resident’s animosity towards him, he needed to do one more thing before he could go to bed in peace.

Cairo briskly knocks on the door. Almost immediately the large metal locks click open and a petite woman swings the door wide.

Cairo examines the woman. The large and visible scar running down her right eye was the first thing that jumped at him. A tired and angry pair of eyes was the next thing he noticed, as the woman returns his gaze while her ruffled midnight black hair drapes all around her face and neck. The single strand of crimson red hair she sported seem to match perfectly with her fiery red iris and tank top.

This was Mimi.

“How’s she doing?” Cairo automatically asks.

Mimi quickly beckons him inside.

“Terrible,” she gravely comments as she closes the door behind them, “Ricky went crazy on her.”

Cairo callously examines Sam. Despite wrapping herself tight with a blanket, Cairo could make out the faint outline of the abuse she went through.

“You know,” Cairo begins, “this is the first-time Ricky has ever put hands on a woman.”

“Yeah?” Mimi shoots back, “Won’t be the last.”

Cairo bends down in front of Sam. She was sitting, curled up in a ball, and the close proximity of another person brought forth another round of shivers running down her body. Cairo could see more clearly now, the damage that Ricky had done. Black, yellow, and purple bruises covered all over what could be seen of Samantha’s face. Her sapphire colored eyes were practically swollen closed, her almond colored hair matted, and her entire posture cowering against the creaking wooden chair. Ricky certainly did do a number on her.

If Cairo had any reservations or felt any shock from seeing her, he kept them to himself. There was something else he had to do first.

“Sam,” Cairo gently murmurs, “Ricky’s gone.”

Cairo could see a tint of relief wash over Sam’s face.

“He’s not going to hurt you anymore.”

Carefully cupping her hand, Cairo than proceeds to asks something from his friend.

“Sam,” he hesitantly begins.

No answer.

“Sam,” Cairo says again, this time more forcefully. “Samantha. I need to know where Ricky is hiding his plants.”

Suddenly, Mimi grabs Cairo’s hand and forces it off Sam’s.

“Are you kidding me?” She growls, seething, “Out of all the time in the world, you choose now to ask about Ricky’s shady dealings?”

Cairo glances briefly at Mimi’s enraged face. Her tantrums were nothing new to him, and was in no way whatsoever intimidating.

“I know he fucked up,” Cairo continues, ignoring Mimi. “And there’s no excuse for what he did. I’ll take care of everything when he comes back, but in order for him to come back I need to get rid of any evidence before he cracks.”

“Don’ listen to him Sammy!”

Cairo winces as Mimi shoves him back against the wall with surprising strength.

What the fuck?

“People like him only care about crook bullshit!” Mimi yells.

Cairo silently grabs Mimi while her back was turned. This was too much. He himself, like Ricky, had never intentionally planned to hurt a woman but he can imagine now what went through his friend’s mind when he wounded Sam.

Mimi turns around and they stare at each other for a second. She had automatically known what Cairo was going to do the moment he laid his hands on her shoulder. Cairo contemplates as Mimi glares daggers into him.

This is Mimi for you, Cairo thought to himself as he slowly lowers his hand. Despite Mimi’s constant bravado, Cairo understood fully how well Mimi could raise hell. It wasn’t something he wanted to be on the receiving of. Besides, he made it a personal rule never to physically hurt women.

“You take too much advantage of my kindness,” Cairo warns.

Mimi, with her stone-faced expression, never faltered.

“Get out,” she forcefully says. Cairo silently watches as she points her finger at the door. “You are no longer welcomed here anymore.”

Cairo scowls. He was grateful no one else of importance was here to witness such an embarrassing scene. Cairo bends toward the ground and slowly picks up one of the dirty dime bags littering the floor near a beige stained couch. The evidence that they held shards were apparent by the white, milky colored dust painting the surface of the plastic bags.

“Don’t forget Ricky’s still my friend,” Cairo begins as he examines the residue left in the packaging. “I take care of my friends, including their family.”

Cairo flicks the bag back to the ground. As he opens the door, he turns around one more time.

“Little Michele isn’t going to know who her father is,” Cairo says, this time directed to Samantha. “But at least she’ll know he and his friends made sure to take care of her every need. Including the crib her drug addicted mother couldn’t afford.”

Cairo could see Samantha freeze up.

“Not everything can be solved by money you bastard,” Mimi shouts back just as Cairo slams the door shut.

Cairo takes a deep breath and looks out towards the nearby field. The unusual rainy weather this season had seemed to permanently transform their entire fields, usually golden, to blankets of luscious green. It was great. The city for once, now had an excess of water in contrast to the previous years they were in a drought.

Cairo waves to a group of kids playing with a ball in the distance. Reaching deep into his pockets, he pulls out a phone and a roll of banknotes. He counts his money as his cellphone rings.

“Hello?” A female voice answers.

“Can I speak to-” Cairo pauses. As he stuffs the cash into Mimi’s mailbox, he remembers that he was on bad terms with the woman currently on the phone.

“Can I speak to Lance?” Cairo finally says, trying his best to sound polite as possible.

“…” The woman on the other side doesn’t say a word for minute before finally replying, “just a minute.”

Cairo breathes a sigh of relief. He managed to avoid another troublesome confrontation.

“Who is this,” A familiar voice suddenly answers.

 “It’s me,” Cairo replies, “Get the guys together. We’re going after the fuckers that got Ricky in trouble.”