Yonnie sucked his teeth and spit out his toothpick. "C'mon, maaaan. He told her she was an equal warrior. You see her face just go... oh, wow? Every time I see you talking to her, not that it's my business, you're tellin' her what she can't do, what's too dangerous, all that type of shit. But this brother is giving her props. Letting her experiment with her power. Egging her on. Whispering to her mind, 'Baby, yeah, like that... bring it. You can do it, sweetness. Just let it flow.'" Carlos cringed but Yonnie wouldn't relent.
"Uh-huh. He's teaching her new shit to go with her new strengths, and you seem like, to her, like you're holding her back--which is insecure. Weak. A strong woman ain't gonna stay with a weak bastard, she can't. And you can't make her step down until you're ready to step up, just for the sake of ego--then, she'll hate you, in time. No, man, don't go out like that. Go learn some new Neteru shit and teach it to her, or better yet, let her teach you some shit, or at least encourage what she knows. You almost ain't got no wall around your territory no more, if that's what you've been doing to D."
"Oh, man... I didn't even realize I was going there." "If you were, even Jose could pull her like that!" Yonnie said with a hard snap. "If you've been coming from weakness, in your soul, maaan. I could breach your borders. Now get to that." The men stared at each other for a moment.
"Yeah, I said it, because I'm your boy, and your ass needs to get it together. Handle your business. Deal with this new Neteru thing and milk it, work it, figure out what you can do, but stop whining about whatever you lost in council. That shit's unattractive for a strong sister. Damn, man, I love you, but you're pissing me off!"
Yonnie began pacing, growing agitated as Carlos's eyes remained riveted on him.
"I haven't taught her anything in a long time... and, damn... like. I didn't know she could pull the elements like she did," Carlos murmured. "You see how she worked with that rod? I ain't even know what the Caduceus was, and--"
"Don't let that bastard get to know her better than you do." Yonnie pointed hard into Carlos's chest. "If you do something that stupid, allow something that easy to correct to happen, I will be done with you, man."
"But while all that's going down, what if she... like what if . . ."
"He temporarily blows her mind?"
Carlos just stared at Yonnie for a moment and then finally nodded.
"Too late, man. Her body is just a formality at this point. Blow her mind?" Yonnie spit and began walking toward the house. "He already did."
Carlos reentered the house with his gaze sweeping and every sense keened. He didn't need Yonnie's suit, his black T-shirt and leather pants worked fine. The half-hour away from the intense drama, plus a straight bitch slap of reality from his boy, was all that he needed. He didn't even bristle as he gazed around the room, saw Damali at the dining room table, conferring with Cain. He greeted the other Guardians with a nod, and stopped to appraise Marlene's condition. "How's she doing, 'Bazz?"
Shabazz let out a slow exhale. "Way better than she was," he said quietly, stroking Marlene's hair as she reclined on the sofa and peacefully slept.
"Good," Carlos murmured, meaning it as he stooped down to gently squeeze Marlene's hand. Nonsense had almost allowed him to mess up and not be on-point for someone he really loved.
Carlos stood, receiving a quiet fist pound of thanks and acknowledgement from a weary Shabazz. He quickly scanned the room, seeing it now as a huge, living chess board. Yeah. King Cain was talking to his queen, Damali. First order of business was to draw the queen away from the king, so a checkmate could go down. Two huge rooks were on either side of the room, Big Mike and Rider. They had to be moved into position. Berkfield, a bishop. The other bishop, Marlene, had been Cain's score, which also felled a knight, Shabazz, with her.
All right. Jose could be a knight on his side. Maybe. Krissy and J.L... Bobby, Dan... frontline pawns, like Inez, Juanita, and Marjorie. He didn't care if it wasn't politically correct to think this way about the team; it was about