by Freeze
As the crowd was leaving, Mike said to Tank, “There’s nothing I can do for you. You fucked up big-time, playa. Just turn and leave now. Your girl can ride with us. I’ll get your money together and meet you later. You can never come back. Not unless you want to end up in one of these boxes.”
Tank rushed through the crowd, got in his car, and sped away. Mike looked at Kay and Kay looked back. Neither said a word. Kay didn’t have time for him. Not right then. His beef was with Tank. That’s why he and Lady called Bush and Brick. He, Scatter, and Lady always knew where the two men were and kept in touch. Scatter even sent them money when he got back on. They loved and respected Scatter like a brother because he wasn’t afraid of them. Now their brother was gone and someone was going to die.
When they got close enough for Mike and his crew to hear them, Bush said to Kay, “Next time, pick your friends like your life depends on it, because it does. A real friend is the one who tries to calm the fury, not ignite the flame.”
Mike knew that that comment was directed at him. He didn’t even look their way but he made a mental note to beef up security just in case them motherfuckers tried to bring it. Everyone left in different directions.
• • •
Around nine thirty that night, Tank was in one of his many stash houses that no one knew about but Mike. He was still wearing the same clothes that he had on at the funeral. He nervously paced the floor back and forth with his gun in his hand. He walked over to the glass dining room table where he had a kilo of cocaine and started sniffing some of it. When he brought his face up from the pile, he looked over at Tralese, the half-Jamaican, half-Chinese, seventeen-year-old tender from around the way. He stood up and wiped his nose with his sleeve. Then he picked up the bottle of Hennessy and took a swallow. He walked over to her and slapped her down. She hit the floor and looked up at him helplessly with tears running down her face.
“Why, daddy?” she whined. “Why did you—” But before she could finish, he stomped his 111/2 Mauri gator down into her beautiful face, sadistically releasing his anger and rage. She screamed in pain as she brought her hands to her face, trying to protect her beauty from the next blow. As he brought his gator up for the next stomp, he suddenly realized he didn’t want to mess up her pretty face. She flinched as the bottom of his big shoe hovered over her. Instead of smashing her head into the floor, he brought his foot down slowly between her pretty light brown thighs and gently opened her long legs with his Mauri, revealing her young, hairy, black coochie. She looked up at him relieved, yet still hesitant to lower her hands from her face, afraid that his violent tantrum was not over.
“Bitch, get naked before I turn you into a puddle of fuckin’ blood!” he yelled. She nervously removed her short red skirt, and then she lifted her white Gucci blouse over her head, exposing her young, firm, big-nippled breasts.
“You know you my baby, right? That’s why I buy you all those nice things,” Tank said, trying to be nice. She didn’t say a word. She just nodded her head in agreement. Tears still fell from her pretty brown eyes, but instead of feeling sorry for her, the tears turned Tank on and made him want to fuck her more. As he felt his animalistic nature rising to its full potential, he placed the tip of his right gator against her bush and nudged her little hole. Her tears flowed uncontrollably now. She was quivering like a gentle lamb caught in the fangs of a deadly fox. Tank smiled as he loosened his belt, reaching down into his silk drawers, freeing his python from its cage. The young girl’s eyes widened at the size of his long black snake that he slowly stroked, making it even longer and harder. He came down on top of her, positioning himself between her soft thighs.
“Please don’t do this to me!” she pleaded. “Pleeeeease!” But he heartlessly ignored the young girl’s begging. He put his gun down next to her, grabbed a handful of her long pretty hair, pulling it brutally when he whispered, “Shut the fuck up, stupid little bitch!” He started lubricating her pussy lips with the precum that was dripping from his dick. “You’re going to love this dick up in you,” he said as he aimed the head of the snake into her pink little hole and maliciously thrust the rest of him inside, causing her to scream like she was dying. He continued fucking her as she screamed and scratched at his muscular chest. He brought the back of his free hand down hard across her pretty face, shutting her the fuck up, except for the moan that escaped at the moment of impact. He could feel a sticky warm wetness on his throbbing dick that he knew was the blood from the young girl’s cherry he busted.
“You want to play with the big boyz? Bitch-Now-You-Get-What-You-Asked-For!” He grunted the words as he pumped her young, bloody little pussy full of deadly venom. As the long stiff snake slowly withdrew from her hole, he gathered the phlegm from the back of his throat and spit in the young girl’s face which mixed with her tears, sliding down her bruised cheek. Nothing excited him more than seeing a bitch cry. To add the cold icing to the sick cake he was in the process of baking, he stood over the young girl, holding his limp dick in his right hand. She looked up at him, temporarily unaware of what evil deed he had in store for her next, as her pleading eyes begged him to be sweet. He almost felt sorry for the bitch. He stared at the young tender lamb, lying helplessly before him on the floor and the deadly fox inside reminded him it was time for the kill. He aimed the head of the snake toward her face. The hot steamy piss rose like a fountain then slowly rained down on her face and chest, covering her with his degrading waste. He watched as the young girl squirmed under the waterfall and coldly said, “Bitch, sit still! I‘m marking my territory! I own your ass now! If I feed you shit for breakfast, you better love it! You understand me, bitch?!”
She wiped the stinky waste from her cute little lips with the back of her hand as she muttered something.
“What you just say, bitch? I didn’t hear you!” he said, looking down at her while pulling his pants up.
She whispered, “Yes, daddy,” obediently looking up at her master. He knew he had broken the young girl down to her lowest level of self-esteem. Now he had to test her loyalty.
“Pass me my motherfucking gun and go clean yourself up!” he said as he turned his back and walked over to the table to take another drink of the Hennessy.
She grabbed her clothes and picked up his gun. She could have shot him in the back of the head but instead she walked up behind him and stuck the gun in the waistband of his pants at the small of his back.Then she kissed him on his muscular back and said, “I love you, daddy.” She walked to the bathroom to clean herself up. Tank never turned around to look at her. He proudly smiled to himself, satisfied with his turn out of the young girl.
Tralese left shortly after coming out of the bathroom. She had school the next day. She stopped at the pay phone on the corner and called Kay. She gave Kay the address and flagged down a cab. As she got in the backseat of the cab, she looked up the block at the house where Tank was before throwing the clip from his gun in the gutter.
• • •
When Big Duke’s cousins kicked the door in, they found Tank sitting at a table sniffing coke. He jumped to his feet and pulled his gun. He cocked it back and kicked out the bullet in the chamber. Big Duke’s cousins took cover. Tank tried to let off a few rounds but nothing happened. He cocked it again, then saw that the clip was missing. Little bitch just killed me, he thought. He kicked the lamp over, making it pitch black. Then he felt around on the floor for the bullet that he discharged. By the time he found it, Big Duke and his cousins were standing over him with guns to his head. He dropped his gun and put his hands in the air. The lights came on and Kay, Bush, Dre, and Brick came in.
“You just couldn’t leave that bullshit alone, could you, Tank?” Kay asked.
“What the fuck is you talking ’bout? I did that old motherfucka a favor by killin’ him. It was time for him to die anyway. And I killed the bitch just ’cause she was there. I did it, now what?”
Kay punched him in the mouth, knocking him down. Bush handcuffed Tank and stood him back
up.
“Go get Lady,” Kay told Brick. Brick went out to the car to get Lady. When they returned, she saw Tank and jumped on him. They pulled her off him and stood him up again.
“What?! Ya’ll niggaz want me to beg for my life? Fuck that! If you gonna kill me, do it! I’m going out like a soldier.”
Lady walked up to Tank, opening her butterfly knife. The movement of her hand was so swift that Tank didn’t even see her jab the knife under the bottom of his chin, sending it through the roof of his mouth. He fell to his knees, then collapsed at her feet. Lady then quietly turned to Kay and cried in his arms.
“Now he’s got to deal with Scatter when he gets where he’s going,” Bush said as they all left.
“Ya’ll go ahead. I’ll meet you at the car,” Brick said as he shut the door behind them. A few minutes later he rushed out and jumped in the backseat. They all noticed he was covered in blood.
“What did you do?” Kay asked him.
“That nigga had too much mouth. And I didn’t come all the way from Canada to not have some fun, so I cut his fucking head off and stuck it facedown in the coke on the table.”
• • •
About a block away, Mike was sitting in one of his hooptees watching. He’d been there ever since they drove up. He knew it was too late for Tank. He sat there for another minute while he finished his blunt and beer. He rolled down the window and said, “For my nigga Tank,” as he poured out the rest of his beer. He started the car and left.
• • •
While Brick changed clothes, Kay and Bush talked for a while. “I remember when you was a little snot-nosed kid always hangin’ around grown-ups. I always knew it was something special about you. Scatter would always tell everybody the same thing. He used to say, ‘That boy is special. He changes the lives of everyone he comes in contact with. Either for the good or the bad and that’s a gift.’ Now look at you. You own the city and shit. They say everybody is somebody because of somebody else. Scatter definitely raised you to be somebody,” Bush said to Kay. They hugged and Brick came downstairs.
“Yo, it’s time to hit the highway. You know it’s all over town by now that we’re here. I ain’t tryin’ to go to jail on no humble,” he said.
“Ya’ll need anything?” Kay asked them.
“Nah, we’re alright. Scatter sent us plenty of money the past few years,” Bush said. They walked over to the couch and kissed Lady. She was staring out the window and didn’t even acknowledge them.
“Call us in a few days and let us know how she’s doing,” Bush said, looking at Lady.
“Yeah, and if you have any more problems, call us,” Brick told him.
When the door shut, Lady called out Scatter’s name, thinking it was him coming home.
Kay sat next to her and held her. “Bug, you can’t stay here. It’s not safe,” he told her.
“I know, baby. Tia talked me into going down south with her. She’s at Janita’s now. She and her husband are driving back in the morning. I’m going to follow them.”
“Well, c’mon, let’s get you packed.”
“I’m already packed,” she said.
“I’ve got something for you then.” He pulled her to her feet and took her upstairs to the third-floor apartment. Kay started kicking big holes in the walls and pulling out bags of money.
“What’s this, Kay?”
“It’s Scatter’s money. That’s where he stashed it. Said he didn’t trust banks or lawyers with that kind of money.”
“There’s got to be at least a million dollars here,” she said.
“It’s about two million and it’s all yours now, so let’s load up the car and get you over Janita’s,” he said.
25
The next morning Kay was in his Benz. Dre was in his Benz and had P-Nut with him. Big Duke had his cousins with him in the Excursion. They all rushed over to Mama’s house. Sonia, Lil ‘C’, Kaneeka, Tramaine, and his family met them there. Without saying too much, Kay rushed everyone out of the house. Mama, Caleek, Sonia, and Lil ‘C’ got in Caleek’s car. Tramaine, Kaneeka, and his family got in his truck. Kay ordered everyone to follow him to his house.
Before he could get in his car, two black vans with tinted windows turned onto Mama’s block. One from each end. They blocked off the street, stopping anyone from going anywhere. Big Duke and his cousins jumped out with guns in hand. Big Duke went to Kay’s side. Dre and Nut jumped out with guns and took cover. The van doors opened and five armed men jumped out of each van. They surrounded Kay and everyone with him.
Mike’s Bentley came up the block and stopped. He and Gee got out.
“Where you going, playboy, on a little vacation or something?” Mike asked as he walked up to Kay. Then he looked around at Kay’s people. “You must be going to the North Pole or some shit like that. I see you packed plenty of heat.”
Kay walked around Big Duke to face Mike. “Yo, you was plannin’ on doing something to my moms?” Kay asked as he shoved Mike. Mike’s people moved closer. Kay’s people did the same. No one took an eye off each other.
Mama jumped out of Caleek’s car as Mike regained his composure. “NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NOOOO! What are you two doing? You’re best friends for God’s sake. You’re family. My baby got both ya’ll’s blood in his veins,” Mama yelled, pointing at Caleek. She stood between Kay and Mike, crying uncontrollably. Kay and Mike stared each other in the eyes without saying a word.
“Now, I am sick and tired of all this stupid shit that’s going on. We just buried Scatter and Kahdijah yesterday.”
Before she could say anything else, Mike cut her off. “And now Tank’s dead!”
Mama put one hand over her mouth and the other on her chest.
“Ask Kay how Tank died, Mama,” Mike said, never taking his eyes off Kay.
“Did you have something to do with that, Arkadian?” Kay knew she was upset because that’s the only time she would call him by his real name.
Before Kay could say anything, a bunch of young boys that he’d told to meet him at his mom’s house came around the corner. There were about ten of them and they all loved Kay like a brother. The oldest one was maybe seventeen years old and was the leader. He reminded Kay of himself growing up. These young boys carried big guns and they didn’t care about shit. When they saw all the gunplay that was going on, they pulled their burners and separated on both sides of the street, surrounding everyone like a bunch of wild cowboys. Mike and everybody watched in amazement. Kay smiled. He knew he had the upper hand. Kay pointed to Mike’s chest. Mike looked down. There were three infrared dots on his chest. When he looked back up at Kay, there were two more on his face. Mike knew that he had no wins. He made a rotation motion in the air with his right hand. All his boys got back in the vans. Mike and Gee walked back to the Bentley.
Mike looked at Kay, “All is fair in war, huh?” He got in his car and backed down the block. The vans followed him.
Kay walked over to the seventeen-year-old and gave him a pound. The young boy apologized for being late. He said he had to round up the whole crew. Kay told him not to worry about it. He did good. Then Kay gave him the keys to Lady’s house and car. Kay told him that there was money and a kilo of heroin in the house that he could have.
“Everything is yours for your loyalty. Put your crew on and they’ll be loyal to you. And make sure you watch your back, ’cause Mike’s gonna come for you.”
“Shiiiiiit! That’s what I want him to do, so I can murk his fuckin’ ass. Don’t nobody like Mike. He treats people like shit. I would have killed that ho-ass nigga a long time ago if it wasn’t for you. We don’t give a fuck about them niggaz that be with him, his bodyguards. I’ll lay them niggaz down, too,” the young boy said.
“Yo, I’m out. The city is yours. Be careful when you go to Mexico to find a new connect,” Kay said as he got in his car and led the small convoy out of the hood. The young boy smiled. He knew Kay had just, in a roundabout way, told him how to re-up once the kilo of heroin was go
ne.
26
Later that evening, Mina had just gotten off work. She pulled in the driveway and parked behind Dre’s old Lexus. The Benz and the Escalade were gone, so she knew he wasn’t in yet. She got a grocery bag from the backseat and shut the door. She turned the car alarm on and walked toward the house.
A big-ass nigga was kneeling down on the passenger side of the old Lexus coupe so that Mina couldn’t see him. As she turned her back to him to walk up the walkway, he came around the front of the Lexus. He was down so low, the tip of his gun scraped the ground and Mina heard it. She stopped in her tracks and turned around slow. When she saw the huge figure running out of the dark at her, she dropped to one knee and punched him in the groin so hard she shoved his nuts up in his stomach. The huge man dropped his gun and fell to the ground like he’d been shot. Mina picked up the gun and pointed it at him. She would have pulled the trigger, too, if she had not felt the tip of a gun resting on the back of her head. She dropped the gun and put her hands in the air. The big-ass nigga on the ground in front of her holding his nuts and trying to catch his breath had brought a friend along.
“C’mon, nigga, get your ass up. You ain’t dying,” the voice behind her said to the figure on the ground. When he finally got up, he walked over to Mina and with the back of his right hand slapped her in the mouth.
“Motherfucker!” she yelled as she charged him like a wildcat with the taste of blood in her mouth. He stepped back out of her reach just in time. The voice behind her snatched her back by a handful of her hair.
“C’mon? Man, pick up that bag and them keys and open the door before someone sees us out here.”
They walked Mina over to the front door, looking around to make sure the neighbors hadn’t seen what was going on. When the first guy opened the door, they rushed her inside and turned on the lights. Hearing the ADT alarm system beep, they knew she had twenty seconds to disarm it. The man with the gun to her head ordered her to enter the code. She did as she was told, and the system shut off. When the guy behind her finally let her hair go, she turned around and saw that it was Mike’s bodyguard, Twan.