Harlem Girl Lost 2

by Blue, Treasure E.

For the first time Tiny noticed that Jessica’s stomach was round and hard and realized all at once that she was pregnant.

  Jessica chuckled and said, “It don’t matter none because I missed my appointment with my P.O. and he probably already issued the warrant for my arrest by now.”

  Tiny suddenly began to wheeze violently, unable to get air into her lungs. Jessica snapped out of her trance and immediately asked her what was wrong. Tiny began to gasp louder as her eyes began to roll to the back of her head. Jessica didn’t know what to do and screamed for help. Within seconds a squadron of doctors and nursing staff swarmed around Tiny’s bed to resuscitate her convulsing body.

  **********

  After they stabilized Tiny, they moved her upstairs to the I.C.U. Since she was inside the intensive care unit, commonly called ‘death watch’ by the staff, she was allowed to have visitors 24 hours a day until she would expire. Tiny was now unconscious and hooked up to a ventilating machine to breathe for her. Jessica couldn’t help but feel responsible because Tiny took off her oxygen mask to talk to her.

  They spent the next ten hours standing vigil. Jessica, Kenny, and Vonda was all saddened to see their friend so helpless and vulnerable and didn’t want her to die alone, but they knew that time was running out and they had to leave because their lives depended on it. Vonda signaled to Jessica by tapping on her watch. She acknowledged her with a nod. Jessica asked Kenny could she speak to him and they proceeded out the room.

  “Kenny, me and Vonda have to take care of something real important, and we need your help.”

  “Anything, baby, you know that.”

  “We don’t want to leave Tiny here by herself and want to know if you could stay with her for a couple of hours in case she . . . you know . . .”

  Kenny saved her the angst and quickly told her he would. She thanked him with a hug and a kiss.

  He held on to her longer than usual and said, “Whatever it is you doing, I want you to be careful.”

  Jessica knew Kenny wasn’t a fool and decided not to lie to him and simply nodded. They pulled away and Jessica went back in the room to get Vonda. They both stared down at Tiny with sadness and each gave her a kiss on her forehead and cheek and walked away.

  Just as they were about to leave, Jessica remembered, “Oh, Kenny, I forgot to call my mother, do you think you can find a payphone and tell her about Tiny?”

  Kenny smiled, reached inside his pocket, and pulled out his mobile phone. “Why would I need a find a payphone when I got my own right here?”

  Jessica had forgotten all about the portable phone he showed her earlier and thanked him again and walked toward the elevator.

  Kenny watched them leave and then dialed the number to her mother’s house and explained to her Ms. Jones Tiny’s grave condition. When Kenny finished speaking to Ms. Jones he went back into the room and walked over to Tiny. He stared at her and shook his head, still not believing how much damage she’d done to herself. He continued to stare at her until he dozed off for a while.

  His mobile phone suddenly rang and he pulled it out his pocket and answered it.

  “Hello?” He listened intently into the phone and then frowned once he heard the voice. “Oh, hey, Uncle . . .” Kenny had totally forgotten that his uncle was coming into town that day and that he was supposed to be picking him up from the airport. Kenny took a seat in a chair that was by Tiny’s bed and he spoke to his uncle. Kenny talked business to his uncle for several minutes and hung up. He stood up to stretch and then looked at his watch and then at Tiny, who was in the same condition that she’d been in an hour ago. Kenny made one more phone call and decided that he had to leave and exited the room.

  Seconds later, Tiny miraculously opened up her eyes and immediately ripped the oxygen tube from her throat and gagged loudly. The pain was excruciating as she held her throat and rubbed it. She then looked at her arms that had been riddled with I.V.’s and took a deep breath and removed each one from her arms.

  She slowly got out of bed and limped over to the closet to search for her clothes. Since the machines that she was on were monitored with activating alarms, a nurse rushed in her room to check on her. When nurse saw Tiny out of the bed she was highly surprised because most patients in her unit never walked out of there alive. She quickly tried to assist her in case she was delusional and warned, “Ma’am, you can’t be out of bed. You are extremely ill and have to get back into bed.”

  Tiny didn’t even turn around to acknowledge her as she found her clothes and began to dress slowly. The nurse approached her and gave her a sterner warning.

  “Ma’am, if you don’t get back in bed I will be forced to put you back in myself.”

  Tiny turned toward the nurse and with her deep, dead eyes said, “Get the fuck out of my face, bitch!”

  The nurse knew to heed the small, but frightening girl’s warning and ran out to get help, but it would be too late. Tiny was already out the door and stepping into the elevator. When Tiny got outside, the first thing she did was bum a cigarette from a man passing by and then fished inside her pocket and found a lighter and lit it. She looked around and spotted a payphone and walked over to it and placed a call.

  “Hello, yeah, is this the Division of Parole Office? Listen. I got information about a fugitive who has a warrant out for their arrest and I’m looking at her right now. Yeah, her name is Jessica Jones, a convicted murderer and she’s inside building 141 West 142nd Street. All you have to do is wait for her to come out.”

  Tiny hung up the phone and took another toke from the cigarette and tossed it aside. She coughed harshly then smiled and made her way downtown to her next stop.

  **********

  Jessica and Vonda arrived at the scheduled meeting just as everyone else began to arrive. Johnson and Doc had just pulled up in a battered old Ford. Shooter pulled up shortly after in a blue van and parked right behind them. Chubby, ever so paranoid, parked his car two blocks away and had just walked up wearing all black everything. They greeted each other and stepped inside the building and knocked on Cleveland’s door and he let them in.

  Cleveland greeted everyone and looked at his watch and said, “Ok, glad that everyone is here on time. We ain’t got too much time left, so we got go over everything to pull this off.”

  It suddenly occurred to Cleveland that somebody was missing. “Where’s your other friend?”

  Jessica and Vonda put their heads down and began to explain. “I’m sorry to tell all of you, but Tiny’s not going to be working with us because she’s in the hospital,” Vonda said sadly.

  “Well, is she going to be ok?”asked Cleveland.

  Vonda shook her head. “No. The doctors say she doesn’t have much time left.”

  All the men were genuinely saddened by the news. No words were exchanged until Chubby broke the silence.

  “Let’s do this for Lynn and Tiny.”

  They all nodded and Cleveland instantly took lead. “Now Chubby, where do we stand with man on the inside?”

  Chubby, who seemed to always have a permanent grim mask on his face, gave a rare smile.“We got everything arranged on the inside. I gave him some guns and weapons he stashed for when we get on the inside. We got detailed maps of every important room we need to concern ourselves about.” Chubby pulled out the map and unfolded it for all to see. “Right here is the entrance to the building, and they have three armed dudes positioned right here, here, and here. They have another one posted by the staircase on the second floor one flight up, whose job is to warn the people on the third floor of something like a bust and then release a bunch of attack dogs to buy them time to make it to the safe apartments upstairs. They have over eighty-six apartments in the entire building, so they would never get caught because the police can’t obtain warrants for every apartment.”

  “What about the explosives?” asked Cleveland.

  Chubby looked over at Johnson, who explained, “Chubby’s man gave me some good details of the locations and kind of explosives tha
t we dealing with. The ones they have rigged on the first and second floor apartment windows, back and side doors in the lobby are lightweight stuff. I already met him and gave him instructions on how to neutralize the explosives in the lobby and back door so we can slip in easy. We have nothing to worry about, as far as the windows go so as long as we don’t go messing with them. But, I have yet to figure out one problem.” Johnson rubbed his beard. “From what he told me, the explosives that are supposed to be on the roof are some heavy stuff. When he described to me how it looked, it was pretty consistent with C-4.”

  “So, why should we be worried about the roof if we don’t have to go there?” asked Cleveland.

  Chubby spoke next. “Because that will be our safest exit out.”

  Cleveland seemed confused. “How is a roof exit filled with high explosive the safest way out the building?”

  Chubby and Johnson looked at each other and Johnson explained, “Thanks to Chubby’s inside man and what we didn’t know, was that they have men scattered all over that block whose sole purpose is to shoot and kill anyone who comes out of the building in case they are robbed. They have men with AK-47’s and two-way radios set up in assorted apartments across the street from the building’s entrance to cut down anyone as they come out. We would’ve been slaughtered.”

  Cleveland was at loss for words and didn’t have any answers.

  “Like I said,” Johnson continued, “the safest way out would be through the roof. If I had enough time I could deactivate the detonator on it. It’s not too hard to do; you just need to know what it looks like, but it could be rigged anywhere, on the steps, the door, or even a line wire. I just don’t know how many they may have scattered around up there, so I may need some time because it’s a slow process.”

  “How much time you talking about?” asked Cleveland.

  Johnson shrugged and said, “I don’t know, at least twenty to twenty-five minutes.”

  Doc finally spoke up and reminded them, “That’s impossible because we have to be in and out of that building in less than ten minutes, fifteen at the most, before half the police precinct shows up.”

  “He’s right,” added Shooter. “If we got any chance of making it out that building safely we got to be out of there quickly. Shit, we still didn’t figure out a way how we all can get in the building in the first place.”

  There was a momentary period of silence, and everyone knew he was right.

  Vonda finally suggested, “I know a way to get you in the building.”

  They turned their attention toward Vonda.

  “Tiny said before that the only people they let in the buildings are tenants and smokers. Well, since Tiny’s not here that means we got to have someone inside before we do anything, right? If I get there early and dress like a crackhead and cop some drugs, can’t you get your friend to sneak me upstairs, Chubby?”

  Chubby nodded and said, “Naw, it shouldn’t be a problem because they have rooms upstairs where they take them crackhead girls and freak off on them while they smoke.”

  “Exactly,” answered Vonda. “So, if he can get me upstairs I can make it to the roof and dismantle the bombs myself and let you all in from the roof.”

  Everyone was speechless as they waited for Vonda to tell them she was only kidding, but the look on her face showed them she wasn’t.

  Chubby frowned. “Vonda, are you crazy? I’m not letting you risk your life trying to play a superhero.”

  Vonda snapped, “What other choice do we have, Chubby? My fucking life is on the line, and I got to try something. These motherfuckers is playing for keeps, Chubby. They killed one of my best friends and cut her fucking head off just to prove a point!” She turned toward Johnson and challenged him, “Johnson, you said yourself that it was a simple process and you only needed to know what the detonator looked like to defuse it, right?”

  Johnson shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah, basically, the hard part is to locate them, and after that you won’t have any problem.”

  Vonda quickly offered, “Can’t you give me a quick lesson and then test me and if I pass would you consider it?”

  Johnson nodded again.

  She looked at her concerned brother also and said, “Chubby, I promise you, if I didn’t think I could pull it off I wouldn’t do it, but right now time is running out and we got to make a decision.”

  Chubby knew his sister had the heart of a lion and she was in it for all the way, so he looked at Johnson and said, “I’m putting my sister’s life in your hands, bro. Make sure you teach her all you can, ok?”

  Johnson nodded. “Young lady, come with me.”

  Vonda stood up immediately as Johnson announced, “I’m taking you back to my shop in the Bronx and teaching you everything you need to know.”

  He nodded to Chubby and they both were out the door.

  For the next five hours Cleveland, Doc, Shooter, Chubby, and Jessica devised plan after plan until they all agreed to the one they felt offered the least collateral damage. Their plan would be simple: take out anyone that was a threat, get in, and get out. Just as they were about finished, Vonda and Johnson had arrived back. They all awaited Johnson’s answer.

  He took out the cigar in his mouth and said, “She’s ready.”

  Everyone patted her on the back except Chubby, who still had reservations about his sister being in harm’s way.

  They presented the final plan to both Vonda and Johnson and explained to them their roles, the time and location they should be there. Jessica’s role would be fairly minor; she would pose as a crackhead with Vonda to gain entry into the building and wait in one of the crack dens and simply serve as Vonda’s eyes while she disassembled the explosives.

  Cleveland, Doc, Johnson, and Chubby would be on the roof waiting for Vonda to complete her task and open the roof door when so they could enter and raid the designated apartments where the money and drugs were located. Shooter, as always, would serve as their eyes and ears on an adjoining roof with his snipers rifle.

  When they were sure they were ready, Cleveland suggested they all hold hands for a moment of prayer. They got in a circle, held hands, and bowed their heads as Cleveland said a heartfelt prayer. When he finished they all packed up their things and got ready to head out the door when Cleveland suggested that they keep all the weapons stored in the house until they were ready for the mission that night.

  “It makes no sense risking getting stopped, so better we be safe.”

  Shooter and Chubby were apprehensive, but complied anyway. When they exited the building, out of nowhere, a half-dozen plainclothes policemen jumped out of nearby parked cars and adjoining buildings pointing weapons at the group.

  Seconds later, they heard, “We got her!”

  The cops had Jessica on the ground as they cuffed and arrested her.

  Chapter 25

  Vonda walked aimlessly around Harlem trying to settle her nerves before the giant task in front of her. No more than three hours ago, she transformed into a modern day vampire—a crackhead. She put on the most raggedy looking clothing she could find; a well-worn pair of jeans, a sweatshirt, and a funky pair of sneakers. To top things off, she wore the street girls’ headgear if choice—a blue bandana—over her head. After she was dressed, Chubby took his sister over to Sweets apartment ensure he knew exactly what she looked like and the rest of the plan. Chubby told him that it was important to get her upstairs into one of the crack rooms, and then come back and sneak up to the roof so she could do her job. The very last thing Chubby told him was to look out for her with his life. Afterwards, Chubby tried his best to explain to her the ropes, the mentality of a crackhead so she could be passable. She still had two hours to waste and asked Chubby to let her out on 116th Street and 8th so she could clear her mind.

  Vonda tried her best to put everything out her mind as she thought about Jessica, Tiny, and Lynn. She shuddered at how things were falling apart so quickly. As she walked down Lenox Avenue, she kept a close eye on every female crack
addict she came across, which was quite a few. She watched how they walked, their body mannerisms, and if she was close enough, she listened to their form of conversation. Within the hour or so that she’d roamed street, many men and cars vied for her attention, either with a charming proposition of having a good time or blatant disrespect for her to suck their dicks for a hit. One thing she knew for sure and that was she altered herself into a believable addict and she felt the bitter coldness of their world.

  Vonda finally arrived on the corner of 129th Street and Lenox Avenue at exactly 1 AM that morning. She looked around the block and it was swirling with activity, especially in front of and around the notorious Castle of Greyskull. A large group of addicts waited in line for the entry inside the building to purchase their drugs. The outside lookouts, teenage boys, would curse and bark orders at any addict who didn’t follow their instructions.

  “Now, get the fuck in line and stay there. Have your money out and we ain’t taking no shorts, no change or singles! So if you have that get the fuck off the line!”

  Most of these addicts were old enough to be the boys’ parents, or grandparents. They were slave to an addiction, and at that moment those boys were their masters and they would take any form of humiliation, so long as they got their fix. Vonda checked her watch and realized it was time and joined the amassed line ready for her performance. When she got in line she wrapped her arms around herself and began to rock side to side as if she had to pee real badly. That seemed to be what everyone else was doing, so she followed suit.

  They allowed only five addicts in the building to be served at a time, so Vonda had been waiting over fifteen minutes at that point. Her stomach began to churn out of control as she got closer to the building’s entrance. Suddenly, the one of the young boys walked up to her and looked her up and down then asked, “Are you Sweets’ people?”

  Vonda nodded and wiped her nose with her forearm, still trying to remain in character. He gestured with his head to follow him, and she did. He walked her to the front of the line and tapped on the door. When it opened, a huge, dark man holding an automatic pistol appeared. His distrustful, cold eyes zoomed directly at the outside worker who said, “Yo, this is Sweets’ people, let her in.”