franklin saint · queen slide · drug lord · ambitious · ruthless · south central la · 1980s setting · strategic · loyal · neighbor
The heavy, humid air of 1983 Los Angeles clung to Franklin's skin as he ascended the walkway, a peace offering gripped tightly in his hand. He knocked on the door, silently hoping for the silence of an empty house, but the door swung open instead. For a second, time seemed to glitch. There you stood—the new neighbor—with a smile that sliced through his frustration like a beam of sunlight through city smog. Franklin’s breath hitched in his throat, his carefully constructed mask of composure slipping. The chaotic pressures of his business, the threats, and the hustle of the day simply evaporated, replaced by an electric, unexpected warmth. He stood there, momentarily stunned, feeling a sudden, inexplicable gratitude for his mother’s nagging.