by De'Kari
The signal to move out was given and everyone climbed inside and on top of their perspective vehicle. Naturally the Feds wanted to be the first inside the habitat, but it would be Hedgecock and his team who would lead the initial breech. As he prepared himself, he thought how they had found the suspect. An anonymous tip was called in with the possible sighting. The detective unit that was sent to investigate spotted Lt. Urena’s brand new truck which had been stolen from the precinct and driven by the suspect at the time of the killing of Federal Snitch, Agent Jose-Walo-Gayton.
Upon further recon a lone African-American was seen going to and from the unit. There were four units on either side of a courtyard with three units in the back. After the intel was gathered, a strike team was assembled for this morning’s raid on the unit.
Two teams would penetrate. One would cover the back and a team would roam the perimeter keeping it sealed tight. Alpha teams would consist of the FBI’s Tactical S.W.A.T. unit and Hedgecock’s team. Bravo was the team covering the back of the unit and Delta was the team covering the perimeter.
4:58a.m.
“All teams deploy cautiously to get into position.” One of the Delta Team members scouted the entire area two hours ago for any possible barking dogs. The area was secure.
Coms (communications) were checked earlier but the double click inside of Hedgecock’s ear was a last-minute confirmation that all systems were a go. Just before entry, one of the neighbors across the courtyard opened their door and stepped out on her way to work. Quickly members of the Delta Team rushed her, secured her and removed her from the Hot Zone.
5:01a.m.
“Alpha Leader Team One breech on my go. Five, four…” Hedgecock watched with anticipation as he listened to Alpha Leader count down in his ear.
“…three, two…” all the members waited for the sigh to go. The green light.
Alpha Breech One stood poised with the Battle Ram ready. The shit hit the fan!
“One! Breech! Breech! Breech!” All precisely on the signal of Breech.
Flash bangs and stun grenades went crashing through the front and back windows along with smoke grenades. The sound of the grenades going off were like m-80’s and M-160 cherry bombs going off on the 4th of July.
The moment the bangs of the grenades were heard the Battering Ram crashed into the front door right where the dead bolt was. The entire door hinge splintered apart in a thousand little pieces as the front door violently tore free. Members of Alpha One and Alpha Two stormed inside of the Town House, all alert and on the ready!
The first thing Hedgecock picked up on was the emptiness of the unit. There was sparse furniture in the front room, but the place was too clean. There was no feel of a presence inside of the unit. Still he proceeded to lead up the stairs that were directly in front of him to his left.
From the layout obtained from the leasing office, they were aware ahead of time that it was a 3-bedroom, 2 bath unit. All of the bedrooms were located upstairs. Hedgecock headed up the stairs headed towards the farthest room on the left.
Lt. Urena was two people behind Hedgecock. Urena’s job was to secure the master bedroom while the next team secured the last room.
Without breaking stride, Hedgecock kicked the room door in. The door swung open to a completely empty room. There was not a single thing inside the room, not even in the closet. As if on cue, he began hearing everyone inside of his earpiece sounding off that their area was secure.
“Alpha leader two. Area secure.” Hedgecock spoke into his coms also letting everyone else know that his designated area was clear.
On his way back down the stairs he was trying to figure out what happened. The intel had been verified and checked out. The suspect had been seen entering the unit last night and presumably neva came back out. So, where was he?
Downstairs everyone was walking around with lost looks on their faces. No doubt thinking the same thing. Delta One came over the coms informing them all that no-one has breached the perimeter. The answer had to be here somewhere.
Ten minutes of searching turned up absolutely nothing. Hedgecock just couldn’t accept that. He decided to head out towards the garage and see if he could find something there. Across the horizon it looked like the sun was getting ready to make its appearance.
Outside in the back, Hedgecock made his way towards the garage. He stopped in mid-stride when he heard something over by the gate. With his breath held, he spun, aiming his rifle in the direction of the noise. Fuck alerting somebody on comms, he was ready to light some shit up.
“Come on motherfucker.” He whispered to himself as he approached the wooden fence.
He heart was beating so loud that he couldn’t hear his own breathing. Still he proceeded. Just as he got close to the fence he heard a scurry directly towards his left. He swung his rifle around as fast as he could, ready to squeeze the trigger. Right before he pulled the trigger he saw an alley cat sprint away from the fence, race to the other fence and hop over it. Hedgecock out a sigh of relief. He would neva admit to himself, let alone anyone else, but he was scared shitless.
As he was turning to leave he noticed that a door had been cut into the fence.
Federal informant Wendell Roberson came over the comms unit, “hey guys, it looks like we have activity next door.” Hedgecock pushed on the door of the fence and it opened. He stepped in and noticed through the glass sliding door the unit next door was ablaze. What caught his attention was the fact that both the sliding door and the garage door were wide open.
“Alpha Leader Two, there was a passageway cut into the fence that leads into the next-door backyard. Repeat we have a possible breech in the backyard, Alpha Leader Two proceeding to further investigate.
“Alpha Leader Two, this is Alpha Leader Three. In route to your location. Me and a couple of my guys are on you six.” Lt. Urena was already through the sliding glass door when he sent the transmission.
“10-4,”Hedgecock whispered into his coms. He already crossed the threshold of the walk-through garage door. It was dark and musky inside of the garage. The only light source was the light coming into the door he’d just crossed and another walkthrough door on the other side of the garage that was open.
He paused for a second once he stepped in to give his eyes a chance to adjust to the darkness. Once his eyes adjusted, Hedgecock noticed that the garage was bare. Making one sweep with the rifle to confirm his thought, he headed towards the open door.
He heard Urena and his men enter the garage the moment he reached the other door. Hedgecock took a deep breath and then stepped through the door.
“Officer down! Officer down! I repeat Officer down! This is Alpha Leader Two, I’m outside of the back of the garage to the adjoining unit. We have an officer down!” As Hedgecock dropped to his knees to assist the fallen officer, he could hear Urena and his men approaching. “Be advised it appears that the suspect has taken the officers clothes. I repeat suspect is dressed like a member of the Delta Team!”
**** N. D. ****
Batman laughed so hard that tears rolled down his face.
“I repeat the suspect is dressed like a member of the Delta Team!” He called out in a mockery of the cop he just heard over the radio.
He couldn’t help but wonder how they were going to respond once they realized that he had also taken one of the FBI’s tactical S.W.A.T. vehicles. They were really going to shit their pants then. It was all so easy. He had seen it in a movie played by Denzel Washington. He had motion sensors and cameras wired and rigged around unit six and unit seven. Both were leased by him under separate names. Batman would always enter and exit out of unit six. Once he entered unit six, he would use his secret door in the fence to walk into unit seven where he resided.
When he saw the S.W.A.T. units getting ready to bust the door down, he knew that they were at unit six. Batman made his way through the garage. He could hear the pig talking to someone on his radio through the door. He looked through the peep hole that he’d installed
and saw that the pig had his back to the door.
Batman slowly opened the door and stepped out as silently as he could. Knowing what he was already going to do, thoughts of Eric Garner a 43-year-old brother from New York who the police murdered by choking him out, crossed into Batman’s mind.
“This is for Eric.” The fraction of a second that it took for the officer’s brain to register what he had just heard was too late.
In the blink of an eye, Batman reached out his hands and snapped the cops’ neck like a dry twig left out in the Death Valley heat. In just a matter of minutes Batman stripped the dead body of its uniform, put it on and was climbing inside of the Tactical Assault Vehicle.
Law enforcement always left their keys inside of their vehicles, especially the feds. They were cocky and arrogant. They left their keys inside of their vehicles because they figured no-one would fuck with their shit.
Batman drove off without a care in the world while listening to all the chatter on the police radio. By the time they discovered the body of the dead officer, he was already on the 880-freeway heading south. He got on the freeway at the Thornton exit and was already passing the Mowry exit when the transmission came across the radio about the stolen assault vehicle.
“Fuck the police! They will learn that they are not superior to the same laws that they are supposed to uphold. The feds too. Even our so-called government for the people are corrupt and racially biased. But I’ll make them pay attention to what’s going on. I’ll remind them that everybody answers to somebody and they must answer to me!” He thought to himself as he continued listening to the APB that went out over the radio and the rest of the radio chatter.
**** N. D. ****
Milpitas
Chief Vieira was fuming. She’d just hung up her office phone after receiving the news of the botched raid on the suspected cop killer. She knew that letting the feds get involved was a bad idea. However, after the Governors little speech, the decision was far out of her hands.
After the Governors little speech about public safety and the safety of law enforcement, the heat had really come down on the Mayor who in turn came down pretty hard on the Chief. She was really wanting the raid to be a success so that at least she could show that she had apprehended the suspect. That was the main reason she didn’t want outside agencies involved in the raid. Yet, the Mayor all but told her that the feds would be running point.
Vieira was a veteran. She knew all too well neva to count your chickens before they hatch. Which is why she was telling the Mayor that she was strongly against informing the Governor about locating the suspect at least until they apprehended the suspect. A hard head really does make a soft ass she thought, but at least she wasn’t the one that the Governor was about to rip a new hole.
She picked up her phone to see if she had received a response to her text message yet. Her screen was blank indicating the answer to her question was no. She knew that it was too early, but she still had to try.
Over the course of her frequent visits to the hospital, she and French Tip had held several conversations and had gotten to know one another. Vieira learned early on that French Tip loved her brother very much and was extremely protective of him. She admired and respected that. The two ladies had exchanged phone numbers and continued with their getting to know one another.
French Tip had told Vieira at their second meeting that Voorheeze coma was medically induced. Countless times over the past few months, Vieira had desperately wanted French Tip to make the decision to wake her baby up. That moment neva came. When word came down from the District Attorneys office that the charges against him where being dismissed, Vieira was so happy, she nearly cheered openly in her office while reading the report.
She acted purely on impulse when she had picked up her cell phone and sent French Tip a text message informing her of the news. Her reasoning was just maybe this information would give French Tip reason enough to make the decision. Vieira knew that what she did could get her fired, yet she did it anyway. She just hoped to God that it wasn’t a wasted risk. She was lost without him. She needed him back.
Vieira put the cell phone back on her desk and decided to get up and make her morning rounds. She needed something to take her mind off French Tip responding to her.
**** N. D. ****
He sat all alone in the crowded hallways shedding more tears than Tupac rapped about on the song “Shed So Many Tears”. It’s as if he was on his very own metal chair island, lost in a storm of misery and tragedy that no one could feel but him.
Thoughts sped through his mind like Danika Patrick. The one thought that continued to come back around like it was on its very own conveyor belt was how is it even possible. Gunz wouldn’t dare tempt God but he couldn’t fathom that his baby could still be alive. But she was. He’d lost track of how long he had been there. Hell, in his mind state, he couldn’t keep track of anything. Though he had neva in his life been religious, he prayed to God whole heartedly and continually. His baby was still here! He knew she was a fighter. That went without question, but he couldn’t help but ask himself could there possibly be a God. If so, did He care enough to answer his prayers?
Everyone couldn’t help but to stare at the black man that didn’t look as if he should be crying. Yet, all who looked at him could tell that his anguish and pain was real. The white woman who looked at him with open lust thought it beautiful for someone who looked so rough and dangerous to be so weak and vulnerable.
There weren’t but a handful of blacks in Dublin or San Ramon. The upscale wealthy neighborhoods were predominately white and Indian. Dublin and San Ramon were filled with the wealthy. When a mob of angry black niggaz came storming into the hallways of the E. R. everyone nearly shit themselves from fear.
Gunz knew something was wrong. Hospitals are very noisy all the time. All of a sudden, you could hear a cricket fart it had gotten so quiet. The only thing he could hear before he lifted his head up was the sound of marching feet. He didn’t know how they found out but Gunz knew who was coming before he looked up.
Cantelope was the first to reach Gunz. He could hear the sound of her Manalo heels echoing off the walls. She didn’t feel his slight hesitation when she hugged him.
“Gunz, I’m so sorry, baby”, she whispered into his ear just before letting him go.
French Tip, on the other hand, picked up on his hesitation and reluctance to embrace her, yet she decided not to say anything. After all she couldn’t begin to imagine the state of mind that he must be in. It was French Tip who had seen the story on the early morning news.
Gunz had asked French Tip to keep an eye on Nastasia to make sure she didn’t find out about the early wedding. Using the Satin Doll Fashion Show as an excuse, French had gotten close to Nastasia. She had been to the house several times. So, when she saw it on the news, she immediately left out of her house. Speeding through the streets, she called Dok.
After hugging French Tip, Gunz turned to face Dok. The pain on his face was evident. The two warriors embraced like brothers. Dok couldn’t find the words to console his brotha. The anguish he would feel if something were to happen to Jeanette would crush his entire world. He could only imagine Gunz’ pain. As they embraced, Dok silently thanked God that Jeanette was safe.
“May the spirit of the Khatari be with you, my brotha.” Dok gave Gunz a firm grip, reassuring him that the family was there for him.
Gunz took a step back and shook his head. His legs gave out and he plopped down into the chair. How could the family be there for him? It was too late. They weren’t there when he needed them to be, just as he wasn’t there when Nastasia needed him to be. He looked at Dok and tried to speak but couldn’t. The pain that gripped his chest was unbearable. With every heartbeat Gunz felt like someone was beating on his chest with a sledge hammer.
Everyone stood around taking up most of that section of the hallway waiting on Gunz to speak. Just then, two security guards came around the corner. They were answering a call of
concern regarding the group. As the frail Opie Taylor looking rent-a-cop took one look at the group of hardened killas, they turned back around just as fast and decided that now would be a good time to take lunch.
Gunz couldn’t blame nobody but himself. He knew in his heart that he should’ve dealt with Clarks bitch ass himself. Clark was a street nigga like he was. He wasn’t some revolutionary. He had to be got at like a street nigga! Gunz had ignored that the moment he decided to allow Dok to take care of the situation. Gunz had made the mistake! He wouldn’t make another!
He looked at Cantelope again and then at French Tip. They both had been loyal and solid soldiers. Just how far would that loyalty go, he wondered. After all blood was thicker then water. It was times like this that he missed Chiba! Anne was beyond loyal, she was tested and proven, and died for her loyalty.
“My brotha, talk to me. I can see the storm clouds brewing in your eyes.” Dok’s voice brought him out his mind and back to reality.
It only takes a split second in time to alter the course of one’s life. Well in the split second that Gunz snapped back into reality the course of numerous lives was altered. When Gunz stood up, the weak and grieving fiancé that was just wallowing in his sorrows disappeared. A General and East Oakland legend stood up.
He looked at French Tip first.
“I’m sorry little sis, you should’ve been told what was going on in the beginning. Now, it’s too late. You’re guilty by association so I can’t trust you.” As he hugged and kissed her, his words struck her in the face like an iron fist.
She stumbled backwards with a shocked look on her face. No, he didn’t just disrespect her like that. She was about to address the situation, but something in her soul told her not to.