“Name”?
“Sappho.”
“First name followed by last name.”
“The name is Sappho. No last name.”
“Are you homeless or something?”
“No. Are you homeless?”
She looks at me as though I’m the biggest idiot on the planet. “I obviously have a job. I’m sitting here entering your information. So, no I’m not homeless. Look, you’re going to have to give me your cell, wallet, and any valuables you have on you. Basically, you’ll need to give me everything that you have that isn’t clothing or shoes.”
“Nope.”
“Excuse me?”
“I said no. I’m not doing that.”
She gives me the idiot look again and motions towards a police officer. “Dalton? Come over here please.”
I pull out my phone.
“Never mind,” she says.
Dalton looks at me. “Everything good?”
“Everything is fine,” I say calmly.
Dalton begins walking away, so I quickly dial a number on my phone.
“Hello.”
“Hey, Big Money. I need your help.”
“Man, people are always calling me for help. Is this Davis?”
“Yeah yeah. I go by Sappho now, but listen. I have the story of a lifetime for you. Can you meet me at the downtown police station, right away?”
“Davis man, this better be good. I haven’t even heard from you in years. How are you man? Were you arrested?”
“No, I wasn’t arrested. They’re holding me illegally. It’s Sappho now. We’ll talk when you get here.”
At this point, the lady who was asking me for my personal stuff has got up and is bringing Dalton over. I hang up the phone quickly and pocket it.
Dalton looks at me. “Hand over the phone.”
I see Stain, only a few desks away. He looks at me with wide eyes and points at the door. I nod.
Stain walks right over to a cop and punches him in the throat. My only escape is through a pass key only door.
Four cops, including Dalton, grab Stain, but Stain is punching and kicking with all his might.
I grab the clerk lady’s pass and bolt for the door. She’s in shock over the commotion. I see three cops outside the door who look at me curiously when I’m leaving on my own. I start yelling at them. “Quick quick quick. There’s a riot in there. Go go go!”
Two of them run in there like good little soldiers.
I do the slow saunter towards the door. The third toy soldier in blue starts yelling at me to stop. I completely ignore him and continue walking. A good toy soldier isn’t going to leave his post, so I’m out the front door.
“Big Money, hey.”
“Davis. Hey man.”
Big money wraps his arms around me.
“Stain is in there man.”
“Stain. Who is Stain?”
“You know – Reggie.”
“Reggie’s in jail. Man, I always knew he would end up there.”
“No, that’s the thing Big Money, Stain and I were never arrested. I just escaped.”
“You escaped police custody?”
“No. I was never arrested.”
“Davis man . . . that’s just a technicality.”
“Not according to the law.”
“No, but it’s just your word against the cops.”
“Right. They shot an unarmed woman in a bank.”
“The bank robbery. You were there? Early reports are saying that the shots came from inside the bank.”
“Big Money, listen man. You have someone go by there. The glass is all shattered inside in the bank, almost none on the sidewalk. How does that happen?”
“All right man. Let’s get you off the street. Come to the TV station, and I’ll have someone do your story. You better not have robbed that bank.”