Deacon Harris listened in silence as Michelle recounted the events of the previous night. For once they had met outside in the sun, not hidden away in Hobie’s Diner, and Michelle had insisted that the deacon let her bring him something healthy for him to eat for once. He had been reluctant at first but given that his trousers had begun to feel slightly tight around the thighs on their walk over it seemed agreeing had been the right choice. He was snacking on the bright green apple Michelle had bought him as Michelle finished surmising the exchange she’d had with her son after he had been released.

“Jayson told me that Roland gave Antwan the drugs,” Michelle said with an exasperated sigh. “Can you believe that? That son of a bitch gave my baby boy drugs, Gus.”

There wasn’t much about Roland Spencer that Gus wouldn’t believe but given how unsuccessful their conversation had been when he’d paid him a visit, there wasn’t much he personally could do about it other than hope the boy came to his senses before it was too late.

“What are you going to do?”

Michelle shrugged her shoulders, “What can I do? I tried tough love, tried threatening Antwan with throwing him out, and nothing's worked. He’s not scared of me, Gus, I don’t think he’s scared of anyone.”

Gus took another small, precise bite out of the apple in his hand and munched on it for a few seconds as he weighed up her options. Roland was as set in his ways as they came and from the sound of it Antwan wasn’t budging anytime soon, not on his own at least, and then it struck him light a lightning bolt. There was one person that Antwan might listen to although he already knew Michelle wouldn’t want to hear it.

“What about your brother? Have you spoken to him about things?”

Michelle frowned angrily, “What? Why would I do that?”

“From what I hear, Charles was quite a big deal to Antwan when he was growing up. Maybe he could talk some sense into him.”

Gus had heard a thousand different variations of the story that had lead to Marcus Dixon’s death and all of them had involved Chew Lewis in some form. Sometimes knelt over him plugging a wound whilst fighting back impossible odds and other times bearing down on him with a shotgun. The setting? Everything from a drug deal down in Georgia, a shootout in Arkansas, a car chase in Missouri, even a bank heist in Washington DC were all amongst some of the more popular accounts. He’d heard children as young as ten and men old enough to have lived through prohibition talk about what happened. He wasn’t any closer to knowing the truth and he wasn’t sure he wanted to know, but what he did know was that regardless of whatever had happened, Antwan still idolized his uncle.

Chew was the only one that could break Roland’s hold on her son and from the look on Michelle’s face she knew it too.

Suddenly without warning Michelle shook her head vociferously, a defeated look appearing on her face, “I don’t want that man anywhere near my son.”

This was still about Marcus to her and that wasn’t going to change anytime soon. Gus could see the pain, the loss, still etched in her face and he knew better than to try to change her mind for as long as that was the case. He only hoped that Antwan wouldn’t pay the price for his mother’s inability to forgive.

“Then what are you going to do? You’re running out of options.”

Gus tried his best not to sound deflated as he peered into Michelle’s eyes and awaited a response.

Again Michelle shrugged her shoulders, this time more hopelessly than the first, and stared back at Gus. “I thought maybe you could speak to Antwan.”

“We’ve been over this,” Gus said with a shake of his head. “It wouldn’t do any good, Michelle, the boy barely even knows who I am.”

“Like you said, it’s not like I have many other options.”

What was to stop him going over her head and contacting Charles and telling him that he needed to talk some sense into Antwan? What harm could it cause? It would certainly be more fruitful than any conversation that he could have with him and it might go some way to repairing Charles and Michelle’s relationship even if she was determined not to involve him.

Suddenly Vontae Carter’s face flashed across the deacon’s mind, he heard Vontae’s mother’s cries, and he felt his resistance to the idea wavering. He’d promised himself he’d do everything he could to stop there being any more Vontae Carters and, as much as he thought his talking to Antwan would be a waste of time, he wasn’t about to break that promise. A man was only as good as his word.

Gus let out a weak sigh and a small bemused smile crossed his lips as he nodded gently in Michelle’s direction.

“Thank you, Gus, it means a lot,” Michelle muttered, reaching out her hand to place it atop his before drawing it back sharply as she accidentally touched the half-eaten apple in his hand, placing her hand on his wrist instead with an embarrassed smile. Gus exhaled gently and returned her smile.

It faded slowly as three words crossed his mind. No more Vontae Carters.