Empire of Shadows / Season 1, Episode 7
Midnight on Linwood
The engine of the ’68 Dodge Charger growled low, a beast idling in the dark, as Leon Mercer gripped the steering wheel with knuckles still raw from last night’s cold. The dashboard clock ticked past 1:17 a.m., its faint green glow the only light in the car besides the occasional flare of Reggie’s cigarette. Outside, Linwood Avenue stretched empty under sodium streetlamps, the vacant lot across from Booker T. Washington Middle School a jagged shadow of weeds and broken bottles. Leon’s breath fogged the window, the heater long since busted, and the air inside carried the stale bite of tobacco and motor oil. His army jacket, patched at the elbow, hung heavy on his shoulders, the weight of it a reminder of jungles far from Detroit—jungles he’d left but never really escaped. “You see anything yet?” Reggie’s voice rasped from the passenger seat, low and tight, like he was chewing on his own nerves. He flicked ash into an empty Schlitz can, the tinny clink swallowed by the hum of the engine. His eyes darted to the side mirror, then back to the lot, a twitchy rhythm Leon knew too well. Fear lived in Reggie’s bones, same as it did in most folks who’d seen friends like Dee cut down over nothing but a wrong look. “Nah,” Leon said, his...