The Sheisty Saga

by T. N. Baker

  “I hear that! But listen, man, don’t let no bullshit come between y’all niggas. You know what I’m saying?”

  “Nah, dawg, never that. That nigga just a little off track. That’s all it is. We good. But what up with that faggot-ass dude C-God, man? He surface yet?”

  “Nah, he still hiding. But yo, I just called to let y’all niggas know, your boy gon’ go ’head and jump the fucking broom!”

  “Ay, T, man, that’s what’s up! Congrats on that, dawg. Make your baby momma your wife, cousin.”

  Tucker hadn’t been in touch with Pee and Cornell in weeks.

  “Nah, not me and Keish, dawg. Her name’s Leanne,” Tucker said realizing how awkward the conversation just became.

  “Ay, dawg, I ain’t even gon’ touch that, but whatever happened musta been fucked up, ’cause, dawg, you was in love with Keisha.”

  “Yeah, man, I had to move on from that. This one’s a nice one, though.”

  “Congratulations on that then, cuz. How Li’l Man doing?”

  “He’s good. Ay, that’s them coming in now. Listen, tell Corn to holla at me, and y’all niggas stay tight. I’ma kick it with you soon, a’ight?” Tucker hung up the phone in a hurry so he could build up the nerve to pop the question.

  Lea returned from the park with Li’l Man in her arms. As soon as he saw his daddy, the baby started squirming, crying, and fighting to get away from her. As soon as she put him down, he ran over and clutched onto Tucker like he was afraid of Lea.

  “What’s wrong with him?” Tucker picked up his son.

  “I don’t know. Maybe something scared him at the park.”

  Lea’s excuse didn’t sit well with Tucker. He never thought that Lea would do anything to hurt his son. Playing it safe, he chose to hold off on asking the question for a little while.

  Chapter 96

  Epiphany was spending a lot of time with Smitty. If she was still interested in niggas making small-time figures, he could’ve actually won her heart. He accommodated her need to be spoiled, but she wasn’t trying to get caught up with him and lose focus on the plan. He was friends with the nigga that tried to kill her, and more than likely, he knew about it.

  Epiphany didn’t know what it would take to persuade him to kill Ness for her, but she decided it was time to let Smitty sample her goodies when she overheard a discussion he was having with K.C., concerning some conflict with Ness. She knew he was ready to sever ties with him. Their beef would be the beginning of Ness’s end.

  Smitty started to develop strong feelings for Epiphany; however, he was growing impatient and tired of doing all the wining, dining, and spending for nothing. He never was that type of nigga to kick out cash for ass, but he was splurging like crazy, and even though he had already hit it once, he was thirsty to find out what it tasted like.

  Damn I guess you should never say never, but fuck it. I’m just gonna throw it out there and ask for some. Smitty picked up the phone and called to confirm their date.

  “Hey, boo,” Epiphany answered.

  “What up, ma? We still on for the night?”

  “Oh, no question. Why? Where you want me to meet you at this time?”

  “Yo, why you always gotta meet me? Why I can’t just come pick you up?”

  “Because.”

  “Because what? You don’t trust me?”

  “Smitty, it ain’t about that. You know what happened. I just don’t want to bring no bullshit to my parents’ house.”

  “Yeah, a’ ight, yo. I guess I gotta respect that. So meet me at the Holiday Inn at nine o’clock, a’ight.”

  “Ooooh, so does that mean I should bring something sexy to wear?” Epiphany said, giving him all the assurance he needed.

  Before he could respond, her other line beeped. It was Wild. She rushed him off. “Nine o’clock is good. I gotta take this call. Bye.” Epiphany switched over to Wild.

  “Damn, I miss you, baby,” she said seductively.

  “For real? I miss you too. I miss you so much I followed you today.” Epiphany’s heart pounded rapidly.

  “S–stop playing, baby!” she stuttered.

  “Yeah, I’m playing, but you saving that stuff for me, right?”

  “Oh, no doubt, daddy. This pussy belongs to only the wild one. When you coming for it?” she teased.

  “As a matter of fact, I’ma be back in town tomorrow afternoon. So what’s up? You packing your bags or what?”

  “Hell yeah. I can’t wait.”

  “A’ight, sweet sugar panties, I’ll pick you up soon as I touch down around noon.”

  “Okay, baby, as soon as you touch down,” Epiphany repeated.

  “I got you,” said Wild as he hung up the phone.

  Chapter 97

  K.C. rushed down to the precinct to see what was up with Shana. The arresting officers wouldn’t disclose any information other than that she was being brought up on felony charges. He took that little bit of info for what it was worth and immediately called his lawyer, Mr. Loboski, to explain the situation and ask if he’d take her case. His attorney agreed.

  K.C. considered calling Shana’s mom, Ms. Pat, but she hated him and would definitely use this situation as an opportunity to badger him. That was the last thing he needed right now, especially since he had nothing to do with this mess Shana had gotten herself into. The only thing left for him to do was go home and wait by the phone for Shana to call him.

  After hours of interrogation, name calling, and harsh threats, Shana managed to hold her head. She wasn’t confessing to nothing. The police had some solid evidence against her. Not only did Raina drop dime, but her supplier’s perverted ways finally caught up with him, and he sang like a bird when the feds nabbed him. Apparently, an underage girl accused him of drugging her and then trying to have his way with her. Raina also told the police that he was a big-time drug dealer, which they already suspected.

  Shana was not only concerned about her ties with her supplier, but the police confiscated several security tapes from his house, some with her on them. Still, Shana refused to talk. The only words she had for them were: “Can I make my phone call now?”

  Chapter 98

  C-God gave up on trying to get in touch with Reggie by phone. It was time to head back to the Big Apple and find his ass. C had already let shit ride long enough.

  Alpo was his number one supporter, and he really wanted C-God to stop getting high, get himself together, and take back what was rightfully his. Of course C-God loved the sound of that, so he was trying hard to stay clean, at least while handling business.

  They rented a utility van, loaded it up with rope, duct tape, guns, Alpo’s dog Venom, and Hassan, one of the few ride or die niggas from VA. Being back in New York made C-God realize how much he had missed it, but with the death of his parents, the end of his reign and everything else the city represented—greed, murder, and betrayal—he vowed to never live there again.

  Before hitting the hood, C-God stopped by the cemetery to ask his mom and pop for forgiveness. He was sorry for all the misery that he had caused them; their blood, sweat, tears, and death. Next to his parents’ plots were his brothers, Paul a.k.a “Pop” and Russell a.k.a “Black Russ” Hinderson. Dead for years, they never saw their baby brother’s rise to the top. C-God wasn’t religious, but he knew they had to be watching over him, and he asked that they guide him through his mission and make sure he kept it straight gangsta.

  Having made his peace with the family, it was time for revenge. Next stop, the hood!

  After scouting out the project and all of his former spots, there was no sign of Reggie. C-God had no choice but to go by the nigga’s crib. He carefully got out of the van, checking his surroundings, and instructed Alpo and his boy to do the same. He walked up to the front door and rang the bell.

  “Tanya, you back already?” Reggie’s elderly grandmother asked as she slowly approached the door.

  C was confused. Did she just say Tanya? Still focused on finding Reggie, he didn’t dwell on
it.

  “Nah, Mrs. Mattie, it’s C. Is Reggie home?”

  “C who? Naw, he ain’t home.”

  C-God didn’t respond. He returned to the van, parked it two houses away, and waited. Minutes later, Tanya drove up with his son, a bag full of groceries, and a pot belly, looking about three or four months pregnant. C-God shook his head in disgust and pulled off, realizing that was probably the reason why Reggie was avoiding him. To be honest about it, he knew he could never be what Tanya needed, even if he tried. He wouldn’t have been mad if they, especially Reg, came to him with the truth instead of being sneaky.

  But fuck it. What’s done is done, he thought.

  Taking one more loop around the area, they decided to stop and get a quick bite to eat at the Philly Cheesesteak spot on Linden Boulevard. While C-God sat in the van, waiting for Alpo and Hassan to come out of the restaurant, a pearly white Range Rover blasting “Lean Back” pulled up right in front of him. What do you know? Fuck finding Reggie, out jumped the head nigga in charge, Ness, who headed for the store next door to the eatery.

  C-God smiled. His brothers up in ghetto heaven must’ve been listening.

  “Yo, God, what the fuck you smiling at, man?” Alpo asked as he and Hassan got back in the van.

  “Yo, guess who just hopped the fuck out that truck, right in fucking front of me?” C-God asked.

  “Get the fuck out of here. You sure that’s that nigga?” Alpo questioned.

  “Hell yeah, that’s that muthafucka Ness. He in the store right now.”

  “Yo, Hassan, gimme my shit.”

  Hassan handed Alpo his gun.

  “Yo, I’ma go hop in that muthafucka’s backseat, a’ight! Ay, C-God, pull up in front of the nigga’s truck. I’ll make sure he follows you.” Alpo pulled his black hoodie over his head, crept up to Ness’s car, opened the back door, climbed in, and waited for him.

  Chapter 99

  Epiphany arrived at the Holiday Inn at 9:05 p.m. She pulled into a vacant parking spot and took a couple of minutes to apply a little more gloss to her already shiny lips in her rearview mirror. Before getting out of the car, she clutched down on the bottom of her Fendi bag to make sure she had her. 22. She made it a priority to never leave the house without it after her near death experience. Normally, she would have had her nine, but it never turned up after that night. For her, having some protection was better than none at all. She would say, “A .22 might not kill a muthafucka, but it will definitely complicate their intentions to harm me.”

  Covering all areas, she was ready for whatever and had her game face on as she pranced toward the hotel entrance, where she found Smitty waiting. Inside their room, Epiphany wasted no time getting down to business. Opening her little overnight bag, she pulled out something more appropriate for the occasion. She suggested Smitty order a bottle of champagne from room service, preferably Veuve Clicquot, while she showered and slipped into something sexy for him.

  Smitty liked the idea of her slipping into something sexy. The hood rats he used to fuck with considered a matching bra and panties something sexy, if he was lucky.

  The champagne arrived just before Epiphany opened the steamy bathroom door. She was smelling so fresh and so clean, like cucumber melon, in her red lace Victoria’s Secret lingerie number. Smitty was mesmerized. As he held two glasses of bubbly, the bulge in his boxers was starting to show, and he wondered if she tasted as good as she smelled.

  Seductively, she walked over to him, removed both glasses from his hands, and one by one took both of them straight to the head. Epiphany placed the empty glasses down, pushed him onto the bed, and slowly climbed on top of him, gliding her tongue across his chest.

  Smitty’s eagerness wouldn’t allow him to just lie there and enjoy her foreplay. He wanted Epiphany—now. Flipping her over, he ripped her panties off and aggressively started licking her pussy.

  Epiphany squirmed from discomfort as he licked and sucked on her with such brute force. She tried to move his head from between her legs, only Smitty continued like some kind wild beast in a trance, pinning her legs down to the bed and ignoring her screams for him to stop.

  His behavior struck a chord. Suddenly, Epiphany flashed back to why she hated him in the first place. She remembered him raping her. In a panic, she began to gasp for air. Hysterical, she punched him repeatedly, finally getting him to stop.

  She jumped up from the bed, grabbed her purse, and ran in the bathroom. Locking the door behind her, she quickly dumped out her bag, searching for her asthma pump. Calming down after a few minutes, she sat on the bathroom floor, holding her gun in her hand.

  Meanwhile, Smitty stood on the other side of the door, begging for her forgiveness.

  “I’m sorry, baby. I don’t know what got into me. Please give me another chance. I really care about you, Epiphany. Come out. We’ll just lay down. No sex. I promise.”

  It was too late. Epiphany wanted to shoot him through the door, but as badly as she wanted to kill him, she knew she had to see Ness suffer first. She put her gun away, pushed her feelings to the side, opened the door, and lay in Smitty’s arms, awake for the rest of the night.

  Chapter 100

  “Shut the fuck up. Keep your eyes on the fucking road and let’s follow that van, muthafucka.” With Alpo’s piece pointed at his head, Ness had no other choice but to follow his orders.

  C-God led them to an abandoned house way out in Far Rockaway, where the torture began. Ness, scared shitless, parked his Range behind the unmarked van in the driveway. Hassan hopped out the van with his Uzi ready to shoot and instructed Ness to get out slowly.

  “Yo, what the fuck is going on, man? What the fuck y’all niggas want with me? Here, take the fucking truck and let a nigga go, yo. What, y’all niggas want money, too? Let me call my man, have him bring as much as y’all want.”

  Ness’s pleas went ignored. The car keys and roll of hundreds he threw at his kidnappers lay right where they fell on the ground.

  “Shut the fuck up, nigga! This ain’t about no truck or no money, you rat bastard muthafucka.” Hassan patted Ness down for weapons.

  “Move it, you bitch-ass nigga. Get in the house,” Alpo said.

  “Hell no. If y’all niggas is gon’ kill me, do it right the fuck here, ’cause I ain’t going inside that house,” Ness said boldly.

  “What, muthafucka?” said Alpo and Hassan. They pushed him to the ground and started kicking and pistol whipping him.

  “Nigga, ain’t nobody giving your punk ass a choice,” yelled Alpo.

  Hassan grabbed Ness by his feet and started dragging him toward the house. Ness yelled out in agony from the burning sensation of his flesh ripping across the concrete.

  Once inside the house, they stomped him out again and tied him to an old chair that a crackhead probably brought in to use.

  Staring through half shut eyes into the faces of Alpo and Hassan, Ness tried to figure out where he might know them from, but neither one of them seemed familiar. He wondered if this was payback for murdering that kid Righteous, or maybe just some hating-ass niggas that heard about the paper he was getting. All of his questions were answered when C-God walked in.

  “Well, well, well, what up, sheisty-ass nigga?” C-God taunted.

  Ness didn’t recognize C-God at first. Once a buff dude, crack had made him lose over fifty pounds. If Ness hadn’t remembered C-God’s voice, he might have never figured out who he was.

  “Oh, shit. C, that’s you, nigga? Look like you could use a meal or two. What the fuck you doing, getting high? Damn, nigga, I’m disappointed in you.” Bloody, bruised, and facing death, Ness was still a smartass.

  “Fuck you, muthafucka. You should’ve killed me when you had the chance, ’cause a nigga came back just for your punk ass.

  “Yo, Alpo, bring your dog in, since this nigga got a thing for dogs!” C-God demanded. He planned on having Venom bite into Ness’s flesh while he washed the wounds with ammonia.

  “Nah, nigga, that’s your baby moms,”
Ness said sarcastically, referring to C’s baby mother sucking off a pit bull to get some free drugs.

  C-God had been disrespected enough by this guy, but he couldn’t believe that Ness had the balls to be tied up with nowhere to run out in Far-ass-Rockaway and he still continued to pop shit. C-God rushed Ness, jabbing his stun gun right into his chest.

  “Tape his fucking mouth up,” C ordered Hassan.

  After a night filled with torture, C-God was ready to end it once and for all. For the grand finale, C-God, Alpo, and Hassan placed Ness in a barrel filled with lye and watched while he helplessly hollered and squirmed as his skin burned away.

  Chapter 101

  Keisha picked up her son bright and early from Momma D’s house. She had a wonderful day planned and wanted to get an early start.

  During their visit, she noticed bruises on his upper right arm, like someone had squeezed or punched him really hard. Furious, she began to further inspect his body, finding another identical bruise on his thigh.

  Oh, hell no! Right away she knew Lea was abusing her son, and there was no way she would allow him to spend another second with that monster. Outraged, Keisha called Tucker’s cell phone and went off on him as soon as he answered.

  “Wait. Calm down a minute. I can’t understand a word you’re saying, Keisha.”

  “I said, have you seen these fucking bruises on our son? Tucker, he’s not coming back to that house as long as that bitch is in it. She better hope to God I never see her.”

  “What are you talking about? What bruises?”

  “On his body, Tucker! Listen to me. Lea’s playing you like she played me. I thought she was my friend, but she set me up and confessed to it after she had me arrested.”

  “What?”

  “Lea drugged me the night of my party and sent you that tape. She told me how she wanted to get with you and how you shut her down ’cause we were together.

  “Anyway, what’s done is done. I don’t give a fuck about none of that anymore. She got you and that’s fine, but Li’l Man is another story. If you don’t keep her away from him, I swear before God, I’m gonna hurt her.”