by Meesha
I cut him off because I’d heard enough. “All of that is irrelevant to me, Stanley. This is what you will do. Remember that package I dropped off to you the day before yesterday?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said in a shaky voice.
“I need you to get it ready by nine. I don’t know how you will do it, but get it done. My brother’s wake will not take place. I will contact my family and explain everything to them. Your father won’t be at the funeral home until tomorrow so everything should go according to my plan. I want everything set up as if Max’s wake is still scheduled. I will compensate you for your trouble.”
“So—Rodrigo, I don’t want any trouble. My father would kill me,” he said in a worried voice.
“Listen to me, punk! Yo’ muthafuckin’ daddy won’t find out shit. Do what I say and there won’t be no problems for you to worry about. I’ll be there in an hour, Stanley. Don’t fuck this up.”
I hung up before his crybaby ass could even try to talk his way out of helping me. I got out of the bed and went into the bathroom to drain the hose. After flushing the toilet, I washed my hands and picked my phone up. The text I was about to send had to be believable in order for me to pull off my plan. Knowing Big Jim was coming to the wake, had my trigger finger doing the salsa on the keyboard of my phone. Reading over the mass text, I knew there would be questions coming from everybody about the cancellation of the wake.
Me: Good morning. Max’s wake has been cancelled. I received a call from the funeral home and they said his body isn’t ready for viewing. I will be heading there within the hour to find out why.
Before I could lay my phone on the counter, it started dinging nonstop. I’m not the praying type but I said a silent prayer because I had to do whatever I needed to do to stop anyone from going to the funeral home. Taking a deep breath, I picked up the phone and read the texts that came through moments before.
Beast: What the fuck you mean cancelled?
Ricio: How? I’m getting up now!
Sin: I just saw him the other day! That’s bullshit! I’ll meet you there.
Me: Hold up! I don’t need anyone to come aid with shit! I’m gon’ handle this! I promise no one will die. I’m quite sure there’s a logical explanation for all of this. Would y’all trust me for once?
Felon: That shit don’t sound right. I’m coming with you brah.
Me: I can handle this on my own.
Beast: Okay everybody, we will stay put and let Rodrigo take care of this hiccup. Let’s back off and wait for his call. Nephew, it’s all yours.
Ricio: I think you are making a mistake, Beast. But it’s your call.
Rodrigo: Fuck you, Ricio! I said I got it! It don’t matter what you think right now. Don’t come to the funeral home because I’m more than capable of handling this situation. I’m out, I just wanted to let y’all know what was going on. I’ll fill ya’ll in when I’m done. If I need any assistance, I’ll hit y’all in this thread.
With all the things I’d done, I knew they didn’t trust me. Everything I'd done was necessary. Fucked up, but it needed to be done. Regret was something I didn’t feel for my actions. I couldn’t wait on any of them to make a move, that’s why I stepped up on my own.
I ran to the kitchen and wrapped saran wrap around the bandage on my arm and hurried to take a shower. Taking a black Nike jogging suit from the closet, I threw it on the bed along with my black Airmax sneakers. I opened the top drawer of my dresser and pulled out a pair of black boxers and socks.
After throwing my clothes on I grabbed my keys, wallet and phone, racing out of the house. I jumped on the expressway heading north. Traffic was pretty light for a Thursday morning and I wasn’t complaining. It didn’t take long for me to arrive at the funeral home at all. When I got there it was ten minutes after eight. I sat in my car and called Stanley. He answered the phone after the third ring.
“Taylor Funeral Home this is Stanley speaking, how may I help you?” he said in a voice too cheerful for a person working at a funeral home.
“I’m outside. Where am I going?”
“Rodrigo?”
“Yeah, it’s me. Tell me where to come.”
“I’m coming to the front now, give me a sec,” he said hanging up.
I waited until the door opened before I got out of my car. Stanley moved to the side to allow me to enter. “Good morning, Rodrigo,” he said with his hand held out. I looked down at him and gave him a ‘what up’ nod. “I’m putting the finishing touches on the project you gave me and it’s right this way in Chapel four.”
We walked down the hall and the air was stale as fuck. As we passed the other chapels, I was hoping I didn’t see any other bodies laid out for viewing. My eyes stayed straight ahead until we reached the chapel reserved for Max. I walked slowly up the aisle and sat in the middle section while Stanley went to the casket to adjust something inside.
There was a picture of Max on a display of flowers along with the slide show of pictures that Nija had put together. The flower arrangements were in clusters along the front of the chapel and there were a lot of them. I could tell which ones were from the family because they were in a slew of blues and whites.
Sin wanted the colors to be white and blue because those were Max’s favorite colors. We all agreed to wear custom navy blue suits with white handkerchiefs and white fedoras. The women would wear navy blue outfits of their choosing with something white. Max would be the only one in white with a navy blue handkerchief and fedora.
“Rodrigo, everything is ready. Would you like to take a look?” Stanley asked.
I got up and walked slowly to the casket and closed my eyes. Glancing down into the casket, I smiled. They did a great job on the body and I had no complaints at all.
“Great job,” I said patting him on the back. “Here, take this,” I said handing him an envelope filled with one hundred dollar bills.
Stanley glanced at his watch and stuck the envelope in his inside pocket and closed the casket. “Mr. Carter should be arriving any minute. I was given strict instructions not to have anyone in here while he paid his respects. Knowing you, that was not part of your plan. The curtain in the right corner is thick enough for you to hide behind until the guards leave the chapel. There’s only one way in or out so they will give Mr. Carter time alone to grieve. He will be given thirty minutes tops then they will come back in to escort him out.”
“That gives me more than enough time to say what I have to say. Thank you for all your help. You won’t regret it.”
Stanley’s phone started ringing and he looked down at it before answering. “This is Stanley,” he said into the phone. “Okay, I will be right out, sir,” he said hanging up. “They are outside. I want you to get in position and please don’t do anything I can’t cover up, Rodrigo.”
“I won’t bring any heat to your father’s establishment. Everything will be the same way you left it. The only thing that won’t be the same is Mr. Carter, but he will still be breathing when he leaves here. Go let the bitch in,” I said taking my place behind the curtain.
Waiting seemed like an eternity until I heard the sounds of chains echoing off the walls in the hall. My palms started sweating and anxiety started to kick in. I made a vow to myself that I would kill this nigga if I ever got the chance to when I laid eyes on him. It’s just my luck that he was heavily guarded and I couldn’t touch him.
I heard the door open and then there was movement in the room. My guess was the guards were checking the chapel before they left Big Jim unattended. One of the guards came to the curtain where I was standing and looked around it. We made eye contact and he stepped back letting the curtain go.
“Clear,” he yelled out.
“Okay, Carter. You have thirty minutes. We will be out in the hall so you can have time alone to say goodbye. Any time before your thirty minutes is up, you can come out on your own.”
“If there’s anything you need, have one of the guards to come get me and I will answer any questions
you may have,” I heard Stanley say.
I didn’t hear Big Jim say anything in but the door closing softly was something I heard vividly. His feet dragging across the floor accompanied by the chains that were attached to his feet, could be heard moving slowly. I chose that moment to come out of hiding before he made it to the opened casket.
“Long time no see, nigga,” I said showing all thirty-two of my teeth.
“Sosa, yeah it’s been awhile since we’ve crossed paths. You have always been a slick muthafucka. How did you go undetected by the guards?” he asked staring at me evilly.
“You wish you were talking to Sosa right now. I’m not that nigga, but that’s neither hear nor there, James Carter. My question to you is, why the fuck is you here? You and your punk ass crew are the reason my brother is laid out in that fancy ass bed, nigga! Luck is on your side because your body guards are outside in the hall to save yo’ ass,” I sneered walking up on him. “If it was up to me, I would blow yo’ muthafuckin’ head off!” I said pulling my .380 from my hip.
“Put that shit away, youngin. You wouldn’t make it out of here if you shot me,” he smirked. “You don’t have the heart to shoot a muthafucka anyway.”
“I guess that’s why several of your workers are no longer breathing, huh? Who do you think is responsible for all that gun smoke? You got it, the one and only Rodrigo Vasquez, nigga.”
“Time is ticking for me, I don’t have time for this shit,” he said walking around me.
I took a seat in the chair to my left and watched as he crept closer to the casket. Big Jim glanced up and noticed the slide show that was playing. He watched for a couple minutes before he continued forward. Stanley didn’t raise the pillow per my request and when Big Jim looked into the casket, he got the shock of his life.
“What type of shit is this?” he asked stumbling into the seat behind him. “That’s not Max! It looks like Red!” he said shaking his head.
“That’s what happens when a muthafucka takes something away from me. Your soldiers are dropping with every turn they decide to make. See, Red thought he could come for me alone but he didn’t get the memo. What he should’ve done was checked my credentials. Sosa is who y’all know, Rodrigo’s the one that will leave ya wondering. I’m like a chameleon, my shit changes with the environment,” I said walking up to the casket.
I glanced down in the casket for the second time that day and I actually chuckled. I did a number on Red’s ass. he was laying inside with one of his eyes sitting on his cheek, his top lip was severed off, and he had a big ass ‘R’ carved in his forehead. The clothes that he'd worn the day he came for me were bloody from his shirt to his shoes. The fingers that were once attached to his hands were lying on the top of his chest. The best part of it all, was the fact that he would be buried with his baby girl. Her head was resting under the arm that was no longer attached to his body.
“You are one sick muthafucka and you will pay for this shit. What did that baby have to do with any of this? When you ran with me, we didn’t kill babies, nigga!”
“Correction, Big Jim. I never ran with your pussy ass, that would be Sosa. I’m cut from a different cloth,” I laughed. “I kill whoever the fuck I want. Guess what? I want to kill yo’ ass too and I will. Prison won’t save you, bitch. Watch ya’ back because you never know when death’s gon’ come knockin’ on ya door.”
“You won’t have to wait long, I’ll be out before you know it. We can handle this shit on the streets if my team don’t get to you first,” he said getting up. He glanced at Red’s body one last time before he started walking toward the door.
“Hey Big, Jim. When you talk to Floyd, tell him he’s next,” I chuckled. “As far as your punk ass team coming for me, ask them how that shit’s been working out for ‘em as of late. See you around muthafucka,” I said walking back to the curtain to get out of sight.
I listened as the chains clacking together became fainter before I came out of hiding. A few moments later, the door opened and Stanley appeared in the doorway. Meeting him halfway, I finally held my hand out for him to shake.
“Thanks for making this happen. Now get that muthafucka outta here and burn his ass up,” I walked to the door and paused with my hand on the handle. “If I find out you didn’t do as I say, you will be the next body your daddy prepares for visitation.” I said leaving him standing there as I read a message from Ricio.
Ricio: Come to my crib pronto, brah.
I didn’t attempt to reply, I just walked briskly through the hall and out the door to my ride. Man, I was on a high that I couldn’t explain. It would’ve been ten times better if I could’ve stopped Big Jim from breathing. I didn’t want to come down from my high so I thought about how I was able to apprehend Red while I drove slowly to Ricio’s crib.
The evening I tracked down Red was after I delivered his daughter’s head to the hotel. It didn’t take long for him to bolt from the hotel room and jump in his car. Following him in a junk car I had bought a couple days earlier, I noticed he was heading to his house.
Red was dipping in and out of traffic but it was rush hour and the cars were creeping slowly on the expressway. At the next exit he got off and decided to take the street. Other drivers had the same idea so he decided to cut through an alley. The sun was going down and there wasn’t much light in the garbage filled alley.
I drove on the sidewalk to get past the cars and went to the other end of the alley to prevent him from coming out. Parking the car, I got out and peeked around the side of a building. Red was kneeled by the side of his car examining his back tire. I had punctured it so he would be forced to stop at some point. Walking up on him slowly with a hood over my head, I called out to him.
“Aye man, you good?” I asked disguising my voice.
“My tire fucked up and I don’t have a spare. Fuck!” he screamed taking out his phone. He tried repeatedly to get ahold of someone one but obviously they were not answering. “Would you be able to give me a ride? I’ll pay you. I just need to get to my house,” I asked frantically.
“Yeah, I can do that. My car is parked on the corner,” I said keeping my voice disguised.
“Okay, I have to grab something out of the car.”
I headed to the junk car and waited for him. He walked toward the car with his phone to his ear but frustration was etched on his face. Getting out the car, I opened the back door as he got in the front. His head was down and he was giving his phone attention instead of the stranger he’d asked for a ride.
Taking that moment to get the rope I had for this moment, I quickly wrapped it around his neck securing his head to the headrest. He clawed frantically at the rope but it was too tight for him to grasp.
“What do you want?” Red struggled to ask.
I made sure the rope was secured and got out. Hopping back into the driver’s seat, I pulled the hood from my head and his eyes damn near popped from the sockets. While checking his person for any type of weapons, I let him know just how stupid he was.
“You niggas in the middle of a war that y’all started and you out here accepting rides from any damn body. With all the dirt y’all been rollin’ in, you shouldn’t trust nobody out here, not even the people you’ve been ridin’ with for years. It’s too late to preach to the choir though, this was yo’ last ride, bitch,” I said pocketing the .44 he had tucked in his waist.
What looked like a pillowcase was on the floor between his feet. Without looking inside, I knew this nigga had the severed head of his daughter with him. I smiled and glanced over at him, he was still trying to loosen the rope but he was not going to succeed.
“She died because you were too pussy to face the music of your actions. Your baby mama and both of your kids are going to be waiting for you when you cross over to the other side. I’m quite sure you will only see them briefly because you have a one way ticket to hell for what you muthafuckas did to my family.”
I drove to the back of an abandoned gas station that I found and got out. Re
moving the board from the door that I had loosened earlier, I propped it against the side of the building. I didn’t have to worry about the law because damn near the whole block was a like a ghost town. Going back to the car, I held my machete in my hand as I pulled the passenger door open. Red was fighting to stay conscious and I was going to give him the chance to enjoy a breath of fresh air.
Cutting the rope from his neck, Red grabbed his throat as he coughed uncontrollably. I snatched his ass out of the car by his collar and dragged him to the gas station door. He was trying to fight hard not to go inside of the building.
I had a tight grip on his shirt with the arm I was shot in and that shit was hurting like a muthafucka. Red grabbed hold of the doorframe and the sound of his nails digging in the warped wood could be heard loud and clear. My arm was trying to give out on me and I didn’t know how much longer I would be able to hold him.
“You gon’ have to kill me because I’m not going in that muthafucka without a fight!” he screamed.
Battling with this nigga was something I wasn’t about to do. I raised my machete and swung it. His fingers separated from his hands and I let him go as his body fell to the ground. The way he was screaming and rolling around made my heart swell.
“Shut yo’ muthafuckin’ ass up, nigga! You didn’t cry when yo’ ass was using my brother as target practice,” I snapped dragging him by his leg to the center of the room. “Where the fuck is Floyd?” I asked calmly as I turned the battery operated light on, illuminating the room just enough for me to see.
“I’m not telling you shit! Fuck you, Sosa!”
“See, Sosa is not who are dealing with right now. I’m gon’ give you one last chance to tell me what I want to know. Where is he hiding out, Red? Don’t make this harder than it has to be, blood,” I said sitting in a chair I'd found in the corner.
“If you gon’ kill me, then do that shit! I don’t have shit to live for. Y’all already killed my family,” Red cried looking down at his hands. “I can’t believe you cut my fuckin’ fingers off! Look at this, I’m gon’ bleed to death,” he said holding up his left arm.