by Mikal Malone
Tamir stood over her. “We haven’t done anything yet.”
“Whatever you want me to do I will do. Just please don’t hurt me.” She said convincingly.
“I’m glad to hear that…now all you gotta do is tell me where C is.” Tamir paused. “But if you don’t, you’re not going to have a choice.”
“I don’t know where he is.” She sobbed uncontrollably. “I haven’t seen him all day.” She lied.
“I really wish you didn’t say that.” Tamir said, angrily.
With a wave of his hand he ordered that she be burned alive. Karen flipped a matched, smiled and dropped it on her body. Her body was instantly covered in fire. Daps screamed her heart out as the fire peeled her flesh back as if it were never there to begin with. Before long, she couldn’t feel the pain anymore as she felt her life slip away.
“I bet you he got something down there.”
- Mercedes
It was easier than we thought to get on Dreyfus’ property. With the makeup wiped off of our faces, our hair pulled back and a show of the janitorial uniforms we’d stolen to the guards at the station, we had no problems. After all, thanks to my assistant Vida, we knew exactly what time the cleaning staff was due to clean his mansion.
Once on the property, having been there before, we moved to the front door and knocked. When no one answered we decided to twist the knob. Sure enough the door was open.
“Rich dumb mothafuckas.” Yvette said.
Once inside the house, we went right to the room Dreyfus frequented. We could smell wood from his fireplace burning. And when he saw us, the blood looked like it had drained from his face.
“What are you doing here?” He said.
“Where are your bodyguards Dreyfus?” Yvette said.
“Why, do I need them?” Yvette laughed and he said, “I let them off early…it’s a mistake I won’t make again.”
“We came to talk business with you.” Yvette said coming out of the janitorial uniform, feeling more comfortable in her jeans and t-shirt underneath.
“So you come onto my property without asking?” He stood up grabbed Yvette’s uniform and threw it in the fireplace to watch it burn.
“You wouldn’t answer our calls.” Carissa said.
“We don’t have any more business together. Isn’t that what you told me?” He looked at all of us. “This better be important.”
“Dreyfus, we want to know why you cut us off? And more importantly why you stole what we helped build in Emerald City.” I said.
“I told you the moment you gave back Tyland what intentions I had on doing. You just didn’t believe me.”
“What has happened to you? You use to be a man with honor and integrity. Has all that changed?” I asked. “And then you get my son tied up in all this bullshit! Why?”
“Don’t worry, he’ll be dead by the end of the week. He’s doing a better job than I thought he would and I don’t want him under any delusion that I’ll be keeping him on a permanent basis.”
“Did you say dead by the end of the week?” Carissa asked walking up to him. I’m glad she was able to move because my feet were planted. I was frozen still with the possibility of losing my son to death.
“The moment I give the order, it’ll all be said and done.”
“So the order hasn’t been given yet?” Yvette said grabbing the poker from the fireplace.
“No, but it will be.”
Right when he said that, Yvette drove the poker through his chest. Blood gushed everywhere as he continued to fight for his life. That’s when Carissa hit him on the head with the wrought iron shovel from the fireplace. Seeing the work my friends had put in for me, I took the lamp on the desk and hit it over his head. And just like that he was gone. The three of us had committed and accidental murder and there was no turning back now.
“What have we done?” Carissa said dropping the shovel.
“We just killed Dreyfus,” Yvette said releasing the hold on the poker which was still stuck in his chest. “That’s what we did.”
“I’m sorry, ya’ll. I didn’t know things were going to turn out like this.”
“We couldn’t have him kill C,” Carissa said. “We couldn’t.” I walked up to her and hugged her tightly. “I’m sooo sorry about what I told Persia.” She continued. “I was drunk when I told her. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s too late for sorry’s. He’s mad but I know he’ll get over it. After all, he’s my son.”
“Fuck that…we need to figure out what we’re going to do with this.” Yvette said brining us back to reality.
“We have to get rid of the body.” I said. “Now Vida said his cooking staff will be here in a couple of hours. So whatever we do we have to do now.”
“Alright, but since he’s already dead let’s find out if any money’s in the house.”
We ran all through the house and came up empty-handed. But when we reached the basement, where five pitbulls roamed, we knew something valuable was down there. And since Carissa and me were scared, we ran back to the top.
“I bet you he got something down there,” I yelled to Yvette who was still at the bottom. “But unless we kill his dogs, how we gonna get to it?”
ROOF! ROOF! ROOF!”
“I’m going inside.” Yvette said.
“Fuck no!” I begged. “You gonna get hurt.”
“I love dogs. You just gotta know how to talk to ‘em.”
Against our wishes she went into the room within the basement. At first the dogs barked wildly, but after a minute, they were silent.
“You think she okay?” Carissa asked me.
“I don’t know…I hope so.”
“Should we go down there?”
“And do what?” I paused. “Get our asses chewed off?”
When we saw Yvette coming back up with three bags we smiled and hugged each other, it was our first embrace since the day of Kenyetta’s funeral. I guess Yvette’s love for animals finally paid off. Once upstairs, she placed the bags on the floor and opened it. Two were filled with several kilos of pure coke and the other was filled with money.
“Ya’ll…I think we just made a come up.” Yvette said one of the dogs following right behind her.
“Yvette, get that dog!” I yelled as I jumped on Dreyfus’ dead body and Carissa jumped on the couch to get away from the animal.
“Go back!” She yelled to the animal pointing at the stairs. When he walked back down the steps she locked the door. “Ya’ll some punks.”
“How much shit you think that is?” Carissa asked as our feet met the floor.
“Enough to put us back on top in another hood.” Yvette said.
“I agree.” I said.
The moment I said that, I could hear police sirens moving quickly in our direction. And before we knew it their bright lights could be seen from the white chiffon curtains. The funny part about it was, there were only two cars
“Oh shit! We fucked!” Yvette said.
“They can’t know we killed him!” Carissa said. “Maybe they’re here to arrest him on some drug shit.”
“Well ain’t nobody gonna be arresting his dead ass today.” Yvette said.
“Maybe they know we broke in. What we gonna do?” Carissa replied.
“We can say we’re with the cleaning crew.” I reminded them.
“But I don’t have a uniform.” Yvette said. “He burned it.”
“Oh, my God!” Carissa said. “Here, Yvette, take mine.” She was moving to take hers off.
“No! I’ll give her mine.”
“No,” she said calmly. “I’m going to have to go out there and see what’s going on. You guys put his body in the bed upstairs.”
“But what are you going to do?” Carissa asked.
“Move him! We have to hurry.” She directed.
Once we drug Dreyfus’ dead weight up the stairs we came back down. We straightened up as best as we could and wiped our fingerprints off of everything. If we could make it out of this okay
, we knew we’d have to take his body with us, there was no other way.
Five minutes later, the cops knocked on the door. “I’m going out.” Yvette said.
“No…please don’t.” I begged.
“I have to. It’s either me alone or all of us.”
“But they’re going to lock you up.” I advised.
“Well if I don’t go out there they’re going to lock us all up.” Yvette explained.
Knowing we couldn’t stop her we hugged her closely. “I love you, Yvette.”
“I love you, too.” She said. “But if they lock me up, I’ma need ya’ll to toughen up. I don’t want to come back to no weak ass bitches. If I can go hard, both of you can, too.”
“You know we will.” I said hugging her again.
“I love you so much.” Carissa said.
“Let me go talk to them, if they take just me, then you know what you have to do with the body. Call the Vanishers and get rid of it.”
“We got you.” I said.
When Yvette stepped outside, the cops immediately ambushed her. Carissa didn’t like what they were doing and rushed outside too. I was coming right behind them until I saw Bucky and her cousins. I knew exactly what was going on now. The bitch must’ve been following us and pressed charges for the ass whooping we put down on her, so I hung back. There was no doubt that this was a petty crime she was trying to check us for.
“What are you doing here?” Carissa questioned the cops.
“Can we come in?”
“Do you have a warrant?” Carissa asked.
“We have reason to believe that Mercedes Ganger is in there, too. And we’re here to arrest her.”
“Well this is private property, so unless you present a warrant, you have to leave now.”
The cop angrily said, “Let’s go.”
Bucky smiled having seen Yvette carried away in handcuffs. Although she wore a smug look on her face now, she wouldn’t be wearing it for long.
“Damn, bitch, I didn’t know you were tripping off of me that hard.”
-Yvette
When I was taken to jail and told what it was I was being charged for, I had to laugh. The bitch Bucky actually filed charges. And then she was too embarrassed to do it in Emerald for fear of being labeled a snitch, instead she had us followed and called the cops. I wasn’t concerned, in fact I was relieved, I knew we could beat this petty shit in a matter of days.
I had spoken to Mercedes and she already told me, using the money we’d stolen from Dreyfus, she was getting us the best lawyer around. He was so good that he managed to get Mercedes off on her own personal recognizance until the trial and promised that I would be out tomorrow. Since neither of us had ever been in any trouble. I think that’s comedy considering all the people we killed.
I was just settling in mentally until I saw someone who made me fall back into my cell. I knew everything about her. Whether it be the way she liked her coffee, or the way she liked her favorite meal. We had spent the last few years of our lives together and I missed her so much.
I walked up to her and said, “Chris, what are you doing here?”
At first I could tell she was happy and shocked to see me and then as if she remembered how I treated her she said, “Do I know you?”
“You playing right?” I asked thinking she was joking.
“I don’t know you. So step the fuck off.” She told me walking away from me.
“So you that fucking mad you wanna try and play me in jail? Damn, bitch, I didn’t know you were tripping off of me that hard.”
She stopped in her tracks and said, “Bitch, I wouldn’t fuck wit’ you again if I was paid to. Now get your rotten ass out of my face.”
“C, you gotta get out of here.”
- Mercedes
I was visiting my younger daughters over my cousin Vickie’s house. Although we didn’t get along too well, she was great when it came to my kids. I had been in her house for five minutes when Carissa showed up unannounced.
“We have to talk and we have to talk now!” She said on the other side of the door.
“Carissa, please don’t tell me this is not about Persia again. I mean, I got your message but you don’t have to call me like you a manic. Yvette and me had a long day after beating that assault charge bullshit on Bucky. I just want to be with my girls.”
“Mercedes, this can’t wait, now can we go outside please?” She said looking at Vickie standing behind me. “Hi, Vicki.”
“Carissa…” She said walking off.
I walked outside, down the steps and listened impatiently to what she had to say. “What’s going on?”
“Persia’s missing. I haven’t seen her in weeks.” She said crying.
“Soooooo?”
“So the last time I talked to her she said she was running away and that if C won’t answer her calls, she didn’t want to live anymore. She’s taking the breakup really hard.”
“What do you want me to do? First you tell me to end their relationship and I do it! Now you want me to bring them back together?” I paused. “Because of their relationship C doesn’t want to talk to me no more.”
“This isn’t about us! And just so you know, I didn’t think she would tell him. Like I said, I was drunk when I told her, but she must’ve remembered.”
“It doesn’t matter. He hates me now and I think it’s best for them to stay apart.”
“Well, I don’t. She’s fucking pregnant, Mercedes!” Carissa added.
“She’s what?”
“You heard me.”
“You know what, fuck this shit!” I said walking back toward the house before a bullet whizzed by Carissa’s head.
“What was that?” I said until another bullet flew by us. It wasn’t long before I realized they were shooting at me.
“Duck, Carissa!” I said taking my own advice.
“Fuck was that?!”
When another bullet crashed into Vickie’s van, shattering the window, we hid behind another car too afraid to move.
“Who do you think it is?” Carissa asked as we heard footsteps rush in our direction.
“I don’t know but they obviously want us dead.”
“I’m scared, Mercedes.”
“Me too, but I’m gonna try and peak to see who it is.”
“No…” She said pulling me back down.
“Just give me a second.” When I finally scooted up, my heart dropped when I saw my son moving in our direction with a gun.
“It’s C.” I said sliding back down behind the car. Feeling the life snatched from me, realizing he wanted me dead, my head banged heavy. “I can’t believe its C.”
I was just about to look him into the eyes before he killed me when I saw him and Wallace rush past us. When I turned into the direction they were moving, I saw Tamir with a gun aimed in our direction. It had been him firing at me all along. It wasn’t long before C and Wallace ran up to him and shot him in the head. When his body dropped Carissa and I rose from behind the parked car.
C apparently still angry, pumped two more bullets in his head. Dogs barked wildly in the background as I took the gun from his hand and said, “C, you gotta get out of here.”
“Fuck that!” He told me giving me an evil stare. “I don’t want you saying shit to me.”
“C…your mother is right, we have to go.” Wallace said. “Come on, man.”
“Just so you know, you dead to me.” He pointed in my face. “And if you didn’t give birth to me, I’da let this nigga slump you and your friend, too.”
With that C walked out of my life.
“Energy? What are you doing here?”
Shade Holman
Shade Holman decided to treat herself to a nice long massage, especially after having to bury yet another child. And although Tamir’s death rocked the Black Water Klan to its core, it wouldn’t stop what needed to be done and that was to build on Black Water’s principals, but unlike under Tamir’s rule, the focus for them now would be getting mon
ey. And Shade had stepped up to her rightful position in charge.
Lying on her stomach on a massage table, she waited patiently for her therapist to enter her room. And because she had been so tired, the therapeutic music forced her into a light sleep.
When the door opened Shade kept her eyes closed and said, “I want a long back massage and when you’re done, you can spend the rest of that time on my feet.”
“No problem,” the woman said in a light voice.
The moment she placed her hands on her back, Shade exhaled. The touch of another human being soothed her and she wanted it to last. But when the woman moved too closely to her neck, she got nervous.
Her eyes flew open and she said, “What are you doing?”
“Massaging you.” The woman said in a high voice. Only this time, Shade recognized her tone immediately.
“Energy? What are you doing here?”
“Settling old debts,” she said gripping her throat harder.
From the position Shade was in, she was at a disadvantage and could not fight her off. Besides, Energy was crazy and there was nothing more she wanted in life than power. She knew that with Tamir’s death, it would be just a matter of time before they got rid of her. So for five minutes straight, with everything she had, she choked Shade until her soul left this world, and her eyes remained closed permanently.
“You should’ve never fucked with me to begin with.”
Energy
Energy power walked to her car to avoid suspicion. The rush of killing her archenemy shoved her to the brink of insanity. Once at her white Ford Expedition she quickly pulled off and thought about her victory. With Shade out of the picture now all she had to worry about was Karen, Gia and the latest addition Persia, who was new in the Klan and if anything, would warm to her influence so she didn’t see them as threats.
“I told you I was going to get your ass, bitch!” She ranted off to herself. “You should’ve never fucked with me to begin with.”