by Keon Smith
Thinking of a plan was harder than he thought. He knew nothing about Kev or how he could get to him without getting in a big shootout. He didn’t want to make a scene, using a bunch of shells. All he needed was one shot. Before he got too frustrated, he heard the ringing of a cell phone.
He knew the phone didn’t belong to him, because Destiny’s Child was singing “Cater to You.” Montega reached between the seat and the armrest and retrieved Breezy’s phone that she left when she and Kia supposedly went to the mall.
Looking at the caller ID, he saw the name ‘Kev’ on the phone’s screen. “Get the fuck outta here. What a coincidence,” he muttered, holding up the phone.
Suddenly, a vicious plan came to mind. It was farfetched, but if everything fell into place, he could get his revenge without getting himself killed. He decided that the Phantom would play a part in this. Instead of heading south, he made a U-turn and sped north with Styles P Phantom mixtape blasting out of the speakers. It was music that inspired him. He turned up the factory 6-by-9s and let “The Ghost” put him in the proper mood.
Snatch-N-Grab
“He better be prepared to use that machine gun.”
DETECTIVE LUCCA
Breezy spent the day at the Chameleon Creation Beauty Salon on 5th and Chew Avenue, doing a client’s hair. After yesterday’s events, she didn’t know what to think of her boyfriend. There were a thousand questions floating in her head, but the main one was unavoidable. Did he really kill that girl?
She had seen the news footage last night and almost freaked out, but she couldn’t tell Kev about it, due to the fact she wasn’t supposed to be there in the first place. She then started to think about herself. Would he kill me if we ever fell out? The thought of it really scared her. It was because of this she couldn’t talk to him right now.
“Did y’all see Jovana at the mall the other day?” Crystal asked. “She looked a hot mess with all that pink on, like some fucking Barbie doll.”
The girls in the shop burst out with laughter. “Girl, the things that come outta your mouth,” Breezy said as she bumped someone’s hair.
“I’m serious, Bree. Sometimes people need some pointers on how to dress. Fashion sense is a must for women. If you don’t have it, then you’re screwed. Take Shug for example. If Shug couldn’t dress, wouldn’t nobody want his fat, arrogant, nasty ass.”
“Please,” Gi-Gi said from the far side of the room. “Fashion ain’t got nothing to do with Shug. That nigga paid. Bitches gonna want him regardless. And all these guys out here are scared of him. I can’t understand that. Men are way different than women. How can you be scared of just one person? You know what I’m talkin’ about, Bree?”
Breezy nodded and faked a smile. Really, she was still shaken up by what she and her girlfriend Kia had seen yesterday in Jersey, and if the rest of them were with her, they would understand why guys were so scared of Shug.
“Remember when we were all in Cancun? Did y’all peep when Shug smacked the bol Vito in the face because he didn’t give him the correct phone number he asked for? Vito just stood there like a lame in front of everybody. I wish a nigga would put his hands on me,” Crystal said.
“You know who I wouldn’t mind smacking?” Gi-Gi asked from her station next to Breezy’s.
“Who?” they all asked.
“That bitch Tee-Tee.”
Instantly, comments flew around the shop from stylist to customers. “Now, that’s a conceited bitch,” Breezy said as a red flag went up. “I swear, if she wasn’t Shug’s main squeeze, I woulda been beat that ass. You know she and Kia’s brother be on the low with it.”
“What?” Gi-Gi said with a thirst for some good gossip.
“Not Taliban.” Crystal frowned.
“Nope, the other one.”
“Ohhh, you talkin’ ’bout the quiet one. I like him. He’s got a cute-ass smile. Plus, he laid back, and he fine.”
“Puh-lease, bol ain’t laid-back,” Breezy said, rolling her eyes at the compliment.
After Montega got smart with her at the night club, he had made an enemy. She couldn’t tolerate his smart mouth. No one had ever popped fly with her like he did and got away with it.
Her younger sister, Aminah, walked into the shop. They were about the same complexion with a similar beauty and physique, only Aminah was much smaller than her sister and had an innocent look to her appearance. She had long hair pulled back into a ponytail and looked to be troubled by something. Breezy could see the attitude on her pretty, golden face.
“Girl, what’s wrong with you now?” she asked.
“Daddy is really pissing me off with his bullshit. He was supposed to go with me to look at some hospitals today after he got off, but like always, something came up. I’m tired of this shit, Bree,” Aminah said, jostling her sister to the side while taking the bumpers from her to finish up on her client. “I’m beginning to think he really doesn’t care.”
Breezy didn’t stop her. She knew that if there was anybody who was as talented as she was with hair, it had to be her protégé. “Don’t get discouraged Minah, You know how Gary is. He be so busy telling us to stay off the streets but be in them 24-7. I think he cheatin’ on Mommy too, but don’t say nothin’, because I’m not sure.”
“Oh, y’all got some real family issues over there,” Crystal said. “Who Uncle Gary cheating on my aunt with?”
While Gi-Gi and her employees gossiped about the latest new in the streets, Breezy had her sister finish up on her client so she could make a run.
“Where you off to?” Crystal asked.
“I’m about to go to Quizno’s and get something to eat. I’m so hungry it ain’t funny.”
“Get me something too,” Gi-Gi said, going to retrieve her wallet.
“Yeah, grab me a meatball sub,” Crystal seconded, and before Breezy knew it, she was taking down orders for everyone. “What you cooking for Thanksgiving anyway?” Crystal asked her.
Breezy shrugged. “I don’t know, probably some chicken, stuffing, mac and cheese—the works,” she said.
“I know where to go next week then,” Gi-Gi said.
“Bitch, you better bring something with you, with your tight ass,” Breezy said, turning to leave.
Once she walked outside, she headed down the street to where her Mazda was parked. She dug in her purse for her car keys. It was a typical Gucci bag full of a woman’s necessities—make up kit, a hairbrush full of stringy hair, a wallet, some tampons, perfume, and a bunch of receipts and folded-up bills.
Before she had a chance to hit her alarm button, a black sack was thrown over her head. Breezy screamed and tried to fight, but she was helpless in the grips of her abductor. Before she knew it, the person overpowered her. He was strong and fast. Her hands were taped behind her back before she could defend herself.
She was thrown into the back seat of a car, screaming at the top of her lungs, but no one heard her. She tried kicking and punching, but he used his weight to hold her down. He taped her hands behind her back then taped her ankles and slammed the door. She was still able to scream, and that she did well. But still, no one could hear her through the thick, dark-tinted, bullet-proof glass of the SS Chevy Impala.
Montega took of his Phantom mask and turned up his Styles mixtape again for a song that he felt was made to define his demented thoughts. It was his rider music. Turning up the volume so it drowned out Breezy’s screams, he headed to South Philly, singing, “S Dot P dot Ghost. Get lit like the weed I smoke. Get dumped like the gut of the dutch. Street chuffed, do you love it or what? I get high until the day me and my brother get up…”
Dt. Lucca maneuvered the Grand Marquis through the Badlands of North Philly in search of Lil’ Man. He was wanted for the murder of T.J., who was killed on Tasker. The fingerprints on the empty 7.62 mm shell casing came back from the lab with his name all over them. It was Dt. Lucca’s first big break in his campaign to bring the crazy Puerto Rican down.
Since his partner, Whitehead, wa
s on vacation, he had to go on this mission alone. As he pulled up at Lil’ Man’s mother’s house, he got out and headed for the front door. After five hard knocks, Faith answered from behind it.
“Who is it?”
“Detective Lucca. Open up!” he demanded.
When Faith opened the door, Lucca didn’t say a word. He just brushed right by her and walked in. “What are you doing?” she asked.
“I know that son of a bitch is in here. Now, where’s he hiding?” Dt. Lucca trashed the living room.
“Excuse me, but you don’t just come bargin’ in here like that without a warrant. Who the hell do you think you are?” She folded her arms over her chest with anger.
A warrant had been issued, but Lucca was so revved up he forgot to pick it up at the office. However, he wouldn’t let her know that. “I advise you to sit down before I call immigration and have your ass shipped back to your bean-eating country,” he racistly warned.
“For your information. I’m Puerto Rican, not Mexican. My country is your country, if you didn’t notice.”
He didn’t respond.
Faith snapped her head back with her mouth wide open. “That’s it. I’m calling the police,” she said, walking over to the phone.
“You better sit your ass down,” he demanded, pointing to the couch.
Faith stopped in her tracks as the detective headed for the door. “Now, if you see that pile of shit, be sure to inform him that he has twenty-four hours to turn himself in, or he better be prepared to use that machine gun of his once more.”
On his way out, he turned over a lampstand, causing it to shatter all over the wooden floor. Faith watched with rage as Lucca walked out of her house, leaving the door wide open. She quickly slammed it shut behind him, flopping down on the couch with tears flowing down her cheeks. Burying her face in her palms, she cried, wondering, what has my brother done now?
Face-Off
“I gotcha, shorty…”
MONTEGA
Montega pulled up on Tasker Street, a block away from where Kev was posted with his workers. Turning the music down, he sat back to observe. Breezy had cried herself numb and was now silent. She had come to the conclusion that whoever had taken her was out to get at her boyfriend. Maybe it had something to do with money. She hoped she played her cards right so she would be released. She had always heard of people getting kidnapped and held for ransom, but she didn’t think it could happen to her. She was wrong.
Montega speed-dialed Kev’s number from Breezy’s cell phone. He watched as Kev pulled out his phone, looked at the screen, then answered. “What’s up, baby? I been callin’ you all morning. Where you at?”
“Oh, you were expecting ya bitch, right?” Montega asked arrogantly.
Kev’s whole demeanor changed. “Who the fuck is this?” he challenged.
Breezy listened closely to the smooth voice but couldn’t tell who it was. “Yo, we gonna stop all the games. I gotcha shorty, and you won’t see her again unless you do as I say.”
On hearing that, Breezy then started shouting once more. “Kevin, please help me. He has me tie—”
“Shut the hell up, bitch!” Montega shouted.
Kev’s eyes widened. This was most certainly real. Not again, he thought.
He quickly grew humble. “Aight, man, you got it. Just don’t hurt her.”
Montega smiled. His plan was working. Breezy was actually valuable to Kev. Not only did she know a lot about his stash spots, but the whole city would be in an uproar if something happened to her. Detective Gary Whitehead would make sure of that.
Montega considered all this the moment he found Breezy’s phone in his car. He had no intention of harming her. Although he didn’t like her, she was still his sister’s best friend, and for that, she got a pass. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t use her to get what he wanted.
“How much do you want, cuz?” Kev asked.
Montega was stuck for a second. His plan had nothing to do with money. He was seeking revenge—a life for a life. Now two things were in his favor. “I want $100,000, and I want it brought to the end of Champlost where the dead-end meets the train tracks. There, you’ll find me with your shorty, and I’m telling you now, if you try anything stupid, I’ll splatter her ass all over the tracks, feel me?”
“Yeah cuz, I feel you,” Kev replied as he flagged down his young bol, Spade, who was coming down the block in a green Dodge Magnum on twenty-two-inch chrome rims.
“You got until eight o’clock tonight,” Montega said before hanging up.
When Kev got into the passenger side of the Magnum, he directed Spade to the stash house he and Shug had on 16th Street. Montega followed behind from a distance to make sure he wasn’t trying to pull a move. Every time the Magnum stopped, he pulled over and jotted down the addresses Kev entered. Every house he walked into, he came back out with a back pack.
As Montega followed the car to the next spot, his cell phone vibrated. He turned the music up a bit, so Breezy couldn’t hear his voice when he answered. “What’s up?” he said.
“Damn, what’s all that noise in the background?” Tasha asked.
“I’m in a bar right now,” he lied.
“At this time of day? Boy, you are a drunk.”
Montega didn’t respond.
“Sorry about your friend,” she said, speaking of Razor, trying to sound sympathetic.
“How’s ATL?” Montega said, missing her condolence.
“It’s alright, but it would be even better if you were here with me. I miss you, boo. I’m sorry we broke up. I realize that now. I showed my sorority sister your picture, and they said I’m an ass for letting you go,” she said.
Montega chuckled at that. “Your sorority sisters sound like my type of girls. You showed them my picture though?”
“Hi, Kenny!” a voice hollered in the background.
Montega watched the Magnum head for the next location. “Who was that?” he asked.
“Some girl name Samorah. She just trying to be smart. She know I don’t mess with her like that. I’ll be glad when she graduates. Dag! Anyway, are you coming down here for Thanksgiving or not? I miss you,” she whined.
“Look, I’ll call you back and let you know,” he said as he made a detour to a quicker route to Broad Street.
Kev got on the phone and called Maniac. “Yizzo, what’s good?” Maniac answered.
“Yo, I need you.”
“Where you at?” Maniac asked.
“Breezy got snatched. Main-man want a small bean for her. I’m supposed to meet him at the dead-end of Champlost where them apartments at uptown.”
“You talkin’ ’bout the dead-end down the street from the 35th district, right?”
“That’s right. How fast can you get there?” Kev asked.
“Fifteen minutes,” Maniac replied before mashing down on the gas pedal.
“Oh yeah, and Maniac… I got fifty stacks for you if you don’t tell Shug about this.”
“I got you, my nigga. I got you,” he said before hanging up.
Kev had taken a big loss already and refused to take another, even if his girl’s life was involved. He brought the money just in case, but there was no way he would let this guy walk away.
When Spade pulled into the parking lot of the apartment complex, Kev looked around to see if he saw Maniac’s Titan anywhere. “Where the fuck is he?” he asked himself, checking his watch.
“Maybe we should wait for him?” Spade suggested.
“Nah, nah. I’m supposed to be there on time.”
It was now 7:58 p.m.
He knew he had to do something, and he had to do it now. “You gotcha gun on you?” he asked Spade.
Spade reached under the seat and handed him his HK-P7 9mm handgun. Kev tucked the compact hand gun in his waistband, then grabbed the bag. “If Maniac don’t get here and something happens, you ain’t got no choice but to call Shug. Other than that, this stays between me, you, and Maniac,” he instructed before getting o
ut and heading through the bushes and up to the hill of the Regional Rail train tracks.
A minute later, the Titan pulled up and parked next to the Magnum. Maniac jumped out with a Sig Sauer P226. It was a stainless steel and black .40 caliber with a black laminated grip. He walked up to the car. Spade rolled the window down and directed him to where Kev had gone.
When Kev got to the top of the tracks, he saw a man dressed in all black and wearing a phantom mask. Breezy was on her knees, bound and duct-taped. Her head was still covered with a black sack, and her arms were aching with pain. “I got the money. Let her go,” Kev said, holding up the bag.
Breezy’s heart skipped a beat when she heard his deep voice. He really did care for her. She wanted to scream out to him but knew it wouldn’t be wise. The only thing that would save her life now would be the money.
“Throw it over!” Montega shouted.
Damn, I know that voice. Where have I heard it before? Breezy asked herself.
Maniac rushed up the hill and through the bushes toward the tracks.
“So you were the one, right? The one I was supposed to kill that night after the club,” Kev said, trying to stall. “That’s crazy you let your man take the bullet for you. This could have all been avoided had you found a different neighborhood to stick up. Now you’re a dead man.”
Montega aimed the gold-plated tiger-stripe .50 caliber that once belonged to Kev and removed the mask from his face so Kev could see him. Kev stopped in his tracks and thought, What sort of man would show his face to the one he’s robbin’… unless…
“You should have left Razor alone, Kev. He ain’t have nothing to do with it. It you wanted me that bad, all you had to do was ask around. I’m not hard to find. Now you just pissed me off,” Montega said. “Let me ask you a question, Kev,” Montega went on to say. “You ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?”