by Brick
Blood rushed to my ears. I dropped on my back, turned on my side, then crawled over gravel as fast as I could to a safe spot. Once I felt I was in the clear, I pushed up and ran my ass to a ditch on the side of the road, jumping over bodies of the fallen. It was then that a reality hit me yet again. I had never killed a man before....
Wait, that was a lie. I had never shot a nigga like I was doing now. This was my first time, and I wasn’t too happy about it or geeked up. This was not a position I had ever wanted to be in. I wasn’t a killer in this sense. What I had done before was commit cold-blooded murder, seek vengeance, and practice self-defense for my mama. This right here? This was just straight-up head bustin’ and body painting. Self-defense, yes, but also plain ole murder. I’d just been released from jail; I didn’t need to add murder to my record now!
Code’s breathing let me know she had followed me, which was a relief, because old girl had that freaky look in her eyes still. We both glanced around, then let off more rounds when we saw that we were being followed. Code pushed me behind her as she pulled out another gun. I watched that chick shoot off some rounds, rush forward, then land several punches on a creepy tall blond with pale white eyes. Code’s fist delivered a one-two punch to the throat, then to the gut, until she was able to gain leverage, push herself up, and wrap her leg around the dude’s neck and squeeze, making him drop to his knees.
If my life had a soundtrack, while we were running through the trees, some crazy dubstep would be playing. I quickly looked over my shoulder and saw Code going in for the kill. While she battled, she took a knife out of her shoe and slammed it into her attacker’s neck, slicing open his jugular. Red splashed down his body and onto Code’s feet. After pushing him down to the ground, she knelt beside him, breathing hard and looking around with a lethal look.
She took his gun, popped up, and ran back my way, pumping bullets behind her. No lie, I stood there, shocked and freaking the hell out. Code was on some fucking Power Ranger shit, and I had no damn words to express how dope that was. All I could do was shake my head, then wave to her, letting her know that I was going into the thicket lining the highway.
“Those mofos just ain’t quitting. What did y’all do, Code?” I asked when she caught up with me as I ran. My lungs burned from the exertion.
The chick at my side kept pace with me. She moved in a zigzag formation, using what she had taken off the dead bodies and sending it back at her attackers, as if we were in boot camp.
“What did we do? Fucking culos played us, and now they are coming at our throats! That’s what we did.... Nada!”
My head whipped to the side, and I noticed how Code’s eyes had narrowed. There was something more to this story. I didn’t know what it was, but to hell if I was dying for a cause I hadn’t helped set up. Twigs snapped and crunched under our kicks as we ran. I glanced up at the sky, then around us, and snatched at Code’s hand to signal to her to stop. My finger rose up to my lips, and she gave a curt nod, letting me know she understood that I needed her to be quiet.
We had various guns between us. I had a 9 mm that I’d swiped off a dead body. Anxiously chewing on my lower lip, I listened hard and was rewarded—or cursed—to hearing more feet coming our way. Since I had used some rounds, I knew that I was running low. Panic had me looking at Code, who started digging in her pockets.
“I’m low on ammo, and they are still coming for us. Listen, I got us as deep as I can . . .” My hands were shaking as I spoke. “I see some lights, but if we don’t take them out—” The pain in my shoulder had begun to act up, cutting off my words.
I tugged off my jacket and saw red running down my arm, soaking my shirt. Quick acting had me ripping the bottom of my tank, exposing my stomach. I wiped the cuts and scrapes on my body with the strip of fabric, then wrapped it around the cut on my arm that was bleeding, gritting my teeth through the pain.
Code bowed her head and checked her own body for injuries. “I didn’t know you had those kinds of skills, newbie. Good looking out.”
“Yeah, it was the only good thing my father ever gave me, I guess,” I said, then stopped talking to catch my breath.
I watched as she finished digging in her pockets and held out her hand my way. Several small bronze shells sat on the flat of her palm. These babies spoke to the tech geek in me. It seemed like they had a marker of some sort, some kind of new tech that lined the side of the bullets like a vein. However, each “vein” was empty, so I could tell the bullets were a prototype of some sort.
“Take these. I have, like, six. Aim to kill, Smiley. Then get us out of these fucking woods,” Code hissed through gritted teeth.
Old girl looked nervous too. All I could do was snatch what she offered, load up my weapon, then wait. I moved behind a big tree, and Code did the same. We waited until we saw the whites of their eyes, then let out rounds. A scream almost ripped from my mouth as I stood in utter shock at the gore before me. Each bullet literally ripped through a body and blew that shit up so that it looked like a cooked roast that had fallen on the kitchen floor. I mean, flesh flew everywhere, mixed with blood and bone matter. I felt sick to my stomach, and I looked at the crazy chick who’d given me that mess.
“What the hell is this?” I shouted.
Code jetted ahead of me into the woods, and I followed. Behind us, the screams of those men we’d gunned down stopped, and we then knew that our aim to kill had worked. Still, we doubled back, leaving some distance between us, to check our kills. If I or Code found a wounded person alive, we quickly took care of that nigga, and we also left off shots to protect each other’s back. When I reached Code’s side again, bodies lay at her feet. A dark smile was on her face as she threw a new Glock my way, then pointed for us to go. Taking her lead, I now knew that we had banished the enemy and were free to trek through the woods, but questions still were blazing in my mind.
“Wait, Smiley. Let me check out who these culos are . . .” Code paused, stared down at the bodies of the men who had been after us, then shook her head. “Scandinavians . . . fuck! What we used is what they were after. These!” She held up one lone bullet, then tucked it in her pocket. “Look, we need to get out of here.”
A pulsing vibration drew our attention, and Code pulled out her cell. Holding her phone to her ear, she started talking. “They what . . . ? Okay. Okay . . . Sí, we’re gone for now. The newbie, Smiley, is on some straight militant military shit. She’s guiding us through the woods,” I heard Code relay while we walked through the woods.
Memories of camping at Stone Mountain with my pops, and even visiting the parks, played in my mind. My father’s paranoia was intense. I had never understood him insisting that I gain some tracking skills, which, he’d said, would help me not only in the woods but also on the streets. But now, in the aftermath of this battle, I was grateful, because those skills had been my ace boon.
“I’ll tell her. Bye.” Code glanced my way, then tucked her hair behind her ear.
Worry had my eyes wide while I kept a guarded stance. “What?”
Code tucked her cell away. Her face displayed various emotions. “Look, the guys who were coming after us are crazy as hell. We need you to go into our place and wipe out money. Start taking out whatever accounts you can and dump their money. Okay? Pascal gave me what you need to know to take care of this.”
I was so confused in this moment. Ever since they had dropped me into their world, these fools had been making me choke and gorge on information on how they ran things. But erasing people? I knew I could do it. However, I didn’t know their actual system. I knew they were trusting me only with their low-level computer system, but this . . . this was something different.
“How am I going to do that, Code? I’ve played with only your fake system. I don’t know your real shit,” I spat out.
Annoying laughter came from this chick. She smiled while she walked and shook her head. “You realized that, huh, chica? Okay, I’m about to give you some upper-level stuff. Pay attention, be
cause this is your life in here too.”
Time was not on our side, so everything she gave me—computer codes, passwords, and the names of the people who were after us—I had to soak up like a sponge. I’d have to play super-hacker and hone my skills and do things that I had only briefly played with. From what she was telling me, this was some serious money. It was up to me to make sure that the revenge was good and sweet for them fucking with us. I had almost died out there.
I led us out of the woods. We jetted down a hill, lost our footing, and slid toward the back of a major hardware store. When we came to a stop, I brushed off the mud on my kicks and pants, lost in thought.
“Did you get all of that?” Code asked, interrupting my thoughts.
Rubbing my temples, I inhaled deeply. Then I said, “Yeah . . .”
I spat out what she had said, using my memory as my tool. Passwords and money amounts I had typed on my cell so that I could review them and remember them for later. I quickly erased them now, then hurried around the building.
“So I have to go back to the place. Why again? Just so I hear you say it, because this shit is not for me,” I said.
“You need to go because they don’t know you. You have the benefit we don’t. They know nothing about you,” I heard her say.
All of this was getting on my last nerve, but I had said I’d do whatever to protect my ass, and I had meant it. My eyes focused on the surrounding area. We needed a car or some other sort of transportation to get the hell up outta Dodge.
“I get it. Just making sure,” I said, still looking around.
“Here. Take my keys to the place and go handle business,” Code ordered.
The weary tone in her voice had me raising an eyebrow while I took her offering. “I’m not going alone!”
“Yes you are. Don’t worry about me. I got my out. You can disappear, and we’ll contact you to meet up,” she said.
I shrugged in disappointment. “Whatever then. I’ll deal it and wait on y’all to hit me up.”
“Good,” was all she said while crossing the street with me.
We moved like twin bandits, scoping out the safest way to swipe a ride. I nudged Code with my elbow, then pointed out an old brown truck. I swore the thing looked like something from the movie Cars. I was unsure if I could break into this grandpa truck, but we both surrounded the car and worked the handles. It was nothing to pop one of the locks and get in. Code was the one who rubbed her hands together, then dropped down to rip the wires out and hotwire the truck. After I heard the comforting sound of the engine starting, I hit the gas pedal, then slowly drove off. It was only when we turned the corner that I hit that gas again and sped off.
“Drop me off near NorStar Townhomes,” was all Code said as she began texting, then making calls.
I listened to her talk about someone she called the old man, then relay what had happened to someone named Freddie. Genuine concern and warmth reverberated in her voice when she spoke, though her tone also seemed guarded. Me, I just minded my business while I drove, acting as if I wasn’t listening.
“Here! Here! Stop!” Code shouted quickly, tapping her finger against the car window.
The abruptness of her order had me slamming on the brakes. I then swerved the car and pulled up to an old gas station. As I sat there, gripping the steering wheel, the vibration of the car was all I felt and the sound of her speaking rapidly in Spanish on her cell was all I heard. I didn’t know a damn thing she was saying except for a few words, but it didn’t matter. I eyed a new ride to jack, a black 2008 Toyota Camry. Remaining incognegro was my priority here. It had me pulling my locks down, twisting them into a single side braid, and then pulling my jacket’s hood over my head.
Tapping Code’s arm, I gave her a stare. “I’m out. I’ll hit y’all with a text,” I said.
She told whomever she was speaking to, to hold on, then lowered her voice. “Don’t fuck this up please, Smiley. We’re counting on you. Besides, Pascal will be pissed if you don’t get it right too. He worked hard on gathering that information, chica.”
I gave a quick nod. “I won’t, since y’all are trusting me.” I gave a rare smile, then promptly climbed out of the car and headed across the street.
The black beauty before me had me eager to see if I could break into it, and luckily, I could. I hopped in, chucked the deuces, then sped off, heading back to the auto shop. My arm was throbbing from being grazed by bullets. My jacket was soaking up the blood that seeped through my makeshift bandage, so there was no problem, and the adrenaline rush going through me was like a hit of pain meds. I hoped that I wasn’t leaving any DNA in this damn car. Once I made it to the auto shop, I took my time shutting the headlights off and drifted the car. In the big, unassuming building, I saw nothing. No one, and no disturbances.
I reached for my cell, then hit up Code. There was no answer, so I hit up Auto. As soon as he answered, I started speed talking. “It’s no one’s here. Like, do y’all have the capability to check the security, just in case?”
“No, Mama. We’re working off burners. My people are injured. You have to check around and make sure it’s safe. Can you do it?” Auto said with a gruffness to his voice.
My lips felt chapped, and nervousness had me gripping the steering wheel hard. Something didn’t feel right. It had my stomach doing flip-flops, but if I was going to establish my reputation with this team, then I had to do this solid.
My slight uncertainty had me muttering, “I got this.”
“You don’t sound like you do,” Auto quickly noted.
“I got this . . . ,” I said solemnly, then sighed. “It’s whatever . . . I’ll try to do what I can with not knowing your system.”
“Code gave you the rundown, right?” his deep voice asked in my ear.
“Yes, and I remember it all. She said she’ll be okay on her own. Just wanted you to know. I dropped her off at some town house,” I replied, reassuring the boss.
“A’ight. Good looking out,” Auto grumbled.
There was a sadness and anger in his voice. When, back at my place, he had given me the limited rundown on the business and the team he had built up, I had heard the pride in his voice and had even seen it in his eyes. But now his mood had changed, thanks to the team being hurt like this. That sucked.
My Toyota and I quietly ghosted the lot while I listened to Auto’s deep voice give me the phrases and numbers I needed. Once he finished, he cleared his throat. Then I heard silence.
“Hello?” I said nervously, not sure what was going on, on his end. When I got no answer, I kept talking. “I’ll make sure to make this on point. Send the money to poor black folk wherever, and keep it steady and untraceable, of course,” I said to let him know what was on my mind.
“Yeah . . . you sound like part of the team now. I like that,” he replied, breaking his silence. He paused for a moment, then continued. “Now, listen, I know you’re new, and I know you don’t really have much loyalty to us, but on my word, once this is over, we got you, Smiley. Thank you for this. I knew you’d be someone we needed, a powerhouse. Handle that and watch your back. I have an old place in the trap, an auto shop where the info is going. If you need to hide—”
His tone of voice gave me the impression that he wasn’t sure that he wanted to trust me with that info, so I interrupted him, feeling chill on that crap.
“It’s good. Like you said, they don’t know me. I can go home and stay low,” I said, reassuring him.
“Still, just in case,” Auto replied, then gave me an address.
It was familiar to me. I didn’t know why. Then it dawned on me. I remembered following two young dudes to an auto shop when I was just a kid. They caught me and almost beat my ass, but they made me promise to forget it. One of the guys was the grandson of an old lady on my block who’d give all the kids sweet treats every Friday in the summer and some Sundays, after church. The other guy was some dude in a hoodie. His haunting, sexy eyes and his locks had made me interested in rocking
locks myself. But that was when I was just a kid, and I had forgotten about the place until now.
“I got it.... Thanks for everything. My cell is on burner option . . . ,” I told Auto.
“Another program of yours,” Auto noted, sounding interested.
“Yeah . . .” I chuckled, feeling a slight blush.
“Be safe. Mama and I want the program,” he said, then hung up in my ear.
I didn’t want the car to trace back to the shop even if it traced back to me, so I quickly parked the ride in a hidden area near an abandoned building several blocks away. I took in my surroundings, then sprinted until I got to the shop. I quietly walked around outside the shop, and once I felt sure that no eyes were on me, I used the keys to open the door, then stepped inside the shop, closed the door, and quickly locked it behind me. I glanced around, then sprinted through the massive building and took the stairs that led up to where the geeks did their magic.
Relief hit me when I saw nothing had been disturbed. I quickly punched on the computer, then moved around the room in the darkness, waiting for the computer to boot up. Nerves had me tapping my hands on the counter in front of me.
“Come on. Come on!” I muttered, in a hurry.
The familiar sound of the computer finally coming to life made me laugh. I swiftly began typing, working the DNS codes. I put in the team passcodes. Images fluttered in front of my face, leading me to the Scandinavian file Pascal had. I checked the digits against what had been relayed to me. After shifting to grab my cell, I uploaded my coding program to take the money and swap it out. Liquid cash was what I turned everything into, from their property to their monies to more.
I changed everything and erased their claim to it. One quick call to the contact that Pascal had acquired by working closely with the banks where the Scandinavians had dumped everything, and I knew I was in. I transferred some of the money to various nonprofits, real ones, not the fake ones that had their CEOs sitting on the Dow. I then moved some money to an account for the team and sent a hacking code to alert the Feds about the Scandinavians’ activity. I figured this would be the icing on the cake. I quickly worked my magic, erasing everything, sending new information out into the universe. Once I had completed my task, I went to hit END PROGRAM, but the sound of tapping drew my attention away.