An elderly Black man nearby overheard Sharif and burst out, "You greedy xx, you corner-cutting xx! God couldn't save your xxx, and you still want people to respect you? Alvin must've lost his mind to trust a xxx like you."
The old man spoke fast. He seemed well used to the rules here: wherever he wanted to swear, he substituted Black slang no one else understood. The insults still rolled off his tongue so smoothly that you had to admire his gift for rap.
Foggy hurried over and high-fived him. "Nice one, Old Kent!"
Sharif glared at them and shook a fist, but he didn't dare do anything more. Alvin didn't allow fights here. People had tested that rule before, and it hadn't ended well for them.
The restaurant's wooden door opened, and a striking young Eastern European woman stepped inside. She surveyed the room, walked straight to the bar, and tipped her chin at Sharif, signaling him to move.
To everyone's surprise, the angry Sharif gave her an awkward smile. "Hi, Dahlia." He picked up his water glass and sat down at a table a customer had just vacated.
Dahlia settled gracefully onto a barstool and nodded to a few people nearby. She took out a cigarette, lit it, and rested her cheek on one hand while holding the cigarette in the other, watching Alvin work behind the bar.
Jessica set a glass of lemonade down hard in front of her. "Miss Dahlia, smoking isn't allowed here."
Dahlia looked Jessica over and smiled. "Oh, you lucky girl. May I finish this cigarette? I don't think the gentlemen nearby will mind." Her sparkling eyes swept along the bar. Every man close by except Matt nodded before he could help himself.
Jessica shot the spineless men a glare and ignored their protests. She served blind Matt his steak first, carefully placing the knife and fork in his hands.
With all ten burners going, the steaks were soon ready and served. Alvin wiped his hands on a towel, came to the bar, and poured himself a beer.
"Alvin, you need to do something about Thor and Dom. I just saw them stop a beautiful woman from coming in. No wonder this place is always full of stinking men." Dahlia covered her mouth as she laughed, ignoring the looks from those very men.
Alvin ignored her and called to Nick, who was arguing with Stan over whether Batman or Captain America was stronger. "Nick Caster, it's eight thirty. I'll check your homework at ten. If you haven't finished it, you've still got an hour and a half. Trust me, kid, you don't want to find out how I punish a child who slacks off."
Nick clutched his head and groaned. He wheeled himself behind the bar to a small door beside the stove, opened it, then stood on one leg and hopped toward the second floor.
The diners burst out laughing. Foggy called after him, "Better hurry, Nick! I don't want to watch you sweep the streets in your wheelchair!"
Nick grabbed the railing, turned to make a face at Foggy, and quickly hopped upstairs.
Once the small door swung shut, Dahlia put out her cigarette. She took ten bundles of twenty-dollar bills from her little handbag and pushed them toward Alvin. She looked at him with pleading eyes, full of hope and a trace of uncertainty.
Alvin glanced at the twenty thousand dollars and shook his head. He took half and pushed the rest back to Dahlia. "I know a few girls from Eastern Europe were smuggled in recently and ended up with you. Send the underage ones to school. After that, just pay me a hundred dollars a month. Let the girls who want ordinary jobs save enough to leave."
Dahlia shook her head. "That's not how things work. If you only take a hundred dollars, the other gangs will find out, and we'll all be in trouble. The girls and I are doing well now. They actually make good money.
"Two of them saved enough to move to Los Angeles last week." She pushed the money back toward Alvin.
"Please take it, Alvin. You're a good man. I know you don't want money earned from our bodies, but I'm begging you. I can't bear being under another gang's control again." Dahlia's pleading expression was hard to resist.
"Take it, Alvin," Old Kent said. "We all know you're a good man, and you'll keep them safe. But if you refuse her money, you'll break the rules of Hell's Kitchen. The gangs around here will go crazy. We know you're not afraid of them, but the women will be the ones in danger."
Alvin was a decisive man, and Old Kent had a point. After a moment's hesitation, he waved Sharif over. "Take this. Two food trucks, in fifteen days. If you cut corners again, I'll send Thor to have a talk with you."
Sharif's shoulders slumped. "Twenty thousand dollars only covers one truck," he protested under his breath. "Alvin, you're a fair guy. You can't make me take a loss."
Alvin poured another beer and handed it to him. "That's your punishment for being greedy. There won't be a next time, all right?"
Alvin's gentle expression only frightened Sharif more. "All right, all right. I understand. Nothing will go wrong this time, I promise!"
"Old Kent, who's having the hardest time in the neighborhood? Ask if they'd like to run a food truck." Alvin paid no attention to Sharif's promise. He trusted that Sharif wouldn't try anything again.
Old Kent thought for a moment. "Lilith's raising three children on her own. She could use one. Archie's family of six are all out of work, so they could use one too."
"Then tell them to go to Sharif's garage and keep an eye on the work. If they have any special requests, Sharif can make the changes." Alvin waved off Sharif, who was clutching the bag of money for dear life.
Alvin turned to a large Black man at a table by the door, who was wolfing down his meal. "JJ, see Sharif out when you leave. It isn't safe for him to go alone."
JJ was a Marine Corps veteran who had fled to Hell's Kitchen after getting into some trouble. He now worked as the restaurant's security guard and driver.
"Sure, boss." JJ swallowed the last of his steak, drained a large glass of lemonade, and stood. After answering Alvin, he called Sharif over and headed for the door.
As they opened it, a woman even more beautiful than Dahlia walked in, followed by two police officers.
JJ recognized both officers and thought nothing of it. He took Sharif to the car and drove away.
Before you continue