Kali

by T. Styles

  Tall White laughed. “Get in the fucking hole.”

  Kali stepped into the grave, which was deeper than he thought. As he dropped inside he almost broke his ankle underestimating the depth. It was also wide enough for three men to lie shoulder to shoulder. While they lay side-by-side, Timo’s corpse at their feet, Short Black picked up a shovel and began throwing dirt over their bodies.

  “Wait, you not even gonna shoot us first?” Barrie yelled, his voice squeaky. He had come to terms with dying but suffocating was not in his mind. “You gonna bury us alive?”

  Tall White and The Mexican smiled as Short Black continued to throw dirt over them.

  “I can’t believe I’m gonna die like this,” he said starting to lose control. “I can’t…I can’t…” he was hyperventilating and losing himself.

  “Nothing we can do about it now but pray, man,” Kali said. “It’s over.”

  Barrie started crying as the dirt continued to slap them in the faces. “I did something too,” Barrie said looking over at Kali. “I mean I did a lot of shit but one thing fucks me up ‘cause I don’t understand why.”

  “What you talking about?” Kali asked, turning his face to the side so the dirt wouldn’t hit him in the eyes.

  “I…I buried a bitch and her kid in a shed behind my house. Underground.” He cried. “You said hell comes to children killers so I’m doomed too.”

  “If they in a shed, maybe somebody will find them,” Kali reasoned.

  “Not the way it’s built. If you walk…if you walk in it looks like a regular floor but if you move a few things aside you’ll see the door to the underground. They were in there for two days and they gonna die without food and water.”

  Kali frowned. “Why you do that?”

  “The person who hired me wanted them to die slow. I’ve killed many men in my life but I hated this job. Nobody deserves that kind of death.”

  “Why take it?”

  “I didn’t know what he wanted until after I spent the money.”

  Kali exhaled and waved his hand. Suddenly the dirt stopped falling. Barrie thought he was losing his mind when Tall White helped Kali out of the grave and handed him his hatchet and strap. He slipped it on and then was given a cell phone. He dialed a number and gave whoever was on the other line the information Barrie had given him. When he was done he handed the phone back to Tall White.

  “What the fuck is going on?” Barrie yelled, looking up to him.

  “I’m not going to lie,” Kali said calmly. “While I’m relieved to know where my family is, so that I can give them a proper burial, I’m disappointed in you.”

  “What…why?”

  “My plan was to kill you slowly to find out where my kid was but time was not on my side. People told me that you’ve been tortured and even kidnapped in the past to reveal the places of the bodies you disposed of. Through it all you never told a soul. Until now.” Kali pointed down at him. “But then somebody said something that stuck. They said the things you knew you would take to your grave, so I took you to it.”

  Barrie thought he was in the twilight zone. “I’m confused, so you, you know these men?”

  When the cell phone Kali was just using rang, Tall White answered. He nodded and extended it to Kali. “Sir, it’s for you.”

  He was just cracking him over the head. Now he’s calling him sir? Barrie thought.

  Barrie couldn’t believe that he witnessed Kali being beaten and bruised just to find his family. He was afraid and respected him all at once because of the lengths he had gone through. He never met a more vicious killer.

  “Yes,” Kali said into the phone. He exhaled deeply. “Wait for me, I’m on the way.” He handed the phone back to Tall White.

  “What’s going to happen to me?” Barrie asked.

  “What do you think?”

  He swallowed. “My wife…before they took me she was in bed sick. Is she…is she okay?”

  Kali nodded yes.

  “Thank you,” He exhaled. “Thank you.”

  “Because I respect you, and I know this was not your doing, I’m going to give you two options. Tell me who paid you and I will give you a quick death. Refuse to tell me and I’ll bury you alive.” He paused. “Decide.”

  Barrie pissed on himself, dampening the dirt under his body.

  ****

  Kali, along with Tall White, The Mexican, Short Black and three other men, successfully pushed a freezer filled with bricks off the door leading to the underground within Barrie’s shed.

  Once it was out of the way Kali pried the door open by slamming at the lock with the hatchet. Before long the door was open and he yanked it up and rushed down the steps.

  It was dark and dank but The Mexican lit his flashlight as they moved deeper into the hole. It didn’t take long to find Madjesty and Cassius’s bodies in the corner of a dirt wall. She was holding her son and it was obvious that they both were dead.

  Kali dropped to his knees and cried for the second time since Kristen was killed. He wept for the things he’d done in the past and all of the things he would do in the future. But most of all he wept because his daughter, who he had grown to love was murdered with her child.

  His grandson.

  While everyone else stayed behind Kali, afraid to move closer out of respect, Tall White bravely approached the bodies. He bent down and examined them. With a smile on his face he turned around and said, “Sir…I think they’re alive.”

  “What?”

  “They’re alive! I think they’re alive!”

  ****

  Mad stirred a little in the hospital bed and when she peeled her eyes open Kali popped up from the chair he’d been nursing for three days. He placed her black baseball cap over her long curly hair and held her hand. “How you feel?”

  She smiled. “Pops.” Her tongue felt heavy, her mouth pasty. “What you doing here?”

  Her strong breath hit him in the face and he waved the air. “Whoa,” he said playfully. “The first thing I’m gonna get you is a toothbrush.”

  She laughed but stopped when her throat hurt. “What happened?” She looked around again. “What am I doing here?”

  Kali grew serious. “You were kidnapped with my grand boy. But don’t worry, I’m gonna handle everything. All you have to do is relax.”

  Her eyes grew wide and she popped up. A sharp pain radiated through her stomach causing her to lie back down. “Where is Cassius? Where is my son?”

  “He’s in the PICU unit.”

  Her eyes watered. “I remember now…we were…we were looking at a new house, me and my friends. When somebody came from behind us and put a black bag over my head. At first I thought it was just me they took until I heard Cassius crying too.” Tears rolled down her face. “Pops, please say he’s okay.”

  “He’s alive, Kid. He’s alive, and that’s all we can stand on now.” When he saw her losing control his brows lowered. “You and your boy were kidnapped, Kid. If things went the way the person wanted you’d be dead but you’re not. Tears not gonna help us for what we have to do next. Are you gonna cry or fight? That’s all I want to know.”

  ****

  Ann cruised down the highway with Kali in the passenger seat and Madjesty in the back. Every now and again he would turn around and look at Mad but her gaze remained outside, with the brim of her hat pressed against the window. She reminded him of himself when he was a kid. Young and looking for his parents to protect him.

  The only thing is they never did.

  “I’ve been thinking, Mad. I don’t want you to come with me today.”

  She rolled her head from the window and looked up at him. “But I need to be there.” She frowned. “I need to see him tell me that he did it and why.”

  “You know why. Jace left you and his daughter a million dollars, and he wanted half. There’s not a whole lot more to it.”

  “I gotta go, Pops.”

  “I never told you how I grew up. Never wanted to say much about my past because th
inking about it made me angry and violent.” He exhaled. “But I’m talking about it now because I see what’s ahead for you. I see your life is about to mirror mine so closely I won’t be able to tell our paths apart.”

  Ann looked over at Kali and back at the road. Once Jace’s girl, she’d been with Kali for many years and he never opened up to her. So hoping to get more insight on a man she adored she decreased her speed.

  “I was abandoned by my mother and father. He spent most of his life in a mental institution. He’s in one now.”

  “You in contact with your father?” Mad asked with raised brows. “Why you never told me?”

  He shrugged. “It’s nothing to tell. He has the title but he wasn’t a man. I put money on the facility each month but I don’t see him.” He exhaled. “What I’m trying to say is that I was born into hate, Mad. I didn’t have a choice, that’s the life I was given. But it’s not too late for you. You have a woman who loves you, a kid who’s fighting in the hospital who needs you present. Don’t come to hell with me. Go back while you still can.”

  She exhaled. “I know you’re trying to protect me.”

  “I’m doing for you what I would have wanted my parents to do for me.”

  “And I’m protecting my son too, Pops. Them mothafuckas took Cassius and me, threw us underground and left us for dead. I can’t let this shit slide.”

  “You’re my kid, Madjesty. Let me handle this. I’m begging you.”

  She looked into his eyes and pressed her head against the window again. “What you don’t get is this…I’m already in hell.”

  ****

  Rick sat at a beautiful pearl colored table for two with his granddaughter Jayden in the backyard of his mansion. The sun was not at it’s highest and a cool breeze provided comfort for the two. “Granddaddy, I don’t believe you,” Jayden giggled. “You can’t sneak food into the movie theater.”

  He picked up his wheat toast, took a bite and laughed with his mouth full. “You can do anything you want if you got money.” He placed the food down. “You of all people should know that.” He paused. “Besides, I hate movie theater food. If you and I are going on a date tonight then my granddaughter will have the best…steak!” he clapped his hands together.

  Although his joke was dry Jayden was thoroughly amused. Suddenly her laughter simmered. “Granddad, I’ve been having bad dreams lately.”

  “About what, honey?”

  “My girls.” She moved uneasily in her seat. “I think they’re getting money on the side.”

  “Explain the business and I’ll give any advice I can.” He crossed his legs and attempted to pick food out of his teeth with his tongue.

  “I get a call for a girl.” She paused. “The client pays with a credit card in advance and the girl meets him, always with one of my escorts. If the client likes the girl and wants to see her again, they usually offer a tip which I give to my girl.”

  “Sounds organized enough, even though I wouldn’t use a credit card for this line of business. The bigger the paper trail the more likely the government will come calling.”

  “It’s an unmarked business. It doesn’t have my name associated with it anywhere.”

  He tilted his head to the side but still wasn’t a fan. “Go ahead.”

  “Well lately there’s been less tips and some of my favorite clients have stopped calling. They claim to be focused on their marriages but I’m not buying it. These are the kind of men who love pussy and not having it messes with their marriages and businesses.”

  He nodded in agreement. “I’ve said it many times that nothing does a marriage better than an affair.”

  She smiled.

  “Tell me…how many days do your whores have off?”

  “Two?”

  He laughed. “That’s one day too many. Cut their time to one day a week and make sure another girl, someone you trust the most, is with them at all times. Even on their off days.” He pointed at her. “Never let your whores get too far from your grasp. You’ll lose them forever.”

  Jayden was smiling until she saw Kali and Madjesty walking up behind Rick like they were mad men. Kali was holding a pillowcase soaked with blood and Jayden looked as if she saw a ghost. “Granddaddy.” She said shivering.

  He followed her eyesight and almost relieved his bowels when he saw them approaching. “Johnson! Greggs!” He called out toward the house. “Johnson and Greggs!”

  Kali walked closer and tossed the bloody bag on the table. “If you’re calling your men who’re supposed to be protecting you don’t bother. Their hands are in the bag and the rest of them is in the foyer.”

  Madjesty looked into Jayden’s eyes, never blinking once. It had been a long time since she’d seen her. Ever since Mad won custody of her own son in court, after receiving half of the million-dollar insurance policy Jace left in her name, Jayden had been bitter.

  She wanted the little boy for herself and Rick wanted the money.

  Their entire life was something for the movies.

  First Jace and Kali slept with Harmony while she was ovulating resulting in both of their eggs implanting. Although twins who shared a mother, Jace was Jayden’s father and Kali was Madjesty’s. Since Madjesty was not Jace’s biological daughter, when Jace died, Rick didn’t understand why he would leave her half of a million dollar insurance policy.

  With him losing everything he owned from gambling, and relying on his granddaughter’s whore hustle to stay afloat, he wanted the money for himself. After attempting to bully Madjesty into signing it over failed he had her kidnapped with an order to not kill her quickly, instead let her and the kid die slowly.

  That’s where Barrie came in.

  “Why?” Madjesty asked walking up to Rick. “Why would you have me and my son kidnapped?” She was so angry she was shaking. “You would do all of this shit just so you can get money Jace left me?” she screamed. “My son is in the hospital fighting for his life and it’s all your fault!”

  She hit him in the face and when he tried to strike back Kali brought the hatchet down on the table, shattering it completely.

  Rick and Jayden jumped.

  Rick rubbed his jaw. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Granddaddy,” Jayden said softly. “Is this true? Did you have them kidnapped?”

  Rick stared at her and Kali tried desperately to read his expression.

  “If you were kidnapped it had nothing to do with me,” Rick said slamming his fist on the already fractured table. He was so busy expressing anger that he didn’t see Kali follow up with the hatchet, the blade cutting into his wrist bone.

  “Ouuchhhh!” Rick screamed and squirmed out of the chair, holding his bloody stump but Kali followed him because he wasn’t done.

  “First you ruined my father’s life,” Kali said. “Your product was the reason he and my mother couldn’t take care of their responsibilities. You took them from me but you will not take my kid too.”

  Kali swung the hatchet again and the blade tore into Rick’s throat. His eyes widened as he held the gaping wound with his good hand. Blood sprouted all over the patio.

  And then he took his last breath.

  Kali moved toward Jayden, getting ready to cut her down too when Madjesty stood in front of her. “No, Pops.” She extended her hand and pushed him back slowly.

  Kali’s eyes widened. “Kid, she was involved.” He pointed at Jayden with the hatchet, blood dripping off the blade. “You gonna leave her alive? And let her get away with it?”

  Madjesty looked at Jayden, her twin sister. So much happened to cause their bond to fracture but she couldn’t see her being responsible for almost killing her nephew. Jayden may have hated her but she didn’t think she was capable of harming Cassius too. “Did you know that he kidnapped me and your nephew? And left us to die slowly underground?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jayden said softly, placing her hand over her heart. “But I need you to know that I would never do
anything to hurt you or my nephew. Before you came back into the picture I raised him, Madjesty.” She pointed at herself. “As my own.” Tears rolled down her face. “I loved my grandfather, I still do now. But if he did anything to harm you or Cassius he deserved what you delivered and I will not stand in the way.”

  The more she talked, the more Kali didn’t trust her.

  “Is Cassius okay?” Jayden asked.

  Madjesty looked at her and then at Kali. “Come on, Pops. Let’s go.”

  He remained planted, his eyes on Jayden. “I think we should kill her, Mad. I don’t trust her.” His voice was firm.

  “And I’m telling you that I can’t do that.” She exhaled. “But if you want to, knowing how I feel about it, then you can do whatever. I gotta go check on my son.” Madjesty pulled her hat down further over her eyes and walked away.

  Kali moved closer to Jayden, raised his hatchet and ran it alongside her face. Rick’s blood on her chin.

  Just a second ago she was grief stricken and now she was grinning like a Cheshire cat. “Do it, and watch her hate you forever,” Jayden said.

  “We gonna have our day again,” Kali said calmly. “The kid may be green but I know a snake when I kill one.”

  Kali looked at her once more and walked away.

  THE END

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