"We were all so young, so innocent. We had no clue to the unknown roads or the evil that would encourage our will to survive. A childhood's promise that ignited the 'fire of hell' burning deep in our souls. Revenge was sweet as the blood dried between our fingers that night. Some say, 'It was a pact made with the Devil the night a member of the Black Connection, Inc., Mafia, was murdered.'"- Early spring of 1971, Beauden is making his usually rounds collecting monies owed to the organization. He stops at one of the 'number houses' in the area run by the Black Connection. He knocks on the door of Edna Simmins, an older woman about sixty-five years of age, she is the neighborhood street number lady, a bookie, and has been for many years. Edna has had a crush on Beauden for at least twenty years and at one time they were serious about each other. That is until, Beauden decided to take on a few young girls to work the streets, eventually turning it into one of the largest stables on the eastside. She peers through the peek-hole of the door. Beauden senses her presence, "Hey it's me...open the door." Without hesitation she opens it. "Hey Beauden...what's go'n on, baby? I didn't expect to see you til at least after ten tonight...you know, same as usual," she says while grinning and batting those eyes of hers. Beauden is accompanied by two of his thugs who follow closely behind. "Edna baby, you know I can't stay away from you too long...Eee...e.e...e...Cause you got somethang I want, somethang I need, and you got somethang I like," says Beauden with a grin of greed that sparkles even in his eye. Edna walks toward a desk near the kitchen doorway, "Yeah Beau, it's all here. You can count it if you want to."She hands him a brown paper bag filled with money. Beauden intentionally spills the money on the desk then points his finger at his two thugs, Maddog and Griz. They sit down at the desk counting it and comparing their records with hers. "It's all there...you know I ain't gonna try and cheat you...I ain't gonna do no sh... like that, Beau."Beauden's grin gradually turns into a laugh, "Edna, I know you ain't, but business is business...Eee.e..e..e. Edna Baby, I don't want nuth'n happ'n to you if it's a little short. You know what I mean?" He takes a sniff and smells soul food cooking. With his cool cat-daddy stride he strolls into the kitchen, "Cause, can't nobody make hot buttered cornbread, cooked ham hocks and collard greens with 'fat-back' the way you do woman.""Sh... Beauden, that's all you think 'bout is some dam... food every time you come over here." She fans her hand at him as he goes over to the stove and glances into the pot. "Edna, I wouldn't say that. This man got a-lot other thangs on his mind too...You got that baby?" Edna is hungry for some love and affection; it's been a while since her last intercourse with Beauden. Seductively she walks toward him and opens her robe, pulling up her nightgown revealing her nude body, "Thangs like what? ...You mean thangs like this?""Oooo Baby...Edna, you make it hard for a man to choose. Dam... woman what you do that for? I ain't got that much time, but a quickie ain't never failed me yet. Sh... Edna, it's either your ham hocks, or these here ham hocks in this here pot. E..e..e.e..e Edna baby, but a man gotta do, what a man gotta do...Why don't you fix me a plate to go?" Edna is a little agitated with Beauden's refusal that she quickly drops her nightgown and closes her robe, but it is not the first time he has turned away her sexual advances. "The hell with you, Beau...you know you want this sh... here. In my day, not too many men could turn this here thang down. And not too many men is turn'n it down now, except for your old crazy as... for your info." "Life and death runs parallel on the streets. Something we quickly learned is that, survival always comes with a price, a high price. Yeah, I remember, we remember, as though it was yesterday."