by Meesha
“Aight, lil homie you did good. Keep ya mouth closed and get the fuck out of my city. If I find out yo’ ass went back and ran ya mouth, I’m killing yo’ whole muthafuckin’ family until I find yo’ bitch ass. Get the fuck outta hear before I change my mind,” Ricio said as he screwed a silencer on his Nina.
I untied him from the chair and stood back. Bari stood up and walked slowly toward the door, looking back to see what we were doing. When he reached for the knob, Ricio delivered two slugs in the back of his head. As he fell to the floor the blood splatter on the door told me at least one bullet exited out the front of his dome. Play time was over for all them niggas.
“Yo’, I need a deep cleaning on Pershing. I spilled a whole bottle of wine on the carpet. I’m about to shoot the location, get here asap,” Ricio disconnected the call and pushed a few buttons and put his phone in his pocket. “I’ll buy Madysen everything she needs, I’m not taking shit out of this bitch. They can clean up this mess and I’ll bring the U-Haul back after the service and pack all of it up.” The cleanup crew showed up thirty minutes later and we left them to do what we paid them to do.
Chapter 11
Big Jim
I’d been sitting in my cell for the last couple days because Max’s death was on my mind heavily. Ricio and his crew wasn’t playing out there. Floyd called and said he sent Joe and Bari to that bitch Madysen’s crib and they hadn’t showed up since Saturday. It was Monday and still no word on them. I already knew both of them were never going to be found again.
Shit had been quiet for the most part but that only meant there was something brewing on the back burner. I told Floyd to get his ass back to Chicago, he claimed he did but nobody had seen him. Everybody I’ve talked to said the same thing, “I’ve talked to him, but I haven’t seen him,” If I was out of this damn prison, I’d kill him myself. Grown ass nigga running scared from some young muthafuckas.
I got up and slipped my shoes on to get out of the cell for a while. Floyd hadn’t gotten word on when the funeral was going to be so I was sitting waiting to get a date. As I entered the day room the tv was on channel 9 news. The reporter was outside of Paradise Kitty so I knew the segment was about Max’s murder.
“Aye, turn that up!” I yelled across the room. A nigga named G Dog turned the volume up.
“Funeral Services for Maximo Vasquez will be held Friday morning at Taylor Funeral home on Chicago’s Southside. The family wants all that knew this young man that lost his life to senseless gun violence to come out and pay your respects. Bernard Gilliam was another victim of the same shooting. His services will be held at an undisclosed location Wednesday morning. There are still no suspects in the case, if there is anyone with information, call the crime stoppers hotline number that’s displayed on the bottom of the screen. This is Meredith Holliston, signing off.”
“These streets ain’t nothing to be played with nowadays.”
I turned to see who was talking and it was the guard named Chuck. “Yeah, I raised that lil nigga. Shit fucked up. Can you do me a solid? I need to see the warden so I can get clearance to go to the services.”
“Fo sho. As soon as I go back that way, I’ll let him know what’s up. Do they know who did that shit to homie?” Chuck asked.
“Nah, his hotheaded ass was probably out there flexin’ and shit. I always preached to him that he was gon’ write a check his ass wouldn’t be able to cash. Shid, his punk ass daddy got the business about fo’ years ago. I tried to teach his ass how the game was played, but he didn’t want to listen. Look at him now, right up there with his muthafuckin’ daddy,” I said shaking my head.
“Shid, the name doesn’t even sound familiar to me. I wouldn’t know who they were anyway,” Chuck said while looking around the room.
“Reese wasn’t shit. He was a selfish muthafucka that let his money get him in trouble. That nigga didn’t pay his muthafuckin’ workers and one of them niggas popped his ass. I stepped up and took his kids in when that shit happened to him. I came up off that nigga nice too, rest his soul.”
“Damn Jim, you sound like you didn’t even like the nigga, why would you take custody of his kids?”
“He owed me! My payday was with them kids. When his wife was found dead of an overdose, they didn’t have nobody else. I guess the bitch couldn’t handle the fact that nigga was maggot food. Don’t go outside these walls repeating this shit, I’ll be getting out of this muthafucka soon. I’ll find out where you live and murk yo’ ass. I’m talking because I needed to get that shit out of my system. I had that lil muthafucka killed too, just to put it out there,” Fuck it, I had already said too much why not tell him everything.
“Why are you going to the service if you had the kid killed though?” Chuck asked in a low voice.
“I need to know he’s dead for myself. That lil nigga know shit he ain’t got no business knowing. My name would be drug through the streets bad if the shit got out. I don’t need that shit. All he had to do was keep his muthafuckin’ mouth closed and he would still be breathing today. Enough about that shit, I’m going back to my cell. Come see me when you talk to the warden, I need to get this escort. Thanks for listening, remember what I said though,” I said slapping him on the back as I walked back to my cell.
“Get out and go do something with ya life,” I said to my cellie as I laid back on my bunk.
“I’m not ready—”
“I didn’t ask yo’ ass what you were ready for, nigga. Raise up,” I said cutting him off. When he left out closing the door behind him, I laid back and my mind drifted back to the day I killed Maritza.
Floyd met me at the trap where Reese stashed all his dope and money three months after his death. I was his right hand so I had the code to the safe and access to all of the drugs. Getting to all of his shit was my main concern because his ass owed me and I was gon’ get paid even though his ass was dead and gone.
I was the only one that knew he didn’t take any of his street shit home where his family laid their heads. Reese didn’t like the idea of putting his money in any bank. He carried cash at all times because he was afraid the law could track his shit if he used a bank card. We got to the trap and nobody was there because we'd closed down shop after word got out that he was dead.
Unlocking the door, we walked in and I went straight to the basement and pulled the imitation wall out revealing the huge safe that sat behind it. I rubbed my hands together after entering the code on the keypad. I looked over at Floyd with a sly grin on my face, “We’re about to be two rich muthafuckas. You ready to take over this shit?”
“Hell yeah, this shit is rightfully ours. Let’s get it, nigga,” he said excitedly.
I pulled the door to the safe open and rage built up inside me when I saw that muthafucka was bone dry. Wasn’t a piece of a dollar in there. “What the fuck!” I yelled out loud.
“What’s the problem?” Floyd asked.
Stepping back, I gestured for him to take a look inside the safe. He looked just as confused as I was and that confusion turned into anger. “Who else could’ve came in and took all the money you said he kept in there?” Floyd shot daggers at me with his eyes.
“Only Reese and myself had access to this muthafucka, I haven’t been here. Hold up, let me check the storage room where we kept the bricks,” I said damn nearing running to the other side of the basement.
Reese had renovated the basement of this house and made a storage room in the wall. Snatching the dart board off the wall, I punched the code in the keypad that was behind it and swung the door open and went in. The deeper I got into the tunnel, I knew there wasn’t a brick in that bitch. Reese had fucked me once again, this time from the grave. He was probably standing next to me laughing like Patrick Swayze did ole boy in the move Ghost.
“Ain’t shit in here either!” I said walking out and punching the wall. “Reese emptied this shit out a long time ago, that’s the only way it disappeared. If I could, I’d kill his ass all over again! This is some bullshit!
He took it all to that big ass house he lives in. There’s no other place it could be. Come on, we going to pay Maritza a visit. The bitch knows something,” I said walking up the stairs without even locking anything up.
I was doing ninety on the expressway trying to get to the money. Everything had to be at his crib, where else would he move it to? Finding the shit was all I was worried about because that was my meal ticket. Thinking about all the shit I had in play was pushing me to search high and low for this nigga's stash.
“Aye, look in the hidden compartment and get that uncut out of there. A needle should be in the black bag underneath it too,” I said to Floyd as I kept my eye out for the law.
“What the fuck you need this for?”
“If this bitch don’t give me what the fuck I came all the way out here for, she won’t live to tell nobody about this visit. She gon’ be a dead muthafucka like her husband. Make that shit strong as fuck too, as a matter of fact, make two. I’m ready to give her a double dose of that good shit. Fuck Scotty, she going straight to the Pearly Gates,” I said laughing.
Exiting the expressway, I drove the speed limit because the police didn’t play out in the burbs. I parked my ride a few houses away from Maritza’s house and cut the engine. Floyd opened his door and got out, I did the same. We walked down the street and I took the needles from him and placed them in my pocket after making sure the tips were on them tightly.
Anxiously walking up to the gate of Maritza’s house, I punched in the code and let myself inside. As I climbed the stairs to the front door, it swung open forcefully before I could ring the doorbell. She must’ve seen me approaching on the monitors. Maritza looked good enough to eat standing there with a scarf on her head. She had her hand on her hip along with a scowl on her face.
“I can’t believe he gave you of all people the code to our home! Why are you here, Jim? I haven’t seen you since before my husband was killed and I didn’t want to see you then. This visit can’t possibly be of any importance, so make it quick so you can get the fuck off my property,” she said angrily in her thick accent.
This bitch didn’t know that her slick ass mouth was going to get her in a world of trouble. I was already pissed about my money, then she wanted to stand there getting jazzy at the lips. Floyd snickered, he knew I didn’t like any female talking to me like I wasn’t shit.
Before she could react, I had my hand around her throat pushing her into the house. Applying pressure, I slammed her into the wall. “Bitch, where is the money?”
Tears streamed from her eyes and she struggled to answer so I threw her to the floor and stood over her. She took deep breaths and quickly tried to crawl away from me. Grabbing her by the ankle, I dragged her back toward me and raised my fist as I bent over her.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about! Reese never brought his work home, you know this, Jim!” she cried out.
“The drugs and money ain’t at the trap, you can’t tell me you don’t know where it is, Maritza! Where is my shit?”
“His business in the street was never something I knew about. I don’t know where any of that shit is! Oh my God, you killed him for this reason! It was you!” she screamed kicking me in my inner thigh.
“Just tell me what the fuck I want to know and you will live, Maritza. I don’t want to have to kill yo’ ass!”
“Kill me, puta (motherfucker)! I’ve been ready since your slimy ass took my husband from me! I knew you were behind this shit. He should’ve left you alone when I told him you weren’t shit!”
“Where is the fuckin’ money, bitch!” I barked while twisting her foot.
“If I knew I wouldn’t tell your pussy ass! Kill me, Jim!”
“Your wish is my command, bitch! Hold this hoe down, Floyd,” I said taking the needle from my pocket.
Floyd hovered over Maritza and held her arms. I placed a pair of gloves on my hands and snatched the scarf off her head and tied it around her upper arm. Maritza had good veins that protruded out effortlessly. It wasn’t hard to insert the needle.
The uncut heroin that Floyd mixed took effect instantly, her eyes rolled to the top of her head and she stopped fighting to get away. Maritza was high as hell but I needed her to die. She knew too much and her speculations were spot on. I didn’t need anyone to find out I was the one that orchestrated Reese’s demise.
“You are going to pay for everything you’ve done Jim. You may kill me, but you won’t get away with any of this. When your day comes, I hope you suffer for a very long time, bitch!” she slurred as the drug took effect.
I was tired of hearing her voice. The only thing I wanted to do was watch her take her last breath. I inserted the second syringe in her arm without making sure the air bubbles were out. Maritza clutched her chest tightly and her breathing became labored. I knew I had caused her to have a heart attack but that was the least of her worries.
A couple of seconds later her body started shaking and foam filled her mouth. Maritza’s lips started turning blue, her hands were balled into fists, and her pupils were still out of sight. Death was next and I smiled until she took her last breath.
“Don’t fuck this muthafucka up and don’t remove your gloves. Let’s find what I came here for,” I said to Floyd as I made my way through the house.
I didn’t find Reese’s stash that day, but I came up with a plan to get some of the shit I was entitled to. That’s how I ended up with the boys. The money that I received from his estate was how I ended up being the man in the city.
“Carter! The warden will see you now,” Chuck said from the door. “Come on so I can take you down.”
“Good looking, nigga. But don’t ever walk in my shit without knocking. The rules apply to all you muthafuckas around here. Respect it.”
Chuck led the way to the warden’s office and I went in and took a seat. Warden Fitzpatrick was looking at me strangely as I sat with my hands folded in my lap. He sifted through my paperwork without saying anything to me.
“Carter, I was informed that you want to request a transfer to a funeral. Who passed away?” he asked.
“I am the guardian of the young man that was killed Friday. The funeral is not what I want to attend, I just want to say my final goodbyes.”
“You wouldn’t be going to the funeral anyway, Carter. I can get you to the wake,” he said looking through another stack of papers. “The cost of the transfer—” he started to say.
“I don’t care about the cost. This is something that needs to be done. The only thing I want from you is to approve the transfer, Sir,” I said irritably.
“You haven’t been in any trouble since you’ve been here so there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to attend. When is the wake?”
“It’s on Tuesday at 11am at Taylor Funeral home in Chicago.”
“Okay, your payment has to be in by Wednesday no later than noon. No one is to know that you will be at the funeral home during your visit. Is that understood, Carter? We will contact the funeral home to let them know what time you will arrive, and how much time you have to be there.
“Yeah I hear you,” I said standing from the chair. “Thank you.”
“Guard!”
Chuck opened the door and escorted me back to my cell. I was happy on the inside knowing that I would get the chance to see my secret get buried without it getting out in the streets.
Chapter 12
Floyd
Ricio and Sosa was running through my lil niggas but it was better them than me, they shouldn’t be so weak. Big Jim didn’t give a fuck about my well being so, I didn’t give two fucks about theirs. I felt bad about not going out to assist them in this battle that Big Jim and I started, but I had to come up with a plan and I didn’t have it together yet. Time was running out because Ricio wasn’t holding back on nothing.
When we were in Memphis, Red started whining about going back to his family in Chicago and I couldn’t let him head back alone. Both he and Shake were the strongest on the team since Rico
and Sosa left. I still had plenty of go getters riding with me but they were the two I could depend on to have my back.
“What we gon’ do about these niggas, mane? They bumpin’ niggas off without warning and shit!” Red asked.
“I know yo’ ass ain’t scared ‘round this muthafucka,” Shake said laughing.
“Ain’t nobody scared of shit! I think it’s wrong for us to be sitting back while the lil homies getting’ popped off! That’s all I’m sayin’.”
I sat back listening to this punk muthafucka slick talking. He was going to say something to piss me off and I’d be ready to pounce on his ass. Everybody on my team should be able to hold their own with or without me. What was going on had everything to do with them not paying attention to the seriousness of the situation.
“All of them need to man the fuck up! We’ve been hustling and busting guns in these streets for years. There’s no excuse for them not to blaze back at them niggas. Ricio and Sosa ain’t to be fucked with but they bleed red just like us. I’m waiting on the day that I get to push one of their caps back. Max was lucky because he was shot from a distance. I’m walking right up to whichever one I see first and shooting point blank,” Shake barked.
“You talking all that shit but hidin’ out in this motel right along with us! This some hoe shit and I ain’t going out like this. The team needs us. I’m gon’ roll with ‘em since you muthafcukas not trying to!” Red said as he stuffed his feet in his shoes. “It don’t make sense, Floyd. You are the leader since Big Jim is locked up! Lead this muthafucka before we all get killed waiting around.”
“Nigga, are you trying to say I’m not doing my job?” I asked getting in his face.
“I’m not trying to say shit! How much can you be doing sitting in this fuckin’ room! Get shit movin’, you can’t do that holed up here! You may not like what I’m saying but it’s nothing but the truth!” he screamed.
Red snatched the door open and there was something lying on the ground. “What the fuck is that?” Shake asked as he stood from the bed pointing. I looked in the direction he was pointing at the same time Red fell to his knees. He picked whatever it was up in his hands and screamed.