“I am Mohammed Knowly of the Nation of Islam. Your group of-”
“Careful!” I could see the end of life smile on Lynn’s face. Lucas was straining to hold onto control at my side. “You apparently didn’t understand Lynn’s warning clearly enough. Stick to the point you came here to make. I thought you guys all wear red bowties.”
“Never mind our dress, Harding. Your group has been terrorizing the Muslim community. We’ve been informed of your intervention to take Amara Nejem from her rightful family, and you have a woman preaching hatred against Islam in public: Samira Kensington.”
“Amara is part of our family now. She’s going to college, learning skills, and is a personal assistant on movies with Director Dostiene. Amara couldn’t be happier. As for Samira, she’s here now and can speak for herself.”
Sam slipped forward through the grinning Monsters with a smile and Jafar at her side. He wasn’t smiling. “I’m Samira. If you mean that I speak of Islam’s subjugation of women, you are correct. Islam needs reformation. I do not consider myself a Muslim any longer, and your sect believes in the extermination of white people. Even true Muslims don’t go that far… yet. I have looked into the hatred long enough. I only speak now when asked, and I am honest in my admission. Women are not chattel to be abused. I have a daughter now, and I will kill anyone who tries to treat her as they do other women under Sharia Law. Why are you self-important toads really here? Amara Nejem and I are not slaves. We are free, happy women.”
“There you have it, Mr. Knowly,” I said, when Samira’s introduction caused momentary silence. “Did we cover everything? This is a free country. If you and your friends don’t like it, maybe you’d better move to a country with Islam’s brand of Sharia Law slavery, if they’ll have you.”
“You represent the Oaktown Cartel. I’ve come to challenge you.”
When the laughter died down I took another deep breath. “I don’t think you understand the rules of the Oaktown challenge, Mohammed. If I win, Oaktown absorbs your group. I can’t speak for the others but I don’t want your Nation of Islam toadies. As I understand it, you don’t sell drugs, or do anything else against the law. We only stop gangs terrorizing communities. You’re free to live any way you wish on your own, including hating anyone who doesn’t match your skin color or beliefs. As long as you don’t act on that hatred, we won’t ever have a problem.”
“If I beat you in the cage, you will hand over Amara Nejem, and stop Samira Kensington from blaspheming Islam. If you win, we will forfeit twenty-five thousand dollars.”
“Okay… now you’re pissing me off. I don’t own Amara. My associate Lynn will slice you into little pieces if you touch Amara. If you ever threaten Samira Kensington or Amara, we will erase you and your crew from the face of the earth without a trace. That said, why in hell would I need to fight you? In addition, even the Muslim hate groups like ‘The Muslims of the Americas’ don’t recognize the Nation of Islam. They’re a cult to us, and they think of the NOI as a sub-cult. I don’t see them reaching out to you bunch. What do you want and why should I care?”
My dismissal of his objective ticked him off.
“So, you are afraid to face me!”
“You better cool that talk, brother,” Dev told him, trying to ease a public confrontation from ending in a killing. “John explained we’re not in the slave trade and we protect our own. Even if he agreed to fight you in the cage and lost, you wouldn’t get Amara or silence Samira. We have no beef with the NOI community. Why… oh… I get it.”
Dev turned to us, his confused companions. “It’s the Nejem family. We hit them hard without a follow-up. They must have decided to get the NOI in on the situation. Talk about snakes out of different pits.”
“The Nejem family requested our help in rectifying this outrageous situation. Amara was promised in marriage to a true believer. It is her duty to honor that contract,” Knowly said.
“Are you stupid?” Tommy and I had faced off with NOI members before. They’re a bit like the black Klan, but instead of simple separatism as the Klan practices, the NOI want the white race to disappear. Usually, they stay inside their own community with the race hatred stuff. “Dev just explained you’re not getting Amara. John and I have worked together for years in Oakland. We’ve seen your communities taking care of their own. Live and let live. Back out of here and forget the money the Nejem family promised you. Yeah… I’m certain there’s a payoff for this dumb move, but you can’t spend it if you’re dead.”