[b]Marcus Wilson - Check the Block[/b]

Thinking deeply, Marcus sat quietly on one of the sofa chairs in his living room. He sat back, as to let his guest and business partner know that he was taking a quick break from the conversation to think. Marcus’ guest, Larry Falcone was a short, slightly overweight and balding Italian man who dressed in a cheap blue suit, expensive gold rimmed shades and shoes that were probably made from an illegally poached animal’s skin. Larry’s lack of a tie only added to how damn shady this man looked. 

“So… what do you think?” Larry inquired as he got impatient with Marcus. He kept his eyebrows high, hoping that Marcus would say ‘yes’. Like Marcus, Larry wanted money from every angle you could think of and that is exactly why he was here. Larry was a pitcher of ideas, and Marcus was the guy who got shit done. 

“Nah. Think about it… Braxton’s Wings. I never even heard of this corner chicken spot you’re trying to feed to me. And when the fuck did we start focusing on fast food?” Marcus smiled as he found Larry’s idea of helping back the upcoming food chain ridiculous. “Have you even tried their wings?”

“No, but I hear they’re the best spot in Atlanta right now!” Larry shot back. “Listen, my cousin Zeke took his kids out there and he said the wings were phenomenal! I looked the place up and people in Atlanta are going crazy for the place!” Larry was naturally a loud talker and exaggerator, so Marcus just gave him a skeptical look as he always did when Larry fed him bullshit.

“First of all, Zeke don’t like your ass because you never paid him the money you owe!” Marcus matched Larry’s volume. He then put two fingers up. “Second, I said no. I’m not backing a fast food spot because their chicken tastes good. You know how many chicken places they probably have in Atlanta? That’s like telling me that I should endorse one of the neighborhood potheads because he smokes a lot weed! If I tried to fuck over a KFC, a damn Popeye’s would come up. Take the Popeyes out and then you get a Churches Chicken, then Bush’s Chicken. Only for some old ass nigga whose been frying chicken since 1965 out of a damn truck to come up and take the money flow. It’s too much work and it’s too risky, and remember, I do the work.” Marcus made his final point and stood up shaking his head. Larry did not look as happy as when he had pitched the idea which such excitement in his eyes. “Larry, just keep me updated on the chicken spot. If they blow up a little more, I might consider.” Marcus said with a sigh. 

“I’ll do that, but I’m telling you, you’re gonna miss a big one if you take too long… Which isn’t  a problem for a guy like you.” Larry said this as he watched Marcus grab the remote. The first thing that popped up was CNN. The incident in Atlanta was still being talked about. 

“And you want me to do business there? Watch this shit.” Marcus changed the channel to ESPN which was showing a 2017 West Regional March Madness game. Larry looked at the game before hearing the remote fall with a hard slap to the ground with Marcus nowhere to be found. Larry shook his head and picked up the remote.

“This shit is going to break on the fucker one day I swear to…” Larry paused as he heard the television erupt with a roar of people cheering and wailing. He looked up at the mounted 120-inch screen with his eyes wide.

“Looks like Oregon’s “Cannon” Naje Blackson is going to be out for the game.” One of the announcers said as the one of the players was seen being taken from the court after falling and twisting his ankle .

“Losing their star point guard is really going to hurt them.” The second announcer replied. Larry just looked in confusion until Marcus appeared standing in front of the television before turning it off.

“That’s how you make money. The dad of the second string point guard wants to see his son play and get recognized, check! A guy wants the perfect bracket for March Madness, check! The other team’s coach wants to win at any cost, check! Three huge checks, and I’m not talking about the little check the block bullshit. I mean checks I’m gonna cash today. One act, three checks! Low risk!” Marcus cheered with a bright smile on his face. 

“Good shit! Do I get a cut?” Larry asked. He was impressed at how good Marcus was getting at using his powers. He seemed to get faster by the day. Larry also could not help to notice how innovative Marcus was getting at making money. Larry could remember when Marcus’ best idea was to just pickpocket people all day. It was okay, except he’d be burning a lot of energy and there was too much risk for exposure.

“Nah, that was a solo act. Pitch your next idea and we’ll get another check. 75-25?” Marcus asked as he walked towards his bar in the kitchen of his home. He hid the nonchalant smile he had one his face.

“No! You get 60!” Larry yelled as he hated how greedy Marcus was at times. “You think you can con the best conman in LA?!” Larry said as he turned the television back on and changed the channel to watch Real House Wives of Atlanta. “Now this is something to watch. Big booty bitches.” Larry said more to himself than out loud. Marcus just poured himself a rum and coke.

“Deal!” Marcus answered with a chuckle before he sipped his drink. “And you mean fake booty bitches.”

“They’re still big.” Larry replied with a low voice.