Destined for Death

by Chris Green

  “Is this true?” she asked in a weak voice, looking up at Stone.

  “I’m sorry, baby girl. I felt you deserved to know,” he replied watching the tears drop down her face.

  “Rinesha, you need to send someone to get rid of him. He’s clearly the witness that your lawyer is warning you about,” Laylah stated truthfully.

  “No, I’m going to confront him, then I’m gonna kill him myself,” she spat with venom and hatred from the heart.

  Justin was always that one person she could never lose love for. He was the brother that was supposed to stand behind her through the toughest storms, no matter how hard or rough things got for them. Mariah’s cold words ran through Reeses’s brain as she grabbed her pistol from under the pillow.

  “Your brother, those so-called loved ones, you need to wipe that out of your heart. You were made to be the boss of an organization and it’s time to start acting like one.”

  She now understood the meaning of Mariah’s ways. The streets were going to be heartless no matter how much love you showed to them. Everyone was out to stay on top and that was by any means. Even if it meant crossing family. Unfortunately that would be a mistake that Justin would regret forever.

  ***

  Northside Hospital

  Making their way inside of the medical center, Reeses stepped on the elevator first, with Stone and Laylah directly behind her.

  “Listen, Rinesha, I know you’re mad but you still gots to remember we’re in a public hospital. If you shoot him, the police will be on us before we can make it back out of this building,” Laylah warned.

  Even though her temper was boiling through the roof, Reeses knew that Laylah’s words were logical.

  “Just keep calm, ma. If he tries to deny it, show ‘em the paperwork and we can go from there,” Stone said, as the doors opened to the fourth floor.

  Strolling around to the room, Reeses was the first to enter.

  “No fucking way,” Stone said, stepping in behind her.

  “I think he may have gotten the memo a little earlier than expected,” Laylah said looking inside of the empty room.

  The medical devices down to the bed sheets were changed and moved.

  Walking to the nurse’s desk, Reeses stopped the first woman she laid eyes on.

  “Yes, how can I help you all?” she asked looking at all three of them curiously.

  “My brother, Justin Rivers, he was in room six. Where is he?”

  “I don’t recall that name,” she said typing on the computer in front of her.

  “I think we need to get the fuck outta here. Something feels weird,” Stone said getting paranoid.

  “There’s no record of a person with that name ever being here, sweetheart. I’m sorry,” the woman assured her before getting back to her duties.

  “It’s true, he’s really about to pull this shit,” Reeses said walking off with worry written on her face.

  “Just like I told you earlier, it’s time to start thinking a little smarter. We have to start getting rid of some of these problems. He’s not gonna be able to go far,” Laylah said, trying to make sense of the situation.

  “Justin has just played himself into the worst predicament ever. I got a plan, you might not like it, but I think it’ll work,” Stone said with a sly smirk.

  ***

  Federal Headquarters

  Downtown, Atlanta

  “According to the Bureau, Smith has been missing in action for the past few days. Now that coincides with what we have on our agenda, but I’m afraid it’s not enough. We have to catch him in the act, Myers.”

  “You’re right, sir. That’s why I had Plan B inside of the chamber. When Smith showed up to the Witness Protection home, his motive was to get me to abandon the trial on the Rivers case. It was like he was sent by someone personally. Not only that,” she said digging inside of the beige flip folder.

  Sliding the photographs towards him, superior McKenny removed his glasses to get a better view.

  “When I requested to continue the case, sir, I began to follow Smith around for the next few days. I made sure to keep a low profile and this is what I came up with. He made over three stops to this large home out in Macon, Georgia. Kind of strange for an agent to be at a residence filled with heavily armed Spanish men guarding the front gate. Whoever they are must have expensive taste because every car in their driveway cost over a hundred grand. Now I don’t wanna go outta my league, sir, but you have a major distributing queen pin who happens to be down here in search of blood for a family situation.

  The same woman who has paid authorities over ten million dollars in US funds to keep her face golden. Now Agent Smith has happened to find a set of friends who’ve hit the lottery and has over six hundred thousand dollars in vehicles sitting in their yard, I think not. I ran the numbers on two of their license plates and both came back to the name of Eva Ramirez. She is the blonde headed woman you see in the picture, it was hard to find, but I found it. Franchesca Ramirez, she has one prior on her rap sheet and that was an attempted murder at the age of sixteen.”

  “Okay, well this definitely proves that he’s involved with them. But which one of them do you think will be willing to come and testify on the stand at a jury trial to these accusations?” he asked with a straight face.

  Thinking hard, she had to answer truthfully. “Probably neither, but it still doesn’t fall short on our end.”

  Standing up she moved towards the door and looked out.

  “Come in,” she motioned with her hand.

  Stepping out of the way, she allowed Justin to enter the room to take a seat.

  “Can you remove your hat, please,” Courtney asked, while standing behind him.

  Huffing with anger, he removed the fitted cap exposing his face.

  “Holy shit! Mr. Justin Rivers, I can’t say that it’s a pleasure to meet you, young man,” McKenny said folding his arms.

  “Now as I said, sir, he’s going to be the key that help us put everything to an end.”

  “That’s if I’m guaranteed my freedom to walk away from this shit. When you came and seen me in the Feds you didn’t mention I would have to testify on my sister in front of a full fucking courtroom,” Justin spat, cutting his eyes at Courtney.

  “Well, what did you think was going to happen, Mr. Rivers? You’ve been mentioned in over ten unsolved cases from murder, drugs and even kidnapping. The list goes on, son. This is the way the law works,” McKenny stated.

  “Yeah, the way the law works, but what about me? If she finds out where I’m at, I’m fucking dead!”

  “She won’t find you, Justin. The DEA has the best witness protection program in the state of Georgia. It’s our job to make sure you’re safe,” Courtney butted in.

  “Right, just like your brother and father, right?”

  “Excuse me?’

  “You heard me. Your father was the crook of Smyrna and I wouldn’t be in this bullshit if he wasn’t beefing with my father over drug deals. The last time I saw you we were seventeen, a lot has changed in that small time. While you want to and further your career in being a super cop, your brother was killing everybody in the Marietta area because his father was too scared to arrest him. Now all this shit is back firing on y’all because you didn’t stop the problem from the jump.”

  “That’s a lie! Shaun has been arrested numerous times by the same force my father worked on.”

  “Yeah? For what? Assault, terroristic threats, possession of a firearm, right? He’s never spent more than a month behind bars before he gets released to cause more havoc. Let me ask you something, Camilla?” Justin said calling her by the codename she was given. “When’s the last time you’ve heard from your brother?”

  Sitting back in his seat, McKenny looked as if he was waiting for an answer also.

  “What does that have to do with anything?” she countered.

  “It has a lot to do with everything. Maybe you need to ask the people you’re chasing on this big cas
e. I’m sure they still have a piece of him laying around somewhere.”

  “You might want to watch your mouth before you talk yourself into another indictment, young man. Now you’re not going to switch or flip anything to make this work how you want it. If you have information that’s pertaining to anything that can help us, it’ll be in your best interest to let us know, son,” McKenny warned.

  “If you can guarantee me I will do no prison time and you can get me out of the state, I’ll help you take down everyone,” Justin offered.

  Looking at Courtney shake her head, he disregarded her action and shook Justin’s hand.

  “Deal.”

  ***

  Mozley Motel

  Fulton Industrial Blvd.

  “I don’t think this is going to work, Stone. These bitches might tell on us, then what?” Reeses asked, stopping him before he entered the room.

  “As long as you keep things on the low from Mariah, I think it’ll work. We really have no other option, Rinesha. Or I can just start shooting people in the head in broad daylight and we can all catch a life sentence,” Laylah said with a look as if she was serious.

  “Baby, you gotta trust me. It’ll work. If they don’t agree, they won’t walk out of this room,” he ensured, unlocking the door.

  As all three of them moved inside, Bang sat on the couch with his pistol in hand, fully awake. Not speaking as usual, he greeted Stone and the girls with a head nod and held his position.

  Walking over to the two girls who were bound together in separate chairs. Reeses pulled the pillow cases from over their heads.

  “Reeses! Bitch! I thought you and me were family. Why am I tied up eating McDonald’s nuggets for the past week? You said you had a surprise for me and left a sister in this stinky hotel room,” Sue shouted with a look of anger flushing through her red cheekbones.

  “Sue, relax. There’s a lot going on right now. I just need to make sure that my close ones are working with me instead of against me.”

  “Work against you? Bitch, have you lost your mind? I’m your ying, you’re my yang. I’d never do you wrong. You pay me two hundred dollars to do your nails. Why would I mess up the way I pay my rent?” she replied, rolling her eyes as if Reeses violated a code.

  “Sue, can you please just shut the hell up for about five minutes. I know you love me, okay,” Reeses begged, as Stone stepped in front of Samantha.

  “Look at me. I know you’re probably terrified right now and I can understand why. But in order for you to make it out of this alive, you’re gonna have to cooperate with us,” he bargained with an intimidating stare.

  “I swear I don’t know where he is. I wouldn’t lie to you. He doesn’t even truly like me. He will never come no matter how many times I call,” she panicked, speaking a thousand miles an hour. The large bags under her eyes were starting to turn black and guessing from the way her nose leaked, her body was craving from the devastating pain that corrupted her mind.

  Things seemed to be going perfect for her a year ago before meeting Slick. His aggressive and possessive ways pulled her right back into the life that she’d desperately wanted to leave behind.

  “Forget about Slick, he’s not the problem on your hands right now. This is your son, correct?” Stone asked, pulling the small portrait from his pocket.

  “Yes,” she replied with a stressful expression.

  “Do you love him?”

  “Of course, I do. My son and mother are the only two people I have left. I have nothing else to live for but them.”

  “Well, the situation that’s on the plate now will probably have you ready to commit suicide. Your son has been taken. Now before you start to spazz out and have a seizure it’s up to you if he comes back dead or alive,” Stone lied throwing the option up in the air.

  “Please just tell me what I have to do,” she pleaded, looking back and forth between all three of them.

  He then cut the thick rope releasing the girl’s hands and feet.

  “Can anybody tell me where I play a part in this? Shit, I sat in a nasty room for a week. I wanna go on a dangerous mission, too,” Sue voiced.

  “Where did you find this bitch?” Laylah questioned.

  Ignoring Sue’s preposterous remark, she placed her attention on Bang and Stone.

  “It’s time.”

  ***

  For it to be a September night, the wind was cutting sharper than a knife and the moon had finally settled in the dark sky. Pulling his black Lincoln Continental in front of his home in Decatur, District Attorney Paul Edwards stepped out and strolled up his driveway. Placing the key in the door he entered his home and placed his briefcase on the floor.

  “Honey, I’m home,” he said out loud while making his way through the dark living room to find the light.

  The sight of Stone sitting in his La-Z-Boy chair caused him to shiver in fear as he turned the switch.

  “Who the fuck are you, man? Why are you in my home?’ he stuttered after viewing the Beretta pistol resting in his lap.

  “Mr. Edwards, please sit down. You’re in no position to ask questions at this time.”

  “Where’s my wife?’ he questioned in a shaky tone.

  “She’s upstairs. There’s someone with her. He’s holding a gun to the center of her forehead with the hammer pulled back and if our conversation doesn’t end well, she’ll die and so will you.”

  Hearing Stone’s words forced him to release a small amount of urine inside of his boxers. His heart felt as if it would burst at any minute and judging from the size of the big ass pistol, he knew the desired conversation was not about to end well.

  “Sit down!” Stone repeated with more authority.

  Taking a few steps back, he took a seat on the family couch. His feet were moving like a tap dancer and his hand rested in between his legs so he wouldn’t completely piss on himself.

  “Now I don’t want to imply anything towards you, so I’ll be very direct and I expect straight forward answers back.”

  No words came from the district attorney’s mouth, he simply nodded.

  “You’ve been playing with a very serious situation and that has officially created a full blown problem for a lot of people. Unfortunately, some aren’t here to worry on the matter anymore. Lives have been given and sacrifices on many things have been forced away. All for one case that you refuse to rest easy on. Now you look like an honest man, you go to work to earn a living for you and your wife. I respect that. What I do is no different, I get up and make my way to the streets every day to feed the ones I love. But now that same family I feed is being torn apart because you can’t respect the way we eat. Does Rinesha Rivers have bad blood with you or is it just something personal that you want to see her do a life sentence in prison?”

  “I’m not in charge of the cases that I’m assigned to.”

  “I said straight answers, remember. Speak English!” Stone whispered aiming the pistol at his face.

  Swallowing his spit, he released the rest of his urine inside of his pants.

  “The DEA and FBI are all over the case. I’m not in a position to do anything about that matter.”

  “But you are the district attorney for the case which means you know everything down to the small details. Am I right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Are there any surprise witnesses we should know about?”

  “There’s only two valid informants. Agent Courtney Myers and the defendant’s brother Justin Rivers,” he forced through trembling lips.

  “I figured. I don’t mean to impose on you in any way, but you’re just a bull-headed state representative and your actions are forcing the hands of a lot of people. Now, is there a chance that you may happen to know where they’re hiding her brother, do you?”

  The lens of his glasses had begun to fog lightly from the warm sweat that ran down his forehead. Blinking his eyes numerous of times, he opened his mouth to reply.

  “Don’t lie!” Stone said, pulling the hammer back befor
e he could spill any words.

  “Mr. Rivers was being held in a hotel. The Days Inn off of Old National Highway, I was speaking to him yesterday after the State had him moved from the hospital on protection watch,” he answered truthfully.

  “I believe you,” Stone agreed with a blank face.

  Hearing the loud gunshot erupt upstairs, Edwards released a heap of shit in the lining of his boxers.

  “Eliseee!” he screamed, breaking down in tears.

  Bang strolled down the steps with the weapon in his hand, then he walked towards the D.A. forcing him to place his palms around the handle.

  “Now, this is the gun that you just murdered your wife with in cold blood, Mr. Edwards,” Stone said, as Bang pushed away his sweaty hands and placed it inside a Ziploc bag.

  “No,” Edwards whined, as if he were in a bad dream.

  “Yes, I’m afraid so, sir. Your selfish and egotistical ways have caused you to finally do the ultimate. You came home to find out that your wife was cheating on you according to these text messages that were sent to her secret lover an hour ago. Being that you were too much of a coward to step to the man, you came home and attacked your precious wife, who also has a black eye to prove this terrible crime.”

  “Oh, my god,” he cried looking at the cell phone in Stone’s hand.

  “Looks like you only got one option to me, Mr. Edwards. You can dump her body, quit your job, and move out of the state. Or you can try to call the police after we leave and give them your side of the story that two men broke in and did it an hour before you came home. I don’t know if that’ll end well for you, but it’s worth a try.”