Dirty DNA (G Street Chronicles Presents)

by BlaQue

  I walked out and slammed the door behind me. He was out of his mind if he thought I was going to sit around and just wait for some shit to pop off and not try to avoid it. I went down the stairs to Daddy’s office. I walked straight in without knocking, and as usual, no one was there. Not Oscar or Daddy. I kept it moving and headed out the house to Corrine since she had some money for me. I was sure I was going to need it because as far as I was concerned, we were leaving in the morning! I remembered the message that said to call them and decided I should do just that. I dialed the number and the phone was answered by a gruff voice. “Cap Citi Studios, you got Butta.”

  “Well, Butta is it?” I asked. “Did someone call YaYa?”

  I heard him ask the voices in the background did someone call me. I heard some more shuffling and then Dread came on the line. “Damn girl, took you long enough to call me back.” He joked.

  “I have a lot going on, plus I don’t answer numbers I don’t know on this phone.” I said giving up much attitude.

  “Well, I am glad you called me back. You busy today? I have a show and I would love for you to come.”

  “I have some stuff brewing with my family, but I am sure I could make some time to see your performance.”

  He gave me the address to the venue and hung up. I pulled out of the driveway headed into the city to Southeast to collect my money.

  Chapter 18

  The Goodman/Barry Farms

  SE Washington, DC

  I had made my way to Southeast in under fifteen minutes, which had to be some kind of world record. You can’t get anywhere in DC in fifteen minutes, yet, somehow I did. Traffic was always a nightmare and not to mention the one-way streets that confuse even the most seasoned driver. Although the Nation’s Capital is only a hole in the ground, no bigger than four or five miles, I am sure I haven’t seen all of it yet. I stepped out of the car and entered Corrine’s building. When I reached her floor, I noticed her front door was ajar.

  I hesitated because Corrine was very cautious and played by the rules. She would never just leave her shit open. She lived in the heart of the hood. Southeast is the Devil’s Playground. No one was safe. A Preacher ain’t safe in his own church on Easter in the DMV. A nigga was always on the prowl for a come up, what a thirsty nigga would need to hit pay dirt was an open door. I hated to do it in her pissy hallways, but I removed my heels and stuck them in my purse. I exchanged my shoes for Chase. My heart was pounding and I was sure the whole hood could hear it thumping in my chest. I pushed the door open further as quietly as I could. I walked in to what appeared to be an empty apartment. Amazingly, all of Corrine’s stuff was still there. I pushed the door closed behind me. I could feel my heartbeat slow down and my breathing return to its normal rhythmic pace.

  I guess the silly bitch left out and didn’t close it all the way. It’s a wonder she hadn’t been robbed blind. I sat my purse down on the coffee table and made my way to the back of the apartment. The hair on the back of my neck stood up and sent off alarms that something wasn’t right. I still had Chase in my hands because I swore I would never be caught without her again. Something told me even though shit looked sweet, it looked too sweet. I entered the first bedroom and everything looked ok. I backed out of that room and headed where Corrine’s office was. That door was open and I could see a clear view of the desk. I inched up the hallway and entered the room. Everything seemed like it was in order, until I looked at the closet door which looked like it had been kicked in. I tip toed over to the closet and peeked inside.

  It took everything in me not to scream from the horror show inside. Corrine was shot in the head. She was just laying there with a blank stare on her face. She looked as if she knew the end was coming and there was no way to stop it. Somehow, whoever got in had managed to hit Corrine and two bitches she had in the apartment with her. I could feel the bile building in my throat looking at their bodies shoved into that small space. Each girl had been shot with no regard. I could not believe what I had just walked into. I turned to leave when I saw one sheet of paper on the desk. Damn near running over to the desk, I snatched up the piece of paper. It simply read, “YaYa, we got you next.”

  I turned and walked quickly and as quietly as I had come, taking the paper with me. Tears were streaming down my face and I was fueled by fear. I was able to compose myself long enough to grab my purse up off of the table and leave Corrine’s tomb. As soon as I got out of those pissy hallways and got to the safety of my car, I threw up. I sat there in a daze for several minutes before I collected myself enough to drive. I pulled away from the curb and headed to Cap Citi Studios. I don’t know what made me go there, but it was closer than going home in case someone had seen me. Someone had definitely meant for me to get the message. Someone was gunning for me, and I had no idea who it was. Someone had been causing problems for Daddy, and now someone was after me. The day had started out fucked up, and it seemed as if it was going to get much worse. I called Dread on the number he had given me as his cell because I sure wasn’t going to call the studio. I don’t know what made me trust him, but at that point there was no one else to call close by. I silently prayed that he would answer. After the third ring, I was expecting an automated voice to tell me to leave a message.

  “Wassup shawty?” He answered. Thank God he answered.

  “Can I meet up with you somewhere? I know you have a show tonight, but I need somewhere to get my mind right for a second. You are still on the Southside; right?

  “Yeah, what’s going on? You aight?” He asked concerned.

  “Yes, I’ll explain when I get there.” I answered.

  After he gave me the address, I started in the direction of the address. When I pulled up, I noticed Dread was out front with some youngins. I found a parking space and shut down the engine of the car. Before stepping out, I surveyed my surroundings. The neighborhood he had led me to wasn’t the safest. The parking lot was straight out of a bad nightmare. Although my whole life was dedicated to creating neighborhoods like the one I was looking at, I still couldn’t get used to fucked up hood living. There were people all over the place. Mainly niggas looking to get high or niggas trying to get money. Either way, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to leave the safety of my car. While I was contemplating just driving off, Dread tapped on the window. I almost jumped out of my skin.

  “Are you just gonna’ sit in the car, or are you gonna get out and tell me to what I owe the honor?”

  I grabbed my bag because Chase was chilling in the bottom and I wasn’t about to go anywhere without her. I opened my door and checked out my surroundings and decided that if someone was gonna get me they certainly weren’t going to do it in broad daylight where there were about fifty people milling around. But then again, when shit went down in the hood, ain’t nobody see shit. That was bonafide hood rules. You either lived by them or died by them. Once I got out, Dread led me down a long walk way that ended in a courtyard with a cluster of apartments towering over it. We got to a security door that was anything but secure. We walked in and up to the third floor. When he opened his apartment door, it was a typical male’s home. It was neat, but you could tell when a woman wasn’t in the equation. For some reason, that made me feel relieved. I found a seat near the window so I could keep an eye on my car and anyone who got near it.

  “You aight over there? You sounded like you had some serious shit going on. You almost made me afraid to give you the address.” He chuckled.

  “You got a roll up?” I asked after digging in my bag and retrieving some of the Loud I had in my Louie.

  I guess he was shocked to see a chick that came prepared. If me smoking was shocking, then what would he do if he found out why I really came to his house? He passed me a cigarillo and just stared at me like he was trying to put together the pieces of a puzzle. After what felt like forever, he spoke.

  “So what brought you to me today? I would have thought you were out shopping for tonight or going to get your nails done. You know some girly stuf
f.”

  “Nah. I have to be honest with you. I don’t know why I am here. I went to see some folks and I found them murked in the closet of their apartment.” I continued to break down the weed and avoid whatever expression Dread had on his face.

  “Damn shawty. Someone had it out for them folks; huh? You ain’t think to call the Feds? You just left them in the closet? That’s some gangster shit!” I was beginning to regret ever opening my mouth.

  “There are a lot of things you don’t know about me.” I said trying to shut him up.

  “Then humor me and tell me, because you already got a nigga’s head spinning.”

  “Look, I found out this morning someone has some stuff stirred up with my Dad. My little brother is out of control, and then my visit to my girl’s house and finding her like that. This day is a do over. I want to go back to last night and do this shit differently. You just don’t know the half.”

  I had tears seeping from my eyes. I hadn’t even noticed I had been crying. Too many emotions had consumed me all at once. Dread took the weed and finished twisting up while I cried. I cried over all the confusion going on. I sat there smoking with Dread and he tried to get me to talk. Not about the events of the day, but about me.

  “So, what does YaYa do?” He asked.

  “I thought you already knew what YaYa did. She shops and gets her nails done.” I laughed. “I am really a Daddy’s girl at heart. He has always taken care of me. Whatever I wanted he got it for me.”

  “Oh, so you a brat huh?” Hey what is your real name? I am sure your Momma and Daddy ain’t name you YaYa.

  “No smart ass, they didn’t name me YaYa. My father calls me YaYa. My name is YaSheema, since you have to know.” I answered.

  I looked at him and could tell there was so much tension in the room you could feel it crawling down the walls and oozing through the noisy heating and cooling unit. It was like we were both searching for something to say other than the obvious. Both of us knew we had no business wanting or desiring the other. I can’t explain it, but I felt safe with him. I felt like I could tell him all my secrets and they would be safe. He was the comfort of an old friend.

  “I ain’t never heard the name YaSheema before. That sounds like the name of a chick who’s daddy owns a carry-out and Papa Son got caught playing in chocolate.” He laughed snapping me out of my thoughts.

  “You better be glad I have heard that shit so much growing up that it ain’t even funny anymore. Everyone has a name joke.”

  “I didn’t mean to offend you Ms. YaSheema.”

  “No offense taken.”

  “Good, because I would hate to upset you.”

  He got up and moved over to where I was sitting, and made himself comfortable next to me. I felt uneasy with him being so close to me. He tapped my thigh to pass me the J. I took a deep long pull and tried to sort out the details of the day. I had gone to bed with some bullshit brewing, woke up to some bullshit brewing, and was continuing into my day with a cup that runneth over with shit. The longer I sat trying to make sense of it all, the more aggravated I became. I knew I had better get out of there before I did something else that I would regret. Just as I was thinking about how I was going to leave, my cell phone began to vibrate in my purse signaling a text message.

  Breaking the uncomfortable silence, I dug around in my bag to find my phone. I unlocked the screen and it was a message from Neko. It was only one word, but it was menacing all the same. It was the scariest three-lettered word I had ever had the misfortune of reading. It read, “RUN.” Quickly rising to my feet and startling Dread, I dropped the J in the ashtray and grabbed my purse from where it was resting.

  “I gotta’ go. There is something going on with my little brother.” I stammered.

  “Is everything ok?” Dread asked looking worried.

  “It will be.” I responded as I made my way out the door. I wasn’t sure about what I just said about it being ok. Nothing in the whole day had gone right.

  I don’t know why I hadn’t done what Neko had instructed me to do. Instead, I hopped in my ride and started for Georgetown. Doing way past the legal speed limit, I hit the highway and floored the gas. I couldn’t think straight. I knew it was nothing but trouble because Neko had just told me to run after basically telling me he would do no such thing. I was trying my best to keep calm and focus on getting home. Finally hitting Georgetown, I turned on Wisconsin Avenue unaware of the company I had following me a few car lengths behind.

  Pulling into the driveway, nothing seemed out of order. Daddy’s truck was in the garage, and the door was open. Daddy did that from time to time when he intended to leave right out. I suspected that maybe he, Neko and Oscar were on their way out of the house. Barely putting the car in park, and snatching the keys from the ignition, I pushed open my door and rushed up the drive and into the garage bay. I noticed the door leading to the house from the garage was ajar. Pushing the door open and trying to enter, the door stopped. There was something blocking it from opening all the way. I put some force behind it and pushed the door and heard a loud groan coming from the other side. The grunting sound caused me step back from the entry way.

  “Get help.” Oscar gurgled from the other side of the door.

  I could hear the urgency in his voice, and it was unlike anything I had ever heard from him before. It made me force myself to react. I ran out of the garage as fast as my feet would carry me and made my way to the front door. I was doing too many things all at once. I was fumbling for the keys and calling 911. The dispatcher came on the line asking me to state the nature of my emergency.

  “My uncle is hurt.” I whispered into the receiver, not knowing if someone was still lurking around inside the house just waiting on me. I gave the operator the address and disconnected the call.

  It was the second time that day that I had walked into some shit. Entering the foyer, I wasn’t prepared for what came next. All of the artwork that normally neatly lined the walls of the hallway were laying scattered about the foyer floor. I crept as quietly as I could in the direction of the garage and stopped in my tracks. I could hear death ringing in my ears. I was torn between tending to Oscar, finding Neko and finding Daddy. I figured I would go to Oscar and he would tell me where to find Daddy and Neko. I headed to the garage and I could hear my heart pounding in my chest. It sounded just like a college drum line. I walked down the hallway and past the dining area. That’s where I found him. I screamed. I screamed a gut wrenching scream. A scream so sickening that it would rock one’s entire being.

  My father was lying in a pool of blood with gunshot wounds to his upper torso. He lay there lifeless and cold. I ran to him and slipped in the pool of blood surrounding him. I gathered myself as much as one could in a situation like that, and crawled the rest of the distance to my father’s body. I scooped him into my arms and cried. I cried for what felt like hours. I held him and shook him not wanting the shit to be really be happening to me. I forgot about Neko. I forgot about Oscar too. It was like time stood still and nothing else seemed to exist. I shook Daddy. I had tears streaming down my cheeks. I felt a piece of me dying. I knew my father was dead; but I refused to leave him there to find out if Neko was dead too. My life flashed before me. I started seeing past birthdays, and happy moments of my life that Daddy made special for me. The police found me right in that spot, hugging and rocking Daddy as if he were a baby.

  They immediately started asking me questions about anyone else being in the house. I listened as more sirens wailed in the distance. I nodded and pointed to the garage which was off to the right of where I was sitting with Daddy in my arms. I looked down at my father’s face and squeezed my eyes real tight and I swore I heard him talking to me. I heard Daddy call my name.

  “YaYa, you have got to toughen up. Now is not the time to fall apart. Get your shit together!”

  When I opened my eyes, the rest of the police I had heard in the distance, had entered the house and must have thought I was in complete shock. They
tried their best to separate me from Daddy’s body and I wasn’t having it without a fight. I totally flipped out when they pronounced him dead. I became enraged and tried to attack anyone who got near him. I was kicking and screaming while they were toe tagging Daddy’s body and in walked Detective Gatsby. He was the last person I wanted to see. From the search of the house that was conducted there was no sign of Neko. I didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing. Someone had stolen my entire world from me and that shit hurt. I didn’t give a fuck about too many people in life, but my father and my brother were definitely the two I cared about the most. Now Daddy was dead and Neko was missing.

  Oscar was rushed to the hospital with gunshot wounds right under his collar bone and in his leg. He had lost so much blood they weren’t sure if he was going to make it. Yeah, shit was fucked up. Then I had that detective on my ass again. Death was following me and it wasn’t hard to tell. I thought I had tied up any loose ends from Papi, so I had no idea why someone wanted me dead. It was the kind of shit you saw on the news and prayed it never happened to anyone you loved. Gatsby questioned the first officers to respond to the call and they had told him what they had found up to that moment, which hadn’t been too much.

  Chapter 19

  The Eastside Nightclub

  Half Street

  SW Washington, DC

  Gatsby followed YaSheema since earlier that day and lost her somewhere in the congestion of Georgetown traffic. Nothing had seemed abnormal in her travels. She had ventured to Southeast DC and made two stops since leaving her home. She had gone to a well-known drug area known as the Parklands. She had entered one of the buildings and left after about ten minutes or so. From there she had driven to a different section of Southeast and was met by an unknown black male whom she accompanied into another apartment building.