Invincible: A Novel

by Styles P

  Jake had plans to wait for the wee hours of the morning and take it to the train and travel by public transportation until he got far away. He was thinking of heading to Mexico; anywhere that was far away from them bars whispering his name. He was gonna call M.B. later and say his goodbyes. He wanted to see his baby one more time if possible. He couldn’t help but think about how Nine-One was a fed. Who was he watching more, me or Kim? And if my uncle called him up, did he know he was a fed? Was Mitch a fed, too? Was Kim a fed? Maybe they didn’t kill me because they’re feds. Or maybe they didn’t kill me because they knew the feds were watching.

  ———

  Albert Murphy and his sons may have been thinking that they were in trouble and that their whole world was about to be destroyed, but Phil didn’t think negative. He figured there were too many other people to blame. There was no way he couldn’t wiggle his way out of any legal trouble. Phil had dirt on a few important feds, too. If he had to use that trump card, he was more than prepared to do so.

  Phil told Frank, “I’m actually happy because right now Albert is shitting his pants and he won’t be thinking straight. It is time for us to make a plan to get rid of him. This is fucking great, Frank! I wanna celebrate.”

  Frank asked Phil, “You just heard federal agent and one of your partner’s names in the same sentence. How could you possibly be happy?”

  “Because the feds ain’t shit, either, Frank! I got dirt on a few important ones and that is my get-out-of-jail-free card! That’s why I’m not worried, because I’m prepared. I’m smart and I’m the fucking man on my way to running the whole entire fucking city! You should be happy, Frank, because you will be right there with me!”

  “Hey, Phil, before you start celebrating, don’t forget about our other problem. He is not going to disappear. We have to make him go away. You have to stay focused and stay on point!”

  ———

  Jake had to tell himself to calm down. He was not leaving town without killing Phil and his attacker. He could let Murphy slide but not Phil. Phil had to pay. He was the lowest motherfucker in Jake’s eyes. Any man that tries to kill a man that helped him before is a lowlife. His girl was dead. He had killed his uncle. Nine-One was dead—and a fucking fed at that—and he couldn’t be around his kid and M.B. He was gonna torture Phil. Jake told himself he was gonna kill him slow and enjoy it.

  Jake thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. He was looking out the window and he thought he saw Frazier’s truck pull into the hotel parking lot. As he looked closer, he couldn’t believe it.

  “Holy shit,” he said to himself. “No fucking way.”

  As Frazier stepped out of his truck Jake was glad he had followed his instincts after seeing that shit about his uncle and about Nine-One being a fed. He made sure to park his hoopty a few blocks away from the hotel. He didn’t want to attract any unnecessary heat.

  Then he thought, What if he knows I’m here and is coming for me?

  Jake discarded that thought when he saw Frazier go back to his truck and put his jacket inside and then double back to get his cigarettes out of his jacket. He was in relax mode. Jake wasn’t going to let him slide this go-round. He wouldn’t let this opportunity go by.

  Jake got all of his things together. He wanted to leave his bag in the hoopty so he would be able to move fast after he handled his business. Jake waited in his room on edge, torn between wanting to break out and wanting to kill Frazier. He looked out often to see if Frazier went back to his car; he did after a few hours. Frazier got into his car and drove off.

  Jake grabbed his bag and hit the door. He was cautious in approaching the lobby, just in case Frazier was trying to lay on him. He was prepared to get it in, and if police popped out he planned on going out in a blaze, but the lobby was dead—nothing was happening. He could hear the lady attendant who looked like Mrs. Santa Claus telling the two ladies and her husband to go and clean the room. The nice young man was coming back later. Then she noticed Jake was standing there.

  “Can I help you, sweetie? You hungry or you need something?”

  “No, thank you, ma’am. I just want to pay to keep my room for another week.”

  Jake paid his money and kicked around in the lobby. He wanted to see what room the ladies were gonna go clean. Sure as shit they went to clean the room directly across from his—Frazier’s room. What more could he ask for? He wished the rooms were not on the first floor, but it was okay with him because there was minimum activity. Jake walked back to his room, slowly, looking into Frazier’s room as best he could to see what the CO had going on—the answer was not much. He went into his room and sat in the chair by his door. When Frazier returned he would be able to hear him.

  Hours and hours had passed. It was 11:30 at night and the hotel was silent. Jake was getting restless and impatient until he looked out the window and saw Frazier’s Tahoe pull up. Jake wasn’t sure but it looked like Frazier had a little buzz from how he stumbled out the car and had a wobble in his walk. Jake put his book bag on his back and waited by his door. He cocked the other 9mm he took from M.B. He had got rid of the one he used on Mitch, but he pulled out the .38 he had from Kim. He unlocked his door and opened it a little. As soon as he heard Frazier get to his door, he planned on flinging his open and giving it to Frazier.

  Jake heard the footsteps get closer and closer. When Jake heard him stop at the door he flung his open to finish Frazier. Just as he was about to squeeze off both guns, he realized it wasn’t Frazier. It was Brenda. Brenda, seeing the guns, screamed her lungs off.

  “Aaaaagghhh!”

  “Shut the fuck up,” Jake said and put his guns down. He ran toward the lobby. He knew he didn’t have time to spare. He would have to run up on Frazier and finish him.

  Brenda trailed, yelling, “Frazier, watch out! Jake, stop! Please stop.”

  The moment Frazier heard the scream his gun was drawn and he was running toward the room to get Brenda. He had no idea it was Jake until he heard Brenda yell out his name. Then they were in sight of each other. Jake didn’t hesitate squeezing the nine mm.

  Four shots flew past Frazier, who let off two shots of his own back at Jake. He was a much better shot than Jake. The two bullets out of his Glock found a home in Jake’s left shoulder. They made him hit the floor and take cover behind a couch in the lobby.

  “Brenda, get outta here. Go to the car,” Frazier barked.

  Brenda listened and ran out. She didn’t want Frazier to kill Jake, but this wasn’t a time for debate. Jake Billings was crazy and even she knew it. It was hard to deal with people like that. They only understood one thing: violence.

  Frazier knew he’d hit Jake and yelled, “I am about to finish you off, you fucking punk.” Jake was in a world of pain. He lifted his right arm above the couch and squeezed off three shots blindly, just hoping to hit Frazier.

  Yelling, “Well, come on, bitch.”

  Nothing landed.

  “Looks like it’s over, Jake. You can fight, but you can’t shoot,” Frazier teased. “I’ll see you around boy!”

  Frazier wasn’t a fool. He was getting out of there before one of those shots hit him directly or ricocheted off of something.

  “Hold this tough guy.”

  Frazier let off five shots in the couch. Luckily for Jake, none of those hit him. He heard Frazier run out the door. Jake yelled out of frustration. He missed the opportunity to get Frazier again and he got two bullets in his shoulder for his failing efforts, almost losing his life. Jake got up and scurried out the door. He wished he had parked closer. He knew he had to go to the hospital for his shoulder. He was bleeding a lot and knew he stood a chance of bleeding to death. Jake made it to the car, and just in the nick of time, he heard sirens in the distance. He was pretty sure they were going to the place he just left.

  Jake knew he was in a tight spot. He felt like he would die soon and his time was running out. He figured his best bet was to try to make it to the hospital the next town over. The one where Bren
da worked and he had laid in for two years was out of the question. Jake pulled off in the old Crown Vic thinking of his daughter. He wished he had more time to spend with her. Jake drove a couple of blocks and remembered that his taillight was fucked up. He could see the sirens in his rearview. He knew his car wasn’t the fastest, but he mashed on the gas. He put his guns on his lap. He wasn’t buying his way out of this one. He was trying to think but everything was moving fast.

  Jake screamed, “Aaaaaaaaahhh fuck,” and slammed his fist on the wheel. The cop was right behind Jake on the loudspeaker.

  “Pull over. Pull over. Pull the vehicle over.”

  Jake mashed on the gas harder. By this time another cop had joined the chase. Sirens were flashing and whoo-whooing. At that time, Jake didn’t know what it was, but he couldn’t help but to think of the words to Biggie Small’s song, “Suicidal Thoughts.”

  When I die fuck it I wanna go to hell / ’cause I’m a piece of shit it ain’t hard to fucking tell …

  Jake saw a club and the parking lot was packed full. This might be his only chance to get away, he told himself. So he threw his bag on his shoulder, put his .38 in his pants, mashed the brakes, and jumped out and left the car in drive so that it kept rolling. He ran toward the crowd. When he got to the crowd, he fired a shot into the air causing havoc, which made people stampede out of the lot running for safety. It caused enough of a diversion to get away.

  Jake tucked his gun in his pants and tried to blend with the crowd. He saw that he was passing by a familiar face he did not want to see at the moment. It was Monster, but he hadn’t spotted Jake. Monster was busy trying to find his cousins. They had just came home and he wanted to make sure they were all right.

  Jake heard Monster say to one of his homies: “Yo, go make sure Dollar and Lil Red a’ight, my nigga. Motherfuckers is flipping out here!”

  “A’ight, Monster,” the dude said.

  Jake kept his gun tucked in his pants, but his hand was on the grip. Then Jake heard, “Yo, Monster, this shit is crazy, cuz.”

  “Word niggaz, this shit is poppin’! Who the fuck popped off out here?”

  It was Dollar and Lil Red. Jake couldn’t believe it.

  Monster said, “I don’t know, my niggaz. One of these wild-ass niggaz. They made it hot, though. Police all over this motherfucker.”

  Jake looked and noticed Monster was right. They had the place surrounded. Jake felt like he wasn’t going to make it out and he was on the verge of passing out.

  “This motherfucker got some balls coming here,” Lil Red said, pointing to Jake.

  Monster wanted to pull out his .357, but it was too late. Jake had his gun out pointing it at the three of them.

  “What the fuck is up now, niggaz?” Jake asked. “You got a big fucking mouth, Red! You do, too, asshole!” Jake was referring to Monster.

  Monster replied, “Fuck you, nigga,” and reached for his gun.

  Jake let all three of them have it. He emptied the rest of the 9mm on them and dropped to the ground from his loss of blood. He tried to get up and run, but his body wouldn’t do what his brain was telling it to do. Jake saw police closing in, looking for who fired the last few shots off. Then he heard, “Freeze! Put it down.”

  Jake looked, and to his surprise the cops weren’t talking to him. It was homeboy who Monster had sent to find Lil Red and Dollar. He had seen Jake pop his peeps and he drew his gun to let Jake have it. He was too slow though and didn’t see the cop standing right next to him. With all the people scrambling to get out of there, all the commotion and screaming, Jake made use of the opportunity to blend in and slide off with the crowd. He managed to get out of the lot.

  “Yo, J.B., get in, nigga!”

  Jake thought he was bugging. It was Reggie in a gray Chevy Impala. Jake hopped in.

  “Yo, J.B., what the fuck, nigga! Are you crazy? You trying to go to jail or get killed out this motherfucker? Yo, you got to slow the fuck down, son. I just seen that whole shit, nigga. You crazy!”

  “Yo, Regg, I’m shot. I need to get to a hospital and not our hospital. Bring me out of town please, my gee.”

  “Jake, where you shot at? I seen you shoot and nobody shot back.”

  “I got shot before I got there, twice in the shoulder. Regg, get me out of here. I need a hospital.”

  Jake was tired and couldn’t hold his eyes open.

  “Yo, Jake, try to stay up, homie,” Regg said. “It ain’t good to go to sleep while you’re bleeding.”

  “Yeah, I hear you, Regg. I’m good.”

  Then Jake closed his eyes and thought about his daughter.

  When Jake woke up he was in a hospital bed. The last thing he remembered was Regg coming out of nowhere. Regg startled Jake.

  “I see you up now, big homie. They said you was gonna make it through. They had to pull them two slugs up out you, though. How you feel, my gee?”

  “Like shit, Regg, but on some real shit, I owe you. If you ain’t show up when you did, I don’t know what would have happened to me.”

  “Yo, Jake, you loose as shit you know. I seen that whole shit go down from when you pulled up with them pigs on your ass. I see why they call you Mr. Invincible. I mean I heard how you did at that dice game. They said you did some wild shit in a cab trying to kill a couple of dudes one day, but that shit I seen you pull takes the cake.”

  “Yo, get me outta here, Regg. Do you still got my bag?”

  “Yo, Jake, chill out. We a couple of towns away. You safe and your bag is safe. I got you. I’m going to hold you down, homie.”

  “Listen, Regg. I’m glad you showed up when you did because I wouldn’t have made it if you didn’t. As a man I’m grateful for that. I want you to take half that money in the bag, but anyone around me doesn’t seem to stay alive. So I would be grateful if you got me out of here and let me get your car.”

  Regg shook his head. “Yeah, I feel you, homie. I’m going to get you up outta here, but you could have your money, fam. I’m good. I helped you because you was in a tight spot and you a good dude. I felt you would do the same for me. As far as a motherfucker deading me I can hold my own. Worry about yourself. You the one laying in a hospital bed, not me, my gee. If you wanna buy my car off me, cool, but I don’t want nothing else from you. I’m straight. You ready to move now, Jake?”

  “Yeah, Regg, let’s get outta here. I’m fucking paranoid. I don’t want to sit still. I gotta keep moving.”

  Jake was getting out of bed while he was talking and removing the tape and tubes attached to his arms.

  “You think you should be ripping off that IV like that, homie? You really trying to walk outta here half naked like that?” Regg asked.

  “Why the fuck not? If I’m alive, this little IV ain’t what’s holding me up and my ass could use the air,” Jake said half jokingly.

  “Let’s move, then.”

  Jake and Regg bounced out the hospital and got in Regg’s car.

  When they got a few miles from the hospital Regg asked, “Where you headed, Jake?”

  “I have no destination. I’m gonna just keep it moving, Regg. Can’t think of nothing better to do.”

  “Well, Jake, the car gonna cost you fifteen stacks and I’m gonna get out in a few blocks. If you need a handgun you shit out of luck, but I do keep a sawed-off twelve-gauge in the trunk and that will cost you a stack. I also got some weed in the glove box but consider that a gift on me.”

  Jake wasn’t feeling Regg. Something wasn’t right, but he couldn’t pinpoint it. “What was you doing at the party, Regg? Last I remember, you weren’t fucking with Dollar or Lil Red.”

  “If you know I don’t fuck with them, Jake, then you should be able to figure out why I was there, my gee. I was gonna put that work in, but you did it for me.”

  Jake felt funny and knew something was wrong. His instincts were telling him not to trust Regg.

  Then all of a sudden Regg pulled the car over and said to Jake, “Get out of my car.”

  “What
you say, Regg?”

  “Get the fuck out the car and leave your bag of money, Jake, before it happens to you.”

  “What’s the matter, Regg, I offered you half of the shit!”

  “If you stay in this car with me I might be the one to have to kill you.”

  “Fuck you talking about, Regg?”

  “I’m talking about taking your shit. Now get the fuck out before you lose your life,” Regg said while putting his pistol to Jake’s head, forcing him out of the car. “I’ll leave you with a couple of stacks, though. I’m sorry, Jake, but you know how this shit be. I just got home. And I’m used to having cash. You know how we do for this money. When you see a come up you got to take it. I ain’t tryin’ to shit on you, I just need that paper.”

  “You sure that’s what you wanna do, Regg?”

  “I don’t want to do it, but you know how this shit is.”

  He threw Jake about fifty thousand out of the bag and left him standing on the street.

  BACK TO THE BEAST

  Jake couldn’t believe Regg robbed him and left him half naked on the road. “At least I’m alive! Thank GOD,” Jake said to himself. He found a plastic ShopRite bag to put the money in and walked a few blocks. He saw a yellow cab just sitting there and hopped in.

  “Where you headed to, buddy?” the driver asked.

  Jake realized he had no place to go and no one to turn to. “To be honest with you, my man, I don’t know! Just take this.” Jake handed him two hundred dollars. “And drive. Let me know when that runs out.”

  “You all right, young man? I see you just got out of the hospital. Where’s your clothes at?” the driver asked with a curious look on his face.

  Jake answered, “Well, my man, no I’m not all right, and it’s a long story.”