Power

by King, Joy Deja

“The dude has no idea that we’re taking down the entire crew. He gave me the info on some casual shit. He mentioned it to me a few weeks ago and yesterday he confirmed that it’s still a go.”

  “I wish I could personally put a bullet in each of those niggas myself,” Alex said, walking over to a picture of Dahlia that he still kept on a table in the living room. He picked up the frame and stared at it for what felt like an eternity to Deion.

  “I got everybody lined up. We going in there deep. Not one member of the Get Money Crew is gonna make it out of that lounge alive,” Deion stated, wanting Alex to snap out of that trance he was in. “We all meeting up at our warehouse tomorrow night at eight, then we head to Fire and Ice. You’ll be ready…right?” Alex didn’t say a word. He was completely engrossed in his own thoughts and he hadn’t even heard what Deion had said. “Yo, Alex. You gon’ be there right?” he asked in a louder tone.

  “Be where?” Alex finally said as if in a slight daze.

  “Man, I know you going through a hard time but it’s time to let this shit go. You not even focusing.”

  “How the fuck can I focus on anything right now?”

  “You about to get revenge on the niggas responsible for this shit, what else do you want?”

  “I want my woman back. I want the child we were supposed to have together. Can you give me that?” Deion could not only hear the rage in Alex’s voice but he could see it in every muscle in his face and body.

  “No I can’t, but I can give you the next best thing…those niggas’ blood on your hands. I promised you that we would get retribution and I’m delivering on that promise.”

  “And I love you for that, Deion. You’re my brother. You’ve held it down in every way since this shit went down and I’ll always be grateful to you for that. Thank you.”

  “You don’t have to thank me…we family. You always have my back and I’ll always have yours. It’s nothing but love between us,” Deion said, giving Alex a brotherly hug.

  “Listen, I gotta go handle some business wit’ some people but don’t forget, tomorrow night at eight we all meeting at our warehouse.”

  “I’ll be there. I’m ready for this shit to be over with.”

  “Cool, but we’ll speak later on,” Deion said before heading out.

  Before Deion even reached his car, he heard a text message come through and saw that it was from Alex. It simply said, Thank You Bro. Deion smiled. For the last year, because of their different views on business, unnecessary deaths and other bullshit Alex and Deion’s relationship had seemed to be crumbling. Their once unbreakable bond was showing signs of discord. But since Dahlia’s death, the two men seemed closer than ever. Deion figured a big part of it was due to them coming together to seek retaliation for Dahlia’s murder. Of course, it was based on all lies, but that didn’t bother Deion in the least. As he thought about how all this would be over tomorrow night, he noticed Passion was calling him.

  “Hey baby, what’s up?”

  “Deion, there is some dude following me.”

  “What you mean following…like a stalker?” he asked, hearing the panic in Passion’s voice.

  “I don’t think he’s no stalker. I mean, I don’t recognize his face and I haven’t worked at the club in months.”

  “Where you at now?”

  “At home.”

  “Okay, I’m on my way over.” When Deion hung up with Passion he called Popcorn to let him know he would be a little late meeting with him.

  “I was just about to call you,” Popcorn said as soon as he answered the phone.

  “Why is there a problem?”

  “Not sure. I’ve seen this car a couple times in front of my apartment today. When I was about to leave to come meet you, I looked out my window and saw it again. It could be nothing, ‘cause mad motherfuckers be over here, but something don’t feel right.”

  “That’s crazy, ‘cause Passion just called me saying she thought somebody was following her.”

  “Oh shit.”

  “Exactly. This shit can’t be no coincidence. I’m about to go over to see Passion now and check things out. Have you left your crib yet?”

  “Nope. I called you right after I looked out the window and seen the car again.”

  “Cool. Stay there until I’m done wit’ Passion. Do you think whoever it is would come up in your spot?”

  “They can play wit’ they life if they want to ‘cause I’m armed and ready.”

  “I know you are,” Deion laughed. “I’ll hit you when I finish up with Passion and let you know how we gon’ do.”

  When Deion arrived at Passion’s townhouse he noticed her BMW parked out front but no suspicious cars. Instead of pulling right beside her crib, he decided to park across the street. Just in case somebody was planning a drive-by they wouldn’t know he was there. As Deion started walking towards her place, he dialed her cell but she didn’t answer. He tried two more times before deciding to try her at home. Right when Deion was about to call the landline, what sounded like a sonic boom jerked his body in the air, sending him crashing to the ground.

  Deion could see windows being blown out and glass shattering from Passion’s townhouse. The sudden violent burst of energy had Deion’s ears piercing, body numb and head throbbing. His eyes could barely focus, but he could see that the engulfed flames were swallowing Passion’s townhouse. Deion attempted to go towards the home to see if Passion was inside so he could help her escape, but a second explosion went off, making that impossible. Whoever was inside was dead and there was no saving them. Deion thought about Passion and her son and all he could do was shake his head. Deion had to practically drag himself to his car, and once inside the next thing he did was call Popcorn.

  “Everything good?” Popcorn asked when he answered the phone.

  “Nah, ain’t nothin’ good right now.”

  “What happened?”

  “Passion’s crib just blew the fuck up.”

  “Are you serious? Was she inside?”

  “Yeah I think so. I think her lil’ man was inside too. Her car was parked out front and she knew I was on my way over. This shit crazy. I ain’t never seen a building just blow up like that.”

  “Fuck! Who you think behind this shit?”

  “Hell if I know. I done fucked over so many motherfuckers it could be any damn body.”

  “We need to figure this shit out before things get any worse.”

  “I agree. Have you seen that car again?”

  “Nah, not since the last time I spoke to you.”

  “So do you want me to meet you at your crib or do you want to meet someplace else?”

  “I’ll come to you. I ain’t feeling too good about staying up in here.”

  “I feel you. Where you wanna meet?”

  “Umm, let’s meet at that…what the…” those were the last words Deion heard Popcorn say before a loud Pow…Pow…Pow rang out and then what sounded like the phone dropping to the floor.

  “Hello! Hello!” Deion screamed through his cell, but there was dead silence for a few seconds until he heard a deep, raspy voice say.

  “Nigga, you next,” before the phone went dead. Deion leaned back in his car seat and closed his eyes. At that moment he couldn’t fathom shit getting any worse.

  Chapter 25

  Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood

  “Thanks for coming to pick me up,” Deion said, when he got in on the passenger side of Alex’s Range Rover.

  “This ain’t nothin’. We headed to the same spot anyway. I was a little surprised when you asked me to pick you up since you don’t like to wait around on nobody for a ride,” Alex joked.

  “True, but I wanted us to have some time to talk in private before we got to the warehouse.”

  “What’s wr
ong, is there a problem?”

  Deion let out a deep sigh before answering. “Man, a problem don’t begin to describe what the fuck is going on right now.”

  “Do I need to pull over?” Alex asked, observing the seriousness on Deion’s face.

  “No, keep driving. So much done got fucked up, I at least want this shit to go down correctly tonight.”

  “Talk to me.”

  “Both Passion and Popcorn got killed yesterday. I think her son might be dead too.”

  “You have to be fuckin’ kiddin’ me! What the fuck happened?”

  “Passion called me yesterday after I left your crib saying she thought somebody was following her. On my way to her spot, I called Popcorn to let him know I would running late to met him and he tells me he think somebody been driving past his apartment watching him too.”

  “That definitely wasn’t no coincidence.”

  “Exactly. So I tell him to hold tight until after I check on Passion. When I get to her crib that shit blow the fuck up.”

  “What you mean, like a bomb or some shit?”

  “Yeah, her shit just exploded. I been watching the news and they mentioned the explosion but haven’t identified the bodies yet.”

  “Yo, that shit is fucked up. I’m sorry man. I know you been dealing with Passion for a minute now.”

  “Yeah, that shit do hurt. And what make it even more fucked up is that Passion and maybe even her son is dead because she fuckin’ wit’ me. Then Popcorn too.”

  “So what happened to him?”

  “After I see Passion’s crib blow the fuck up, I get in my car and call Popcorn and let him know what happen. I asked him if the car was still driving past his apartment and he told me no. So he’s on his way to come meet me and next thing I hear is gunshots blasting in the background. Then some motherfucker get on the phone and say I’m next.”

  “Yo, this shit is just going from bad to worse. I bet you those GMC niggas behind this shit. First they fuck me over and take Dahlia out my life, now they fuckin’ wit you. Them niggas need to be stopped, and after tonight they reign will finally be over.”

  Deion just nodded his head, agreeing with what Alex said. But he was almost a hundred percent sure that them GMC boys had nothing to do with what happened to Passion or Popcorn. Deion had Alex blaming GMC for everything fucked up going on in their lives, but in all actuality them niggas was only out here trying to get money just like them. They were an easy mark for Deion to pin everything so he was riding the shit out. But now with this new shit popping off, Deion had to figure out who was trying to bring him down. Deion had no intentions of dying, so that meant he had to murder his enemies before they had a chance to put him six feet under.

  “No worries, them niggas will be dealt with,” Deion said, cosigning with Alex.

  “You damn right. There’s ‘bout to be a lot of slow singin’ and flower bringin’ in the ATL, courtesy of me. Let’s do this shit so I can finally have a fuckin’ good night sleep,” Alex stated as he pulled up his car in the parking lot in front of their warehouse.

  “I see everybody on time,” Deion commented, looking at all the cars out front.

  “Good. That means motherfuckers ready for war.”

  When Alex and Deion entered the warehouse there were at least a dozen men dressed in black, wearing bulletproof vests, just in case GMC was able to bust off too. There were piles of guns stacked on a center table and Alex was anxious to get his hands on them.

  “Everybody ready?” Deion asked, knowing by the looks of the men that they were waiting on them.

  “We been ready,” most of the men said in unison. Deion locked eyes with each man and all he saw was death. But that’s why he used them. They were born killers. Each of them had proven that when they took down Jose’s crew; now they would do the same with GMC. Not wanting to hold things up, Alex and Deion put on their bulletproof vests, and each grabbed an AK-47 and a Twin .45 before making their exit.

  * * *

  Before the three black tinted vans pulled up to Fire and Ice, one of the men drove around the parking lot first to check everything out. They wanted to make sure that GMC didn’t have men patrolling the area since their monthly meeting was taking place. Once they were given the go, they parked the vans and the men stormed the lounge with guns blazing. With Alex and Deion’s crew sneaking up on the GMC members, they didn’t stand a chance against their attack.

  The men were gathered on the lower level, sitting on couches by the bar. Without warning, gunfire ripped through the lounge, easily striking the intended targets. The white couches quickly turned blood red as bullets tore open skin, leaving dead bodies slumped over on the floor. Some of the Get Money Crew tried to reach for their guns or make a run for it in an attempt to avoid the hot lead balls being fired in their direction, but it was all in vain. Alex and Deion’s men were rolling too deep, especially since the other side was completely unprepared. One of the men tried to use a dead body as a shield but Alex was relentless in his pursuit. He walked right up on him and emptied his entire clip in the man’s face and body. He quickly reloaded and tracked down his next prey.

  Through what felt like an eternity but was actually only a few minutes, they had basically slaughtered almost forty men. There was complete silence except for the sounds of gunshots during that duration of time, and as quickly as it had started, it was over.

  “Let’s go,” Deion said, nodding his head in the direction of the exit door.

  As the men were heading out, Alex stopped dead in his tracks. Deion was already by the door, so Alex put his index finger to his mouth, motioning Deion to be quiet. He listened intently, trying to figure out where the noise was coming from. He spun around and saw what appeared to be somebody balled up under one of the chairs. There was a dead body somewhat blocking the angle but Alex thought he saw a finger move. He walked over to the location with his gun aimed. Alex kicked the dead body to the side and saw a man balled up in the fetal position.

  “Please don’t kill me,” he begged, with tears rolling down his face. The man was breathing hard and as he tried to calm down he recognized Alex’s face. “Man, you Deion partner, why would you do this?” he asked with confusion in his voice.

  “Nigga, do you even have to ask that dumb fuckin’ question! This is payback for you bitch-ass niggas murdering my fiancé and unborn child for no fuckin’ reason. Now all you niggas gon’ die,” Alex barked, ready to pull the trigger.

  “What the fuck! GMC ain’t had nothin’ to do wit’ yo’ fiancé death. You shootin’ at the wrong motherfuckers. I can tell you exactly who killed yo’ girl. Your…,” before he could get out another word, Deion walked up and put a hollow tip bullet through Tommy’s neck and right eye.

  Nigga, you was not supposed to be here. I had plans for you too, but there was no way I could let you tell Alex that it was me and not your crew that murdered Dahlia. You shoulda took yo’ ass to Nashville, Deion thought to himself after killing Tommy.

  “Why did you shoot him?”

  “What you mean? Everybody had to die. We ain’t leaving no witnesses,” Deion shot back.

  “But he was about to tell me something.”

  “Tell you what?”

  “He was about to tell me who killed Dahlia.”

  “Nigga, look around. You see all these dead bodies. We know exactly who killed her. You had a gun to that man’s head. Of course he gon’ tell you it wasn’t them. Now let’s get the fuck outta here. I’m sure somebody done called the police by now.” Alex still wasn’t moving. “Let’s go!” Deion screamed out again, and this time Alex listened.

  * * *

  Later on that night as Alex lay on his bed staring up at the ceiling, that good night’s sleep he was hoping for never came. He thought after getting retribution for Dahlia that his mind would finally find some pe
ace, but instead he kept replaying what Tommy said to him before he died.

  Could it be possible that GMC didn’t have anything to do with Dahlia’s death? Could we have killed all those men for no reason? But it had to be them. They left a baggie of their drugs by Dahlia’s body as if to taunt me, Alex thought to himself.

  “Let me stop thinking about this bullshit. Deion was right. If a nigga got a gun to your head, you’ll say anything if you think it will keep you alive,” Alex stated out loud, wanting to put an end to all the second guessing. Alex reached over to turn off the light on his nightstand and saw a private number pop up on his phone. At first he wasn’t going to answer but with it being so late, he was curious to know who was calling.

  “Hello.”

  “Listen carefully. If you want to know who killed your fiancé, meet me tomorrow and I’ll let you know what really happened.”

  “Who is this?”

  “Think about what I said. I’ll call you back tomorrow. If you want to know the truth then you’ll meet with me.”

  The phone went dead and Alex felt numbness in the pit of his stomach. He didn’t know what the fuck was going on but he planned on meeting the person tomorrow. If there were somebody else who was responsible for Dahlia’s death, then their blood would be on his hands too.

  * * *

  Deion had a bottle of liquor in one hand and the remote to the television in the other. He sat in his bed scrolling through channels, thinking about bullshit that had gone down the last few days. The only positive he could come up with was that they were able to get rid of every member of the Get Money Crew. Initially, Deion regretted that he’d had to kill Tommy, but the more he thought about it, he figured it was for the best. He didn’t need anybody else walking the streets privy to the truth. The only other person who knew how Dahlia died was now dead and Deion would take the secret to his grave.

  Ring…Ring…Ring…