Who Shot Ya Box Set

by Renta

  I hesitated for a second or two this shit I was holding inside, wasn’t the type of shit you just go blurting to just anybody, but this family. Gus been rocking with the circle since the sandbox. He had a right to know just as much anybody else. So, I told him what Kesha told me about the phone conversation, that was overheard. I even told him how Kesh said he ended the call.

  Maybe he could help me piece this shit together. His side of the line was silent for a second before he said. “Where you at, Jazz? Don’t be riding around the city looking for no mu’fuckin’ killa by yo’ self, wait on Assata. Where are you?” he fumed.

  Before I could answer, my phone beeped alerting me that another call was coming through. I glanced and almost hung up on Gusto to answer Assata’s call.

  “Never mind, Gus,” I said without waiting for a response.

  ***

  ~Six~

  Assata just dropped me off at home. There were no more tears, but the hurt was still raw. I couldn’t believe this nigga chose another bitch over, me. The bitch that rides with him no matter the situation. I asked myself a thousand times, what could she have over me? Was her pussy better, her head game? Was she prettier, freakier? What makes this shit so deep, is that he spit in my face even further, by dropping four rubber-banded bundles of money. He said it was forty grand and had the audacity to say, he didn’t want to see me in the club again.

  Really nigga? I left that shit right there in his car. I was lost as I entered my apartment. As soon as, I closed the door and locked myself in. I placed my back to the door and soft tears clouded my vision.

  “I hate him, I hate him, so much,” I whispered.

  Sucking in a deep breath to calm my nerves something more than air erupted my lungs. The familiar aroma caused my stomach to drop.

  I hadn’t had a face to face with him in months. I’d ducked him all I could, but I knew eventually he would come. The red ember at the tip of the wineberry black-n-mild, he loved so dearly was the only indication, that he was sitting on my couch. It was so dark, I couldn’t make out his features, but I didn’t need light to distinguish his pretty ass. The nigga had been in my nightmares since I met him. With my eyes now adjusted to the darkness. I could see his silhouette moving as if he was a phantom of the night.

  Suddenly, he was so close we could’ve kissed. “You can’t answer the phone for a nigga now, Six?” He whispered against my lips.

  Disgust swirled through me. “What do you want, dude?” I tried to push past him, but he forced me back in place and like magic, his fingers appeared around my neck. “I can’t—can’t—breathe.” I rasped, scratching his hands.

  Slowly he eased his grip, but his hand was still in place to remind me of the thin line between life and death.

  “What do you want? I told you our business was over after the last time. I told you, I love Assata, but you steady try to use me to get at him. Why do you hate a man that would die for you?” I hissed, as my eyes got cloudy.

  “Bitch, you don’t know that, nigga! He’s not who you think he is.” His eyes flashed with a look of hurt. “He did this to me.” he seethed.

  Emotions was like a hurricane in him, as he released me and headed for the couch. I studied him, as he sat down and picked up the cigar.

  “What did he do to you? That man is—” My words died as fresh pain reminded me what he’d done to me.

  As if he could see right through the turmoil, forming a river within me, he said. “So, he finally told you ‘bout his lil’ slut, huh?” He laughed at his own humor. He’d warned me, I was about to get my heart broken, but love had me blind.

  “Look, Six, we got a problem. It may benefit your situation, as well as get me closer to yo’ goal, but—”

  I put my hand up to stop him. “No, whatever it is, you can do it yourself. I told you, I want nothing else to do with this shit. I—I love that man regardless of who he’s with.” I mumbled.

  He stood up and walked over to me. He placed his fingers under my chin, lifting my eyes to his. “Ma, it matters not how deeply you love him. If he finds out you had a hand in Shy’s murder, he’s gonna murder you in cold blood.”

  I frowned, “Wha—what?” My mental spun rapidly. How, does Assata know? Is that why he gave me the money—to leave?” A million questions danced in my head until he solved the riddle. “While you was playing in the sand—” he brushed the sand off of my chest. “His bitch has been playing private eye all over the city. At this moment, she’s trying to find Shy’s phone. If she does shit’s gonna get real bloody. So, she has to go.”

  Fear raced through me. “I thought you said, there was no way this would trace back to us. You’ve used me ever since I met you and—” a knock at the door, caused him to place a hand over my mouth, silencing me. With the other hand, he pulled out his pistol.

  I removed his hand and gently pushed him towards the back room. He resisted at first, but the sound of Assata’s voice motivated him to take cover. I watched until he disappeared. The last thought I had, before turning back to the door was,

  ‘Gusto is right if Assata finds out, I was part of his boy’s murder—I’m a dead bitch.’

  ***

  ~ Assata~

  “I know you’re in there, Six. Open the door, baby girl.” I’d been standing out there a good five minutes before I heard movement behind the door.

  “What do you want, Assata? You said all, that you needed to say shouldn’t you be home with your—your—what did you call her, your Earth?”

  This is why mu’fucka’s don’t keep it solid with each other. The truth is always sought but rarely respected. Being a real nigga has lost its value, it has become a spoken identity. People have become too lax in faking with each other, that lying to the face of the ones they love have become natural. That’s not how it goes.

  My frustration mounted. “Six, look fam, I find it funny how you always telling me to keep it muddy with you. But, when I do, you shun my realism. How am I, supposed to respect you as a woman, if I can’t even talk to you without the fear of you not respecting me for keeping it real?”

  That must have done it because the door opened and she quickly stepped outside and shut the door. Her body language seemed fishy, but maybe I was trippin’.

  “Damn, a nigga, can’t even come in no more?” I laughed to kill the tension.

  She leaned against the door and crossed her arms over her chest. Attitude strained her face and the redness of her eyes told me, she’d still been crying. I gotta weak spot for shorty, so this shit fucked with my two-step.

  “Look, Six, I just came to give you this.” I dropped the cake, I tried to give her earlier at her feet. “I know, you ain’t no charity case. I ain’t trying to pay you off, dawg. A nigga—”

  She frowned, “Nigga, what I tell you about calling me your, fam? I’m not one of them niggas you trap with. I understand you got a new bitch or better, yet you’ve been having her around. I’m just the last one to know, but I’m gonna be respected. Call me by my name, Assata,” she fumed.

  I think I need to let mama cool off cause the way she rockin’ wit’ me, would make me fuck around and go upside her head, and she knew it. I stepped to lady and pulled her close to me. I wanted to kiss those juicy ass lips, but the respect I have for Jazz wouldn’t let me play myself.

  Was I wrong to feel for shorty? She kept it all the way funky with the God. Even though I was bred not to trust, she was one of the few people in this life that I did.

  “Look at me, Six,” I demanded. Her eyes bored into mine, as I prepared to make my exit. “You are a nigga’s backbone. You’ve fucked with me even before the pennies and whips. I thug with you the long way, Ms. Lady. You gotta stand by me through my every decision—not just some of them.” I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her closer to me. Her body was tense and there was something strange about her facial expression, that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I paid it no mind, as I slide my hand over the imprint of her pussy lips to emphasize my point.


  “I’d never tried to lock down this pussy, nor have I prevented you from finding your sense of love. I’ve never experienced it—can’t really say I believe it even exists. But, this shit I feel for lady, started way before you, and it has nothing to do with you.” I took my hand and brush the loose strand away from her face. Will you be content with me seeing you fantasize? Would it have been better for me not to have told you?”

  She shook her head, that one action caused her soul to leak from her eyes in an emotional thunderstorm. “I just—I love you, Assata. You’ve always known that. I know your just keepin’ it ‘G’, but what about me? What do you expect me to do with these feelings I have, huh? While your somewhere playing house with some other bitch. What do you expect me to do? My heart is yours, Assata. I’m not able to see this shit, right now.”

  I held baby girl as I digested her words. I don’t know if it was the moment, or if someone very close around was smoking Gusto’s favorite Black-n-mild.

  Chapter Twelve

  To Die For

  ~3 Weeks Later~

  ~Destiny~

  I walked into the Golden Triangle Mall trying to be inconspicuous, as I headed for the food court. Man, I don’t know why he chose this place to meet out of so many other places, that would’ve been less of a possibility of us being caught. The glasses I wore seemed to cover most of my face, and the shawl covering my head made me feel comfortable enough to walk without fear of being spotted.

  I was elated to see that the court was clustered with people. I spotted the man, I’d come to meet at a corner table. He smiled and waved me over. The smell of hot pretzels and fried foods aroused my senses until my stomach reminded me, that I hadn’t eaten all day.

  “Hey, baby, how has your day been?” He greeted, with a warm hug before we took our seats.

  “It’s been a long one Sa’Mage. I just need it to be over with. As a matter of fact, I can’t wait until all of the craziness is over and I can come back home.” I interlocked my hand with his I hadn’t felt his touch in months. “I yearn to sleep in my own bed, with my own husband. Is that too much to ask? Sa’Mage smiled, then released my hand, and returned his attention to his food. “I know you have enough on tape to convict, Ice-Berg and his brother ten times over. That man even admitted to kidnapping me. I’ve worn wire after wire!”

  Sa’Mage swiftly snapped his head up and placed his finger against my lips, before gazing around the room to make sure no one overheard me.

  “Keep your voice down, Destiny, you don’t want anyone to overhear you,” Sa’Mage said.

  I nodded my head in understanding before saying in a much lower tone. “I’ve been there during drug transactions and conversations Berg has had with his suppliers. Damn, it’s the feds, a person can get convicted off word of mouth. What else do you need?”

  Sa’Mage continued eating his food as if I hadn’t said anything. Okay, okay, I know you’re wondering how did this come about? Well, the short version Sa’Mage is my husband, I love him. So, when he came to me with his plan to take Nutz and his crew down. I had reservations but once he assured me, he’d not only get his job back but also had a chance at becoming Governor of the state, it was a no-brainer. So, here I am his way of infiltrating Ice-Berg’s circle. Never did we imagine, he would be in alliance with the kingpin Russia. A bonus so to speak.

  “Earth to Destiny, what has your attention so deeply?”

  Snapping back to the here and now, I tried to focus. “Huh, what you say?”

  He smiled. “Are you thinking about your little boyfriend. Have you fucked him, Destiny?”

  I was appalled. I’m out here risking my fucking life, for this stupid motherfucker, and he had the balls to question my loyalty.

  “How dare you?” I sneered. “You have no fucking idea how hard it is to play a role for a man as dangerous as Nutz. At any moment, he can have the slightest hunch, and it will all be over. You are a fucking asshole, Sa’Mage.” I stood up from the table and headed for the restroom.

  On my way there I bumped into a brick wall, to my astonishment it came to life. “Excuse me—I am, so sorry!” I managed to say, as we both squatted to clean up the mess I caused.

  “It’s cool, lady, I shoulda been more aware of my surroundings instead of running my mouth on this phone. It’s peace, my name’s Assata, by the way—you are?” He extended his hand.

  “She’s taken,” Sa’Mage said from behind me.

  ***

  ~Detective Hunter~

  For the past few months, things have been tense. The massacre and discovery of, Bobby Ray a.k.a Brains, as well as his accomplice Snow, set off a bomb within the city. A lot of officials lost their jobs, and some were barely hanging on to theirs, due to us running an unauthorized task force. More importantly, this shit storm happened right under our noses. The pieces were still scrambled, but my guess is that the plan fell apart in the end. Somehow Russia caught on and killed Snow before slipping into the night.

  The bad part is, we were blind to the slaughter until the gunshots from the .380 high point were fired. By then, death was already in the air and the house was clear. The director of the Bureau went apeshit. Now, I’m buried under a mountain of paperwork, as Detective Winslet poured me a hot cup of Java.

  “What’s the plan now, smart guy?”

  Without looking up I said. “We’re going to take them down regardless to what our superiors say. Once we get these scumbags in cuffs, we’ll turn over the evidence we have and be fuckin—” the ringing of my phone paused me.

  The text message that came through gave me great reason to smile. It’s confirmed Nutz and Ice-Berg will be moving a shipment in three days from today, Saturday, February third.

  ***

  ~Jazzy~

  I was so frustrated. Two weeks ago, we had our first real piece of hope, that would lead us to my brother’s killer. Only to have it lost in a search for a phone, that has somehow vanished into thin air. My mom seemed to have thought I had it. Assata can’t remember and Kesha won’t answer her fuckin’ phone. The night, I told Assata the story Kesha told me, he froze and stared. I told him the way she said Shy ended the call, he just couldn’t wrap his mind around the possibilities.

  “D.B.D.” Is their circle’s way of departing and only people close to them understands the depth of it. ‘Death Before Dishonor’ is literal with the term. It narrows it down to two. It was absurd, because both him and Gusto loved Shy and would never harm him. So, someone was playing a dangerous game and it could only end one way—death.

  Pulling up to Kesha’s house, I felt a tingling feeling in my stomach. Don’t ask me why, but shit was just too crazy, right now. I reached the door and knocked, on the second try the door crept open on its own. I glanced behind me, kids were out playing football in the middle of the street. Elders were out on their porches things looked normal. So, why did it feel like I was the white girl in the horror movie?

  I laughed, as I pushed the door open and walked in. That’s when I knew shit had got real. The stench was so heavy, I gagged. I covered my mouth and whether it was stupidity or sheer curiosity. I stumbled through the small house until I stopped where the smell was the strongest. The bathroom, I used my shirt to push the door open.

  “There you are,” I screamed in elation, seeing her smiling face.

  That was until I saw all the blood spilling from both her wrists. Now I was screaming in horror!

  ***

  ~Ice-Berg~

  Me and Nutz stood in the middle of this dusty ass warehouse, that used to be the old Morson Mills Factory before you entered the ghetto of Southeast Denton. You know, when shit is going too good for a nigga, some fuck shit always pops up. As my brother, smiled at the fifty bricks that had just been delivered. I wondered where did all this end for him.

  With that in mind, I turned to him. “That shit looks like chow time huh, bruh?” I grinned at his excitement.

  He turned to me, “Nigga, we here. This what we do it for.” My eyes told a story of dis
appointment that he caught instantly. “Sup, fam? You got the world at your fingertips, but you looking like you don’t deserve it.”

  I shook my head, as I leaned against the wall. “It’s not that at all, cuz—it’s just—maaannn, we can’t sell dope forever. I mean, there has to be another plan, Nutz. Now, that we’re at the point in life, we’ve always dreamed of we gotta have an exit.”

  I watched him sit down on an empty crate and pick up one of the kilos of raw cocoa. He pulled out a small pocket knife, cut a small slit in the tape, and scooped a small mountain onto it. I watched as my little nigga snorted this bullshit and leaned his head back as if he’d discovered that heaven ain’t so far away.

  When he finally set his eyes on me he said. “My nigga, you’ve always known this was the life for me. I’ve been having these street dreams our whole mu’fuckin’ life. I am a dope boy, Berg, the game is all I know. I don’t know the first thing about running no bidness, bro. I’d rather stay at what I know and bleed this concrete.”

  Anger rushed through me. I wanted my brother to see beyond his false sense of success. I slapped the brick out of his hands before I gave him my spiel. “Bro, ain’t no future in what we do, fam. Yea, we know a few successful mu’fuckers in the game. That’s because they branched out beyond the streets, or they quit while they was ahead.”

  I kicked the brick so hard, it slid across the floor leaving behind a white trail. “Nigga, damn near everybody we grew up with either dead or doing football numbers. None of them niggas coming home no time soon.” I used my fingers to count the few homies we lost in the game. “Dino got thirty, T-money got close to the same shit, Lil’ Tay caught forty-five, and Lil Red facing forty. Now, tell me, fam you see a happily ever after in them type of numbers? When the last time you wrote one of them, Nutz?”