by Meesha
While he sat holding his arm up for me to see his hand, I smiled. He actually thought I gave a fuck about what I had done, I didn’t. Instead, I raised the blade and cut into the top of his shoulder until his arm fell on the floor next to him.
“Aaaaaaaah!” he howled rolling around on the floor for the second time in a matter of minutes. Blood was shooting out of his arm and every time he rolled, his clothes became redder.
“All I want to know is where Floyd is. Fuck it, what’s the plan y’all got in motion for my family?”
“Fuck yo’ muthafuckin’ family!”
“Wrong answer,” I said jumping up punching him repeatedly in his left eye. I didn’t realize I was hitting him with the tip of the machete until his body went limp.
When I drew my arm back his eyeball was dangling out of his head. I let his body fall back and I grabbed his top lip and cut that muthafucka off. I then took the machete and carved a big ‘R’ in his forehead. I wanted to chop his ass up in little bitty pieces but I already had to collect his fingers and arm. That would’ve been too much.
I left Red’s corpse lying on the floor and I went back to the car. Getting the tarp out of the trunk along with some rope, and a pair of gloves, I went back inside. I rolled him up in the tarp and threw his body parts in with him and tied the rope tightly around it. Dragging his body out the door, I reached inside the trunk for the canister of gasoline I had stored back there.
After putting it on the ground, I took a deep breath before I attempted to pick him up. My arm was on fire and I knew I was about to bust every stitch that was sewn in it. I didn’t give a fuck though. Lifting him in the trunk wasn’t a problem, but the pain I was enduring was.
After securing Red’s body in the trunk, I went back inside the gas station and doused the gasoline around inside. Making sure I covered every aspect of the building, I stepped outside and got in the car. With the window down, I aimed a flair gun and fired a single shot sending the gas station up in flames. I pushed down on the gas pedal and whipped the corner as the building exploded, shaking the entire block.
I called Stanley from the funeral home and told him to meet me there in twenty minutes. He wanted to ask a million questions and I had to threaten to kill him before he agreed. I told him to hold on to the body until I gave him the word to cremate it. I knew I would need Red’s ass to show up for a reason, and I was glad I had him.
Chapter 16
Ricio
I was scrambling around trying to put on clothes because the text Rodrigo sent didn’t sit well with me. There was no way Max’s wake was cancelled because his body wasn’t ready. My brother was on some other shit, I just didn’t know what it was. My plan was to go to the funeral home to find out.
As I pulled my pants over my ass, the doorbell sounded. I wasn’t expecting anybody to come to my shit and Nija had a fuckin’ key. Without hesitations, I grabbed my bitch from the dresser and made my way to the front door.
“Ding dong, ding dong, ding, ding, ding.” Whoever was on the other side of that muthafucka was about to get a rude awakening for ringing my shit like they were crazy.
“What the fuck you want?” I asked as I snatched the door open with my tool aimed.
“Quiten esa mierda. ¿Es así como saudan a todos los que vienen a su Puerta?” (Put that shit away. Is that how you greet everyone that comes to your door?) my uncle Alejandro asked.
“Nah, just the stupid muthafuckas that show up uninvited. How the fuck did you find me here?” I asked without lowering my weapon.
“Ricio, baja el arma y déjame.” (Ricio, put the gun down and let me in.)
Lowering the gun to my side, I opened the door wider and allowed him to enter. That’s when I noticed he wasn’t alone. My uncles Julio, Sebastián, and Hugo were with him and they all looked as if they came to the states to be on bullshit.
“You didn’t answer my question, Alejandro. How the fuck did you find out where I live?” I asked closing the door.
“Tengo mis formas de—”
“English muthafucka! You in my country now, I don’t feel like speaking Spanish today,” I cut his ass off quickly.
“Spanish is part of your heritage, Ricio. You should embrace it. As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, I have my ways of finding out anything I need to know. It really doesn’t matter how I found out, just know if I could find you, anyone can. See the idiots that you at war with, aren’t too bright. It wasn’t hard to find you though. What I would like to know is why didn’t you contact me about Maximo’s services? His death was on every news outlet, even in the Domican Repulic. That’s how I found out when the funeral was.”
“We have been busy with a lot of shit, that’s why I didn’t call you. Besides, the last conversation me and you had didn’t go too well. You acted like you weren’t interested in shit but puttin’ my daddy down. I meant what I said to you that night.” I stood with my legs spread apart with my arms folded over my chest, waiting for his ass to get slick at the mouth. Snatching my phone off my hip, I sent a text to Beast and Rodrigo to get to my crib asap.
“Mauricio, I told you over the phone that I think the things you and your brother are into is because of your father. I still stand by that. Reese was no good for my sister and I told her many times to get away from him. Had she listened, she would be here today to keep you boys out of trouble,” Alejandro didn’t know he was opening a can of worms that he knew nothing about.
“Being the nigga on the outside looking in, you didn’t know shit about what went on with my fuckin’ parents. The only thing you were worried about was the fact my daddy was a kingpin,” I sneered back.
“Yes, a fuckin’ drug dealer! My sister was better than that piece of shit.”
My hand was around his neck before he could complete the statement he let fall from his lips. “If you ever disrespect my muthafuckin’ father again, I’ll kill yo’ ass! Without Reese, there wouldn’t have been a Sosa, Max, or myself! Instead of guessing, how about you find out how life was for us when both of them were living! We were her family! You and the rest of your family turned your backs on her when she chose Reese over y’all!”
“Mauricio, let him go,” Hugo said grabbing my arm.
“Get yo’ muthafuckin’ hands off me before I forget we are blood related! You should’ve given this nigga a pep talk before he showed up at my crib. Nothing or no one will stop me from speaking my mind to any one of y’all,” I stated without looking at Hugo.
“Reese was not fit to court your mother. My parents had other plans for Maritza but she was blinded by the things your father could do for her with his drug money. He ruined her!” Alejandro yelled in my face despite the fact I could choke his ass to death.
“He didn’t ruin shit muthafucka! He allowed her to be the queen she was destined to be. Reese was there when nobody else was! My mother wasn’t ruined at all. You don’t know shit about what went on in our household,” I sneered pushing his head into the wall. “You muthafuckas were jealous because my mother was happy. She was no longer living y’all the shadows, she was no longer there to clean up after the whole family. Shit I think it was because she wanted to be with the big dick nigga instead of the punk your father wanted her to marry,” I said tightening the hold I had on Alejandro’s neck.
“That was her job in our parent’s home. The females were taught early on how to care for their future husband. Maritza was not being mistreated at all. She left her country to come here with a man she barely knew. Had three black ass kids by a good for nothing ass nigger. It ended up being her downfall because she is now dead!”
Alejandro fucked up when he said that nigger word. I would’ve been cool with him saying nigga but he dragged out the ‘er’ part of that word. Drawing back my left fist, I punched his ass in the very mouth he cussed me out with.
“Ricio, let him go!”
I didn’t hear Beast when he entered my crib, hitting Alejandro in his shit was my main concern. When I heard Beast’s voice, I backed
up because I respected him like he was my father. Our eyes connected and I let Alejandro’s neck go. Rodrigo was standing next to Beast with the look of death in his eyes. His wrist was clasped in Beast’s hand tightly.
“Alejandro, long time no see. What’s going on in here, man?” Beast asked walking between us.
“Mauricio is very disrespectful. I see that’s something Reese didn’t teach his ass, to respect his elders.”
I charged at him but was pulled back by Rodrigo and my uncle Sebastián. “In order to get respect, bitch, you gotta give it. I’m a grown ass man, not the lil boy you’re used to pushing around. I want you to say one more thing out ya mouth about my father and I’m gon’ stomp yo’ muthafuckin’ ears in, nigga,” I growled.
“What you not gon' do is stand here and talk shit about Reese. See my name ain’t Ricio, you won’t get away with talking crazy to me. Uncle or not, I will blow yo’ head clean off your body. Whatever beef you had with my daddy, leave that shit back in time because it had nothing to do with us,” Rodrigo said coldly.
Beast held his hand in the air to put a halt to Rodrigo going any further. “Look, I know how you and your family felt about Reese. To put it out there, Reese didn’t choose Maritza, she chose him. Reese did what was right when she called him saying she was pregnant. He did what any real nigga would do, he went back to the Dominican Republic and brought her back here and married her. If it was wrong of him to make an honest woman out of her, so be it. One thing I can say truthfully is Reese loved that woman with everything in him. He never laid a hand on her. As a matter of fact, he never even raised his voice to her. Reese was that stand-up nigga that took care of home regardless of what he did in the streets. He made sure his family was well taken care of. The only thing y’all knew was, he sold drugs. So what! It’s no different than the Vasquez family selling guns. Oops, didn’t think I knew about that, huh?”
“Erique, stay out of this! I am talking to my nephews, not you!” Alejandro shot back.
“See, that’s where ya wrong, nigga. I’m trying to be the calm before the storm but if you want to turn this shit into a blood bath, we can do that too,” Beast said walking in Alejandro’s face. “These boys have been my nephews all their lives. You muthafuckas are only here to drag their father and make comparisons. I’m the reason you’re still standing here talking shit, all I gotta say is go. The same way you bit yo’ tongue with Reese, I’d advise you to do the same with his sons. Instead of bringing up their parent’s past, how about getting to know them as men. They just lost their brother, show some empathy. Maritza was the queen of the castle and her husband allowed her to call the shots because it was her job. That’s all she had to do, he took care of everything else. The way he made his money, shouldn’t matter. Choose yo’ battles because I’m down for whatever,” Beast said
“No, this is not why we came here. Max is the reason,” Hugo said glaring at his brother.
Alejandro was quiet for a moment. He looked down at the floor as he rubbed the back of his neck. Sebastián glanced at him and took a deep breath. Hugo shook his head and turned toward the window. Julio was sitting back on the couch smoking a cigar, chillin’.
“I’ve been telling you for years that Maritza was good. I talked to her and Reese twice a week until I was comfortable with her being in the states. Alejandro, you refused to accept what it was and continued to find little shit to nick pick about. You only held a grudge because papí instructed you to do so. You and I both know the asshole papí wanted her to marry wasn’t good for her. Hell, he’s still beating the fuck out of his wife today! Let this shit go. Like Erique said, get to know these boys, they’re our familia too.” Sebastián paused and looked over at Rodrigo then to me, “I’m sorry I haven’t been around. It’s a shame that it took something like this to happen for me to come see you guys.”
Chuckling I stepped to him and said, “you don’t have to apologize, uncle Bash. It’s that nigga that should be saying he’s sorry.
“Listen, I can’t take back my actions and words. You boys are my blood and I know my sister is tossing in her grave at how I spoke to you, Mauricio. She was distant because of the way we felt about Reese but she never left his side. All I can do from this day on is protect you with my life and make Max’s killers wish they were never born.”
Alejandro sounded sincere with his little speech but I wasn’t letting his ass get off that easily. “I appreciate you coming, but we don’t need yo’ fuckin’ help. We got this. Half of those niggas are already getting their ass whooped by my father as we speak. Pay your respects and go back to wherever the fuck you were all these years,” I said walking to the kitchen.
I grabbed a glass and poured a double shot of Remy in it. Twirling the brown liquid around before throwing it down my throat, I heard a voice in my head loud as day. “This is not the time for you to be pinheaded, son. Let the muthafucka help you. Use them as your secret weapons. Floyd has never seen Maritza’s people, they will go undetected in these streets. You will need them at the funeral, listen to what I’m saying.”
Reese was always in my ear and I was glad he looked after me through all of this. Without him giving me insight, we would be fucked. Taking another shot, I walked back into the living room and everyone was sitting back talking.
“So, you aren’t Sosa right now?” Julio asked Rodrigo with his elbows resting on his knees.
“Nah, how many times do I have to say my name is Rodrigo?”
“That’s funny because our grandfather’s name was Rodrigo. He was nothing to play with according to my father. He killed men with his bare hands and didn’t care what time of day it was. A pretty vicious man,” Julio said laughing. “If you’re anything like him, I think I should be scared of you,” he laughed.
“You should be,” Rodrigo said nonchalantly as he pulled on his blunt. “Y’all lucky I didn’t drop ya boy over there for talking greasy, but I wanted to hear him out since my mama loved y’all so much. The blood we share is the only thing that saved ya in here. Don’t let the shit happen again,” he said staring at Alejandro.
Sebastián took that moment to speak cutting off the tension before it could before it could expand further. “We have five of your cousins coming up later tonight. They are around you and Mauricio’s age. There’s Nicolás, Mateo, Alexander, Angel, and Javier. We brought the Vasquez clan up to help put these punks to rest.”
“I’m all for y’all helping out. A little birdie told me that we could use y’all at the funeral since nobody around here knows anything about any of you. Having several pairs of eyes paying attention to what’s going on inside the funeral home as well as outside, would allow us to say our goodbyes without having to watch our backs,” I said taking a seat on the arm of the chair by the window. “Speaking of the funeral home, Rodrigo. What was the reason Max’s wake was cancelled?”
A look of amusement was etched on Rodrigo’s face. I knew then he was on some other shit. “I was the one that cancelled the wake but let me explain why,” he said hurriedly.
“You better have a damn good reason, brah. That’s something we can’t get back!” I yelled at him.
“Pipe that shit down, Ricio. Hear me out, damn! Okay, I went by Red’s crib the other day and his bitch opened the door. I tortured her ass until she told me where he was hiding out. This is where y’all gon’ get mad. I killed her and the kids,” Rodrigo paused because he knew that was some shit I wasn’t down for.
“Damn, nephew,” Beast said shaking his head.
“I took the head of his daughter and dropped it at the door of the hotel. When that nigga came out, he couldn’t help but see it. Just like I knew he would, he jumped in his car and sped off. I had already punctured his tire so he would have to stop. To make a long story short, I slumped that nigga and took his body to the funeral home. I paid the funeral director’s son to cremate him, but I got a call this morning stating Big Jim was coming to the wake to pay his respects. The body hadn’t been burned yet so I had Stanley to prep
are Red’s body up in Max’s viewing room instead. Scared the shit out of Big Jim’s ass. There’s definitely going to be some shit at the funeral tomorrow, we have to keep our eyes open.”
“Yeah, you sure are a replica of your great grandfather Rodrigo. He has to be living his best life through you because you are one—”
I cut Julio off before he could say the word crazy. The last thing I need was my brother killing his ass. We needed all the extra bodies we could with the shit he pulled with Big Jim. “Nah, Julio. Let that sentence fade away. Say it in your head but don’t say it out loud for your own sake. Rodrigo, that’s nine bodies you got under your belt. Would you please stop going out alone? At least take somebody with you.”
“I work better alone. Besides, you muthafuckas think too much. I work off impulse. The niggas on their team is weak ass fuck. They shot me in the arm and the shit don’t even hurt no mo’,” he said laughing.
“We will get out of your hair and we’ll see y’all at the funeral home in the morning. Be careful out here, we are staying at the W hotel, so you will know. Send me pics of the clowns we are keeping an eye out for tomorrow via text. I want to be ready for whatever. We won’t be leaving until you guys are able to live peacefully in the streets of Chicago,” Sebastián said standing up.
Standing to my feet as well, I walked over and accepted the hand he held out. When Alejandro held his hand out, I looked at it them grasped it. he pulled me in for a brotherly hug and whispered in my ear, “I truly apologize for my actions. Now that I know my brother in law was everything my sister wanted, I feel bad for not really getting to know him. I’m willing to get to know my sister’s sons, if you allow me to,” he said stepping back.
“I’m down for whatever. Let’s get through this bullshit and we will go from there. A trip to the Dominican Republic may be what I need after all I’ve been through,” I said slapping him on the shoulder.
Alejandro stepped to Rodrigo and shook his hand. Opening his mouth to say something to him, Rodrigo closed his eyes and shook his head. “I don’t want to hear that mushy shit. I forgive yo’ ass. Remember what I said, though.” We all laughed at his deranged ass.