60 Minutes

by Fire

  “I told you I took care of it,” he replied reassuringly.

  “Daniel, I thank you, but what’s going to happen to you and your job?” Jani’rah inquired.

  “Nothing, I’ll go back to my office and start another case.”

  The elevator doors opened and they both hesitated before stepping out. Jani’rah looked at Daniel. “Now what?”

  *****

  Cameras flashed and reporters rushed to Jani’rah as soon as she stepped outside. She was bombarded with questions.

  “Did you have a hand in the disappearances?”

  “How does it feel to walk free again?”

  “What are your plans now?”

  Jani’rah ignored their questions and shoved everyone out of her way. Another reporter jumped in front of her.

  “Will you still operate the city’s biggest sex ring?”

  Jani’rah stopped and looked directly into the cameras. “Of course I’ll still operate the sex ring. I recommend you ladies get one! It’s a fantastic piece for only $19.99 in my love boutique. It’s a vibrating ring that goes around your man’s dick and it feels, oh so marvelous while he’s beating the twat up! Come on people, sex is never going to disappear! It will always operate; now excuse me, I need to go have some myself!” She pushed through the crowd and looked over at Daniel; he winked at her and she smiled back.

  She looked at her Maybach and saw Hanz holding the back door opened with a wide grin on his face. She smiled. She heard small shrieks throughout the crowd and was pushed forward by people running in an opposite direction.

  “He has a gun! Oh my God, he’s going to kill her!” Someone shouted.

  The well-dressed madman that was escorted from the courtroom earlier approached Jani’rah.

  “You killed my babies; you took my daughters Sylvia and Sharnice from me!” He yelled before pointing a small .22 at her and pulling the trigger.

  00:00:00

  Tick, Tick, BOOM!

  Rain lightly fell and hit patrons as they stood at Lakeview Cemetery to pay their final respects. An American flag covered the coffin of Daniel Morrow as it was slowly lowered into the ground for burial. Quiet sobs could be heard as everyone looked on and a priest gave his final remarks. Jani’rah watched from a distance with black Ray Ban shades covering her eyes. Although she was upset and felt a twinge of sadness, she didn’t shed a tear. She was grateful for Daniel jumping in the way of her bullet; he was a good man in her eyes, that’s why she paid for his funeral, the expensive casket and the monument for the grave site.

  “They’ll be departing soon Madame.” Hanz warned her. Jani’rah didn’t want to be seen. She learned that Sharnice and Sylvia’s father, Samuel, had heavy connections and had put a bounty on her head. Jani’rah had more protection than normal lately. An attempt was even made on her yesterday. She had ordered food from a pizza restaurant and as she was paying for it when the deliveryman pulled out a Swiss Army knife trying to stab her. He got a little blood, but that was the most damage he could get done before Hanz broke his neck. Samuel was currently incarcerated, awaiting trial for the murder of District Attorney Daniel Morrow; but his resources allowed him to reach out to Jani’rah.

  As they rode through the gravesite, Jani’rah was lost in thought. She was thinking about ending her business in the underworld, maybe passing it along to her cousin. But the money was too good and allowed her to help others in need, so she pushed the thought aside. A loud boom startled Jani’rah.

  “Oh shit!” Hanz squealed as the black Cadillac driving in front of them exploded, three of her bodyguards were in the car. Suddenly, a huge force crashed into the side of Jani’rah’s Maybach, she fell over in her seat and ducked down. Pain shot up from her shoulder to her neck.

  “Hanz are you ok?! Jani’rah quickly asked. Without answering, Hanz reached under his seat and pulled out a sawed-off shotty and pointed it towards the window, blowing a shot at a masked man trying to shoot the damaged car. Jani’rah was able to unlock her door.

  “Get out Madame!” Hanz shouted as a grenade fell on the passenger seat. The two quickly jumped out of the car as it blew up, partially burning Hanz’s leg in the process. Jani’rah hit the ground hard and from the pain she knew her shoulder was out of place.

  “Here J, this isn’t much, but God willing it will save our lives.” Hanz said handing her a .45. She took it, and with rage in her eyes, pointed to her assailants who were approaching the blown up Maybach, probably thinking she was still in it. The Cadillac that was driving behind her with her other bodyguards in it was nowhere to be found. I know they did not fucking leave! Jani’rah was angry; she got up and limped towards her assailants. She was going to shoot them at close range; she heard sirens approaching and didn’t care, she was probably going to die anyway.

  Boom, Boom.

  Hanz bought two men down with his shotgun. Jani’rah walked up to the last surviving man, pointing straight at his face.

  “Please, it wasn’t my idea.”

  “I don’t give a fuck! If you muthafuckas want me dead, you’re gonna have to do better than this!” A black Cadillac screeched and halted behind her.

  “Hurry Madame, get in.” A bodyguard scurried out of the car and quickly threw Hanz over his shoulder and put him into a black Cadillac. Jani’rah stared at the man with menacing eyes then emptied her clip in his face. Jani’rah wasn’t going to make Samuel’s bounty easy. She made a mental note to have him touched too as she hurried into the Cadillac with Hanz and the bodyguard. They pulled off leaving two burnt cars, seven dead bodies, and a silent message to Samuel. Jani’rah was out for blood…eventually one of their times, hers or Samuel’s, would be up.

  Never Send A Boy To Do A Man’s Job

  “You mean to tell me the little bitch got away again?” Samuel spat quietly so that the guards wouldn’t hear him.

  “Sammy, the bitch is good. I mean, we did get some of her bodyguards, but…”

  Samuel cut him off. “But what Ortiz? You’ve killed some of the biggest and toughest hit men in Puerto Rico and you can’t finish off a fuckin’ puta?”

  Samuel was getting irritated because he was in prison and couldn’t do the job himself. The day at the courthouse he had everything planned to the T. He was to kill Jani’rah and dip off; hopefully getting away without being seen. The plan was changed when one of the bystanders saw him with the gun and outed him, causing chaos. It wouldn’t have mattered to him if he was in jail for killing Jani’rah, but that wasn’t the case. The District Attorney that was fighting against her caught a bullet to the temple for her, which boggled Samuel’s brain. Now Samuel sat behind bars with nothing but revenge on his mind. He didn’t care how much it cost to have the woman responsible for the death of both of his daughters murdered, he would pay it, and he thought he had the right men to do it.

  “It’s not that it’s just her. That fuckin’ giant she’s always with won’t let anybody get close to her. I’m pretty sure we’ve started a war and a lot more blood will be shed on both sides. With the element of surprise gone, we’re going to have to take our time with her and figure out how to get her alone.” Ortiz prayed that Sammy would understand where he was coming from, but the expression on Sammy’s face told him otherwise.

  “Listen here,” Samuel said as he leaned forward so that his words were only heard by Ortiz. “The Rivera Brothers already contacted my people about the bounty. It’s a free for all. If you can’t handle her, then I’m pretty sure they’ll finish her without fail.” Samuel stood up and left Ortiz alone with his thoughts. Before the guard took him out of the visiting room, Samuel looked back at Ortiz. “Send my love to my sister. Tell her next time I’d rather she visit me instead of her incompetent sorry excuse for a husband.”

  Samuel walked back to his cell in disbelief because Jani’rah was walking the streets a free woman, let alone the fact that she was still breathing. He hated her for what she’d done to his daughters. He didn’t have any hardcore evidence that it was her doing, but after h
earing about all the ruthless acts she’d partaken in, he was a hundred percent sure she had murdered them. Sitting on his bunk in total disbelief, his cell mate, Quamain couldn’t help but notice the concerned look on Samuel’s face.

  “What’s up my man? Before you left, you had the biggest smile on your face like you had just gotten your walking papers, and now you back in here like they gave you a life sentence instead.” Quamain and Samuel weren’t that cool, but they showed respect to one another.

  Before Samuel spoke his next words, he knew that he had to choose them wisely. He heard too many stories about how cellmates confided in one another, and then one would snitch on the other to lessen their own sentence. Being that Quamain was sentenced to twenty-five years for murder and was only in his third year of his sentence, Samuel knew that he could never entrust him with too much information. So he opted to tell him a bogus, but true in a way, story.

  “Just pissed that there’s a problem in my family and I’m not there to handle it.” Samuel said as he lay down on his bunk. He wasn’t in the mood to talk and hoped that Quamain got the picture.

  “Well, just give it over to Allah and your mind will be set free.” Quamain said as he got off of his top bunk and tried handing his Quran to Samuel. Samuel looked at it like it was trash.

  “I told you I don’t believe in that. My faith is in what I know, so miss me with that,” Samuel said as he turned on his side causing his back to face Quamain.

  “Alright OG, but just know that the Higher Power knows best,” Quamain said as he walked out of the cell and headed to the rec room.

  Samuel shrugged him off and kept his back turned with his mindset on the demise of Jani’rah Jean.

  Good Decisions, Bad Intentions

  Hanz and Jani’rah spent most of the following week in the house and it was driving them both mad. Samuel was in the North Avenue Prison and Jani’rah didn’t have anyone in there that could do him in. Almost three hundred people on her payroll, and she didn’t have anyone in one simple little prison; go figure!

  “Madame J, we must reach inside to a guard somehow.” Hanz suggested.

  “That has crossed my mind before, but how?”

  “I can help with that,” Claudia said entering the living room where Jani’rah and Hanz were seated. Jani’rah knew her cousin could get it done. Claudia was a beautiful young woman. She was of Haitian and Dominican decent with thick, long flowing black hair, dark brown skin, slanted dark brown eyes, and was thick to death.

  “I trust you Claud, what’s your idea?” Jani’rah was interested in knowing how her cousin planned to go about the situation at hand.

  Claudia smiled at the chance to get down. “Well, I attended U.B. with a Corrections Officer from there. We still keep in touch, I’m sure if the price is right, I can get her on our side.”

  “And what if she opens her mouth?” Hanz asked with a raised brow.

  “Then I’ll shut it for her forever.”

  Jani’rah nodded at the plan, it was worth a shot. Since Samuel made it a free for all, random attempts had been made on her life. She didn’t even know how much the bounty on her head was, but it must’ve been some shit! A couple of days ago she and a few bodyguards, who were sent to their maker, went to a nail salon in the hollow only to get shot at. Jani’rah couldn’t even step in the hood without being a mark; everyone from white-collar folk to hood niggas were trying to get at her. The sooner she eliminated Samuel, the sooner the bounty would be over and she could get back to her money. One of her escort girls was missing and Jani’rah received a note at her office yesterday; of course she didn’t go pick it up. When her receptionist told her about the note, Jani’rah already knew what it was about. They are holding the girl until Jani’rah came out of hiding; but one little missing prostitute wasn’t going to make her commit suicide!

  “Claudia, I need this done as soon as possible!”

  “I’m on it fam.”

  *****

  Tiago’s Night Lounge was dimly lit, the Tuesday night atmosphere was chill as people of all genders and ethnic backgrounds came out for food, liquor and good music.”

  “Great choice! Haven’t been here since senior year!” Montica said to Claudia admiring the new design of the place. Claudia agreed as she also admired the new renovations.

  “So, what’s up girl, how’s everything been?” Claudia asked, kicking off the conversation to get inside Montica’s head.

  “Everything is everything! My boyfriend and I are going on five years strong; I’m waiting for him to pop the question. What’s up with you though girl? You still look the same. You didn’t age a bit!” she replied looking at Claudia’s pretty face.

  “It’s good! Enjoying life…can’t complain.” Claudia didn’t want to talk about this shit. She had to approach her at a different angle.

  “How’s the job coming along? I remember during graduation we shared our dreams of you being a prison ward, and me a big-time senior accountant!” Claudia said putting a distant look on her face.

  Montica rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well, I’m still going to work my way up that ladder. Had someone told me that the criminal justice field doesn’t really pay shit, I would’ve gone into the medical field!

  She took the bait.

  “Really? I would’ve thought with a degree under your belt that you’d end up with something decent paying with benefits.” Claudia went on, opening Montica up more about her financial situation.

  “Tuh! I don’t even get dental!”

  Claudia shook her head,” Do you ever think about going back and getting a degree in something else or looking for another job?”

  Montica looked thoughtful,” I would love to, but I just can’t afford it right now on the salary that I’m on. In fact, I’m still paying on student loans.” The more Montica spoke, the more Claudia felt that in due time she’d have Montica on her team due to her money issues.

  “You still over there on North Avenue guarding them rough necks?” Claudia said then let out a chuckle because rough type dudes were what she was into.

  “Yeah girl, I ain’t going nowhere no time soon. I tried relocating to another prison, but after some intense research, I opted against it because I would’ve had to take a pay cut.” Montica shook her head and raised her hand to get a waitress’s attention. Claudia rolled her eyes because she had accomplished what she came to do and Montica decided to order drinks.

  When the perky waitress came over, Montica ordered two strawberry daiquiris and Claudia dreaded having to sit there any longer and pretend like she cared about Montica’s life. “You know what Tica, I’m gonna have to pass on the drinks for tonight. My stomach is cramping something crazy right now.” Claudia said as she rubbed her “aching” stomach.

  “Oh my God girl, are you ok?” Montica told the waitress they were fine and got up out of her seat and sat next to Claudia. “You need me to drive you home or call somebody?” Montica asked as she rubbed Claudia’s back.

  “Nah, I’ll be fine. It’s that time of the month and ya girl feeling crazy.” Claudia sighed as she reached for her purse. “I’m gonna get out of here and stop at Walgreen’s for some pills.” Claudia said as she stood up to leave, but not without letting out some grunts to make her act seem real. Before turning away, Claudia made sure to let Montica know that they would get up with each other at a later date and that she was sorry she had to leave unexpectedly. When Claudia reached her car, she quickly picked up her phone and dialed Jani’rah’s number.

  “Tell me you have good news,” Jani’rah said before Claudia could say anything.

  “Well, hello to you too…but yeah, but I got her. She’s literally living paycheck to paycheck. So, I’m pretty sure when I approach her she’ll be down for the job.” Claudia was a hundred percent sure she would be.

  “Good, now hurry up and get back here. I don’t like that you went by yourself with no guards.”

  Claudia could hear the concern in her cousin’s voice. She’d never seen Jani’rah so p
aranoid about anything before. She couldn’t wait for everything to be over with so Jani’rah could have some peace of mind. “Don’t worry about me cuz,” Claudia said as she started her car, “I got my best friend Kill A Bitch by my side,” Claudia said and touched her gun that was in her purse.

  That made Jani’rah smile. “Alright, now you and Kill A Bitch hurry up and get home.” When they disconnected Claudia pulled off unaware of the black Lexus that had begun to follow her.

  *****

  After Claudia put in the code for the gates to open, she reached into her bag and grabbed her gun. While in Haiti, her father schooled her on the street life.

  “Whenever you feel that you’re being followed always make two right turns, which will have you going in a circle. If the car is still behind you, nine times out of ten, you’re being followed.” Her father would tell her.

  She did just that when she noticed that the Lexus was on her tail. Before she got out of the car, she called Jani’rah.

  “Yeah.” Jani’rah said coolly. “Somebody was following me in a black Lex. Look out of your room window and see if they’re parked outside of the gate.” Claudia said ready to blast somebody.

  “Hold up a minute.” Jani’rah said as she made her way to with window. When she peeked through the curtain, she saw the car parked about ten feet away from the gate. “They out there. Hurry up and get in here. Move your car to the front of the house. Hanz will move it when the coast is clear.” Jani’rah said as she continued to watch out of the window just in case she had to warn her cousin about them trying to attack.

  Claudia did as she was told and parked in the front and quickly got out of the car and hurried in the house. Jani’rah watched on as the car started up and pulled off. “Now these muthafuckas coming to where I rest my head. I need to send Samuel a message quick to let him know I’m not to be fucked with.” Jani’rah spat to no one at all and then made her way downstairs to talk to her cousin.

  The two sat in the living room drinking strawberry daiquiris and talking about the meeting that Claudia just had and the mysterious car that followed her.