My Brother's Keeper 2

by U. E. Wynn

  “Check it though, the two dudes in the hallway are Hector’s people. Hector…”

  “What!” Prince interrupted. “How in the hell them niggas end up here?”

  “Chill Prince, let me finish. Hector is dead in the kitchen. That’s why I called you niggas so y’all can help me get these damn bodies outta here.”

  The room grew quiet as everyone digested the information, then Star broke the silence. “How in the hell you manage that? Jah been trying to get his ass for years. What he just walked into your hands?”

  “Yeah, something like that. I came up with a scheme using Sin. The stupid muthafucka went for it.”

  Star smirked. “What kind of scheme?”

  “That ain't important right now. Let’s get these bodies outta here, then I’ll put y’all on. You see I ain’t in no shape to do this shit by myself.”

  “Where that bitch Sin at?” Star asked intent on keeping the questions coming.

  Koran locked eyes with him before answering. “I got Sin, so don’t stress that. What we need to be stressing is these bodies like I said. I’ll answer your questions when that’s done.”

  “He’s right,” said Lord. “Let's get this shit cleaned up first. We’ll holla later about this, because this changes a lot of shit.”

  They all nodded and set off to work. All except for Star who lagged behind until the living room was cleared.

  “A yo, I ain’t feeling this shit Koran, word up. What you keep moving dolo for? You could have told us what was poppin’ off. That’s some bullshit with you trying to impress muthafucka’s. You won’t be satisfied until that shit gets you killed.”

  “Whatever Star,” Koran turned to walk off, but Star snatched him around by his shoulder.

  “You think you can’t get fucked up nigga?”

  “And who the fuck gonna do it, huh? You? Now get the fuck off me!” Koran growled, his face contorted in a snarl as he walked off.

  Sha’ and Crook was in the process of breaking Hectors legs when Koran entered the kitchen. Lord was stripping the diamond rings off his fingers and sticking them in his pocket. Although Hector had only been dead a little over an hour, rigor mortis had already begun to set in.

  “C’mon Lord, stop bullshitting and snap the niggas arms so we can stuff his ass in the suitcase,” Sha’ said as he grunted while twisting Hector’s right leg so that it pressed down flatly against his chest.

  Koran laughed, dragging the suitcase beside Hector’s body. He shook his head, grinning as Lord pulled the last ring from his fingers. “You Brooklyn nigga’s don’t miss shit.”

  Lord grinned up at Koran as he removed Hector’s platinum chain. “He won’t be needing this shit where he’s going. Let me check his pockets too before we zip his ass up. I betcha he’s holding a few thousand.” Sure enough, he dug in Hector’s pockets and came out with two thick rolls of money. “Bingo! Ain't nothing like free money. A yo check them niggas pockets too!” he called out to the hallway.

  An hour an a half later all three bodies were tightly stuffed inside the suitcases. The lieutenants left to dispose of them in the body junkyard better known as the Hudson River. The Heads filed back into the living room to hear how Koran managed to lure Hector to his apartment.

  Koran stood in the middle of the room and took a deep breath. He let his words spill out telling the half truth he had come up with. “Hector somehow found out I was fucking Sin and tried to send a message to her through this Puerto Rican chick we used to go to Junior high with. It was just my luck I used to fuck the chick back in the day. So she delivered the message to me and gave me his number.”

  “What was the message?” Star and Sha’ asked at the same time.

  “That Sin needed to get at him right away. About what she ain’t say. Anyway, come to find out Sin don’t fuck with Hector like that for real. She thinks he had something to do with her sister’s death. So she was all for setting his ass up. Plus, she thinks I’ma marry her. Now this is where the ill shit comes in at,” Koran said warming up to his lies. “Sin told Hector I had mad dough stashed in the crib. Said it was so much that she couldn’t tote it all by herself. She came up with this shit herself figuring Hector would come personally just to make sure nobody fucked with the money. That shit worked, Son! When they got here I handled my business.”

  Lord shook his head in wonder. “That’s some wild shit, word up.”

  “What's up with Sin?” Star asked. “Maybe we should wrap her ass up in a suitcase too. I ain’t feeling her being mixed up in this shit. Bitches talk too much.”

  “I thought about that too. I was gonna body her tonight, but I’ma chill and wait until we leave. I’m thinking about taking her to Vegas and leaving her planted in the desert. I wanna beat the pussy up a few more times before I dead her ass,” he said with a smile, even though his heart pounded against his chest. Silently, he prayed they would accept his story and didn’t suggest that he kill Serenity tonight. If so, he would kill them all right then and there.

  “Since Hector is dead I guess we can cancel the shit we had for his spots,” Princes said, reaching for the half of blunt Koran had left in the ashtray.

  “Nah, let’s stick to the plan,” Sha’ replied glancing at Koran. “Hector is dead, but his people are still in place. Somebody in his clique is bound to step up.”

  “Yeah,” Koran added without caring what they did. All he cared about was that they were off the subject of Serenity.

  After the Heads left, Koran sat in the living room smoking blunt after blunt of Cush mixed with Purple Haze. Tony Yayo’s album ‘Thoughts Of A Predicate Felon’ played on the stereo while his thoughts were on how to stay alive without becoming a felon. So far he had a pretty good track record. His body count was well into the teens, his money was right and he had faced death on numerous occasion with only a few scratches. How long would his luck last though, he wondered. A jail cell or head shot could become reality at any time.

  As high as he was, his thoughts skipped around like a scratched CD taking him back to the conversation he had earlier with Hector. Another five minutes and he would have known which Head he had to kill. Now he was left with no choice. They all had to die. He wondered how Sha’ would feel if he ever found out, then quickly dismissed the thoughts. Sha’ needed to be somewhere else when he did it. Koran dozed off with those thought lingering in his mind.

  Hours later, around three o’clock that morning, a sound at the apartment door woke him. Alarmed, he snatched his gun off the coffee table thinking one of the Heads had returned to kill him. He entered the hallway cautiously placing his back against the wall in case whoever it was shot through the door. As he drew closer he noticed hat the door was slightly ajar, held together only by the chain lock. The tension automatically seeped from his body when he knelt to peek through the crack and saw the pink and white air max sneakers. Serenity. She stood before him looking like a sad puppy when he opened the door her eyes bloodshot with tear stains on her cheeks.

  “Don’t get mad, but I’m not leaving unless you come with me,” she said looking up at him through pleading eyes. “Don’t try to make me leave either. I’ll only cause more problems.”

  Koran sighed in resignation as she walked into his arms. “C’mon in man. And since you wanna be hard headed, we got a lot to talk about.”

  He secured the door, then led her to the living room and plucked a blunt roach from the ashtray. He fired it up before speaking.

  “Before you commit yourself to anything let me tell you what’s going on and what’s about to pop off. Tonight after you left I gave the Heads a bogus ass story about how I got Hector here. I had to put you in it though. Now they gonna make sure I body you. If I don’t, they will. That’s if I ain’t able to body them first. With that to stress about, I gotta find a way to kill them without Sha’ finding out. Before any of that goes down I got a job at the Wedge to do. My chances of coming back are 50/50 being as though I don’t know if one of the Heads will have a nigga there waiting on me.
If I do make it back, I gotta hit the Heads the same nights. The tricky part will be getting them together without Sha’ knowing. Now if I can accomplish all this and still be breathing, we should be good. Now, after hearing all this, you sure you don’t wanna bounce?”

  “If they kill you, then they better kill me too,” Serenity answered with a straight face.

  “What about Kay? If something happens to me, you gotta hold him down.”

  “Jamel has your mother to hold him down if something happens to us.”

  “A’ight. But until we leave you keep your ass right here in this apartment. Don’t even answer the phone. Got me?”

  “I got you. Koran, I messed things up and I’m sorry. But I’m not sorry I killed Hector. He…”

  Koran put a finger to her lips. “Don’t even think about it. In fact, come give me some of what I need so I can take your mind off it.”

  “I’ll be happy to,” she said, smiling as she reached for his zipper.

  Chapter Twenty Seven

  The next morning Jahad sat propped up in bed watching soap operas when Koran entered his room. Over the past couple of days his color had returned and he looked like he had picked up a few pounds. Emma’s cooking was doing the trick. Twice a day she snuck in food for him in her large purse and made sure he ate every bit of it.

  “I know you ain’t in here watching no damn Days Of Our Lives,” Koran said, laughing. He pulled a chair up beside the bed shaking his head. “Wait until I tell niggas this.”

  “You better not nigga. I’ll fuck you up when I get outta here.” He grinned clicking the television off. “What’s up?”

  Koran flashed a sly grin. “Guess who got sent to hell last night?”

  “You got that bastard!”

  “Nah. Sin bodied his ass.” Koran related what happen.

  “Oh word! Shorty gangsta like that, Son? You need a chick like that on your team.”

  “Yeah, but she fucked up. I didn’t get the info I needed from Hector. So you know what I gotta do,” Koran said in a flat tone.

  Jahad nodded. “That’s the way it’s gotta be. Just make sure you do it right.”

  “That’s been on my mind like crazy too. I pretty much know how I wanna do it, I just gotta figure out how to get Sha’ to be somewhere else though. I’d hate to body him too. If only I could tell him. It would make this shit a lot easier.” Frustration showed all over Koran’s face.

  “Listen lil bruh, nothing we do is easy. That’s what makes us who we are. Remember that.”

  When Koran came home later that afternoon Serenity was in the living room singing along to Destiny’s Child, ‘Cater To You’. So engrossed with her singing, she didn’t notice him walk up behind her until he grabbed her butt. Startled, she spun around holding her chest, her right hand drew back to throw a punch.

  Koran laughed. “What, you gonna do, hit me?”

  “No. But stop sneaking up on me like that. You scared the hell outta me boy. You know I’m already paranoid.” Serenity kissed him on the cheek, then turned the music down.

  “I’m sorry sexy. I didn’t mean to scare you. Hit that high note again, though.”

  Serenity arched her eyebrow smiling. “Maybe I’ll make you hit a few high notes.”

  “I can’t right now. I got work to do. When I get back we can have our own little concert though.”

  “What kind of work?”

  “Got a little bit of this, little bit of that to do. I’ll…”

  “Don’t give me that shit!” Serenity snapped. “We’re in this together, remember.”

  Koran held up his hands up, grinning. “Well, pardon me, Ma. All I’m gonna do is sit and watch some people for a while.”

  “You’re gonna kill somebody aren’t you?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Who? The Heads?”

  “Nah. Some other niggas so we can establish our place back in a few spots.”

  “Why?”

  “What’s this, twenty fucking questions?” he asked getting annoyed.

  “No,” Serenity replied calmly. “But if we’re leaving, what’s the use in killing people over some spots you won’t even be running? What you need to be doing is plotting on how we’re gonna kill the Heads instead of some people who don’t even post a threat.”

  Koran stared at her a moment, then smiled. She made a good point. What happened after Friday wouldn’t be none of his concern. “Listen to you.”

  “Don’t tease me boy,” she said, trying not to smile. “So how will we do it?”

  “We?”

  “Yes, we. Me and you. Serenity and Koran.”

  “You don’t even know how to use a rachet, talking about how we gonna do it.”

  Sin sucked her teeth. “Yes, I do.”

  Koran gave her a sly look, then took her hand. “C’mon.”

  He led her to the bedroom where he pulled a medium sized suitcase from his closet. Inside were all types of clean guns with the serial numbers scratched off. He took out a .25 automatic, checked to make sure it wasn’t loaded, then gave it to Serenity.

  “Show me that you know how to shoot it.”

  “Any bullets in it?” she asked, turning the small gun over in her hands.

  “Nah, but show me how you would shoot it if it was loaded.”

  Serenity looked at him like he was crazy, then pointed the gun at the wall and pulled the trigger. “Like that silly.”

  “Nope. You didn't even cock back. How you gonna shoot it without a bullet in the chamber?”

  He took the gun and slid the top half back before handing it back. “Now pull the trigger.”

  Sin lifted the gun and pointed it towards the wall again. This time when she pulled the trigger, the gun fired with a loud click. “Oh!” she said, surprised. “Do I have to do that every time I want to shoot it?”

  “Nah. That’s why it’s called an automatic. All you gotta do is keep pulling the trigger. This little red button by the trigger is called the safety. When you push it in, it won’t shoot. Push it out and you got action.”

  He went on to show her how to load the clip, cock, and aim. After several practices he felt she had it down pat.

  “This is a small caliber gun so the best way to get the job done is up close and personal. A head shot or upper chest. A body shot will only piss a muthafucka off,” he said just as his cell phone vibrated. “Yeah, what's up?”

  “A yo Koran, this Crook. You seen, Sha’?” Crook asked sounding stressed.

  “Nah. Why? What up?”

  “Can’t nobody find that nigga. None of his Shorty’s seen him either. I called the Heads and they said they ain’t seen him. He ain’t even answering his cell phone.”

  Koran felt a cold sense of dread. “Maybe he’s outta town or something. If he stops by here I’ll get at you.”

  “Yeah, do that. One.”

  “One.” Koran frowned hitting the end button.

  “What’s wrong?” Serenity asked, grabbing his hand.

  “Sha’. Nobody seen him since yesterday and he ain’t answering his phone. It may be nothing. I have enough going on with trying to figure out how to do what needs to be done with the Heads. I’ll worry about Sha’ some other time.”

  Koran was about to speak when his cell phone vibrated again. “Yeah, what up?”

  “A yo some ill shit happened, Son,” Prince said sounding out of breath.

  Goosebumps broke out on Koran’s arms. “What happened?”

  “Some M.G’s just found Sha’s Beamer shot the fuck up on Linder Boulevard near the Pink Houses! Mad blood and shit was on the seats from what niggas tell me.”

  Koran went numb. Sha’ had an assortment of cars, but favored his red 2006 745i B.M.W. “What the fuck is going on! First a muthafucka tries to kill me and Jah. Now Sha’. A yo, word to my moms, if…”

  Serenity shook her head to make him conscience of his words.

  “Yeah, some ill shit is poppin’ off. What’s bad is it could be coming from so many different an
gles. We made a lot of enemies over the years, so I’m saying stay on point.”

  “Oh, I’m sharp as a fucking ice pick right now, believe that!” Koran hung up fighting the urge to throw his phone.

  Chapter Twenty Eight

  Thursday rolled around and there was still no with no sign of Sha’. Although no body was found Koran knew he was dead. Especially after the second day had passed and he was still missing. He concluded that Sha’ had learned the snake’s identity and somehow the snake found out that Sha’ knew, and killed him. The idea that all three Heads were in on it began to play on Korans’ mind.

  The first hits were attempted on him and Jahad, then Sha’ get’s murdered and they get rid of his body. However, no attempts were made on the other Heads. Prince said it could possibly be one of their many enemies they’d made over the years, which Koran thought was bullshit.

  It wasn’t possible for anybody to know the M.G’s were their enemies? No, Koran thought it had nothing to do with enemies from their past. Before Sha’ came up missing he dreaded the thought of killing the Heads. Now he couldn’t wait until tomorrow so he could end it all.

  Later that afternoon after Koran stopped by the hospital to see Jahad, he drove to Harlem for a meeting to go over the assault plans. When the meeting broke up, he pulled the Heads away from their lieutenants and fed them the bait that would lead to their deaths. Since Sha’ was dead, he weaved him into the scheme to make the bait more enticing.

  “I don’t really wanna speak on it right now because I might be wrong,” he said as they all stood in Princes’ foyer. “But I think Hector’s people might’ve had something to do with what happened to Sha’.”

  “How?” Star asked, looking at Lord and Prince. “That muthafucka dead.”

  “I’m not talking about Hector. I’m saying it could be one of his lieutenants. One of the niggas we gotta merk tomorrow. But like I said, I ain’t sure. You remember a while back when Sha’ said something about some niggas moving weight around this way? Well the nigga I’m talking about is Hector’s lieutenant and he’s far from Brownsville. I found this out from Valentino.”