Cram Down by Shaiken Mark

Author:Shaiken, Mark
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mark Shaiken / 1609 Press LLC
Published: 2023-09-12T00:00:00+00:00

27

Sunday, December 8, 2024

Cruz delivered breakfast as usual to Amadi. That morning, it was takeout from Homegrown Kansas City in Brookside. They ate largely in silence but eventually began to talk about Abode.

After Max left Amadi, he drove his Ford toward downtown, parked in the Crossroads District at Nineteenth and Wyandotte Streets, and hopped into Mildred’s for a cup of his favorite coffee and a table where he could think in solitude. He didn’t believe Jordan had identified his options. Not at all. Everything about Jordan oozed a guy who had grown up in privilege and now was out of his element. To Max, he was the worst kind of man. Max was worried that people of privilege like Jordan eventually felt cornered and took rash actions. He believed that people of privilege were no different from anyone else, regardless of whether they were White or a member of a marginalized group. Money and the privilege that came with money forever altered them. As he finished his cup of joe, Max wished he could confront Jordan and put an end to all this.

He had left the bug under Jordan’s desk because he didn’t trust him. Everything Cruz observed about Jordan screamed he was in way over his head and not to be believed or trusted. The bug was Cruz’s insurance policy against Jordan Goddamn Browne.

He wished he could do more, like tell Jordan, “Here is what your damn endgame is going to be dude: Either spring Amadi from captivity or I’ll do it myself.” He now knew that Amadi didn’t deserve to be held captive. He wanted to say, “Let your brother go, bro, or I will.” But that wasn’t in Cruz’s job description. Instead, he would continue to be the watcher, and now the listener as well. He needed to make sure he knew what Jordan Browne would do next.

*

While Amadi and Max ate, Jordan observed the captivity ritual on his laptop as he attended to bank business. But at some point, he realized Amadi and Cruz were discussing Abode, and their conversation suggested it was not the first time they had talked about it. Jordan instantly became concerned and then angry. “What in the hell is going on here?” he wondered out loud. To him, Cruz was nothing more than an idiot in a hat who was now not only engaging with his brother but openly talking about the root of all the current problems: Abode.

He continued to watch and listen, and to his shock, he heard Cruz talk about his family and the Abode home they lived in. Jordan slammed the lid of his computer shut forcefully. “What a fuckin’ shitstorm,” he whispered to himself.

Jordan remained sitting at his desk after watching Max on the video, and his paranoid nature took over. Max was flipping. He was an Amadi sympathizer. He sat there unmoving—not even blinking. Anyone looking into his office would have concluded he was paralyzed with most of his systems offline and would have called 911 concerned Jordan had just suffered a stroke.

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